Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

idunnohowtonameit,docx

Blanc saw every hole they made, every building they've brought down, every person they hurt. She fought them so she had front-row seats to see the destruction they left in their wake. Her own nation was under attack, right in front of her eyes.

So when the lights on the last Killachine finally died and the titan stopped moving, it wasn't any stretch of imagination that Blanc was still pissed off.

"Alright! Now it's your turn, you piece of shit!"

She had every right to be angry. That dickhead of a wizard dared to endanger her own people, send friggin Killachines into her nation, and just for what?! Revenge on those stupid mercs?! And then he left the Killachines rampaging in her nation while he fucked off somewhere else?!

He endangered her whole nation for some bullshit reason like 'it's halloween so we gotta kill each other!' She will not forget that, nor will she forgive him… So it was good that she knew exactly where to find him.

And now that the last Killachine has fallen and her nation was safe once more... there was nothing stopping her from paying him a visit.

Despite being primarily a physical fighter, Blanc was still a CPU of the nation with the greatest magical capabilities. Her Oracle is a powerful mage, and both of her sisters are also well versed in using magic. It would be natural that Blanc herself picked up on some handy tricks of her own, despite rarely using them.

One of those tricks was being able to lock onto someone and know exactly where he is, even if he's teleporting. So even if he was back on Earth, that dickhead won't be able to hide from her. And luckily he wasn't back on Earth, he was still in Lowee surrounded by nothing but snow. It was nice of him to show up during the Dance Off spell, and of Neptune to keep him in place until she finished her lock. Now beating his skull in was just a matter of time.

So once she delegated Mina to handle the repairs of Lowee Blanc chased after the culprit of this attack, flying after him like a guided missile.

Merasmus suddenly started running, he must've realized that he was being chased. But his two legs couldn't outpace an angry, flying CPU. Blanc thanked her lucky stars that he didn't attempt to teleport yet, he was probably out of SP after taking that shot to the head.

If that's the case, then he knew he was being chased but he couldn't do anything about it, that made this experience that much sweeter for Blanc. She thought about circling around him like a vulture, scare him and make him piss his pants, but then she decided this was a bad idea. The more time she spent playing with him the more time he has to make his escape, she knew he could teleport so she won't take any chances.

Once he came into her view, hurriedly making his way through waist-deep snow, Blanc summoned her weapon and dived down on him like a bird of prey.

The feeling of her weapon striking his flesh was liberating.

Merasmus sat in Lowee's dungeon, tied up to a chair with handcuffs. There were no visible injuries on his body, but that's because Blanc ordered Medic to heal him… twice. The CPU had a lot of pent up rage remaining after the Killachine incident.

His entire body was covered in ofudas, paper talismans which emitted a faint blue light as they drained his SP away, preventing him from casting any of his spells. There was also an orange placed on top of his head, courtesy of Mina at Blanc's order. His hat was confiscated by the Mercenaries, Blanc didn't know nor care who had it and what they've done with it.

"This is a cruel and unusual punishment." Merasmus complained.

Blanc scoffed. "Don't give me that crap. You shouldn't have attacked Lowee in the first place. That was my own fucking nation, you know! I could've done way worse, you're lucky we have the technology to heal you back up."

"Merasmus did not intend to transport you here! The target location of my spell was my former house - the Ghost Fort back on Earth." The wizard said.

Medic tweeted in annoyance. Out of all the maps Merasmus just had to pick Ghost Fort, that one map that just stretched out forever. Anything would've been a better alternative, even Hellstone and Brimstone.

His tweeting caught the attention of both women. Mina and Blanc glanced back at Medic, the latter mumbling to herself. "Every time I think I've seen it all, you guys manage to pull some new bullshit out of your ass... It shouldn't surprise me at this point… but it still does."

Then she glanced back at the Merasmus. "By the way, is this your doing too?" She pointed at Medic's head.

"Merasmus had no hand in that, they did it to themselves. Pushing Halloween a few months earlier was also their doing." Merasmus said.

Blanc nodded and pinched her nose. "Whatever. Still, it was you who summoned those goddamn Killachines. I don't care about whatever reasons you have, you just don't do shit like that. Do you know how many buildings they have destroyed? Twenty two. Twenty two buildings reduced to rubble! Two hundred forty six floors are littering Lowee's streets, five people died and another thirteen were injured! All because of you!"

Thankfully, with Medic at her disposal the casualties were the smallest of damages. Even the dead might not stay that way for long.

The only thing that was stopping Blanc from punching the shit out of that dirtbag was that orange on top of his head. It was a shame that Merasmus recognized what it really was. She wouldn't have to deal with that bastard if he was dumb and tried to escape, dropping the orange in the process, but as luck would have it, Merasmus was more scared of the fruit than her. His entire body froze the moment Mina placed it on top of him, even his mouth barely moved as he talked.

"Vhy is zhere an orange on his head anyway? It looks like a simple fruit… but it's actually not, ja?"

Mina nodded at Medic's question. This was indeed not an ordinary fruit, but before she could explain what it actually was Merasmus cut her off.

"This orange is an ancient relic known as the 'Harmless Fruit'. If it was ever to be harmed, for example by falling off my head, it will summon an eldritch abomination that will wreak havoc and pursue the aggressors to the ends of the world!"

The ordinary-looking orange was actually an ancient artifact capable of destroying them all. Medic nodded as he processed this information and then pointed at the blue-haired Oracle standing next to him. "Vouldn't the aggressors include you as vell? You placed it zhere afterall."

Mina smiled and shook her head. "My hands are clean. All I did was transport the relic to a new location, so I'm not going to be a direct reason… especially when there's someone who could damage it anytime he wants."

Merasmus knew the Oracle was referring to him. One wrong move and his fate will be sealed. "Like Merasmus said, this is a cruel and unusual punishment. Although I must say I'm amazed you even have such an artifact, I thought there was only one Harmless Fruit and that it was in Saxton Hale's hands."

"They're common in Lowee." Blanc shrugged. "One of our contingency plans is basically using those things like landmines."

Merasmus almost flinched at her words, but he stopped himself in the nick of time. "That is… a very dangerous but also effective form of defense."

"...You didn't need to share that with him, that was supposed to be a secret." Mina complained.

"Ah, who cares?" Blanc rolled her eyes and jammed her fingers into Merasmus's chest. "You better stay put, or I'll have the mercs throw these things at you. Total annihilation is less scary when you have the Re;Spawn System and your target can't use magic."

"M-Merasmus will act nicely from now on."

Blanc nodded and left the dungeon, Medic and Mina following her.

Now Merasmus was alone… with a fruit of destruction on top of his head, his limbs tied up and his magic deactivated. The CPU of Lowee practically condemned him to death via eldritch abomination!

"This is a cruel and unusual punishment! This is illegal!" Merasmus shouted.

"I am the law here! And I don't care!" Blanc shouted back.

She actually didn't want him to die. After a few hours, when he'll start to think that Blanc really doomed him to an inevitable demise, she would send someone trained in handling Harmless Fruits to take it away.

But for now let him think his life is forfeit.

With the threat gone it was time to clean up and repair whatever damage the Killachines left. Engineer thought that he could use his skills to help the locals, so he took a few guys from his team and they all went to the main square.

There they were met with dozens of people already hard at work… at least that's what it seemed. Everyone had their wands or staves out and their tips were glowing with colors, hinting that they were doing something. The mercs realized that these people were probably casting magic, so Soldier pointed his rocket launcher at the group of wizards.

"Beep boop."

He pressed the trigger and Heavy forced his gun down. The rocket unexpectedly exploded at Soldier's feet and launched the unprepared merc away.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaa-" Soldier's scream was cut short when he landed deep in the snow. Ram gave Heavy a nod of approval before refocusing on her current task. The rubble in front of her and Rom was slowly disintegrating, like a corpse left by the Cow Mangler or Phlogistinator.

Other mages were patching up the holes in buildings and the road, the holes filling themselves seemingly on their own. There was even a squad of people putting fruits and veggies where a building once stood, and then they enlarged that fruit or veggie until it was big enough to live in.

...It appeared that they didn't need the mercs' help after all. The locals had this handled. Soldier unburied himself and rejoined the team just as Ram and Rom finished their work. Ram didn't look happy.

"Hey you dummy! What was that about!" The pink-clad twin shouted at the merc.

"It's rude… to interrupt work." Rom pouted.

"Kids! What sort of Voodoo magic are they teaching you at school today? I want names! I need to get them before they find and befriend Merasmus!"

"...You're stupid. Stuuupid." Ram deadpanned.

"Dumb." Rom nodded.

While three children argued, the rest of the team watched from the sidelines, fully knowing that this will escalate and they would need to step in before they piss off a mob of wizards. When Soldier pulled out his trusty shovel and pointed it at Ram, Engineer took a step forward just in case.

"Girl! I've fought in wars before you've even been born yet! I've killed nazis, wizards and nazi wizards so that my country can be free of your oppressive witchcraft. So get your Voodoo back to Canada while I kick your teacher's ass!"

Ram frowned and whispered towards her sister. "D-Did he just want to hurt Mina?"

"I think, yes." The other twin replied.

The Candidates turned back towards the mercenary and pointed their staves at him. Soldier's eyes widened and he pulled out his rocket launcher.

"Ice Coffin!"

The twins shouted and Soldier was encased in a thick layer of ice, a split second away from firing at the twins. Some mercs flinched at the suddenness of the spell while other Loweeans completely ignored the distraction the others were making. Once all of that was done and dealt with Engineer stepped towards the girls, whistling.

"Hey, girls. How the hell did you and those guys over there do any of this?" He pointed at where rubble once was, but then it got disintegrated by the Candidates in front of him.

Rom and Ram turned towards him. "Hey… um. Good morning?" The pink-clad twin blinked owlishly at Engineer's state, noticing sickly green skin, decaying flesh and the exposed skeleton. "...What happened to you?"

"Do you need… healing?" Rom asked.

Engineer smiled and shrugged. "These are just our Halloween costumes, kiddo. Today's Halloween!"

The candidate's eyes lit up and Ram smacked herself on the forehead. "Crap, I forgot! Rom, we gotta go home and get our costumes out!"

"But what about... him?"

Rom pointed her staff at the frozen Soldier. Medic was already examining the block of ice while Pyro gleefully dumped gasoline all over it. A faint voice came out of the block. "I am a robot statue, boop."

"Hmm…" Ram tapped her chin in thought. The Candidate took few steps towards the frozen Soldier and examined her handiwork. She could hear Soldier sputtering some random stuff from the inside, but she didn't care about that. The CPU Candidate was more interested in his pose, the way he carried his Rocket Launcher. It got her creative juices flowing.

Then a lit light bulb appeared over her head.

"How about we turn him into a statue!" Ram exclaimed, slamming her fist into her palm.

"A statue? Wouldn't that be bad for him?" Rom said.

"No, you dummy! We're gonna recreate him!" Her sister answered. "Look. Let's put him here, some more dummies over there! And… oh, oh! How about some monsters here!"

Ram's expression slowly grew into a wide, open-mouthed grin as more ideas flooded her brain. She already had the whole set up planned out, which she was already explaining to her sister. Rom nodded dutifully while listening to her sister's plans, but as more and more ideas came out the blue-clad twin has started to become worried.

"...That sounds very complicated."

"Yeah, but it sounds way more awesome than drawing! We can put ourselves here, kicking some butts with our magic. Our sister could be over here and Nepgear over there. Scout can lie next to that bench, dying horribly like he always does."

"That sounds horrible!"

"But it's true though! Every time a fight starts he's always the one to die horribly." Ram said.

Scout would've said something about that if he actually heard that comment, however the mercenaries had already moved away from the scene and left the Candidates alones. Soldier's block of ice grew a little thicker as someone froze the gasoline Pyro covered him with.

Engineer walked to one of the wizards and tapped her on the shoulder. The woman turned towards the merc and blinked at him.

"Yes- are you alright?" She asked him.

Engineer nodded couple of times. "Yes I'm fine, ma'am. That's just my Halloween costume. Anyway I was just wondering how you fellas did all of that."

"It's Magic."

Engineer stared at the woman, her expression smug. After a moment of silence the woman continued. "First, we broke down the rubble and trash into atoms. Then we manipulated those atoms to create different materials and used those to make repairs. However only a few can do something as complex as that, so the rest helped by supplying their SP to others.

Engineer was stunned into silence.

These guys have achieved atomic recombination and atomic manipulation! Engineer never heard Histoire say anything about atomic bombs, but with people like the woman in front of him Gamindustri had the potential to achieve it and more. With their power they could turn silver into gold, summon water by combining oxygen with hydrogen. Create nuclear explosions without any warning.

"O-Oh. I-I see."

The female wizard watched curiously as Engineer swiftly backed away from her. He may have been an experienced killer, but even he has a healthy dose of respect for someone who could wipe out him and a good chunk of Lowee with a single spell.

W-Wait… could Mina do it too?

Could Rom and Ram?

They were nervous, as the rapid tapping on the table has shown.

It's been exactly 6 minutes and 23 seconds ever since they were told to wait here, and with every second that passed Nisa and Uni were getting more tense than ever. They could finally meet the CPU, finally make her see the truth and maybe even get her on their side.

Nisa was sure that what she has in her backpack will be enough of a proof, but Uni had her doubts. There could always be something they didn't account for, there could be something that would take them by surprise. Hopefully it would go smoothly but if Plan A failed and Blanc was already deep with the Administrator… then it's going to be an uphill battle.

13 more seconds has passed before the doors finally opened. A small brunette woman in a white dress and coat stood in the doorway. Nisa and Uni stood up and shook their hands with the CPU.

"Alright." Blanc nodded and sat on the opposite side of them. "My nation just got attacked so there's a lot going on, make it quick."

Uni nodded and brought down the hammer. "We wanted to talk about the mercenaries you're employing."

Blanc didn't say anything, she just took a deeper breath. She had a feeling that sooner or later someone would come to her asking questions. The CPU of Lowee raised her eyebrow at Uni and said. "You'll have to narrow that down, Lowee's guild is full of mercenaries."

"We're not talking about the Guild, we're talking about those red-wearing guys you got from Planeptune." Nisa replied.

"I see, what about them?"

"Do you know who they really are?" Nisa pressed.

Blanc leaned back as she started reciting things. "A group of mercenaries under Histoire's employment and currently lended to me, what's your point?"

"They're responsible for all those murders in Planeptune." Nisa said.

"They also have a second employer, one who might be even worse than ASIC." Uni added.

Oh, so they know about that. Blanc wasn't surprised when she heard Nisa talking about the murders, but Uni's part took her interest. "Yes, Histoire told me and no, what second employer?"

"Did you know that these mercenaries aren't from Gamindustri, but from a different world?" Nisa asked.

If Blanc wasn't already aware of the details about the mercenaries, this would be where she would throw them outside for wasting her time. But because she is aware of all of those details about the mercs, she'll hear them out. If only to learn where they've heard that from and what exactly do they know.

"Yes, they came from Earth." Blanc said.

Uni looked at Nisa and nodded, the heroine nodded back. "Those murderers aren't the only one who invaded our world." Nisa said. "Actually many more from their world came here. They can be separated into two grounds, or factions if you would prefer: The first one is led by someone we only know as The Administrator, and her right hand Miss Pauling - We don't know much about them, but from what we know the Administrator controls their, the mercs', entire world by blackmail, corruption and criminalism."

Blanc nodded at Nisa's explanation, silently wondering if criminalism was even a word. She was also really curious how these girls got their hands on this information. But she withheld her questions as Nisa wasn't really done.

"The second faction that is here opposes her, it's led by a man named Gray Mann."

And the pieces started to fall together.

"Gray Mann? Mann as Mann Co.?" Blanc said.

"Yes." Nisa nodded.

So Gray Mann is here as well… because Miss Pauling wasn't enough.

"...Okay then. I am to assume that you belong to one of these factions, right?" Blanc asked, already guessing the answer.

"Yes, we're with Gray Mann."

Blanc inwardly sighed. Miss Pauling in Leanbox and Gray Mann in Lastation, with Lowee and Planeptune in the middle. An alliance between nations was a good move, who knows what sort of problems either faction would create if they realized that their enemy was here… if they don't already know that.

"Alright. So am I to assume that those mercenaries are working for this other faction, yes?"

Uni and Nisa were surprised at how well Blanc took this information, and at how well she was guessing where they were going with this.

"Yes, they are."

"Do you have proof?"

At Blanc's request Nisa opened her backpack and pulled out a bunch of vanilla-colored folders. On one of these folders was a familiar red bomb, it seems like Gray Mann has been digging deep.

"This folder" Nisa raised the one with a red bomb, "has copies of their contracts, their real contracts and not the dummy ones they had for cover. The company's name is 'Reliable Excavation Demolition', read it for yourself."

Blanc took the folder and opened it, there she was met with 18 bundles of paper, each one held together by a clip. "There are also contracts from when they were defending Mann Co. from Gray Mann's army."

Blanc skimmed through the folder until she found Spy's contract. She pulled out the bundle and checked its content.

"Isn't it weird how a so called 'demolition' company hires a group of heavily armed mercenaries?" Nisa pressed.

"Alright, I'll bite." The CPU said, hiding the contracts in the folder. "You came here to tell me they're shady, what do you want me to do with this information?"

"These men and their employer are planning something, something big and bad. We ask for your help in defeating them and protecting Gamindustri." Nisa said.

"What about ASIC? Aren't they also a threat to us all?" Blanc retorted.

"ASIC has been losing a lot of influence lately." Uni said. "Yes, they need to be dealt with too, but the Administrator is a more pressing threat. We don't know much about her, but everything is pointing out that this is going to be very bad for all of us."

"...You said 'everything is pointing out', what is pointing out? Why do you take one side's word over the other?" Blanc pressed.

"Gray Mann gave us evidence. He took us to their world and showed proof to back up his every word; photos, newspapers, reports, witness testimonies. He never lied, Kei would catch onto that if he did." Uni answered.

"Alright, can I see them?"

This was it, that one little thing that made Uni worried. Something they didn't realize they would need until the CPU asked for that.

"...We didn't bring any of that. Just the contracts."

…

The way Blanc was staring at her hurt. The CPU of Lowee took a deep slow breath and released it just as slowly. "You know. Next time you plan something like that, you take everything you have. Everything." Blanc said, her voice even. "And also the mercenaries aren't working with Miss Pauling nor with the Administrator, not anymore."

"H-Huh?"

"Yes, the Administrator's goons were in Planeptune. Yes, they made contact with the mercenaries and Histoire but no, none of us are working for them."

That took the wind out of Nisa and Uni's sails. This entire time they thought that they're in enemy territory, about to be attacked the moment it was revealed they're with Gray Mann.

"But… how? They kill people!" Nisa couldn't comprehend.

"The mercs told them they're working for someone else, and Histoire chased them out. Last time I heard they're in Leanbox."

"So if you're not with Miss Pauling… does that mean you'll join us?" Uni asked, feeling hope as it meant that things weren't as dire as they seemed. This meant that they could get more allies into their group-

"No, we're staying the fuck out of whatever war both of you are having." Blanc's words shattered her hope into pieces. "We're neck deep in ASIC's shit here, alright? We don't have time for Miss Pauling nor your Gray Mann guy. But if either of you are going to cause trouble here or in Planeptune, then heads are gonna roll. Understood?"

Neither of them knew what to say. They went all the way from Lastation to Lowee to save Blanc and her nation from the Administrator's influence… only to learn that she didn't have any influence here to begin with. Then when it seemed like they could get a new ally out of this, their expectations again got thrown out of the window.

"B-But the Administrator-!"

"I. Don't. Care!" Blanc slammed her fist on the table, instantly shutting up Nisa. "We're not dealing with that mess of yours and I'm gonna stick by it. If you don't have anything else to say then get lost!"

For a moment the room was silent as Blanc glared at the blue-haired heroine, daring her to speak one more word about the Administrator. Nisa felt a mixture of emotions, similar to those that she felt before leaving Nepgear and going to Lastation. Trying to persuade her was pointless, the CPU of Lowee already made up her mind. Just like the Oracle of Planeptune made up her own about the mercenaries.

All she could do is to back off and leave.

"Very well. Let's go back, Uni."

Nisa left left the room, but Uni didn't budge. "Uni?" Nisa called out from the doorway, frowning at her. Blanc also stared at her, her eyebrow raised.

"We rescued Vert, she should be already in Leanbox." The black-haired Candidate said.

"Good, Neptune's free as well." Blanc replied. "All that's left is Noire."

"If- if you find her-"

"If we find her we'll send her to Lastation, don't worry."

Uni sighed from relief. "Thanks. That's all I ask." She stood up and left the room with Nisa. The room was now empty, save for Blanc who was killing time by reading Spy's contract. Then someone knocked at the door and entered, it was IF and Compa.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Blanc's hands hurriedly took a cigarette and lit it up. She inhaled and puffed out a smoke, her shoulders relaxing.

"You know seeing Blanc smoking… is surprisingly not that surprising."

"Surprisingly not that surprising." Spy repeated IF's words.

"Yes." The Guild agent deadpanned before taking up Uni's seat, Compa took Nisa's. "So how did it go?" IF asked.

"They thought all of us are working for Miss Pauling and wanted Blanc to basically cut ties with us. Gray Mann - the one we were defending Mann Co. from - is really in Lastation and has them as allies." Spy explained.

"Well, that lines up with what we got from Sam." IF nodded. "Did you tell them that Noire is supposed to be somewhere in Leanbox?"

"No." Spy shook her head. "They could ask 'how do you know that?' And then demand why we didn't do anything to rescue her. It was safer to not say anything."

"Uh-huh." IF nodded, scratching her head. "Well, we might want to observe them for a little while. It's nice to see Nisa back, but…" She trailed off.

"But you think she'll cause problems?" Spy finished for her, making the brunette shrug. "Kinda? She does hate your guts."

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her." Spy said. "By the way how do you feel, mademoiselle IF?"

"I died, thanks for asking." IF deadpanned. "Compa had to carry me back to Planeptune so I could Re;Spawn."

This time… she had no comments about her death. It was as quick as her previous one; a flash of pain, a blur of movement and then she was staring at the Re;Spawn counter. She took her second death way better than her previous one… no matter how much she wanted to deny it.

"I couldn't find any buckets, so I had to improvise and scoop Iffy into a few cans of soup I found." Compa cheerfully provided, much to IF's horror.

"...I did not need to hear that!" The brunette said loudly. Her face growing pale as she imagined Compa filling the cans with whatever was left of her body… it was a gruesome picture that IF hoped to forget quick.

"You're about 15% soup now." The nurse teased further.

"Shut up! No! Stop!" IF grabbed Compa's shoulders.

"Re;Spawn doesn't work like that, though. Or does it?" Spy said, smirking.

"Can we change topics?! What is inside that folder?" IF pointed at the vanilla folder in Spy's hands.

"Our contracts from the past, I'm going to burn them." Spy said.

"Can I see them first?" IF asked, reaching out to Spy. Spy shook his head and disappeared, taking the folder with himself.

"You know that I know that you're still here?"

IF got no verbal answer, but the exit opened on its own.

IF sighed.

Blanc didn't help her people to repair Lowee, she knew she didn't need to and she saw that this tradition was still kept. Even so the CPU felt amazed and proud at how quickly her subjects brought her city back to its initial beauty. The CPU took a walk around the city, looking at the weirdly-shaped buildings that were destroyed just a few hours ago. After suffering a heavy blow to its infrastructure, Lowee brought itself back on the same day - a feat that no other nation can achieve.

She remembered that she had some sort of meeting today but when she delegated Mina to handle the repairs, the Oracle told her to take the whole day off and let Spy handle the meeting. So that meant she was free to do her own thing… in the worst possible time.

Normally she would be gleeful for this opportunity, as that meant she could spend a day working on her novel. But today, after that stunt Merasmus pulled, trying to write something was borderline torture. Not even forcing herself brought any progress to her own work, not even as the famously terrible 'first draft'.

And she couldn't focus her frustration on work because Mina just slapped her with a mandatory day off. There wasn't even any work left that that the CPU could use to override her authority. She could spend some time with her sisters, or the mercenaries- fuck.

Blanc didn't know where the mercs were.

Engineer was recruited by Mina, Spy was on the meeting and Medic was back in Planeptune, working on bringing back the dead civilians, but the location of the rest was a total mystery. Which meant that there was an insane pyromaniac, a lunatic with a rocket launcher, an overweight man dressed like a princess and a drunk guy with more explosives than she's comfortable with on the loose.

...One of these things is not like the others.

Blanc started towards the Basilicom, hoping that they were there or in their Gingerbread House. Her eyes and ears were alert for any signs of disturbance, just in case she'll find someone as they're trying to blow up Lowee. It was needless to say that she didn't trust any of them in her own nation without supervision.

As she turned a corner her eyes landed on red and her ears picked up a familiar voice. Her head snapped towards the source and she saw Demoman and Heavy just entering the bar. The building was one of few buildings that didn't look weird - which ironically is what made it weird - a typical wooden structure that you would expect to find in a village. The CPU opened the doors and found herself in a dim, hole in the wall bar. The place wasn't extravagant and people there looked suspicious… but they served drinks here… maybe. 3 years was a long time and Blanc didn't drink, so she didn't know the location of every bar in the nation.

She saw Demoman and Heavy at the counter, as well as a familiar face. The barman looked up from the mercenaries and chuckled as he saw Blanc walking towards him, a frown on her face.

"I heard you were alive, kiddo. Funny to see you here."

Blanc's anger reached its limit before it suddenly disappeared just as quickly. The CPU recognized the guy in front of her, it helped that he hadn't change much. He still had a red cape, an unshaved face and even his voice and gray suit were the same. His appearance didn't change at all in those 3 years. But she couldn't process the fact that he was behind the counter, selling alcohol instead of drinking it.

"Crow? You work here? And you didn't drink the whole supply away?" Blanc asked as she sat next to Demoman. The mercs looked at her and the barman while the two apparent acquaintances talked.

"Yeah." Crow shrugged. "Funny how things have turned out. So do you want anything, or are you here for something else?"

"I came here to make sure those guys don't blow up something, didn't expect to run into you." The CPU pointed her thumb at the mercs.

"Well, these gents just arrived and so far no trouble. By the way, here's your order." Crow placed a glass of vodka in front of Heavy and gave Demoman whiskey. With a loud cheer from the Demolition Expert, two mercenaries started drinking. Blanc watched Heavy down an entire glass without taking a break, then he slammed it on the counter.

"This stuff lightweight."

The bottle said this vodka was 65% alcohol.

"Well big guy, I've got stronger stuff if ya want." Crow snarled before turning back to Blanc. "So, anything for you, or are you just going to sit here sad and sober?"

Yet again Blanc was reminded that a lot of things have changed within 3 years. She never imagined that Crow out of all people would become a barman, he would rather drink the entire stock dry. But now here he was… behind the counter asking Blanc what sort of drink she wanted.

Like he said: 'Funny how things have turned out.'

"Whatever strong drink you have left."

Crow nodded and pulled out a bottle from the top shelf. Demoman sensed an opportunity and tapped Blanc on the elbow. The CPU looked at the merc just as he asked "You two know each other?"

The CPU bobbed her head left and right while Crow poured her a drink. "Sorta. We met once in a while on a quest, or at the Guild until she got captured… and I got injured."

"Injured?" Blanc pressed.

"An arrow to the knee."

The CPU stared at the barman, completely unamused by the reference. Crow shrugged and placed a tiny glass in front of her. "I'm not kidding. Here, that will be 3300 credits."

Now Blanc was staring at him for completely different reasons.

"...The hell you gave me that's 3300 for a shot?"

"The most expensive drink I had." Crow smiled. Heavy placed cash at the counter, saying "Another one." Crow nodded, accepting the bills and pulled out another bottle of the same vodka.

Mumbling to herself, Blanc pulled out her wallet and placed a stack of bills on the counter. Crow smiled and grabbed her money, wanting to see her drink. The CPU took the really tiny glass and sniffed it, the liquid gave off a strong aroma of alcohol. Demoman raised his glass to her and Blanc tapped it with her own.

And then Blanc threw the drink at Crow.

Demoman gasped in disbelief as Blanc wasted an expensive and good drink, Heavy gave the CPU a raised eyebrow and Crow flinched and stared at the wet stain on his suit, unamused. Smiling smugly, Blanc set the empty glass on the counter and pushed it towards Crow.

"That's for calling me kiddo earlier. Give me another one."

Crow growled as he took the glass. "And here I thought you finally mellowed out, guess I was wrong."

"I just had a bastard summon in Killachines on my nation, and I'm forced to babysit these guys so they don't blow it all up anyway. How in the hell did you think I'm not pissed off?" Blanc said.

Heavy and Demoman said nothing and occupied themselves with their drinks. Blanc thought that they might be offended by her comment, but they didn't show anything that suggested it. They're probably too drunk to care… or at least Demoman is.

"Ah yeah, about that." Crow said as he gave Blanc the same drink. "What's with this costume, big guy? And why does your friend have a bird head?"

"Those are our Halloween costumes. It's Halloween." Heavy said.

Crow blinked. "Halloween? But that's a few months away!"

"Halloween moved, it's today now." The merc replied.

If there was something appealing to having the mercenaries around, it was the reaction of others at their shenanigans. Blanc chuckled at Crow's dumbfounded look as he looked around to find his calendar.

Then a clicking of the glass next to her caught Blanc's attention. The CPU turned around and saw Demoman… with his beak stuck in the glass. The source of the sound was his beak tapping against the glass as he tried to suck every drop of the alcohol from the container.

Now it occured her that this was the same drink that Demoman had ever since she came here. His bird head made it hard for him to drink from the glass. The merc grabbed the glass with his beak and lifted it. Blanc was unsure what he was trying to do but all he achieved was spilling the entire thing onto his chest, Demoman then opened his beak in surprise and the glass fell onto the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces.

"The hell are you doing?!" Crow yelled at him.

Blanc inched away to not stain her dress. "Good job you moron, you're paying for it."

Histoire's hands caressed a heavily abused padlock, Engineer and Medic watching her from the sidelines. In front of Histoire was a wooden Mann Co. crate, it looked like from one of those standard Mann Co. Supply Munitions series, but the tag didn't match it. It was one of those crates.

The Oracle didn't know exactly what the mercenaries did to this poor box, but the signs of abuse were very visible. Bullet holes on the wood, dents on the chain and padlock, scratches and even some black residue on the side. The lock itself even had visible markings that someone tried to pick it (although they failed.)

It was very apparent that the mercs tried to open this crate themselves before consulting Histoire. The Oracle read the tag again and yes, it was this series again.

Mann Co. Special Surprise Crate

Crate Series: #?

You need a Mann Co. Surprise Crate Key to open this.

You can pick one up at the Mann Co. Store.

This crate contains one of the following items.

Power Up Canteen

?

?

Or an Exceedingly Rare Special Item!

Histoire forgot when was the last time she saw one of those, but from what she remembered those crates aren't actually from Mann Co., at least that's what Saxton Hale said. Histoire looked back at the mercs. They mercs nodded and Histoire froze the lock, before crushing it with her palm.

Just like before this made her feel way more powerful than she was. There was something satisfying in crushing a metal object to pieces with her own hands (and liberal use of magic.)

"It's open." Histoire said. Both mercs nodded and stepped in, they removed the chains wrapped around the crate and then Engineer opened the lid. The moment the content was exposed, confetti and fireworks exploded from the inside. The mercenaries recoiled in surprise.

"Waah!" Histoire yelped, swaying to the side to avoid a firework coming towards her.

Both mercs looked at one another, their expressions unreadable to Histoire. The Oracle watched the colorful display with a bit of annoyance - while the fireworks didn't even leave a mark on the walls, the confetti remained on the floor… and she didn't want to add more work to the janitors.

There was a bright light shining from the crate, the three of them peeked inside. Engineer's and Medic's eyes grew wide from awe, but Histoire was mildly confused and perplexed.

"Gott im Himmel…"

"Oh my god…"

"...Huh?"

The crate was full of hay, and on top of that hay was a hat - a red military peaked cap with some winged insignia at the front. That hat was also on fire.

"...Zhis is a Team Captain. An Unusual Team Captain." Medic said.

Engineer looked as if he would faint at any moment. "Oh my god."

"Un...usual?" Histoire frowned.

Both mercs looked at her, after a moment Histoire found herself shrinking under their gaze. Was this Unusual thing something important? Powerful? And why was this hat on fire? Why didn't the fire actually burn the hat or spread to anything else? Was it a magical enchantment? Was it why it was 'Unusual'?

Medic took the burning hat and placed it on top of his head, he didn't look like the flames bothered him at all. "Frau Histoire. Zhis hat is zhe rarest thing on Earth, just having zhis hat vould be enough to be set for life." Histoire nodded at Medic's explanation, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous he looked with the bird head and a military cap. That was also on fire.

"But does it actually do anything?" Histoire asked.

"...No. Zhis is just a hat. A very expensive, very stylish hat."

A stylish hat that is also on fire. Histoire wanted to be shocked or at least mildly surprised, but she found herself nodding and accepting the information at face value. Histoire left the mercenary alone and hovered back towards the unlocked crate. There was something else in the crate, partially buried under the hay.

"Engineer, I see something else buried in there." Histoire called out, but the mercenary didn't respond. "Engineer?"

The Oracle turned around and saw the texan staring at Medic - his hat more specifically - the flames of the doctor's headwear attracted Engineer's eyes… like moths to the flame. Histoire was quickly reminded who she was dealing with.

Engineer's vision was slowly filled with Histoire as she flew close to his face, looking a bit annoyed. This got the mercenary snap out of his daze.

"Ah, what? Uhh? What did you say, Histoire? Brains?"

Histoire pointed at the crate. "I saw something buried in the hay, could you please check it out?"

It took a moment for Engineer to register it at first... then he outright teleported to the crate. "Two items?!" The texan shouted. What kind of jackpot did they hit?! A high-grade unusual and an additional loot? "Well I'll be damned…" Engineer pulled out the object from the crate. It looked like some sort of grappling hook. The cover was olive green colored while what appeared to be the reel was dirty yellow.

Engineer suddenly fired it and the hook embedded itself in the wall of the Basilicom, a thick red cable leading all the way connecting it to the base of the grappling hook. The merc was suddenly pulled towards the hook.

"Whoa, woah!"

The hook suddenly detached itself and Engineer rammed his shoulder against the wall. There was a brief, silent moment as both mercs looked at one another with their mouths slowly turning into a grin. Histoire awaited the upcoming hype as both mercenaries exclaimed.

"Grappling hooks!"

Engineer and Medic started yelling from excitement, prompting Histoire to cover her ears. Engineer started to wildly aim the grappling hook and launch himself in several directions. Medic and Histoire followed the texan with their eyes, the former laughing cheerily at the sight while the latter quickly got annoyed as the mercs was ruining her office.

As if to make matters more chaotic the doors suddenly sprung open and IF with Compa stepped in. "Hello Histoire- Woah! Ah! M-Medic! Your hat is on fire!"

Medic turned towards the voice only to see Compa holding a bucket, water already coming towards his face.

Engineer and Histoire stared at the German in shock. The flames on Team Captain flickered for a moment before reigniting back to life.

…

Medic sat on his knees in front of Histoire, his head cast down.

"I'm sorry for raising my hand against my apprentice."

Histoire nodded and shifted her gaze towards Engineer. The texan removed his hard hat and pressed it close to his chest.

"I'm sorry for going wild with the Grappling Hook."

The Oracle's gaze traveled towards Compa. She leaning on a crutch and was shaking like she would lose her balance at any moment. Her left arm was in a cast, and her right leg was wrapped in a bloodied bandage. She also two black eyes that she covered them with a blindfold made out of bandages.

'Raising his hand' was an understatement. What they saw was a murder attempt.

"I-I-I'm sorry for th-throwing a bucket of water at Mr. Medic."

Histoire will think of an appropriate punishment for Medic later. For now her gaze traveled towards the brunette Guild agent.

"...I didn't do anything." IF shrugged.

A bone-chilling scream went through the Basilicom.

Scout moaned and took a single step towards a woman. "Braaaains…" The merc drawled out, reaching out towards his victim. The Basilicom worker went pale as a living corpse slowly shuffled towards her. With each step that Scout took towards her, the woman dragged her away from him.

"Give me your braaaains." Scout said in a deep tone, spooking the woman further.

"G-G-Get away!" She kicked her legs at him but those missed by a wide margin.

Scout leaned into one of her kicks and she kicked him in the shoulder. The undead mercenary fell onto the floor, unmoving. For a brief uneventful moment the hallways of Basilicom were quiet, the only source of sound was the woman's panicked breath.

Then Scout started moving again.

"Braaaaains!" He moaned, dragging himself towards the terrified woman. With a loud shriek she stood up and ran towards the doors, slamming them shut. With the victim of the prank gone Scout wrapped his hands around his stomach and started laughing, at the same time Ram fell from her hiding spot and laughed too.

Rom stepped out of her own hiding spot while the merc and the CPU Candidate were sprawled on the ground, deep in their amusement.

"That wasn't funny, she was really scared." Rom complained.

"It's- It was- It was just a prank, Rom." Ram said. Still lying on the ground the CPU Candidate turned her head towards Scout. "You make a good zombie, Scout."

Scout gave her a thumbs up. "That's right, girl! I'm the best zombie around. So what do you two wanna do now?"

Scout just noticed that Ram's hat have fell off and it was lying between him and her, Ram noticed it too. She looked at it and then at Scout, gear in her head turning. Her mind screamed 'No!' and she sprung to retrieve her headwear, but Scout was faster.

"Haaaaats." The merc moaned in deep voice, holding Ram's headwear above his own head.

"Hey, it's my hat! Give it back!" Ram complained, reaching out to retrieve her precious cosmetic but the height difference was too great between them. The pink-clad twin pouted when she realized she won't get her hat back.

Then Scout placed his own hat on her head.

"You're Scout now, kiddo!" The merc pointed finger guns at her.

His hat and headphones were too big for her. The hat covered her eyes and headphones were on her cheeks instead on her ears. Ram readjusted her new headwear as best as she could and gave the merc the most intimidating glare she could muster… which just made her look adorable.

"And I'm… gonna be Ram." Said 'Ram' as he placed Ram's hat on his head, careful to not stretch it out and destroy it. He basically put it on top of his head without fitting it. If Ram was tall enough, or if she had her staff, she could easily swat it out of his head.

"But I'm Ram! You don't even have a name!" Ram shouted.

Scout winced. Children's brutal honesty. It hurt.

Then the doors that the woman has ran away through opened again, and Mina peeked out of the doorframe. "Is anyone- oh." She saw the Twins and Zombie!Scout. Ram and Scout looked like a deer caught in the headlights while Rom was surprised as well, although to lower degree.

"Hello, Miss Nishizawa." Scout greeted politely.

"Hi, Mina." Both twins greeted.

"Hello girls." Mina sighed. "Could you please stop pranking the staff. That includes you too, Scout."

"But Mina he's a zombie! And it's Halloween!" Ram argued. "How could we not scare some people during Halloween! That's what Halloween is about!"

"Even so, after we're done all three of you will apologize to her. Am I clear?" Mina said. A dangerous glare gleamed in her eyes, promising an unholy punishment if her demands weren't met. Rom and Ram were immediately petrified, and Scout was very quickly losing his resolve and confidence.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"O-Okay!"

"F-Fine."

With their agreement Mina freed them from her glare and gave them a smile. Scout found himself be able to breathe again, and he quickly sucked some air while his heart beat rapidly. Despite years of fighting in a war and experiencing countless deaths, a simple glare from the Oracle of Leanbox sent the battle-hardened mercenary into near-panic state.

"Anyway, Scout." The merc in question paled as Mina addressed him again. "Why are you wearing Ram's hat? And why is she wearing yours?"

"Uhhm… emm…" He racked his brain for an excuse, while Mina's gaze bore holes in his resolve. In Mina's eyes, it would be an easy task for Scout to take Ram's hat without asking. So when she saw him wearing it, and when she recalled hearing Ram shouting something, she put two and two together and gave the merc five seconds to explain himself before she would send him through the Re;Spawn System.

...Not literally of course.

But as she saw Scout being unable to think up an excuse, the Oracle grew suspicious.

"We traded!" Ram suddenly shouted. "We just traded our hats for a little while. That's what these guys are doing when they have time, right?"

Scout inwardly praised this small, adorable and awesome kid for giving him an excuse to avoid the wrath of a woman. "Y-Yeah! I'm Ram now!"

"And I'm Scout! Woohoohoo!" The Candidate laughed in her best Scout impression.

...The Oracle saw through their BS. She knew Scout took Ram's hat without her permission, otherwise she wouldn't be shouting. But because Ram didn't want to actually get Scout into trouble she was covering for him.

...It amazed her how quickly she grew into liking him, and honestly she was a little scared about it. Having a mass murderer and serial killer being friends with Ram and Rom filled her with dread. What if he or Pyro, snapped and harmed her girls? While she would admit that Scout was decent at a few times, Pyro was unstable and could flip at any moment. It was one huge red flag when even its own teammates were afraid of it.

But simply banning them from seeing Ram and Rom wouldn't be so easy, not when Ram liked Scout enough to cover for him.

"I see… Remember to find that woman you've pranked and apologize to her." With that Mina walked away and closed the doors behind her.

Scout released a deep sigh of relief as he felt weight coming off him. Disaster averted, thanks to Lil' Scout next to him. "Thanks, Scout." The merc reached his fist out to her, and Ram fisted bumped him with a grin.

"You owe me, pal."

Scout chunkled and fistbumped Rom as well, with her sister doing the same.

Nepgear wasn't sure where Neptune was taking her. She knew it would be about that whole 'getting used to dying' thing but… Brightly colored blocks surrounded them, making the Candidate's eyes hurt. There wasn't even a sign of snow around them, as if they had left Lowee.

Did Neptune have to drag them all the way to the World Labyrinth?

Lowee's Mascot was held in her sister's hands, as she merrily walked through the dungeon while whistling a happy tune. The song put Nepgear slightly at ease, but she knew what will be coming next. She silently followed Neptune's lead.

There weren't any monsters nor ASIC standing in their way, so it wasn't long before Neptune reached a dead end. That didn't stop the CPU though, Neptune pushed a wall next to them - with the wall easily moving aside - and revealed a hidden chamber; a big open space with nothing inside but more colorful blocks. Neptune hummed delightfully as she saw it.

"It looks exactly as I remembered it. You were really taking care of this place, weren't cha?"

"I was. Thank you for returning me, Neptune." The Mascot said as it flew out of her arms and onto the center of the chamber.

"Ah, it's fine." Neptune dismissed her. "But could you do me a favor and leave me and my sister alone for a moment? We have a talk and we would like to have some privacy."

"I shall grant you your wish. Until later then."

The Mascot vanished, leaving both CPU and Candidate alone in her chamber. Words caught up in Nepgear's words as Neptune turned towards her, then she was surprised when her sister simply walked past her and closed the doors.

Sealed from the inside, just two of them and with no one knowing where they are. Neptune released a weathered sigh as she for the first time addressed her own sister.

"Sooo…" The CPU drawled out, hoping that her brain will figure out a next step. "It's just you… and me… now. Nep Jr."

"Y-Yeah." Nepgear awkwardly agreed, scratching the back of her hair.

"...It's funny. I don't even know how to start this, and I can't even make fun of this scene because we really really need to talk about what happened in that last fight. About you almost dying and then shrugging it off while saying 'It's not the first time it happened.'"

Nepgear was silent while Neptune took her hand and said.

"So Nepgear… are you really okay?"

...

…

"I am."

Neptune's brows furrowed at Nepgear's response, but the CPU said nothing because her sister continued. "It was scary at first, but Compa, IF and the mercenaries helped me. You see, I actually have a condition; if I take too much damage during HDD then my transformation will stop, I'll get a heart attack and die a moment later… slowly and painfully."

"W-Wow…" Neptune breathed out. "Does Histy know?"

"Our every friend knows." Nepgear nodded. "Histoire and Medic searched for a cure, but they couldn't find any. Medic did recommend me to exercise, and I do those regularly, but they don't help. It still happens."

Neptune forced herself to swallow and then wrapped her hands around her sister, slowly patting her back as the candidate recounted the past events.

"This is actually how I died. During a fight with a viral monster I got injured. While everyone focused on the monster, my HDD suddenly turned off and my heart started to hurt. It was scary, painful and I couldn't move." Neptune tightened her hug, letting Nepgear know that she was here for her. "Before anyone realized I was already dead."

Neptune felt a huge urge to break this serious atmosphere, but for the first time in her life she fought it off. Not here, not when it was her own sister.

"But then I found myself back in the Mercs' Hotel. Their Re;Spawn system worked and I was brought back to life. I was in such shock that I didn't even register it until Engineer snapped me out of it. We talked, he shared his own experiences with me and then he let me play with his buildings."

Nepgear's mouth curled into a smile.

"It was really fun, Neptune! Did you know that the Sentry Gun's ammo is actually assembled inside the gun? This is why it can hold so much ammunition, by storing them in smaller parts and then reassembling them just before they're fired!"

"Huh? I didn't know that? Oh! How do the teleporters work?"

"...I still haven't figured it out yet. And Engineer told me it's a family secret."

"Aw bummer." Neptune chuckled and soon Nepgear joined her as well. "Maybe I should try? I bet with my charisma I could get him to spill the beans in no time!" The CPU bragged, patting her chest.

Nepgear snorted and then propped herself against the wall, her eyes glanced towards the reddish sky. "I think it's going to be night soon, should we head back?"

"Nah, it's fine." Neptune sat next to Nepgear, arms behind her head. "We can spend some more time before heading back."

Silence fell between them as Neptune watched the clouds move in the sky, Nepgear also watched the same clouds as her, but the Candidate's mind was deep in thought.

"You know… I was really afraid back there." Neptune said. "I thought this is going to be a fight like any other I faced but then, lo and behold, you almost died and I finally realized why this work has M rating. So, Nep Jr. How do you feel with… all of this?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, you just told me that you died but came back from death. That means there's no plot armor for you. I want to know if you're scared or something."

Neptune waited for her sister to answer. For her it was… worrying that her own little sister had to experience something like her own death, and she wasn't there for her. But Neptune was also proud of her for being strong and moving past that.

"I'm… not scared, Neptune. Like I said, I'm fine, I have my friends to rely on, and there's also Blanc, you and the mercenaries for me too."

"Oh my sis, you said that like I'm not your friend. You wound my heart!" The CPU of Planeptune said, flinching and holding her chest as if injured.

"N-No! It's not like that!" Nepgear stammered but Neptune chuckled at her embarrassment.

"Hehehe, I'm just teasing you." She winked.

"Aww… don't scare me like that."

Neptune stood up and dusted off her hoodie. "Well, if you're feeling fine then that's all I wanted to hear. Thanks for tell me all of this." The CPU reached out to her younger sister and pulled her to her feet. "Just be careful, alright? The author here pulls out all stops, so I don't want to see you losing your limbs again… or worse."

"I'm… going to try."

"Good. Then let's go back to Lowee." Neptune turned towards the exit and took a step… before turning back out. "Ah right!" The CPU jogged towards the centre of the chamber, leaving the Candidate confused.

"Hey, Mascot. Could you make a copy of yourself? We might need your help defeating Arfoire and rescuing the other CPUs."

"As you wish, here."

A small light slowly flew to Neptune's hands, once it got close enough the light expanded and Neptune held a perfect copy of Lowee's Mascot. The CPU examined the disc as the original Mascot continued speaking.

"This copy is weaker than me, but it should serve your needs."

"Yup! This is what we need. Thanks for that and goodbye! We're leaving."

"Farewell Neptune. I'll be staying here to keep the rest of the Killachines away from Lowee."

Her words sent chills to Nepgear's spine. There were more Killachines than those they fought in Lowee?

"W-Wait… there are more of these things?" Nepgear asked.

"Yup. There's probably like… 700?" Neptune put her arms behind her head.

"731 Killachines are currently roaming Lowee's lands. That wizard managed to teleport only 15 of those before I stopped him."

Nepgear's eyes widened and her jaw went loose. Neptune laughed as her sister did her fish impression. The CPU put her hand on Nepgear's shoulder and started dragging her out of the chamber.

"Let's go home, Nepgear!"

Back in Lowee they were met with a surprising sight. A fully decorated city of Lowee. Scary statues and pumpkin jacks were put along the streets, giving it an eerie vibe at night. Bats flew around the city, created and upheld by magic of the land. The windows on fruit and veggie-shaped buildings were replaced with creepy shapes, creating house-sized jack-o-lanterns as if that wasn't enough.

"How long have we been out? Lowee was ruined when we left." Nepgear asked.

"Well, they do work quick." Neptune shrugged and looked at the people roaming the streets. Everyone was in costume and the kids were already going from house to house and collecting candy. Neptune even spotted a few actual monsters roaming the streets… however no one was bothered by their presence and the monster didn't attack anyone, so they're probably chill.

"Hey, Nepgear!"

The Candidate and CPU of Planeptune turned around, seeing two kids and two men coming towards them. Neptune's eyes widened as she saw their costumes. Ram was wearing a red t-shirt, duffel bag and a hat, and she also had a baseball bat.

Rom was wearing Pyro's suit, minus the mask. She also had an Axtinguisher made out of foam. It was adorable.

Pyro… was Pyro. No change there.

But their attention was on Scout and Neptune burst in laughter as she saw his costume. He still had green skin and glowing eyes, but he also took Demoman's Cool Breeze* and painted it pink, grabbed a Cool Cat Cardigan (also painted pink) and also Ram's hat.

He was a Zombie!Scout cosplaying as Ram.

And Ram was cosplaying Scout.

has stopped working.

is dying.

"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" Neptune outright collapsed on the ground, clutching her stomach. Scout's expression clearly shown that he knew how he looked and didn't care one bit, it was for the kids. The mercenary turned towards the Candidate and grinned at her dumbfounded expression.

"Hi, Gear!" Scout nodded at her, Pyro also waved from behind him.

"W-What?"

Ram walked up to the still laughing Neptune and poked her with her baseball bat.

"Why are you two not in costumes? It's Halloween! C'mon, Neptune!"

The CPU finally found strength to stand up, but she kept glancing at Scout's ridiculous costume and taking amusement from it.

"S-Sorry, s-sorry. The two of us just had some things to deal with and we didn't have any time." Neptune said evenly, trying her best not to laugh as hard again. "Great costume, by the way!" She sent a thumb up at Scout.

"I know, right?" Scout returned a thumb up.

"Did you see Blanc?" Rom asked softly.

Neptune raised her gaze and she pointed behind them, not even attempting to hold her amused expression. The Twins followed where she was pointing and yes there was the CPU of Lowee… drunk as hell and being carried off on Heavy's shoulders. Heavy was still in his Grand Duchess costume.

Halloween has officially started.

With a drunk CPU and a crossdressing mercenary.

Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

idunnohowtonameit,docx

*I know Cool Breeze is not paintable but I don't care. Just try to imagine Scout in pink dress parading as Ram.

This took long, mainly because I couldn't bring myself into the flow when writing this chapter, so writing it took long. Then when I was finished and was about to edit it, I got a job and it drained my time and energy. This means that uploads are probably going to come slower as I have a job now.

I know I said I'll do some Halloween shenanigans in this chapter, but I couldn't think off any ideas… hopefully this will satisfy you.

And before and of you ask, Crow is Qrow from RWBY. I was in the mood so I put him there as a subtle reference.

Stuff below is pretty important for the future:

So I gave it some actual thought on what to do next, as in what to do once I finish this fanfic. Previously I said I was going to go to Army and then write my book after my service… but that plan is out. No army and book is postponed for later… when I get a bit more experience and experiment with some of the concepts I want there.

Which means after Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract I'm write 1-2 more projects. The question is 'what kind of project?' The obvious choice here would be the prequel and sequel to this story, but I got ideas (some of those I even wrote on my Google Drive!) for other projects.

The main contesters here are:

The sequel and prequel to this story - While some of you were more interested in a sequel than Samuel-focused prequel, I have some unfortunate news. To make the sequel work I would have to write the prequel first, as all of my ideas for sequel rely on stuff that would be introduced over there.

-:-:-

A RWBY OC/I fanfic - ...Have any of you read a Neptunia fanfic 'Goddesses Save The Queen' by Good Old Hoxton? It would have the same concept as the mentioned fanfic; Earth found a way to cross dimensions, they sent 200 people to Remnant, shit happens because of it. This story would also allow me to test the most concepts I was planning for my own book.

-:-:-

And lastly… an idea I'm most hyped and most afraid off. XCOM / Touhou crossover - Stardust and XCOM: RWBY Within inspired project - I have tons, tons of ideas for this: From the upgrades that XCOM could get from researching Youkais, to special missions ideas and I even have a big plot twist at the ending. But with all of that stuff I fear I'll end up writing another behemoth like RED-Contract.

I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to stick with fanfictions a little longer, and after RED-Contract you're going to see one of those three popping up… unless something else catches my attention.

And another thing:

Now that I have income, I was thinking about spending some of it for a cover art. However I can't find an artist that would write back to me, so if you have any suggestions on who should I ask, or if you want to draw it yourself, them PM me.

Responses:

Boomerito

You know, everyone is too tall for those bumper cars (except Rom and Ram). Have you looked closely how the mercs drive these things?

Doom King of Latveria

Thanks for review, but I don't really have anything to say to you.

YORCHspartan117

If you set up an account we could talk back-and-forth via PM, instead being forced to communicate like this.

Magnavox could prevent you from traveling between universes for any reason she has, but most of the time she's pretty chill about it. NEO Hyper Dimension is a special case though.

The Killachines' words were actually taken from Beaglerush Highlights 2. Go watch the whole series, it's hilarious.

...I didn't really think of making them T-pose, but now that you pointed it out I cry because that would be a great idea.

kerrowe

Well… you're going to wait a long time for a sequel, if I even write it. But if I write anything else I promise I'll make this interesting, you can trust me on that.

- Harmless Orange