Title Card: Digital World Crisis
Giant Monster in The World Neo-Axis! Smaller Monsters are spawning in and are getting drawn into the big one!
Toshu: Why are there Monsters here!?
Shaft: I-I don't know, but Monsters are supposed to appear wherever people are, so...
Cerastium: So not even a virtual gathering is safe!?
reXer: The big one is starting to move!
The Monster is very slowly coming this way! Towards the port city, specifically.
MC: Oh no! Aren't the NPCs...
Flashback
Giansar: I stuck Justice and a bunch of other heroes I took out offscreen into the NPCs.
Present
Giansar: Yeah. At least half of them have heroes in them.
reXer: But they can't fight like that!
Cerastium: OH NO
MC: We have to do something!
Giansar thinks as he stares at his windows.
Toshu: He's up to something! No funny movements.
Giansar: I'm just checking something, gawd.
Window: Error! Log out unavailable.
Beepbeepbeepbeep.
Giansar: Goddammit, I'm stuck too. The Monsters have already invaded over half of the system.
Toshu: You stop what you're doing and answer our questions. First, do you know what's going to happen?
Giansar: ...I'm guessing Monsters turned up inside the game's server room and somehow they were able to invade the consciousness conversion system. And in doing so they damaged the controls.
reXer: ...so, the Monsters have taken over the game?
Giansar: Far as I can tell, yeah.
Cerastium: I have a question too. What would happen if a Monster ate us here?
Giansar: It's only our minds in here, but if you get eaten here you'd probably never wake up.
Toshu: Oh...
Giansar: The heroes still around are taking action. Fighting still works, but...they're getting pushed back.
Party: >:(
Giansar: Stop looking at me like that, it's not my fault. They're just outnumbered, and they would be even if I hadn't been doing my thing.
reXer: Stop talking like you aren't affected by this, you're stuck here too!
Giansar: ...yeah, I didn't mean for that to happen. But yeah, we gotta destroy the Monsters in here and the ones outside the game before shit gets bad.
MC: ...why, what would happen?
Giansar: We all get eaten and the game breaks, and then none of us are coming back probably.
reXer: !! (sweats)
Toshu: We better get to work then.
MC: We have to do something!
Cerastium: Yeah!
Shaft: I don't know how the logout block works, but I do know we can fight against the Monsters!
Toshu: Our backs are up against the wall here.
reXer: (stares, then clenches fist in determination)
reXer: I'll fight too!
Cerastium: reXer! But...
reXer: Yeah, I'm not a hero and there's no guarantee this avatar works against Monsters. But I wanna help somehow! I don't want Monsters to eat Dad for a second time!
MC: Okay, let's do what we can together!
reXer: Yeah! I'm a cyber hero, so I better show what I can do here!
Giansar: ...I'm coming too.
Toshu: What are you plotting?
Giansar: ...nothing. I can be embarrassed about what I did too. But more importantly I don't want to go down like a useless chump against the Monsters. (stares at Giant Monster)
Giansar: Far as I can tell...that thing's the cause of all our system problems. It's probably acting like a giant security hole.
reXer: Oh! If it's the central processing system we might be able to fix the game program with it!
Giansar: Yeah, but that involves getting within that thing's reach. I can handle fixing things, but I need time with them not attacking me while I'm at it.
Toshu: How very convenient for you.
Giansar: Think whatever you want, but I'm not plotting anything. I'm not dying to retgone here, and I doubt you guys want to either. You don't have anyone else better for the job than me. Make your choice.
MC: ...let's give him a chance.
reXer: ...MC.
Shaft: ...Giansar, we just settled our fight with you earlier, so now...let's work together for the time being.
Toshu: We're all in the same boat, huh? Well if he's not lying, we can assign some of the work of solving this to him at least.
Giansar: This is why you heroes suck...whatever, you better not waste me if we're doing this. We're using each other to the fullest.
MC: Okay, gimme your hand! / Temporary teamwork / Whatever it takes to live
Cerastium: (stares)
Giansar: ...what?
Cerastium: ...I can't accept what you did to everyone or your philosophy.
Giansar: Makes sense.
Cerastium: But...
Flashback
The Disrespect of Not Even Giving This Bestie a Name: Maybe justice is complicated. Maybe there's more than one kind of justice.
Present
Cerastium: My justice isn't simply. I may deny your actions, but I can't just deny your thoughts. So, I'll work with you to survive this and figure out my justice.
Giansar: You naive girl.
Cerastium: I'm knocking you out if you try any funny business though.
Giansar: Oh, is that what you really think? Whatever.
Cerastium: My name is Cerastium. Let's work together.
Giansar: ...yeah.
Later
Giansar: Okay, I'm going to try hacking the program. You guys fight off the Monsters.
And so the party starts heading towards the big boss Monster.
Later again
Monsters: SCREEE
MC: Here they come, Ceras! / reXer, you're up! / Shaft, go!
(A) Cerastium: Shields can bash too you know!
(B) reXer: I can do this! I still have Dad's weapon! (bonk) Oh my god it worked!
(C) Shaft: Okay! Summer Rugby Charge!
The Monsters get blown away!
Toshu: Dammit, there's still more of them!
Giansar: ...there's like 150-200 of them here. And they'll keep spawning if they aren't taken care of! But the other heroes still around are fighting, so they aren't spawning in that fast.
It's snowing Monsters!
Cerastium: How awful. I wonder what's happening offline?
reXer: Hey Giansar, you getting anywhere with your analysis?
Giansar: ...yeah, I can work anywhere. But I can't close the security hole from here at the moment.
Toshu: You lied to us!?
Giansar: Let me finish, dammit. But anyways, I've confirmed the Monsters's infiltration route is centered on the big one. It's parasitized the core program so it's a core itself and pulling in more Monsters. We take it out, we can get control back which means logout will work again and we can get rid of the other Monsters.
Shaft: ...so, we HAVE to fight it.
Toshu: It's big, so it's going to be tough.
reXer: (frowns)
MC: You okay?
reXer: ...I'm going up against something I've only seen before, so I guess I am a little afraid. But... (glares)
reXer: I can't back now, and I probably never could have. But the cyber hero of justice reXer wouldn't run here. Dad would solve any cyber world problem since that was his justice, and I'm his heir!
Cerastium: (gasps)
Giansar: (snorts and looks at his windows again) Whatever. I'm doing my part, you do yours so we'll live through this.
reXer: !! Giansar...
Giansar: Move your feet, slowpoke.
MC: Yeah! We're all making it through this!
Giansar: (keeps typing on his cyber console)
Shaft: ...we should get going.
Toshu: Right.
And so the party continues again.
Giansar gets distracted for a second when he looks at the party.
Giansar: ...what the hell am I saying about "you guys do your part"? I'm really working with heroes now...? After all I did...?
Flashback!
Clerk: Sorry, you failed the license test.
Later on
Giansar: How the fuck did I fail and those chumps pass!? What don't I have that they do!?
Totally Not Vulpecula: Wow you got skills. Why didn't they recognize that? Why does the world let incompetent heroes do whatever they want?
Giansar: Yeah! It's the world that sucks! I'm awesome at what I do!
Totally Not Vulpecula: You should change the world. And by change I mean destroy.
Giansar: What? ...hmmmm.
Present
Giansar: >:C (distracted by the angry)
reXer: Giansar!
Giansar snaps out of it and looks at reXer looking hard at him.
reXer: ...we're counting on you.
Giansar: ...shit. (starts working again) ...only for now until we survive.
Giansar notices something in the logs.
Giansar: What?
Later
The party has reached the top of some hill and made it to the giant Monster raining more Monsters from the sky!
reXer: Here it comes!
Toshu: First strike!
Toshu dodges the Monster's attack and strikes back! Except...
Toshu: Whoa, that's tough!
Monster: REEEE
Toshu: Oh no! (pow) OOF
Shaft: Toshu! Dammit, it's too big for me to keep up with my support!
Toshu has been launched into midair!
MC: The smaller ones are coming! Get ready!
reXer: Gamer Power Swing!
reXer mows down the Monsters!
Cerastium: There's no end to them! (swings shield)
Shaft: We just need to take out the big one...!
Monster: SCREEEE
Shaft: Oh no the big one is attacking! Dodge everyone!
reXer: You say that like it's easy! (pow) AAAAAA
Shaft: OH NO, REXER
reXer got hit because he was slowed down by the small Monsters.
reXer: Urgh...is this...how strong Monsters are...?
MC: reXer, you okay!? You ate that head on, but Shaft caught you!
reXer: S-somehow...
The Monsters keep spawning in and regaining their balance!
Toshu: We're deeply disadvantaged...
Shaft: It feels like there's even more of them now.
Cerastium: We can't even get close enough to attack the big one!
Shaft: And the small ones keep attacking!
reXer: ...we can't give up. I can't let this world...or Dad...disappear!
Toshu: Keep fighting!
The pressure is getting to the party...
MC: Need! Some sort of! Turnaround!
Suddenly!
Giansar: Execute program!
Giansar's voice yells out from monitors in front of the party! The small Monsters bug up with noise and disappear! The large one starts bugging up too as it screams.
Cerastium: ...wait, what?
Toshu: What's happening?
Giansar: Heh, it worked.
MC: Giansar! What's happening?
Gainsar: I can't close the hole, but I did find a way to shrink it. Doing that caused all this to happen.
Shaft: Your analysis worked!
Giansar: Not entirely. Big guy's still the cause of all our problems, so we still have to kill it. It should be easier to take him down now.
reXer: What do you mean?
Giansar: I threw together a network link to hack its stats down.
reXer: Just now? In real time??
Giansar: ANYWAYS I brought its defenses to the lowest point, so you guys should be able to beat it if you go all together.
Cerastium: Um, Giansar!
Giansar: Don't forget I'm doing this so I survive! I need to live long enough to make sure my life meant something.
MC: What?
Giansar: ...I don't want you guys to win, but I will do anything to find the meaning of my life, whatever it is. And I'll show no mercy to anyone....I'll do my part, you guys do yours.
Shaft: Giansar...
Giansar: Hmph. I'm going to keep taking the big one's data apart. You guys destroy it when it's cut off from the system. Don't fall behind...
MC: ...right! Let's go, everybody!
reXer: ...yeah! I swear to save this world on my Dad's name and deeds!
Monster: REEEE
The buggy Monster turns towards the party. It readies to strike, but the party gets ready to fight back!
Cerastium: Here it comes!
Shaft: It's do or die time! Let's work together!
Toshu: Yes! We will win and return alive!
BATTLE START
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