Hyperdimensional Ralph

Chapter 4: Welcome to Planeptune

Neptune, Ralph, and company finally set foot on Gamindustri. The landmass of Planeptune, to be exact.

A bright, futuristic landscape, dominated by shades of purple and silver, greets the saviors of Litwak's Arcade. For certain, this type of place has never been encountered by them before – so they just simply drop their jaws at the amazing sights, except for Calhoun, who just smirked while keeping herself on full alert for any possible sign of danger.

"Well..." Nepgear declares, "...why don't we introduce you to our oracle, Histoire?"

Vanellope replies, "So... the thing you call an oracle... is kinda like a vice-president or something?"

Nepgear enthusiastically agrees.

The administrative seat of Planeptune and the home of Neptune and Nepgear – Neptower. This is the place the entire group heads to.

Upon arriving at the sisters' abode inside Neptower, Neptune immediately contacts Histoire via the answering machine.

"Histy, we're home! Sorry if Nep Jr. and I made you worry."

A calm yet authoritative girl's voice resonates in the machine. "No worries, Neptune. Your investigation of the mysterious subway platform has ultimately proven our hunch that no harmful monsters come out of it."

"Anyway, we've found out that this platform leads to another world," Nepgear follows, "and that we've gathered some of its citizens to meet you as a gesture of camaraderie."

"Is that so, Nepgear?" Histoire replies. "Then, please give me three minutes to prepare."

"Three minutes?" Ralph asks.

"Of course, our oracle has to tidy everything up before a big meeting. It would be disrespectful to you if we all gather in a messy room," Compa answers.

Three minutes pass, and the door to the main chamber where the CPU, CPU Candidate, and the oracle officially hold their business opens.

Before Ralph, Felix, Vanellope, and Calhoun lies a fairy sitting above a floating book.

"Welcome to the land of Planeptune, foreigners from another world. My name is Histoire, oracle of Planeptune. Officially, I am second in command to the Console Patron Unit, Neptune, and the CPU Candidate, Nepgear."

While Histoire explains her role and duties, Vanellope secretly giggles at what she sees. She then whispers to herself, "A fairy who's smaller than me, ruling over such a huge land? You gotta be kidding me!"

Ralph notices her giggling. He whispers to her, "You hypocrite! You're small like her, and you have the gall to mock her ability to rule?! Some spoiled brat you are!"

By that time, the oracle finishes her introduction. "Now that I have introduced myself, please take the time to introduce yourselves. Furthermore, please do not hesitate to explain what the world you came from is all about."

A couple of seconds pass, and the introductions from Ralph and co. begin. The four state their names, their roles, their games of origin, and how they become buddies in the midst of a crisis that they eventually resolved themselves.

Histoire reacts, "So to make your long stories short, our world of Gamindustri is now connected to the arcade where you came from. I find your stories very credible; because if they are not, it would take me three years to fully complete an investigation into your world."

"What's with your fascination with the number three, flying fairy?" Calhoun cuts in. "Who are you kidding, 'bravely default' warriors like me?"

"Hey Sarge," IF interrupts, "That's how Histoire does business. Deal with it."

The female sergeant just smirks while Histoire continues, "Now, Neptune and Nepgear. Show our visitors the whole of Planeptune. And to Ralph, Felix, Vanellope, and Calhoun, may you all have a wonderful stay in Gamindustri. When you come back here from this upcoming guided tour, I will not hesitate to let you explore the three other landmasses with Neptune and Nepgear. You will meet the three other Console Patron Units, their respective CPU Candidates, and my fellow oracles."

"Thanks for the introduction, Histoire", Felix says. "We won't be bothering you any further, and we're sure we'll have a good time here in Gamindustri!"

"Well then..." Histoire smiles. "Have a safe journey, you all!"

"Later, Histy!" Neptune bids farewell as the entire group leaves the chamber for a guided tour of Planeptune.

The whole posse checks out Planeptune's several attractions, like a convention hall full of cosplayers, a radio station where various programs such as one hosted by a certain idol and a hard-hitting public service program are being aired, and a park full of attractions such as a dancing fountain, children's playgrounds, and a casino frequented by military personnel.

On the way out of the park, the posse chances upon a virtual billboard featuring a certain blue hedgehog. The hedgehog's reminder?

"Enjoy your life while you can, because you will never know when you will regenerate."

Ralph's interest is piqued. "Hey... doesn't he look like...?"

IF replies, "Lawyer-friendly cameos, remember?"

While Neptune, Ralph and company continue their tour of Planeptune...

Linda and Pirachu finally decide to go with their plan of leaving their piracy-enabling chips behind and "coming clean".

But then, a swarm of neon-green insects, the Cy-Bugs, are about to attack the two criminals.

"Hmph. Now we have to deal with worthless insects?!" Linda reacts.

"We may have been defeated by those girls, chu," Pirachu replies. "But these insects seem to be weak, chu."

As the swarm prepares to attack the two, Linda brings out her pipe, and Pirachu steels his own body for combat.

In a matter of minutes, the entire swarm is eliminated. The criminals gasp for breath, but at least they won this battle.

"Ha-ha! Who needs puny pea-shooters when we can fight those bugs mano-a-mano? Now let's get outta here before anyone else knows of this," Linda declares as she and the mouse immediately leave Hero's Duty.

"Halt! Who goes there?!"

This is the declaration of Game Central Station's sentinel, the Surge Protector, as he immediately pops up in front of the two criminals at the gate between the game and the station.

"Uhh... W-We're just ordinary game characters visiting Hero's Duty, hehe," Linda nervously answers.

"But I noticed that when you entered Hero's Duty, you carried a suspicious sack. What're the contents of the sack, anyway? And why did you leave it behind?"

Pirachu then answers, "T-They're just ordinary memory modules, chu. We found out that t-they have manufacturing defects, so w-we had to dispose of this e-waste properly, chu."

"Hmph," the Surge Protector replied. "I'm gonna let you two off on this one. But next time, don't treat Hero's Duty as a dumpsite, especially not for infamously horrible games."

As Linda and Pirachu are given the clearance by the Surge Protector, the previous battle has its aftermath – green goo from dead Cy-Bugs seeping into the exposed piracy chips. As the chips absorb the goo, they glow the same color as the Cy-Bugs they absorbed.

"Regeneration" takes on a whole new meaning.