I slowly awake, still inside the cell that had been installed within the bunker I had found just years earlier. And he was still outside, working at my computer. Then his assistant walked in front of the cage door.
"Still not going to tell us how you managed to do this?" She asked, her dark eyes lowered in annoyance. "Or am I going to have to beat you again?" My heart skipped a beat as the gashes on my back continued to hurt.
"I'm never going to tell you..." I say, glaring daggers at her. Her smirk returns as she produces the originally white baseball bat, which was now a crimson. I could feel myself growing weaker, as the little shares I had were going back to the goddesses. Then my vision turned red as I reached the first critical point. The point at which my DNA would start tearing apart.
"Shit! The goddesses found us! We gotta go!" The man said abruptly while quickly standing. "You win this time..." The woman says, as they both leave. Then the roof caved and the four goddesses stood in the center of the room. But the people were long gone. Then two other girls appeared.
"Neppy! In the cell!" They could surely see the blood. Within seconds the door was blown from the hinges and the girls quickly ran in. The one with a trench coat was attempting to unlock my shackles. I then felt my arms fall and I fell to my side. Everyone was looking at me, seemingly concerned. I then felt a prick in my left arm... the human one.
"That... won't... work..." I sputter out as my skin feels on fire. "He is in intense pain..." The CPU White heart spoke. "Need...sharicite...locker... 986..." I tell them as I feel the dry heaving starting. Normally by now I'd be puking everything in my stomach up... but the bastards didn't feed me.
"Sharicite? Is he... the thief?" The orange haired girl then brings back the sharicite, although it was much less than I remember. Still, it would help. She hands it to me, which I then sit up and open the latch on my right arm. I insert the sharicite into the open slot for it.
I instantly feel relief go through my body as I lean back against the wall, my skins color returning. "Thank... thank you..." I say as I still feel somewhat shaky from the whole experience. "I hate when I get that low..."
"I assume you'll answer our questions?" Black heart asks. "Jeez Noire, as pushy as ever I see, still not helping you with your friend problem." Noire huh? "Shut up Neptune!" She replies angrily. "Yes... I'll answer any questions you have to the best of my ability." I say, stopping their bickering.
"Are you the one who's been stealing our shares?" Neptune asks. I lower my head in shame. "Yes..." I reply. "That's a capital offense for all citizens." White heart says, a weapon appearing from nowhere. I lean my head back to the wall. "Hah... citizenship, there's something rather foreign to me. It's been so long." I say staring off to space. "What? All born in a nation are a citizen." Green heart tells me. "But what about those whose nation no longer exists. But not simply their nation, but also their dimension, their existence?" I say with a smirk.
"Wh-what..." Neptune stutters. "How will you charge someone who doesn't technically exist? At least not on celestial terms. My world was crushed by a foul evil The survivors were scattered through certain dimensions." I tell them with a my smirk turning to a frown.
"But just know, in this state, I am of no threat to you, as you would notice, I only used a maximum of two percent of the shares. Just enough to survive and continue to gain them." I tell them.
"Well Vert, he was found in your nation. This is up to you." White heart tells her. "Why have you been using the shares?" Vert asks, somewhat suspiciously. A ray of sunshine then finds it's way through the window, and right onto me.
"I had been hired by a goddess in my dimension to create better soldiers through the power of the share. I of course took to experimenting on myself. I then placed my hand palm up and initiated a hologram of my findings for them to read. Neptune lets out a gasp.
"You live off of shares?" She asks. "Unfortunately." I reply. "Well, I've made up my mind. He will not be prosecuted for this." Vert states. "How noble." White heart replies eyeing me. "What is your name?" "Anatoly." I tell her. We then hear a large roar from outside. "Shit! You brought them right to me!" I say as I rush to my locker, which still stood open. I quickly equip my exo-suit. As the eye-piece falls and my HUD appears, I realize I may not have enough shares to fight an extended fight. "Anatoly! Who!?" Noire says as they prepare to fight.
"At least I'll have backup..." I mutter. "The corruption." I state. Looks of confusion spread across the room. "Did you seriously not know it existed!?" I ask angrily. Perhaps too angrily. But it was the corruption that took my dimension. "It can devour shares. You'd best kill it now." I tell them as I press my aerial assist boots button on my left palm control pad.
"He flys!?" I hear the girl in the trench coat gasp. I bolt out into the outside, as the bright sun blinds me for a second. When my vision clears I see the bubbly mass of the corruption in the shape of a dragon. The red swirling in the black sickens me. Then the goddesses appear beside me. "How do we kill it?" Neptune asks. "Hit it? To tell you the truth, I don't know, but if you hit enough, it'll at least leave us alone for the time being." I tell them.
"Blanc, this resembles the beasts found in your nation, any ideas?" Vert asks. "Not a clue." She replies. I reach my right hand to my back and grab my longsword, the sound of metal on metal as it slides out of it's sheathe sends shivers down my spine. "It's been a while old friend." I whisper as I throw my arm out with razorstrike now in it. "You don't really have a lot of protection..." Blanc says. "Couldn't add anymore." I reply.
All it really was was some metal strips with wiring. My HUD circled 3 spots, two where the wings connected to the body and one in the center of the head. "Wing joints and center skull. All hot points. Aim for there." I tell them. I then lined and pointed my jets away from me, dashing toward the left wing weakspot. I set my blade point down and grab it with both hands. It easily cuts through and the wing is severed.
I continue forward a bit before turning to face the beast again. But it was now glaring at me. It opens it's mouth and everything but it's voices seems to be underwater. "You will never escape, Anatoly." It says before disappearing just as Neptune with to hit it. Then a small explosion.
The goddesses all lose their transformation as I slide my blade back in it's sheathe. And I notice my timer, the one that shows how much time I have left with my current shares, shows 12 hours, shutting down my suit. I hit the ground hard. Pain explodes as I manage to land on a sharp piece of metal. I grit my teeth as I lay there.
"IF! Help!" I hear as the trenchcoat girl runs toward me and Vert. "Why are you.. agh!... helping me?" I ask. They manage to remove the metal and Lay me on the grass. "I... feel like... it's helping a friend..." She says. "Huh...weird..." I reply. The breeze feels nice after being in that base for so long. But now... all I want is sleep. "Let's take him to Planeptune. See if Histy knows anything." Is all I hear before drifting off.
I shoot up in a bed, a bed that most certainly wasn't mine. "Oh! You're awake! I'll be right back." A purple-headed girl said, quickly leaving the room. "How long have I been out..." I mutter taking note of the darkening sky. Been a while since I've seen a window this big. It took the entire wall.
"About ten hours." A black haired girl speaks, scaring me a bit. "Oh... sorry... thought I was alone. "Don't worry about it." She says, putting a glass of water on the nightstand. "Th-thanks..." I say, slightly embarrassed. "My name is Uni, by the way. Noire's my sister. The other girl, Nepgear, is Neptune's." She says as I reach out for the glass. "Anatoly." I say as I begin to drink the water.
"Well, that's quite an interesting name." She replies as Neptune, Noire, and someone small person on a book make their way back in the room, with Nepgear standing behind them. "Anatoly! You live!" Neptune says. "Why are you so excited?" I ask. "Who knows why she gets excited over anything..." Noire mutters. "Hey Noire, this is your chance to make a friend that's not a CPU" She says in a teasing tone. She seemed to just ignore the comment.
"Hello, Anatoly, I am Histoire, the oracle of Planeptune." The girl on the book tells me. I sit up and realize I have no shirt on. The scar across my chest was in full view of everyone. "Wh-what happened to my shirt?" I stammer out. "When you fell on that metal earlier, it got ruined, sorry." Noire tells me.
"That's a really nasty scar..." The orange haired girl from earlier says, her mouth slightly ajar. "Compa, it's rude to stare." The girl I deducted was the IF from earlier. "Sorry." She says. I lower my head. "Not like I can hide it... So why am I here?" I ask. "Simply because we couldn't leave you out there where you may die." Histoire told me.
"And also, would you be willing to tell us how you got here?" Noire said. "I suppose... but any chance I could get some sharicite... In a couple minutes, it's going to be very painful for me." I tell them. "Sharicite?Um... I suppose, Neptune, Noire, could you help me?" Histoire said and they all left the room. "How long you got?" IF asks. "About five minutes..." I say. "Are painkillers really not going to help?" She asks. "When my DNA is tearing apart, I can't use the drugs." I reply.
We then sat in silence for four minutes until they came back in. "Here." Neptune said, handing me a crystal. "Th-thanks..." I say as I open the compartment and insert the crystal. I quickly insert it and close the compartment. "Now... how did you get here?" Histoire asked.
"Years ago, I was hired for an... experiment... My goddess had witnessed the corruption growing, and ultimately killed one of the other goddesses. At that point, that goddess, Byehliy, had about forty percent of the shares. The corruption destroyed all of them. Then, the people stopped trusting the goddesses. My goddess, who shared a name with you Neptune, was then considered a heretic for authorizing my experiment, as well as myself. She was executed at the capital... I was to be as well, now known as a false god, but I managed to get away. The corruption found me. Hence the scar, and then I awoke in this dimension, finding the bunker and trying to survive. Then they came along... they were looking to find how I got shares." I explained. Everyone looks at me, shocked.
But for some reason I felt really strong. "How much sharicite was in that?" I ask. "Both Noire and Neptune gave about two and a half percent." Histoire tells me. Five percent. "Why? That's the most I've ever had in this dimension." I reply.
"Because I wanted to help my new friend!" Neptune says, radiating happiness. "I see..." I mutter. I stare out into the night. "Friends..."
"Have you never had a friend before?" Nepgear asks. "Once... the goddess was my only friend. Whether it was actual friendship, or her feeling sorry for me, I was unable to ascertain the truth."
I then toss my legs of the edge of the bed. I then look at the shorts I was wearing. "..." "Something wrong?" IF asks. "I understood the shirt. But what about my jeans..." I mutter. "Blood soaked." "Ah, well... who changed me into these?" I say quickly looking.
"Compa did, don't worry, she is a nurse." Noire told me. Just then, Blanc and Vert rush in.
"We goddesses are being hunted."
Then the building shook. "They're here!"
"Where is my exo-suit!" I said quickly. "Here, I think it's broken though!" IF says tossing me a disc. I stand and catch it. I quickly press it to my chest to activate it. The metal expands, returning my abilities to me. I pop my neck as my HUD appears. The goddesses as well and Nepgear and Uni were transformed. "Anatoly, you should stay here." Nepgear tells me. "Don't worry about him, Nep-jr. He can handle himself. Then the windows shatters. I stick my arm up as a gust of wind hits me.
My timer says 600 hours. I quickly do the math in my head. "Twenty five days huh." I mutter. "Guess I can overclock a bit."
"Overclock fifty percent." I say as lines of code flashed across my HUD
-Jet power increased to150%
-Muscle strength increased to 150%
-reflex speed increased to 150%
-share decay increased to 100%
-Overclocking complete.
"Eh? Hmm..."
"Overclocking yourself?" Uni asked. "Originally the only way I could fight my goddess in a sparing match and win." I then activate my boots and jet outside, drawing my sword. I look down and inhale sharply. "Anatoly? You OK?" Noire asks. "Just a little higher than I expected. I'm fine." I say as I head to the top of the building, the only place showing signs of anyone of power.
When I see the four beings up there, my heart drops as the four goddesses rise beside me, as well as Uni and Nepgear. "We meet again Anatoly." Chyohrniy says. "I thought you were all dead. "We've been reborn." Zeelyohlniy told me. Then the final one turns to me. "Neptun." I say. "We were evicted from our world, you failed me." She tells me.
"Now we need somewhere new, and after we kill the goddesses, this will be our new home!" Byehliy says. The all resemble one of the goddesses. Chyohrniy to Noire, Zeelyohlniy to Vert, Byehliy to Blanc, and Neptun to Neptune. The difference, their clothing all had the coloring of the corruption.
"No..." I mutter as a realization came over me. "The Neptun I know would never blame others for her failures! And I accomplished my mission!" I shout. The ever growing storm had begun thundering. "You stupid boy, do you seriously believe you could ever achieve the power a goddess has!" She retorts.
"You've failed, just like your whore mother!" This sent me into a rage and I look downwards. "Maybe it's time I put an end to this. I've known for a while you were here. I had hoped, begged, for you to be the friend I had. I see it was all in vain." I say as I feel the tears falling down my face.
"Tell me one thing though, how long have you know I was here?" I asked. This sets off an attack of laughter from her. "I sent you here." She says, a nasty grin. "Shouldn't have done that," I begin then rush her with my blade at my side. "I've grown fond of this place!" I finish as I swing at her, causing her to block my attack, which I had fully expected. But I then feel a hand hit my stomach, causing me to land hard on the roof, hitting a vent with my back. I look up to see her laughing.
"Is that all you got!?" She said, obviously entertained. But then, her demeanor completely changed. "Anatoly, where did you get that scar?" She asked, confusing me. "N-neptun? Is it really you?" I ask stand, her hand traveling along the line of the scar. "Anatoly... I can't fight her forever." She says urgently. "Wh-what's going on!?" I say as the tears fall down my face.
"We are fallen CPU's, the corruption got us, you need to end us..." She whispers. Then, out of nowhere, Byehliy attacks me sending me off the edge of the building, and Neptun returns to her corrupted self. I stare at the sky, falling to the ground in shock, and completely unaware of the growing ache in my side.
"Anatoly!" I hear Nepgear shout. This brings me back to reality. I quickly activate my boots, and start rising again. I am soon back to the top, witnessing the battle, which Nepgear is not fighting in at the moment, and the goddesses were losing badly. "Nepgear, I am about to push my suit, I need you to be ready in case it shuts down on me." I tell her. She nods.
"Hardware settings unlock. Initiate custom settings. Set muscle strength and reflex speed to 500%." I say. "Requested settings may overheat reactor, setting change denied." "Admin override. Password "Zta4ko"" I say. "Override confirmed."
"Neptun... I'm sorry..." I whisper as I jet towards her, my blade aiming for her heart as she attacks Neptune. Within seconds I make it to her, and she turns around to face me, a smile on her face. My blade finds it target and she falls backwards as I grab her. The three others, upon seeing this, flee. "Return suit settings to default." I whisper. I hold the goddess, who is now back into her human form.
"Ne-neptun... I'm so sorry..." I say to her. "No-nonsense, don't... you remember your assignment... to protect the world from the corruption. Your mission is still going. Protect this world. No matter what form the corruption takes. I'm just glad... I could see your face one last time." My rain soaked jet black hair fell over my face.
"Let me see your eyes." She commands. I move my hair out of the way. "Your color is returning... I missed seeing those neon green eyes of yours. I'm glad it was you to end my life...I'm glad we... were friends..." She says, in a gasp,a smile on her face. Then her purple eyes closed, for the final time. "Neptun!" I say pulling her close to my body.
I couldn't stop the tears sliding down my face. "May you find peace..." I whisper. I then feel a hand on my shoulder. "The corruption has taken so much from me... The three others... and Neptun... they were all... counting on me... I failed..." I say. I then hear Nepgear sit next to me. "Anatoly..." Neptune says, standing behind me. "It's... it's as though I'm looking at my own dead body..." I look at her, and she looks pale. I pick Neptun up and hold her bridal style.
"You guys... have a crematorium right? She told me once she wanted to be cremated." I say. "Yeah, I'll take you, sis, you should get some rest." Nepgear said. I then follow her.