Author's Note: I've been debating whether or not to post this for quite sometime now, I was never 100% confident about my writing and frankly I had reason to be when I wrote the original version of this. While I greatly appreciate the amount of reviews were on the original version of Promise and Peril (many were only trying to help a fellow fanfic writer out), some had greatly demotivated me (of course not trying to) from writing and posting the original, so I deleted it from FFN without warning or notice, so readers of the original story I apologize for that.
For the past two-ish months or so, I've been rewriting and replanning the story because I thought the base plot of it was good, but things that I remember getting reviews on (like an overpowered and irritating enemy in the original, which I didn't notice initially), had greatly impacted the quality of the original story, and I hope as I continue writing this version I don't make that same mistake again, among many other mistakes from the original. As of plot points and such, some may be similar but most will be different from the original story.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the prologue, and hopefully the rest of the story that is to come.
Prologue
The definitions of 'peace', 'happiness', 'balance', and 'goodness'—all four terms are nonexistent when it comes to the real world—when there is peace, terror will always be there to strike it down. When there is balance, there will be dominance right behind. When there is happiness, sadness will be the controlling emotion. And when there is any good, the bad always finds a way to sneak itself in. The citizens of Gamindustri are absolutely pathetic human beings, do they seriously believe that their 'peace' and 'happiness' will last forever? Because that's been proven wrong so many times. Firstly with the Deity of Sin, secondly with Rei Ryghts, and the most recent and most chaotic of them all—Kurome Ankokuboshi. Sadly each one of them were defeated by those stupid, annoying, goody two-shoe goddesses, curse them all. Those pesky CPUs are the only reason that Gamindustri is still standing to this day. But just believe that once those stupid CPUs are out of the picture and someone else happens to take control, Gamindustri won't have a goddamn chance to return to its former glory. It will suffer an eternal, everlasting hell that no one will be able to stop… Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee and Leanbox… you will all be mine~
Several months had passed since the four CPUs and their little sisters, the CPU Candidates, along with a few other companions had defeated the revenge-hungry, psychotic mastermind Kurome Ankokuboshi. The world of Gamindustri seemed to be as happy as can be, the four CPUs' shares all were skyrocketing to maximum heights and had been stable at those numbers for several weeks. Smaller crimes had basically become non-existent and people working for the guild to build even more shares for the goddesses had rose up 300% than from the previous period.
Life was to be pretty wonderful for everyone so the CPUs, the Candidates, and IF and Compa decided to celebrate for what would be the 90th beach day in a row. Despite the repetition of going every day for the past ninety days, everyone was on board with going out again to the beach and having fun, whether it'd be by being in the water or relaxing under the sun.
"Beach day par-tay!" Neptune exclaimed.
"I can't believe we've come to this exact beach ninety days in a row, but at the same time I can't complain, we all have extremely minimal work to do if any at all, so why not enjoy it to the fullest?" Blanc said softly.
"I totally agree, Blanc!" Ram squeaked.
"Me too, Blanc," Rom said.
"Despite us coming here every day for the past three months, why have I not gotten an inch of tan?" Noire complained.
"Ah Noire, that's because Neptune keeps telling us to come to Planeptune beaches, where they are quite beautiful, but the sun is typically blocked by clouds. Come to a Leanbox beach next time, you and me; you'll get a beautiful tan in no time," Vert stated.
Noire laughed a little bit and nodded. "Sure Vert, I'll take you up on that offer of yours," she said.
"Hey Nepgear, do you wanna build some sand sculptures by the water? We could race!" Uni suggested.
"Oh sure, Uni! Just be prepared for my incredible sculpting skills!" Nepgear said enthusiastically.
"Just like how I should've been prepared for your beach volleyball skills yesterday?" Uni teased.
"Awww, come on Uni! You knew from the beginning that it was my first time playing," Nepgear giggled. The two girls shared a laugh and ran over to the edge of the water. Right behind the goddesses were IF and Compa, both girls quickly finding a spot to relax.
"Iffy, isn't it funny how we've all come to the same beach ninety days in a row?" Compa asked.
"Yeah, of course. But honestly, what do you expect from Nep? She's incredibly goofy to everyone, all day, everyday," IF replied.
"Hehe, you're right Iffy," Compa nodded.
"But yeah, it's already been three months since Kurome was defeated and the nation's shares have been at all-time highs, it seems like they'll be that way for at least a couple more months," IF said, as she sat down on a beach towel.
"Nep-Nep's not gonna get told off by you or Histy for a while, huh?" Compa giggled.
"Oh shush, Compa," IF laughed.
Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves to the fullest, Neptune and Noire were swimming in the water, Nepgear and Uni were building sand sculptures, Rom and Ram were playing with an inflatable beach ball, Blanc and Vert were playing beach volleyball and IF and Compa were relaxing on the shore sunbathing. Other beach-goers were also enjoying the warm summer day by the beach and doing their own activities.
A few clouds began to form in the sky, but no one thought much of them. The clouds would quickly become dark and gray, and they all began to clump together in a matter of moments. IF quickly noticed and stood up from the beach towel, glancing up at the sky.
"Iffy, is something the matter?" Compa wondered.
"Was it supposed to rain today at all, because the clouds got really gray all of a sudden," IF told her.
"I'm pretty sure that the nice weatherman said that it was supposed to be bright, warm and sunny just like it has been for the past few weeks or so," Compa answered.
"Hey, why are the clouds getting so dark?" Rom whined.
"Yeah, what the goodness is going on? The weather never said it was gonna be cloudy or rain," Nepgear said.
Several strikes of lightning pounded and illuminated the dark and gray skies before heavy rain followed suit. Beach-goers went scrambling for their stuff and ran away in search of shelter from the rain. The goddesses and IF and Compa stayed put as they watched the dark skies.
"I do not have a good feeling about those skies," Blanc murmured.
"The clouds and the horizon are unusually dark for a rainy day in Planeptune, or any rainy day in general, please stand your ground girls, we may have something on the horizon that is waiting for us," Vert leaded.
All of the girls grouped up and stood their ground as the rain fell harder on them. Three more strikes of lightning illuminated the dark skies above them as a shadowy figure appeared floating above. A sudden breeze struck the girls as they looked up at the shadowy figure in front of them.
"What is that up there?" Compa asked.
"Not certain, but I feel an incredibly negative power emanating from them, a power much greater than anything we've ever faced," Noire replied.
"That doesn't sound good," IF mumbled.
"Do you think we should transform?" Ram wondered.
"I believe that considering their negative power presence, it's better to be safe than sorry," Vert answered.
"We haven't had to transform in quite some time, so this should be a bit refreshing," Blanc stated. A bright light enveloped and surrounded the eight CPUs and in almost no time at all they were all in their goddess forms.
"I wasn't expecting something like this to happen… you and I are both unequipped, Compa," IF sighed.
"I wasn't expecting this either, Iffy," Compa whined.
"So all eight of you are the Console Patron Units of this dimension's Gamindustri… what an absolute pleasure to meet all of you," the shadowy figure said eerily.
"We are the CPUs and we are proud to be them, but may I ask who you are in return?" Purple Heart asked, as she raised her sword.
"Little ol' me, you ask?" the figure teased.
"That is what she just said, so tell us who you are," Black Heart ordered.
"My my, such CPUs should have much better manners than to order around somebody like that, but since all of you and your little precious Gamindustri are about to go into an eternal demise, I may as well tell you…!" the shadowy figure chuckled. They took off the hood over their head and it revealed a young woman with dark brown hair, fair skin, crimson red eyes and with an overall evil presence. "My name is Samantha Fusochi, but as Gamindustri's future dictator, I'd appreciate if you'd just call me Sammy, because that's what going to happen to this sad and pathetic continent you all 'rule' over."
"Excuse me?" White Heart snapped.
"You must not realize that our shares have been at all-time highs for weeks now, so we are more than capable of finishing you off, so I'd suggest that you surrender yourself before our power overwhelms you," Green Heart suggested.
"I do appreciate your offer for me to surrender but that sadly won't satisfy me, I'll only be satisfied once you pesky CPUs are out of the goddamn picture!" Sammy exclaimed, lunging herself towards the CPUs at tremendous speed. The eight goddesses and IF and Compa were able to leap out of her way in the nick of time, as they prepared to fight their opponent.
"I didn't think that we would have to be fighting again with someone so soon, but she is threatening the safety of Gamindustri and its people so I will not allow her to hurt anyone!" Purple Heart stated.
"What is your motive, where did you come from?" IF asked.
"Life is nothing but fake happiness and fake peace, there is no such thing as peace and there is no such thing as happiness. Life is a cruel mistress, and I am here to prove to you that life can be a cruel bitch, along with getting rid of you CPUs in the process," Sammy explained. "You all will suffer from the darkness that is about to arise."
"Darkness, my ass! Once we get rid of you, bright light will shine once again! Have a taste of my Tanzerin Trombe!" White Heart exclaimed.
"And an extra taste of my Sylhet Spear!" Green Heart shouted.
Sammy was struck by the two attacks hard, but quickly shook it off. "You goddesses ain't that bad… but you will need to do more than that to hurt me…!" she snickered, as she readied herself for another attack.
"Something like this?" Black Heart said, striking Sammy in the back.
Sammy fell to the ground with a bit of a thud, but almost instantly came back to her feet, chuckling softly. "Not bad, I never would've thought about how powerful you CPUs are," she stated, her hands on her hips.
"Like I stated before, our shares have been at all-time highs, so we're always pretty strong, even if we aren't doing anything," Green Heart said.
"It's also unfortunate how much of a nuisance that your share energy can be… especially if something was to steal and sap it away from you," Sammy said softly. The eight goddesses circled around the woman with weapons raised, ready to strike at any moment.
"What are you implying, spit it out or I will not hesitate to kill you!" Black Heart shouted.
"Your share energy is a nuisance, like I said… you earn shares depending on how many people believe in you and put your faith in you… and with a few little tricks, that system can be easily exploited with a tiny little machine like this…" Sammy replied, as she took out a small cube-like object.
"What is that thing?" White Heart said.
"I believe that it'll be a lot easier to demonstrate to you than to just tell you," Sammy said as she pressed a red button on the small cube.
"What did you just do…?" Compa said.
"Oh, you'll see…" Sammy answered, smirking evilly. One by one, the CPUs began coughing and each fell to their knees, their facial expressions providing the pain they were feeling.
"What the hell?!" IF shrieked.
"What the… what the hell… is that… you're holding?" Black Sister wondered.
"It's a little contraption I made, designed to steal share energy from CPUs and convert it into my own. The rain falling upon you is also a different form of my own energy, its purpose was to weaken you CPUs so that your shares would be easier to steal and convert," Sammy replied.
"You better stop that right now if you know what's good for you!" IF shouted.
"And what are two pathetic humans going to do to me, you think you can take me down?" Sammy scoffed.
"Alright, but don't get upset once I teach you a lesson!" IF yelled as she lunged herself towards Sammy.
"Oh, we'll see who'll get taught the lesson then, pathetic human," Sammy stated. The mysterious woman grabbed IF by the straps of her swimsuit without looking and threw her hard into the sand. Her head was buried in the sand from the throw as she groaned in pain.
"Iffy!" Compa squeaked as she ran over to aid her. "How dare you hurt her like that!"
"It's not like you could do much anyway, weakling!" Sammy cackled as she raised her left fist high in the air, slowly charging up a small ball of energy. "Now witness what a small ball of Chaos Energy can do to your CPU friends."
"No, wait!" Compa pleaded. The nurse's cry was laid on deaf ears as Sammy threw the ball right beneath her, the ball of Chaos Energy stripping away the remaining shares that were in the CPUs bodies. After the remaining shares were stripped away from the goddesses, they transformed back into their human forms and were subsequently knocked unconscious from the lack of shares.
"Oh no… everyone…!" Compa cried.
"Compa… what's with the noise…?" IF mumbled as she woke up.
"Don't you remember, Iffy? It's her!" Compa replied, pointing at the powerful figure in front of them.
"Oh yes, it was me, the woman who managed to defeat and capture the CPUs without much effort, and since you're apparently friends of these losers, I should just kill the both of you off right now," Sammy said.
"Oh no…" Compa whimpered, unable to move from shock.
Sammy began to charge up another ball of Chaos Energy, bigger than the last and pointed it at the two humans. "You two should be grateful that I'm making things easy for you by ending your lives here… since you two have no more use for anyone here… sayonara~!" she exclaimed as she threw the ball of energy towards them.
"Watch out!" a voice exclaimed.
"Huh?!" IF and Compa said simultaneously before they were pushed out of the way of the ball of Chaos Energy, hiding behind a nearby wall.
"Hmm…" Sammy hummed, staring blankly at the wall.
"Ow, like my body hasn't been aching enough…" IF muttered.
"And now my body is starting to hurt…" Compa whined.
"Just be glad that you two didn't get hurt just now because you easily could have died," the person in front of them snapped as they dusted off their clothing, the voice coming from them sounding female.
"Well, thank you for that but—!" Compa didn't get to finish her sentence as she and IF noticed that the person who saved them was already gone.
"The CPUs!" IF whispered as she peeked behind the wall.
"Well… with the CPUs and CPU Candidates captured and in my grasp, my work is officially done here, I don't have any reason to waste any extra energy on those sad human beings," Sammy said, an evil grin spread across her face. "Gamindustri, say hello to your new ruler, and bow down to yours truly! Hahaha!"
The mysterious woman disappeared along with the goddesses in her hands, her laughter echoing in the skies. Lightning began to strike once again, hitting buildings and catching them on fire. The skies turned gray and red, and people who were hiding from the previous rain ran out of the fiery buildings screaming at the top of their lungs, to avoid perishing in the flames. IF and Compa could only watch in horror as they witnessed the events happening in front of them.
"Planeptune… all of Gamindustri… there was nothing we could do…" IF whispered as she and Compa watched the city of Planeptune burn.
The hell that would be brought upon Gamindustri would certainly be everlasting…