"Okay, class! Once everyone hands their test up to the front, we can all head out to lunch! Deal?" Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Jameson, announces the end of our second math final. Everyone groans with relief and hurriedly passes their test up to the front. The school day was ending in a short four hours before my first summer break from Ksugakari High would start. As we all pass our papers up to the front, Mr. Jameson looks up at us and clears his throat.
"Alright, kiddos! After lunch, you're gonna come back here and we're gonna try and get the rest of the finals taken care of, okay?" Everyone cheers and Mr. Jameson just grins. "Anyway, the bell is about to ring, so why don'tcha get your lunch out early? It wouldn't hurt to get an extra few minutes of lunch, would it?" He winks and we all happily accept his offer, getting up from our desks and headed out the classroom for lunch.
Heading my classmates bid their farewells to each other, some directed to me, before heading over towards the cafeteria. I, on the other hand, wait for everyone to disperse before heading over to get my lunch in my locker. Acquiring my lunch, instead of turning to go to the cafeteria, I head up the spiraling staircase and open the door to the roof. Normally, I wouldn't be the type to go on the roof, but today, being the last day of school, influenced me to do otherwise. Pulling out my lunch, I begin my meal.
School hasn't been great, but it hasn't been bad this year. For one, I don't exactly have very many friends… or if any at all. It was quite the interesting change from middle school to high school because I used to be an extremely popular guy at my school, and then meeting new people here at the high school was a little harder than I had thought. I still get along with everyone, it's just that I just don't connect with anyone at the high school to have a friendly relationship.
Suddenly, the door to the roof began to open, making me turn my head towards the direction of the attention. There, the student president, Keiko Fujiyoshi, had her head peeked through the door with her lunch in hand. I quickly finish chewing the bite in my mouth and set down my meal, standing up and turning to the president.
"It's an honor seeing you here, Fujiyoshi-san. What brings you here?" Is it because of the overly-formal way I speak..? I think to myself as I bow.
"No worries, Hiroshi. Lift up your head! It's the last day of school for heaven's sake!" She then walks over to me and sits down across from where I am standing.
"Would you like to enjoy your lunch with me?" She kindly offers, in which I nod and sit back down, going back to eating my sandwich.
The two of us awkwardly ate our lunches across from each other and tried to make eye contact, but never got the chance to follow through in a conversation. As I finish my last bite, Fujiyoshi cleared her throat and looked at me.
"Hiroshi, after you are finished with your lunch, would you like to accompany me to the headmaster's quarters?" She looks at me with a semi-serious look, but still a carefree smile is on her face.
"O-of course." I quickly finish my lunch, and I begin to panic, thinking that I am the one to go into the headmaster's quarters. Am I in trouble? What did I do this year or this last week or today to get me in trouble? I think to myself as I get up with a poker-face, grabbing my lunchbag.
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. It's just a subject that can't be shared in public." I let out a sigh of relief, but still my ears were perked when I heard "can't be shared in public". I decided not to press on that subject as we made our way down the stairway and into the hallways.
"Here we are, Hiroshi." She turns to me with a smile, a hand directed towards the pair of doors in front of the two of us.
"Thanks for directing me here. I guess we will have to see what the headmistress has to say to me." I nod in thanks and she turns with a nod as well.
As she passes me, I hear, "It's Noire." Noir? I've never taken french as a language class, but I know it means "Black". What does that have to do with anything?
With a shrug, I push open the doors to the headmistress' quarters.
Inside the room, I found a woman staring at me with a gaze of expectancy, and a black letter with a white, wax rose stamped to seal the letter.
"I've been waiting for you." She then stands up and walks over to me, the letter in hand.
I stay silent, not knowing how to respond to her comment.
The headmistress stands up and walks towards me. "I just had you come to give you a letter that came in from someone who goes by the name 'Noire'." I give her a blank stare and she pulls out an envelope to prove her point.
I take it and look at her, "Why couldn't have you just give it to me after school?" She picks up what looks like a note and she hands it to me. On the note, it says, "Give this to Hiroshi Fujita immediately." Other than that, there's nothing else.
"When should I open it?" I ask her, turning the letter over in my hands for any recognition. Nothing.
"Who knows?" She smirks in response. I thank her just as the bell rings.
"Well, you'd better get to class before you get a tardy on the last day of school. It would ruin your status of someone who's always to class on time." She looks at me with a smile and gives me a wave of dismissal, in which I gladly accept, turning and heading to my next class.
~~ Meanwhile in Another Dimension ~~
Dear Hiroshi Fujita,
I am Noire, CPU of Lastation, or I should say, Ruler of Lastation. I come from a dimension called Gamindustri and we have been under attack by an evil force that goes by the name, 'the Seven Sages.' I found your world, the so-called "Earth," and I have been researching to see if there would be anywhere that would be safe in that dimension. With enough research, I had managed to find your high school, Ksugakari High, and I have appointed you to be my Guardian. I know that I might not be able to transform, knowing that I will probably be thrown into a different dimension, cutting off the source of power to let us transform in the first place, within the next few days you read this. Therefore, if I end up going to Earth, I grant you the authority to be my Guardian.
I look forward to meeting you,
-Noire
I set the piece of paper down, rereading it over and over, making sure I didn't messed up on my SOS. I really hope this works. If what Kei said was true, then the concoction that she made for us should work. I pull out a vial that had an orange liquid in it from a cabinet and swirl it around, recalling what had happened a couple of days ago.
"Hey, Kei! I have a request for you!" I call out to the Oracle of Lastation, walking into our basilicom.
"What is it, m'lady?" She turns to me with a smile as she puts down the papers she had been working on.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me m'lady!? Please call me, 'Noire'" I huff. "Anyway! So recently, I've been talking with Histoire about if there possibly could be different dimensions besides this one and today I just got a message from her saying that there are, in fact, different dimensions outside of Gamindustri. She says that there's a dimension that has almost the same exact lifestyle our our dimension is called, 'Earth.' So I was wondering, since you specialize in crafting elixirs, if you could make Uni and me an elixir to be able to go to Earth."
I wait patiently for Kei's response as she furrows her brow, putting a hand to her chin, thinking about some chemical equation for how to create the elixir.
"Two oranges, two tablespoons of dogoo saliva, two Ancient Dragon teeth and two basilisk eggs," She lists off the ingredients as I quickly write all of them down on a piece of paper. This shouldn't be hard. I think to myself as I put my notebook away.
"Thanks a ton, Kei!" I say as I transform into my HDD form and fly in pursuit of the items on the list.
"Gah! It's even harder to get to the destination than it is collecting the items!" I groan as I slump down on a chair in the basilicom, the ingredients all laid out across the table.
"At least you got them before sundown. Now I can finish this by tomorrow!" Kei says, happily taking the items and rushing off into her lab.
Before she closes her door she looks back at me, "While you were gone, I was deciding how to activate the potion, and I thought, in order to successfully use the ability of the potion, say the words 'Bring me back to reality.'"
"Hey, Noire! Is there anymore work due today?" Uni calls out to me, snapping me out of my flashback and almost making me drop the precious vial in surprise.
"N-no we're good as far as work goes. Take a rest for now just in case something happens with the Seven Sages," I stutter, folding up the letter and place it in my drawer. Uni is the CPU Candidate of Lastation-my younger sister. It is my duty to help support my sister on her journey to become the one who will be able to lead this nation, for it is her sole duty to be the next successor of Lastation.
Suddenly hearing a buzz from my desk, I quickly file the papers in my hand and head over to the phone. Picking up the phone, one message had filled up the screen, "Everyone! There's trouble here in Planeptune! It's the Seven Sages again! Come ASAP!" Damnit, it's them again. Hopefully we will be able to finish this off quickly enough without any troubles.
The Seven Sages are a group of evildoers that have only one goal: To make Gamindustri a land where only there's one ruler, and one land. Since there's the four nations, Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee and Leanbox, with each a CPU, Console Patron Unit, the Seven Sages have been targeting us and trying to eliminate us. This war started decades ago, and yet we still have been fighting back and forth, improving our powers and skills each time we fight.
Unfortunately, the Seven Sages have turned the tides on us, meaning that we have been struggling to maintain our rate of Shares due to the Seven Sages destroying cities all around Gamarket. Clenching my teeth, I hurriedly shove my phone into my pocket and begin to gather my items and gear for battle. Uni, on the other hand, looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to give her the "Ok" for her to get readied up.
"Hey, Uni, it looks like the Seven Sages are back in business so we're gonna head over there now. Go grab your rifle and we'll head out," I glance at Uni and she immediately nods, quickly setting down the papers she had in her hand before rushing to her room to get ready for the battle as well.
"Make sure you pack plenty of revival potions and healing potions because this could get pretty rough seeing what had happened in the last battle," Uni warns me, slinging her rifle around her shoulder. I nod and quickly pull open a cabinet, pulling out enough potions, elixirs and scrolls for each of our comrades to have twenty.
"Hey, Uni. Drink this too before we go. It's a very important elixir that Kei crafted for us in case if there's an emergency in battle in case of an emergency." I hand her the elixir, which has the special orange concoction in it, and we both drink the liquid. Closing my inventory screen, I toss a teleport scroll at Uni, who catches it and nods, signaling us to teleport to Planeptune.
"Is everything alright!?" I shout as the two of us dash towards the battlefield to see blasts and flashes across my field of view. I notice Nepgear running towards us in her HDD form and I wave to her to catch her attention.
"Everyone else is here so don't worry! We've already taken two out of the seven down!" She shouts as another blast makes the ground shake, continuing to dash past us with little chatter; a logical move, for we were in combat with the enemy.
"Let's not waste anymore time talking, Uni! Let's go!" She nods and we both rush into the battle.
The first of the remaining Sages that we run into is Copypaste, the giant mech. Transforming into my HDD form, I summon my sword and besides me, Uni glows a bright white and turns into her HDD form.
"Well if it isn't the Lastation sisters! Lucky me, they're easy prey." Copypaste turns his tracts towards us and his eyes flash a bright red with a cackle, "You're never going to beat me with that toothpick and nerf gun of yours. All it takes is a hit to the head and you girls are KO'd!" He taunts us but we pay no attention to him as we give each other the signal to start the attack.
"Defeating us won't be that easy, you clump of metal!" I shout as he reaches out to grab me but I dodge his hand and stab my sword into his arm, dragging it up his metallic arm as I get closer and closer to his core.
"Gah! Like that puny sword will ever kill me!" The giant robot shakes it's arm, flinging me off of him. I quickly regain my balance and jet back towards him as Uni takes a few shots at his face, throwing him off guard.
"Infinite Slash!" I chant the skill as my blade glows a bright white. I dash around him, taking wide slashes at Copypaste's body, hearing him creak and limp forward as oil spurts out of each gash I make. From behind me, as I sheath my sword, I hear the mech's parts fall apart and crash to the floor with a loud thud.
"Three down. Four more to go!" I let out a victorious laugh, summoning my wings, flying deeper into the battle.
"Foolish CPU's! You'll never be able to beat me at this rate!" A woman cloaked in pitch black smoke and red lightning cackles as she shoots a bolt of anti-CPU energy at one of our comrades, Neptune, who had fallen unconscious somehow, most likely from the attack from the woman. With Neptune down, we were at a huge disadvantage because she is the most powerful out of the entire group. Uni and I find everybody targetting Arfoire, the most powerful, and apparently the last, of the Seven Sages. Although it was eight against one, it didn't seem like we, the eight, were going to win against the powerful enchantress.
Vert and Blanc, a spear wielder and a hammer user, had been flung back into a building, snapping their spines as they attempted to gang up on Arfoire. As Neptune was lying on the ground, immobilized from a black bind, her sister, Nepgear, takes the front and defends her fallen comrades.
"Don't hurt my friends, you evil woman!" Nepgear slices her way through the dark matter and takes a stab at Arfoire. The powerful enchantress barely moves a finger before delivering an overwhelmingly large wave of dark energy at Nepgear, sending her flying into Ram, knocking the two CPU candidates unconscious.
Uni jumps onto the branch of a tree and takes the chance to shoot Arfoire in her blind spot, shattering a segment of her wings, disabling her ability to fly. Before Uni can even react, Arfoire appears in front of her with a smirk, stabbing her through the chest like a knife slicing through butter.
I watch in horror as the scene unfolds. Uni's dying corpse falling out of the tree and onto the ground, Arfoire laughing like a maniac, Nepgear and Ram unconscious on top of each other, Neptune struggling to move her body to protect the others, Vert and Blanc lying side-by-side. I quickly turn back into my CPU form and dash towards Uni, quickly picking her body up, knowing that if I waste time, it could be the end for all of us. Hoping that Arfoire didn't notice, I dash towards an abandoned shelter that had a part of the roof torn apart due to the fight. The light in Uni's eyes was slowly fading as I shakily pulled out a flask from my inventory.
"Come on, Uni... Please stay alive! Please!" Popping the cap off, I quickly make Uni drink the remedy. I sigh with relief as Uni's unnatural colored skin slowly goes back to its normal color along with the giant gash in her chest slowly closing and sealing. Pressing a finger to Uni's lips, we sneak outside to find Arfoire waiting in front of the building with a smirk on her face.
"Are you two ready to have your lives end here!?" She cackles as I see a pitch black ball of energy forming above her head as she starts chanting a spell. I dig my heels into the ground as Uni hides behind me, her gun ready.
"Although this might not be perfected, I will show you my new power! Behold!" She continues to chant the spell and a dark purple, almost black, circle appears beneath Uni and I. My body freezes, Uni's grip against my clothing tightens and I grit my teeth in fear.
"Oh? Are you giving up? Well then. Goodbye CPUs and Gamindustri!" Arfoire cackles loudly and the two of us start falling into the mass of dark energy below us hearing the last of the Seven Sages walk off, cackling even louder as she walks away, leading us to our doom.
Quickly remembering the words that Kei had told me to say in a state of life or death, I mumble, "Bring me back to reality."
~Author's Note!~
Long time no see, my friends! :D
I hope you enjoyed the rewrite of the first chapter! Leave a review on how you thought the story is going so far-is it good? is it bad?
Anyway, I know that I haven't gotten a chance to update my other stories...so I will do my best to attempt to maintain the Zero Dimension and this story :)
Have an amazing day, and thank you so, so, so, so, so, so much for continuing to support me on this story! (thanks for the 20k views on the original Guardian of Lastation btw c: )