Test - Next Gears Activate!
Histoire floated through PlanepTower, Planeptune's Basilicom, humming to herself. Sometime in the past, a great evil had spread throughout Gamindustri and terrorized the world. Fortunately, the CPUs were able to defeat and banish said evil, banding together and creating a strong sisterly bond with each other. Through the this bond, the four nations of Gamindustri were able to make a peace treaty, promoting trade and creating new projects that benefited everyone. Although Planeptune's Shares weren't as high as she expected, Histoire was satisfied that Neptune was finally able to get some work done, especially with the other CPUs breathing down her back and making sure that she was doing her share of the work, especially Noire.
Today, all of the CPUs are in Planeptune in order to discuss another project, which made Histoire even happier. Because this meant that Neptune was working, which meant that Neptune wasn't playing around, which meant that Planeptune's Shares weren't going to suffer…
"Hey, Noire! That was my Mushie!" Yes, Planeptune was going down the right pa-
"Hpmh! That's what you get for hitting me with that Lean Sheil a while ago." What?
"That was an accident, I swear!" Histoire floated towards the source of the shouts, shaking her head in denial. Entering the living room, Histiore's eyes widened and jaw dropped as she saw what she discovered.
"Hey, Rom! Can I use the blue crayon?"
"Almost finished~." Rom and Ram were sitting at the small coffee table, drawing on sheets of paper, most them pictures of their older sister. Sitting nearby them was IF, playing a mobile game that she had downloaded recently while her other arm was leaning on the couch arm. Next to her was Uni, polishing some new gun attachments she got from yesterday. Histoire could hear Compa and Nepgear from the kitchen next door, preparing snacks and such for the their guests.
Since the CPU Candidates weren't able to handle politics yet, Histoire could allow them to relax. IF and Compa were here because they are allowed to stay in the Basilicom, so there wasn't a problem there. Rather, the problem, four of them, were sitting in front of the TV.
"Dammit, Thunder Tits! That was my 1-Up!" A mischievous giggle surfaced from the blonde CPU as her smaller, in many aspects, brown-haired companion.
"My, my, Blanc. The fact that I received this extra life says a lot about yours." Blanc, who was laying on her stomach, turned to the side and glared at her.
"What that you need to steal one from me because you don't have a life?" Vert, nicknamed Thunder Tits by Blanc when she's annoyed by her, pretended to flinch and frowned at Blanc.
"That was quite harsh, Blanc. I'll let you kno-" Vert was suddenly cut off when Neptune dropped herself over Blanc's back, causing the CPU of Lowee to grunt under the sudden weight.
"Calm your fiery bosom, Blanc." Blanc's eyes narrowed further. "You'll get wrinkles!" Growling, Blanc shouldered Neptune, shoving her off and sending the purple-haired girl towards Noire. Noire gasped in surprise when Neptune's soft hair gently landed on her lap.
"Wh-What are you doing, Neptune?!" Unfazed by Blanc's actions, Neptune shifted around with a satisfied smile on her face, tickling Noire in the process.. "Ge-Get off me!" Neptune grinned as she faced the ticklish Lastation CPU.
"Aw, come on. Noire, don't such a stick in the mud! It's no wonder you're so lonely~." Neptune's grin grew along with the red in Noire's cheeks.
"Y-You…!" A vein poked out of Histoire's forehead as she gripped her the cuffs of her sleeves tightly, threatening to rip a hole in them through sheer grip alone. Taking a deep breath, Histoire did what she was best at…
"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?!" ...Yelling. Histoire floated over to the startled CPUs, passing by IF, who nearly dropped her phone, and Uni, who was relieved to not be polishing a gun at the moment, and apologizing to Rom and Ram as the former began to cry and latter began to whine.
"Hey Histy, wassup?" Histoire frowned at her CPU.
"'What is up?' ...You girls…" Histoire's hand twitched. "To think I was led to believe that you girls would work without delay… Yet…" Noire gripped her shoulder.
"Sorry, Histoire. It's just that there wasn't really much to talk about." Neptune nodded, causing Noire to glare at her. "You don't have the right to agree." Neptune patted Noire on the back.
"Aw Histy, don't be Pissty! And don't be mean Noire! I just want my Nowa lap pillow~!" Noire scooted away, face bright red.
"Who said that I'd be your lap pillow?! And don't call me that!" Blanc felt someone staring at her. Turning around, Blanc found Vert's expectant gaze, knees folded and pressed together while her arms were spread in a welcoming fashion.
"...No way in hell, Vert." Vert let out a disappointed sigh.
"It was worth a try." Vert did not want to disturb her darling IF when she was engrossed in her game. Wanting to tease the Lowee CPU , Vert reminded herself to try again when Blanc wasn't paying attention. Histoire's popped out vein grew larger as she pressed her lips together.
"I said…" At that moment, Compa and Nepgear came into the room, carrying tea and cookies.
"Tea's ready~!" The oracle sighed as Compa glided around the room, handing cups of tea to whomever wanted some while Nepgear placed the platter of baked goods onto the table, watching the twins grab at them and happily devour the treats. Looking at Nepgear, Histoire's eyes lit up.
"That's it!" Nepgear looked around, surprised as Histoire neared closer to her.
"Eh?" Planeptune's Oracle grabbed Nepgear's hand.
"Nepgear, I require your assistance!" Nepgear pointed to herself.
"M-me?!"
Histoire forced everyone to the top of PlanepTower, where there was a large circular platform normally used by aircraft and by the CPUs when they wanted to land closer to the Nep siblings' living quarters. At the same time, the platform was large enough to be a small arena if desired. Nepgear stood near the center, confused as to why she was there. Meanwhile, everyone else was near the edges of the platform, sitting on blankets as they enjoyed Compa's treats. Neptune sat next to Histoire, arms behind her head.
"Say, Histy. What are we doing here?" Histoire sighed.
"I believe it is safe to assume that many of you are out of practice when comes to battle." Histoire turned to Neptune. "Especially you, Neptune." Neptune chuckled as Noire put a hand over her chest.
"Well, I'll have you know that Uni and I have been diligently training." Looking up, Uni turned to her sister, a small smile on her face. Histoire nodded.
"And I am grateful for that. However, I am testing the Planeptune CPUs. Fortunately, I already know that Neptune will find some way to weasel her way out of this, so I decided to test Nepgear instead." Vert placed a finger on her cheek as the twins hid behind her, protecting their drawings from the occasional breeze. Blanc didn't seem to mind the twins hiding behind Vert. In fact, they got the idea from their older sister, although Blanc was a little farther away from Vert. IF and Compa sat next to Neptune, the former's arms crossed and the latter was ready to cheer on the CPU Candidate.
"Test? What kind of test?" Histoire placed her hand on her throat, a small light emitting from her hand.
"Nepgear, I will call forth an opponent from another world. More than likely, it will be an opponent you've never faced before." Uni looked up, eyes shining. "Are you ready?" Nepgear turned to Histoire, nodding confidently.
"I'll do my best!" Nodding, Histoire closed her eyes, reaching out to the sky. All eyes followed the Oracle's hands, staring at the sky as clouds floated by slowly. After a minute, nothing happened as the winds blew clouds through the sky. After another minute, Blanc closed her book and the twins put away their drawing materials. Noire crossed her arms and kept an eye on Neptune. Compa and IF leaned closer, waiting for something to happen. Vert patiently kept her hands on her lap. Neptune stood up, looking at the sky.
"Hey, Histy. I think your portal thingy is bro-" Suddenly, a hole cut itself open above PlanepTower, knocking Neptune off her feet and into Noire's lap again, much to the latter's discomfort. The portal was small and a mixture of white, black, purple, yellow and blue material swirling around hypnotically. Suddenly, an object burst out of the portal.
The object spun around, only revealing it's triangular shape and a shade of purple. As the object lowered its altitude, Nepgear could barely make out the outline of a plane. The plane zipped over Nepgear's head, kicking up wind as it passed by. Blanc stared as the plane did a V-Turn and an Aleroni Roll.
"That looks like one of our fighter planes…" Before anyone could ask Blanc if she could confirm if she was correct, the flipped over and opened its cockpit, ejecting the pilot. The pilot dove towards the platform, arms spread like a bird. When Nepgear attempted to race towards the falling person, the pilot flipped over. Landing, the pilot dropped to one knee and made an 'X' with its eagle-spread arms. Because the pilot was crouched over, all the CPUs could see was a while flight jacket and vanilla pants tucked into some metallic looking boots that ended just below the knees. The pilot's hair was lavender, the exact shade of Nepgear's hair. In fact, Nepgear swore that the pilot's hair was the same length as hers, except that the pilot had a low ponytail. There was a purple letter at the back of the pilot's jacket, but the hair and the distance between Nepgear and her supposed opponent made it difficult for her to get a good look at it. Standing up, the pilot looked up to the sky to see the plane flying back into the portal. However, the pilot stumbled, gripping onto shaky legs.
"Owie… why does this always happen when I try that…?" The voice revealed that Nepgear's opponent was male, yet the person speaking sounded familiar. Everyone turned to each other.
"Hey Ram?"
"Yeah, Rom?"
"Doesn't he sound like…?" Ram nodded.
"Yeah! Yeah! He totally does!" Uni shook her head.
"There's no way… he almost sounds like her, but only a little deeper…" Compa and IF looked at each other, now worried.
"Iffy, he sounds just like Ge-Ge!" IF nodded.
"I know, Compa. If it wasn't for his slightly deeper voice, I would have thought that actually was Gear in different for a second." Turning around, the CPUs- minus Neptune and Noire, who were fighting over personal space- gasped as Nepgear stepped back, eyes making her signature cat-like face when shocked.
The pilot had short bangs, but with two long side locks that stopped at his shoulders. A gust of wind blew by, ruffling his hair and revealing a purple scarf wrapped around his neck. As the wind continued to blow, Nepgear could see two holsters, one carrying a black pistol with a rectangular handle and another carrying a white one that had a circular, hilt-like handle. A pair of white pants was held together by a purple belt wrapped around his waist, leading to a pair of knee-high black and gray boots. Nepgear covered her mouth with her hands as Neptune and Noire finally paid attention.
"Hey! Who's that awkward-looking genderswapped cosplay of Nep. Jr?!" The boy looked hurt at Neptune's words and Histoire coughed into her hand.
"Neptune, this is you little sister's opponent." Histoire pointed to the Nepgear look-alike. "Everyone, this is person is Nepgear." The boy bowed, a smile on his face as the party looked at him with wide eyes.
"It's nice to meet everyone... Um, I'm also named Nepgear… but I'm a guy." Scratching his head, the male Gear turned to the female Gear. "I hope I can help with your test, Nepgear." Nepgear, caught off guard by his politeness, one that mirrored her own, and bowed as well.
"Y-Yes! Please treat me well!" Both Nepgears walked closer to each other, giving the CPUs a better comparison between the two. The two Nepgears were the exact same height and the same mannerisms. They even had the same D-pad hairclip in the same place. Yet, there were plenty differences between them besides their outfits, gender and build. Uni narrowed her eyes, spotting a pudding pin on the male Nepgear's jacket collar. The young man felt Uni's gaze and made eye contact, a startled look on his face appeared and vanished in an instant. Replacing his shock with a smile, the male Nepgear broke eye contact and turned towards his female counterpart.
"Nepgear, shall we begin?" Nepgear nodded, raising her hand.
"I'm ready whenever you are!" Male Nepgear copied Nepgear's nod, but pulled off his hairclip instead. Gripping the back of the clip, the boy twisted something and placed it into his ear. A small purple screen appeared over the boy's eyes and the boy leaned forward, a hand on his knee while the other one out behind him.
Nepgear summoned her Beam Saber, clutching it in her hand. Raising her arm higher into the air, Nepgear swung her blade to the side, turning the weapon on in the process, revealing the long, thin purple energy blade.
Historie erected a barrier around the platform, making an extra wall in between the area and the spectators. As the extra wall began forming, Neptune cupped her hands over her mouth.
"Kick that faker's fake butt, Nep Jr.!" Nepgear turned to her older sister and waved, while her opponent stifled a sniffle. Once the final barrier was secure, Histoire rose a tiny arm into the air.
"Let the battle, begin!"
Nodding, Nepgear returned her attention to her opponent, gripping her sword in both hands.
"Too slow!" Almost instantaneously, Male Nepgear zipped across the platform, catching Nepgear by surprise. Nepgear's opponent kicked her weapon out of her hand, back-flipping into the air at the same time and forcing Nepgear to step back to avoid the attack.
"My Beam Saber!" As Nepgear ran forwards and prepared to jump for her weapon, the boy pulled out his pistols in mid-flip. Aiming at Nepgear, the boy put his fingers on the trigger. Seeing the guns pointing at her, Nepgear feinted her jump and dashed to the side.
However, a grin found its way to the boy's face. Male Nepgear changed his target from Nepgear to her weapon, firing at it repeatedly until he landed on the ground. Every bullet that hit Nepgear's Beam Saber caused the weapon to jerk around until it turned off, dropping onto the ground.
Worried about her favorite weapon, Nepgear ignored her opponent and ran towards her weapon, picking it up and sighing in relief upon finding it to be alright. Looking up, Nepgear saw her companions swing their arms in a circular motion, eyes wide.
"What's wrong everyone?" Despite her best to focus on her companions, Nepgear couldn't hear anything that they were saying.
"I think they're telling you to…" Nepgear heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, Nepgear found her opponent already in the air, spinning around. Sticking out one leg, Male Nepgear roundhouse kicked Nepgear on the side of her head. Reeling from the attack, Nepgear instinctively rolled to the side and closed her eyes, holding her ringing head. "Turn around and DODGE!" Popping to her feet, Nepgear opened her eyes to see the soles of two boots shooting towards her face. With a dropkick, the boy sent his opponent flying away. Nepgear skidded across the ground, blacking out from the pain while her opponent landed on his back. Rolling backwards, Male Nepgear reversed his momentum and flung himself to his feet. Spinning his weapons into the air, the boy re-holstered them and walked over to his unconscious counterpart.
"Histy, what gives?! Why can't my little sister hear us?" Histoire shook her head as Neptune waved her arms at her.
"This is Nepgear's test, Neptune. Should there be any interference, then this duel would be pointless." Neptune pouted at Histoire's explanation while Vert crossed her arms, watching Nepgear sit up, slash at her opponent, and force him away from her. Getting to her feet, Nepgear lunged at her opponent and thrusted her blade forwards. Blanc narrowed her eyes as the boy widened his own and dropped down to floor, sweeping his legs across and tripping up Nepgear. As Nepgear stumbled forward, her counterpart got back into a kneeling position and zipped away.
"As I thought," Everyone turned away from Nepgear's offensive to look at Blanc, who was now glaring at the boy Nepgear. "That guy has the prototype of Lowee's Dash Boots." Blanc looked around to see that everyone was looking for an explanation. "Those boots enable a person to around at the speed of light. However, they're still in the developmental stage, requiring the user to be in the air and be in a ready position, like how that guy keeps kneeling." Blanc's glare deepened. "From what I could see, the prick probably has one of Lowee's fighter planes too." Vert uncrossed her arms.
"It also seems that Nepgear's opponent has some Leanbox training." Now everyone turned to Vert.
"Woah, really?!" Vert smiled at Ram, patting her on the head. Rom scooted up to Blanc, taking off her hat and tilting her head to the side. Sighing, Blanc stroked her sister's head.
"Yes," Male Nepgear sidestepped his counterpart's lunge. Turning his back to her, Male Nepgear struck at his opponent's head with a high thrust kick, but Nepgear cartwheeled away from the attack, hopping into the air and speeding towards him with a foot dive. "The Faje Nepgear uses moves that were used a certain wrestling game that were derived from yours truly." Noire crossed her arms.
"Hey, that was a joint project between Lastation and Leanbox!" Vert giggled.
"I was about to mention that Noire, but please do go on." Noire put a hand on her chest, a prideful grin on her face.
"That fake Nepgear is using martial arts exclusive only to Lastation!" Uni widened her eyes in realization.
"Yeah, his spin kicks are the same as mine!" Histoire nodded.
"And that's why I chose this specific Nepgear." The Oracle pointed to the battle, as Nepgear rolled out of the way of another kick. "However, aside from martial arts, this Nepgear has derived a lot more from Lastation than you thought." The boy pulled out his black pistol and Uni pointed at it.
"That no ordinary pistol! That's a custom-made pistol built from Lastation's best parts!" Historie nodded.
"You have a good eye, Uni." Nepgear deflected the bullets that her counterpart fired at her. Holding her blade close to her, Nepgear lunged at the genderswapped Nepgear. "This Nepgear… born and raised on Planeptune's soil, given Lowee's and Lastation's technology and trained under Lastation's and Leanbox's discipline. This young man is the ultimate culmination of unity!" Nepgear swung her blade and threw out a kick, knocking out her opponent's gun away from him when he tried to dodge. Eyes darting after the gun as it slid out of reach, Male Nepgear glared at his opponent, jerking his head forward and smashing Nepgear's forehead against his. Nepgear withstood the attack and pulled her weapon behind her.
"Slash Wave!" Swinging her blade forwards, Nepgear kicked up wind with the power of her strike and launched her enemy away from her. The boy tumbled about until he could get his hands on the ground and push himself into a standing position. Nepgear had positioned herself between her opponent and his weapon.
"Hey, Histoire. If this guy version of Gear is basically the same as our Gear, then why are there so many differences between them?" Histoire opened her mouth, only for Neptune to stand up and swing her arms around, making jabs and uppercuts.
"Ya hear that, Nep Jr.! That FakeGear probably doesn't have a sword! You're in the clear so give him a one-two punch!" Compa giggled, picking up a cookie.
"Nep-Nep, you remind me of the boxer in Blanc's new game." IF sweatdropped.
"...Did you already forget that Gear can't hear you?" Uni cupped her hands over her mouth.
"Come on, Nepgear! Show him what you're made of!" Rom and Ram stood up, waving their arms in the air.
"Go make that dummy cry!"
"B-Be careful, Miss Nepgear!" IF sighed, picking up her cup of tea with one hand and her phone with the other.
"They actually forgot…"
Male Nepgear looked from his opponent to the his gun, the gun that someone special made just for him. Nepgear held her weapon in both hands, ready for any form of movement. The boy blinked his eyes as he stared at the energy blade.
"Wow, what's that weapon called? It looks familiar…" Nepgear loosened her stance and held out her weapon, presenting it to him.
"Is it really? I call it the Beam Saber. It's my favorite." The boy snapped his fingers.
"No way?! I knew it! It even has the same name! That's the weapon that IF and Compa got for me when I was born!" Nepgear blinked.
"First? So what happened to it?" Male Nepgear scratched the back of his head.
"I keep it at home, since it holds a lot of precious memories for me." Nepgear looked back to the black pistol behind her.
"So what about that?" A light blush dusted Male Nepgear's cheeks.
"That's just as special…" Suddenly, the boy's eyes hardened. "But you might have caused some damage to it…" Pulling out the white pistol, Male Nepgear gripped the cylindrical nuzzle with his hands, causing Uni to panic.
"Don't do that, it'll bend the metal!" Uni pressed herself against the barrier, terror in her eyes. Noire reached out to her sister, a little worried.
"...U-Uni? You know that's not yours... So you don't need to be so possessive about it." Moving his hand from the gun, Male Nepgear's pistol had changed shape to look more like hilt than it originally had before.
"It's time to get serious then!" Raising his arm into the air, Male Nepgear swung his arm to the side, a triangular purple energy blade erupting from the edge of the hilt. Pulling his arm back, the boy twisted his body in a similar fashion to Nepgear, sending a shock wave at Nepgear. "Slash Wave!" The attack barreled towards Nepgear and the girl held her blade in a defensive position, taking the attack full blast. Male Nepgear stepped back in surprise when Nepgear didn't even flinch from the attack. "Heh?! But I was serious!" Shaking his surprise off, Male Nepgear gripped his weapon with both hands, running towards his opponent. Inspired by her opponent, Nepgear did the same.
As both Nepgears approached each other, the female Nepgear rose her arms over her head while the male Nepgear lowered his. With loud screams, the Nepgears' blades clashed with each other, sparks jumping around from the where the two energy blades collided. Nepgear put all her weight into her arms, pushing down while her opponent showed signs of struggling, but held his ground.
"Wow, Ge-Ge's stronger than Guy Ge-Ge~!" Neptune put her hands on her hips, pride written all over her face.
"Well of course, she's my little sister!" Histoire nodded her head.
"It is to be assumed, after all this Nepgear is more dependent on his human form more than his HDD form." IF put down her teacup and glanced.
"What do you mean?" Histoire pointed to the two Nepgears locked in combat.
"In the world that Nepgear's opponent comes from, the CPU Candidates are born without the ability to use HDD, rather their abilities are sealed off." IF furrowed her eyebrows.
"Sealed off, that's unfair."
"In their world, a CPU activating HDD uses up a lot of stamina and energy. As such, transforming can cause a large strain on the mind and body. As such, using HDD irresponsibly can potentially kill a CPU early. However, they are still able to transform at birth, tempting them in doing so. In order to prevent a premature death, their powers are sealed." Everyone gasped.
"Then that's completely unfair!" Vert pointed at Histoire.
"You gave our beloved Nepgear such an easy opponent!" Uni nodded.
"I thought you were testing her, not giving her a warm up!" Noire crossed her arms, now disappointed.
"A warm up huh… I wonder who's going to bring the real fight?" Rom and Ram cupped their hands over their mouths.
"Just beat him already, you dum-dum!"
"Don't lose…!" Histoire sweatdropped.
"Everyone please, there is no warm up. This Nepgear actually has the abil-" The roar of a plane cut Histoire off. Looking up, the plane that Male Nepgear flew out of the portal, this time slower. Both Nepgears and the party of CPUs, plus IF, Histoire and Compa, looked up to see the plane gingerly glide over the barrier. Smiling, Male Nepgear loosened his grip on his weapon to wave at the plane, dropping to his knee when Nepgear's strength nearly overpowered him. Waving her hand, Histoire opened a hole in the barrier, allowing the plane to pass through. Stopping nearby Neptune and company and nearly blowing all of their things away, the plane touched down.
"I knew it…" Blanc stood up and walked over to the plane. "This plane is based off of Lowee's R-Wings." The plane had a triangular body shape with purple-tipped wings. The cockpit's door/window was a deep blue, revealing that someone was inside. There was a couple of turrets attached the bottom of the wings. The plane's thrusters were placed in four diamond-like attachments, making an 'X'. The cockpit opened, revealing the pilot.
"Ah, we're missing the fight!" Everyone's jaws dropped as the black-haired pilot turned around. "Come on, you two! We're gonna miss it!" Uni's eyes widened as the pilot spoke. A second after the new pilot put her hands at her hips, two identical faces popped into view, causing Ram to be excited and Rom to be in awe.
"Ah, Rom-chan. Hurry! I wanna see Nepgear-nii fight!" Another Ram climbed out of the plane. This Ram was identical to the Ram of this world in every way except for clothing, as she wasn't wearing her coat and hat and prompting for her dress and blouse instead.
"Wa-Wait, Ram-chan! Uni Onee-chan!" A Rom, dressed exactly like her sister, tried to climb out of the plane while holding a basket. After helping their world's Rom out of the plane, Uni pulled out a rolled up blanket and tossed it to Ram. Climbing out of the plane, the other Uni pressed a button on her phone, causing the plane's cockpit to close. With the other Uni's back to them, they found the difference between her and this world's Uni. Other Uni did not have twintails like the Uni sitting among the CPUs. Instead, this Uni tied her hair into a high ponytail similar to Male Nepgear.
Startled, the CPUs sat and watched as the other dimension CPU Candidates spread out a picnic blanket and take out sandwiches.
"Uni-nee, where's the orange juice?" Other Uni sat as close to the barrier, eyes trained on Male Nepgear.
"It's in the basket." Eyes landing on the boy she spent so many years with, Other Uni clenched a fist. "Come on, Nepgear! Show em' what my rival can really do!" Blinking, Other Rom stopped eating her sandwich and looked to her friend.
"Uni Onee-chan?"
"Hm?"
"I thought Nepgear Onii-chan was your b-" Other Uni looked away, face turning bright red.
"Rival! He's my rival right now!" Other Ram stopped drinking out of her cup, and raised an eyebrow.
"Right now?" Other Uni nodded furiously.
"Yes! Now!"
"Wooow, another Uni, Rom and Ram!" Both Nepgears watched Histoire float over to Male Nepgear's companions greet them. "They look like my friends!" The young man nodded.
"I guess that means something doesn't it…" Nepgear nodded.
"We have to do our best!" Grinning, Male Nepgear took a deep breath.
"Well then, let's go!" The young man zipped forward, causing Nepgear's blade to plunge into the ground. As Nepgear turned off her weapon to have an easier time freeing her weapon, her opponent dashed towards his black pistol, sliding in order to pick it up, and tossed his other weapon into the air, flipping as it rose higher and higher. Weapon free, Nepgear turned on her weapon and ran towards her opponent. Spinning on his rear, Male Nepgear rolled onto his back, showing Nepgear his boots. Nepgear hopped into the air, raising her blade over her head.
"Panzer Bl-?!" Male Nepgear thrusted his legs out, kicking Nepgear in the stomach and sending her backwards. Skidding to a stop, Nepgear holds her blade in both of her hands, narrowing her eyes at her opponent. Back to his feet, the young man hopped backwards, catching his weapon mid-air. Landing on his feet, Male Nepgear holstered his black pistol and held his weapon in the same manner as Nepgear.
"Mirage…" "...Dance!" Both Nepgears dash forwards each other swinging across their chests and spinning clockwise. Their blades clashing, they swung their weapons across once more and then upwards, clashing again. Swinging their weapons back downwards, Nepgear stepped backwards over her other leg while Male Nepgear spun around, twisting his body similarly to Nepgear. With one last dash forward, both Nepgear swing forwards and step past each other, their weapons nearly touching as they held their swords backwards.
Nepgear spun around, appearing fine while Male Nepgear stumbled around, clutching his chest. Both Nepgears held their arms out, stepping backwards and twisting their bodies.
"...Slash…" "...Wave!" The two shockwaves hit each other and canceled each other out. Hopping away to gain some distance, Nepgear lowered her weapon panting while Male Nepgear leaned over, hand on his knee.
"You're really good…" The young man scratched the back of his head, sweat rolling down his face. "You're strong…"
"Yeah… you're tougher than you look." Nepgear smiled.
"Thank you, I'm not really confident in my strength." Male Nepgear straightened his body, giving her a thumbs up.
"Hey, me too! But you're super strong!" Nepgear shook her head.
"No, you're strong too!" The boy shook his head.
"No~, I'm just agile." Pointing at Nepgear, Male Nepegar smiled at him. "You're the strong one!"
"Aw, thanks." Turning to her sister, Nepgear saw Neptune give her little sister a peace sign. "I may not be confident in my human strength, but I'm sure that my true power is really strong!"
"True power!?" Male Nepgear stepped back. Holding her arm forward, Nepgear's eyes shined a bright light.
"Processor Unit, installed…" Nepgear was shrouded in a pillar of light while her opponent shielded his eyes.
"No! She can't be…"
"Oh no!" Other Uni stood up while Other Rom and Other Ram looked worried.
"Nepgear Onii-chan will be alright… Right, Uni Onee-chan?" Other Ram nodded.
"Of course, Rom-chan. It's Nepgear-nii! He'll be fine… Right?" Other Uni clenched her hand, her eyes wavering as she watched her friend and rival step backwards in fear.
"Alright, show them who's the boss here, Nep Jr.!" IF crossed her arms.
"Wouldn't that be you, Nep?" Compa giggled at her friends antics.
"I guess that makes, Ge-Ge the real CPU, right Nep-Nep?" Neptune whipped her head towards Compa, eyes wide in shock.
"What?! Is this a cope de that?!" Noire narrowed her eyes.
"...It's coup de tat." Vert giggled into her palm, picking up her cup of tea.
"It wouldn't be Neptune if she got it right…" Blanc rolled her eyes, munching on a cookie that she split with Rom and Ram.
"Basically…" Uni was bouncing in her seat, pumped up.
"Come on, Nepgear!" Rom and Ram were now standing up, a third of a cookie in the former's hands and cookie crumbs in the latter's mouth.
"Go, Nepgear!"
"...You can do it!" Other Uni and the Other Twins glanced at the company of their opponent. Turning towards each other, they nodded and stood up.
"Nepgear, show them what means to be our friend!"
"Yeah, make that dummy pay!"
"...I wanna draw later…!" Histoire shook her head.
"...You do know that the barrier blocks your voices…"
The light diminished to reveal Purple Sister, floating in the air with her eyes closed and gunblade in hand. Opening them, a pair of sky blue eyes with power symbols within them stared at the Male Nepgear.
"...Purple Sister, ready for battle!" The young man placed a hand over his black pistol, eyes wide.
"Oh that is so cool...!" Male Nepgear pointed at his transformed enemy, excited and jumping a little bit. "You can even fly!? Amazing!" Embarrassed, Purple Sister held her weapon close to her.
"Please stop that, it's embarrassing…" Shaking her head, Purple Sister gestured to Male Nepgear, curious. "How about you transform too? I wanna see what I look like in HDD as a guy!" Pausing, the young man fearfully looks at his outstretched arm, his shaky palm slowly closing into a fist.
"...I…"
"This isn't good, Nepgear still can't transform again!" Everyone reacted when Other Uni said "again." Histoire tilted her head.
"If I may, what do you mean 'again'?" Sighing, Other Uni gripped her shoulder.
"Five years ago… Nepgear transformed to stop something ridiculous from happening…" Other Uni's eyes hardened as Other Rom looked like she was about to cry. "But, it turns out Nepgear wasn't completely ready…" Other Uni's mouth began to quiver. "Then he collapsed…"
"Oh my…" Vert put a hand over her mouth. Other Ram frowned and stared at the ground.
"It was scary…" Other Rom began to rub her eyes.
"U-Uh-huh…" Other Uni looked to the plane, longing in her eyes.
"I was afraid that I was going to lose him…" Other Uni caught her counterpart's surprised stare and shook her head. "A-As a friend!" IF and Compa began to feel sorry for Nepgear's opponent. Neptune blinked her eyes.
"He's fine now right, so why doesn't he try again?" Noire turned to Neptune, appalled at her bluntness.
"Neptune! Don't be rude, if he doesn't want to transform again then he doesn't have to!" Blanc finished her cookie, glancing up.
"Trauma?" Other Uni nodded.
"That's the gist of it…" Everyone looked back to see Purple Sister smiling at an uncomfortable and untransformed Male Nepgear. Histoire looked away, putting a hand over her chin.
"I could have sworn those two were the same in that aspect…"
"Now then… shall we begin?" Swinging her gunblade across, Purple Sister pointed the weapon at the young man, who gulped down his anxiety.
"S-Sure…" Purple Sister zoomed towards Male Nepgear, swinging her weapon at him. Male Nepgear turned off his weapon and jumped into the air, crouching and bending his knees.
"Oh no you don't!" Flipping around, Purple Sister aimed her gunblade at her opponent. As soon as Male Nepgear zipped away, Purple Sister fired her weapon, hitting the young man's foot and knocking him out of the sky. Skidding to her feet, Purple Sister kicked off the floor and flew towards Male Nepgear. As soon as she was in arm's length, the boy thrusted his leg out, only for it to collide with flat part of her blade. Turning on his blade, Male Nepgear spun around and swing his weapon, stopping as soon as it collided Purple Sister's gunblade.
"Oh… Goodness." Purple Sister nodded.
"Sorry about this." With one quick yell, Purple Sister pushed against her opponent's weapon with one giant swing. The young man flew towards the barrier like a bullet, his back colliding against it and leaving him there with his arms spread. Eyes wide from shock and pain, Male Nepgear dropped his sword, falling to the ground as he was still stuck to the barrier. Purple Sister dove towards her enemy like an eagle.
Shaking out of his initial shock, Male Nepgear kicked off the barrier and bent his knees while hugging his arms tightly. Spinning around, the young man spread out his legs, striking Purple Sister in the head. Hope filled his heart as Purple Sister stopped in her tracks.
Purple Sister reached up and grabbed Male Nepgear, whose eyes widened in surprise. Yelling loudly, the CPU swung her opponent around and tossed him towards the ground. The young man's back bounced off of the floor while Purple Sister landed on the ground. Waiting for him to slowly getting to his feet, Purple Sister held her gunblade in her hands as Male Nepgear struggled to stand.
"Mirage Dance!" Purple Sister danced around her opponent, swinging her weapon elegantly and striking precisely. Once she slashed through him with the last hit of Mirage Dance, Purple Sister turned around as Male Nepgear dropped onto his knees. "Panzer Blade!" Hopping into the air, Purple Sister slammed her weapon downwards, knocking her opponent into the air. Continuing with a horizontal slash, the CPU swung her blade upwards, taking Male Nepgear with it and brought him down with a diagonal swing. Raising her blade over her head with both hands, Purple Sister twists her body before putting all her weight into another slam, sending her enemy careening across the arena.
"Guh…" The young man weakly stood up, clutching his arm and shaking horribly. Purple Sister pointed her gunblade at him. Reacting to the gunblade, Male Nepgear pulled out his black pistol and began firing rapidly at her, his arm greatly affecting his aim. Purple Sister stayed composed as bullet after bullet zipped past her. Keeping her gunblade at arm's length, Purple Sister held down the trigger, building up energy as her opponent dropped to his knees.
"M.B.P.L.!" Holding her weapon with both arms, Purple Sister fired a small concentrated laser at Male Nepgear. The boy tried to block the beam with his arms but the blast exploded as soon as it made contact with him. Purple Sister pulled her arm back once she let go of the trigger, recoiling from the blast. Flying out of the smoke, Male Nepgear rolled across the arena from the blast's momentum, bouncing each time he hit the floor. The young man's pistol flew out of his hand once he slowed to a stop near the barrier. The gun slid across the floor and out of the boy's reach. The standing Gear stared at her opponent before turning to their audience, smiling upon seeing her sister's proud face.
"Nepgear!" Other Uni slammed her hands against barrier, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. Other Rom covered her face while her twin sister began to call Purple Sister "a cheating meanie."
"Heh, your Nepgear's not so tough now is he." Uni froze when her counterpart glared at with her teary eyes. However, it wasn't the glare nor the tears that froze her. Uni could see within herself from another dimension. The fear, the terror, the worry, the desire… Uni could see it all.
As the two Unis had a staredown, Neptune waved to her sister, pretending to flex her muscles. Purple Sister happily waved back.
"SHUT UP!" Purple Sister rose up into the air, raising her blade over her shoulder. Neptune pumped her arms.
"Aw yeah, time for the grand finale!" Other Uni gasped amd turned to Histoire.
"Turn off the barrier!" Histoire blinked her eyes, surprised and confused.
"...I-I'm sorry?" Other Uni slammed her fist against the barrier, making a tiny crack in it.
"Nepgear can't fight anymore! At this rate, if that other Nepgear pulls off that attack. My- Our Nepgear will die!" Flustered, Histoire opened the barrier. Other Uni was engulfed in a pillar of light. A figure dashed out of the pillar before it faded, speeding towards Male Nepgear and Purple Sister, who had swung her blade and began to fly towards her opponent.
"Multiple Beam Launcher: Overdrive!" As Purple Sister dove faster towards Male Nepgear, the figure stood in between them, pointing a giant rifle at her. "U-Uni!?" Glaring at Purple Sister, Black Sister gripped her gun tight.
"XMB: Empress!" Firing a large orange laser at Purple Sister, Black Sister held her ground as the opposing CPU canceled her attack in order to dodge.
"What the Goodness!?" Turning to her side, Purple Sister saw the Uni from her dimension running towards her, realizing who the Black Sister that fired at her was. "Wh-Why did she stop my attack?"
"The duel is over, Nepgear." As Histoire said that, Black Sister nodded and turned back to her companion, kneeling over Male Nepgear. Dropping her weapon, Black Sister lifted her friend to sitting position, shaking him gently.
"Nepgear, hang in there!" Other Rom and Other Ram ran after Black Sister, staves in hand.
The twins excitedly ran over to Uni and Purple Sister as the transformed CPU Candidate turned back into Nepgear, exhausted from the battle.
"That was awesome, Nepgear!"
"Yay~ Miss Nepgear!" The twins alternatively hopped around Purple Sister, causing the girl to be embarrassed.
"Hmph, I could have done that too…" Neptune ran over to her sister, glomping her in a big hug.
"Good job Nep Jr.! That's my sister!" Nepgear hugged her sister back as Vert suddenly lifted both of the Nep siblings into the air and swinging them around. "Woah, hey!"
"Ooooh, my darling little Nepgear! You did marvelously!" Vert put the two down, causing Neptune detach from Nepgear as she spun around, dizzy. Nepgear readjusted her hair and smiled at Vert. Compa joined in hugging Nepgear and IF patted the girl on the back, watching Histoire float over to the Other Candidates.
"Nepgear! Wake up, Nepgear!" Other Rom and Other Ram held up their hands, casting healing magic all over the boy's body. Suddenly, both of the twins looked confused.
"Eh? What's this?!" Other Rom looked at her sister, then to Black Sister. "Nepgear-nii isn't hurt that much!" Black Sister sighed in relief as Male Nepgear groaned.
"Uni Onee-chan! Nepgear Onii-chan is okay!" Slowly shifting around, Male Nepgear opened his eyes and lifted his head.
"Oh… Uni, Rom and… Ram." The young man gave them a meek smile. "Good morning…" Sighing, Black Sister pulled Male Nepgear into a hug.
"Don't do that ever again, okay?" The Other Twins wrapped themselves around their Nepgear, holding back their tears.
"We… were so scared…." Male Nepgear scratched his cheek, a tiny blush growing on his face.
"I-If you lose again, I'm g-gon…" Other Ram buried her head into her brother figure's arm, crying into his jacket.
"I'm sorry, I made everyone worried again…" Male Nepgear wrapped his arms around his friends.
"I'm sorry as well." Histoire floated over to the group, her head low. "I did not expect that you could not activate HDD." The young man scratched the back of his head as the Other Twins pulled him to an upright position.
"It's alright, Histoire. I've never been able to transform ever since the first time…" Histoire put crossed her arms, confused.
"Strange." Black Sister turned to Histoire, raising an eyebrow.
"What's strange?" Histoire tilted her head.
"I spoke with the Histoire from your dimension before requesting your presence, and she said that your Nepgear has been able to access HDD for some time now." The Other Candidates whipped their head to Histoire, eyes wide.
"EH?! Really?!" The young man shook his head, pointing to himself.
"B-But, Histoire told me that she sealed my HDD form after I tried to transform a second time!" Histoire nodded.
"I was informed of that. However, the Histoire in your dimension forgot to tell you that the seal dissipated three months after it was placed." The boy blinked his eyes.
"Eh?"
"Did you ever try to transform anytime after that?" Male Nepgear shook his head.
"Not at all. I never had the need to transform." Neptune popped into the conversation, grabbing Histoire and placing her on her head.
"What about flying?" Male Nepgear pointed to his plane.
"I don't need to worry about flying, because I have my Gear-Wing." The CPUs blinked as they looked at the plane, then to Male Nepgear, then to the plane again.
"Gear…" Compa picked up where IF trailed off.
"...Wing?" Male Nepgear smiled as he put his hands at his hips.
"It's my pride and joy!" Blanc stared blankly at the boy. Neptune, Noire and Vert had wide white circles replaced their eyes. IF sweatdropped. Compa giggled. Rom and Ram didn't know what to think. Uni's eye slightly twitched while Nepgear's eyes sparkled. "I built it with my own hands along with Blanc giving me the base I needed to work off of!" Blanc blinked her eyes.
"So, it was from Lowee." Male Nepgear nodded as he gestured to the plane with his arm.
"I've piloted this baby ever since I got my license, it's basically my daughter!" Other Rom and Other Ram spread their arms wide, standing on either side of Male Nepgear.
"It's suuuuuper comfy!" Other Rom nodded.
"Super comfy!" Black Sister crossed her arms, nodding her head.
"Nepgear flies pretty smoothly." The Other Twins then turned to Black Sister.
"Uni-nee stinks at flying!" Other Rom hesitantly nodded her head.
"...Scary…" Black Sister sweatdropped and turned away, blushing.
"S-Sorry, I'm not that good yet alright!" Blanc blinked her eyes, putting her hands on her hips.
"The name is stupid." Neptune stood in front of the clearly hurt Male Nepgear.
"Hold your horses, Blanny Blanny Bii-" Blanc narrowed her eyes.
"Don't call me that." Noire frowned.
"I actually kind of agree with Blanc." Vert put her hands on Nepgear's shoulders.
"I think it's endearing, right Nepgear?"
"U-Um, Vert. I didn't name the plane…" IF closed her eyes. Compa turned to her friend.
"What is it, Iffy?" IF made a hum as she wracked her brain.
"What about… Divine Sky-Blazer?" Ram raised a hand.
"Ooooh, that sounds awesome!" Rom shrank a little.
"It sounds scary…" Male Nepgear pouted, raising his fists into the air.
"I built it, so I name it!" Blanc shrugged her shoulders.
"Gear-Wing… Your naming sense still nags at me." Blanc pointed at the two empty holsters on Male Nepgear's side. "Lemme guess, the white one is called…" The young man ran over to white hilt was and picked it up.
"This is the Gear Saber, I built it myself!" Blanc blankly stared at the boy as he excitedly picked up the black pistol. "I called this the Gear Buster for while, but since Uni made this for me, I think I'll call it… the Uni Buster!" Black Sister gripped Male Nepgear's cheeks and pulled them.
"Neeeepgeaaaaaar!" The boy waved his arms around as his cheeks were stretched with a CPU's strength.
"Bud Ewe ryc eeeet!" Histoire coughed into her hand, a little miffed.
"I'm afraid we are on borrowed time." The Oracle pointed to the portal. "I cannot keep this portal open for long." Nodding, Male Nepgear stepped forward.
"Alright, I'll try transforming then!" Black Sister grabbed the young man by the shoulder, pointing to his dirtied and slightly damaged clothing.
"Hey, Nepgear. You should go change first." Male Nepgear looked at his clothes.
"Alright then…" Nodding, the boy took off his d-pad hairclip/scouter and handed it to Black Sister. Taking off his jacket and wrapping around Black Sister's shoulders, Male Nepgear pulled off his shirt, revealing his pink-striped sleeveless undershirt and his masculine build to everyone.
"Wha- Hey, Nepgear?!" Blinking, Male Nepgear looked at Other Uni, who transformed back to her human form out of surprise.
"Yes?" Other Uni pointed at the CPUs, who were blushing or trying to look at every inch of the young man's body.
"I told you not to do that!" The boy made the puppy dog face again, which was the exact opposite of the wide-eyed cat face Nepgear was making at the moment.
"But… you said you liked to wear my jacket…" Other Uni shook her head, blushing a great deal.
"NO! Not that, that!" Pointing at his undershirt, Male Nepgear smiled and scratched his cheek.
"Aw, but Uni. Everyone's seen me like this already, there's no need to hide it anymore." Other Ram poked Male Nepgear on the side.
"No, you dummy! She means them!" Male Nepgear turned to the CPUs. Neptune and Vert looked intrigued with Male Nepgear's body structure. Blanc was jotting notes down. Compa was mumbling something about anatomy while looking at different angles. Ram turned away while screaming "Ew!" over and over again. Rom closed her eyes. Nepgear still made her cat face. Uni was looking away, more embarrassed than anything. Noire was beet red. IF subconsciously took a photo with her phone, flash on. Finally, Histoire coughed into her hand again, a tiny blush across her widening finally at the realization, Male Nepgear dashed towards his plane.
"Oh my gosh, not again!" Other Rom followed after him, holding his change of clothes.
"Nepgear Onii-chan, w-wait!" Other Uni scratched the back of her head, slightly bowing.
"S-sorry about that, Nepgear can be a little air headed at times." Putting her notepad away, Blanc shrugged her shoulders.
"It's fine. Your Nepgear may be a little weird, but thats better than having this annoying bimbo around." Both Other Uni and Other Ram gasped as everyone looked confused at their reactions.
"I know you're not my sister, but how could you say to Vert!?" Other Uni nodded, shaking her head after.
"Yeah, it's surreal!" Blanc furrowed her eyebrows.
"The hell are you two talking about?" Male Nepgear and Other Rom returned, the former having changed into a white button-up shirt with a purple sailor's collar. Around his neck was a yellow tie held down by a purple pin. Male Nepgear had changed his pants to a pair of white ones and now wore a pair of white and purple sneakers instead of his boots. Taking his hairclip/scouter back, the boy put it back on his head.
"Sorry abou- Uni? Ram? What happened?" When Other Ram explained what Blanc just said, the other two made the exact same reaction, with Male Nepgear stepping backwards and Other Rom covering mouth. "Come to think of it… Where's little Peashy-chan?" The boy's companions looked around, worried.
"She should be around right?"
"Yeah, she's never alone…"
"I'm worried…" Vert put her hand to her chin, tilting her head slightly.
"I'm apologize if I'm being rude, but who's Peashy?" The four Other Candidates froze and slowly turned to Vert, eyes wider than before. Other Rom and Other Ram began to tear up while Other Uni nearly collapsed, stopping herself last second. Male Nepgear pointed at her, eyes filled with denial, his other arm ready to catch Other Uni.
"How could you say that about your own daughter?!" Now the CPUs were shocked, except Blanc, who was laughing.
"Now that's a riot, Thunder Tits over there actually hooked up with someone!" Having regained herself, Other Uni stared at Blanc.
"Blanc, why are you so mean to your wife?" Blanc stopped laughing and after a second, her face turned blank.
"What." Other Ram nodded.
"In our world, you love Vert Onee-chan so much." Other Ram waved her arms as Blanc's jaw dropped.
"Wait, I'm a dude there too?!" The Other Candidates shook their heads, causing Blanc to sigh in relief, and at the same time, in confusion as to how two girls can have a child. Meanwhile, Other Ram turned to Male Nepgear, grinning.
"Yeah, there was even a time you went mad searching for Vert Onee-chan when she went out with Peashy-chan to go grocery shopping when you were working on a novel." Male Nepgear snapped his fingers.
"I remember that! Blanc-san flew all the way to Planeptune and threatened me for information…" The young man dropped onto all fours. "My Gear-Wing…" Blanc sweatdropped as the young man flashbacked to what the Blanc in the other dimension did to him and his plane. Shaking her head, Blanc pointed a finger a Vert.
"But why Thunder Tits?!" Vert crossed her arms, a smile on her face.
"Oh, Blanc. How childish of you to not accept our counterparts love…" Blanc turned to her, glaring.
"Oh? What the hell do you know, huh?" Vert's smile turned mischevious.
"Obviously, their Blanc has accepted her disadvantage and has married my counterpart in order to fulfill that void." Other Ram shook her head.
"Blanc-nee told us that Vert Onee-chan was the one who proposed to Blanc-nee." Vert turned to her, surprised.
"Truly?!" Other Rom and the other two nodded. "B-but what about our characteristic love of little sisters?!" Other Uni held up a hand.
"Ah. Apparently, Vert was satisfied just with having Blanc as a wife." Male Nepgear nodded.
"Oh yeah, Vert really loves to talk about Blanc when she's not around." Vert stepped back dramatically. After a second of looking shocked, Vert giggled and put a hand to her chin.
"I see… Does your Vert love to tease your Blanc." The Other Twins nodded.
"Yeah, she does it all the time."
"Mhm, Vert Onee-chan even carries Blanc Onee-chan into their room for more teasing." Vert turned to the side, glancing at Blanc, who stepped back as she felt a chill down her spine.
"Interesting…" Neptune propped herself against Male Nepgear.
"Hey, hey! What about me?" Male Nepgear smiled.
"My sister? Actually, she acts exactly like you!" Neptune grinned as she ran over to Noire.
"See Noire? Even in other dimensions, Nep is still the same!" Noire scoffed and crossed her arms.
"I bet I'm still better than you." Other Uni raised her hand again.
"Actually, you two seem pretty equal in our world." Noire whipped her head to Other Uni in shock while Neptune's grin grew.
"What!?"
"In fact, you two compete a lot in order to settle the score… although nothing happens at all." Uni tilted her head to the side.
"That sounds a lot like how Neptune and Noire act in our world…" Compa smiled.
"Ehhhh, so that means that we could have two Nep-Neps at the same time~!" IF put a hand to her forehead.
"...I don't even want to think about it…" Histoire floated over to Male Nepgear.
"If you are done dawdling, then we must get started." Male Nepgear pried away from the group, bowing to Histoire.
"S-Sorry, I'll get to it right away!" Nodding, Histoire turned to the center of the platform.
"Then please, follow me."
Histoire floated to the center of the platform.
"Please, stand here. Everyone else, clear the area…" Everyone returned to the blankets. Male Nepgear walked over to the center of the platform, turning to face Histoire. "Now activate HDD." Male Nepgear stared at his hand, concerned.
"A-Are you sure that I can do this?" Histoire nodded. Other Ram and Other Rom stood up.
"You can do it, Nepgear-nii!"
"Good luck!" Male Nepgear smiled and held out his arm. Taking a deep breath, the young man backflipped into the air, spreading his arms out while keeping his legs together.
"Please watch over me!" Floating in the air, the boy spun around and held up his arm. A small bright rainbow-colored object blasted out of the portal and flew towards Male Nepgear, landing gently in his hand. The power-symbol shaped Sharicite, spun gently in his hand as the boy felt energized by the crystal. Taking a deep breath, the Sharicite began to shine brighter. Eye closed, the young man slowly touched the Sharcite to his chest, enveloped in a bright purple light, rather than just a pillar of light.
Once the light died down, Male Nepgear had transformed into Purple Sister once again, looking identical to Nepgear's HDD form, only without her back, waist and feet processor units.
"Woah, he's basically Nep Jr. in HDD…" Purple Heart floated away as she heard the boy-turned-girl breath heavily.
"Wow, Nepgear's just like me!" Nepgear put her hands together, her eyes sparkling. "Imagine all of the Gears. Attacks we could do!" Rom and Ram copied her while Compa tried to bandage Nepgear's arm with difficulty. IF and Uni had the same expression on their face as a bead of sweat rolled down their cheeks.
"Wait…"
"Why did he turn into a girl?" Other Uni stared in amazement as Purple Sister, her Purple Sister, floated in the air before her once more.
Purple Sister twirled in the air and semi-curled into a ball as her feet was covered in a thin purple aura. Sticking out her arms and legs, Purple Sister's feet processors appeared. Twisting her torso, the waist processors materialized at Purple Sister's hips. Completely turning around, Purple Sister arched her back forwards in order for a V-shaped light. Holding her arm out, the CPU Candidate turned around as the light vanished to create her wings.
"Processor Unit…" Raising her arm as her gunblade materialized in her hand, Purple Sister swung forward as a dramatic purple light shined behind her. "Set complete!" Blinking her light blue eyes, Purple Sister floated around, staring at her body and seemingly unfazed by the fact that he is now a she. "Wow, this is what I look like…"
"Nepgear!" The CPU's companion waved at her, excited. Other Uni cupped her hands over her mouth. "You did it! You can use HDD now!" Purple Sister bashfully waved at her. Histoire smiled.
"Congratulations, Nepgear. You should be able to use HDD as often as you'd like." Histoire put a finger on her cheek. "Would like to compare your power between your human form and HDD form?" Purple Sister nodded. "Okay… one moment." After three seconds, a cylindrical sandbag-type looking object materialized in the middle of the stadium. "Now then, please revert back to your human form and use your strongest attack that does not include any of your weapons."
"U-Um, how do you float down?" Histoire blinked.
"I'm sorry?"
"H-How do you descend… to the floor?" Purple Sister stared at the floor, ears red. Histoire smiled and floated closer to Purple Sister.
"What you have to do is…" Whispering the instructions, Purple Sister thanked Histoire and stared at the floor. Scratching her head, Purple Sister descended to the floor. Once her feet landed, Purple Sister stumbled forward, using her gunblade to catch herself. However, she didn't expect the gunblade to hit her in the face as she fell forward, causing the CPU Candidate to fall onto her back.
"Nepgear, are you okay?!" Other Uni stood up from her blanket as Purple Sister sat up, rubbing her nose.
"Owwie… at least it wasn't my legs this time…" Signaling to Other Uni that she was okay with a wave, Purple Sister turned to the sandbag object. "Hmm… so my strongest…" Purple Sister put her fist under her chin, using her other arm to support her arm that was supporting her chi, and subconsciously turned back into Male Nepgear. "All of my attacks have the same power… so I guess I'll go with my favorite…"
Taking a step back, Male Nepgear pulled out his weapons and gently put them on the floor. Raising a leg, the young man cartwheeled towards the sandbag and front-flipped over to the object. Once he was three arms lengths away, Male Nepgear used the momentum he gained from his acrobatics to run forward. One arm held out behind him and the other arm bent in front of him, the young man jumped slightly and spun around, kicking the sandbag.
The sandbag flew to the side, skidding across the floor. Male Nepgear landed on the ground as the sandbag stopped halfway towards the edge of the platform. The young man began bouncing on his toes. Lifting his leg high into the air, Male Nepgear flipped towards the sandbag, slamming his heel into the center of the object.
"Alright, that's enough." With a wave of her hand, Histoire caused the sandbag to disappear and reappear in the center of the platform.
"Wow, so cool!" The twins clapped as Nepgear smiled.
"Nepgear's so agile too!"
"He's faster than Nepgear, that's for sure." Uni shrugged her shoulders. "Although that speed didn't mean much against Nepgear's raw strength!" Nepgear turned to Uni.
"Uni! You're making sound like a monster!" Hearing his counterpart, Male Nepgear chuckled lightly.
"Now then, Nepgear. Please transform again, this time using the same attack as last time." Nodding, the young man returned to his position, transforming back into Purple Sister.
"Proccessor Unit… Set complete!" Putting down her gunblade, Purple Sister began to her cartwheel, having a bit of trouble staying grounded. However, when she attempted her front-flip, the CPU Candidate shot over the sandbag. "Awaaaaaa-!" Arms waving, Purple Sister attempted to control her flight, but kept going in the same direction.
"Ah…" A flash of light caught the CPUs off guard and Black Sister, from the other dimension, flew over to Purple Sister, grabbing her by the hands.
"Uni…" Black Sister shook her head.
"Geez, do I have to look after you in this form too?" Purple Sister giggled as she used Black Sister's grip to help her to an upright position.
"I'll teach you this just once, got it?" Purple Sister nodded, tightening her grip on Black Sister's hands. A soft smile grew on Purple Sister's mouth as she happily
"Please be gentle." Black Sister blushed and turned away.
"D-Don't say it that way?!" Purple Sister tilted her head.
"Why not?" Shaking head, Black Sister took the lead.
"Nevermind, just follow my lead."
Everyone watched as Black Sister and Purple Sister flew around, taking soft turns and gentle dives. The whole time, Purple Sister held onto to Black Sister's hand. After Purple Sister got somewhat used to flying, the two of them began to fly around, entrancing their companions and brand new friends as they moved around as if they were dancing.
"Wow, so pretty~!" Compa said followed the CPU Candidates as they began to enjoy their practice flight. IF smirked as she took another picture, consciously. Noire and Uni traced the flight patterns, too amazed to say anything. Neptune stared, smiling wide. Vert pulled out her phone, ready to take a video, only for Blanc to knock it out of her hands. Rom and Ram watched, raising their hands and attempting to trace Black Sister and Purple Sister's flight pattern.
"Nepgear-nii! Uni-nee! Do a Darrel Roll!" Other Rom giggled at her sister.
"Ram-chan, I thinks a Haileron Roll…" Histoire floated in front of the CPU Sisters, a sad smile on her face.
"Forgive me for interrupting this beautiful display, but…" Purple Sister blinked and sweatdropped.
"Ah! Sorry, Histoire!" Black Sister turned towards her companion, her cheeks a dusty red.
"S-Sorry for taking too much time, Nepgear…" Purple Sister shook her head.
"No. You helped plenty, Uni." Black Sister scratched her cheek, letting go of one of Purple Sister's hands.
"Hey… Nepgear…"
"Yes?"
"W-When we get back home…" Black Sister hopeful red rubies gazed into Purple Sister's kind sapphires. "Y-You wanna fly around in HDD… just the two of us?" Tilting her head downwards, Black Sister glanced at Purple Sister, who's face stayed the same.
"We could just do that in the Gear-Wing?" Black Sister sweatdropped.
"N-No, I mean… Nevermind, I'll tell you in later…" Black Sister headed back to the audience and turned back to Other Uni, sighing in disappointment.
Purple Sister returned to her original position and stayed afloat this time. Taking a deep breath, the CPU Candidate floated backwards and sped towards the sandbag. Once she was a considerable distance away from the sandbag, Purple Sister spun around and kicked the practice dummy in a manner similar to her human form. The sandbag flew over to where Male Nepgear had kicked it before, bouncing a little bit farther and nearly falling off of the edge of the platform. Fist pumping, Purple Sister did a twirl and smiled.
Once Purple Sister landed on the floor, a purple aura began to emit from the CPU Candidate's body. As Purple Sister looked at the aura as it flowed through her body, Histoire floated next the boy-turned-girl.
"Nepgear. Do you feel something flowing out of you?"
"Yes, I feel… supercharged…" Histoire nodded. Suddenly, a small white light shined in front of Purple Sister's heart. The girl covered her eyes as the light broke and her Sharicite popped out of her. "M-My Sharicite! Hi-Hi-Histoire!? Is th-th-this supposed to happen?!" Histoire closed her eyes, nodding and holding out her hand.
"This is fine, Nepgear." Opening her eyes, Histoire floated closer to the Sharicite. "In fact, this is another reason why I specifically asked for you to duel our Nepgear." Purple Sister looked at Histoire in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Histoire cleared her throat.
"While I was searching through my manual a while back, three months ago to be precise, I found that there is another form that a CPU can reach… a form that transcends HDD." Purple Sister pointed to herself.
"S-So, you wanted me to be here because…" Histoire nodded.
"I called you here for three reasons: One, to test our Nepgear's abilities. Two, to confirm this form's existence. And three," Histoire turned to the CPUs with annoyed expression. "Give these girls a reason get off of their lazy bums and I believe that seeing this form would give the motivation to do so..." Purple Sister laughed awkwardly as Histoire sulked. "I understand that the world is peaceful now… but none of them are even close to attaining this form…"
"Anyways, so you mean that I can ascend HDD?" Histoire nodded.
"According to the manual… in order to attain this form, a CPU must endure years of hard work and training, achieving a balance of mind and body, as well as understanding the difficulties of living a mortal life. Only then can a CPU achieve their exy Form!" Purple Sister cupped her hands, her Sharicite landing in her palms.
"Next Form?" Histoire nodded.
"Yes, now a holographic panel will appear before you and you must place your Sharicite there to awaken your Next Form!" Purple Sister looked around as the panel appeared in front of her face startling her. Turning to Histoire, the two nodded as Purple Sister took a deep breath.
"Hey, what's Other Nep Jr. doing?" IF shook her head.
"No clue, but she- he… she? -Whatever, has her Sharicite back." Compa nodded.
"I wonder what Guy Ge-Ge's gonna do?"
"That purple aura looks so villainous…" Blanc pulled out her notebook and began writing something down, only for Vert to knock it out of her hands. Blanc glared at her until she saw Vert's face. Sensing the irony, Blanc huffed and pulled Rom and Ram closer to her, shoving their intimacy in Vert's face.
Nepgear and Uni were now examining the Gear-Wing with Other Rom and Other Ram as their guides. Other Uni gripped her skirt tightly afraid of what's going to happen to her special friend.
Purple Sister gripped her Sharicite and shoved it into the panel. The panel shrank and darted into Purple Sister, causing her fall back and become engulfed in her aura, which thickened, obscuring the CPU Candidate from sight. The ball of aura flew high into the air, darting around the arena as Histoire calmly watched along.
When the ball of aura passed by the Gear-Wing, Nepgear and Uni diverted their attention from the plane to follow it. Both versions of the twins had to stop following the purple ball as their eyes began to hurt. Blanc, Vert and Noire attempted to follow the aura, giving a certain points in time. Neptune was fine, but she was busy bother IF and getting affection from Compa. Other Uni kept her eyes on the aura's every single movement. After a couple of minutes, the dark purple aura landed near the center of the platform, causing a small quake and shaking the area.
The aura thinned out revealing Male Nepgear's new wingless form, his feminine curves from his Purple Sister form were gone, leaving his masculine build from his human form. Back facing the CPUs, the lower half of his body was covered by a pair of pure white shorts and an unzipped dark purple jacket over the upper half of his body. On the back of his jacket was a purple 'G', fashioned similar to Neptune's 'N'. Under the 'G' was a katana in a sheath with a hilt identical to the one that Neptune always used. While Male Nepgear still had Purple Sister's hair color, his hair had been tied into a high ponytail, held together by a ribbon similar to the one Uni always wore. Because the barrier had been taken down a while ago, a strong gust of wind blasted through the platform, pushing his jacket aside and revealing that Male Nepgear was still in his Purple Sister bodysuit, but it was altered to have short fingerless gloves and was wearing something similar to the boots he wore in his human form but they were sneakers instead.
Once the wind died down, Male Nepgear spun around to face the audience. The power symbols in his eyes were a piercing white, a strong contrast to his deep blue eyes. Histoire's eyes sparkled in accomplishment as she turned to the audience as well.
"Everyone, please take a look!" Everyone was in awe of the new Male Nepgear, the young man waved at his friends as Other Uni gazed in amazement. "This is a new form that you girls could achieve with proper training… The Next Form!" Histoire then turned to the young man. "For this particular CPU, this form will be named: Next Gear!" Nodding to Next Gear, Histoire gestured to the sandbag. "I'm excited to see your power now…"
"Right!" Next Gear calmly walked over to the sandbag, standing next to it. Without any preparation, Next Gear spin-kicked the sandbag. The practice dummy zoomed off the platform and straight into the horizon, where a tiny sparkle could be seen. When the sparkle vanished, Next Gear reached for the katana at his back. Slowly drawing the blade, the Next CPU tossed his weapon into the air. Turning so that his back was facing his companions, Next raised his arm and caught his blade, swinging his weapon and glancing over his shoulder.
"Wow, Nepgear-nii! That Next Form stuff was awesome!"
"Mhm! Nepgear Onii-chan is super strong!" Noire stared the form, interested.
"That power…" Blanc was busy looking over her twins, so all she saw was when Next Gear swung his sword. IF nodded, crossing her arms and grinning.
"That was awesome, to say the least." Compa was looking where the sandbag flew.
"...It was like a shooting star…" Nepgear looked concerned.
"W-Will my Next Form turn me into a guy, too?!" A bead of sweat rolled down Uni's head.
"I don't think that's how it works." Other Uni ran over to Next Gear, who turned around slowly.
"Nepgear!" Next Gear's serious face immediately vanished upon seeing Other Uni, replacing it with his usual kinder smile.
"Uni, look! This is so cool!"
"Wow, so this what Next Form looks like…" Next Gear smiled wider and held up his sword.
"Look, it's exactly like Neptune's!" Other Uni grinned and peeked at his ponytail, a small smile appearing when she saw the ribbion.
"You even copied my ribbon…" Next Gear shook his head.
"No, I actually put it on." Other Uni blinked.
"What?"
"You gave me the other one remember?" Blinking again, Other Uni opened her mouth in realization.
"Oh, right! Hey, Nepgear! Try using Mirage Dance!" Nodding, Next Gear took a few steps. Next Gear dashed forward, going through the motions of Mirage Dash. With every single slash that Next Gear made, a crescent beam flew out of the blade. "Woah, you can shoot sword beams now?!" Next Gear's eyes shined in amazement as he held up his sword.
"Congratulations, Nepgear." Histoire floated closer to Next Gear, prompting the young man to sheath his sword. "You can now use Next Form! Unfortunately, we are running out of time, I'm afraid that you should leave now or I must wait three decades to open another portal." Next Gear bowed to Histoire, Other Uni bowing alongside him.
"Thank you, Histoire. I guess we should be going now." Histoire nodded. The trio regrouped with the CPUs and the Other Twins. As Next Gear approached, the boy transformed back into his human form, letting Other Uni catch him as he stumbled forward. Once Male Nepgear was in range, Neptune ran over and patted him on the back.
"That was awesome, Guy Nep Jr.!" Noire nodded her head.
"I hate to admit it, that Next Form stuff was pretty cool." Blanc shrugged her shoulders.
"It was cool." Vert smiled as she crossed her arms and leaned towards Blanc, feeling satisfied when she heard the girl growl. The CPU of Leanbox shifted her attention to Male Nepgear.
"Your strength was quite wonderful, Nepgear." Ram shrugged her shoulders like her sister, but looked disappointed.
"Meh, you still lost to Nepgear." Rom smiled at the duo.
"You… did great!" Compa hugged Male Nepgear.
"Iffy, Guy Ge-Ge feels a lot like Ge-Ge!" Other Uni grabbed Male Nepgear by the arm, attempting to pull the boy out of Compa's vice-like grip. IF sweatdropped.
"Compa… you might wanna let go." Once Male Nepgear was free, Other Rom and Other Ram grapped onto Other Uni and Male Nepgear.
"Uni-nee! Nepgear-nii!" Other Rom gently tugged on Male Nepgear's shirt.
"We're hungry…" Other Uni raised her eyebrows.
"But we just ate?!" A small growl came from Male Nepgear's stomach. Patting his stomach, Male Nepgear bashfully scratched the back of his head.
"Me too, actually." Male Nepgear then turned to Nepgear, bowing deeply. "On that note, thank you for teaching me the power of HDD, Nepgear." Nepgear, surprised and embarrassed, bowed as deep as Male Nepgear did.
"N-No, thank you for being my opponent! I never would have expected that another version of me would be my opponent, nor would he have such a different style of fighting either!" Other Rom and Other Ram began to pull Male Nepgear and Other Uni towards the Gear-Wing.
"Come on, Nepgear-nii!"
"Let's go home…"
"O-Okay…"
"W-wait, why are you pulling me too?!" The CPUs, Candidates, Histoire, IF and Compa waved as Male Nepgear and Other Uni carried the Other Twins into the Gear-Wing. Helping Other Uni into the plane, Male Nepgear waved.
"Thank for everything!" Neptune cupped her hands over mouth.
"Come back, ya hear!" Male Nepgear nodded then turned to Blanc and Vert.
"Blanc, Vert, I hope I get to meet the Peashy of this world soon!" Blanc shook a fist as Male Nepgear climbed into the plane, starting it.
"Shut the hell up, Jackass! And don't come back or else or I'm gonna kick your ass!" Huffing as the plane left, Blanc turned to make eye contact with Vert, who was staring at her. "Wh-What do you want?"
"Peashy, huh?" Blanc did not like the look on Vert's face. Grabbing Rom and Ram, Blanc pulled her sisters downstairs. "Ah, Blanc?! W-wait! It was a joke! A joke!" Everyone else followed the quartet as Nepgear turned to Uni, who was staring at the trail that the Gear-Wing left as it flew into the portal.
"Uni?"
"Wh-What is it Nepgear?" Nepgear tilted her head.
"Are you okay?" Uni looked to the sky as the portal closed. After a second, Uni shook her head and walked over to her closest friend.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Nepgear smiled.
"The Nepgear and Uni from the other dimension are really close, huh?" Uni nodded and followed Nepgear down the stairs.
"They are… I wonder how close they actually are…" Nepgear giggled.
"Maybe they're dating?" Nepgear and Uni paused before shaking their heads.
"Nah." In synchronization, the CPU Candidates of Lastation and Planeptune walked back into PlanepTower as they could hear their companions causing a mess back in the living room.
"Hey, Uni?" Nepgear looked to his girlfriend.
"What is it?" Before continuing his question, Nepgear looked behind them, relieved that the twins were asleep. Scratching his cheek, Nepgear took a deep breath before making direct eye contact.
"What about Plutia?" Uni raised an eyebrow.
"Who?" Nepgear made an awkward chuckle.
"Well, I was thinking about how Blanc and Vert haven't had Peashy yet…" Uni's eyes widened, the blush that had vanished thirty minutes ago had returned, multiplying the blush by three.
"Nepgear! We're too young for that!" Nepgear sweatdropped, setting the plane to autopilot and holding a frantic Uni's hands.
"It's just hypothetically…" Uni glanced out of the dark blue tinted glass for a second.
"Fine…" Nepgear blinked his eyes in surprise. "But…"
"But?" A grin appeared on Uni's face.
"But only if I get to name the second child Uranus." Taking a second, Nepgear smiled, pulling Uni closer, noses touching.
"Sure!"
"Ew! Uni-nee and Nepgear-nii are sharing cooties again!" The two lovers looked behind them to see Ram with a mischievous smile on her face, eventually pretending to look disgusted.
"...Sweet." Ram began to laugh when the duo turned back to the front, their faces the same color as Noire when she's being teased by Neptune. Nepgear turned off the autopilot and resumed flying. Uni began to play with her fingers. Meanwhile, Rom began to feel guilty and Ram was still laughing.
The Gear-Wing flew over Gamindustri, flying slowly and awkwardly, back to Planeptune.
Test- End