CHAPTER SEVEN

The Rival

Blue. Just, the color blue, everywhere.

A blue aurora wavered past the polygonal pillars, which were also a crystalized blue color. With each step Pupuru took on the glassy floor, it reacted with a slight glow. Kuu was mesmerized by the sight, touching the floor and the pillars while wandering. Pupuru saw shapes floatings with the aurora. Mainly triangles, squares, circles, and X's.

"This is the weirdest dungeon I've ever seen. Yet, it's also one of the most beautiful." Pupuru looked over to her companion, who was still running around curiously. "Don't you agree, Kuu?"

"Gu, gu." As he was hopping about, Kuu realized that the crystal didn't give off a reflection of any kind. If anything, they almost felt like they were filled with some sort of energy, such as AP possibly.

Kuu's ears began to twitch lightly, as he heard someone rapidly pacing around the area. It couldn't have been Pupuru though, because it wasn't the sound of her boots which he memorized for so long, nor did the clinking of a sword and shield accompany it.

Peering past one of the pillars, Kuu saw a girl. She had D-pad clips in her short, lilac hair, with purple eyes that matched it. She wore a white jacket-dress that had a hoodie, blue and white stockings, and sneakers.

"Hey now, you're an All-Star, get your game on, go plaaaaay!" The girl sang.

"Kuu? What are you looking at?" Pupuru asked, checking to see who or what her companion was staring at.

The other girl seemed to notice right away that she was now being watched, smiling cheerfully. "Oh, hey there! I was wondering when someone would finally show up! You're my opponent for the climax fight, huh?"

Pupuru almost thought that this girl was jumping into things too fast, but remembered that she had kind of done the same, as did a few All-Stars. It would be hypocritical to say something like that. "I… guess so? What does that mean? Who are you anyway?"

Giggling, the girl put her hands on her hips. "The main character of main characters, heroine of this adventure; Neptune! CPU of Planeptune!"

Now Pupuru knew what Zeus was ranting about when he mentioned a "woman with a romanized name". She seemed alright though, her unusual declarations aside.

"Aaand a climax fight, is a one-on-one duel against a 'rival' character, before the big bad. Don't ask how I know these things, I'm just all-too familiar with this kinda structure! What's your name?" Neptune asked.

"I'm Pupuru," she replied, "that's Kuu. Also, no offense, but what is a CPU?"

"Console Patron Unit," Neptune answered, "a goddess of a nation, my good friend!"

Bewildered, both Pupuru and Kuu flinched in unison. "G-Goddess!? But you don't look anything like a—"

A bright light suddenly surrounded Neptune's body. Pupuru and Kuu were forced to look away, or they would most likely be blinded.

Hair becoming darker and growing out into a pair of long, braided pigtails. Her body became taller, appearing more like an adult. No longer was Neptune wearing a white hoodie, but instead, a black latex suit of some kind, which had purple and silver marks on it.

Opening her eyes, they were no longer purple either, but blue. Her pupils were now white, in the shape of a power button. "Transformation, complete." Wings spreading out, having a lilac, crystalized look to them. "This, is my Hard Drive Divinity form; Purple Heart. Easier for you as, my goddess form." She spoke in the voice of a mature woman, a futuristic katana materializing in her hands.

Pupuru was in awe, while Kuu looked extremely happy at the reveal, running up to Neptune excitedly. "Kuu, wait!" Pupuru called out, but Purple Heart didn't seem to mind, and began petting the creature.

"I have defeated the others that stood in my way, and it seems I have no choice but to do the same with you, if I wish to reach the final boss." Pointing her katana, Kuu instantly hopped back over to Pupuru, who was also taking a few steps back.

This was the "rival" thing Cole was referring to it seemed. On top of that, this the girl that was giving everyone else trouble, and Pupuru could see why, unsure of what she was about to experience in just a minute.

The battle started with Neptune— or more accurately, Purple Heart— swinging her katana at Pupuru, and then following up by kicking the sorceress with her heels. Pupuru barely even got to react, because of how fast she was moving.

Now all Pupuru could think was that she was going to get creamed by this fellow newcomer. Yet, she was going to try to win anyway, even if the odds of skill were stacked against her. On top of that, with no items or hazards of any kind around, it looked like Pupuru was going to have to use whatever she or Kuu had by themselves. Not an easy task, when Purple Heart's katana ignited, striking Pupuru with the hot, flaming edge of her blade.

Right after that too, Pupuru noticed gusts of wind swirling around the katana this time before she was sliced. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it seemed Purple Heart was able to apply elemental power to her attacks, somehow. Waiting for Purple Heart to be wide open, Pupuru tossed spices at her, then used a scroll to stun the goddess just for a bit longer. Getting her distance, Pupuru tossed fireballs, in hopes of getting AP from afar, since she didn't know what risk would be taken if she got too close again.

Purple Heart knew what her rival was doing, and it was because she had a Level One, ready to be used. Trying to corner Pupuru to the wall of pillars, and then knocking her down by using a gun of some kind, Purple Heart smirked.

"Cross Combination!"

Pupuru got back up to her feet, only to hear that Purple Heart activated her Level One, and was calling out the name of the Super Attack. Swinging around and moving forward, Pupuru couldn't jump away from it, due to how big Purple Heart's blade was.

That was one point for her. Pupuru dreaded how the rest of this fight was going to go…

Just about nearly every All-Star was standing in the Time Station, the coordinates being adjusted so they could warp to where Polygon Man resided, now that it was repaired. It was a mutual agreement that they would all regroup there, and they let each other know ahead of time. Most of that was Raiden's suggestion, since his codec was currently modified to contact other All-Stars. The use was limited of course, as it would only reach the more technologically advanced characters, that could send or receive transmissions.

"So none if you warned her about Polygon Man, who will probably show up right after they face each other?" Sly asked. Like anyone else, he was worried about the circumstances.

"She would figure it out on her own, why spoil it? We'll all be catching up with Pupuru and that other gal soon." Daxter said, leaning against a wall.

"We should have enough time before either one of them meets the Polygon Man," Cole explained, "that's why I trusted my gut in not telling Pupuru about that. Also, she's going to need our help. She can't do it on her own, so I promised I would come help as soon as I could."

Jak and Kat nodded in agreement. "We already told her that none of us, including Zeus, were able to keep the Polygon Man away." Raiden spoke, staring at the slight reflection of his eyes in his sword. "She may doubt her capabilities, and be defeated by him. Especially if the Polygon Man ends up being more stronger than last time. That's why we need to hurry."

"You seem to neglect Neptune," Nariko pointed out. "According to her, she is the goddess of a land, and has certainly shown it. If Polygon Man takes her life, or whatever he plans to do with All-Stars such as us, then the place she protects shall fall to ruin, surely."

Everyone, except Isaac Clarke and Zeus stared at Nariko, absolutely speechless at that sudden revelation. "Unfortunately, this is true. Weird thing is, while we were traveling with Neptune and we told her about Polygon Man, she felt bad for him." Isaac was just about finished reconnecting things, since Ratchet was distracted by what Nariko said.

"Who cares about what happens to them? Is it really our problem? Especially if that purple brat knew something we didn't." Evil Cole chuckled. Although the likes of Heihachi agreed with him, everyone else shot him a glare.

The Big Daddy— affectionately named "Mr. Bubbles"— was unsure, he was still upset over losing to Neptune, but Sackboy seemed worried. Colonel Radec on the other hand, couldn't care less about the CPU, but he was a tad concerned for Pupuru.

"It will become our problem, if Polygon Man gains too much power, to the point where even you cannot hold him off. Nor will anyone else be able to do so." The words that came out of Kratos stung quite a handful of them. It was true, they still had no idea what Polygon Man's real intents were, but none of them could take their chances.

Evil Cole and Heihachi gave in, as did the Big Daddy. Right on time too, since the machine's destination was set.

A portal opened up, showing the blue, crystalized area. Two characters were fighting, and everyone knew exactly who they were.

It was too tough. Pupuru managed to successfully use a Super Attack against Purple Heart, in which she respawned to her human form, and continued fighting in that form for a little while.

It seemed that Neptune was the type to save her AP for some reason, rather than constantly wasting it like Pupuru. She constantly tried to stun her opponent, but Pupuru wasn't having any luck with keeping the CPU dazed for long. With little options, Pupuru had to build up for a Level Two, and hope that the flaming waves wouldn't be avoided like Kuu was, constantly.

Eventually, the other All-Stars arrived from the time portal, witnessing the intense battle. They were thankful the duel was still going on, rather than one of them going off to face Polygon Man.

"Pupuru!?" Toro called out to her. However, this only distracted Pupuru, as Neptune managed to unleash a few combos against her with the more normal-looking katana, as opposed to the futuristic one in her HDD form.

"I'll finish you off!" Able to already pull off a Level Two, a giant sword made up of blue and purple particles was summoned. Neptune stepped back, as it struck the ground in front of her, taking out Pupuru in a shockwave. "Easy peazy! I'm gonna win this thing in no time!"

Neptune, being the rather meta character she was, glanced over to the others watching their fight. "Riko! Space-man! You kept your word and decided to watch out for me, huh? I see you brought Sackboy too!" Not seeing Pupuru reappear, and approach her from the side, Neptune was met with ice magic to the face. Pupuru followed it up with a series of spells, items, and making a small combo with her sword. All of which Neptune couldn't fight back much against until she dodged a fireball while rolling.

Using an electrical swipe with her katana, Pupuru held up her shield to block it off, then activating her own Level Two in retaliation for before. Being struck by the flames, Neptune exploded into shapes.

"One gets distracted by our arrival, then the other does too. Maybe we should have stayed hidden, so they can focus better." Emmett suggested. The two combatants were tied in their score once more, and only one of them could get the third, and final point.

Sir Daniel was a bit perplexed, and said something. As usual though, no one was able to understand him, except for Clank. "I must agree with you on that, Daniel. I am also unsure if this is the same goddess character that Nariko was referring to."

Dante couldn't help but snicker, knowing very well how baffled the others were going to be. It was great timing too, because Neptune was getting frustrated. Cutting off a chunk of her leftover AP, she transformed back to Purple Heart right on the spot.

"If either of us is going to lose, then I want to make sure I'm going all out. I did not come such a long way for failure!"

Purple Heart's appearance, like it did for Pupuru, astonished those who did not run into her beforehand. She then proceeded to sweep Pupuru, without missing a beat. "I… take back what I said." Sir Daniel murmured. Kuro though, began staring at Purple Heart lovingly, and had to be bonked on the head by Toro.

Flying towards Pupuru, two fighters continued to clash. Pupuru hit Purple Heart with a pot, much to the CPU's confusion over such a random object. Getting back up, Purple Heart was burned by fire magic, and Pupuru swung her sword at her as a follow-up.

She was responding to her rival's swift movements a little better. There was no way Pupuru would let her win, even with how determined Purple Heart was.

Both of them had a Level One, ready to be used at the most precise moment, in hopes of finishing the battle. Purple Heart used a freezing slice of some kind against Pupuru, then activated hers.

With the Cross Combo attack, Purple Heart knew she had Pupuru, this was it—

"Blind spot!"

Pupuru had rolled behind her, the very second Purple Heart used her Super Attack.

The realization hit Purple Heart like a car— not far off of a comparison either, as Kuu rammed into her back, making the CPU explode into particles.

It happened so fast, but that ended the match. Pupuru somehow came out victorious in the end.

Neptune reappeared, looking bushed about her loss and falling onto her knees. "But… No way that just happened! I'm the main character, right?" Neptune groaned, as Nariko stepped in to help her back up. "Geez, you even go and announce my blind spot, just before dealing that last blow. That's rough!"

"To be fair, you were exceeding what she was used to probably," Isaac said. "You're not going to pass out on us, are you?"

Laughing in a humiliated sort of way, Neptune rubbed her head. "A Nep-Nap sounds good about now, but I know this isn't the time nor the place." Walking up to Neptune, Sackboy comforted her with an innocent smile, being supportive as always.

For Pupuru though, Toro, PaRappa, and Kat all joined on praising her winning that close match. "How did you manage that!?" PaRappa asked her, still trying to figure out what had happened.

"I knew she was going to use her Super Attack the moment I got up, so I rolled before that could even be done, just to be safe. Then, I sent Kuu out when my guess was correct," Pupuru explained. "It was a slight risk, but I could tell she really wanted to end the battle."

That ended the rival fight, but Cole and Kratos were on their guard more than anyone. They knew that he would show up any moment now.

"There's no use in hiding," Cole stated, "you might as well come out now. We know you're here for the newcomers, Polygon Man."

Pupuru froze in her boots, feeling the ground tremble as a giant AP sphere appeared. The arena turned purple, various crystal shards from the pillars were pulled towards the sphere, as if it was a magnet.

A large head was created, along with a pair of yellow eyes, which lit up like small lights.

(No one is surprised, it's Nep. And she's spouting memes before fighting. :V )