Author's Note
Hey guys, welcome back to chapter 9 of LITOW. So a lot of you are confused in the last chapter as to why I made Green Heart act the way she did with a weak creature like that dogoo. If I explained why then it would spoil some things in the future chapter, probably the next one, so I'm not gonna say. You'll just have to read the story. With that said, enjoy chapter 9.
Warning: Lots and lots of blood, plus selfharm on Black Heart, but it's not what you think.
Leanbox, Gamindustri
Place: Marubaco Forest
Date: November 29, 2017
Time: 5:12 P.M
Black Heart limped through the forest as she cursed, "Shit, that hurt…"
She leaned against the tree and slid down while wiping some of her blood against the bark. She looked down at her left leg and winced. She could still feel the bullet in her thigh and it would occasionally shoot pain up her leg every time she moved. She needs to find a way to get the bullet out before the wound completely closes.
Damn that stupid little Guild agent, and Green Heart too! To think that I would land on them of all people!
-FLASHBACK-
Black Heart was descending fast. She didn't have time to active her wings as she broke through the tree line. She closed her eyes and braced herself as she was waiting for the painful smack of the ground. She broke through many branches before she landed on the ground on her back.
Black Heart let out a groan as her head painfully spun. Ouch.. but that didn't hurt as much as I thought it would… Black Heart thought the fall would have been more painful, but instead it felt like a pillow.
"Lady Green Heart!"
Black Heart sat up and blinked. Green Heart? She turned her head to see a girl with brown hair holding three claw-like daggers in each hand, making her look somewhat like Wolverine.
"Do you mind getting off of me?"
Black Heart looked down and was met with angry purple eyes. Her eyes widened when she realized that she was sitting on top of another goddess. "Green Heart!" She yelped and quickly jumped up onto her feet, which she soon regretted when a painful shot went through her leg causing her to kneel down on one knee.
Green Heart stood up and fixed her hair as she materialized her spear. "Black Heart, I'm so happy to see you here. I've been waiting…" A large grin spread across her face that gave Black Heart chills.
-End of FLASHBACK-
"She was waiting for me…" Black Heart furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "She knew I was coming. This was all planned, but how? How does she know?"
No matter how much she thought about it. No one knew about her and Purple Heart coming here but Histoire and her military people, unless she has a mole in her military. She rapidly shook her head, not to dare and doubt her people's trust.
Struggling to stand, she used the tree as support and winced. Black Heart pressed her hand against the wound on her external oblique and gritted her teeth. Curse that Guild agent. To think she was able to land a hit on the exact spot where that dragon left the gash. This isn't my day. Hope Neptune was having better luck than me… Speaking of Neptune, where is she? She should have finished off those fighter jets a while ago. Black Heart began to worry that Purple Heart might have dropped upon Green Heart like she had. Maybe Neptune can crush her for me in the process? That sounded really ridiculous in her head. Purple Heart wouldn't just drop from the sky, so she only hoped that she hadn't made connect with their enemy goddess. Ugh! The one day where I leave my phone at home and I need it!
She took her first step and yelped, feeling the agonizing pain in her injured leg. Her wounds weren't healing as fast as she would have liked, this wouldn't be an issue if Green Heart hadn't stolen her medical pouch. All those healing potions she could've used. There were also tools in there that could help her dig out the bullet too.
Sucking it up, she made her way through the forest in search of the Key Fragment that they were originally here for and for Purple Heart. Black Heart wasn't too worried about Purple Heart since she wasn't as injured as she was. Hopefully they'll meet up in the forest somewhere.
There were many low leveled monsters in this forest, but they could still be dangerous if she were to be ambushed by them, especially when she was injured like this. Every time she heard a crack or a rustle, she would jolt. Hearing deep snarls off in the distance, the Black goddess quickly summoned her weapon for protection, but the giant blade felt super heavy in her grip.
The growls quieted down, but she raised her blade slowly as she scanned her surroundings, waiting. When nothing happened, she lowered her sword and sighed. She must be paranoid.
Just when she was about to dematerialize her blade, a loud groan caught her attention along with the ground shaking. What the-!
Quickly turning around, her eyes widened from the sight of the large land whale with its mouth open. It moved towards her, engulfing the nearby trees and bushes along with the small critters. Reacting instantaneously, Black Heart leaped off the ground and activated her skill, "Fall Slash!" Her blade grew a few more inches as it was covered in a bright light, and with a single swing, the beast was cleanly sliced in half by the shockwave, leaving a large cut in the ground.
When she landed, her leg sent an agonizing shock through her body. She gasped and fell onto one knee as she stabbed her blade into the ground to stabilize her balance. Her lower half was covered in blood as she was getting lightheaded. She really shouldn't be moving too much, but if she stayed still for too long she could easily be preyed off.
There should be another one nearby… Land whales are never found alone… Black heart gritted her teeth when her body refused to move. She hated feeling weak like this. She has to do something about this wound and the bullet or she will be this first CPU to die because of something like this. Damn it, Neptune! Where are you when I actually need you!? Looking around, she only saw bushes and trees in the proximity. Lowering her head, she sighed, feeling unbelievably drained, but then her eyes caught sight of a familiar white flower. She pulled out the small flower and examined it. It was one of the items needed to use for a healing potion. I could use this to heal myself! If Purple Heart wasn't coming to help her anytime soon, then she might as well take this chance to forge some potions.
Searching for anything that looked familiar for a healing potion formula, she created a small elixir, only two spoonfuls, and she used a tree leaf as a bowl. I hope I did this right. I should've asked Compa to come with us. Drinking the green liquid, she gagged and cringed. Gross... she bitterly thought. Did the potions always tasted like this? While the taste was different, she certainly did feel better. Black Heart felt a bit of her energy replenished. This was the best she could do. Forging herbs and combining it to make a temporary healing device. I could really use a Yggdrasil Leaf right now… Five seconds passed as Black Heart slammed her hand against the ground and remembered, "And I had one in my pouch!"
Letting out all her negative emotions, Black Heart continued down the path in the forest. She looked under bushes, in tree holes, cracks, anywhere a Key Fragment might be, but she always came out empty. Black Heart took out the two Key Fragments in her possession and questioned, Do these even work? Historie said that they only glow when they are near each other. She frowned and used the metal pieces as a compass.
Limping through the bushes, she waved the Key Fragments around trying to detect Leanbox's Fragment. She felt really dumb waving around some tiny objects, but it was the only lead she had. Black Heart was slowly getting weak. Her wounds have finally stopped bleeding, which was good, but she was still worried about the bullet in her leg. She could feel it with every flex of her leg and it was really uncomfortable.
Suddenly, the purple and black Fragments began to glow in her hand. It was close. Black Heart smiled and limped forward where the Fragments would glow the brightest. Soon, she heard the sound of rushing water. Her eyes lit up and she tried to move faster, but tripped over a tree root. She let out a low growl as she slowly stood up. The Key Fragments we're still in her hands, but her leg was sending up shocks of pain and she couldn't move. With no other choice, she summoned her wings. She wanted to stay low in case she encountered anymore enemy jets, but she didn't want to put more strain on her injured leg. Hovering just above the ground, she sighed with relief when the pressure was off her leg.
Floating forwards, she could see light shining through the dense trees. Bursting out of the forest, Black Heart halted and cursed, "Shit…" Before her was a pack of land whales moving about near a large river. A land whale noticed her presence and maneuvered towards her with its mouth open wide. Black Heart replaced the Key Fragments in her hand with her sword and actives her skill. "Fall Slash!" The land whale tilted its body to avoid the attack, but the shockwave cut through its flipper and it howled out in agony, catching the other land whales' attention.
Black Heart flew at the other land whales, slowly cutting them and breaking them down into shattered data. "Lacy Dance!" She twirled around, slicing her blade against the thick pink hide of the land whales. She tried not to move her left leg too much, but while her attention was distracted, a land whale maneuvered behind her. Black Heart was able to turn around fast enough to catch the sneaky beast and used her blade to block the incoming tackle.
The land whale rammed into Black Heart and knocked her into the rushing water of the river. The CPU felt the cold water prick her skin as she tried to swim. Reaching the surface she gasped for air and quickly swam to the shore. She lowly groaned as her body throbbed in pain.
There was only one land whale left, she can take it. Shakingly holding up her sword, the land whale swam through the air towards her. It dropped it's jaw, showing it's large rows of teeth. Black Heart clenched her teeth and lowered her blade to the side. "T-Tornado… Sword…" she huffed out.
The black blade in her hands was engulfed in light as it grew a few inches longer. Black Heart slightly bent her knees and flinched when her thigh throbbed painfully. She was weak and couldn't move as much, she only had one chance or else she will die.
The land whale dropped itself as its belly rubbed against the ground. Black Heart perfectly timed the action and sidestepped the monster, thrusting her blade into the land whale while using its momentum to create a clean slice. The goddess stood her ground as the beast slid through her blade and crashed into the river, dematerializing.
Black Heart dropped to her knees and wheezed as her body burned. She had pushed her body to the limit. She couldn't move anymore. Her wound had reopened and it started to bleed again. She crawled to the water and sat in it, using the rushing water to wash her blood off her body and somewhat calm her beating heart. Lying down against the pebbled ground, she spread her arms out as she looked up at the bright blue sky. This could have been a peaceful trip, but instead it turned into a survival of the fittest where she had to survive the freaking wildlife of Leanbox.
Sighing, she sat up and looked down at her reflection, her white hair was a mess and her face was covered in dirt and blood. Splashing some water on her face, she felt somewhat refreshed and the wounds that have been in the freezing water felt almost numb. Staring down at her bleeding thigh, she steeled her determination. Okay…
Sitting down at a nearby rock, a little away from the river, she potistion her sword over her thigh where the bullet wound was. She bit her lip and pressed the tip of her blade against the flesh. Deep breaths, deep breaths, deep-! She grunted as she sliced down against the skin making the hole into a large gash. She cried out as tears formed in the corner of her eyes and blood gushed out of her wound. She dropped her weapon as she gripped onto her leg, trembling. It's okay… it's okay… She told herself as her eyes blurred. She can't faint, the bullet was still in side. She whimpered as she brushed her fingers over the wound. It's okay… it's okay… She screwed her eyes shut as she plunged her finger and thumb into the makeshift wound. She yelled out and cried as she dug deeper into her flesh. When she couldn't take it much longer, she pulled her hand away. She gasped for air as warm tears ran down her face and she leaned herself against the large rock. The bullet was still deep in her.
Turning her head, she gazed at her sword that's covered in her blood. Reaching for a stick that was nearby, she bit onto it and repositioned her black blade over her large bullet wound again. As her adrenaline rushed through her system, she plunged the tip of her sword into her thigh, but made sure not to stab all the way through. She grunted, the stick muffling her cries, as she began to big out the bullet. Tears rolled down her face at the unbelievable pain she was giving herself.
In the process of searching, the tip of her blade dug out her own flesh and blood, cutting up the tissues and veins. Her blade then hit something hard and she jolted as her body overcome with agonizing pain. She accidentally hit her bone. "SHIT!" she howled out as the stick fell out of her mouth. She quickly retracted her blade and in the process, she was able to fling out the bullet. She dropped her sword and stared at the small bullet along with small chunks of her flesh. She covered her mouth as she gagged, but was able to keep the bile down. She also noticed that she was now sitting in a pool of her own blood. To think she would lose this much.
She crawled over to the river and washed the giant gash on her left thigh with the cold water. It looked like an ancient dragon had took a huge bite out of her. She looked at her hand and it was shaking. She gritted her teeth and clenched her hand to stop the quaking.
Washing her hands and washing most of the blood off her thigh, she wrapped up her wounds with some leftover bandages she had in her inventory. It should heal in a couple hours… hopefully…
Black Heart slowly stood up and leaned on her right leg to take the pressure off her left. While doing so, she noticed something green in the water. It was faint, but it was definitely glowing. Could that be... Pulling out the two Key Fragments in her inventory, it was glowing as well. So it is. These things really do glow when near each other…
Black Heart was hesitant, but the reason she came here was for that item. She wasn't gonna leave until she got it. Taking a deep breath, the Black CPU limped into the running water. It was cold and it felt nice, but the stinging it caused to her wounds was not. The further she walked, the deeper it got, and she wasn't even close to the green glow under the water. Holding her breath, she dived in, swimming towards the light. It was hard for her to maneuver underwater with her injured leg, but she continued anyway. Closing in on the green glow, she reached out to grab the small metal object, then she rapidly kicked off the rocks and swam back up, needing for air. Once up at the surface, she deeply inhaled, happy to have oxygen back in her lungs.
Swimming to the shore, she sat down, needing a break. Her transformation then gave out and she grumbled. Being in her human state made her vulnerable, especially in enemy territory. Lifting her hand, she examined the green Fragment, it had stopped glowing. It looked like it was made out of the same metal as the other two Fragments from Planeptune and Lastation, only the shape that differentiate them.
Now they only need the one from Lowee. Their mission was complete, now she needs to find Purple Heart and get the hell out of here. She must have been pretty lucky to stumble upon Leanbox's Fragment in this river when it could be anywhere in this nation's wildlife.
After some much needed rest, Noire stood up, but then her vision began to spin causing her to fall over. What the…Her head pounded painfully as her eyelids drooped and her body grew cold. No… I can't pass out… I can't… Not in the open… If she fainted now, there will be no way to protect herself.
Her vision began to blacken as her mind numbed out. An image of Neptune entered her head as she slowly lost consciousness. Nep…tune...
Leanbox, Gamindustri
Place: Basilicom
Date: November 29, 2017
Time: 5:49 P.M
Purple Heart followed Green Heart to her room. Looking around the green walls, there was an open window next to the bed in the back, and scattered everywhere were hundreds of stacks of games. Purple Heart blinked, this was way worse than her room and if Black Heart saw this mess, she will go insane, trying to clean this up for sure.
"I apologize for the mess, Neptune," said Green Heart. "I wasn't expecting visitors."
"I won't be here long anyways, and please refrain from using my name in this form," said Purple Heart. "I just need to be occupied until Black Heart arrives."
"Surprising that she hasn't made her way into my city yet."
"You talked as if you knew she would be here…"
Green Heart chuckled, "Let's chat as we have tea." She sat down at the coffee table and motioned for Purple Heart to join her.
Seeing nothing else to do, Purple Heart sat down in the seat across from Green Heart. She glanced around to see nothing dangerous of the sorts. She wasn't sure what Green Heart's aim was by inviting her to her basilicom. They were enemies and now she was acting pretty friendly. Purple Heart couldn't help but feel like she was missing something, oh wait, she was missing Black Heart. Surely if Black Heart was by her side, she would immediately point out what was wrong, since the Black CPU was a great observer.
"I'm not quite as good as Black Heart when it comes to interrogating, but why are you being so friendly all of a sudden?"
"Seeing that you don't have any ill intentions of coming to my nation, I just wanted to chat. That is all," answered Green Heart, picking up her tea cup from the tray that her oracle had sat down earlier.
"Why are we chatting in your personal bedroom? Wouldn't it be more proper to have me in your office?" Purple Heart questioned.
Green Heart hummed as she voiced, "I wanted some alone time with you. My oracle would get in the way of things if we were in my office." She shifted her position and crossed her tone legs, causing Purple Heart to glance down at her lower half.
"My eyes are up here, Neptune," she purred.
Purple Heart glared and growled, "Are you trying to seduce me, Green Heart?"
Green Heart giggled, "Please, call me Vert."
"Answer the question, Green Heart."
Green Heart sighed, "If I must, I'm not trying to seduce you. I was just stating why we're in my bedroom instead of my office, and it was you who was checking me out when you are intimate with Black Heart."
"I wasn't-"
"If you are interested, I wouldn't mind giving you special service."
"I am good, I'll never betray Noire," Purple Heart stated.
"I see, very loyal. Black Heart's one lucky girl to have you by her side. How is your relationship, might I ask?"
"It's great."
"How far have you two gone? Have you guys already had intercourse?"
Purple Heart's face immediately flush red from the question. "T-That is none of your concern!"
Green Heart giggled, "From your reaction, I assume you and Black Heart have already done so. I'm guessing Black Heart's the dominant one? No, she has trouble expressing her feelings… Could it be you? I believe you're the one that takes the top position?"
"Again! Our sexlife is none of your concern!" Purple Heart shouted.
Green Heart drank the rest of her tea and poured herself another hot cup. "It is not of my concern, but you two are the first CPUs on Gamindustri that are intimate with each other. It has caught my attention and my curiosity. I merely wanted to learn what it's like to date another goddess."
"It's the same as human dating," Purple Heart answered. "You love them so you want to be with them."
"Quite the answer. So why Black Heart? I believe I would have been the better choice." Green Heart sat up straighter and thrust out her chest. "Planeptune and Leanbox could have done so much together."
"It just happens..." An image of Black Heart entered her mind and Purple Heart couldn't help but smile warmly.
Green Heart noticed the expression and smirked, "You know. If Black Heart were to ever dissatisfied you, you can always come to me. It'll even be a secret between you and me. What do you say? Give me a shot at love."
"That will be a hard no. I am quite satisfied with Noire. No, I'm more than happy to be with Noire. She's my everything."
"Very touching," Green Heart commented. "Are you sure don't want me? I am quite amazing in bed."
"Yes, I am sure," Purple Heart grumbled and decided to change the subject. "Anyway, what were you doing out at the borderline with IF before?"
Green Heart didn't comment on the change of topic and answered calmly, "I was doing a Guild quest. Why else would I bring a Guild agent along?"
Purple Heart sat up straight and said, "I didn't notice till now, but that black pouch in your possession is actually Black Heart's, is it not? You lied about not seeing her."
"I didn't lie, and that black pouch belonged to Black Heart? I found it on the ground and since it had been full of medical supplies I decided to take it and return it to whoever had lost it."
"But you used the healing potions," said Purple Heart.
"I had to or I would lose Iffy. I love Iffy and wouldn't want her to die."
Purple Heart frowned. Those were all valid answers from the Green CPU and she couldn't seem to find a crack. The Purple goddess was sure that Green Heart was lying, she could feel it in her gut.
Shifting the questions to a different topic, "Where is White Heart? I would have thought you guys were planning to make another attack on Planeptune?"
"White Heart went back to her nation. We decided to take a little break from invading."
Now that they were on the topic of invading… "You mentioned that someone had informed you that I was invading your nation, who told you?"
Green Heart paused as she thought about her choice in words. "A sorceress told me."
"You mean Arfoire?" Purple Heart growled out the name. She was still upset about the sorceress almost killing her oracle.
"Yes."
"And you just happened to be doing a Guild quest when Black Heart and I came visiting Leanbox's borderline?"
"Yes."
Purple Heart waited for more explanation, but it never came as Green Heart took a sip from her tea. "Anything else you wanted to add?"
"No, not really," she replied. "But I did wanted to add you into my life." Green Heart fluttered her eyelids and hummed.
Glaring, Purple Heart continued her questions. "Where is Arfoire?"
"In Lowee, she accompanied White Heart back to her nation."
Green Heart was awfully causal about this. She wasn't phased by any of Purple Heart's question, it's almost like she knew what she was going to ask next. Purple Heart picked up her cup of tea and stared at the liquid.
"It's not poisoned. It came from the same teapot that I'm drinking out of," said Green Heart.
Purple Heart slowly lift the cup to her lips and drank. It was warm, nothing else but the bitter taste of tea. Placing the cup back down she started her questioning once again. "One more thing I want to ask."
"Go ahead."
"That bracelet, or stone... Whatever you call it. How was it able to cut off my share energy?" Green Heart slightly jerked. A reaction that Purple Heart was waiting for. "Where did you even get that item?"
"...I'm sorry, but that information is classified," Green Heart replied.
"Can you at least inform the name of this item?"
"Hmm... alright, it's called Anti-Crystal."
"Anti-Crystal?"
"Yes, now it's my turn to ask questions, Neptune," Green Heart sternly voiced, placing down her teacup. "Why are you and Black Heart really in my nation? I can't find it in my heart to believe that 'this' was a friendly visit."
Purple Heart inhaled as she was dreading this question would come up. She was able avoid it back in the forest, but now with just her and Green Heart the only ones in the room, it was hard to distract her. She's gonna have to come up with a believable lie. "We were... looking for something..."
"Looking for something? For what exactly?"
"A lost item...? Yes! A lost item, I remember now," Purple goddess happily said as she clapped her hands together. "It was a… a quest! A Guild quest! Yes, someone dropped an item near Leanbox's borderline and I decided to come retrieve it. Black Heart was worried about me coming near enemy territory that she insisted on accompanying me."
Green Heart narrowed her eyes on the Purple CPU. "I see... quite a believable lie you made there."
"It is no lie!" Purple Heart denied. She was looking for an item, so it wasn't a complete lie, just a white lie.
"So if I ask Black Heart the same question, her answer would be the same?"
"O-Of course." Purple Heart's gonna have to find Black Heart before Green Heart. This trip just became a little more complicated. Oh Noire, where are you!?
Leanbox, Gamindustri
Place: Marubaco Forest
Date: November 29, 2017
Time: 6:23 P.M
Noire moaned as she sat up, rubbing her scalp. Her head was still pounding, but it wasn't as bad as before. Her wounds didn't seem to bother her as much, but she could still feel a small sting. The bandages were soaked from the river water and her blood. At least she's still alive, which is a good thing.
Slowly standing back up, she looked up at the sky. The sun wasn't all the way up in the sky, so it was deep in the evening now. Since she won't get anywhere by staying out in the forest here, and unfortunately she knew that Purple Heart won't be showing up, her only course of action was to enter the city and get first aid. She was low on energy and needed something to eat along with a new set of bandages.
Transforming into Black Heart, she materialized her wings and shot for the air, just above the river. Flying was always easier and faster than walking. Following the river upstream, she hope it would lead her into the heart of the nation. Going deeper into this unknown territory did not sit well for the Black goddess. She was well known around Gamindustri. She'll easily be captured and be brought to Green Heart. Maybe it's better for me to stay in human form...
Author's Note
So I know Green Heart might act a bit different from the Green Heart in the games. You can think of this story as a different dimension from the hyperdimenion in the games, but with the same timeline.
Honestly, HDN as so many dimensions if you include the spin off games. I'm counting 9 dimensions so far. So there's the hyper, the ultra, the zero and heart dimension from the main series. And then there's the super, the cyber, the MegaTagmension, the hyperdevotion Noire and lastly the producing profection.
The hyperdevotion Noire is not the ultradimension because the story sets on Gamarket, not Gamindustri, so it's a different dimension. And then the producing profection sets in the ultradimension, but doesn't have Plutia in the storyline, so it's also a different dimension. If I'm missing another dimension, please do tell.
Anyway, stay tune for next time on LITOW!
