Cali: Good morning, afternoon, or evening readers. Just as a heads up, february might not have a lot of updates because VII (I think) is supposed to be released february 2nd, and I had a wonderful christmas (got a ps4) anyways, I'm getting off track, allow me to start this chapter shall we?

Digit

"I'm….home?" I took a look at my body and saw that my wounds were gone.

"Mhm," Neptune said as she kissed my cheek and sat in my lap.

"..."

"I was surprised to see you come back so soon, I mean you kinda fell out of the sky one day and popped up here."

"I….fell out of the sky?"

"I couldn't believe it myself until I saw it happen. But I'm glad you're back here."

"I'm glad to be back Neptune, where are the others?"

"The others? You mean like Blanc, Vert and Noire?"

"Yeah,"

"They're in their respective nations, I haven't told them you're back yet, hold on."

"Oh, Neptune I want to introduce you to someone,"

"Huh? Oh ok Digit but I have to do some stuff, so I'll meet up with you later."

"Huh? Alright," Neptune left me while I stared at the TV. I stood up and Nepgear looked at me while her head was propped up on her hand.

"Hey Digit," Nepgear asked.

"Huh?"

"You said that you fought your way back from the underworld right? How was it?"

"Tough, but I'm surprised that I made it back alive."

"Neptune's been really happy since you came back. And I'm glad you're back too to be honest,"

"Yeah, it really is good to be back. I must of went on a rampage or something...because I don't remember the rest of my fights."

"They must have been a cakewalk for you."

"I guess….hey Nepgear I need to introduce you to my new friend Croire." I then closed my eyes. "Croire, you there?"

I then paused.

"What's wrong Digit?"

"Croire….she should be here, I can't sense her…." my eyes then widened and I jumped away from Nepgear.

"What's wrong?"

"Nepgear…" I then jumped back and Nepgear blinked. I heard Neptune sigh as she walked in.

"You're not fooling me with this farce." I pointed at Neptune, who laughed using a different voice.

"I honestly wanted to leave you to your dreams while I erased you, but IU guess thatisn't possible. Oh well, looks like this'll have to be done the hard way. But I have to say I do enjoy this form, this will be the form I use to kill you."

"I'm not going to die here, remember this is my mind we're in right now."

"That may be." She summoned a sword and held it over her shoulder. "But I am in control of this right now."She then emitted a pale glow and she turned into Lady Shadow Heart. I summoned a two handed sword and held it.

"How dare you use her face," I then saw Ivory, Ebony Heart and Venom Heart appear beside her. I clicked my tongue.

"You might be able to do well in one on one situations, what about when you have several opponents facing you simultaneously. I should also say this, my preferred weapon is the scythe, but I am also a master swordsman."

"Is that so? Let's test that." I said with a smirk. I dashed forward and I narrowly dodged a strike from Ivory Hearts axe. I then countered a strike from Ebony Heart's massive sword and then I was cut by Venom Heart's spear. I dashed back in time to avoid a strike from "Shadow Heart". I touched the wound on my side and clicked my tongue.

"So you're not good with dealing with several people at once, noted."

"How about you tell me your name."

"Me? I'm Magic,"

"Magic huh? Nice to meet you, I'm Digit."

"Just because I told you my name doesn't mean I'll be any more lax with you."

"At least I'll have the decency to ask your name before I beat you." Magic let out a laugh and spun her sword before pointing it at me. She dashed forward and I dodged her sword and clashed with it. I heard a gust of wind behind me and I got slashed in the back by Ivory Heart. I grit my teeth. Even though I'm in a dream I can still feel the pain. I then saw Venom and Ebony Heart about to pierce me from the sides. I dashed backwards into the air and saw them clash blades only for a moment as the four's focus went to me. They all dashed towards me and I let out a yell and swung with all my strength. luckily they were trying to do a concentrated strike and I sent them all flying towards the ground. I landed on the ground and stabbed the sword into the ground and changed it to two one handed swords. I dashed towards them and I blocked an incoming blow from Ebony Heart and managed to slash Venom Heart in the side. I then dashed backwards before Ivory could get a blow in.

"Ohhhh? So you managed to get a blow in? interesting." Magic purred as she licked her sword. She took on a vicious smile and dashed towards me. I blocked her blow and slashed her shoulder, then slashed at Ivory Heart as she tried to cut off my arm, then kicked her away. I forced Magic away and flew towards her.

"If I can just kill her I'll be done with this." I thought to myself. Magic twisted her body to dodge a blow and Venom Heart slashed my side with her spear. I screamed in pain and my eyes widened as I slashed into her with an X pattern using both of my blades. Her eyes widened as she slumped to the floor and fell on her face. The sight of her was unsettling and the fact that I was going to have to kill the other three disturbed me even more. The idea of killing those I cared about.

"Don't get distracted." Magic said as she slashed across my chest. My eyes widened and I fell backwards and then I felt another slash in my back and then I was hacked with Ivort Heart's axe. My swords disappeared and I heard Magic start laughing.

"..." I was silent as it became hard to breathe.

"You were only lucky to defeat Brave, but this is where your luck runs out. Look at you, it only took your focus to falter for one second, and I was able to kill you. I might as well give you something to part with."

"Shit…..I really…..can't do this alone…" I struggled to say.

"Of course, you're not someone who can handle four at once."

"Croire….sorry, I really…..really could use your help right now…"

"No use, you're fast asleep, there's no way she can hear you."

"Croire….KUAH!" I yelled as a blade went into my hand.

"Call out all you want but whoever it is they can't come to your aid now."

"Honestly, I knew you couldn't do this without me."

"Who's there?"

"Someone who's pissed the fuck off that you dared to lay your hands on my partner" Croire appeared beside me with red eyes and Magic retreated with her sword in hand. I looked up at Croire, whose eyes were a burning red color.

"Croire…."

"Somehow she interrupted our mental link. I noticed your injuries start to get worse so I forced my way in. You two have just been sitting there while you were in her arms asleep."

"Sorry about this."

"...There's…..no need to." Croire blushed darkly. "I was stupid for saying something like that, but still, you proved to me that you weren't weak. I mean you did take down Brave." She held me close to her after she knelt down. She kept her eyes on the remaining three enemies."Any ideas of how to kill these three?"

"We'll have to work together."

"Alright, let's go then, can you stand?"

"I think so,"

"If you can manage that much I'll take care of your wounds." I stood up somehow and Magic seemed surprised. She then began to laugh at me.

"Y'know…." I said quietly as I began to feel new strength surge through me. "I'm really starting to get pissed off…." The lights began to flicker and I grit my teeth and I stomped my right foot. the floor rippled and my eyes turned red, the same as Croires.

"Digit…..your rage...I can feel it."

"You dare to put me through such pain, and making me fight the ones I care about. I'll tear you apart!" I dashed towards her, and raised my blade. Ivory Heart threw herself in front to act as a shield and I stopped when I realized what I did to Venom Heart.

"What are you doing!?"

"I….I….Damn it!" I dashed back to avoid an attack and I dashed forward to disarm Ebony Heart. she seemed shocked and I kicked her away. Magic made a thrust with her sword and I dashed to the side then leaned back in time to dodge Ivory Heart's axe. I then retreated back a considerable distance.

"What is with you?"

"I can't kill them, that's not how-"

"This is a dream Digit! This is your dream you know."

"My dream…"

"You're the one in control right now, and you always have."

"..."

"You want something to happen, make it happen."

"Thanks Croire." I let out a deep breath. "Let's put this rage away for later." My eyes returned to normal and I closed my eyes. "If you want to fight me, you'll have to fight them."

"Them?" Magic asked. Her eyes widened as Venom Heart got up, no longer injured. Ivory and Ebony Heart walked over to me as well, their wounds now gone. Magic's eyes widened and Shadow Heart separated from her and walked over to me. She was dumbfounded by what was happening.

"You have a lot of nerve," Shadow Heart said.

"I…..I won't forgive you for what you've done…" Ebony Heart said.

"Hey bitch I'm going to rip you a new one." Ivory Heart said.

"I'm going to tear you apart." Venom Heart said flatly.

"Let's go, everyone." Venom Heart was the first to dash forward. I could see the anger in their eyes.

"Rainy Ratnapura!" Venom Heart let forth a flurry of spear strikes which the disoriented Magic tried to block with a suddenly summoned scythe. Ivory Heart disappeared and reappeared behind her whilst spinning.

"Tanzerin Trombe!" She yelled as she slammed the axe at her back with all her might. Magic flew towards us and I was surprised to see Ebony Heart kick her away and dash after her. She kicked her up and slashed her twice.

"Lace Ribbons Dance!" She said as she turned her back to Magic and snapped. Shadow Heart and I looked towards each other and dashed towards the falling Magic. We slashed her twice alternatively, then launched her for the third blow, and flipped while we were in the air.

"Cross! Combination!" We yelled together. We slashed through her with an X shape and we flicked our blades.

"N-no way…" Magic said while she fell.

"If it's my world then I'm in charge, not you. I now know that no matter the situation," I pointed my blade at her. "I'm the one who decides how things end."

"Shit….well..guess it's all up to you….Judge." Magic said before she exploded into a purple light and I opened my eyelids. Mercury and Arfoire stood there surprised and I looked down to see Croire in sword form in my hands. I looked over to them and smiled.

"Well well, look what we have here?" I heard a man's voice. I'm not sure how to describe what I saw next, it was like a robotic reaper I guess? He had a scythe and his coloring was mainly black and turquoise.

"Who are you?"

"Me? I'm your final opponent, Judge."

"J-Judge?"

"I am your last trial before you return to the realm of the living."

"Really?"

"You have overcome the trials of the body and the mind, and I trust that you have learned valuable lessons from them."

"Lessons?" I then thought about the two fights I had. I guess I had learned valuable lessons from them.

"Have you learned anything from those experiences?"

"That….I haven't lost unless I have convinced myself that I have. And...don't trust what I see, it's not always as it seems."

"Good. Now for your last trial, The trial of the soul,"

"Trial of the…..soul?"

"This one will be a little tricky." He summoned a scythe and slammed it into the ground, I saw a light flood my vision and I opened them to find….

wait….what the hell is this?

Neptune

Something strange has been happening recently, and I'm not the only one who has been noticing it. we've lost months in the election. I know it sounds crazy but some strange phenomena has been occurring where a light has fallen from the sky and crashes into the ground and a month passes. Initially we had three months left in the election, but now we have 1 left. Thankfully, my ranking is 10 in the polls, It had been a struggle to get into the top ten, and in fact I was ranked 11, but a candidate had been assassinated a week ag- er a month? or two ago. The city was in disarray during the aftermath of two, yes two lights crashing. Noire, Vert and Blanc returned to their nations to see how they were affected and I had been trying my best to help keep the city calm. For a while there were people thinking it was the end of the world, and there were riots and looting sprees as a result of this belief. Things had quieted down and the cycle repeated with the second light crashing. the first had landed outside of Planeptune's main city, and the second landed outside of Lowee. Also with each light crashing several people, as much as a town's worth, were hospitalized due to the radiation of the light. The council is keeping an eye on the patients in Planeptune, but for right now they haven't done anything to release the information regarding it.

As for what I've been up to, I've been trying to raise my poll ranking while keeping my house up and running. The panic had caused a strange trend for the hostess club, some days we'd be flooded with people trying to have sex with the hostesses, saying things like "they want to not die a virgin" And it would take Ryuka, me and some of the elder hostesses to get rid of them. Then other days it would be barren, so my pay was lower than usual these past few months. And as a result of the falling lights, The companies that handle my utilities have been charging me more so I have less extra money from my paycheck. I'm barely keeping Nepera and Ein in school right now. I have had a check or two from Vert, but it seems like she isn't having a good time during this either. After she had sent the second check I had told her to not send anymore. I had felt bad for being a burden on her funds while she was struggling, and I hadn't even talked to Blanc or Noire yet to see how they were doing.

So yea, a month left in the election and things are getting crazy.

I was laying down on my bed, looking up at the ceiling fan. I sighed, I only had a couple hundred credits left over from my bills and I had to put the majority of it into my savings. I only had 120 credits for groceries, which wouldn't actually get me much. Normally I'd have around 300 credits to use on shopping, or 400 if I was making something nice, but not this time. I sighed once more.

"What am I going to do? Nepera's birthday is this month and I wanted to get her something special….how am I supposed to do that if I can barely feed us all?" I realized that 120 would have been enough for the two of us, but Ein was staying here as well. Ein doesn't eat a lot, but she definitely eats more than a small child like Nepera. The way things are going I might also end up losing my job. I remembered when I was talking to Ryuka the other day. The hostess club was a little messed up after two customers had gotten into a fight and we had to close for the day. Her face shown she was worn out and exhausted, this wasn't a way she was supposed to be seen. The usual laidback, carefree Ryuka had been absent these past few.. 'months'.

"Neptune…." She sighed, leaning back on a table. "I have some bad news.

"What is it?"

"We might have to close the club."

"What!? You can't! this is my income, I have-"

"I know you have people relying on you Neptune, and you are one of my top employees, it's either do that or start laying people off, which if I do that it'll take out about 60% of our staff to keep this afloat. And if I even do that that's not enough to deal with the random flux of people who come in here. I mean we are barely able to keep up with the flood of people."

"No….." Ryuka put her hands on my shoulders as I had looked down. I looked back up and I saw tears in her eyes.

"I am so sorry Neptune." She was trying to hold back her tears but failed to. "I know this job is important to you, and this place is important to me as well. I can only imagine how hard it'll be to find a new job if this fails."

"It's alright, I'll manage…" I tried to put on a smile.

"...Y'know…" Ryuka removed her hands and wiped her eyes with one of her gloves. She turned around and looked on at the club. "In high school, they always said that I could get any job I wanted because of my looks. It was like my looks were the only thing I had that would give me money. But, I built this place from the ground up, of course you remember this."

"Yeah, at first this place was called Little Dragon, but when we grew in popularity we changed to Grande Dragonia."

"That's right, I always wanted to run a place where people can relax and enjoy themselves after a stressful day, and growing up I had learned from close friends that 'being comforted by a beautiful woman makes the pain go away.' So, I started this hostess club,"

"I remember I was struggling to find a job that I was good at, remember my face when you had suddenly approached me saying 'hey you're a cute girl, want to come work for me?' "

"My god did I really sound like that?" Ryuka had laughed, holding her hand on a side of her face and blushing.

"Yeah, I mean if I wasn't struggling to find a job I would have said no, but once I found I had a knack for it I was like 'what the heck, this wouldn't hurt to try out."

"I'm glad you joined me on this journey of mine Neptune."

"It's been a rough one really, with all the competition."

"Yeah, it has…...hey Neptune,"

"Huh?"

"When you become CPU….you won't be able to work here anymore will you?"

"...I never really thought of that…."

"It'll be sad to not see you working here anymore, but you were initially the CPU so I guess you'd be better suited to working at the head of things."

"Hey, when you reopen this place, I'll gladly tell people I worked here, and imagine the customers and applicants you'll get, it'll be crazy. And I'll even bring Digit here."

"Digit? is he your boyfriend?"

"Ah….uhm, I guess you could say that, but when he gets back I'll definitely take him here."

"Reopen this place huh?"

"Yeah, I mean this is worth reopening if it goes down. Don't you think?" Ryuka looked on at the rest of the club, looking for something I probably couldn't see. She then nodded her head.

"Yeah, it's a promise, I'll reopen this place when you're CPU and then we'll get Digit here."

I blinked, finding myself back in my room looking at the ceiling fan. Flashbacks are strange. I heard knocking on my door.

"Come in," I said, not moving from my bed. I didn't care I was only in my T-shirt and underwear. I saw Nepera walk in and she was crying. I immediately sat up and she ran to my bed, jumped , and landed in my arms.

"N-Neeeepttttttuuuuune!" She wailed. I blinked in surprise and hugged her so her face was in my bosom. Nepera never used my name unless she was really upset.

"What's wrong 'Pera?"

"S-some kids were bullying me…"

"Bullying you?"

"T-they were saying mean things about you and I called them stupidheads, and they went and beat me up." I got a better look at her and she had some scratches on her, but what really got my attention was that there were a few cuts, they weren't deep but still they were too deep for a little kid to make.

"What did they look like? Where's Ein? Why didn't she do anything?"

"They were from her school and after they hurt me they took Ein with them." My eyes widened.

"..."

"N-Neptune?"

"I'm gonna go get her, but first let's take care of you alright?" I went to my dresser and grabbed a first aid kit and tended to her injuries.

"Neptune, what are you going to do ?"

"I'm going to just get Ein back."

"What are you really going to do?" I sighed.

"You know, I forget sometimes that you have moments when you are really sharp. I'm going to teach those thugs a lesson, how many are there?"

"Four."

"Hmm, alright so I don't really want to take them all on if it comes to it."

"Don't fight them Neptune, please." I finished bandaging her and I pat her head. I changed into a black long sleeve turtleneck and some dark blue pants. I put on a heavy coat and left Nepera in the room.

I walked out into the cold winter air, looking around the street for any sign of the thugs. So far I hadn't seen any guy who looked suspicious, so I asked around to see if I could find any leads. So far what I had gotten was that there was a girl with a group of guys who seemed to be going into….the red light district of Planeptune. I panicked and I rushed back to my house and got on the motorcycle and sped through Planeptune. I had already lost someone, I didn't want to lose another, especially when it's someone a friend left in my care. I ran a few lights and was lucky enough not to get hit or pulled over. I made it there in 30 minutes and I parked my bike by a nightclub and began asking around again. There were people who were wondering who I was because I had my helmet on still. I'm a candidate I can't be caught here, but I had to come here. I hadn't gotten any leads really because people were suspicious of someone whose face couldn't be seen. I sighed and spotted Ein with a group of boys and I hid behind a trashcan and began to follow them. The only way I could hope to get her back is to launch a surprise attack on them.

"Might I ask where we are going?" Ein asked.

"Heaven babe, not just stay quiet , we don't want to have to make you go quiet will we?"

"..."

"Of course we won't hurt you, much. That body of yours is something that'll keep you safe." I heard Ein yelp as a thug put his hand on her butt. I wanted to jump out and attack them but if I did I'd most likely get caught as well. They ended up going into a rather nice looking house that looked kind of out of place in the neighborhood I followed them to. I stayed a little outside of the door and peeked in through a crack. I saw the thugs plop down on the couch, I'm guessing this is their hideout. Ein stood still, looking around the place nervously.

"Hey, no need to be scared, just sit down." Another said. Ein reluctantly sat down on the couch, one of the other thugs wrapped his arm around her. Another sat in an old beanbag chair and the other two sat on a counter. The one by Ein rummaged around in his pocket it was some sort of multicolored powder.

"Hey babe," The thug next to Ein said. "You ever tried Starstruck?"

"Star….struck?"

"Yeah, it's an amazing drug out on the streets right now, but I got a special kind from a guy I know that's said to make sex feel amazing for both people."

"S-sex!?"

"You know where this is going don't ya babe?" The thug leaned in."Come on, let's get high and fuck." He opened the bag and Ein scooted away. Another thug had grabbed her and held her still while she tried to run away. Another held her mouth open as the thug sprinkled some of it onto her tongue. The two let her go and Ein began coughing, her eyes were squeezed shut and she began blushing intensely. I reached for the door to open it when I felt my hand get pulled back. I looked behind me and a thug , a rather large one, had his hold on me.

"Hey boss I found someone sneaking a peek." He said as he opened the door. The others looked at me, with the exception of Ein. I could see her pupils dilating as I struggled to break free. He grabbed my other arm and restrained me. The one that was sitting by Ein, who I guessed was the leader. Walked up to me and sneered.

"What's this? A peeping tom?" He removed my helmet and my hair cascaded down from its confines. "Whooahoaa! It's Neptune! Guys we scored big, looks like she's joining in on the fun!" He lifted my chin towards him and neatened one of my bangs. "Now tell me, what was it you were planning to do huh?" He brushed his thumb against my lower lip and I bit him as hard as I could. "FUCK!" He yelled as he kicked me in the shin. I winced in pain and I could see that his thumb was bleeding. "You're a feisty one, ohoho, I'm going to break you."

"Just try it fuckface." I put on the sharpest look I could.

"Y'know now that I think about it, that little girl from earlier looks like you, was that your baby sister?"

"..."

"It was! Ha! so you're getting revenge for your little sister, how cute , it's funny that-"

"It's funny that you fucks are in my house." I suddenly felt the grip on my arms loosen. I looked behind me and the thug fell backwards with a THUD! Standing there was a boy with dark skin, black hair that covered his left eye, and a white T shirt under a orange jacket and pants. He walked past me , and looked around the room.

"Who the hell are you!?" The leader said. The boy seemed familiar but I'm not sure where I've met him.

"The owner of this house, I've been gone for a while and I find some lowlife fucks who drug a girl are living in it now. I saw a girl with pale skin and piercing blue eyes and long sky blue hair.

"N-Nepgear!?" I yelled aloud. She looked a lot like Nepgear, just differently colored. The girl looked back at me and I could tell that by the look in her eyes that she wasn't Nepgear.

"I'm Grimoire, nice to meet you." She said. She was wearing the same clothes as the boy, but her shirt showed her cleavage.

"So this is your house Ichi?" A woman with red hair and black eyes walked in. She was wearing a black dress shirt with the top few buttons undone and she wore dark red pants.

"Yeah," The boy answered.

"I-Ichi?" My eyes widened as I spoke. The boy looked back at me as he walked past me.

"Yeah?"

"But-but aren't you in jail?"

"I served my time." He then stood in the thugs face. "Also you're in my house, get the fuck out."

"Or what?"

"Or I give the police another reason to send me back to jail."

"Hold up." A thug said as him and another thug pointed guns at Ichi. I froze and Grimoire and the red haired woman began laughing.

"They really think that pointing a gun at Ichi will scare him?"

"They are so fucked."

I looked at the two in surprise.

"What happened to Ichi?"

"He. well, became a king I guess, he was reborn." Ichi merely sighed.

"I normally don't dirty my hands with peasants, but I'll have to make an exception this one time, for her sake." He said.

"SHOOT HIS ASS!"

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

I covered my ears as they began shooting him and I looked at Grimoire and the other woman, who looked on calmly.

"What the fuck!?" I looked over at Ichi and there were what looked like shadows around him that sank to the floor, the bullets making a rinking sound as they hit the floor. He merely snapped and two spikes impaled each of his would-be assailants.

"Bow down to your king" The leader suddenly was forced to his knees in a kneeling position. the last thug was trying to run towards me and Ichi saw it out of the corner of his eye and the thug was suddenly pulled down into a shadow. Ichi put his foot on the thug's face.

"Fuck….you."

"Beg for my forgiveness you trash."

"Never you fucking cunt."

"Alright, you'll die like the rest of your friends then, you fucking trash." He slammed his foot on the thugs face and the thug fell into his own shadow. The shadow disappeared afterwards and Ichi went over to Ein, who had fallen unconscious. I looked at the two beside me with uncertainty, not sure whether I should move or not. They each nodded to me and I walked over.

"Ichi?" I said as he put his hand on Ein's forehead with a slightly worried look.

"Sorry I didn't make it in time. I was tailing you once I saw you in the red light district, I didn't know what you were doing and if I pieced things together faster then I would have been able to stop them." He picked Ein up bridal style. "We should get her to a hospita-" His knees suddenly buckled and Grimoire rushed to his side and caught him. The red haired woman had walked over and picked up Ein.

"Don't push yourself too hard my king, I'll handle this." The woman said.

"Thank you Rouge, I need you to take this girl to the hospital."

"As you wish, will you be going with me?" Rouge asked as she turned to me, to which I nodded. "Very well then.

Doo Doo Doo! Doo Doo Doo! Doo!

DigiStation!

Cali: So not only Digit confronts the three gatekeepers early, but his battles seem to have a strange effect on the living world. I mean if essentially the three rulers over the underworld were killed wouldn't it somehow mess up the world its linked to? Anyways, Ichi is out of jail and is...different, matured maybe? And what is it that Digit sees when he opened his eyes? All these questions will be answered next chapter. Maybe, you never know with me.