Chapter 20: Let the Conquest Begin!
"Take this!" Akai yelled, a grin on his face as he thrust his spear forward into Linda's chest armor. An extremely loud metallic clang echoed off from the strike, and sparks flew while a deep crack ran across the breastplate.
"Kh!" Linda grunted in pain and smacked the pole away with her baton, drawing out her morning star and wielding it with her other hand. She performed a vicious slash with both weapons, which Akai blocked with his spear.
"Now!" Akai called out as he spun the spear and locked Linda's weapons together, rendering her defenseless.
Linda turned her gaze to the side just in time for her to get slammed in the side with a powerful sword slash from an incoming Noire that launched Linda into the air.
Vert immediately followed up with a three hit combo using her spear, and finished up with a slap with the flat of the end of the blade that sent Linda spiraling downwards headfirst into the cement.
"Ugh! Damn it!" Linda cursed as she got back to her feet and charged Vert, attempting a strike with her morning star. Vert backed off, the attack sailing past her and hitting nothing but empty air.
Taking back to the air, Vert twirled her spear before she tossed it like a javelin. The entire blade glowed with bright green light as it flew.
"I'm not gonna let you do that!" Linda scoffed as she grabbed the spear in midair and planted it back into the ground. She dashed towards Noire and delivered a series of strikes with her baton and morning star that left her opponent dazed and stunned.
Noire gritted her teeth and flew back upwards, trying to recover from the attack. As she did, Akai flew in and performed a spinning kick to Linda's arm that sent her baton clattering onto the ground.
Akai followed up, smashing his spear into two fragmented halves and beginning a whirlwind of a combo, repeatedly slashing Linda's armor mercilessly. Linda tried to retaliate with a vicious slam of her morning star into the ground that Akai sidestepped and replied to with a slam of the broken end of the spear into her abdomen.
Jumping up, Akai delivered a powerful kick to her chin that sent Linda staggering backwards. Akai dashed forward and stabbed both ends of the spear into Linda's armor, and both remained stuck in the chinks.
"Damn it." Akai cursed as he leaped backwards, skidding back to a safe distance and drawing two blades out of the air.
"Is that your signature fighting style?" Vert asked as she floated down to his side.
"Well, kind of." He replied somewhat sheepishly, his eyes still focused on Linda. "It's pretty effective, especially on one target."
He ran forward, and quickly slid under a powerful swing of the arm before performing five quick slashes to her left flank. As the armor cracked more and more, Akai quickly vaulted over Linda and delivered a spinning knee strike to her temple that stunned the CFW. Landing, Akai swept her feet out from under her before landing a series of lightning-fast sword slashes that finally broke through the chest plate, exposing Linda's clothes underneath.
"Just fucking die already!" Linda shrieked angrily, and she raised her arm to the sky.
Instantly, a massive explosion of energy raced tore outwards and pummeled into Akai, knocking him back.
"Damn it." Noire muttered as she landed, and her CPU form disengaged, leaving her in her black-haired human form. She dropped to one knee, trying to stay upright. "She's still this strong after tearing through half the city in a thirty minute-long battle?"
"Looks like we underestimated her." Vert agreed, having also transformed back into her human form.
"Akai!" Linda raised her morning star towards the boy menacingly. "I'll finish this fight with you sometime."
"Running?" Akai teased, drawing another spear out and pointing it back at her. "I can still go."
Linda just scoffed. "You're sure confident. I'll be sure to pound your face in next time."
With that, she turned around and soared out of sight.
"...damn." Akai muttered to himself as he disengaged his CPU form and turned to the other CPUs. "You guys alright?"
"Yeah." Noire sighed as she dropped to both of her knees. "Just really, really tired."
"I need to catch my breath." Vert added, hunching over and bracing her arms against her thighs.
"True. I could do that." Akai nodded, and he let himself fall backwards onto the floor, broken up and littered with broken buildings as it was. "I'm exhausted."
"Are you guys okay?!" Akai sat back up and turned towards to the sound of the voice to see Mina and Mina II running over to him with Blanc, Neptune, Rom, Ram and Nepgear in tow.
"Yeah, we're good." He called back, standing back up slowly.
"You fought well, Akai. I have to say that I'm impressed." Noire commented as she patted him on the shoulder. "For a non-CPU, you can sure give CPUs a run for their money."
"Well, thanks." Akai replied, nodding his head. "But never mind that. What happens now?"
"First, we gotta get the town fixed up." Neptune replied, sweeping her gaze around the wreckage. "You guys took out, like, half the capital during your battle. It was like Dragon Ball Z all over again."
"Repairs are Gust's job, so I'll call her while I help the tech team." Nepgear offered.
"Okay, you get on that." Akai nodded in agreement, letting his katanas dissipate into pixels. "Apart from the repair, we also need some info about this whole Linda ordeal. Leather suited Mina, mind filling me in at the Basilicom?"
"Yeah, that won't be an issue. It's why I came here, anyway." Mina II replied, striding forward and flashing a weak thumbs up.
"Oh, call her Mina II." Blanc piped up, raising her hand to catch Akai's attention. "We're using that so we don't mix our Mina up with her."
As if the Scarlett Johansson outfit wasn't enough? Akai kept that thought to himself as he glanced again at the tight leather jumpsuit that Mina II wore.
"All things said and done, though…As much as I want to help the people of Planeptune out, I also really need some rest." Akai sagged his shoulders in exhaustion. "If you don't mind me, I'm going to head to my room and pass out."
"Oh, then me too! I want some dinner!" Neptune cheered, leaping forward and barring Akai's way. "I'm not sleeping until you cook me a big dinner! All the works, with the Papa Johns and the Lola Bunnies to go!"
"…fine. Anyone else want dinner?" Akai replied, his voice deadpan, as he looked to the rest of the girls standing behind him.
One, then two hands were raised. And then, before Akai could complain or comment, the entire group of females were raising their hands.
"…come with me. I'll show you where it is." Akai said, sagging his shoulders even further as he trudged forward, completely exhausted as it is.
The Next Day…
"So, explain to me the story." Akai said through bites of scrambled egg and hash browns as he stared intently at Mina II, who sat across from him.
"Right. I'll just give you the recap." Mina II nodded gravely as she poured her orange juice, a strange combination of actions to everyone else present at the table. "Basically, Linda and Pirachu somehow got ahold of some unknown power that turned them into CPUs. Using that power, they slaughtered their way to the top of ASIC, becoming CFWs in their own right. They fought and killed each of the goddesses and their candidates, in addition to the thousands they'd already killed prior to that."
"Hmm…proceed." Akai urged as he grabbed another serving of sausages.
"That said, they never managed to fulfill ASIC's initial goal: revive Arfoire and rule the world. With that, they started trying their best to look for other ways to revive Arfoire when their first attempts failed. But no ritual nor spell did anything for them. They were practically back at square one."
"Alright…" Histoire, now present, commented as she poked at her plate of eggs. "So, where did they go from there?"
"Well," Mina continued, breaking the mood with a bite of sausage and hash brown before continuing. "They started looking into other dimensions for clues on how to revive Arfoire. But they weren't finding anything. Linda and Pirachu, however, were too busy looking for more powerful opponents to test their skills on to care about Arfoire. They started trying to find worlds to invade, as if Gigadimension wasn't enough."
"Ha-hang on." Neptune raised her hands and made a T with her hands. "Your world is called Gigadimension? Isn't that…I dunno…unimaginative? Shouldn't we start trying to make sure the author isn't running out of ideas?"
"Nothing we can do about it. Our Histoire says that the world is called Gigadimension, and so that's what it stays as." Mina II replied, taking a sip of her orange juice. "May I continue?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Neptune replied, suddenly very impassive and uncaring, as she turned her attention back to her food. "You do that."
"Anyway, we never lost hope even after watching the executions of our CPUs live." Mina II continued, her gaze sweeping from person to person every now and then. "The other Oracles and I started a revolution with the other citizens who grew fed up with the rule of ASIC, and we became the Insurgents of Gamindustri. We hid out underground, and we created a city base named Gekko. That's what currently serves as our headquarters, barracks, and safe zone."
"I see." Noire said, leaning forward intently. "So, what plan is it do you have to stop ASIC?"
"Here's where it gets…interesting." Mina II replied, leaning backwards and facing the CPU of Lastation. "We discovered later on that ASIC's been tapping into other worlds for unknown reasons, and were going to start kidnapping other worlds' people in order to use them for their fighting force. We stepped in after they attempted it for the first time, though it resulted in a messy ordeal when we assaulted their dimensional transporter."
"…so, I'm assuming that I was the one they were trying to bring through." Akai thought out loud as he handed the pitcher of orange juice to Vert and passed the plate of hash browns to Rom and Ram. "But if that's the case, then why was I brought here?"
"We kind of…decided to send you somewhere else and make it look like the transporter did it in our stead so that they would stop the experiments, which they did." Mina II answered, a little embarrassed. "However, one thing led to another, and we also knocked an experimental serum that they were developing as a bio-weapon into the portal before we retreated."
"Ah. So that provides…some sort of explanation for why I had this serum." Akai replied, looking down at himself before resuming his meal.
"Also, to explain away your powers, our Histoire kept saying that you were given them by someone the minute you were brought through dimensions." Mina II replied, her eyes narrowing in what seemed like suspicion. "The serum that came with you only increased things like strength, speed and messed with a portion of the nervous system, so that Copy ability of yours is totally out of left field."
"Who could possibly give him those kinds of powers?" Blanc wondered out loud, her gaze also fixed on Akai. "And just what kind of powers are these?"
"We did some analysis back over on our side." Mina II replied, her gaze falling back onto the teenage boy. "He can copy the ability other people's abilities through a kiss, which establishes a link in between him and the person that forms based on the willpower and emotion of the people involved."
"I see." Noire commented. "So, in other words, when Akai kisses someone, he forms a bond with them that allows him to carry over their abilities through that bond."
"Yes." Mina II affirmed, nodding her head. "And that bond is weak at first, especially if Akai and the kissed person do not have an especially close relationship. The ability has a basis on the closeness between Akai and the person whose abilities are being copied."
"What you're saying is that the closer Akai is with the person he kisses," Blanc inferred, finishing the last of her scrambled egg as she spoke. "The more powerful his copied abilities are."
"Yes." Mina II concluded. Her expression suddenly turned uncomfortable. "So…it suffices to say that the most power can be transmitted through having…that kind of relationship with him."
And just like that, everyone at the table stared at her as if they were trying to sense any kind of jest in her voice.
Unfortunately, there was none. Absolutely none.
"You're joking, right?" Noire asked, disbelief echoing strongly in her voice. "We have to fall in lo-lo-lo-" She pointed accusingly at Akai, almost as if she were convicting him of murder. "We have to get closer to him?!"
"Calm down, Noire." Mina II replied, raising a hand to her. "I only stated the facts. I didn't say you had to do anything of the sort."
"That aside, though, my objective still remains clear." Mina II suddenly raised her voice a bit, focused completely on Akai. "With your powers, we can win the battle against ASIC in Gigadimension and stop Linda and Pirachu from harming the other worlds. We don't even know if Magic, Trick and Judge are planning something behind the scenes, so we need to act fast. So, if everyone here can come along, we might be able to defeat everyone once and for-"
"No, that's a bad idea. Bringing everyone there, I mean." Akai replied, crossing his arms.
"Wha-why?" Mina II replied obliviously.
"Think about it." Akai shot back as if the answer were obvious. "If everyone goes, what'll happen here? If everyone goes and dies, what happens here? If they're as strong as you say, plus the fact that most of the dimension's on her side, we would be heading into Hell's Kitchen as the fucking ice cubes."
"So?" Mina II fought back, leaning forward and gazing at Akai. "What do you suggest we do?"
"First of all, let's not endanger anyone else. I'll go with you, and that's that." Akai said, moving his hand as he spoke. "However, I'm gonna have to get stronger in order to combat the power of 2+ CFWs. That would mean I'm going to have to use my powers, right?"
The minute the words left his mouth, a strange atmosphere settled over the entire table. All the girls gave Akai flat stares mixed with skepticism.
"You just wanna kiss more girls, don't you?" Noire finally voiced out what everyone was thinking, and she looked ready to draw her weapon. "Even when we're in the middle of a crisis…"
"No, that's not what I meant!" Akai shot back, growing flustered. "I just meant that since I'll go with her alone, I need to be as strong as possible in order to stand a chance against the rest of the CFWs."
"Personally, I think that it matters." Nepgear replied, leaning forward. "I think I'd like to know if you actually want to kiss us or not."
"Whoa, girl. Back up a second." Neptune suddenly started, waving her hands as if to halt everything as she peered more closely at her little sister. "No one said anything about it being us. You got the hots for him or something?"
"No, that's not what I meant!" Nepgear replied, her face reddening like a chili pepper as she pushed Neptune away from her. "But I think personally that if I were to be kissed by a guy, I would want to know what their true intentions are."
"That's not something we can ignore either." Vert added on, her scrutinizing gaze boring into Akai critically. "What she says is true. While I am not held to it since I have already lent you my powers, I think that I would vouch for the feelings of the other girls here."
"What you say is true, though." Akai admitted, looking at everyone at the table. "I can't ignore anyone's feelings here by kissing anyone forcefully. I don't intend to force myself on anyone. And if no one is going to help, I'm going to find some other way to get stronger. Maybe some good ol' fashion level grinding will do the trick."
"…you're too kind, though. Too considerate." Vert replied, crossing her legs. "Even with lives hanging in the balance, you're thinking of us and our feelings first. I don't dislike that about you, Akai, but there is also a time frame to consider."
"Not like we have any other way to do it." Akai retorted, glugging down the last of his orange juice. "Besides, you get off easier because I already copied your abilities. It's a bit more difficult for the others to think about it since they have yet to do anything."
"But I haven't fallen for you, have I?" Vert shot back playfully, winking. "For you to make the most out of my abilities, I have to fall in love with you in order to strengthen the link between you and me. But that hasn't happened. You still have work to do."
"…nonetheless, I think that I want to find another way to do this." Akai said, and he stood up from the table.
"Do you not like the CPUs as women, Akai?" Histoire offered through a bite of her hash brown. "I think that if you don't make the point I think you're making, then you're only going to hurt their pride as women."
"What I mean is that we need to find a way to beat Linda, Pirachu and the rest of ASIC without forcing something that shouldn't be forced. I don't want the girls to sacrifice something important just because they feel obligated to."
"…you're too thoughtful." Blanc replied quietly, standing up from her chair. "Allow me some time to think on this matter." Quickly grabbing her little sisters by the collars
"I need some space. I'm going for a walk." Noire said as well, standing up and walking alongside Blanc as they both exited the room.
"Hmm…I don't really get it, but I think I have to leave." Neptune announced as she stood up, grabbed Nepgear by the collar of her shirt and jogged for the door. "Text us if you want something from the convenience store."
"Hey, Neptune! Let go of me the-ack! You're choking-" Nepgear gurgled as the collar of her shirt tightened around her neck, but her big sister afforded her no mercy as she dragged her out of the door.
With that, three out of four CPUs and two out of the three CPU Candidates left the room.
"Well, I don't think the rest of them are going to make any decisions quickly." Vert replied, sighing. "What's our fallback plan?"
"If we go with the easiest plan, then the fallback abilities to copy are those of the Makers and the Oracles." Mina II replied, glancing at her Hyperdimension counterpart. "I don't want to make that decision on my own, especially after seeing what happened now. Akai, what do you think?"
"I understand the logic, but I don't think I want to force that kind of thing on anyone. My answer remains the same." He replied, clenching his fists.
"…have you actually considered…you know, actually making them fall in love with you?" IF suddenly blurted out, and the rest of the table stared at her. She looked at Akai, ignoring the other's gazes and focusing on him alone. "It's…another way to do things, you know."
"It's not like they can actually fall in love with me."
Everyone's eyebrows raised at the statement.
"What makes you so sure?" IF challenged, standing up and meeting stares with Akai. "If it happened to me, I'm sure you can do the same to everyone else."
"As much as I want to tease IF right now, she's right." Vert replied, standing up as well and grinning readily. "You can't speak for our feelings, remember? We decide who we fall in love with and who we kiss. But you can try."
"Besides, we're running out of time." Mina II added, her tone urgent. "I don't know if Kei and the others in Gigadimension are going to survive any longer. No doubt Linda and Pirachu are making moves on the citizens while strengthening their army. They're coming close to invasion-level strength."
"That's what puzzles me, though." Histoire said. "What could they want with our dimension?"
"I actually don't know why." Mina II replied, pursing her lips in frustration. "I suspect our Histoire knows more than she lets on, but she's good enough at hiding it so I don't really know if there's something else we should know or not."
"…hang on, let me breathe. I'll head outside for a walk." Akai said as he turned around and headed for the dining room door.
As he exited, the rest of the girls sat in silence.
"…IF, if you're in love with him, shouldn't you protest the idea of him kissing other girls?" Vert turned to the brunette skeptically. "I apologize for doing so myself, for the record."
"…he won't be able to go out with anyone just yet." IF replied, her voice a little sad and lonely. "He's still got some internal problems to sort out. I can see it in his eyes. He's too insecure to satisfy anyone right now. He doesn't see how great he is."
"So says the woman in love with him. Well, I'm not complaining." Vert replied, shrugging. "But you should probably go after him and reassure him. I don't think we can afford the time to look for another method to fight Linda and Pirachu. Set him on the harem route, if you don't mind."
"By the way, where's Compa?" Aoi asked, catching everyone's attention since she was quiet the whole time.
"She's off at her part-time job helping the Planeptune General Hospital." IF replied, smiling. "Even if she's better than every doctor there, the only reason they haven't hired her is because of that massive needle of hers."
"Well, that's fine. If she'd been part of this conversation, things would only have gotten even more complicated." Aoi replied, shrugging her shoulders and leaning back in her chair. "Being one of the easiest Makers to access, she could very well be our next target if all goes well."
"We'll have to talk to Akai about that later on." Histoire replied, her tome rising up and slowly levitating in the direction of the door. "But first, IF. Please do something about him. If he can't bring himself to start this…conquest deal, then we can't begin."
It took three seconds for everyone to realize that Histoire didn't realize she was a potential target as well. It took the next three seconds for everyone to stifle their laughter to a snicker, lest they be on the receiving end of a powerful tome-to-the-face attack.
"I'll follow him. Give me a bit." IF nodded and sprinted out of the door, skidding to a stop in the hallway and looking around. She ran down the right hall and turned the corner swiftly, and spotted Akai walking with his back turned to her.
She slowed her pace, walking forward as she tapped him on the shoulder. As he turned to face her, she flashed him a grin. "Hey."
"…hey." Akai replied, his voice dulled down and less cheerful than usual. He looked lost in thought, and lost like a puppy.
"You look like you just attended a funeral, man." IF started, reaching out and patting his shoulder. "Cheer up and let's get to-"
"You really don't mind this?" Akai asked, his question so heavily layered that it made IF's heart skip a beat. She stared at him, and she knew her face was beginning to grow hot again.
"…Akai, if it's to save a whole dimension, I don't mind you kissing other girls. I love for who you are, so a few kisses here and there aren't gonna change that." She said, giving Akai a smile that looked so forced he couldn't help but notice it. She continued as if her lips had made a perfectly natural smile.
"…your face says otherwise." He replied, crossing his arms.
"…it's not like I'm perfectly okay with the idea, Akai." IF shot back, her voice now a little upset. "As much as I would like to say that it isn't a problem, I'm not entirely okay with you doing that kind of stuff with someone else. After all, you know how I feel about you. But it's not like you're doing it to cheat on me, and we're not in a relationship anyway. Besides, an entire world is at stake here. Can't afford to be very picky."
"…to be honest with you," Akai suddenly said, catching IF's attention. "I don't want to force the girls to fall in love with someone just because a world is hanging in the balance."
"Why?" IF asked, sounding clueless. "Lives could be lost by the dozens while we waste time here. You said so yourself, Akai. That means we need to make you strong as quickly as possible so that we can stand a chance against-"
"That's exactly it." He replied, cutting her off. "You and the other girls are self-sacrificial and strong, so I don't think any of you really understand what I'm trying to say. It may not mean much to them now, but none of them seem to treasure a first kiss and a first love as much as they should."
IF shot him a look as if he'd said something stupid. "But that stuff doesn't matter at all when-"
"No, IF." Akai replied, cutting her off a second time. "It does matter. There are things worse than death, and one of those is regret. Humans have it easier since they can die and be free of regret, but these girls live forever. If they don't pick their first partner wisely, they could regret it for the rest of their immortal lives."
"…Vert was right. You are too nice." IF muttered, and he tilted his head in question.
Right before she thrust her hand out and grabbed him by the collar, and then threw him into the wall.
"What are you-?"
IF closed the distance in a single fell swoop, sealing his lips shut with hers. Her mouth ran smoothly over his, and both felt their heartbeats stop for a beat before starting again in total synchronicity.
She let out a loud exhale through her nose as she pressed her body against his, and he began to grow conscious of the hand that rose to caress his face as she pressed further into the kiss. Raising his left arm, he slowly encircle her body with his arm and brought her even closer to her. He let his other hand grasp the side of her shoulder, and he closed his eyes.
Suddenly the memory of Vert's hot kiss seared its way back into his mind from the back of his brain, and he felt his body begin to act the same way Vert had done back then.
Pressing back harder against the Maker in his arms, IF let out a moan of surprise when he suddenly plunged his tongue into her mouth. Taking her body closer, he wrapped an arm tightly around her waist while his other one pressed into the back of her head and pushed her deeper against him. His tongue delved into the wet, warm recesses of her young mouth, and it slid around inside as a hot mess like a snake in heat.
IF moaned in what sounded like enjoyment, and he turned her around and pressed her against the wall. He disconnected from her, leaving the two panting heavily for breath. A small strand of saliva still connected the two, and they were highly aware of it with their senses on cloud nine.
"…why did you…kiss me?" Akai asked in between gasps of breath as he fought to control both his breath and his slowly increasing libido.
"Why did…you kiss me back…then?" She replied with a smirk as she took another deep inhale of breath. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't stand straight. "Damn it, you left me unable to stand properly."
"Should I go all the way?" He asked in a deep, primal whisper that sent shivers down IF's skin.
"…I didn't know you had this side to you as well." She shot back playfully before her face grew serious. "But this aside, my point remains clear. I will still love you even if you do stuff like this with other girls."
"…fair enough." Akai replied, nodding in confirmation and stepping back, giving IF room to walk and breathe.
"You're better at this than I thought." IF admired, lightly punching Akai's bicep. "I'm finding new reasons to like you more and more."
"You'd better not do this to me too often." Akai replied, sighing heavily. "I have enough on my mind with the whole problem."
"Anyway, come back to the room after you're done cooling off." IF replied before she winked and walked away, and Akai nodded before he turned in the other direction.
"Agh!"
Linda slammed her foot into the ground, and the floor cracked and crumbled in an explosion of dirt that left a deep crater embedded in the earth. A fissure ran outwards and broke a mannequin that had been left there in the practice arena, and it fell into the crack and was lost from sight.
"Damn it! Can't believe they got the jump on me!" Linda screamed in anger, and she smashed her morning star into the ground next to her. A much bigger crater was dented into existence, leaving the brown sandy dirt in shambles.
"Whatever you say, you brought it on yourself, chu~" Pirachu commented, floating above the ground a safe distance away from Linda. Which is, to say, is a distance of thirty meters. He levitated with his arms crossed, and he fixed his upset gaze on his partner. "We were monitoring the boy to make sure we could manipulate him for our purposes, but you went and destroyed any chance of letting that happen, chu~"
"Shut up!" Linda yelled back in frustration, and she whipped her hand towards another practice dummy. On cue, the mannequin suddenly flew towards Linda as if pulled by a whip. Linda then smashed her fist into the cloth dummy, and it sprayed apart in an explosion of white stuffing and brown scraps. "We could've just done the whole thing ourselves if we hadn't started this stupid project to begin with!"
"Well, now that this idea is ruined, we have to focus now on the development of the army of Copypastes and Anonydeaths, chu~" Pirachu replied, and he turned around and started for the exit. "Come on, chu~ We need to assess-"
"Where the hell do you get off, ordering me around?" Linda's words stopped the floating rodent in his tracks. He turned back around to meet a raging Linda's gaze, and he felt his own irritation begin to peak.
"Linda, we need to get to work. Come on." Pirachu replied, doing his best not to snap. "If we're going to make this invasion successful, we need-"
"I just said," Linda replied menacingly, pointing her morning star at him. "What makes you think you can tell me what to do? Do you just want to get back at me after I killed that nurse you wanted to keep alive?"
"Enough's enough, chu~!" He retorted, and he raised both of his arms to either side. Massive balls of magical energy the size of two story houses coalesced into existence on either side of the CFW. "I'm not going to put up with your stupidity any longer, Linda!"
"Sounds just fine, stupid rat!" Linda answered back with a feral grin, summoning her baton with her other hand and hefting it readily. "I've been wanting to beat your ass to death for a while now!"
Pirachu hurled one of the massive energy spheres, and it tore up the earth while it headed straight for Linda. Grinning, Linda simply wound up and batted it away like a baseball. It flew to the side, and it imploded in the air after striking one of the castle towers. The explosion sent a powerful shockwave the made the ground rumble as if it were angry.
Pirachu clicked his tongue in frustration before he tossed the other ball of magical energy, and then began flying around her in circles while firing a barrage of smaller missiles of energy.
"Ha! Same old tricks, rodent!" Linda sneered before reaching out with her hand and grabbing the big ball of energy with it, and she quickly clenched her fist and crushed it out of existence. She staggered forward as the assault of magical missiles struck her in the back, and she turned around and snapped her finger. A barrier of energy materialized in front of her, intercepting Pirachu's attack with ease.
"You haven't seen anything yet, chu~!" Pirachu raised his paws forward, and from them ensued a massive storm of lightning that arced around the whole arena. Windows shattered noisily with a shrill sound, leaving shards of broken glass scattered everywhere inside and out. Fire began to catch on the outer towers of the castle, and smoke began to slowly billow in thick, copious measures as it rose towards the sky.
As the two dueled and left chaos in their wake, neither noticed Magic, Trick and Judge watching from inside the castle. The CFWs were forced to squint as the flashes of light and buffets of wind tore past their bodies.
"You were right, Magic!" Trick cackled, grinning in his usual dastardly manner. "We didn't even need to do anything!"
"Yes, those two were bound to start a fight if left unchecked for long enough." Magic replied, smirking. "Those two will generate enough energy for us to annihilate that little army they're still trying to develop."
"…why are we doing that again?" Judge asked, clueless, while he moved his head out of the way of a stray magic projectile. "I thought we were going to use their army to start taking over that dimension and all."
"We're not doing that because it's a terrible idea." Magic shot back, frowning. "It's easier with just us. We're just going to absorb the energy that destroying their army will produce, and then eliminate both of those idiots before we start on the journey to revive our Lady."
"…and we're trusting a book because why?" Judge replied skeptically, shooting a doubtful glance at his comrade.
"Because you don't really know what to do without me, do you?"
A small, playful and mischievous voice spoke out of nowhere. As the three CFWs turned their heads to the source, they were greeted with a miniature woman with blonde hair, tan skin and a dark purple dress resting on top of a floating book.
"Croire." Magic acknowledged, fixing her icy gaze on the fairy-like being. "I trust you enough to follow alongside your plans. But tell me the truth: will your plan work?"
"Getting cold feet already, Magic?" Croire's face spread into a cheeky smirk, and she drew closer to the female CFW while drifting past the other two in the room. "All will be ready. You already have my word: the plan will bring back Arfoire."
"…then we have work to do." Magic replied indifferently before turning around and regarding her fellow CFWs with her gaze. "Trick, you handle the army. Turn them on one another or annihilate them yourself. I don't care. Judge, take control over the dimensional transporter. Make sure no one goes in or out. And don't destroy it."
The two CFWs nodded, and the group went their separate ways, leaving Croire floating alone in the room.
"…this should get interesting." She whispered gleefully before she disappeared in a flash of light.
"So…what's the plan now?" Akai asked the people sitting around the table, which consisted of no one but Histoire. "And where's everyone else?"
"Noire, Blanc, Rom, Ram, Neptune and Nepgear have yet to return from whatever excursion they might have set out on." Histoire replied, her gaze flickering uneasily between Akai, the window nearby and the doorway. "I'm not too worried, but they've been gone for a while."
"And the others besides them?" Akai responded, looking at the vacant seats surround the three.
"Well, Mina and Mina II said they were going to look for the Lowee CPUs. Compa and IF said they would come back later, and Vert said she would play her daily hours of Four Goddesses Online." Histoire replied. "Aoi left without a word, so I'm unsure of what she's doing."
"…alright then." Akai decided, shifting forward and looking at the two girls sitting around him. "So, what's the discussion?"
"…Akai, I have no quarrel with you trying to help Gigadimension out of their predicament." Histoire answered, her tome shifting alignment so that she would face Akai. "I would even be in favor of trying to help them succeed in their plans to defeat their CFWs."
"Okay…?" Akai replied, unsure of what Histoire was getting at.
"But," Histoire said, her voice hardening. "I cannot allow Neptune and Nepgear to leave Hyperdimension."
"…why is that?" Akai asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, bluntly put, who is going to help manage Planeptune without the CPUs? I do enough work as it is since Neptune herself slacks off all the time, but it will jeopardize her safety, Nepgear's safety and the safety of this nation and its citizens." Histoire lowered her head to stare Akai in the eyes. "If I were to draw the bottom line, what if they were to die in this battle? Gigadimension cannot take responsibility for that, and neither can we."
"…but if we leave them be, they could destroy the rest of the Insurgents and the citizens." Akai argued. "Will we let innocents die?"
"It's not so easy, Akai." Histoire replied, looking at him with a grave expression. "We cannot afford to lose Neptune and Nepgear to any mistakes we might make. I cannot allow any possibility of it."
Akai stared at her, bewildered. "But if we-"
Histoire held a hand up to cut him off. "Akai, it's not that hard for you to make a decision because you…frankly, you don't really come from Hyperdimension. This isn't your home. You can offer to help anyone because you don't belong to either. But think about how difficult this can be for me and the girls. We've lived here for decades, and this is our home. If we were to let it fall to ruin, that would be the end of our lives and our legacy."
"But they pose a threat to Hyperdimension and Gigadimension as well, Histoire." Akai countered, his eyebrows narrowing. "What can we do but strike while the iron's hot?"
Histoire did not answer, instead averting her gaze. Akai could see the guilt and regret etched on her expression, but he could not bring himself to blame her for any of it.
She's taking the weight of Planeptune all on her shoulders. Akai thought to himself as he gazed at the fairy-like woman in front of him. It's a tough job with tough calls.
"Okay, that's decided!" Aoi's voice was loud and clear, startling the two as it came accompanied by the sound of a door banging loudly against the wall. As the two turned to stare at her, she just grinned and skipped over to them. "I heard everything, so no need to fill me in."
"Don't give us heart attacks, Aoi." Histoire plead, her hand resting on her chest. "I have enough weighing on my mind as it is."
"Sorry, sorry." She apologized, but she laughed as she did so. She immediately swiveled around Akai before taking a seat in the chair next to him.
"So…what are you doing here?" Akai asked, still in shock.
"Akai, you can't afford to go with Mina II just yet." Aoi replied, her eyes becoming sharp like a hunter's. They radiated a suppressed intelligence that was let out only in that moment. "You're still much weaker than you could possibly be. I don't want you dying in there, and the only thing worse would be for you to die without changing anything."
"…valid point." Akai replied, crossing his arms. "So, what do you suppose I do?"
Aoi stood up and clapped her hands twice, and the lights immediately dimmed. A projected screen suddenly popped into existence on the nearby wall, and Aoi walked up next to it. "Here, I have it all laid out."
She pressed what looked like a remote, and a picture of the four CPUs appeared. "If we were to take into account what Insurgent Mina had said earlier, the easiest way for you to get powerful as quickly as possible would be to copy the powers of all of the CPUs." Aoi switched her gaze and focused on Akai. "And we're ¼th of the way there, too. But judging by what happened earlier, that's going to be difficult now."
She pressed the button again, and a picture of the Candidates came up. "It goes without saying that the second best option would be the Candidates. But that's also difficult as well."
A third button press brought the room to a dead silence when the screen showed a picture of Kei, Chika, Histoire, Mina, IF, Compa, Nisa Gust and 5pb. "So, based on my research, the next best thing after the Candidates would be the abilities of the Oracles and the Makers."
"I see." Akai commented, gazing intently at the screen display. "You ordered them based on their level of power, huh?"
"Right." Aoi responded, laughing. She clicked the display again, and this time a picture of Cave, Broccoli, MAGES, Falcom, RED, CyberConnect2, MarvelousAQL and Tekken. "And the more Makers, the merrier."
"…well, I see your point." Akai said as the lights went back to their original brightness setting, forcing him to blink a few times for the sake of readjustment. He turned his gaze to Histoire. "What do you think, Histoire?"
But Histoire remained silent. Her face was so red that one might've mistaken her for a strawberry with blonde leaves, and she was trembling.
Ah. She finally realized that she's also one of the targets involved. Akai thought to himself, wondering whether or not he should comfort her or not. Well, I did see this coming.
"Uh, Histoire?" Akai asked, waving his hand in front of her face.
That motion snapped Histoire out of her daze, and she quickly cleared her throat and shook her head. Regaining her composure in a second, she faced Akai and cleared her throat a second time.
"I'm sorry. Err…Aoi, your plan certainly is logical." Histoire said, and Akai could detect a very strong tinge of nervousness in her voice. Aoi didn't miss it either and she grinned.
"Thanks, Histoire." She then stood up and walked over to the two of them, and she placed her hand onto the table. As she lifted it, the other two people sitting down noted that she had left slips of paper where her hand had just been.
"Whoa, what are these?" Akai asked out loud, lifting one of the black, white and indigo slips up and flipping it around.
Immediately, all of the gears clicked in his mind, and he had to suppress his reaction just so that Histoire wouldn't catch on too early. He shot a sidelong glance at Aoi, who just winked at him quickly before looking back to the Oracle of Planeptune.
"Histoire, since you're so gung-ho about discussing this with Akai, how about you do it over a nice dinner at Planeptune's best five-star restaurant, the Nep Pleaser?" Aoi asked her nicely, though it wasn't hard for most to tell the slight sadism in her voice.
"Wh-wh-what is this?!" Histoire exclaimed, caught completely off guard by the ticket. "Aoi, what is the meaning of-"
"Sorry, Histy. But judging by the way things are going, and with our current targets, we've got it all under control." Aoi said, grinning. "Histoire, you're the next conquest target."