Arfoire couldn't see or hear the fighting anymore. She took that as a good sign. Blanc didn't seem like she was in the "slow and painful" mood anymore, so if she was still alive, the only reason for that that came to mind was that Neptune was keeping the thing that wanted to kill her at bay. Whether or not Neptune was lasting... Well, if Neptune had been as confident about it as she seemed, Arfoire had no reason to doubt her.

She had something more important to do anyway. She had to find Rom.

She didn't know what in the world had changed since she had last been to Lowee... But things had changed. Sure, Neptune had still been alive back then, but how the hell did that get to the sisters to this extent...? Ram had been kidnapped, Rom was trying to kill Blanc... Of all the nations, Arfoire had always assumed Lowee would be the last to ever be involved with anything like this — not because it was any "better," but simply because it would be such easy pickings, it was fine being left for last.

Arfoire still remembered — that was one big reason, besides for how bad the poor kids had had it back then, Neptune — the other one — had tried to keep relations between Planeptune and Lowee positive, when everyone else just wanted to ignore them.

What had changed?

Had Neptune dying really led to such a turn...?

Then again, considering how much her own life had changed since Neptune had died, was it any wonder the twins' had been changed as well?

"I really am a coward..." The woman finally commented bitterly to herself after a few moments of consideration. She had been just outside of Lowee's borders, just out of reach of people who needed her help, but she had been content to just stick close to the port, knowing it wouldn't have been in as much danger than if she had been near other nations. "Left with 'Lady White Void' and that Mina... Is it any wonder things ended up this way?"

It finally occurred to her that Neptune hadn't really given her much to go off of in regards to where she was supposed to find Rom — after everything that had happened in the past few minutes, needless to say, Arfoire's memory of when Neptune and the girl had crashed into each other earlier wasn't something she was willing to count on as far as accuracy went.

"Now where is that child...?"

"Beats me."

Arfoire jumped when a question she had spoken to no one had been answered. Narrowing her eyes, she shot a dark look in the direction of the speaker.

There stood just about the last person she wanted to see right now. Fan-freaking-tastic.

"Mina...? What do you want?" Immediately raising her staff, just in case she needed to defend herself, Arfoire took a step backwards. She needed to find Rom, but if Mina was going to assist Blanc, she would strike her down right this second, their past be damned. "If you even think about trying to join that fight, I'll finish you off right here, Mina."

"Re-lax. I want the same as you... Probably. Can't have the squirts dying on me. If we hide them in a bunker until Blanc gets over it, it'll be fine." The woman took a swig of her trusty flask, as always, but it wasn't the same as usual. Arfoire noted that the woman's hand had been shaking. "The people here... Shit, Arfoire, this whole nation will fall apart without them, but I didn't think she'd really let herself... They're like our... our mascots. Yeah, hahaha... They're our mascots..."

Arfoire furrowed her brows. She had never thought about it, but... She supposed the silver lining to the cloud that was White Void, at least as she had known them, was that she had had two relatively kind younger sisters to offset her narcissistic tendencies, even if the power they held was still relatively small. 'Mascots' may have actually been a good term for them, considering the things Lowee resorted to to keep its people here while continuing to try to get more people to come and give their Lady power...

Even so...

"I don't believe a damn word out of your mouth. I can smell the alcohol from here, Mina." Arfoire wouldn't let herself give in that easily — especially when Mina was concerned. She'd sooner trust Blanc. At least Blanc tended to be "honest." "Unless you know where she is, I don't care about what you have to say — but if you try to interfere with that fight, I'll make good on my warning."

"Yeah, yeah... Scaaaaaryyyy..." Mina didn't seem particularly threatened, but if she wasn't going to give Arfoire reason to make good on that threat, then Arfoire supposed she didn't have any reason to seem that way to begin with. "Come on. I was watching from a good spot... I think I know where she is. If she hasn't moved anyway, the stupid punk..."

Sighing, Arfoire resigned herself to taking Mina's aid — it wasn't like she had any better leads right now — before she cast one last look in the direction she had left Neptune in.

"You better still be hanging in there, kid."


Sparks flew as their blades went back and forth. Neptune expected a dirty comment thrown in, but whether or not one was made, she was too busy fighting back the urge to hurl to have heard it. It had probably been there, but really, she was kind of glad she had missed it. What she hadn't missed was this: Blanc was done playing around. Neptune may have had the benefit of having something to defend herself and more power to use it this time around, but in hindsight, she was thinking she should have gone for something bigger than a dramatic punch that first time around.

Neptune knew she was on the defensive again. Blanc knew it too. What Blanc didn't know was that it wasn't a difference in power causing it.

Something was... off. Neptune had been feeling it more and more, but — the CPU ducked at a surprise thrust from Blanc (she had expected another angry slash) to deliver one of her own, but it was parried — now she was getting to be pretty sure of it. Arfoire may not have known it when she'd given it to Neptune, and it wasn't like Neptune really fancied the alternative (y'know, dying) any, but that super duper power up had definitely been spiked with something nasty... That, or Neptune's tolerance for — Oh! Whoa! That slash from Blanc came too close, too close! Grunting, Neptune hopped backwards to gain some ground, but Blanc kept after her — for Arfoire's magic brew just wasn't very high.

Maybe now was the time to see if she could try to get through to Blanc again...?

"Okay, listen, I get why you're mad at me, I know, I tarnished your peeeerfect face, but...!" Neptune clenched her teeth and held her sword in front of her to block an oncoming strike. Blanc wasn't looking like she was interested in listening, but at least while she was trying to slice through Neptune's sword to get to her head, Neptune had her somewhere where she could talk to her. "But come on, Blanc! What did Rom ever do to you, huh? She's your baby sister! You don't kill her! I mean, okay, you don't kill cute girls like me either, but I'm willing to start with the little things if you are!"

Even if she had been asking a Blanc that had a personality similar to that of her own world's Blanc, or at least somewhat similar, as the words left her lips, Neptune knew the answer she got probably wouldn't have been much different than the one this Blanc gave her.

"She tried to kill me." Blanc found the idea that Neptune was suggesting she forgive such behavior ridiculous. Rom was hers to do with as however she wanted. "If I want to make a pillow out of her hair, then do you know what, Neptune? It's my right to pull it all out one strand at a time. Rom should be thankful to even have the opportunity to be the little sister of a goddess, not so quick to abuse it. You may have forgiven yours for failing to finish you off, but I always finish what I start."

"Then how come you're on this dinky old island instead of out there trying to take over stuff, huh?" She wasn't feeling better, but right now, she was just starting to get so frustrated that it outweighed how gross she felt. Even after being stabbed and all the other things she'd been through- What Blanc had just said was something Neptune wasn't going to let slide. "How come all the buildings are fake looking? How come you have to lure people in here just to get them to stay instead of getting them yourself? Is it because you're scared, Blanc? Scared of Noire and whoever else is out there? Maybe my baby sister? For somebody who talks so much, little miss 'I'm the only goddess,' you just look like a big old chicken to me!"

Blanc was at a loss for words. No one had never talked to her like that before. Not Mina, not Noire, not either of her sisters, not even Arfoire or any of the citizens... Her eyes widened as something that should have registered much earlier clicked into place in her mind. Not even Neptune had ever spoken this way to her before.

"... Who..." Blanc held her tongue, but she was starting to regain herself now that she had finally started to catch on.

"So what if Rom got mad at you!?" Paying Blanc no mind, Neptune held her sword firm and pushed, hoping to break the moment between the two of them and deliver a real blow to the other CPU. Blanc was faltering for some reason and whatever it was, Neptune wasn't about to waste it. "You're the big sister! Give her a spanking and show her who's boss! If you really are the boss, then act like it! Be a good big sister, and be a half-decent goddess while you're at it- Stop disrespecting my title, you big-"

"Oh, you don't have to worry one bit about that. I plan to spank Rom plenty." There was that smile again... No, something was a little different about it this time. Had it just been overexposure to it? Maybe it was the big old mark Neptune had left on Blanc's face earlier? Whatever the case, at least Neptune wasn't feeling so enchanted with it anymore. "I'm going to spank her so hard she can never walk again."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha. I get it." Neptune saw no humor in Blanc's comment, but she was more than happy to make her own comment in response. "She's never gonna walk again because you're going to kill her. That's sooooo funny, Blanc. You should have a TV show. What's next on the agenda? A live studio audience of your loyal worshipers? Lemme tell you, I'm betting, if we're being honest, that that would be a pretty empty audience...!"

Finally breaking through, Neptune knocked Blanc's sword out of the way and delivered a decent hit to the other CPU. The tanned goddess let out a quick hiss through clenched teeth in response to being cut, but from the looks of things, Neptune didn't think she had actually done a whole lot of damage — that was just Bizarro Blanc being Bizarro Blanc more than her having gotten a hit in. Not one to waste the chance it had opened, Neptune raised her sword again to sweep at Blanc's legs-

- only for the other goddess, still fighting one armed, to shift her stance and block it at her side, before letting out an almost happy sort of noise and slashing Neptune with some kind of... energy slash? Wasn't she only allowed to do that if her health was full-!?

Falling to a knee and skidding backwards, Neptune held her sword tight with one arm and clutched her chest with the other. Had it been this hard to breathe a minute ago...? Swallowing, she clenched her eyes closed and tried to fight back the headache. She couldn't ignore it anymore. If Arfoire's power up had had a timer on it, it had a really awful buzzer on it.

"Oh good, you're already halfway there." Smiling, Blanc squatted onto the ground, her sword held at the ready, to look at Neptune in the eye. Neptune wished she could hurl on command — now was the perfect time for it — but sadly, nothing came. Instead, she was looking at Neptune like she had during their earlier battle... Neptune swallowed. She didn't like it when this Blanc got like that. "Now if you bend over all the way like a good girl, I'd be glad to show you what I'd do to Ram for causing all of this. That's what I'll have next on my show... once I finish cleaning you up from my stage."

She definitely didn't like when this Blanc got like that.

"Sorry... Gotta save some of my firsts for the next boss fight I get stuck in, you know?" Forcing a laugh, Neptune struggled to her feet. She was pretty sure the "power" part of the power up was already almost up — maybe the side effects were going to be gone soon too? She might be able to make a break for it if she could get lucky like that... "There won't be any dramatic tension if you do everything to me this early in the story."

If only there was a way she could use it all up really fast... Do something like Arfy had done to throw Blanc off, but instead of sticking around or powering anybody up, she'd make like a monster of the week during the mid-episode fight and run away, to come back and... die at the end of the episode?! Why had she gone with that analogy again...?

"Early? Oh Neptune, this is the end of your story." Blanc was standing up, but whether it was because of the headache or who knew what else, everything seemed foggy... Really... really... foggy... Wait... Foggy...? "Hey. Look at me when I'm talking to you, Neptune. I might be that much more gentle."

... That's it!

"Sorry, Blanc- But in case you haven't noticed, I like it rough. So let's see how you like a taste." She would also have liked to have at least some of the comebacks she had spent months thinking for catching Iris Heart off guard left unused by the time she got home. Ignoring the other CPU, Neptune held her sword in front of her as firmly as she could... and concentrated.

If she could use the last bits of Arfoire's jolt as a speed boost to plow through all that fog... Then maybe... Just maybe... She could get rid of her sickness and, at the same time...!

"Something's different about you... No, I'm sure of it now. You're different. Completely." Blanc wasn't advancing anymore. She was looking at Neptune like it was the first time she had really looked at her throughout the entire fight. It was funny, in a way. Frankly, Neptune was surprised a crazy narcissist like Blanc had noticed at all — she had started to figure at some point that Blanc just saw Neptune's face and figured they were the same person. She hadn't even been trying to hide who she was like she had with Ram!

There was so much fog... It was more like cotton candy now, or maybe even snow. It was thick and sticky and it was trying to stop her from going where she needed to go — and she needed to go so, so far...

"O-Oh, don't mind that, I'm just keeping you on your toes so Arfy can get out of here with Rom. You and I are gonna have so much fun until then." Neptune commented jokingly — she needed to keep Blanc from acting yet. She wasn't nearly close enough... Not nearly close enough! "Why don't you sit back and stop thinking so much about it?"

She was moving through it much faster this time... She wasn't trudging or swimming through the sticky, murky void like before... If she kept it up... She could reach the light...!

Blanc could only feel pity for this poor girl before her. So this Neptune-believer or whoever — or whatever — she was was going to play like that, was she? It didn't matter, of course. Arfoire and Rom were in Lowee and they would never leave Lowee — just like Neptune here. It would be decidedly quick now, but she was going to savor it — oh, she was going to savor this, that was for certain...! Preparing her blade, she licked her lips.

"So, 'Neptune,' how would you like it?" With the flat side of her blade, Blanc caressed Neptune's face — a growing smile on her own. Her eyes were dancing, and her cheeks were slowly becoming a little flushed. The blade began to trail downwards, for they both knew if Blanc made a move now, Neptune would have the upper hand. It didn't matter — Blanc had pulled her sword away after a moment of blade-based fondling. Absolutely horrifying blade-based fondling — which Neptune would not let distract her. "I don't think I'm going to pull out again like I did earlier. How about I finish inside of you, Neptune?"

She had to go faster and faster still... She might never be able to get through with this speed again... She had to make it count this time... She had to do this in one shot...!

This wasn't going to be something Blanc took slow. She was going all in this time. She was enjoying herself too much, Neptune realized — if she didn't hurry...

She was like a torpedo launched at full speed... Her target was one that she had been hitting without any need to even aim for her entirely life...!

"If you don't mind, I think we've had enough foreplay today — you don't mind, do you?" Blanc probably wouldn't have cared even if Neptune had said she had minded. Neptune wasn't exactly present enough to really say much of anything. She just held her sword firm, ready to move it wherever it needed to be moved when it came time to block. That was all the attention she could spare this side of things.

It was so dark... She was still so far away... She was getting closer, but it wasn't enough...! Why was it so far...?! Why was everything sticking to her and clinging to her, trying to keep her away from her home — from who she was...?!

So Neptune just swallowed, doing her best not to get too distracted by what was taking place in front of her. Normally she could transform fine with her eyes open — it wasn't like it usually took more than a second — but now? Having to watch Blanc while she felt like she was having an out of body experience at the same time was more than her mind could handle — it felt like she was going to split in two and both halves would evaporate if she kept this up...! Hoping she had enough time to take the risk, she finally closed her eyes, even as Blanc was raising her sword.

"Let's start by getting rid of that pointless protection of yours. This will feel much better without it, Neptune."

She just really, really wished she hadn't triggered that flag earlier. She hadn't thought it would get this bad, but...

"H-Hold on, Blanc, can I have a minute? Hear that ringing? I need to get the phone."

Blanc ignored her. She just brought her blade down...

"'Cause I called it!"

... and slashed right through Neptune's own.

In that moment, Neptune grasped what she needed. In going for Neptune's sword instead of Neptune herself, Blanc had given Neptune the last second she needed to take hold of the only light thing in that foggy world that was becoming harder and harder for her to reach — but once she did it, she had done it. In an instant, she was jolted out of the foggy abyss, and a blinding bright light surrounded her once more, purging her body from whatever had crept inside when it, her power and her might, hadn't been there...

"What... What are you?!"

... and giving the goddess Purple Heart form once again.

Though she expected her sword to have reformed and transformed with her, looking down, Purple Heart realized such was not the case. It was still just a broken sword, not even transformed.

Could she still...?

Blanc was talking to her. She had been forced a few meters back by the surge of energy Purple Heart had released — perhaps from it being called from another dimension? Anything was possible, she supposed... Except for Blanc being silent.

Oh well. Purple Heart didn't even bother paying attention to it. Blanc was too taken with this form of hers to seem to remember she should be attacking, and that was fine with Purple Heart. In this form, she wouldn't be transfixed by this other world's version's physical beauty, nor give her ego the stroking it received through listening to her perverse, twisted words — her world's Blanc was far more beautiful than this monster ever would be... not that she would ever say that to the other CPU, of course, but just one look at White Heart alongside her sisters any day was more than enough proof of this undeniable fact to Purple Heart.

She was stronger than when she had been when she showed herself in this form to Ram, she noted... But, unfortunately, she was also now weaker than she had been when Arfoire had given her energy in the first place. Significantly so. More obviously so than she cared to admit. All she had gained was height and the ability to fly... Had that ever happened before? It was usually the other way around... At least the power up had had one final use — she felt much more stable now. Arfoire's power up had been true in that regard, even if it had been strange. They could talk about it later... For now, she could make use of it this way, even if it was ultimately gone now. Her level wasn't going down yet, but that probably would only last for however long whatever bits had been left of Arfoire's power up were good for.

She was also positive she couldn't win. It had been a long shot before, but now it was simply impossible. She had the element of surprise going for her, being in a form that should be completely alien to Blanc based on previous experiences using it in this world

She hated to have to resort to such a cliche, but... Her head was clearer in this form. She may have been the main character of this tale, but to keep it from ending here, she knew she needed to do something she detested.

They needed to run away.

She could fly right now. She could grab Arfoire and Rom and get to safety in a way that she would never be able to otherwise. It would probably use up everything she had, and if the length of time the energy Arfoire had granted her wasn't very long, she might end up using most of her own remaining levels to do it... If it was just her own arrogant self on the line, maybe she would try to fight even so, but she couldn't shake the images of Rom, collapsed on the floor where Neptune had left her, and Arfoire, leaving everything to her, out of her mind. She couldn't risk them.

Unfortunately... Blanc wasn't just going to let her do this, now was she? While she still had the element of surprise on her hand, Purple Heart needed to disable her long enough to be able to flee in the first place. She only needed maybe a minute's head start — Arfoire probably wouldn't ask questions and Rom wasn't in a state to when she had left her. If she could manage that much, then maybe... Maybe they could survive this disaster after all.

"To think I had hoped we could talk this out..." The goddess murmured quietly to herself, still ignoring the narcissistic yammering of the other Blanc. She needed to find a new weapon if she wanted to disable Blanc for long enough to get away, but what...?

Letting the broken blade clatter to the ground, she surveyed the area. If she recalled correctly... The first sword Blanc had been using should still be around here somewhere, shouldn't it? She should be able to use that — wouldn't it be fitting to strike down Blanc with something she had tossed away? She'd just need to find it first...

"Are you still ignoring me? You said you were a CPU, but you look like that?"

She glanced at her stats again. Her level was still fine... No, it wasn't fine. Not at all. It was still too low, but at least it was staying there instead of getting lower. She didn't have any strange feelings this time either. She was completely focused and aware, something she couldn't say was true for the last times she had transformed here. This was abundantly clear to her now... She wouldn't get another chance, would she? If this was going to be a temporary transformation, then she needed to make full use of it. She had no idea how long it would last. Ten minutes and ten seconds were both equally viable with what little information she had. She only knew one thing: She was fighting two timers now, rather than the one she had thought she had been fighting against.

Get away before either of them transformed. If she returned to her normal form or Blanc got as exponentially stronger upon transforming as Ram had when she had transformed... That would be the end of this fight — and the end of her. Arfoire wasn't here to save her again.

"First, that sword..." Purple Heart spoke calmly to herself. Even if she was on a dozen timers, she couldn't let herself get too worried. She needed to fight like she was fine and at her best — because at her best, she never lost, and she did not intend to lose now, even if what she intended to win was merely a chance to retreat.

Not that she had noticed until it was too late, but Blanc had leaped at her just as Purple Heart took off in the direction she was fairly certain the sword was in, causing Blanc to be flung away. This was becoming a trend, the CPU noted to herself in mild amusement. It didn't matter now — the sword was now within her sight. She landed on the ground next to it and bent to pick it up...

"Let's see what happens." The CPU transferred just a bit of energy into it, something that normally was natural upon transformation, something that she did every single time she transformed back home as a simple part of routine... and waited. To her pleasant surprise, the weapon took to her immediately — changing into something much more suited to Purple Heart than any Blanc, and at that thought, Purple Heart's lips curved into a small, pleased smile. "This is much better. Swords don't suit Blanc. I'm certain now... They belong with the protagonist."

Holding the weapon ready, Purple Heart glanced at her status one more time to be sure. To her pleasant surprise, rather than having gone down...

"Of course. That's what I need..." Purple Heart murmured to herself as she looked over the numbers. While they were still not even closed to rivaling where they had been immediately after Arfoire had done whatever it was that she had done, they were significantly higher than they had been a few moments ago. All because of a sword. Well, she wasn't about to complain about that. "A good sword... Yes, a good weapon that can cover for my weakness until I'm able to bring my level back up. That might be just what Compa ordered. This will do for now, but..."

The goddess shook her head. It wasn't the time to be thinking about the future just yet. She still had the present to deal with... And in the present?

She felt like she was okay. She felt like she could do it. The clock was still ticking, but that was a perfectly acceptable thing — it could tick as long as it wanted so long as it let her finish what she needed to do first. As long as she could get Arfoire and Rom to safety, she would accept whatever this cost her as long as she could live to fix that later too.

Feeling confident, Purple Heart cast her gaze in the direction of Blanc, who was charging towards her. Luckily, it seemed she had forgotten she too was likely capable of transformation. Or perhaps she was still too taken with Purple Heart's own? Whatever the reason for it, Blanc having yet to transform made little difference, except that it meant Purple Heart had that much more of a chance. All that mattered right now was that Blanc was coming towards her. That was just fine with her — now she was armed, and she was more than ready.

It was such a shame that for all of her confidence, it was only in how ready she was to run away.