"Please...hold onto what's yours, and don't ever let go of it again. Be happy for your own sake."
Flare reached a hand towards the Sharecite, but stopped abruptly, and turned back to Lynka's eyes phantom.
"One last thing. Tell my friend over there," She pointed a finger at the kneeling silhouette in the distance, who remained as still as a statue, "That she has grown into a real badass."
Flare pressed her palms against the crystal. Within seconds, cracks began forming on its surface, and its light dimmed.
No, the light was being siphoned into a single spot. Lynka's eyes phantom blinked and flickered, before it was engulfed in a blinding flash of light.
When Rei regained her vision, Flare was gone, replaced by a real, flesh-and-blood body that fell onto the ground in a heap. Behind Lynka's still form, the Sharecite crystal dissolved into a rain of glittering dust, leaving only a single shard behind.
Almost immediately, a loud thunder echoed through the space. The solid surface below split apart in a burst of golden energy, shaking so violently that she was tossed up and forced into a face-up position.
Just in time to see every single piece of debris above crashing down on the platform, like a deadly rain of meteors—
"NO!"
Rei finally heard her own shriek, loud and clear, as the dark blue energy burst out of her body again.
She jumped up, dragging Clancy with her. Giant rocks slammed into the rapidly disintegrating platforms behind them. As she dodged another falling rock, the streaks of Gold Energy around them exploded in a spectacular firework, before fading into nothing, while the dark blue energy was surging towards a single point, as if being sucked in by an invisible black hole—
A blast wave collided with her in mid-jump. It burnt, it burnt so badly that her senses went completely dark for a second—
She went limp, but didn't fall. It took her a while to regain her senses. Her limbs seemed completely weightless. Something was keeping her afloat.
Just as she felt the grip on her wrist, Clancy let out a cough. They were still holding onto each other—thank goodness. Soon, she was coughing too; the aura around them, like wisps of smoke, was making its way down her throat, clogging her lungs up.
Focus. Use your mind's...eyes.
Her eyes snapped open. For the first few second, nothing seemed to change, except for the tiny bit of warmth flowing into her limbs. Even her enhanced sight wasn't able to penetrate the dark blue mist that surrounded them, as she fumbled her way forward, going back to the same paddling movement in her astral-projection state.
Her head banged against a floating rock, then another. Did the dark blue energy freeze everything in the vicinity? It was draining her stamina, sending searing pain through every inch of exposed skin.
She had to find a way out of this energy cloud, fast, before—
Green lights. Swinging back and forth.
She moved towards the lights, as quickly as she could. The mist seemed to thin a little, and she was hearing human voices now. A rather unsettling mixture of giggles, coughs, and muffled sobs.
"Aww. Look at auntie here..."
Finally, she was close enough to see the woman and the chunk of debris she was clinging onto with one hand, outlined by a thin golden aura. The mist around them had thinned considerably, enough for her to see the dark blue streaks, swirling against a backdrop of inky darkness.
"Ain't she so silly." The woman let go of her goggles, now dangling in her free right hand. Her entire body was shaking, despite the uncomfortably wide smile on her face. "Tearing up like that, without knowing why. Who even is that kid?"
"You know her! Her name is Flare," She blurted out, before letting out another cough, "She is...your best..."
Her reply was interrupted by a low, hollow laugh.
"Hey kid, one last life lesson from your senior here," the woman said, shaking her head. "Don't ever become someone like me."
Before she could lunge forward and grab her, the woman let go and slipped backwards, allowing herself to fall over the edge. Just like that, she was gone, swallowed up by the darkness beyond the mist.
Rei didn't have the energy left to scream anymore.
She was feeling each and every object, suspended around her in the dark blue mist. She didn't know how. She just knew she couldn't let them fall, couldn't allow anyone to die, and she had to keep holding them in place. Even though the pain was threatening to tear her apart at the seams, turn her into another streak of mindless energy that was swirling around the void.
There had to be a way out. She had done something with that power in a panic. If she tried hard enough, maybe she could do more with it...
Just like before.
Rei shuddered at the memories, memories that only came back very recently. No, she was not hurting anyone this time, she was saving them...she had teleported herself before, hadn't she...
Rei concentrated on the moving forms, making their way through the mist.
Safety, we need to get to safety, teleport us to safety, please please p—
A heavy feeling hit her squarely in the chest, as her concentration faltered, causing the mist to churn violently. She barely exerted enough control in time and stopped it from dispersing.
What was she expecting? She was nothing, a mere human who got lucky in her panic, and even so, she was only delaying the inevitable. And now, with no heroes, no CPUs to swoop in and save the day, of course she was going to die like the insignificant screw-up she was—
Rei flinched, as the possibility she had been blocking out of her mind came back with a vengeance.
There was a CPU who could save everyone, and she was right here.
But she was also every single bit of ugly feeling in her, crystalized into an all-consuming rage and contempt, threatening to seize her by the collars, twist her to her will, and make her into a plaything. Just like that fairy and so many other people in her life.
Their faces flashed in front of her eyes. Yet, for once, the sight did not evoke freezing terror.
It made her furious.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, would keep her down like that again. Not those people, not herself, not her own anger and pain and stupidity, and definitely not this damned power.
She was going to make one simple decision. Do one simple thing.
And not even the insane, power-hungry specter of an ancient CPU could stop her.
"ACCESS!"
The moment Rei screamed out the word, white light drowned out everything. With the pain gone, the first few seconds were peaceful, almost comforting.
Until a horned silhouette appeared in the distance, cyan hair flowing in the wind. Rei's entire body tensed up at the sight. Now she had to wrestle that power away from her HDD by force, right? There was no way that...monster would just hand it over to her.
Heavens.
She was still angry, but her anger wasn't enough to block out the real fear of losing anymore, especially now that the figure was moving towards her. These giant wings and Processor Units were a lot more imposing up close, and a strike from that staff would really hurt, with or without the dark flames swirling around it—
Her HDD Form stopped right in front of her. Her face was an expressionless mask, yet, as Rei stared into her eyes, she didn't find the contempt or disdain that she was expecting to see. No, there was only a deep, ageless...sadness.
Without a word, she raised her free hand, and a power symbol appeared in her palm. Then, she extended her arm towards Rei.
"Ummm, you want me to...have it?"
She nodded, before two words escaped out of her lips in a quiet whisper. "Take care."
Rei wanted to ask more questions, but by then, she had already closed her fingers around that symbol, and her HDD Form was gone in a flash of light and heat.
She was feeling more alive than EVER. Why wouldn't she? With this power, she could do ANYTHING.
It took her a brief moment to notice that the mist, her power in its wildest and most unrestrained form, was no longer there. In this rift between dimensions, everything was collapsing on itself again.
How pathetic. Mere chaos would not triumph over an iron will, her will, nor seize the unlucky fools she had claimed as her own.
The space-time bent at her fingertips. Immediately, three bodies appeared in front of her, suspended in midair. She would have taken some time to adore the looks of awe in the redhead woman's eyes, if the girl clinging onto her wasn't still screaming, long after they had stopped falling.
Seriously, it was getting on her nerves. How did this brat manage to survive long enough to find her Gold Crystal? Not even her filthy traitor of an Oracle would want such a—
No. That thought, it wasn't hers. She was still her, and she wouldn't be wasting her time on petty things. Like making panicking people shut up.
She was going to take all of them out of here.
She called upon her power. Just as she closed her eyes, allowing the dark blue energy to sweep herself and everyone away, a loud "Nooooooo!" echoed through the void.
The sheer effort it took for her to open her eyes again...yeah, there was no way she was still transformed.
She must've passed out when she hit the ground. For how long, she had no idea. Was it not for the freezing wind, and the snow pressing against her cheeks, Rei could just lie here. Forever. And never get up.
Groaning, she rolled to the side, trying to prop herself up with her elbows—
"Ugh! This is all your faaaaaault!"
Right after the loud whine, a "pop" sound came from above. Rei didn't even have the time to scream, before a shadow crashed onto her, knocking all the wind out of her chest.
"Uh-huh. What did I do, Crostie?" While Rei was still struggling to breathe under the weight, she heard a loud sneeze, "Jeez, it's freezing out here! Remind me to bring an extra jacket with me at all times, next time I go restock for supplies."
"What did you do?! You made me miss the chance to—" A high-pitched, childish voice retorted, "And no. Go catch a cold and die."
"Wow. That's so mean, even for you." A sigh, "Welp, guess we missed the thing. But I still didn't know what we missed! Can you like, tell me now? So we can get there later?"
"There is no later!"
"Why?"
"Because—"
Rei let out a groan. The person sitting on her made an "Oops" sound, before hurriedly getting off her. As she extended a hand towards her and helped her up, Rei couldn't help but notice how much she looked like Planeptune's CPU, but...older, and not as intimidating as her HDD Form.
"Sorry! Didn't see you there! Crostie is very salty today, and I'm getting a little woozy from all the portal-hopping." She shook her head, and took out a bottle from her parka's pocket. "Name's Neptune. Here, have a Nep-Bull. You look like you've been through a lot, and really need it! Same for your friends over there, but I only have one of these left on me."
"...Over where?" Shakily, Rei popped open the can, and looked in the direction Neptune—well, older Neptune was pointing at.
Lying a few feet away from her was Lynka, limp and unmoving. Behind her, two other people had just sat up from the ground, leaning on each other for support. In the pitch darkness of the night, the only light was the faint silver rays of the moon, reflecting off the snow that covered the barren field around them.
"Really, Crostie, I thought we could stay in that night market a lil' longer, since you were screaming for me to feed you! Sign you up for that ice-cream eating contest! Win some sweet, sweet prizes while we were at it! What could be more fun and exciting than that?"
The notebook in Older Neptune's hands let out a loud groan. "Oh my gosh, no one cares about your prizes! I could've gotten into that locked dimension, had you not asked so many dumb questions!"
"Um, excuse me." Rei raised a hand. "Who are you talking to? It sounds a little familiar..."
"Huh? Is that—" The person in the notebook made an "Ah-Ha" sound. "Sup, bitch! It's me, Croire! Last time we met, I was shoving some power up your nose, but your shitty luck must've rubbed off on me after that. Now I'm her personal slave in a notebook."
"It's, well, a long story, and believe me, it's for the best." Older Neptune shook her head. "This little fairy here is quite the villain, despite her pretty wings and innocent looks! She's probably in a hurry, because she sensed some ancient evil awakening and wanna help it destroy a world or two, y' know, for funsies—"
Croire snorted. "Hey! Don't put words in my mouth. This one's different."
"Hmmm? How so?"
"The dimension I was tryin' to get into? All kind of fucked-up shit happened throughout its history! On their own! Without my help!" Croire exclaimed, with more excitement than what was probably necessary.
"Not as fun as the total destruction of a dimension, but after a certain point, the wars and bloodshed just kept coming, which was already better than most other morons who worship the CPUs..." A sigh. "Until they pulled this 'dimension lock' bullshit with a First Goddess Fragment thingy and the Gold Energy it sucked out."
"Wow. I feel ya'. That's just like, I dunno...when my favorite show was pulled off-air, because the film maker got bought out by some big company?"
"Yeah, whatever. I know the coordinates, but every time I tried to open a portal to that world, it just redirected me somewhere else! Like I could ever be played for fools like that," Croire huffed. "I was sooooo hyped when this huge power surge came from the exact coordinates. I know the feel of the Tari Goddess's power, and if anything could break a dimension lock, it had to be that! If only this idiot here wasn't obsessed with her stupid-ass ice cream eating contest, I'd have slipped in through the rift!"
"I-Is this what you are talking about?"
Rei squeezed her eyes shut, searching for that familiar burning sensation, and when she opened her eyes again, a tiny dark blue flame was dancing at her fingertips.
"Oooh! Yes! So it hasn't just up and vanished, like the one I gave to Kurome?" Croire was practically squeeing now, "Great! Looks like you ain't gonna be a completely useless pushover for the rest of your life. Now, open a portal for me, to this location—" A pause, "Wait, no. Transform into your crazy bitch self, rip me outta' this notebook, and let's go stir shit up in new dimensions again!"
"Aww, miss, I'd rather you not do that. You're gonna let out all the cool bugs I caught." Older Neptune gave her a sad look.
"Pfft! Bugs would be the least of your worries, 'cause this bitch's gonna blast you into smithereens right after that! C'mon! Show her! Show her!"
The exhaustion almost made Rei want to say no. At the same time, a less pleasant part of herself was whispering in her ears, urging her to go on, do it, show this pathetic little mosquito what true pain and terror is, in return for everything it has put you through—
No. She was not going to listen to that voice. But also, yes. She had to prove this to herself.
If she could do it once, she could do it again.
Rei nodded, without a word. When the light faded away, Older Neptune was still smiling, but her pistol was no longer inside the holster on her leg, and her notebook was tuck securely inside her pocket.
"Huh, you look real classy. These horns are wicked cool! Why the long face, though?"
"There you are! Long time no see, my favorite crazy bitch!" Croire greeted her. "Yeah, that's like, totally insolent or somethin', but if you wanna get me, you'd have to free me from this idiot's notebook first! So, what' cha waiting for?"
Rei took a deep breath. "No."
"Um, what?" Croire asked. "Hey, where's the cackling, murder-happy part? Any second now?"
"You heard me. I'm not wasting my time on someone who's so beneath me. Why would I help you with anything, after you had treated me like a disposable toy?" Rei narrowed her eyes, "How stupid are you, insect, that you think you can just show up and start bossing me around again? With your pitiful attempts at manipulation and vulgar, childish taunts? Go find your entertainment somewhere else, please, and get out of my face."
The moment she uttered the last sentence, all the strength left her body. Rei was back to human form before she even touched the ground. A "sorry" almost escaped her lips out of habit, once she stopped panting, and realized how mean she sounded a few seconds ago.
But this time, she truly had nothing to apologize for.
"Oooh. Sick burn." Older Neptune put her pistol back into the holster, before giving Rei a thumbs-up.
"...That wasn't supposed to happen." Croire muttered to herself, after a long silence. "Out of all people, she managed to grow a spine while I'm gone? Okay? But her HDD Form, how the hell did it become so sane and boring and..."
Her voice suddenly raised to a high-pitched whine. "Ugh! It doesn't make sense! Nothing's goin' right for me today! Nothing! I missed the big show, and I'm still starving, and now there isn't even a consolation prize? Seriously! You suck! All of youuuuuuuuu!"
"Wow. Crostie hadn't thrown a tantrum this big, ever since I caught her in that butterfly net!" Older Neptune's expression was one of sheer astonishment. "It's kinda cute, really—"
"Uh, excuse me?" A weak voice came from behind them. The girl was still huddled against 'Red Storm', who looked like she was on the verge of passing out. Her eyes was no longer glowing, however.
"I know you clearly have a...thing going on here, b-but," Her teeth were chattering now. "B-Before we all get hypothermia, can you p-please dial the local emergency number? Thanks."
"Sure thing! Oh wait, I don't need to do that." Older Neptune shook her head. "'Cause Crostie can just take us straight to the city! I think all of us can use a nice cup of hot chocolate now, right? That means you too, Crostie! Let's go!"
"Nope," Croire grumbled. "I'm too pissed to be your public transport right now. So walk, you lazy bum. And suffer."
Older Neptune giggled a little at the last part. "C'mon. I know, getting knocked down a peg is no fun, but that's no reason to be a big ol' grinch! I really don't wanna drain your power without warning you first, so I'm gonna ask you nicely. Take us somewhere warm and safe, pretty please?"
"Suck my ass."
"Aww. I'm not trying to hurt you, I swear," Sighing, she removed her notebook from her pocket. "But these people are gonna turn into popsicles if they stay out here any longer, so I have to be a little forceful with ya'."
"By the power of Nep..." She held up the notebook in a dramatic pose, "Take us to downtown Lowee!"
It took a few seconds of staring at thin air, before everyone realized that nothing was happening. Older Neptune had a sheepish grin on her face, as she awkwardly put the notebook down.
"Whoops. That double portal hop drained more of Crostie's power than I thought. Or maybe there're just too many people here?"
"Ha!" Croire let out a weak laugh from inside the notebook, "Karma bites back, bitches!"
While Older Neptune was still exchanging banters with Croire, Rei made her way to Lynka. She picked up the tiny Sharecite shard that was lying nearby first, and tucked it into her suit pocket, before carrying the girl up in her arms. She doubted that CPUs could freeze to death, but letting her lie there on the snow just didn't seem like a nice thing to do, and the two other people nearby were in no condition to help.
"Um, if you don't mind..." She turned to Older Neptune, "I have teleportation power too, e-even though I just got it back! I think I can take everyone to safety?"