My eyelids cracked open, the sleep collecting around my tear ducts cracking and breaking as my eyes opened. My vision blurred, before focusing in on the sleeping form in front of me, a head of purple hair huddled up eye level with me.
A pair of lilac eyes opened a few seconds later, as Neptune gave a smile. "Morning." She said, as I nodded, putting a hand over my mouth. "Morning." I said back, as I blinked once.
"What's with the hand?" Asked Neptune.
"Morning breath." I said, like it was obvious. "...You know, I don't think the smaller one should be acting like the larger comforting one."
A sudden blinding light cut me off, as the next thing I new, Purple Heart was looking at me with a smile on her face. "This more qualified?"
"...I'm still taller than you." I said, smirking.
I watched as Purple Hearts cheeks puffed out, before another flash of light erupted in front of my face, Neptune giving me a dirty look. "I can't help but wonder if you're just trying to blind me…" I muttered, as I sat up. "Okay, I'm going to go clean up… I'll be out in a few."
"Okay... I'll be here… sleeping…" Neptune said, before covering herself with more of the comforter. I let out a light chuckle, before walking to the bathroom connected to my room.
"Now… I need to shave, brush teeth, shower, and everything else I do in here…" I muttered, taking my shirt off. "...Well, get busy living, or get busy dying…"
"Okay, what exactly is happening here?" I asked Nepgear, as she was fiddling with the gun I had stolen yesterday.
"I've never seen technology like this!" Said Nepgear, turning to me, the gun now a deep purple, with white lines running through it. The exposed wires now covered up by what seemed to be meters measuring output levels. "What you got here is a fully functioning transformation device!"
"...Wait, a what?" I asked, as she handed me the device, before she picked up the empty full bottle.
"It's a device that uses these…" Nepgear looked at the bottle for a second in thought. "I'll have to think of a name for them later, but the bottles can store specific essences, and then can be used in this gun to transform! I'll call it… The Nepsteam Gun!"
"...So basically…" I said, taking the gun out of her hands, before pulling the Hard Drive full bottle out of my pocket.
"Woah! Where'd you get that?" Asked Nepgear.
I started shaking the bottle. "Linda had it. I may have stolen it from her when I was there." I said, sliding the cap to the side, locking it open, before sliding it up the rail into the gun.
[HARD DRIVE]
"Ooh!" Nepgear's eyes had sparkles in them, as she took the gun from my hands, as she raised it up, twisting and turning the weapon around and she inspected it, the gun playing it's usual standby tune. "I wonder what happens if you pull the trigger…?"
"I-I wouldn't do that if I were you!" I said, as she raised the gun up.
"What do you mean? I've done a whole bunch of scans on the gun, and it specifically utilizes these kind of bottles to transform! Why wouldn't I try it out?" Asked Nepgear, before she pulled the trigger. "Access!"
{MISS MATCH!}
"Huh?" I asked, as Nepgear suddenly got electrocuted, as what seemed to be yellow smoke started flowing out of the gun. "Oh shit! Nepgear!"
"I-I'm f-f-fine…" She stuttered out as she shook. I pulled the gun out of her hands, waving away the smoke as I pulled out the full bottle. "I see the… new sounds are working…"
"You… included new sounds?" I asked, as she got a hold of herself.
Nepgear nodded, walking over to her computer as she pulled up some blueprints of the gun. "I've spent an uncertain amount of time filling in some of the blanks the weapon was missing, I had a program implanted that automatically generates a phrase for whatever the gun is doing." She said, picking up the empty fullbottle. "...What if you insert the empty one?"
"Already tried that." I said, taking the bottle from her hand as I inserted it.
[FULLBOTTLE!]
"Full bottle?" Asked Nepgear, as she put a hand to her chin. "But it's empty."
"I assume that's just what they're called. So, Fullbottle, like one word." I said, taking the bottle out. "It only triggers an attack, so it can't really do anything…"
Nepgear sighed. "That's a bit of a shame. Though the mystery as to why we can't use the Hard Drive Fullbottle is confusing."
"That's what a mystery is though…" I deadpanned, only to get pouted at. Oof...
Let me say again, Oof…
"Not that! From the plans and everything, it should work FINE! It's like there's this force that the bottle is putting up… Like the energy is rejecting it…" Said Nepgear, as she put a hand to her chin.
"What's all this about…?" Asked a voice, as we turned to see Plutia in her usual attire, her sleepwear, at the door to Nepgear and Neptune's room. "Some of us are trying to sleep you know…!"
I raised an eyebrow. "It's eleven AM though…" I said, looking at Plutia. "I mean, yeah I can agree with sleeping in till 2 PM, but really?" I felt a sudden chill up my spine, as I shook my head rapidly, feeling much safer behind the majorly smaller Nepgear.
"Sorry Plutia… we were trying to figure out-" Nepgear began, before I cut her off.
"We were confused about something and we'll try and be more quiet…" I said, before sighing. "...So while you're here Plutia, I wanted to ask about the appearance of Peashy…"
The room got a bit quiet at this, as I let out a sigh. "Look, you said she became a CPU?" I asked.
"Yeah, it was a bit of a shock to all of us." Said Nepgear. "Who knew…"
I turned to Plutia. "...How exactly… DID she become a CPU? Last I checked, she was a normal girl… A rather aggressive one, but still."
Plutia looked off to the side and seemed to refuse to look at me. "Well… It might have had something to do with this item from my home…"
"...Wait, what?" I asked, as Plutia squirmed in place.
"...She… might have come into contact with a memory?" Plutia said, as I looked at Nepgear.
"...Okay, I am SO much more interested in this development than our current one. Can you get Neptune and Histoire so we can talk about this?" I asked Nepgear, as I placed the gun down, picking up the empty full bottle.
"Sure, I'll be right back!" Nepgear said, as I moved to the main room with Plutia.
"...So… what is this all about again?" I asked, before a sudden alarm started blaring from the tower. "What the-!?"
"What's going on?" Asked Plutia.
"I don't know, this hasn't happened before!" I said, as I stood up. "Histoire!?"
The tiny fairy quickly flew over to us, as Nepgear ran out, IF and Compa following shortly after. "This isn't good."
"Oh, no? I couldn't tell!" I said.
IF crossed her arms, as she looked at me. "This isn't the time for your sarcasm, Bryce."
"Oh, really? What time is it for? Because honestly I'd LOVE TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!" I said, as Histoire coughed into her hand.
"It appears we're under attack by the rebels from R-18 Island. They're attacking the south side of Planeptune, in one it's villages." Said Histoire. "We already have a guild force on its way, IF, please go join them quickly."
"Understood!" Said IF, as the alarms turning off.
"Neptune, I want you and Nepgear to go as well, it seems Peashy is currently there as… Where's Neptune." Asked Histoire.
"Last I saw her, she was asleep in my room." I said, as everyone looked at me. "...What? I was having a troubled day. You can't fault me for being in the same bed as my girlfriend, can you? Side note: WOW that is a new feeling… My girlfriend… Jesus that's a new one…"
"Then Nepgear, you go with IF to the blockade and hold Peashy back." Said Histoire. "Bryce, you try and get Neptune up and going."
"Got it!" I said, walking over to my room, only to find the door locked. "Uh… Neptune? You awake?" Silence was the answer I received. "Hey, so uh, Peashy is uh… attacking our borders? We kinda need you right now? Can you open the door, I have my keys so I mean, I can easily open it myself, but it's less work for me to open it if you can."
I felt my pockets, finding I actually didn't have my room keys. "...Okay I lied about the room keys, they're in the room right now and I kinda need them to open this door so we can talk, alright? ...Okay, I'm just going to let you sleep some more…"
I banged my head against the door, before walking back to Histoire, Compa and Plutia. "Yeah, she's not coming out. I also kinda left my keys in the room so I can't get in. I would try to blast lock… but the last time I tried that in pathfinder, I always just ended up breaking the lock even MORE stuck so…"
"We'll have to work on getting Neptune out of her shell later, for now we need to- ABABABABABABABABA-" Histoire suddenly erupted into this string of yelling, as we all looked at Histoire.
"...You okay there Histoire?" I asked.
"I'm sorry about my abrupt calling, but I finally figured a few things out with the new information you have for us." Said Mini Histoire, displayed Via Hologram in the Sharicite Room. "According to the data, that CPU is evidently the great presence we've been searching for."
"That's exactly what I feared." Said Histoire.
"So wait, is that why Peashy knew who me and Iffy were before we met?" Asked Compa.
"Hate to be that guy, but it's Iffy and I." I said.
"Ignoring Bryce's comment." Histoire began, (hey!), turning to Compa. "Yes, it's probably right to assume that she knew the two of you from another dimension."
"This is really complicated…" Said Compa.
"I'm following it just fine." I said.
"Not everyone is you Bryce…" Plutia said, as I rolled my eyes.
"I don't mean to sound too alarmed or anything, but there's a large portion of our world that's coming completely undone right now! \( ´Д`;)/" Said Miny Histoire, a small emoticon appearing next to her.
"Hold on!" Histoire let out a gasp. "Do you think the area the rebels are claiming is Peashy's Country in the other world?"
"Oof… that's not good." I said.
"Probably. So we need Plutia to bring her back here, as quickly as possible, ((((;°Д°)))) even if it means using extreme force." Said Mini Histoire.
"Not a fan of extreme force…" Said Plutia, twirling her hair around.
"When were you NOT!?" I asked aloud, getting looks. "Um, hello? HDD anyone?"
"We can't have misgivings it'll endanger our country too if we don't bring her back, (Д;)!" Mini Histoire said, as she floated over to Plutia.
"I know that, but still…" Plutia lamented.
"Hey, so I've been meaning to ask, how… even DID Peashy become a CPU?" I asked, as the others turned to face me. "She's… a lot younger than any of the other goddesses, and you say this like you didn't know from the start, so she couldn't have been one originally in your universe…"
"Yes, it's true. Peashy most likely found herself accidentally activating a CPU Memory." Said Mini Histoire.
"...Mind filling us in on what that even is?" I asked, as Plutia seemed to dig into her pocket.
"It's one of these!" Said Plutia, pulling out a small diamond shaped crystal, purple in colour. It had what looked like those lines you'd find on a computer board running through the crystal, a translucent power button symbol in the center.
"Plutia!? Where did you get that!" Asked Mini Histoire, as we looked at the crystal in Plutia's hand.
"I found it…" Said Plutia. "I think I forgot it in my pocket when I made the trip here…"
I stared at the crystal in Plutia's hand in thought. This… could be big. One on hand, I could find myself given the crystal, which would give me that 50/50 percent chance of success, even though that feels utterly impossible now, given Victory and Re;Birth 3 made it pretty clear that 'Almost' anyone important who used it had got the good side of the coin flip.
On the other hand...
I pulled the empty full bottle out of my pocket, before sliding the shielding cap open, and pointed it at the crystal in Plutia's hand.
"What are you doing?" Plutia asked.
"I don't know." I said, before specks of light started to emanate from the crystal, flowing into the bottle, at a rapidly increasing rate.
"Ooh… Pretty…" Said Compa, as she leaned in.
I looked at her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I have no idea what would happen if you got in the way of this…"
"What exactly is happening?" Asked Histoire, as she and Mini Histoire looked at the light show, before it slowly died down, a faded crystal in Plutia's hand, and a purple fullbottle in mine, a diamond indentation on the front, with computer lines running along the bottle.
"This… is what a full, well, fullbottle looks like." I said, closing the shielding cap. "This… is a lot more… energetic than the Hard Drive one…"
Plutia looked at the Core in her hand. "Woah… The core crystal's all faded…"
"It is?" Asked Mini Histoire.
"Probably due to the essence inside of it is… inside the bottle." I said, shaking the bottle. "Now, I think we have a girl to bring home?"
"Right, we'll continue the conversation later." Said Histoire, as Mini Histoire nodded, cutting off the connection. "For now, Bryce, I want you to get Neptune out of her stupor. Plutia, Compa, you can help as well."
"Right." I said, walking out of the room, before I looked at the bottle in my hand. "...What can I do with you…?"
"Bryce…?" Plutia asked, as I turned around.
"Yeah?" I asked, as Plutia held out the empty core crystal. "Um…"
"I want you to have it!" Said Plutia.
"I'm sorry what?" I asked, as she rather forcibly put the faded crystal into my hand.
Plutia smiled. "Well, I want you and Neppy to be happy, and Neppy can't be happy if you're dead in 70 years."
"One, thanks, was trying to keep that thought out of my mind. Two, I'll at least last another 10 after that…" I said, sighing. "But you're right, thanks. Side note: I just use it and I become a god? How many of you are there in your universe?"
"There's five, if you count Peashy…" Said Plutia, nodding to herself in thought.
"...I… Figured there'd be more?" I said.
"The memories have a REALLY tiny chance of spawning…" Said Plutia, "And...well… The CPU Memory MIGHT just have a 50/50 percent chance of it working?" Said Plutia, as I raised my eyebrow.
"So what? It doesn't work?" I asked. "...The other 50 percent is bad isn't it?"
"You turn into a monster." Said Plutia.
"Jesus…" I said, holding a hand to my head. I knew this already, but the thought is still terrifying.
"Don't worry about it! You'll be fine!" Said Plutia, putting a hand on my arm.
"Yeah, and besides, I probably have like, what, 10-13 years before I hit my 30s. I can probably wait those out before thinking too hard about it…" I said, walking over to Neptune and Nepgear's room. "Now, to modify my gun."
"What about Neppy?" Asked Plutia, as Compa walked up behind us.
"Need to do this real quick…" I said, pulling up the blueprints for the gun off Nepgear's computer, before highlighting the rail slot of the weapon, and sending it to the printer. "Give me a second to just add this…"
In a matter of seconds, the rail was finished, and I got to work on adding it to the gun, and soon, the gun had two rails!
"...What was the point of that exactly, Bry-Bry?" Asked Compa.
"Well… I'm hoping that the new fullbottle will counteract the issues the Hard Drive one is giving the gun, but… only one way to find out." I said, before walking over to my bedroom door. "Okay, so, let's break this door down."
I pointed the gun at the doorknob, and fired, blowing a hole in the door where the knob used to be. "Ha! Suck it d20 rolls! I still got it!"
I pushed the door open, finding Neptune curled up on the bed, the Peashy plushie in tow.
"...If things start not going well, I need you to help out." I said to Compa and Plutia, as I walked over to the bed, sitting down beside Neptune. I looked at her, finding she was awake, but was out of focus, so she probably didn't even feel the extra weight on the bed. I leaned in close, before putting a hand on her right shoulder, as I lifted her into a sitting position, much to her reluctance. "Hey, you gonna just lay here all day? I get wallowing in your misery is something that happens, but you need to get up when it's like noon, at least."
I sighed. "Besides, you have the people to protect, and right now the southern side of planeptune doesn't seem so protected…"
"...But I…" Neptune began, as she looked down at the Peashy Plushie next to her. "I just… I can't… That's P-ko up there…"
"Yeah, I know. But right now… Hey…" I said, turning her face to look at me. "...Yeah, you look like shit right now."
"How is that supposed to make me feel better!?" Neptune asked, glaring at me.
"Well, it made you more angry than sad, didn't it?" I asked, before sighing. "Look, I get it. That's Peashy, and as much as we know it's our duty to, I don't wanna fight the little wasp either. But I'd be out there right now if I was in your position."
"Maybe you're capable of that… but me…?" Neptune mumbled out. I looked over at the door to the room, and motioned Plutia to come in as backup.
"So you can't do it." Said Plutia, walking into the room. "There's nothing wrong with that.
"Huh?" Neptune tilted her head, as Plutia sat down across from us.
"Let's just stay here. It'll be totally cool. Lying around, playing games…" Said Plutia.
Neptune let out a sigh. "That's a nice thought, but… even I can't play games now." She said.
"Why not?" Asked Plutia. "If you're not fighting, what's the difference?"
Neptune looked down at the bed. "I play games, because I wanna have fun with my friends. Not escape reality…"
I looked off to the side. 'No, I totally played games for that reason. Best not to speak up right now.' I thought internally.
Neptune gasped, as her eyes widened. "I see now… that's exactly what I'm doing…" She said, tightening her grip on the Peashy plush beside her. She suddenly got off of the bed, as she looked at the two of us with a determined look in her eyes.
"...Let's go get Peashy back." I said, stepping off the bed, placing a hand on Neptune's shoulder.
"Why'd she have to do a barrel roll!?" I heard Purple Sister ask, as Purple Heart and I zoomed towards the battleground.
"When we get close, drop me off. I'll go in for a surprise round." I said, taking the Nepsteam Gun out of my old holster.
We watched as Yellow Heart slammed into Purple Sister's front, as we closed in. "Now!" I said, as I felt gravity suddenly take hold. I watched from high in the air as Purple Heart dive bombed Purple Sister, as said Candidate was sent flying by one of Yellow Hearts attacks.
"Neptune…" Said Purple Sister, as Purple Heart caught her.
"Sorry it took so long to get here, Nepgear…" Said Purple Heart.
Purple Sister reformed her wings, before stepping away. "It's okay, but sis…"
"Hey come on! I'm not done playing yet!" Shouted Yellow Heart.
"Then you can have some of this!" I shouted, my foot finally slamming into the back of Yellow Heart, as I jumped back off of her, kicking her away in the process. "You okay there Nepgear?"
"I'm fine! What about you?" She asked. "You're falling!"
"...Oh yeah." I said, before clenching my left fist, causality separating, as I landed on the ground, fine. "So glad I don't need to deal with the effect of some of these drops when I do that…" I returned causality to normal, as I looked up at Purple Sister. "I'm good!"
"Hey, that was a cheap shot!" Said Yellow Heart.
"Well you'll forgive me then." I said, as I smirked. "Hey! Want to see something cool?"
Purple Sister and Purple Heart looked at me in confusion, while Yellow Heart immediately bought the bait.
"Cool? Show me!" She shouted.
"You asked for it…" I said, as I took out the two fullbottles, giving them both a shake, before I snapped the shielding caps into their open positions, and then inserted the Hard Drive Fullbottle into the first slot on the Nepsteam Gun.
[HARD DRIVE!]
"Ooh… there's that weird feeling again…" Said Yellow Heart, shuddering.
I took the second bottle, the one filled with the CPU Memory's essence, as breathed in deeply. "Please work." I said, sliding it up the newly added second rail, both bottles locking into place.
[CPU MEMORY!]
Two symbols appeared overtop each Full bottle. The one overtop of the Hard Drive bottle being that of a yellow hard drive, with a bunch of electronic lines running through it, while the one overtop of the CPU Memory Bottle had a similar look, only a diamond shape took over where the hard drive was on the first image.
{DIVINITY MATCH!}
Both images seemed to merge together, a sole diamond with a power button in it's center displaying, before the image spun, shrinking back into the gun. A techno beat started to reverberate in the air, as I smirked, raising the gun to the air.
"HENSHIN!" I shouted, pulling the trigger.
{ACCESS!}
A yellow smoke poured out of the gun, as I felt it wrap around me. Sparks flew off of me, as I felt what I would assume it would feel like for your clothes to suddenly shift what they were made of an change into something entirely different.
What felt like spandex tightened around me, as small pieces of armour started to line my chest, legs, knees, and forearms. I felt my hair raise, before it fell back into place.
The smoke finally faded, as I stepped out, feeling empowered. I ran a hand through my hair, only to stop to find it seemed to have gained yellow highlights. "The hell? Must be a side effect…" I muttered, looking at my forearms, finding strange gauntlets covering them. "Neat."
"Woah… Okay let's fight now!" Shouted Yellow Heart as she zoomed towards me.
"Huh, oh shit!" I shouted, bringing my arms up in an x formation to block the attack.
As Yellow Hearts claws slammed into the gauntlets on my forearms, I watched as a pair of similar arms ejected out of the gauntlets. "...Oh that's cool." I said, swinging my arms out as I pushed Yellow Heart off of me.
"...Can I fly…?" I asked myself silently, before I watched Purple Sister fly off. "Huh?" Seconds later, I saw Neptune fall to the ground, out of HDD. "Oi, Neptune!"
"Listen here, from now on you're playing with me!" She shouted, as I ran over to her. "And I make the rules, so do your worst, P-ko!"
"You sure about this?" I asked. Neptune nodded, before I looked back at Yellow Heart. "...Mind if I stay? It'd be a shame if I wasted this henshin on something like blocking an attack."
"If things go south, have my back, but not unless I say." Said Neptune.
"Got it." I muttered back, taking a step back.
"Here comes a big one, you ready!?" Yellow Heart exclaimed, spinning her right arm around in circles, before charging at Neptune. I watched silently as Neptune took the full force of the attack, landing off of her feet.
"...This works, stop questioning if it's okay to just watch…" I muttered silently, as I let out a sigh. "Neptune's got this."
I watched as Neptune stood up shakily, only to get slammed by Yellow Heart, who was doing moonsaults before she hit Neptune, a giant cloud of dust and dirt rising up from the impact.
Yellow Heart laughed, before she flew out of the degrees. She suddenly stopped as the dust cleared, Neptune hunched over the ground, struggling to get up. "That's it?" She asked. "You're already done?"
"Not this Neptuna…" Said Neptune, as she stood up. "I don't go down that easily."
"And you know that too… right, P-ko?" Asked Neptune, as she turned to face Yellow Heart.
"Nep...tuna?" Yellow Heart seemed to stop, before she swung the claws on her right hand at Neptune, knocking her off her feet. "I don't know you!"
Neptune skidded to a stop a few feet away, regaining her balance. "No, you just forgot. But I promise, you know who I am."
"Wow, do I wish I had popcorn…" I muttered, watching the scene in front of me.
"No I don't!"
"You do too!"
"No I don't!"
"Yes you do!"
Oh jesus, it's like their five… Kinda makes sense in hindsight.
Yellow Heart seemed to growl, before she swung her arm back. "No I don't! No I don't!" She cried, swinging forward, knocking Neptune to the floor.
"You're weak. And I'm bored." Said Yellow Heart, looking at the downed Neptune. "I don't want to play with you."
I watched as Yellow Heart turned to me, as I moved my foot back. "Oh shit, right, I'm still here… Uh, hi?" I asked, as I extended the claws from my gauntlets.
The next moment, Yellow Heart suddenly was kicked from behind by Neptune, the duo landing on the ground, Yellow Heart on her knees, both her wings and claws dissipating.
"Only weak people call the other Weakling, Weakling." Said Neptune.
"You're contradicting yourself!" I shouted.
Yellow Heart looked up at Neptune, before she grit her teeth, and swung at Neptune, her fist impacting the side of Neptune's face. "I hate you!" She screamed, swinging her fists with wild abandon. "I hate you! I hate you, I hate you! I hate you!"
Yellow Heart pulled back her arm one last time, before throwing her punch, tears in her eyes. "I HATE YOU!"
"...You can't step in right now… You can't step in right now…" I told myself, gritting my teeth at the scene in front of me. "...Don't you dare step in you mother fu-"
"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" Yellow Heart continued to scream, throwing fist after fist at Neptune, who continued to take every single one. "HATE! YOU!" Her punches started to become more and more like a child having a tantrum, before Neptune finally grabbed Yellow Heart's right arm. "Huh!?"
"I got you now…. P-ko!" Said Neptune, before an armoured claw slammed into the top of her head.
"Let me go!" Shouted Yellow Heart, as she started to float into the air, dragging Neptune with her, repeating her attack with every shout. "Stop it! Go away! Get off me!"
Neptune raised her right arm in defence, as she grit her teeth. "I won't… Let you go!"
"Jesus, she looks like shit right now…" I said, as Yellow Heart continued to beat on her. "Just a bit more… come on Neptune…"
"Never again!" Shouted Neptune.
The next thing I knew, the both of them were in the air, Neptune holding onto Yellow Heart for dear life.
"HOLY SHIT!" I shouted, running after them on foot. "I know this form is great and all, but you COULDN'T GIVE ME THE ABILITY TO FLY RIGHT NOW!? COME ON!"
A sudden flash of yellow emerged in the air, as I saw Neptune start falling, a small form enwrapped in a hug with her.
"Oh shit, they're falling!" I shouted, as I ran towards them. "Okay, so I'll probably break my legs doing this, but honestly, I've attempted to put myself in greater harm than this, so what's the deal!"
I reached the cliffside, only to see the two splashdown in the river between. I let out a sigh. "Well, at least things could be worse."
I looked up, finding Purple Sister in the air. I gave her a wave, taking the two bottles out of the Nepsteam Gun, reverting my transformation.
I looked down at the two soaking wet girls curled up on the side. I smiled, before I suddenly fell to my knees. "Oh god…" I muttered, before I hunched over, coughing up blood. "...That's not supposed to happen…"
The area around me started to fade to black, as I felt myself empty my stomach, and fell over.