A Shattered Reality

by 0n3dge

Let's be honest, most fanfictions involving OCs... aren't exactly an accurate example of how things would probably go. This story, is how I perceive things would go if I ACTUALLY ended up in Gamindustri. Side note: I don't think things are going to go very well for me. ...Calling it now, I die via Dogoo. (Story Completed. Thank you all for your support on this story.)

20. Day 105-Present: In Our Final Moments

"...Eugh… Why does my mouth taste of iron…?" I groaned out, my mouth dry. I blinked my eyes open, finding a blurry white room. "...I hope I'm just delirious right now because finding myself awake in a blurry white room doesn't give me the best of hopes…"

"You're awake! That's good." Said a voice to my left, as I tilted my head towards the source. A blurry image of someone with rosy pink hair filled my vision, but because of the… well, blurriness, I couldn't make anything out about them. "One second, I'll be right back with Lady Purple Heart and Purple Sister."

"...Huh?" I asked as I watched the form leave. "...Okay, so I'm not dead… That's… okay, I guess." I sighed, closing my eyes as I stretched out my face in a yawn. "Right… The battle with Peashy… Everything should be fine but…"

"Bryce!" A voice shouted as I felt a weight suddenly lean on my chest.

"Gah!" I grunted, opening my eyes as I looked over at the undeniable form of Neptune, my vision slowly clearing up. "Chest… Hurt… Ow…"

"Oh right!" Said Neptune, getting off of my chest, as Nepgear walked in, looking a bit out of breath.

"Big Sis… please stop running ahead of me in these kinds of situations…" Nepgear said, out of breath. Neptune laughed, as I blinked my eyes a few more times, vision returning to its clear state. "Bryce… It's good to see you awake. We were worried you'd be out for a while."

"Speaking of… How long was I out this time?" I asked, swallowing.

"Oh, it's nothing major! You were out for a day at the latest." Said Neptune, waving her sister off. "We were worried we'd end up with another few days out of commission like the last… two… three times? Wow, you sure have a knack of ending up in the hospital..."

"...Yeah… The more I think on things the more I start to question whether this qualifies as me going insane..." I said, looking to the side. "...You know what, can I sit up now? It's weird lying all the way down like this."

"Okay! I think the button is here somewhere…" Neptune said, fiddling with the remote for my bed. Nepgear quickly ran over to her sister's side so Neptune didn't end up breaking my back accidentally.

"...Hey guys… What exactly happened after the fight with Peashy?" I asked as Neptune and Nepgear looked at each other, before looking back at me.

"Well, Peashy is staying with us until the end of the week so we can send her back to the Ultradimension…" Said Nepgear. "And Eden is no longer functioning without its CPU, so all of its civilians-"

"Brainwashed Women." Neptune cut into the side.

"...Are back to normal. The war is over at this point." Said Nepgear. "Histoire… is still dealing with most of the aftershocks, but it should be all fine in the end!"

"Well, that's good," I said, as I stretched my shoulders, and continued down my arms, and to my right hand. "...Hey… Is it normal to not feel your left hand? Because I don't right now… Wait am I having a heart attack!?"

"No no no! You're okay! No heart attack!" Said Nepgear, waving her hands in a panic.

"...Yet." Neptune mumbled to the side.

"Sis!"

"...What does she mean by that?" I asked as Nepgear looked at her sister with a small glare on her face.

"He'd find out sooner or later, might as well break it to him now?" Neptune said as I felt my eyes narrow.

"What. Happened?"

"...Well…" Neptune looked to the Nepgear, before shrugging and turning back to me. "...You're one step closer to having a robot arm?"

"...Neptune, what did you do!?" I asked, clenching my now nonexistent left hand.

"I didn't do anything!" Neptune said quickly. "It's… well, you remember how you passed out after the battle? We found you out of transformation, which was pretty cool BTDubs, and some blood pooled around your mouth and rolling down your chin. It was kinda like drool, but less adorable and a lot more gross. I mean, not like drool isn't gross in the first place…"

"You drool sometimes, adorable isn't a word I'd use to describe it. Cute, maybe, depends on the situation, but not adorable." I said, before nodding. "Also, thanks. It WAS cool."

"So we brought you here in a hurry." Said Nepgear. "The Doctors did a quick rundown with what they already knew, and ended up deciding that the most likely cause was the Causality Gauntlet that was melted into your hand."

"Though, I don't think any of them surgeons knew how to remove it without really messing your hand up." Said Neptune. "This ain't your average game of Tetris, you hear?"

"I assume said gauntlet was taken back to Leanbox?" I asked. "...Presumably… without my severed hand still attached?"

"It was their tech to begin with, and I believe Histoire is working on sending over the Dimensional Tethering Platform you found at R-18 Island." Said Nepgear, before she sweatdropped. "That is… whatever wasn't already destroyed by you earlier…"

"Ah, right… High stress, not very bright thinking." I said. "So, the gauntlet was poisoning me then?"

"That's the most likely cause." Said Nepgear.

"...Well, there goes my competitive Video Game Career. I mean unless you count Nepclicker…" I turned to Neptune. "I still can't believe someone made that."

"With that said, you should be released by the end of the day." Said Nepgear, before she pulled out a notepad with the planeptune logo emblazoned on the front. "With the exceptions of sticking to a specific diet for the next few days… A few prescribed drugs… and you also need to wear a sling for a bit."

"Drugs?" I asked. "What kinds?"

"Few things, some vitamins, some antibiotics, some steroids for your lungs… and some painkillers. Most likely for your left arm's phantom pains when they start every now and then." Said Nepgear.

"OH. Joy..." I said, eyebrow twitching. "Why does that list seem… oddly large?"

"Well, you lost a hand, and you coughed up blood. The doctors are playing it safe, I think…" Said Nepgear.

"Also, Orange Juice… apparently. Need to regain all of your lost fluids you know?" Asked Neptune. "Anywho, we'll be picking you up with Peashy, Compa, and Iffy later tonight!" She smiled, putting her hands to her hips as she nodded happily.

"See you later Bryce." Said Nepgear, walking out of the room. Neptune quickly leaned in to give a quick kiss, before she hopped away from the bed.

"Love you, Bryce!" Neptune said, running after Nepgear. "Hey, Nep Jr! Wait up!"

"...Love you too." I said, smiling slightly before I rolled my head so it faced up. "Now… What… The hell do I do now?

---

"This is already so weird. Like, I squirm around when things are uncomfortable, I don't think I'll ever be able to sit still for long periods of time anymore…" I said as the nurse put my arm in a sling, after changing the bandages. "Not that I was able to do that, to begin with, but…"

"And there, you're all good." Said the nurse, as she stepped away from me. "Now, let me help you get to the front lobby."

She motioned to the wheelchair next to my bed. I raised an eyebrow at this. "What, did I get paralyzed from the waist down too?"

"It's just hospital policy, we want to be careful." Said the nurse, as I sighed, stepping off my hospital bed, as I climbed onto the wheelchair.

I rolled my left shoulder, grimacing. "I'm never going to get used to this…"

After a few minutes of being pushed around, I finally arrived at the lobby. I gave a brief nod to the group of familiar faces who were waiting in the lobby. "Am I the only one who thinks this is becoming a trend? I think it's a trend now."

"How's your left hand?" Asked IF.

"I'm flipping you off with it." I said before IF smirked.

"Good to see you're not taking all this badly." Said IF.

"Hey, I've already tried jumping into the deep end of a pool without a life jacket, and then I tried shooting myself in the head. If a higher power wanted me dead, I'd have such a thing happen at this point." I said, before sighing. "Doesn't mean I can't be sarcastic about things everywhere."

"Fair enough." Said IF, as the Nurse walked away. "So, who's pushing Bryce to the basilicom?"

"Oh, we are not doing that!" I said, pointing at IF.

"We have too! Doctor's orders, Bry-Bry!" Said Compa, as she walked past IF.

"...What doctor; you?" I asked.

"Well, mine and the doctor who was in charge of your recovery." Said Compa.

"...God dammit…" I muttered as Neptune and Nepgear joined the other two. "Okay, let's get this over with…"

"I'll push him!" Said Neptune, as she grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and sprinted out of the hospital with me in tow. "Full speed ahead!"

"Woah, Neptune!? Hey, this isn't Initial D! I AM HIGHLY SURE THIS THING CAN'T KANSEI DORIFTO!"

---

"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why Neptune should never be allowed to push me around in a wheelchair, ever again." I said as I sat on the couch of the main room, as Neptune rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. My arms positioned in a pseudo crossed position.

"I'll keep that in mind next time." Said IF, chuckling nervously.

"So, where's Peashy right now?" I asked as Nepgear walked back with a few cups of tea, a cup of hot chocolate, and a pudding cup. "Also, thanks for the hot chocolate."

"I don't see why you refuse to drink tea…" Said IF.

"Not a tea guy, nor a coffee guy. Find Coffee too bitter, and tea… well, depends on the tea." I said, before shrugging. "And uh, Peashy?"

"She's looking out over the city on the balcony again." Said IF, as I nodded, standing up. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Outside, need some air. And don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to go web swinging with only one web shooter." I said, waving her off, before pausing. "Where… is the other one anyways?"

"In your pocket." Said Nepgear, as I gave a nod, walking over the balcony.

I opened to door up and walked out, the lights of Planeptune in the evening was always a strange sight to behold. It was a little surreal and reminded me a lot of some of the major cities from home. "...Strange sight isn't it?"

"Huh?" Peashy turned around as I sat crossed legged near her.

"The city, the people, this world… I haven't really gotten used to it yet…" I said, before looking back at Peashy. "But you probably don't understand much of what I'm saying."

Peashy shook her head, I sighed. "Didn't say she'd stop being really social…" I muttered before I took the hard drive full bottle out of my right pocket. "Here, take this real quick."

"...What is it?" Asked Peashy.

"This… is a full bottle, your full bottle to be precise. It holds a small amount of your energy." I said as she took the bottle out of my hand. "See the cap on top, spin it to the flat side is pointing your direction, and then start shaking the bottle."

Peashy placed her left hand over the shielding cap, twisting it to the right as an audible click clicked from the bottle soon after before she started to shake it. It wasn't a frantic shake, but a light one. In a few moments, the essence trapped inside the bottle freed itself and flew back into Peashy, her eyes lighting up for a second before they went back to normal.

I smiled, taking the now empty bottle out of her hand. "And there we go. Alright, I'm going to head back inside now. Enjoy the view!"

I placed the bottle in my pocket as I walked up to the door. I walked into the main room as Neptune sat down on her bean bag and played on what resembled a ps4 of some kind, it had the Lastation logo plastered on it so I assumed it was this world's version of it.

I let out a sigh, before walking into the kitchen and picking up an orange. "Oh Orange, you're the only thing in this world that still somehow harmless. Tell me, oh Harmless Orange, what do I do now?"

"Stop talking to oranges for one."

"Gah!" I shouted, throwing the orange to the other side of the room, accidentally smashing it into the wall. I looked behind me to see IF with a smug look on her face. "...You saw nothing!"

"...Sure." She said, walking off.

"...Eh, might as well join Neptune in whatever she's doing." I said, walking out of the kitchen in search of my girlfriend.

---

"Hey!"

"Wait up!"

This was the day. The day we sent Plutia and Peashy back to the Ultradimension. And what was happening right now? Neptune and I running late because Neptune forgot something before we left.

"Neptune! Bryce! You're late!" Said Histoire.

"Sorry!" Neptune said, running up to Plutia. "Forgot something, and Bryce was having trouble getting ready."

I lagged behind a bit as I rested my right hand on my knee. "Let's make sure we have everything BEFORE we leave next time…" I muttered, walking back up over to Neptune and Plutia as the two stopped hugging. "And for the record, having one less hand makes everything so much harder than it normally would be. Tying my shoes is a nightmare now…"

"Plutie… thanks so much for coming. I know we'll meet again!" Said Neptune, looking at her friend.

"Yep, Definitely!" Plutia nodded, before she turned to me, extending her arms as she dragged me into a hug. "Don't think I'd forget about you either, Bryce!"

"Good to know I'm not exactly forgettable…" I said, in mock amusement as I returned the hug with my right arm. "It was nice having you around Plutia, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too… And... you don't have to be scared."

The words were spoken in such a whisper I was sure I was the only one to hear them. We separated as Plutia gave me a soft smile. I felt a dumbfounded expression spread onto my face. Plutia just gave a knowing nod as the familiar feeling of tears formed behind my eyes.

"P-ko! You take this!" Said Neptune, crouching down to Peashy's height as she handed the girl a small yellow bag. The girl quickly opened the bag, a single pudding cup labeled 'Nep's'.

"Neptune, what's this?" Asked Peashy.

Neptune paused, before smiling. "It's the tastiest thing in the world!"

"E-excuse me! Please enter the gate!" Said Mini Histoire.

"Sorry for holding them up!" I said, nodding to Mini Histoire.

"See you later everybody!" Said Plutia, waving to us as Peashy stared down at the cup of pudding. I gave a two finger salute, as the others waved. Plutia turned to Peashy, who still seemed to be analyzing the cup of pudding in her hands. "Peashy."

Peashy turned around, walking into the beam of light as Plutia followed. The holographic form of Mini Histoire seemed to dance around the beam, before flying into it, brightening up the gate tenfold.

At the last possible second, Peashy's head turned to us, a look of unsure recognition on her face. "Neptuna?" The words left her mouth as the gate suddenly burst into light.

The sky returned to a bright blue, as we stared up at where our friends had left. I felt the tears forming behind my eyes slowly start to leak out. "...God dammit…" I muttered.

---

I stared down the fullbottle in my hand, as the words Plutia said rang through my mind. 'I don't have to be afraid, huh?'

I let out a sigh, snapping the fullbottle cap into its open position as the essence flew out from the bottle back into the CPU Memory. The once dull crystal quickly regained its color, shining vibrantly as I swallowed. I slowly reached for the memory as it sat on my desk, before pulling my hand back.

"I still can't do it," I muttered, sighing as I walked out of the room. I looked over by the elevator, as Nepgear, IF and Compa loaded into it. Nepgear turned to see me as she waved to get my attention.

"Oh, Bryce! Neptune wants to show us something!" Said Nepgear, as I nodded, running over to the elevator as I joined up with them.

"What's this about?" I asked.

"Something about the sharicite, I think." Said Nepgear, as I nodded. Once the elevator stopped, I followed the group into the sharicite room, Neptune and Histoire already waiting for us.

And oh boy was it bright!

"That's amazing!" Said Nepgear. "I've never seen a sharicite shine so bright!"

"I know it's beautiful." Said Compa.

"So Nep, what does this mean?" Asked IF, looking over at Neptune

"It's obvious isn't it?" Asked Neptune with a giggle.

"We wouldn't be asking if it wasn't," I responded as the girl pouted at me.

"Bryce…" Neptune whined as I let out a slight laugh, as the girl bounced back up. "Planeptune a Super Duper Smash Hit! Like Dur!"

"Our shares had been in slow decline." Said Histoire, holding a line graph that showed the decrease in shares. She then flipped the page over, showing the share amount exploding upwards. "But one day they suddenly skyrocketed."

"Now, somewhat inexplicably, we're far outpacing the other countries." Finished Histoire.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Said IF, her arms crossed.

"I told you, it's obvious!" Said Neptune, a smug look on her face. "Our blast processing gives us blistering speed that other countries can't even touch."

I let out a snort at that, as I silently chuckled to myself.

"I told you, that's not even a real thing." Said Histoire. "It must be the victory we had over Eden."

"That might be a contributor, but surely not to this kind of scale." Said IF.

"But Nep-Nep has been working really hard." Said Compa.

"That's a good point." Said Nepgear.

"As much as I agree with that, I think IF is right in this scenario... Something's off." I said, laying my arm across my sling.

"Aw, you worry too much!" Said Neptune, as I let out a sigh.

"That's not untrue…" I said, looking to the side.

"But anyway, we're not here to talk about how rad I am!" Said Neptune, holding a rolled-up sheet of paper.

"Even though it's a welcome addition?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in mock amusement.

"Yes, but we're here to talk about this!" Said Neptune, unrolling the paper as she showed it to us. It was a crayon drawing of what I assumed was an amusement park of some kind.

"...Are you planning to make an amusement park or…?" I asked in confusion.

"I want to say thank you to all of our citizens, by opening up the basilicom grounds. And throwing a party to beat all parties!" Said Neptune. "I call it: The Dynamite Wonder Festival!"

"...That's a mouthful." I said after a moment of silence.

---

"So… what are we doing right now?" I asked as Nepgear scribbled marker dots on my right arm.

"I'm getting your arm measurements so I can transfer them, flip them, and then use them to make you a robot arm!" Said Nepgear, as I blinked. "It's… kind of obvious how uncomfortable you are right now… especially with all the fidgeting… as well as how much you've been struggling with this. Why did you even put your wallet in your back left pocket?"

"It's where I normally put it. It's a force of habit. I swear, I've been meaning to put it inside my coat, I just… haven't gotten around to it." I said, my shoulders rising and falling every now and then. "And sorry about the fidgeting."

"Don't worry about it!" Said Nepgear, as she lifted my arm up. "Okay, and then I just place this in here…"

My arm was suddenly placed inside of what looked like one of those CT scanners they have at the hospital but sized for my arm. After a few moments, Nepgear pulled the machine away. "Alright, I should have this thing finished just in time for the festival if I work hard enough."

"Seriously, thanks Nepgear." I said, standing up.

"Oh wait! One more thing." Said Nepgear, as I turned around. "...So I was running over the data with the CPU Memory Fullbottle… and I think you might want to know something…"

"What's that?" I asked.

"...It seems to have… a negative reaction to your body." Said Nepgear. "The essence itself is almost toxic to us, but I think it might have been offset by the other fullbottle."

"...Where are you going with this?" I asked.

"I think… it might have been possible that the actual cause of your blacking out… was the memory fullbottle and not… the gauntlet." Said Nepgear, as I paused.

"...Well… F*ck…" I muttered, as I licked my lips and swallowed. "...I'm gonna go lie down. I'd rather not worry about this, I mean, you're making me a new arm anyways, right?"

"Y-yeah! Let's keep positive!" Said Nepgear, as I nodded, walking out of the room.

---

"GOD DAMMIT!" I yelled, lying down on the balcony as I stared up at Planeptune's sky. "Well, that revelation did nothing to help ease my discomfort with actually using the memory…"

"Oh Bryce, there you are." Said IF, as she walked onto the balcony. "You seem…"

"Like I'm in a total mood? Yeah, that's a good way to describe my bubbling emotions right now." I said, my hand opening in closing. "You guys need something?"

"Well, Nep is off at Lastation about having the other goddesses attend the event…" Said IF.

"Fat chance of that," I said. "I know there's the friendship treaty, but why Neptune thinks that they're going to celebrate the massive influx of shares for ONE person in said treaty, when it's not themselves makes my question why she even bothered asking them in person."

"Well, you weren't wrong about you being in a mood." Said IF.

"Sorry…"I said, sighing as I turned to them. "Right, you guys wanted my help with setting some things up? Or just to supervise?"

"Not really. Histoire actually wanted to talk to you about something in the sharicite room." Said IF, as I blinked in confusion. "She also said to bring that crystal Plutia gave you."

"...O...Okay?" I said, nodding as I walked back inside.

Histoire wants to see the CPU Memory? That's… actually, I don't know what to think about that right now. I shrugged, letting out a sigh as I opened the door to my room, the CPU memory sitting on my desk, glowing an ethereal light.

"Alright, let's go…" I muttered, picking up the memory and placing it into a small wood chest almost as big as the palm of my hand. I closed it up as nodded to myself. "...Wait a sec… This actually can't be anything BUT serious, since… well, Histoire is probably up to her ears in work with the 'Dynamic Wonder Festival' right now."

I felt a smile etch onto my face. "Work that Neptune probably dumped onto her shoulders when she went off to invite the other CPUs…"

I walked out of my room and over to the elevator, IF opening it up as I walked inside. "Thanks." I said.

"No problem." She said, pressing the button leading to the ground floor as she stepped out of the elevator. "Gear asked me to grab her something as well so I'll grab the elevator after."

I nodded, as the elevator doors closed. I leaned against the elevator wall as I descended.

---

"Bryce, there you are!" Said Histoire.

"Sorry about the wait," I said, gripping onto the box containing the CPU Memory. "Right, so what is it you want to talk about exactly Histoire?" I asked as I walked over to her, Neptune's sharicite shining behind her.

"I'm sure you have a general idea of what it is specifically I wish to talk about, but I wanted to ask first how you're doing," Histoire said, as I blinked. "It's been a little over a week since your last… incident. I just wanted to know how you're handling everything, especially now with the loss of your left hand."

The question was definitely two-fold, the one on the surface, making sure I was okay, and the one beneath, asking if I was thinking of folding my hand a second time.

I let out a breath that I felt like I had been holding for the better part of a week now. "To tell the truth, I'm still not over it. The hand things annoying, and I can't change a lot of it for the time being, but I'm improving." I said, my eyes turning away from the ground as I looked back at Histoire. "This is just another bump in the road that I'm traveling right now. And I won't let it steer me wrong this time. Plus, Nepgear's working on a robot arm for me that she hopes will be done in time for the festival, so it's not like I'll be stuck like this for too long."

"Then let's move onto the more pressing matter of this meeting." Said Histoire, as she flew over to my right arm and took the box from my hand. "Plutia had given this to you, correct?"

"That's right," I said as Histoire opened up the box, the light from the CPU Memory glowing against the open lid of the box. "I assume you want to talk about this?"

"Yes." Said Histoire, closing the box and motioning for me to take it back. I did so, tucking it under my right arm as I looked at Histoire. "Bryce… Judging by the tone of your voice you know what it is that's under your arm?"

"Yeah, Plutia referred to it as a CPU Memory," I said. "It's an item that spawns in her dimension rarely. Almost at an impossibly small chance. It's the rarest item in existence in her dimension, although that doesn't make it the most sought after.."

"CPU Memory… Plutia mentioned it was probably the reason Peashy became Yellow Heart?"

"The Memories have a chance of turning the user into CPU. I assume Mini Histoire and Plutia both believe that Peashy came into contact with one in their dimension and became Yellow Heart, although somehow ended up in our dimension." I said as Histoire gained a thoughtful look on her face.

"...You don't suppose that Peashy might have ended up here due to that machine you found on Eden, do you? The one that's responsible for bringing you here?" Asked Histoire.

"...That is an excellent question." I said.

Histoire gained a thoughtful look on her face before she turned back to look at me. "Bryce, you… said there was a chance of them becoming a CPU… What happens when that doesn't happen?"

"...A 50/50 chance of it happening." I said as Histoire looked at me confused. "It's a coin toss on whether or not you become a CPU. The flipside of it… Well, there's a reason it's not highly sought after."

"Heads or tails Histoire? Would you take that chance to become a goddess if it meant that if you picked the wrong side you'd become a monster?" I asked, looking over at the Sharicite.

"...I assume this is why you have the item in a small chest and not just holding it in your right hand." Histoire said.

"...Yeah, it is." I said.

There was a silence that washed over the room for a few seconds before Histoire walked over to me. "Can you show me the CPU Memory once more?"

I nodded holding the chest out to the Oracle as Histoire opened the chest up. She peered at the Memory before her eyes lit up in what seemed to look like realization.

"Bryce… I haven't felt a power the likes of which that CPU Memory contain… for a very long time." Said Histoire, as I raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you do, do not let that crystal out of your sight."

"Right," I said. "...Are you okay, Histoire?"

"I'm… I'll be fine. It's just… it's like I'm seeing an old friend for the first time in ages." Said Histoire, an almost reminiscent smile adorning her features. "Right, I need to get back to work, and you… Well, Neptune should be arriving soon. Better catch up with her."

I nodded, turning away from the Sharicite, and by extension Histoire as I made to leave the room.

"...It's good to see you again." Histoire said to the now empty room.

---

Well, Neptune sure did a good job today.

I let out a sigh as I watched the festivities from the balcony of the Basilicom. I leaned back, stretching out with my arms, my left arm was no longer in a sling so I had it out in the open, or as open as my coat sleeve could be.

"Is there any reason you don't want to partake in the festivities?" Asked Histoire as I stood opposite IF and her.

"I just… I'm not exactly feeling up to it. Plus, it's only been a week since I've been given free roaming privileges, so having an ex-con walking around fairgrounds is probably going to make a few people uncomfortable." I said.

I let out another sigh, letting my arms hang beside me. "I mean, I wouldn't say NO to going, but… well, it's not like Neptune would be able to do a lot with me down there, what with her being the CPU hosting the event and all…"

I patted my right coat pocket with a sigh, feeling the CPU Memory core resting inside. Histoire had a reasonably good point I guessed, the one about not letting the CPU Memory core out of my sight. So, I decided… why not just leave it on me. I put the Memory in a ziplock bag however, just to be safe.

"Maybe I should go see if Nepgear finished my new arm yet…?" I muttered to myself, shrugging as I walked back inside, not noticing the dark clouds forming overhead.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something…" I muttered, opening the door to Nepgear's room. "...I'm definitely forgetting something."

I walked over to the center of the room, finding what I had been looking for. I stepped over to the arm, the appendage a carbon fiber black with purple undertones. The new hand seemed normal enough. I shrugged, as I shrugged the left side of my coat off as I lifted my left arm towards the new prosthetic.

The forearm section of the prosthetic opened up, allowing me to place my stump against the padded cushion near the prosthetic wrist.

{Initializing prosthetic attachment protocols. Please do not move.}

I raised an eyebrow at this before the forearm segments of the prosthetic clamped back into place around my forearm.

And then I felt pins stab into my arm.

"Agh!" I exclaimed, gripping my left arm as I felt the prosthetic seal around my forearm, the pins embedding themselves deeper. I took a moment to breathe, as a hiss eliminated from the arm.

{Prosthetic attached. Initiating boot sequence.}

I let out a sigh, letting my arm hang to the side. "Might as well head back outside…" I muttered, walking out of the room as I noticed a bright light shining through the main room windows. "The hell?"

I walked out of the balcony, as I watched as a floating hunk of rock and metal seemingly charged a ball of light.

"...Oh… Now I know what I was forgetting." I said, as things suddenly dawned on me.

The ball of light fired off, like a beam as it cut through the basilicom, exactly four floors below me. I gulped audibly, as I felt the tower suddenly slid to the left and felt gravity suddenly go sideways.

"Sh*t!" I shouted, as I the top chunk of Planeptune tower suddenly disconnected with the rest of the tower, taking me along the ride downwards. I extended my right arm forwards and shot out a webline towards the basilicom, watching as it attached and I felt gravity take hold once more.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, as I gripped the webline tight and swung away from the collapsing tower. I let go of the webline and began my free fall. "Okay… so that's Tari up in the sky then… How the hell did I forget this happened again!? Right, this was the part of the anime that I didn't remember as well, forgot why."

I looked ahead, and fired off another webline, swinging down towards…

"Oh… That's not good…" I muttered before I slammed into the glass as I re-entered the Planeptune Basilicom, stumbling over towards IF and Histoire. "What the… Bryce!? Are you alright!?" Asked IF, as I leaned over, breathing heavily.

"I'll… Be fine…" I said, looking up. I slid my left arm back through my coat sleeve, wondering briefly how long this activation sequence was supposed to take, before looking back at the trio. "How is everyone."

"They… they're fine, but…" Histoire started before she looked over at the floating nation. "We've been cut off from all of our communications and the internet has crashed. We're on our own."

"Well, that's certainly not a good sign…" I muttered, looking over at the floating country. "...Where's Neptune?"

"She's over there…" Said IF, pointing towards the floating nation of Tari. "Talking with the person responsible…"

"...I need to go." I said, backing up as I prepared to jump back out of the hole I made in the tower.

"That is a terrible idea!" Said IF.

"Too bad," I said, looking over at IF, my face set in stone. "Because I'm doing it."

"Bryce." I turned to Histoire, her face riddled with concern. "The person behind this attack… there's no doubt about it, but she's a goddess…"

"Yeah, like there was anyone else who could realistically go toe to toe with Neptune in this kind of scenario…" I said, shaking my head. "I figured that was the case. And you are indeed right, I don't stand a chance against her probably… but that just means I'm our best bet."

"What are you talking about?" Asked IF.

"I mean… why worry about one guy when there's a goddess standing in front of you?" I asked with a smirk. "I mean, what's the worse he can do? Disable your cannon?"

IF's eyes widened in realization, before narrowing. "...You won't be able to get up there."

"I believe all I'd really need in this scenario… is a helicopter at least." I said, stepping back. "Now move over, I have a girlfriend to help out… and people to save, those guys too."

I pushed off the ground and sprinted forwards and jumped, narrowly passing through the hole in the glass before I re-entered free fall. I narrowed my eyes as the ground slowly approached. I fired out a webline a few feet above the ground and hung on as I swung back into the air. "Now then… Helicopter… Helicopter…"

I looked over to my right, finding one sitting untouched on top of a nearby building.

"That was easy…" I muttered, firing another line as I swung over. "I forgot how hard it was to do this with only one shooter!" I muttered, letting go of the line and letting my momentum send me towards the top of the building.

I landed and rolled, letting the momentum roll with me as I got back into my sprint. I opened the helicopter door and got inside, taking a seat on the pilot's chair as I looked at the controls.

"...Is that a controller?" I asked, taking the controller in my hand as I shrugged. "Whatever, now… which trigger or button is the ascending one?" I pushed in the right trigger, as the propeller above me started to spin round and round, as I slowly raised off the ground. "Alright, and now to gain some altitude and move forward."

I stretched my right hand and pushed the left stick forwards as I held the right trigger in, watching as the helicopter tilted forwards a bit as I flew towards the nation of Tari.

"Now… I just got to be careful to avoid their detection…" I muttered, easing up on the left stick as I allowed myself to rise into the air a bit more, my eyes narrowing on the scene in front of me. "Hang in there Neptune…"

I watched as Purple Heart charged forwards towards the goddess of Tari, sword raised to strike only for bat-like wings to sprout from behind the goddess and block the attack like it was nothing.

"Rei Rights… You're going a little too far for my tastes…" I muttered, my hand getting a little cramped. "And can you activate yet!? How long does this kind of startup take!?"

Rei quickly pushed Neptune back into the air, as her head looked up towards me.

"...That's not good…" I muttered, watching as she smirked, swiping her hand as a holographic display popped up in front of Rei. I wandered my eyes a bit, finding the giant cannon behind her and watched as it slowly gathered energy. "Also not good for me!"

Purple Heart looked up in shock, before charging once more, her sword engulfing itself in a torrent of flames as she swung ahead, causing four arcs of fire to fly off her sword towards Rei. I watched as the attacks were easily deflected by the bat wings once again, before Rei swung her staff, as electricity rained onto Purple Heart immobilizing her for a moment.

It appeared a moment was all that was needed for Rei. I let go of the left stick and pushed the right trigger in as far as I could, watching as the smile on Rei's face grew twisted.

The next thing I knew, the Helicopter was cut in half.

"Son of a bit-" I was cut off as the beam of light cut straight through the back of the helicopter, knocking me into the door to my left as the helicopter flew out of control, the back lighting ablaze.

I pushed my foot against the pilot side of the door before taking a breath in and kicking it open. The door flew off its hinges as I looked forward to find the flaming wreck of the helicopter careening towards the side of the floating nation of Tari.

"Please don't screw this up!" I said, jumping out of the opening as I reached forward with my left arm, as the helicopter crashed into the side of the nation exploding below me. I looked forward, as I quickly approached the side of the wall.

{Start up sequence - Initialized!}

I watched as purple lights flickered on across the surface of my prosthetic hand, as the hand suddenly spasmed before returning to normal. I wiggled my new fingers with a smirk before I threw my arm back and slamming it into the side of Tari. I grit my teeth as my metal hand embedding into the side of the floating nation, slowing me to a stop.

"...Well, as much as I'd like to make a comment on how long it took…" I said, before looking back up at the metal hand. "No time like the present, I guess."

I looked behind me, watching as Purple Heart grunted in pain. "Shit, I need to hurry…" I muttered, looking at Purple Heart's wings, watching as they seemed to flicker for a moment.

I grabbed onto a piece of metal jutting out of the side of the nation, as I pulled my left hand out of the wall and started to climb. "Just need to… Find an entrance or something along those lines…" I muttered, throwing my left hand into the earth once more, only for it to break through completely, as my entire hand was engulfed. "Uh… what?"

I narrowed my eyes, as I pulled my hand back and repeated the process, slamming my hand into the spot next to it. I watched as I made another hole in the wall, as an idea formed in my head. I pulled my arm back as made a fist, smirking as I reared back and threw a punch.

{HYDRAULIC IMPACT!}

I felt steam escape from vents on my hand as my punch flew and created a moderately sized hole in the wall. I blinked, before looking at my hand in shock. "I… Wasn't expecting that," I said simply, before shaking my head. "Less shocky, more climby."

I gripped onto the edge of the hole and pulled myself inside, looking on into what seemed to be a mechanical hallway. "Neato…" I said, dusting myself off. "Right, there's probably something important in here…"

I broke into a sprint as I ran deeper into the hallway, fumbling with my phone as I tried to pull up its flashlight app. I finally pressed the on button and looked on at the control hub in front of me.

It was circular in shape, sort of like what you'd see in the Tardis for its control station. I walked up to it, looking around at the wires that ran from it to different sections towards it and to other things. I looked up, taking the sight of what obviously looked like a power source of some kind.

"Better keep my mouth shut, don't want to jinx anything yet," I said, patting my coat pocket. "Good, didn't lose the memory core either, that would be… problematic."

I suddenly felt my left arm vibrate as I jumped in shock. "What the-!?" I asked, looking at my prosthetic hand. "Is… that a phone vibrating?" I placed it against my ear after a moment.

"Bryce!? Are you okay?" Asked the worried, and LOUD voice of Nepgear.

"Gah! Nepgear? Is that you? Hey, listen, why the hell is my new hand a phone? Actually, speaking of, how are you calling me right now? I thought IF said the internet and communications services were down?" I asked, looking at the console before me.

"Well, they are, but I made your arm so it functioned on its own capacities." Said Nepgear. "Look, I can explain a bit more later, but… She's charging up again!"

"She?" I asked. "Wait, the Pongg Cannon? SH*T!"

I paused, before looking at my phone. "...Hey Nepgear… The speaker system of Planeptune is done via connections, right?"

"Yeah, I made it my-wait why are you asking?"

I smirked, pulling my phone out and pulled up my music app. "Because I think it's my turn to do what I do best… Be the distraction." I said. "End Call."

"Bryce, why did you just say End ca-" I heard the confused voice of IF ask over the phone, probably listening in on the conversation before the call ended with a beep.

"Showtime!" I said, pressing my thumb down on my phone's screen.

---

"You got it! Ah, the laser's collected enough energy now!" Said Rei, as she smiled sadistically. While the sudden appearance of Green Heart, Black Heart, and Black Sister was a nuisance, it wasn't one that lasted very long. "So, can I shoot?"

"No stop!" Exclaimed Purple Heart.

"Not like saying that will stop me. Fire!" Exclaimed Rei Ryghts, pushing the red button on the hologram. The cannon grew brighter before it suddenly began to flicker and die down.

"What!?" Rei exclaimed, turning around as the energy charging the cannon dissipated.

"Oh… I'm sorry, I saw these massive wires leading up to that cannon thing up there and thought, 'Wow, those must be important!' Please tell me they were important!" A voice rang out from the Planeptune grounds at a volume loud enough to reach the goddesses' ears.

"Who dares…!?" Exclaimed Rei Ryghts.

"Bryce!?" Purple Heart exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Thanks for crashing my Helicopter, by the way, really thoughtful of you."

"Where are you!?" Rei exclaimed.

"Where do you think I am!? How many other places have a control hub filled with wires for goddess sakes!?" Bryce's voice eliminated from the fairgrounds, the smugness clear in his voice. "Though I thought you'd like some music to go along with things. Hope you don't mind, I think it'll… make things more dramatic."

There was a static pop as everything grew quiet, leaving Rei to grit her teeth in anger. A second later, and the music began.

(Play Life Will Change [Instrumental] - Lyn [Persona 5 Soundtrack)

"I'll deal with you four later…" Said Rei, swinging her staff as the four goddesses were quickly restrained against the side of the nation. "I have a pest to deal with…"

---

"Well, that was easy…" I said, slipping my phone back into my pocket as I loosely held my old gun in my left hand. I raised it into the air, looking at the metallic purple sheen staining my old Kimber Warrior. "Last time I fired you I was trying to kill myself… Let's see if I can aim you at someone else's head for a change…"

There was a sudden explosion to my left, as I jumped off the control console and watched as the enraged Rei Ryghts in her goddess form walked into the room.

"Ah, I see the prodigal son returns," I said, only for Rei's eye to twitch as she swung her staff diagonally, as blue lighting soared towards me. "Oh, sh*t!" I exclaimed, raising my arms into the air.

{LIGHTNING ROD MODE ENGAGED}

I watched as my hand suddenly absorbed the electricity into my palm, as the purple lights on my hand grew brighter. "Wow… That was close!" I said, looking up to see Rei charging at me with a roar. "Woah!"

I dashed to the left, ducking to the side as I barely dodged the swing of her staff. I landed into a roll, bringing my Kimber up as I slammed my index finger onto the trigger in rapid succession, firing round after round at the goddess.

To both my shock and my annoyance, I watched as the bullets harmlessly bounced off the goddess in front of me. "Oh… YAY…" I said, tossing my gun to the side, realizing that it was going to be effectively useless this time around. "Guess it's hand to hand then."

"You little brat!" Shouted Rei, as she charged me once more.

"How the hell am I having less trouble than the goddesses, are you slipping or something?" I asked, a clear smug grin on my face, as I raised my right arm and fired a glob of webbing at Rei's face, blinding her momentarily.

"Or am I just that good!?" I asked, clenching my left fist before throwing it into the goddess' gut.

{HYDRAULIC THUNDER BLAST!}

I watched as the lights dimmed and the metal knuckles on my hand to pop open and fire the stored electricity back at Rei, sending her back a bit.

"That looks painful, you okay?" I asked, running toward her, as she regained her footing. "Yes? Might need to FIX that!"

I jumped over her, firing a webline at her shoulder as I flipped behind her. "Peekaboo!" I fired a webline at her face while I was still in the air, before pulling myself towards her. I threw a punch at her face, before spinning around and firing another webline, snagging her shoulder as I pulled her close.

"And… Kick to the head!" I shouted, slamming my feet into her head, before pushing off and backflipping back onto the ground. I looked up, my eyes meeting the almost furious glare Rei was giving me as I charged forwards. I reared my right fist back before throwing it forwards towards her face.

Rei leaned to the side and grabbed my arm, twisting it as she gripped my wrist. "Who are you to stand up to a goddess?"

I felt her grip tighten, as the web shooter on my wrist suddenly burst from the pressure. "Oh come on! I liked that one!" I said, before jumping and flipping with the twisting rotation Rei had put on my arm. As soon as I landed I threw another punch, my knuckles popping open to deliver another electrically powered punch.

{HYDRAULIC THUNDER BLAST!}

My fist slammed into Rei's head as I forced her hand off my arm and sent her flying into the opposite wall. I shook my wrist, pulling the now broken web shooter off of it.

"I think it's about time I stopped pressing my luck…" I said, running over towards the control console. "Huh... Nothing looks immediately important… which means EVERYTHING'S important!"

{HYDRAULIC IMPACT!}

I reared my fist back and slammed it into the console, ripping a fresh hole into it as the machinery around it sparked in agony. I felt something connect with my fist, and I smiled. "Found the important thing." I said, opening my hand and grabbing it.

"You bastard!"

I tried to turn around in time to see the attack coming… but I was too late.

I felt white hot pain flood my left arm, as I felt my body fly into the air, crashing into the ground a few meters away from the console, right next to the hole Rei had crashed through in.

"GOD COME ON!" I exclaimed, gripping my left bicep as I bled from the newly created stump of where my arm had once been. "I just GOT that arm!"

"You're right, you have been the biggest problem I've had so far, but that ends now." Said Rei, firing a blast at the console above, as she smirked. "And like that, the power is back on."

I grit my teeth as I stood up, only for Rei to suddenly dash towards me and grab my neck with her hand. "I think I might make an example of you…" Said Rei, lifting me off the ground.

"You… B*tch!" I grunted out, as I let my arm go slack beside me. As my hand fell down, it brushed up against something in my right pocket. "So how exactly are we going to go about this. You gonna kill me in front of a live studio audience, or slow painful torture in a dungeon. I'm privy to the second if it's kinky at least.

I reached into my right leg pocket and pulled out the web shooter I had originally strapped to my left arm before it's amputation the first time. "Do you ever shut up?" Asked Rei, gripping my neck harder as I raised up my right hand, lined up the shot, and squeezed.

"Oh yeah, but here's a neat trick. Watch the hands, not the mouth." I said, gripping the webline tight before I pulled.

Rei had exactly two seconds to look at the machine in shock, as I ripped my removed prosthetic free from the machine, taking a sparking piece of tech with it.

"Oops!" I said as Rei turned to me with fury in her eyes. "I didn't realize what this thing did…"

---

(Stop Music)

In hindsight, it was probably not a good idea to antagonize her. This became apparent when she threw me through the nearest wall and sent me flying out into the open air, right into the path of White Heart.

"What the-!?" White Heart exclaimed, as I slammed into her, sending her away from whatever it was she was about to do.

"Sorry!" I said as I bounced back, only to feel a hand grab the back of my neck. "Okay, that's uncalled for!" I said, my voice hard to get out with the grip around my neck.

"Bryce!" Purple Heart exclaimed as I was dragged back up into the air.

"Hey, Neptune…!" I said as I gripped onto Rei's arm, her hold on my neck not letting up. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Let him go!" Shouted Black Heart, as Rei Laughed.

"Poor choice of words, Noire." I said.

"No one make any sudden moves! And don't think I didn't see you, White Heart!" Said Rei, as White Heart clicked her tongue in annoyance, flying up to join the others. "How you got out of that hold, I don't care, but any sudden movements and the nuisance gets it!"

"Oh, don't I feel loved," I said before I instantly regretted anything I said, as I felt the grip around my neck tighten. "Guh-!"

"No, Stop!" Shouted Purple Heart, moving forward by a foot.

"...How about… No." Said the almost gleeful voice behind me, before I felt white hot pain stab through my stomach.

I coughed, a thick red liquid I was 90% certain was blood dripping onto my chin as I looked down at my stomach, finding the end of Rei's Staff sticking out of my abdomen. "Oh… That… That doesn't… Look good…"

I felt the staff twist in my stomach before it ripped itself free as another wave of blood rushed up my throat. My right hand fell slack by my side, as Rei let go of my neck, letting gravity do its job.

My hearing disappeared at this moment, as did most of my vision, leaving barely little to be seen as I plummeted towards the ground. I felt the wind, and then the ground, and I bounced and rolled. I blinked, my right hand twitching as I tried to move it.

"I… I need… I need to…" The voice sounded like gravel coming out of my throat, as I reached into the right pocket of my coat. I pulled out the ripped remains of the Ziploc bag I had placed the CPU Memory in, but I couldn't find the Memory.

I looked up before I saw something small falling towards me. Even if I wanted to move to avoid it, I couldn't. Nothing was moving, except for the strenuous action of making my arm move, and I was bleeding out. If I wasn't dead from that, this would do it.

However, it didn't land on my head, killing me instantly, but beside it. I looked to my left, seeing the CPU Memory lying right next to me.

It was at this moment, there was no doubt in my mind. I guess fear kind of existed when you were already this dead. I moved my remaining arm and clutched the Memory with all of the might that remained.

And then, there was a light filling my vision.

---

"Hey… Hey… HEY…! WAKE UP ALREADY!"

"Ugh…" I groaned, blinking my eyes open as I stared at the bright light below me. "What?"

"Took you long enough…" Muttered the voice, as I blinked to find a woman standing over me with a pout on her face.

"Woah!" I shouted scrambling backward as I threw my arms forwards.

"Ah! Sorry…! It's just you weren't really waking up and I was getting a little worried." She said, clenching her hands and holding them around her shoulders, almost like she was trying to appear smaller.

I took that moment to get a better look at the woman in front of me. The first immediate thing I had noticed was the silver-white hair that was about neck level, almost the size human form Neptune had herself. Her physic was that of someone in their mid-late 20s, and… She was a little less developed than Vert, but a little more developed than Purple Heart in some regards.

"...Where...am I?" I asked as the woman looked up at me.

"Huh? Oh, you… Well, I'm not exactly sure, but… Well, it looks a little like Celestia actually…" Said the woman, patting her white dress down with one hand while the other poked her cheek as she gained a thoughtful expression on her face you'd expect to find on someone like Neptune.

"Wait I'm dead!" I exclaimed, standing upright.

"Wait you're dead!?" Exclaimed the woman, as she jumped back. "Oh… Wait, you… yeah, you weren't in the greatest condition now that I think of it when I connected with you, huh? But I don't… think you're dead."

"Connected? What… What are you talking about? This is Celestia, right? Isn't that Heaven to your dimension or something!?" I asked, holding my arms out to her in confusion.

It then dawned on me that I was holding out a very real, very fleshy looking left hand and arm.

"What!? My hand? It's…"

"Oh yeah, allow me to explain a few things." Said the woman, as I turned to look at her. "You're not dead-Yet, but you ARE on the verge. Your hand is back because this is a mental… or spiritual, I don't know which is which right now, everything is a little wonky right now, a few… hundred… or thousand years of sleep will do that to ya by the way. Anything else?"

"...Who ARE you!?" I asked.

"...Oh… That… That probably should've been addressed… first, huh?" The woman said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. She then nodded to herself before looking at me dead in the eyes. "Right, well… I'm you."

"What!?" I exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Pfft!" Her hand flew over her mouth as she doubled over, trying not to laugh. Although ultimately failing. "Hahahahahaha! No no no! That was a joke. I'm… Well… It's… a long story?"

"...O-okay?" I said, looking around. I looked at the sole tree in the field surrounding us. It looked a lot like one of those scenes from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or at least one of the ones from that Nintendo Switch trailer from a few… what was it, at least a year ago now, right?

"Okay, serious time, serious time." The woman said, almost pumping herself up. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am who you would refer to as… The 'TRUE' Goddess."

"...OH," I said. "...So you're the OG Goddess then… Prove it."

The woman shrugged before four angel-like wings sprouted out of her back, each one a different color. Black, White, Purple, and Green. The goddess smirked. "Proof enough?"

"...Yeah, that's pretty accurate." I said as I blinked. "...Wait, didn't you split yourself into four? Because I thought that was how Neptune, Blanc, Noire, and Vert were created?"

"Well, I did. In all honesty, I don't know why I exist right now." Said the goddess.

"Seriously?" I asked. "That… kinda sucks."

"Nah, I'm kidding. I exist mainly due to the leftover remnants of my power that survived the splitting process. Activating that crystal of yours gave the remnants enough power to create a spiritual link and recreate me, at least in this spiritual landscape of yours." Said the goddess. "I didn't realize that in another dimension I split my power into those memory cores… Well, at least it's helpful for me so I can do one last thing before my remnants dissipate into nothingness."

"Wait, and that is?" I asked.

"Why, turn you into a CPU, of course." Said the goddess, a smug look on her face as she rubbed the underside of her nose. "Besides, it would really suck if my daughter ends up a widow due to her boyfriend dying from something like a stab to the back."

"...I have no response for that." I said. "Wait, you can override the coin toss!?"

"Psh, yeah! It's only there so the power can figure out who'd best suit it. And well, also the tiny fact that it needs to make sure… certain people… don't become gods?"

"...Elaborate."

"So… Normally… Guys can't become CPUs… due to the fact that… well… they aren't female?" Said the Goddess.

"...I know my dimension had a problem with sexism, but your universe honestly makes me question so many things." I said, deadpanning at the goddess.

"Look, the dimension has a male to female ratio of like… a gazillion to one, okay? And most of the guys in the dimension are evil, and that robot guy is super weird...! Why would I, or any version of myself, WILLINGLY let that kind of power fall into their hands!?" The goddess said.

"You know… when you put it like that… Wait, so… if being a man keeps the crystal from activating right…"

"That's right. I need to make you a woman." Said the Goddess.

"HELL NO!" I said, pointing at her with my left hand dramatically.

"I'm kidding! Kidding!" She said, laughing loudly. "Wow… You are surprisingly trollable."

"Get to the point please…" I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Right right. I can make you a CPU, keeping your gender intact. This, in turn, will save your life, and you'll be able to take down Rei Ryghts." Said the Goddess. "Any questions?"

"...Wait, if Rei Ryghts is a goddess… how does she exist exactly?" I asked, my eyebrow raised.

"...I may have… given a bit of my power to a mortal a few… centuries ago? Or was it longer? Look, let's just say I had two more wings earlier one blue and one orange, and now Rei Ryghts is a god and I don't have those anymore." Said the Goddess. "Now can I god-ify you now, or what?"

"Wait what happened to the orange one?" I asked.

"I dunno, different dimension or something." Was the simple response I got.

"...Right… Let's do that." I said, nodding.

"Great." Said the goddess, her features turning serious, as she walked up to me. "Now… Place your hand on my chest."

It took me a moment for my mind to realize what exactly she had just asked me to do. When my brain decided to actually RECOGNIZE what she had said…

"Wait what!?" I exclaimed, stumbling backward.

"PFFFFT! HAHAHAHA!" The Goddess laughed once more. "Oh my ME! That was too good to pass up!"

The Goddess took a breath in, before extending a hand towards me, a holographic CPU Memory floating in her hand in front of me. "Listen, while you will become a CPU… You won't be an unstoppable machine of terror. You physically don't have any people believing in you. I mean, you just fell to the ground with a hole in your chest from… really high up." Said the Goddess, taking a moment to attempt to figure out how high of a drop I had but decided it wasn't worth the brain power. "So I can do one thing for you. I will merge the last of my remnants into you while I activate the CPU Memory. This will give you enough energy for two minutes of fully powered godhood. Which means one thing… you need to make a show of your first move. Get the people believing in you, and that will give you the strength to keep fighting. So get out there, and make history, Player."

"...Wow, that… It's actually been a while since anyone acknowledged that." I said.

"Well, while at first, it seems important, honestly it's really not, at least in this dimension." Said the Goddess. "Although, it's probably a good thing no one sees you as a player anymore. Means that they see you for who YOU are. Anyways, we should probably start."

"...Before we start… How… BADLY is the personality change going to be?" I asked.

"Well… Because of how things are, I can't really promise anything. I mean, this is my first time as well, if you must know." Said the Goddess, winking at me.

"Cease."

"Mou… Fine."

"Right… Before I go though, what's your name?" I asked.

"Well …that's a little tricky. See, your dialect doesn't really work how mine used to… but if I had to choose one based on how your dialect names my children and their nations…"

The Goddess smiled at me. "Then I guess the closest you could refer to me would be… Arcadia."

I felt a smile form on my face, as I reached out to the crystal with my right hand. "Alright then. Arcadia… Thank you."

"No problem kid… I guess you could say this is my blessing then, huh?" Asked Arcadia, as I felt myself stumble a bit. "Right right, serious moment. Oh, and Bryce?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Two things, one: Tell Histoire that she couldn't be doing a better job. Also that she needs a vacation, like seriously girl, you're going to work yourself to death if you don't!" Said Arcadia, looking off to the side like the fairy was there.

"...Right!" I said.

"And second…" The goddess leaned close to my ear and whispered something. She leaned away before I nodded. I reached out with my hand my finger tapping the crystal, as a bright light shone and rippled out, tearing the landscape asunder as a white void surrounded the two of us.

"Then let us begin. From here forth on… you will now be known as-"

---

The silence was palpable, the raw shock and horror of what they had just witnessed before them was uncontrollable, as the body of one of their dear friends collided with the ground.

"...Bryce… H-he…" Uni got out.

"...YOU B*TCH!" Shouted White Heart, turning over, only for Rei to snap her fingers as all of the CPUs' wings started to flicker as their share energy dropped.

"Now now… Where's the fun in that? I do believe I've had enough of this, wouldn't you all agree?" Asked Rei, a gleeful smile on her face. "Honestly, it's a bit of a shame. He wasn't too bad to look at if I had to be perfectly honest-"

"SHUT UP!" Shouted Purple Heart, as her face radiated raw anger through her glare. "You… Will not get away with this!"

"Oh but I think I have, and besides… What's one NPC out of the lot?" Asked Rei leaning forwards with a sadistic grin on her face.

"...E-excuse me? B-but… Is he supposed to be getting up?" Asked White Sister (Rom), as everyone looked down as Bryce stood up.

"Bryce!?" Purple Heart exclaimed.

"How the hell is he standing? I blew a hole in him! How durable is he!? Questions for later." Said Rei, before turning back to the CPUs. "Well, it's not like he'll be able to do much anymore."

As if those words were a catalyst, a bright light shone from Bryce's location, before a pillar of light erupted into the sky.

---

I stood up, my body screaming in agony as my empty eyes stared at the floating CPU Memory before me. I raised my right hand, blood seeping through the holes riddling my clothes, as my finger tapped the surface of the CPU Memory.

And then, the energy inside the memory, EXPLODED.

(Play Reel 'Em In! (Remastered) - Shady Cicada)

I watched as data erupted around me and energy spiraled into me as my body's wounds healed. I clenched my hands and threw them to my sides, as a scream ripped itself free from my lungs and permeated the air above me. As soon as the scream left my lungs, I took a deep breath in, before smirking. "Two minutes huh?" I asked. "Then I don't have time to waste!"

I shivered another wave of energy washed over me before my body rapidly began to change. I paid the transformation no immediate attention, as I focused on the now manifested wings on my back. I looked ahead, my eyes narrowed at the Goddess of Tari looking at the beam of light with wide eyes.

"Rei Ryghts… You hurt me, my friends, and Neptune… And I don't like that kind of thing…" I said, before crouching down and launching into the air. The light dissipated as soon as I left the beam, and in less than a second, I was face to face with the Goddess of Tari.

I clenched my fist, reared it back, before swinging with all of the force I had. My fist flew, slamming into Rei's unprepared stomach as the Goddess flew backward and slammed into the share energy machine on the bottom of her nation, smashing the device, but not enough to truly break it to pieces.

"Dammit! And it would've been so cool too…" I muttered in annoyance as I shook my right hand.

"...B-Bryce?" Asked Purple Heart.

I turned my body around so I was facing the CPUs, only for it to keep spinning at a slow rate. "Woah! Uh, help!?"

"How… How are you alive? And that transformation…" Green Heart said.

I slowed to a stop, now facing the shocked faces of the goddesses before me. "It's cool, isn't it! I was all like, WOOSH, And ONE PUNCH! And all that!" I said, a smile on my face as I floated in the air.

"...This IS Bryce, right?" Asked White Heart. "Because this brat isn't acting like him."

"I'm not a brat! Take that back!" I said, pouting at White Heart. "You don't act like your normal self and yet everyone knows your the quiet one. Though your defining features do help with that distinction I guess..."

"What was that!?" Exclaimed White Heart in anger.

"NOTHING!" I said, clamping my mouth shut.

"Bryce!"

"Woah!" I suddenly found myself tackled by Purple Heart as, wait, when did she get so big?

"I thought you were dead!" Said Purple Heart, holding onto my shoulders as she looked down at me.

"And I thought you weren't that tall, seriously, did you grow or something?" I asked. "Because I hope you know that this means war if that's the case!"

"No… you just shrunk." Said Black Heart.

"Vert…? You okay there?" Asked Black Sister as Green Heart looked off to the side with a blush on her face.

"He's a literal Shota…" Green Heart muttered.

"...Vert is making me uncomfortable right now…" I said.

"She does that." Purple Heart sighed.

"You!" I blinked, quickly freeing myself from Purple Heart as I turned to face Rei as she charged at us. "I'll kill you!"

"You'll have to try harder than you already are!" I shouted, sticking my tongue out as I dashed to the side… a little too far in hindsight. "Oh jeez! How do you work these things!?"

"Stay still you little shi-"

"Language!" I shouted, spinning around as my foot slammed into her face. I backed up, hovering in the air opposite of her.

"Did Bryce just say… Language?" Asked Black Heart in confusion.

"I wouldn't question our personality changes at this point." Said Purple Heart.

I tilted my head back as Rei swung her staff at me, watching as it slowly swung over my head. I spun around, getting back into an upright position before kicking Rei's shin.

"Did you just kick my shin!?" She asked.

"Yes," I answered, before kicking it again and delivering a knee to her stomach to make some distance. "So, I got good news, and bad news, which do you wanna hear first?"

"Shut up!" Shouted Rei, stabbing her staff forwards.

"Good news it is!" I said, backhanding the staff before following up with a punch to Rei's head. "Your machine isn't broken!"

"Bad news!" I said, flying backward as Rei gave chase. "You aren't going to be stealing any more share energy with it!"

"Just stand still and die!" Rei swung her staff down on my head. I grunted, raising my arms to block as the staff collided with my armored forearm.

"Hey, no fair! I don't have a weapon!" I shouted, pushing Rei back before the metal gauntlet on my arm opened up and collapsed, reconfiguring into a blade overtop of my arm. "Wait, never mind, got an arm blade, this works!" I shouted, charging back into the fray.

"Swish, Swish! Stab!" I shouted, swinging my arm with reckless abandon as I swung at Rei.

"That's it!" Shouted Rei, slamming the bottom of her staff into my midsection, knocking me away from her. I took a shaky breath in as I patted my stomach.

"Well, at least there's no hole there this time…" I said, looking up to see Rei swing her staff down at me. "Oh, sh*t!" I exclaimed, covering my head as a metal clang was heard. After a moment, I opened my eyes to see Purple Heart in front of me, her sword blocking the attack.

"Bryce, you okay?" Asked Purple Heart, as she pushed Rei back as the other Goddesses joined us.

"Yep!" I said, smiling at Purple Heart. I flexed my right hand, the sword collapsing back into the metal gauntlet. "She's fast, but I'm just too light on my feet for her to really hit."

"Looked more like you trying to figure out how to do half the things you were doing and somehow failing into succession." Said White Heart.

"Mou… Neptune, Blanc's being mean again…" I whined, grabbing onto Purple Heart's arm.

"Why you little…!" White Heart's eye twitched. I stuck my tongue out. Sweet victory at it's finest.

"I never thought I'd actually like normal Bryce's personality, but here we are…" Black Heart said.

"Guys!" I looked to my left to see Purple Sister fly over to us. "Whatever you did, it just gave us back a bit of our share ener-huh? Who's this?"

I made to speak, but Purple Heart beat me to it. "It's Bryce."

"Bryce!?" Purple Sister flew over to me. "He... He's smaller."

"At least your not too much bigger than I am…" I muttered, grumbling before I felt something in the pit of my stomach form. "Ooh, that's not good…"

I groaned, wobbling in the air as Purple Heart gripped my arm. "Bryce!?"

"It's fine… I had two minutes of a power boost. I guess I just used it all up. I just hope I was able to get enough share energy from that…" I said, getting my balance back. "Also… we probably still need to worry about the cannon." I said as everyone looked at me.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Asked Black Sister.

"It's uh… still got power?" I said, giving a sheepish smile, before the sight of Tari with glowing red lines caught my attention. "See, that kind of thing."

"Alright, enough of this." Said Rei Ryghts. "Cute moment and all, but you're too late. I've got enough share energy to destroy the whole stinkin' world at this point."

"Destroy… the world?" Asked Purple Heart.

A gasp escaped my throat as realization kicked in. "But I live here!"

"But you said you wanted my country didn't you?" Asked Purple Heart.

"Yeah, I want it, so I can blow the whole damn place up and wreck your shit!" Said Rei, her smile all the more twisted. "It's a humble wish, really. Complete global annihilation, I mean."

"But… that's like the exact opposite of humble, right?" I asked, confused.

"But why? You're a goddess too, aren't you?" Asked Purple Heart.

"Why yes, but I'm not like you." Said Rei. "My subjects and I didn't get along at all."

"It might be because you're really mean, you never know." I said, nodding to myself.

"...I don't know what's more infuriating; you when you actually could say things more cutting, or you now… with your childlike mindset…" Said Rei, glaring at me. "But no matter, much like my previous subjects, I've heard disciplinary matters do work wonders for children."

"...I need an adult." I said.

"What does she mean by that?" Asked Purple Heart.

"The part about disciplining Bryce or her previous subjects?" Asked Black Heart.

"Tari Authorities cracked down on any citizens who took issue with their goddess." Said White Heart. "The People stopped believing in her, so the nation lost its shares and went to ruin."

"Today, we call that 'The Great Crash'." Said Green Heart.

"Well, it sounds like she got what she deserved." Said Black Heart.

I nodded, crossing my arms for emphasis.

"You're wrong! Those ungrateful swine." Shouted Rei. "They stole my country from me! Then if I can't have it, nobody can!"

"...Wow is she acting like a child right now…" I said, causing the goddesses next to me to sweatdrop.

"Coming from the ACTUAL child." Said White Heart.

I huffed and looked to the side.

"Replenish energy and prepare to fire!" Shouted Rei.

"I feel sorry for you." Purple Heart said, lifting her head up at Rei. I smiled, rolling my shoulders. "I have friends, but you were all alone. I wish that things had been different… But even if I sympathize, I will never surrender!"

"Ha! You and your crappy friends can hold hands and sing songs all the way to your graves, 'cause there's no way you're blocking this one!" Rei said, twisting her hand across the holographic screen in front of her, all the while laughing maniacally.

"Vert. Noire, as well. Blanc, too." Purple Heart began. "All of our sisters: Uni, Rom, Ram, Nepgear."

Purple Heart turned to me. "Bryce…"

I smiled, resting my hands behind my head as I gave an ear to ear smile.

"Our powers united, we won't lose!" Shouted Purple Heart.

"Ooh, this is gonna be awesome! Let's go! Ikuze!" I shouted, launching forwards.

"Trying to destroy the Pongg Laser Cannon before it fires, huh?" Asked Rei, as I charged forwards beside Purple Heart. "You better hope you're fast, or everyone and their dog down there are super screwed!"

"Bryce, hold on!" Shouted Purple Heart as I nodded, grabbing onto her shoulders as we flew towards White Heart.

White Heart spun her battle axe in circles, picking up momentum before Purple Heart slammed her sword into the pathway of White Heart's axe. "I'll send you flying at the speed of light!" White Heart shouted, pushing forwards as she launched us ahead.

"We missed!" I shouted. "How could you miss, we were two feet in front of it!"

"We really weren't." Said Purple Heart.

"I know, but references," I said, smiling as we soared forwards. As we flew, Purple Sister flew into our path of trajectory, swinging her blade forwards. "Batter up!"

"I know we can count on you two!" Shouted Purple Sister, as she swung forwards, sending us back towards the floating nation of Tari.

"Thanks for the push Nepgear!" I shouted, grinning.

"Too bad kid, that ain't going to work!" Shouted Rei, as she fired off blasts of lightning towards us.

"Oh right, she had that!" I said as Purple Heart made evasive maneuvers. "Woo!"

"One final Boost! Now Go!" I heard the voice of Green Heart shout behind us, as I looked behind to see her spears fly past us, colliding with the lightning around us.

"Thank you!" I said as we closed in on the Pongg Cannon.

"Dammit, close enough." I looked to my right, watching as Rei aimed her cannon once more, before Black Heart charged forwards, slashing through both of Rei's bat-like wings and her control hologram.

"You're entire life has been a mathematical error!" Said Black Heart. "One that we're about to correct!"

"Needs some work!" I shouted as we approached the Cannon. "You ready Neptune?"

"Ready when you are, Bryce." Said Purple Heart.

"Then let's blow some stuff up, then!" I said, flaring my wings to light as I jumped off Purple Heart, the forward momentum keeping me just behind her.

"Oh screw you all!" Shouted Rei, respawning her wings and console. "Cannon, fire!" She shouted, pushing a button on the screen.

"NOW!" I shouted.

"VICTORY SLASH!" Shouted Purple Heart, as she charged forwards, cleaving through the front of the cannon. "Bryce!"

"HISSATSU!" I shouted, twitching my left hand as the gauntlet on that arm unfurled into a massive arm cannon. I couldn't give it too much attention, however, so I just focused forwards. I threw my arm back, energy pooling around the barrel of my arm cannon. "OVERCLOCK BLAST!"

I threw my arm forwards, as the beam of energy fired forwards. There was a moment of silence as the blast collided with the stored energy of the Pongg Cannon, before a massive explosion ripped from the cannon, knocking me back as the nation of Tari began to explode.

I felt a hand grab me around my chest, before they pulled me away from the incoming explosions, as smoke drifted around us. After a few seconds, we emerged from the smoke victorious.

I watched on as the nation crashed into the ground, before looking up at the enraged face of Rei Ryghts.

"Wow, you look angry." I said as Purple Heart let me go.

"My nation… You destroyed it…" Said Rei.

"Yeah, that would do it." I said.

"Give it up." Said Purple Heart. "Whatever you hoped to accomplish, it will never come to pass."

We hovered in a circle around Rei, as I narrowed my eyes.

"I think it's time for you to surrender." Said Black Heart.

It was quick, almost impossible to notice, but I had ADD so my eyes wander anyways so seeing the crystal on Rei's chest glow red wasn't something I was thrilled about.

"...Uh, that's not good right?" I asked.

"All you did was crash a big rock. What makes you think you've won?" Asked Rei, as red energy swirled around her before beginning to form into a ball of energy in her hands. "Why, what is this ball of glowing energy I have here? What's that Mr. Energy Ball? You have the power to blow up half of the planet?"

I watched as Rei laughed once again, as I let the arm cannon on my arm retract. I grimaced, watching the spectacle in front of me.

"I'm almost impressed. You certainly have an astounding amount of hatred." Said Green Heart, before she held her hand out to her left, as White Heart took it in her right. "But that's not enough."

"'Cause we have something better than that." Said White Heart, as she clasped her left hand with her candidates'.

I watched as one by one the goddesses held their hands together. Part of me wanted to speak up about how ridiculous this was looking, but it was buried a bit too much for it to really speak up.

"Even if we didn't have an ounce of share energy left, we would fight." Said White Heart, holding her hand out to Purple Heart, who took her hand.

"Well Spoken." Said Purple Heart, before she looked to me and held her hand out. "Because as Goddesses we have a job to do. Right, Bryce?"

I smiled, clasping my hand in hers, as I looked at Rei. "I do believe I'm already spoken for, I mean, I kinda came back from near death to take you down, so how's that for a statement."

"This is gonna hurt though." I muttered, before taking Purple Sister's hand into mine.

"Y'know, once I kill you, I can blow up the world at any time." Said Rei, as the energy in her hands grew bit by bit. I felt Purple Heart's hand tighten around mine, as we prepared ourselves. "Fine, have it your way!"

The ball of energy expanded once more, before unleashing upon us. It exploded outwards first as a ball, before slamming into the circle we had formed around Rei, confining the shockwave into a single pillar.

I felt a scream rip itself from my lungs as I struggled against the destructive power of the blast. I tightened my hands around my friends as I fought to keep myself together. There was a second wave from the blast, and then all I saw was red as it expanded against us.

(LINE BREAK)

"Ow… I knew it was going to hurt…" I muttered, sitting upright as I looked on at the devastated area around us. We had luckily managed to keep the area's damage to a minimum it seemed, but my body ached all the same. "You guys okay?" I asked, pushing myself to a stand as I looked at everyone around me passed out on the ground, out of HDD. I could only assume I was as well since I didn't feel that same power from earlier right now.

I looked up, watching as Rei pushed herself up, a little less beat up than the others. "I still have some power left… One more shot should wipe them all out for sure."

"Like hell am I going to let you get away with that." I said loudly, stumbling to my feet.

"...You…" Said Rei, glaring at me.

"Me…" I said, taking a step forward, only to fall onto my knees. "If you think I'm just going to let you go ahead and do this-"

"You're aren't even able to stand up right now!" Said Rei, smirking. "What makes you think you can do anything?"

"I can't really… but I make an excellent distraction." I said, smirking.

"Huh?" Asked Rei in confusion.

"I'll handle things from here." Said a voice, as Rei turned behind her to see Arfoire standing behind her. "And I can't really have you going and blowing the planet up, because one day it'll be mine and I want it in tip-top shape for when that happens."

There was a moment of silence, before Rei gave Arfoire a look of indifference. "Piss off, weirdo."

"Ooh, shouldn't have said that." I said.

"Eh?" Rei turned to me in confusion.

"Okey Dokey, Grandma! It's all ready!" Said a squeaky voice from behind Arfoire, as I looked over the rubble to see Warechu positioning tiny red shards around Rei's sharicite.

"Sleep in the murky depths of despair!" Proclaimed Arfoire, as she flicked up another tiny red stone, before throwing it over her shoulder towards the others surrounding the sharicite. As it landed, the shards formed a very familiar looking pyramid around the sharicite. The red glow began to fade from the power symbol, before it eventually turned a dull grey and fell to the ground, shattering to pieces.

"That works out well in the end I guess." I said, sighing in relief.

A scream ripped from Rei's throat as red energy evaporated off of her form. "NO! DON'T TAKE MY POWER AWAY!" She exclaimed, her voice almost sounding pained.

A moment later, the energy faded, reverting Rei back into her human form. She crumpled onto the ground, as I let a breath I didn't know I was holding leave my lungs. I gave a thankful nod towards Arfoire. "Thanks… Arfoire." I said. She gave a surprised look at me, before closing her eyes and turned to walk away, leaving behind the unconscious form of Rei.

I blinked, before looking at my hands. "...I actually finished a major fight and didn't pass out at the end of it… That's a first." I said, clenching my hands. I rolled my left wrist, my hand having been regenerated in my first transformation into a CPU.

"...Thanks, Arcadia…" I muttered before I felt a weight slam into my back. "Gah!"

"Bryce!" Neptune said as she hung around my neck. "We did it!"

"Glad to see you're okay," I said as I turned to watch the other goddesses regain consciousness. "That was… well, anything less than intense would be an understatement."

I smiled, looking up at the sky. "...We did it huh?"

---

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at myself, before extending out my hand. "...Access." I said as a holographic CPU Memory appeared in front of my outstretched hand. I closed my hand around it and swung my hand towards my chest, absorbing the hologram into me as I felt familiar power flow through me. I closed my eyes in concentration, before opening them as the power inside me erupted and I transformed in a stream of data.

I stared back at my reflection, finding that for one, I was indeed shorter than normal. I had taken the look of someone much younger than I was. Not as young as Rom or Ram, per se, but a little less old than say Nepgear. I shrugged, brushing a hand through the neck length silver-white hair on my head that reminded me much like that of Arcadia's.

I gave a brief glance at the outfit I had been gifted. It was black with grey highlights running through the suit. The suit itself looked a lot like the ones the goddesses wore but designed with my current body in mind.

It was like a skintight wet suit around my legs, with a pair of shorts worn overtop. I warn what seemed like a skintight dress vest over my chest, open down the middle, leaving most of my chest visible.

Of course, none of this mentioned the armor positioned over all of this. My arms as stayed before had bulky gauntlets positioned over my forearms, with silver lights running through them. I say they were bulky, but most of the bulk was positioned near my elbows.

My legs, on the other hand, were a bit more in line with what the other goddesses wore, only less high heels and more boots of sorts that ran up to my knees, with an opening on the back of my legs.

My shoulders and back were mostly clear, with the exception of the guard around the back of my neck that was much like a coat collar.

I nodded to myself, before looking at the silver eyes staring back at me, two white power symbols dotted my pupils. I let out a breath, canceling the transformation as I returned to normal. "That's gonna take some getting used to." I said before I walked out of the room.

"It's a good thing you still had ownership of your apartment, huh Bryce?" Said Neptune as she sat on one of the sofas.

"Yeah, just means we'll be here for a bit until the tower is rebuilt," I said, looking at Neptune as she furiously mashed buttons on her controller. "...Hey Neptune… You wouldn't happen to be able to show me your sharicite, would you?"

"Huh?" Neptune raised one of her eyebrows in confusion. "That's a weird request, Bryce…"

"I know, I know, it's just…" I took a moment. "There's something I need to do."

"Hmm… Histy should be with it right now…" Said Neptune, as she motioned to one of the rooms we had converted into an office.

"Right… would you mind coming with me?" I asked as Neptune paused her game.

"...You're being awfully vague about this." Said Neptune, hopping up to me with her finger pointed at me accusingly. "What's going on exactly?"

"...A surprise?" I said, as Neptune just deadpanned at me. "Look, just trust me on this?"

"Fine." Said Neptune, as we walked over to the office. "Histy! You in here?"

"Neptune? Come on in." Said the fairy from the other side of the door. I pushed the door open, as Histoire floated on her book, the Sharicite floating behind her, shining bright, but still not as much as it had before the wonder festival. "What can I help you two with?"

"Could we… borrow the sharicite for something?" I asked as Histoire looked at me. "We're not going to take it anywhere, I just have something I need to do."

"...And what exactly would that be, Bryce?" Asked Histoire, as she looked at me with a serious expression.

"...It… Well… Neptune, could you transform for me? It'd be easier to explain that way." I said, as Neptune blinked but complied as the room filled with light as Purple Heart stood beside me. "Now, I need you to hold your sharicite."

"Alright…" Purple Heart walked over to the sharicite, before picking up the construct with both of her hands and turned to face me. "Now what exactly are you doing?"

I took a deep breath in, before activating my HDD. As the stream of code washed over me and I transformed, I let the breath go. Reaching my hand out in front of me, I let it form.

Every CPU, minus candidates, have a sharicite. It's directly tied with that specific goddess. I'm no different in that regard.

I pushed the construct into existence before me, as Purple Heart and Histoire's eyes widened. I took another breath, before kneeling down before Purple Heart, and lifted my Sharicite towards her.

"...I give you… my everything." I said, looking up at the goddess before me. "If you'll accept it."

There was a tense silence that fell over the room before Purple Heart nodded. The two sharicites lifted off our hands and merged together, my own being overtaken by Purple Heart's.

I looked down at myself, as the silver on my body turned purple and I felt something take root in my soul. I stood up, my now purple hair dipping over my vision for a second before I brushed it aside.

"...Purple Guardian, by your side." I said.

"...Bryce… That was…" Histoire began. "...Where did you learn that?"

I let out a breath as I deactivated my transformation once more. I turned to the oracle of Planeptune and smiled. "You could say… an old friend of yours. She said that you couldn't be doing a better job. Also that you need a vacation. In her own words, it was something like: 'Seriously girl, you're going to work yourself to death if you don't take one!', or something like that."

"...You met her, didn't you?" Asked Histoire, as I nodded. "That's how you learned of…"

"Yeah… she's also a massive troll…" I muttered.

"Yes, she was…" Said Histoire.

"...Neptune has been awfully quiet this entire time." I said, turning to the right to see Purple Heart standing there with tears in her eyes, unmoving. "...Did I… Break her or?"

There was a flash of light, and then something crashing into me as I fell to the floor. "Bryce! You beautiful man you!" Neptune shouted, giving me a bone crushing hug.

"T-thanks Neptune, but you're crushing my windpipes…!" I said as Neptune blinked before she let go. "Thank you…"

"I need to go tell everyone!" Neptune shouted, running out of the room.

"...I take it she knows that was essentially a proposal huh?" I said as Histoire nodded behind me. "Ah, well then. I better go after her."

"It is probably for the best." Said Histoire as I nodded, running out of the room.

"Hey Neptune, wait up!" I shouted, running after the purple haired goddess.

And well… that leads up to right now, me chasing after the goddess of planeptune so we keep the damage to a minimum, and the nation of Planeptune going full force into its recovery from the fight with the goddess of Tari.

To think, this all started with a near-death experience with a dogoo… I honestly expected that to be how I died honestly, but life decided it liked me too much for that to happen. And here we are, the end of the story, for now at least. Maybe something will happen in the future, maybe not. But at the very least, the future's looking brighter than it had about 100 days ago.