It's been… several months since Rei Ryghts tried to destroy Gamindustri. In those months… a lot has happened. I merged my sharicite with Neptune's, effectively making so we were engaged, still figuring out the whole wedding bit. I was decreed 'Purple Guardian' after the merging, though Arcadia had pretty much already given me the title earlier.

Planeptune Tower had finished remodeling, and Neptune had apparently put her foot down behind my back and had renamed the damn thing to 'Neptower'. I jabbed at her ego for days after that, good fun.

Shares had been slowly recovering as time went on, to the point that the four nations were back to full strength.

Everything was going perfectly…

...Which is why I shouldn't have been surprised when Nepgear collapsed in front of me yesterday.

"She still out?" I asked, standing next to Neptune as Histoire floated above Planeptune's candidate.

"Unfortunately. She hasn't shown any sign of waking up since she collapsed yesterday." Said Histoire, looking down at Nepgear in concern. The girl in question was tossing and turning and had signs of a high fever.

"She's been like this all night." Said Neptune. The goddess' face was a mesh of distraught and the signs of sleep loss if the bags under her eyes were anything to go by. "I just hope Compa and Iffy get here soon…"

I nodded, a grim look on my face. "Yeah… The timing couldn't have been worse." IF and Compa had been sent off to Leanbox via guild request for an emergency that required both of their skill sets. Of course, this was about two days ago and we received word they were wrapping up over there…

But it was still going to take them a bit to get back here. And that was precious time we were losing with every moment.

"Hey Histy, you got anything down yet?" Asked Neptune.

"Not yet… I think I almost have it narrowed down but I can't be sure…" Responded the Oracle. I let out a sigh as I leaned over to the bucket next to me and wrung the water out of the cloth before placing it against Nepgear's head.

"Neptune!" Said a familiar voice as I turned around to see Green Heart run into the room, still in her CPU form. She looked rather tired, breathing heavily as she entered the room. She looked ahead at the scene in front of her and grimaced. "So it's happened here too…"

"Vert! Why are you here?" Asked Neptune.

"I was down at Lowee having a visit with Blanc, but it was cut short when Rom and Ram collapsed suddenly." Said Vert, transforming back into her human form.

"The CPU Candidates of Lowee as well?" Asked Histoire with a worried look on her face.

"Not just them, but Uni as well." Said Vert. "Noire called me when her sister collapsed. And since Blanc and Noire had to stay with their sisters…"

"You came flying over here to check up on Nepgear to see if it was the same here," I said, confirming Vert's story. "So... all of the candidates have contracted whatever this disease is…"

"Wait… that must be it." Said Histoire as the three of us turned to look at the fairy. "I remember a situation like this once happening to a goddess. They were stricken with an illness that trapped them in never-ending nightmares, most of them involving bad endings."

"Bad endings?" Asked Vert.

"Nepgear…" Said Neptune in concern.

"...Shit… I think I have a good idea on what she's dreaming of right now then…" I said, my hands clenching. I paused as a thought occurred. "Wait, what goddess did this disease infect?"

Histoire let out a sigh. "It was Arcadia. She decided that we needed some adventure and so led a few of us off on a quest. When we returned she had contracted the infection, which she later adequate labeled bad ending syndrome."

I let out a sigh before I felt my phone start to ring in my back pocket. "One sec.." I pulled out the device and swiped the accept call, finding a split video call awaiting me with Blanc and Noire on the other side of the line. "Noire, Blanc, I assume this is about the candidates?"

"So by the tone of your voice, I can assume Nepgear was infected too?" Asked Noire. "Vert probably filled you in already, but Uni was also infected."

"My sisters too." Said Blanc. "I'm especially worried about the inappropriate content of their dreams."

I let out a sigh. "I can only imagine the hardships those four are going through…" I said. "But we're working on a solution for the problem as we speak. Histoire can probably explain it better."

I tapped a button on the side of the call screen, as a holographic projection flashed in front of everyone. I placed my phone back into my pocket as I looked over at Histoire. "Histoire, you have something that might work, yeah? You did deal with this earlier."

Histoire nodded. "Yes. The illness can be instantly cured with a simple infusion from a particular plant. It's called the strategy guide Daisy."

I felt my eye twitch at the name. "So we're defeating bad endings… with a strategy guide… smooth one Arcadia…" I muttered to myself.

"Instantly? So where can we find this thing?" Asked Noire.

"I'm afraid that the plant has become somewhat rare recently. They used to grow in abundance in a cave near what is now the Lowee-Lastation Border, but that was quite a while ago." Said Histoire.

"If there's even the smallest chance-" Blanc began.

"Then you bet your ass we'll find it!" Finished Noire, cutting off her fellow CPU.

"It seems like that's quite a large gamble." Said Vert. "Just to hedge our bets, is there somewhere else we can look?"

"Unfortunately, I know of no other area which these plants grow. The cave is quite likely the only place in Gamindustri that may have the plant." Said Histoire.

"...That… that's it!" I said, pointing at Histoire. "No place in Gamindustri… Why not try somewhere else?"

"What are you thinking Bryce?" Asked Neptune.

"I concur, what do you have in mind?" Asked Histoire.

I smirked. "Well… we do know of another dimension just like this one that I'm pretty sure is acting in parallel to here…" I said, as what I was saying dawned on the people in the room.

"Plutie's dimension!" Neptune said.

"I must say I didn't think about that." Said Vert. "But how exactly would we get there?"

"We sent Plutia and Peashy back just fine, and if Mini-Histoire was able to contact our Histoire, the opposite should work too, right?" I said.

"That is indeed true." Said Histoire.

"Plus… The Ultradimension also happens to technically take place in a dimension behind us in terms of time. In a way, it's like comparing the first generation of a console to the second or third generation." I said. "And if that's true, there might be the exact same cave in that dimension with an abundance of strategy guides!"

"That might work." Said Noire.

"I would only be able to send two of you over, so one of you three will have to stay behind while the other two transition between dimensions." Said Histoire.

"I'll stay." Said Vert, crossing her arms. "I can stay with Histoire and look after Nepgear while you and Bryce are in the Ultradimension Neptune. Besides, it's your sister, you should be the one going."

"Vert… Alright, let's get going, Bryce!" Said Neptune, launching towards me and landing on my back. I stumbled for a moment to regain balance as Neptune got up onto my shoulders and sat up. "We have a plant to get!"

"Great, but could you get off me first? I don't just give out piggyback rides!"

"Yahoo!" Neptune let out a cry of joy as we entered free fall above the plains of the Ultradimension. "Dude! This is friggin' amazing! And we'll get to see Plutie!"

"Keep your mind on the objective first Neptune. Nepgear's antidote, and then worry about slumber parties." I said with a smile on my face. "The free fall is nice though."

"Shame on Histy for not telling us she learned how to make interdimensional gates!" Said Neptune, before she pointed forwards towards the sprawling metropolis ahead of us and the giant tower in the center of Ultradimension's Planeptune Tower. "Oh hey, check it out!"

"Guess we'll be seeing Plutia a lot earlier than I expected, huh?" I said.

"Don't forget, we'll be seeing P-ko too!" Said Neptune as we rocketed ahead.

"Oh man! Oww... I was so totally going to transform and for a ten point landing! What the hell!?" Neptune complained. "And why the hell could you transform when I couldn't!?"

"Maybe the universe passed the grand torch of 'Universal Punching Bag' over to you this time?" I asked with a smirk on my face as I floated down in my HDD form, before returning to normal in a flash of light. I looked up at a Neptune shaped hole that cut through the tree leaves above us. "But man, I thought we were heading to the basilicom… guess Histoire hasn't fully gotten the hang of this yet…"

"Nevermind that! Why didn't you catch me!?" Asked Neptune. "Your beautiful fiance all falling and such! Come on, that's such a shining knight moment you missed there! Are you even paying attention to the romance flags you useless husbando!?"

"Hey, I was just as surprised as you were Neptune!" I said. I let out a sigh. "This certainly is a great start… Huh?"

I turned around to see two forms walk into the clearing that Neptune and I were in. While they were wearing different attire, they were just as if not more recognizable to the two of us.

"Eh? Blanc, Vert?" Neptune asked in confusion. I blinked and turned to look over at Neptune before something caught my attention.

"Uh… Neptune, you uh… kinda landed on someone…" I said as Neptune looked down to see the dazed face of the Ultradimension's version of Noire.

"What!? Ah, I am so sorry!" Said Neptune jumping backwards before she paused. "Wait, it's just Noire. False alarm."

"What do you mean False alarm!?" I exclaimed as the dazed CPU stood up, dusting the leaves off her person.

"Jeez… What's wrong with you!? Randomly falling from the sky on top of people…" U-Noire said. "I certainly hope you have a good explanation for this!"

"This is so weird… shouldn't Noire and Blanc be searching the cave right now?" Asked Neptune, before her eyes widened in realization as she slammed her fist into her open palm. "Oh I get it, this must be the fake Noire! Or… Fakey Noire for short!"

"But it's not shorter… And I am not fake by any stretch of the words." Said U-Noire, her eye twitching. "So, why don't you tell me who the blazes you are!?"

"Okay, break it up, ladies. Let's not tear out each other's throats right now, okay? Okay." I said, stepping between the two. I let out an exasperated sigh. "Let's try this again… My name is Bryce, this hear is-"

"Neppy!" Said a voice off to the side as the five of us turned to see the closet sadist herself run towards us. "Heeeeey!"

"Oh! Plutie!" Neptune waved in return before running off towards the other Purple haired female.

"No, Nep-! Why do I even bother trying to keep things manageable?" I asked no one, watching as the two quickly embraced before separating.

"It's so good to see you! I'm glad you were able to travel here safely." Said Plutia.

"Safely… would be saying a bit much…" I said, walking up next to Neptune. "Nice to see you again Plutia."

"Ah! Bryce! You're not dead! Hurrah!" Said Plutia. I felt my eye twitch at that, not going to lie. "I was worried that might have happened."

"Ah, now it all makes sense, you two must be the CPUs Plutia went to visit." Said U-Vert.

"We're the CPUs that watch over this dimension." Said Blanc.

"Though I don't remember Plutia mentioning that one of your dimensions CPUs was male…" Said Noire.

"That's cause I'm not one of the CPUs," I said, to which Neptune elbowed me. "Well, not officially with the title and all… Look it's a long story."

"Am I the only one confused here?" Asked Neptune.

"Yes," I answered honestly, only to get pouted at. "Oh, don't give me that!"

"Perhaps Histoire could explain it then." Said U-Vert, to which we nodded.

"What? No, I must have told you girls. There's no way I would have left that out." Said Plutia. "I specifically remembered telling you there was a Noir, a Blanc, and a Vert there."

"Maybe, but you didn't say like creepy clone babies." Said Neptune.

"Not in those words no…" Said Plutia.

"So the me in your dimension, is she really that similar to me?" Asked U-Blanc.

"To be frank, you three are practically shot for shot twins for our dimensions counterparts," I said. "And if I remember correctly, personality wise too…"

"And I'm guessing that the Noire from your dimension is a complete Badass!" Said U-Noire, a smirk on her face.

Neptune's faced turned to a smug look as she prepared the metaphorical Noire-Cannon. "Ah… Looks like another Noire with no Friends…" Said Neptune, shaking her head in mock sorrow.

"What!?" U-Noire exclaimed.

"Okay, that's enough of Noire teasing for now Neptune," I said as the elevator dinged behind. "And I do believe that's our stop!"

"Welcome! I'm glad you came to visit." Said Mini-Histoire, who was floating on a book much smaller than her Hyperdimension's counterpart, probably due to the less vast history in this dimension.

Neptune's face seemed to light up, as she practically teleported in front of the tiny fairy. "Wow! You're even smaller in person! I could eat you in one bite! You are so totally cute!"

"Am I really?" Mini-Histoire asked in a questioning tone.

"We're friends right Plutie? So you wouldn't mind if I kept her, would you?" Asked Neptune.

Plutia smiled, before walking over to Mini-Histoire and picked up the book the fairy was sitting on, moving it away from Neptune in a protective manner. "Now now Neppy." She said.

"You're a meanie." Said Neptune.

"Ah… I missed these moments," I said, walking up next to Neptune. "Nice to see you again, Histoire. I assume you know why we're here?"

"The Histoire from your dimension filled me in. You're in search of the Strategy Guide Daisy, correct?" Histoire said. "I've been researching for the location of the flower and I believe I've found it."

"Strategy Guide Daisy?" Asked U-Noire.

"It's a plant that when mixed into an injection will instantly cure an infectious disease called Bad Ending Syndrome," I said, turning around to look at the Ultradimension's CPUs. "We're here today because there's a situation going on with the CPU Candidates of our dimension that involves said disease."

"CPU Candidates?" Asked U-Vert.

"They're what you'd refer to as siblings to the CPUs." Said Mini-Histoire. "They're a byproduct of an event where so much share energy is built up in the sharicite that the excess amounts split off and become what those from the hyperdimension know as the Candidates."

"Huh?" I blinked as Neptune look off to the side.

"What's up, Neptune?" I asked, turning over to see the girl in question looking off to the side, towards a familiar looking girl in yellow. "...Peashy?"

I watched as Neptune smiled at the girl leaning out behind the tv cabinet across from us before she extended her arms out. "Hey, come give me a hug!" Neptune said with a wide smile on her face.

Peashy looked at Neptune with confusion for a moment. "Neptun… Nep…?"

"Huh?" Neptune breathed out in confusion before her smile fell a bit. Just as quickly, however, she recovered with a patient smile that formed on her face. "Oh, it's okay, really! You can call me Neptune, or Neptuna… I don't care, you can call me anything!"

"Now come on, give me a big hug!" Neptune said again, arms extending once more.

I watched as the young girl in yellow in front of us took a step towards us, and then another. "Neptune…" Peashy said before she broke into a sprint towards Neptune. "Neptuna!"

"Oh, P-ko!" Neptune said, tears forming in her eyes as she charged ahead as well.

"Aw, this is nice." Said Plutia.

"Wait for it." I said, a pleasant smile forming on my face.

I watched as the two girls closed in each other, yelling their names as they got within hugging distance before Peashy pushed off the ground and headbutted Neptune in the gut, lifting the poor girl off the ground. "Gah!" Neptune breathed out as Peashy cried in joy. "C-crap!"

I watched as the two hit the ground a few feet away from me. I chuckled at the scene, it really had been a while since it's been this animated. Peashy laughed in her apparent victory over the tyrant 'Neptuna', before falling down and hugging the CPU. "Neptuna, you're so weak!"

"If it was any other context, I wouldn't think this scene to be as heartwarming as it is." I said, nodding to myself.

"Well... I'm glad to see you've fully recovered, P-ko…" Neptune groaned out. "Boy, you're strong!"

"Right, Histoire you said you knew where we could find the daisy, right?" I asked.

"You're telling me THAT is where the Plant thingies are!?" Neptune said in shock as we stared up at the massive tower that pierced the clouds. The tower was surrounded by dark skies and a gloomy atmosphere.

"It's most commonly known as The Cursed Hell Devil Death Bloody Spectral Tower." Said U-Blanc. "My cheat guide says it's at the top, all the way at the 10,000th floor."

"Ten thousand floors!?" I exclaimed. "Jesus Christ, who makes a tower that tall!?"

"That name is not exactly comforting, are there like super strong monster up in there?" Asked Neptune in worry.

"Yes, to put it mildly." Said U-Vert to Neptune's dismay.

"We wouldn't normally come here either, not unless it was an emergency like this one." Said U-Noire.

"Wait… are you coming with us?" Asked Neptune.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad they are. I'd rather not go on a raid with only two people, especially with one of said people having been put under restrictions… no offense Neptune."

"It's dangerous to go alone. You and Bryce can't transform Neppy, so we'd feel real bad if you died." Said Plutia.

"And I'm coming too!" Said Plutia. "Cause you're so weak and all."

"Wow Plutie, thank you so much." Said Neptune, tears forming in her eyes. "You're the best, I love you guys!" I smiled, resting an arm around Neptune.

"And while they have a point, they aren't all right in that regard," I said, holding out my hand as the holographic CPU Memory formed. I nodded to the group before dismissing the hologram. "I at the very least am able to transform, so we'll have that under our sleeve."

"Yeah, why are you able to transform here when I can't! Talk about Unfair!" Neptune said, pushing my arm off her shoulder.

"It is most likely due to Bryce using a CPU Memory to become a CPU." Said Mini-Histoire. "The CPUs of this dimension becomes as such when they use a CPU Memory like Bryce did."

"How did you get your hands on a Memory anyways? Plutia said your dimension didn't have any." U-Noire asked.

"You can thank Plutia for that one. She apparently snuck one with her when she came to our dimension." I said.

"Actually, I kinda forgot I had it with me…" Said Plutia, looking off to the side.

"Of course you did…" U-Noire sighed.

"Listen! You have a tight time restraint, okay?" Said Histoire. "The gate back to your dimension opens in three hours and closes shortly after!"

"Yeah, how exactly do you even manage those gates anyways, there like a universal code for our dimension or something?" I asked.

"That's correct. It's not in any written language you would know, however." Said Mini-Histoire. "Here's this dimension's code for an example."

I watched as strange letters flew in front of us before they formed a single line of text. I felt myself laugh at this, before taking out my phone and snapping a picture of the code.

"What's so funny?" Asked Neptune.

"It's English!" I said as the others looked at me in confusion. "I know English was the business language of the world, but I didn't know the universe ran off it too!"

"You can understand it?" Asked Mini-Histoire.

"It literally translates to 'Ultra-Dimension'," I said with a laugh.

"Here." Said Plutia, handing me two timers, which immediately began to count down from three hours. I passed one over to Neptune as I strapped mine to my jacket.

"It's imperative you make it to that opening in time! If you miss it the next one isn't for three years!" Said Histoire.

"For real?" Neptune said.

"Shit, so we're on a really tight schedule then… We gotta hurry along then." I said, looking back at the tower. "But 10,00 floors… How are we going to make it up and down those floors in three hours, and still have time to get back to the basilicom?"

"According to the cheat book, there's apparently a warp point at the top of the tower that will take you back to the bottom." Said U-Blanc, scanning the lines of text on the book in her hands. "It's doable if we only have to take the trip one way."

"That's still a tall order though…" Neptune said with a sigh. I crossed my arms and looked back up at the tower.

"Well, we don't really have much time to stand around waiting here." I said cracking my knuckles. "We gotta get all up in there and wreck some shit till we get flowers yeah?"

"Yeah! Get ready you Cursed Blah Blah Tower, here we come!" Neptune shouted at the tower, throwing her arm up with a challenging smirk.

"Yeah!" Everyone else around me raised their arm in agreement. I continued to stare at the tower in uncertainty.

"I have a bad feeling about all this…" I muttered to myself silently.

"It sure was convenient that we found an elevator that takes us from floor 4 to floor 9,999! And they say cheaters never prosper!" Said Neptune as the elevator doors opened in front of us.

"Still, those four floors did eat away at our time more than I'd of liked. Just accessing the elevator was a chore with the enemies that were blocking the way…" I muttered, looking down at the timer. "Half an hour getting to the elevator, and two hours riding the damn thing up… We skipped a shit-ton of enemies but we only have half an hour left…"

"And it was really cramped in there too… I was getting a little sleepy…" Said Plutia.

"It says we have to find a warp point, that's the only way to get from here to the top." Said U-Blanc, looking down at her cheat guide once more.

U-Noire leaned over her shoulder. "What's that part about powerful monsters? This floor's loaded with them?" U-Noire asked.

"Yes, and they're here to great us." Said U-Vert, holding her hand up towards the approaching monsters. I watched with increasing dread as more and more seemed to pile up behind the initial row.

"They look like they're made of tough stuff." Said U-Blanc, before she rolled her neck with a satisfying crack as her eyes shadowed over, her left eye lighting up red as she cracked her knuckles. "Heh, this should be fun." There was a flash of colour as U-Blanc transformed, her HDD outfit gaining a red and white colour scheme that looked remarkably similar to the Famicom's look.

"I want to play too." Said U-Vert, as green light swirled around her form, before her HDD form stepped out, the colour design more black in comparison to the white of the Vert from our dimension.

"You just leave these punks to us!" Said U-White Heart.

"Go on ahead to the warp point." Said U-Green Heart.

"Thanks guys!" Said Neptune. "We'll gladly take you up on that offer."

"Let's get moving!" I said, picking Peashy up in a piggyback as we ran off to the side, leaving the army of monsters to the two transformed CPUs.

"Ah! Hey look Brick, there are two white thingies up there!" Said Peashy, pointing over my shoulder.

"Even in this dimension that typo finds route to torment me…" I muttered, before several flashes of light appeared before us, as a row of robotic monsters in knights armour spawned ahead of us. "Damn!"

"It appears we were too slow!" Said U-Noire, quickly flashing in a beam of light before she transformed into her CPU form, her outfit more grey than I last remembered.

"My turn too!" Said Plutia, as she also transformed into her CPU form.

"Alright you cretins, bring it on!" Yelled U-Black Heart.

"And don't worry Neppy, I won't let anything stop you from getting off." Said Iris Heart, looking back at us with a smirk.

"I'm going to ignore the double entendre there and just go." Said Neptune with a shaky laugh.

"Dammit… Beat me by two seconds." I said before we turned and ran down the side path as Iris Heart and U-Black Heart kept the monsters at bay.

"Found them!" Said Neptune as we slowed down to reach two famicom looking consoles, one with an 'Out' cartridge and one with an 'Up Stairs' Cartridge. Neptune began to reach for the 'Out' cartridge, before realizing her mistake and reaching over to the 'Up Stairs' cart. "Whoa! Almost picked the wrong one!"

Teleporting isn't something new, but it's still weird to experience as we warped up to the top floor. I let out a sigh of relief as my feet touched the ground. "And here we are, Top Floor!" Neptune cheered in victory.

"The flowers should be around here…" I muttered, looking down at the timer. "We got 24 minutes Neptune!"

"I'll help you find them!" Said Peashy, as she jumped off my back and began running down one of the halls.

"Yeah, let's split up!" Said Neptune as she ran down the hallway to the front.

I let out a breath before running down the hallway to my left.

"Where are they?" I asked myself, turning a corner. A faint scream filled my ears as I turned to my right, the sound getting louder. "Neptune?"

"Bryce!" Neptune screamed as she ran towards me with a bundle of flowers in her arms, followed closely behind by god damned dragon!?

"What the hell did you do this time to piss that thing off!?" I exclaimed.

"He's freakin' ginormous! Run for it!" Shouted Neptune, the dragon hot on her tail.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" I shouted, spinning on my heel and kicking off the ground, going into a full sprint as Neptune slowly caught up to me. "Oh god are we screwed!"

I swerved around a corner with Neptune close behind, only to see three other monsters blocking our way. Two of them were flying whales with horns on their heads and one was just a giant freakin' snake. "OH COME ON!" I shouted, before the wall behind us burst open as the dragon from two seconds ago joined the party. "AND THEN THERE'S THIS ASSHOLE!"

"Neptuna!" I looked over my shoulder to see Peashy charge past the snake and jump into the air, transforming in a flash of yellow before exiting the transformation as Yellow Heart as she kicked the dragon in front of us in an impressive show of moves.

"Thanks, P-ko!" Said Neptune.

"Neptuna, Brick, run, get out of here. Go home!" Said Yellow Heart before she charged back into the fray.

Neptune seemed to pause, before she nodded. "Right, give it your best!" She yelled back, as we turned around to run away from the fight and towards the warp point which was slowly coming into focus. "We're almost there!"

"Wah! S-stop do-oing tha-at!" I slowed to a stop as Yellow Heart was dragged from left to right by the giant snake as it wrapped its tail around Yellow Heart's leg. "Let me go!"

"Hey Bryce." Said Neptune, before I turned and pointed to the goddess before she could start. "Whu-"

"Don't. I know what you're thinking, but don't even think about it." I said.

"But P-ko needs help!" Said Neptune.

"Which is why you're going to that warp point, and I'm going to help Peashy." I said, narrowing my eyes. "You can't transform, I can. And I hate saying it but all you'll be is dead weight if you go try and help Peashy."

"But-" Neptune began before I cut her off.

"I'm not losing you!" I yelled, looking up at Neptune. "I've already lost so much… my world… my life… My hand that one time… Not you… Now go, we don't have much time left. You need to get back to the basilicom so you can get home."

"But you'll be stuck here!" Said Neptune.

"For three years, yeah." I said, turning back to Peashy. "But the alternative? What if you don't make it…? Just once, I don't want to be the guy sitting back and watching as the ones I love fight a battle I can fight just as much… I had enough of that when I first arrived… I'm not standing for that again…"

"...Come back." Said Neptune, as she pulled my face down and kissed me. We pulled apart a moment later as she stared into my soul.

"I understand. Besides, it's three years. I think I can find something to do to kill time with." I said with a smirk. I turned back towards Yellow Heart with a determined look on my face. "Now get going already! I think Nepgear has seen enough of the conquest ending to last a few life times with how long we've taken!"

"Got it!" Neptune shouted, running over to the warp point as I stared at the battle ahead of me.

"...Let's do this." I said, breaking into a sprint as I charged forwards. "Want some help, Peashy!?"

I crouched down before flying up, transforming midway before extending my armblade as I cut the tail holding Peashy up off the ground. "That was awesome!" I exclaimed, as I flipped into a superhero styled landing. "Bit hard on the knees though…"

"Brick? Is that you!?" Asked Yellow Heart as she floated down in front of me. "You're smaller now!"

"In this form, I'm known as the 'Purple Guardian'!" I said with a smug smirk, nose pointed upwards. "Yes yes, I am awesome!"

I looked up at the now taller Yellow Heart and gave her a challenging smirk. "Want to see who can take out the most?"

"Oh! You're on!" She yelled back as we both jumped into the air and charged the monsters.

"This… could've gone better…" I muttered, as I leaned against the stone wall for support, my transformation having failed moments ago. I stared up at the approaching monsters, as more and more seemed to spawn in. "This… this is just absurd!"

I looked to the side, watching as Yellow Heart was batted from left to right in rapid succession. I winced, both from the sight and the pain that wracked my body.

I looked ahead, watching as the giant dragon from before raised it's arm up once more.

"...Sorry Neptune… I don't think I'll be back in three years time…" I said, as the arm came crashing down.

"UUUUAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The scream ripped through my throat as I sat up, breathing heavily as my mind tried to analyse the area around me. I breathed deeply as muffled voices filled the blurry space around me. "W-wha? What just-?"

"He's awake!" Said a familiar voice as I felt someone crash into me, knocking me onto my back, knocking the air out of my lungs.

I looked up as my vision cleared up, showing Neptune's face overtop of mine. "Nep...tune?" I asked as I looked up. "Wait, what's going on?"

"You were stuck in a repeated look of bad endings." Said a voice to my left. I looked over to see Histoire, Nepgear, Vert, IF, Compa, Plutia and Peashy all standing a few feet away from me. Histoire continued. "It's all right, you're fine now."

"What? What are you talking about? Wasn't Nepgear and the other Candidates the ones with the Bad Ending Syndrome?" I asked in confusion. "And IF, Compa, weren't you two out in Leanbox for a guild mission? Why is Plutia and Peashy here? Weren't we just at that 10,000 floor tower place in the ultra dimension?"

"Wow… his dreams sure match up with our story…" Said Plutia, as the others stared at me with wide eyes.

"Huh?"

"Me and the others weren't infected Bryce, you were. You collapsed in front of me last night and were tossing and turning the entire time you were asleep." Said Nepgear.

"You had us worried there buster!" Said Neptune, getting off of me as she pointed at me with a glare.

"Huh?"

"I think he's broken…" Said Plutia.

"Typical…" Muttered IF as she shook her head.

"We'll explain the situation to you later, Bryce, but for now it's probably for the best you go and get some action rest now." Said Vert.

"...Oh… Okay?" I said in confusion, before closing my eyes and going back to sleep.

Seriously, what just happened!?

"Ugh…"

"Oh come on Bryce, it's not THAT bad…"

"I disagree, but you know what, you do you."

"Okay, we both know that's inaccurate-"

"And that's my cue to leave!"

"Oh come on!" Neptune said, rising to her feat as I stood up, walking a few feet ahead. "I said it before, it's not so bad. So what if you had to stop that side project due to numerous reasons out of your control?"

"And the lack of actual preparation for such a thing was something out of my control?"

"Psh, since when did you ever prepare anything since you got here?"

"I can think of several different moments."

Neptune shook her head with a smirk. "And half of them you thought up on the fly." She laughed. "I know you better than I know myself, so don't even try to deny that!"

"Considering Amnesia is a recurring trope with you, I wouldn't be surprised if you really did know me more than yourself."

"Hey! I take offense to that!"

"Good." I said, shaking my head. "I just… I feel like I'm letting everyone down, you know?"

"Like who, you, yourself and… What's the third word to replace I in this context?"

"And look at you using big words…!"

Neptune stuck her tongue out at me, as I let out a slight laugh. "...I just… I'm not good at thinking things through, you know… I do things on the fly without a second thought… it was like I had made the perfect cake, but decided I wanted to have just as big, if not a bigger pile of icing on top, and that just… This metaphor is falling apart."

I let out a sigh, before taking another look around. "Hey, where is Histoire and Nepgear anyways?"

"Hm? I think they're over at Lastation right now." Neptune noted, rubbing her chin. "Something about a… summer vacation I think, didn't get much info on that."

"Huh, well… That may be something to look forward to… Though actually I burn easy-"

"Oh no, you are not skipping out on this bucko! We have PLENTY of sunscreen to cover your pasty butt!"

"In the wise words of my wife, 'Oh my how lewd~'."

"Hey, that's my line!"