A/N: Oh yeah, this exists. MAILBAG. Going by the date they were posted, starting from the day after the "last" chapter was published. Fucking continuity.

Blaze1212: That's SWaS in a nutshell. Confusion, alcohol and the author being a fucking hack.

Ryan4ever2016: I really wanted Reinhardt, but I think Pharah worked better for the ""story"", what little sense that made. That and almost nobody used a different weapon, meaning the whole bullshit "memory" thing would have been wasted otherwise.

Koei Der Toten is simultaniously my magnum opus and a fucking mess. I love it.

Xbox432: And this is why I love user reviews, because despite my reading and rereading and careful research, I'm only human and will miss things. So thank you, this will be in fact rectified.

Also PRAISE TOM. PRAIIIISE.

AngelTheDragon1992: Thank you, and neither could I, that's why it took… two weeks, fuck.

YoshiChain: Aww, thank you! I do have to reread this myself in order to keep what little continuity I have strung together, but I think it's… Fine. Maybe.

Anyway, I've delayed long enough, let's see our hero!

(Current Music: Home Sweet Home - Rabi-Ribi)

Hefting a black bag of empty pumpkin spice beer across my shoulder, the cacophony of cans colliding filling my ears as I headed to the bin. Walking out into the Planeptune morning, the chilly air hitting my jacket as I headed for the dumpster.

Opening up the trash storage device, I peeked inside. It was surprisingly clean for you know, a dumpster. Tossing the bag with a shrug, I headed back into the Basilicom, the guards not giving a damn about security at this point. Or just recognizing me, one or the other.

Upstairs, IF had changed back to her usual outfit as she was poking Nepgear awake. The less time I have to look at her pantless thighs, the better. Histoire was at the sink, filling a metal bucket with water as I knew where that was going. Sitting down on the now cleared sofa, I audibly sighed.

"Rough night, huh?" IF sat down next to me, now having woken the sleeping Candidate up, shuffling off to her own quarters in order to change back, presumably. Wonder how she'd get her hair back to lilac.

Speaking of lilac…

"WAGH!?" Neptune yelled as freezing cold water splashed over her, soaking her entirely as she leapt out of the beanbag. "What the Nep just happened, why am I dressed as an anime protagonist? WHY AM I WET?"

"You drugged out on pumpkin spice and became competent." I answered simply. "We all did. Still, if you want to have a shower or something… Well, I'd wait until Sleeping Tsundy wakes up. Just… Trust me on that." I warned, almost wanting to see what would happen.

Neptune sighed uncharacteristically. "Well, it's a good thing this hair dye is waterproof, otherwise I'd be on cleanup duty in here."

"W-WHAT THE GOODNESS?!" I heard Nepgear yell from across the Basilicom. Oh yeah, I forgot she went to get changed too.

"Well, I think Noire's up now at least." I grabbed the tea I had made earlier before sipping it. "Mmm, that's good caffeine."

Neptune said nothing, but rushed to the bathroom anyway, either to help her sister or try to catch some sick Noire fanservice. I didn't care really, because this tea was damn fine.

"Well, good luck handling Nep." IF patted me on the back. "I got Guild work to do, fell behind finding you in Ultradimension." And with that she left, thanks Iffy.

Looking down, I noticed my own halloween outfit was still on. Swapping out into my Lowee duds this time, I laid down on the sofa, figuring out what the hell I should do today.

Wait a second… Lowee… Ultradimension…

(Music End)

OH FUCK.

Getting back up, I headed to Histoire. "Hey, Histy?" I hurriedly asked the flying encyclopedia.

"Oh, what seems to be the issue, Koei?" She asked innocently, not realizing how screwed I could have been.

"You get that portal to Ultradimension up and running yet, I juuuust realized that I have some unfinished business there."

Histoire's mouth opened up in a shocked manner. "Ah, yes! Plutia went back when it opened up earlier and according to my other self, it seems it is stable there too, why-"

"ThanksIJustHaveThingsToDoTodaySeeYa!" I grabbed my backpack, untouched since arriving home yesterday and rushed off to the portal…

Wait.

"I uh… Where's the portal?"

Histoire put a tiny hand to her face.

One trip to the brand new Ultradimension Transportation Rift(Trademark) later, I was back in the smaller Planeptune that I had barely become accustomed to, Still, what a lovely view of a lake this place has, as I stepped out from the rift, shaded by a nearby tree. The grass was a very grassy green as I headed down the path towards the tower shining off in the distance.

Of course, my UI Gloves couldn't connect to the non-existent Lastation servers, so I was stuck with what I had on my back as I wandered. Now that I had a general idea of where the hell I was, it didn't take that long to get to the alternate Basilicom as I headed up the elevator, noting that it wasn't a particularly new technology in my time so it makes sense in this… Era?

Whatever.

Ding

The sleepy CPU turned to look at me. "Oh, hey Kopey! I wanted to say bye-bye when the portal thingy opened, but you were spaced out, so I just left you to it. Anyway…" She collapsed onto the floor rather suddenly, passing out on the admittedly comfortable looking floor as the younger version of IF came out of hiding and started poking her body.

Yeah I'll just…

"She's been like this all day." An unexpected voice piped out of nowhere. Maybe I should walk out of the elevator. Walking out, there was the Shrine Maiden Blanc, sat on the sofa and holding Compa in her arms like a doll, who seemed to enjoy the attention at least.

"I uh…" I was rather understandably confused, as I just wanted to stop off to say hi to Plutia before making a mad dash to Lowee.

"Noire told me what happened. Or at least, what she knew. She saw a hole in the wall outside her nation, found a lab, pulled a switch and there you two were."

"I also took care of that blackmail for you. With prejudice." I cocked Peace for emphasis.

"Figured as much. After you headed back to your dimension, Noire requested my audience and asked if your "insane ramblings about the blackmail or other" were true. I told her they were true and we went from there. In the time you have been gone, she even introduced me to… Her." Blanc pointed to the curled up CPU on the floor, dreaming happily about things I couldn't repeat in front of minors. Or most sane people.

"So, me rushing over here in a panic because I forgot to tell you that the blackmail was destroyed was entirely unnecessary?" I sighed, knowing the inevitable answer already.

Blanc nodded. "Pretty much, yes. I appreciate you coming to check up on this dimension regardless. I've put you through a lot and it's now time for me to start working towards a brighter future along with the others. Just as I always wanted." Her smile faded a bit. "It is a shame I had to resort to such underhanded tactics before. I really cannot apologise enough. Not just to you, but Noire and these two as well." She lifted her head up again. "I am a changed CPU, Koei. There's no chains on me anymore. The Seven Sages will be exterminated, allowing us to live in peace at last."

I nodded. "Good to hear. Any other business?"

"Yes. Plutia wanted to thank you for looking after IF and Compa while she was gone." I almost interrupted her but she continued. "Yes, Noire looked after them more, but she already has a plush of Noire on the shelf." She pointed to said shelf, which had plushies of Plutia, Noire and now Blanc on there. Cute. "Anyway, she said to give you this as thanks." Putting down the chibi Compa, she walked over to a gift wrapped box, which she gave to me. "Consider it a gift from me as well."

Nodding again, I tore open the wrapping and opened to the box to reveal… Oh my god.

It was Iffy. In plush form. Very small, very cute with that "I'm trying to be cool!" scowl she usually wore. Her jacket felt just like her actual jacket to boot.

The following noises out of my mouth could almost be expressed as the epitome of joy and childlike glee as a high-pitched squee came from my mouth as I cuddled it. Hard. I may have been a little excited to have a matching little Iffy to carry wherever I went, okay? Stop judging. Plushies are cute.

"Heh, somehow I knew you'd react like that." Blanc smiled, sitting back onto the sofa, now with her own plush in her arms. "They're very well designed and I'm shocked at how fast she can make these."

"Probably why she's tired all the time. Too busy making these pushlies of all of us." I looked down at the dozing CPU, drool leaving her mouth. "She's a good kid."

"She is." Blanc agreed. "Would you like a cup of tea? I'm sure Histoire wouldn't mind you staying for a while."

I shook my head. "No, but thank you. I have things to do back home you see. Keep looking after Ultradimension in my stead, won't you?"

Blanc saluted. "That's a CPU's duty. Gamindustri will be safe under my stead."

I smiled, before heading back to the elevator. "Flip off Noire for me when you see her, she'll know who it's from."

I pushed the button and the doors closed before it descended back to the ground floor. I'm sure that Ultradimension will be fine in her hands. And the others, of course.

I mean there's those "Seven Sages" running about or whatever, but they have four CPUs at this point, they can handle most anything. Especially Peashy.

That tyke's gonna carry Planeptune.

The more places I discover in these versions of Gamindustri, the more fucking backtracking I have to do between home and whatever place I discover. At least Blanc wasn't in Lowee this time. That would have been a trek, as my still aching knee could attest to, starting to act up again after a while of walking through both Planeptunes.

Eventually I made it back to the Basilicom, with the same old guards, same old elevator, same old Neptune in her same old outfit sitting around doing fuck-all.

Then again, she seemed to be slightly less Neptune than usual. Probably her first real hangover, hah.

"So, Nep." I sat down suddenly next to the person I acknowledged as my superior in name only. "Ya got any plans today, or?"

"As much as I'd like to take the day off, Histy will be on my butt if I don't get to doing something soon after last night…" She rubbed her temple. "Ugh, I haven't felt this rough since I fought that dragon all that time ago. Took all of my might just to drive that git off."

"Perhaps you both could simply check on Planeptune's Artifact, the Ring of Continual Progression?" Histoire flew down to meet us eye to eye, helpfully suggesting something that doesn't sound like some epic quest.

"Oh yeah, I know where that is." Neptune got up, alibet with less zest than she usually had. "Come on Koei, let ol' Neppers show you the greatest artifact in Planeptune!"

I nod, getting up and checking my inventory as she rushed off without me into the elevator, closing behind her as it vrrr'd down.

I looked at Histoire, who looked back at me. "At least she's excited to do work?" Histoire shrugged with her little fairy arms.

I shook my head as I double checked my equipment. Healing, check. Serenity, Peace and Tranquility, check. Flask of whiskey, double check. Despite the hangover, having some on hand might be useful for dealing with Neptune on a one-on-one basis.

Ensuring that everything was in place, I headed down the elevator myself. Neptune wasn't there, so I assumed she was outside, but taking a peek outside, she wasn't there either.

"Hey, wait up!" Neptune jogged towards me from another room in the Basilicom, a hand quickly removing itself from her vest pocket as her jacket bounced with her movement, which distracted me somewhat.

"Hey." I wave nonchalantly, ignoring the view I was graciously gifted. "So, we going to see this ring, or not?"

"Of course!" Neptune struck a pose dramatically. "It's just north of here, residing in a place called LAN Castle, a long forgotten relic of an ancient era, guarded by my predecessor, CPU Uranus." She announced boldly.

I'll admit, it was fairly dramatic up until URANUS. I coughed to hide my immature snickering, which she seemed to buy. Seemed to anyway.

"Anyway, it'll be quite the journey for you, young adventurer. Are you prepared to face trials and tribulations, alongside the beautiful and insanely competent CPU of Planeptune?" Neptune continued to be dramatic despite my incredulous look.

"Cut the dramatics or your journey will be a solo act, Shakespeare." I state in no uncertain terms, causing her to pout slightly before rolling her eyes playfully.

"Fiiiine. But we're having banter. The readers would get annoyed if you just smash-cut straight to the objective again."

I blinked, not understanding what she meant. As usual. "Uh, sure."

Thus we headed out into the chilly Planeptune morning, glad I put on my Lowee gettup before I headed out. Even with the trip to Ultradimension that ultimately ended up being a waste of time, but confirmation was nice, I guess.

"So…" I try to pipe up during our trek through Planeptune, eyeing Neptune up and down and noticing that she wasn't in the parka she returned from Lowee in when she brought back Serenity. "I see that you're not in your parka, despite the weather being chilly."

Neptune looked down at herself, making note of her small jacket. "Oh yeah, guess I forgot to put that on." She turned back to me. "CPUs don't really feel cold, though. We just wear clothes as a formality."

I blinked. "That explains the lack of pants." We were approaching the edge of Planeptune at this point, the buildings thinning out to reveal a grandiose plain, with what seemed to be a castle off in the distance.

"What, you think we'd be able to use our HDD if we felt the cold?" Neptune replied. "That was one of my first questions too, heh. But yeah, keep that on the down-low. Last person who found out about that wanted me to strip to make sure I wasn't some form of android."

I… "Yeah, I think I've heard enough about CPU biology for now. Why did you store an ancient and powerful ring so far away anyway?"

Neptune looked lost for words. After a moment or two she seemed to remember. "Riiight, so we decided that it'd be safer under Uranus' watch, rather than in the Basilicom because who's going to look in a monster infested ruin for an ancient treasure, right?"

I shrugged. "That was where the CPU Memory was in Ultradimension, to be fair."

Neptune rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh Plutie, always leaving ancient rocks of mystery and wonder in the most random places, heh. How was she, anyway?"

"Passed out on the floor of the Basilicom, sleeping happily. Looked tired, probably was the plush." I took out the Iffy plush I now proudly owned and squeezed her for emphasis, the cozy body comforting me, even as we were apart.

"Looks hella cozy." Neptune complimented, seeming to know Plutia's craft well, despite barely knowing her.

Dead silence between us as I continued to squeeze the smaller, cuddlier version of IF, trekking ever-closer to LAN Castle. It looked to be fairly drab, with beige walls and brown roofs covering the thing. Obviously with it being a castle, it had a moat with a lowered bridge, which is pretty typical castle fare.

"I'm shocked that something like this would be so near Planeptune's border." I mused aloud. "Knowing you it'd be torn down to make some form of pudding factory."

Neptune averted her eyes. "I… Don't know what you're on about. Those rumors remain completely unsubstantiated and it did not take Histy threatening my life to stop that idea." She specifically denied, rather odd.

I blinked. "Right. So shall we?"

Eagerly nodding, Neptune led the way into the open doors of the castle… Wow.

"Welcome to LAN Castle, Koei." Neptune introduced the eponymous location.

"Neptune, it looks like nobody's lived here for at least a century." I stated simply, looking at the entrance.

"Sounds about right." Neptune shrugged back.

(Current Music: History of Collapse - Re;Birth 2)

Needless to say this place fell to shit. It less resembled a castle and more a ruin. The walls were covered with mould, with the various pottery scattered around being in various states of shattered. The rug in front of me looked like it had never been washed with generations of dirt trodden into it. Despite being perfect daylight outside, the windows were stained enough to give an eerie orange glow to everything. The plants gradually invading through said windows did not help matters. Up in the shockingly high ceilings was very poorly lit, but I could see something up there. I looked to Neptune, who had a similar look of worry. We silently agreed to head further in.

Taking Serenity out to keep it close by as we wandered, the sounds of tapping shoes were the only sound to be heard as we explored the abandoned castle. "So, do you know why this place was built in the first place?" I asked the resident CPU, who had her own blade by her side.

"I… Don't know." She answered simply. "All I know about this place is what the rumors say. Ancient ruin watched over by the spirit of Uranus. If I knew this place was such a dump I would have tried to clean it up or something…"

Rustling came from behind us. Turning around, a giant dark tarantula crawled down from the wall, the fur being as dark as the night and the purple hide indicating it was not to be fucked with.

"Do you know how to impale a spider on a sword?" I asked Neptune, nerves in my voice as we prepared to fight.

"Well, generally stabbing them is a good idea." She quipped before charging forward, performing a front flip, slicing the arachnid in half while upside down. Needless to say it was overly stylish and I tried my best to distract myself from the view I got from the flip. Fancy footwork aside, Neptune's underwear matched her socks and I could feel IF's hatred from here. People really need to learn about pants.

"Phew, that was overly flashy, huh?" Neptune winked at me for no particular reason. I think she pulled what she did for as the kids say, "fanservice".

Either way, I wasn't appreciative of the panty glance, as indicated by me shooting at Neptune. "Gah! What the heck, Kopey? You nearly shaved off my ruggish looks."

"There was a spider behind you." I lied through my teeth. "Faded into data. Also call me Kopey again and the next shot is going for your head."

Neptune pouted. "Aww, but Kopey is so cu-"

I cocked Peace for emphasis.

"Fine. I mean, I could ignore you anyway, I am Histoire's boss, which makes me your boss' boss." She puffed out her chest smugly.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh sure, now you pull rank on me. Honestly, I think I'd listen to NepG before you."

Neptune feigned hurt. "Oh Koei! How you wound me so…"

I ignored her as I trudged deeper into the castle. Despite the fact it fell to complete shit, it was still rather picturesque. Could use a touch up here or there… As in the whole place probably needed a good dusting. Considering how big this place is, it would be a difficult task, to say the least. I think I'd just rent out an apartment to live in instead of sorting this hellhole out.

Turning down one of the halls, I saw something that made my blood freeze. Thick muscles covered in scales ran up the beast's thighs, with the torso being similarly well-built. Along with this, two pairs of meat tearing claws glinted with malicious intent, as I was thankful that I couldn't see the face of this predator. Hopefully he didn't see mine as I stepped back, supporting myself on Neptune's shoulder as I suddenly felt weak.

"... Let's take a different route." I said with no emotion, not wanting to engage with it if possible.

Neptune took one look at my face, nodded solemly and started to trek back, her arm over my shoulder as we walked back. Thankfully the castle seemed to have a few corridors that we hadn't explored yet, so going through one of those new rooms could lead to better results as I regained my resolve and got off of her soft shoulder.

"Sorry 'bout that." I rubbed my head. "Didn't think there'd be a dragon hanging out in these ruins. Seems I'm not ready to face one again."

Neptune said nothing as we continued on ,thankfully finding a set of stairs that led down, which meant we were unlikely to run into the overgrown lizard again.

"Heh, forgot where the ring was stored anyway." Neptune spoke up with some embarrassment. "Histoire told me to move it after a near-miss we had involving some petty thief who managed to get through everything."

Sounded like Linda. I hadn't seen her since the poundcakes incident and was sort of glad for it. She was a pain to deal with, but I did miss the simplicity of those days. In a sense she even helped bring about the treaty, which is pretty neat when I thought about it.

"So it should be down here?" I ask as we walked through the damp tunnels of the underground section, hearing the scuttling of spiders above us again made me uneasy as we pushed on regardless.

Neptune remained silent, though the worry on her face said more than enough about the dawdling we were doing. Or maybe she was afraid from my little weak spell before. It was hard to tell in the relative darkness. Eventually, we reached a large wooden door covered in moss. Despite how damp the door was, it seemed to hold together well as I pushed down on the fancy metallic handle, rusted by age and hefted the heavy door open.

It led to a well lit room, at least. With Neptune closing the door behind us, we walked in further. It was far larger than any other of the rooms and had several statues placed around the circular room, almost serving as a…

"Welcome to the Planeptomb." Neptune stated solemnly again, seeming to lack her usual energy. "This is where the the previous Planeptune CPUs are remembered after their passing."

I looked around and saw several different past CPUs that I never saw before, all with varying designs in costume and height. Due to them all being gray stone however, I couldn't distinguish any notable features that set them apart, aside from the plaques.

"Here lies Uranus, taken by a lack of faith." I read the eponymous CPU's plaque, wanting to snark about that description, but this was a place of rest so it didn't feel right. Walking to the left, I saw a blanked out plaque, as if someone had scrubbed the engravings right off, which was odd. Looking up, the statue showed a girl with spiraling hair on both sides of her head, along with a shield on her left arm and a strange device that looked like a portable console on her right. Aside from a lack of pants (Though she could have been wearing stockings, I couldn't tell), the only other defining feature was an oddly familiar cap adorning her head, along with two bunny-ear like protrusions. I didn't think too much of it, coincidences are pretty easy to shrug off. Walking to the left, I saw more statues. Thirteetwo Hex, Mega CeeDee, Plutia, Mastah Syst-

"Plutia!?" I walked back to the previous statue and sure enough, there was Iris Heart, stood in her intimidating statue glory. Considering she was at least twice the size of her usual height and had that sensual glare to her, I took time to step away from the big, scary woman. Statue or not, that shit was scary.

"Huh." Neptune noted, some positivity back in her voice. "You know, now that you point it out, I guess there was a Sadie as one of my predecessors. That's both fascinating and terrifying."

On that note, I headed back to the statue of Uranus. Not just because it was the final statue, but because I felt something when I stood in front of it before. As I stood in front of it, I felt a presence.

"Ah, there you are." A mature, dignified voice spoke up, shocking me slightly. "Do not be alarmed, my spirit remains here in order to protect LAN Castle."

"Some protection." I snarked, remembering the giant fucking dragon lurking within.

"There is only so much protection I can provide as a spirit." She admitted with some embarrassment. "However, I did guard the Planeptunian artifact for many years until recently…"

"Until recently?"

"Yes, for you see-"

"Just petty theft, eheh!" Neptune interrupted unconvincingly as I stared at her incredulously. Thinking back, why was she exploring the Basilicom when she was supposed to be waiting for me? When was the ring supposedly stolen? Did they have a lead on it?

In that moment, the penny dropped.

"Neptune… You have the ring, don't you?"

Neptune's blood froze, eyes locked on me. "N-no?" She spoke, lies emanating from her lips as she nervously attempted to weasel her way out of this situation.

Sighing internally, I reached into her pocket and felt cool metal. Pulling it out to the shock of the CPU, I inspected it. It was indeed a ring, made of platinum or silver, shining brightly from reflected light, an amethyst embedded within and the word "Progression" carved into the metal, much akin to Serenity.

This was all I could analyse before Neptune snatched the ring from me. "Hands off! I lied, alright?" Neptune sighed to herself before inspecting the ring. "You were right about the ring being safer in the Basilicom, it's where it was stored before I took it this morning."

I blinked. "But why?"

Neptune started to lightly toss the ring in her hand. "Well, it'd be fairly boring if we just saw the ring in the Basilicom, plus I wanted to visit LAN Castle to check up on Uranus." She explained, not breaking eye contact. "That and as the CPU of Planeptune…" She stopped tossing the ring as she put it on her right ring finger. "I feel that I should test you to see if you are worthy of Progression."

She lifted her katana above her head as a purple bolt of lightning struck the metal blade, charging it with energy. "Let's rock."

HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!

Koei

Vs.

Stormbreaker Neptune

Ready?

FIGHT!

(Current Music: Sudden Death - Rabi-Ribi)

Of course Neptune would want to fight me. I didn't want to, but here I am. Dodging her first katana slash, I noticed that her blade was in fact, crackling with energy. Neat trick, but it also meant that blade to blade combat could get messy, as I pulled out Peace and fired a few shots at the slash-happy goddess, impacting her in the chest but not leaving any visible damage. Something about setting them to stun, I guess.

"Aw come on Koei, I'm not even using HDD, put the gun away." Neptune attempted to reason with me and it worked for some ungodly reason as I put Peace away.

"Attacking the girl with an electric sword with my own sword, this seems reasonable." I mutter to myself before Neptune span around quickly, forcing me to put up Serenity in defense to avoid my rugged looks for gaining a gnarly scar. To my surprise, I wasn't shocked when the blades collided. Several more slashes and blocks later, I was completely unphased by the lightning imbued blade.

Neptune gained a grin. "More like it. A fair duel between two swordsmen." Which was right, I guess. Going on the offensive, I attempted to strike Neptune several times with little success, as the tyke was agile enough to dodge each slash without much issue, retaliating with a lightning infused strike that blew me backwards from the sheer force. Even without HDD, Neptune was a formidable foe, especially when equipped with Progression.

"You fight well, Neptune." I noted, spinning Serenity in my hand. I realize that in a sense, this is a duel between Lowee and Planeptune, with the artifacts being pitted against each other. "But this can't last forever."

Neptune nodded. "I agree, this fight could get played out very quickly. So I shall deal the final blow! VICTORY SLASH!" She braced herself before pushing herself forward, somehow phasing through me while slashing twice. After a moment, she snapped her fingers and I suddenly felt pain in my chest as I fell over. Whatever she did, it was fancy and it hurt like hell.

Recoiling in sheer agony, I could barely see Neptune's shoes as she bent down. "Did I go too far?"

Shaking my head, I slowly felt something building up inside of me, and it wasn't gas. This feeling kept increasing as I slowly but surely got back up, the pain adding to my rage as I struggled to keep balance. At the same time however, this strength almost forced me to stand.

This fire in my veins…

It felt like I had been in a coma since coming to Gamindustri, so in a sense…

I had Awoken.

(Koei's Theme - No Pain No Game - Btooom!) (Either the EileMonty or AmaLee versions work.)

Neptune's grin could split her face in two, despite the imminent pain coming her way. "I see that I've pushed you to Awaken." Neptune pointed her katana at me. "Now, show me your new power!"

Complying, I used my newfound strength to launch myself into the air with an Airbolt, before surprising Neptune with a slash to the back, which rather funnily did not damage her clothing. Not taking kindly, Neptune span around and slashed back, but I blocked the blade, causing some recoil as the strike had a lot of force behind it. It seemed that Neptune was holding back her true strength. Was. Now it seemed that Neptune was fully intending on carving me a new face hole, but in the most friendly way possible.

Of course, I wasn't going to take it lying down, as she charged, dodging several electric slashes before responding in kind with a spin followed by a powerful slash aimed right at her blade, charging mana into the blade itself from my gloves as pain surged through my chest. I probably overdid it with the charging, but I wanted to end this.

The clashing of steel indicated that I hit my intended target, but despite the force behind my strike, Neptune stood firm and silent, matching my strength exactly, but it almost felt like she was still holding back as I forced myself to step back before the CPU could overpower me. Credit where credit's due, when Neptune gets serious, she fights hard. We stared each other down for a moment, preparing for the next strike.

Of course, the adrenaline was still burning in my veins, so this didn't last long as I took aim at Neptune with Serenity and fired several shots of Frostblast. Yes, several. It seemed that this Awakened form had some form of multi-spell shot, though I did feel some pain post-cast, so maybe I should only use it in dire circumstances. Does this count as dire?

I quickly dodged a slash that Neptune threw at me while contemplating, which was my own fault admittedly. Not one to be caught out twice, I fired another Frostblast as I flew back, looking behind me to make sure I didn't hit a statue. Turning back, Neptune was caught off guard and as such, one of her legs was now frozen to the ground. Ah, I love Serenity.

Preparing for one final strike, I rushed towards Neptune, who was still trying to get her trapped leg out of the frozen prison before seeing the glint of Serenity. But it was too late as my blade swung towards her torso… I realized what I was doing and let go of Serenity before the blade could reach anywhere close to her chest, causing the blade to fly to the other side of the room.

(End Music)

With the clattering of Serenity, I felt my adrenaline fade as I returned to my usual mood. Whatever that Awakened mode did was powerful, but I did feel pretty tired afterwards, if my lethargic stroll to my blade was any indication. A quick inspection showed that whoever reforged Serenity went all out, as it barely looked changed. Oh right, Neptune. I fired a Flameall at Neptune's leg, the lower power of the move hopefully not singing her.

As the ice melted, I noted that the ice simply faded away rather than melting. Her leg now free, Neptune gave it a hefty shake for good measure, before turning to look at me. Saying nothing, Neptune too the chance to dust herself off and unequip Progression.

"I'm shocked, honestly." Neptune stated. "Not that I was in any real danger, but the fact that you managed to pull out a win with only Serenity."

I shrugged. "Blind luck and that Awakened mode are what caused me to "win", I doubt Serenity would have done any lasting damage. At least, I doubt."

Neptune proceeded to put her arm on my back. "Well, I could have gone HDD at any point if I was truly in danger of getting hit. This was just meant to be a tutorial battle."

I blinked. Right, she could do that, even despite the self-imposed rules. Thinking back to her Victory Slash made me uneasy, however. "You know that Victory Slash hurt, right?"

Neptune started to walk out the chamber as I followed suit. "Well yes, but I needed some way to trigger your Protagonist Aura in a contained environment. If it makes you feel any better, I put way less power into it, but Progression would have still made it hurt, because nerves and electricity and-"

I put my hand up to stop her. "You're sounding too smart Neptune, what's up?" We were slowly heading back out, hitting the staircase that led back to the surface,

"Rude." Neptune quipped back, before putting her arms to the back of her head. "People give me hell for my "lazy" personality, but I have a good head on my shoulders when I want to. I just don't want to be serious all the time, ya know? I'm a CPU sure, but all work and no play makes Nep-Nep a genocidal maniac."

I stayed silent in regards to that, wondering if it was a reference to previous events in Planeptune or something she fabricated entirely. "Regardless, Planeptune has always been the safest Nation." Neptune pondered aloud. "We have reasonable weather, advanced technology that isn't polluting the air and a geographical location that allows us to keep trade at a reasonable price, all things one of my rivals lack." She turned to me, one eye closed. "The Pissty lectures started to sink in after a while and it made me realize that we're pretty set in terms of Shares."

I blinked multiple times, as I had no response to that well-constructed and probably entirely bullshit argument. "That and between Nep Jr., Histy and now you, I can afford to slack off as much as I do,"

Now that I could argue. "Shouldn't you be more proactive when it comes to your people? Hell, isn't Purple Sister still a rumor?"

Neptune's face froze for a moment, processing the fact that I just remembered that her younger sister had a hott- cute- a CPU form. "Oh yeah. I should probably get on that before the next arc starts and the world goes to shit. Again. See if Histy can't do something for me when we get back."

That was more like the Neptune I knew. I smiled as we exited LAN Castle, back into the Planeptune daytime.