A/N: It's over. It's fucking over. As of writing, the main story is complete. I have mixed feelings over this… But I'll wait until the story is over to elaborate.

For now… Why not, hey Neptune. Want to take care of the mail?

(Can do!) - Neptune

AIght. I'mma head out.

(... Oh my god he's actually fucking crying. - Neptune)

It's just a terrible day for rain. *sniff*

(Right. Onto the mail before this becomes a shitshow. More of one.

Ryan4ever2016: Yeah, Koei is certainly thing. Hopefully the reference to MLP is just a one off, it might alienate people otherwise.

YoshiChain: Hclegend? References? Pffft, absurd. (Though he has been reading a lot of HA-V3N lately.) Still, Sadie is quite the threat. Think Koei would go up against her? - Neptune)

THIS IS STILL T-RATED!

(Whatever! Oh shoot, I'm on in two! Catch you later! - Neptune)

Later. Alright, I'm better. Mostly. Might as well do some admin. As I said, the story is finished. I'm taking a break from writing to maybe focus on my other story, but the next two chapters will be released over the next fortnight. The final chapter that serves an epilogue will be released on February 1st, a day after the finale.

Not long left.

Back to it.

Neptune stared at me, death in her dark pink eyes as I did the same. While the eyes were a subtle tipoff that something was wrong with her, the purple aura that surrounded her wasn't. Either way, I had to fight her, lest she hurt Histoire or anyone else.

Granted I was going to duel a physical goddess and that thought hadn't really occurred before, but- SHITTING CHRIST

My inner monologue was interrupted as Neptune suddenly charged at me, forcing me to be defensive as I swung Serenity to match the blade's position, trying to force the blade away as I played defensively. I had a stat boost while fighting in Planeptune supposedly, so I might as well try and take advantage of it. Realizing that her angle of attack was impenetrable, Neptune pulled herself back before flipping over me, attempting to strike my exposed back. Good thing she's tried that before, as I parried her attempted strike just in time as I ignored her distracting panty shot. This was serious, dammit!

Speaking of serious, I pulled out Peace and spammed a few shots at her, one nailing her in her flat chest causing some recoil, but she quickly bounced back afterwards. Not much more than a stun as I expected from a CPU as hardy as her, but it was enough to pull out my ace.

Quickly accessing my inventory, I pulled out Progression and it on my right ring finger. Just in time, as Neptune attempted to strike during my fumbling before a burst of lightning knocked her back. Giving a shit eating grin, I raised Serenity to the sky as purple lightning struck it, giving it the same sparking power as it did for our duel previously.

But now the lightning was on my side. "I am the lightbringer." I said simply as I swung Serenity, unleashing waves of lightning at the possessed CPU who barely dodged the projectile attacks as she leapt towards me, intending to strike from above.

But I expected this, as indicated by Peace already being in my left hand, the purple power of Progression empowering the pistol as I shot Neptune square in the chest again, knocking her a pretty fair distance back as she landed with a thud, rolling across the ground. While it was more powerful, I assume a lot of the damage there was from her being in midair at the time.

Slamming her free hand onto the ground, Neptune got back up and shook her head. She wasn't out of the fight yet, even with the advantage I had. Fine by me.

Taking a few potshots with Peace, I put it back as I gripped Serenity in both hands as I quickly swung upwards before she could strike, surprising her as the energy empowered slash nailed her in the chest once again, tearing at her jersey but not really doing any lasting damage.

"You're getting bold. Time to punish that arrogance." Neptune used a word I'd never thought I'd hear from her lips as she charged forward. "Cross Combination!" A series of sword slashes were countered by my own blade before a slash upwards knocked Serenity out of my hands as Neptune slashed down at my undefended face.

Ting!

Metal met metal as A familiar whip sword was now wrapped around Neptune's blade. "I must say, this fight has excited me to a fever pitch." Iris Heart stepped into view before pulling Neptune's katana out of her hands. "Now that the minors are gone, I can have some fun… Kopey, if you don't mind?"

I nodded without thinking as I stepped back, quickly turning around and heading towards Serenity before ducking back into the Basilicom. I saw death and pent up sexual frustration in those eyes and this was still T-Rated, dammit!

Closing the Basilicom's front door behind me, I breathed a sigh of relief. That very nearly went pear-shaped, even if it meant that Neptune would get some special treatment from the psychopathic sadist, it meant my face remained scar-free for another day.

Having nothing better to do, I went back to the room that previously contained Progression and looked back into that room. If I wasn't going to be fighting, I might as well find out about this Uzume.

Heading down the stairs, I found myself back in the room full of computers and the cryostasis tube. Approaching one of the terminals, I tried to type something in only to be met with a warning message.

"DATA ENCRYPTED. PLEASE CONSULT MANUAL. Fuuuuuuuuck." I put my head in my hands as I groaned. Nothing could ever be easy now, could it?

"Wait, is there someone down here?" Histoire's voice came from the stairs as she floated into view. "I thought access to this room was absolutely forbidden to everyone."

I shrugged. "Nobody stopped me the last time. I should have said something earlier, but you were…"

Hsitoire rubbed her small head. "Y-yes. I apologise if I caused you any distress. It seems those memories of Uzume were locked away." She looked at the monitor as her mouth became an O. "Oh! Give me a moment, I should be able to…" Floating over to the computer, she started to hit some keys, text appearing on the screen too fast to read. For a tiny book fairy, she sure has a hell of a WPM.

After a few minutes of typing, the screen changed to one that showed several logs. While I couldn't read much, Uzume's name cropped up a few times, as did Histoire and Uranus. "Yes, I see…" Histoire muttered as she continued to read and remember what happened. "I remember everything now. Koei."

I snapped back to reality after hearing my name. "Huh?"

"You've probably figured this out, but Uzume and I… We go back quite a while. She was the CPU of Planeptune when I first became an Oracle, but…"

"But?"

"Well as you might expect, an incident happened. One that scarred Planeptune and caused a massive drop in Shares. Uzume felt nothing but shame and offered to freeze herself in cryostasis in exchange for wiping her off the records entirely, essentially making her time as CPU non-existent. No trace of her was left aside from here."

"And in LAN Castle." I nodded solemnly. "But nobody would go that far into the castle and even then… Well, the statue's plaque was wiped off too, just leaving the statue."

Histoire put a hand to her chin. "I didn't know that. Strange, I swore I wiped all traces of Uzume Tennoboushi off the public and private records…"

I shrugged. "It was her CPU form that was the statue, not her human one. Probably some strange exception and again, doesn't really matter."

Histoire nodded her head in response. "A-Alright. But that doesn't explain why you're down here."

I crossed my arms. "The Nations are being invaded by both unknown monsters and the CPUs. I have a suspicion that it was Uzume behind these attacks. An alternate Neptune tried to assassinate me on her orders too. Whoever she is, she wants blood."

Histoire nodded solemnly. "I see. Then this is a major crisis. Do you have Progression?"

I stuck out my ring finger. "Still got it equipped from my earlier fight with Neptune, who is being… subdued by the Planeptune CPU of Ultradimension as we speak."

"YES! SCREAM FOR YOUR MISTRESS!"

"N-NEPU!"

Histoire shuddered. "Truly we have crossed a threshold if we consider her to be a valued ally. Regardless, I'll have to trust you with Uzume herself, won't I?"

I put my hands in my pockets as I sheepishly looked away. "Yeaaaah, I don't actually know how to get to her. I mean I could turn off the cryostasis cha-"

"Not a chance." Histoire stated firmly. "If she's attacking Planeptune already, releasing her physical form would lead to disaster." Floating over to the monitor with the status on it. She read it quickly. "Mental status… Unstable. I see."

"You see?"

Floating over to a cloth, she pulled it out, revealing a chair with a helmet attached to the top of it. "I was afraid this would happen one day, so I had Planeptune's top scientists design this chair. It will connect your mind to Uzume's, allowing you to explore her mind and heart in order to confront her directly."

"Seems like something out of Inception so far." I wave my hand in a "Go on" gesture.

"Well, I've never heard of this "Inception" but needless to say if you die in her dream, you'll have a cardiac arrest and…"

"Just like Inception, The Matrix, Tron, Sword Art Online..." I rattle off media that has used the "Most Dangerous Video Game" trope. "It's a pretty common thing."

Histoire sighed. "I wondered where the scientists got the idea from. Regardless, you should know the danger that Uzume possesses if she knows her world is a dream or simulation if she's somehow affecting the real world."

I walked over to the chair and sat down. "Yeah I get it, I've played Saints Row 4. Absolute power over reality, she could kill me with a thought, try to stay stealthy, let's get on with it."

Histoire sighed as she put the helmet on my head, floating over to a lever that presumably turned on the device. "I'll inform Neptune and the others once they come to. You'll have your equipment in there, but aside from that, you're on your own. Good luck, Koei."

With that she flipped on the machine and I promptly tripped the fuck out. I'd never really used VR, but something tells me this was nothing like VR as I felt my mind melt before I blacked out very suddenly.

"Koei? Koeiiiii? Honeybun, come on, get up!" IF's voice roused me awake as I rubbed my head. Strange, I don't remember drinking last night. Why do I feel like someone knocked me out?

Regardless, I rolled out of my double bed, following the voice into the kitchen. Looking around, my now fiance was cooking breakfast in her new Planeptune Purple jacket, a lily replacing her usual leafy hair decoration. "Mornin' honeybun!" She smiled at me warmly as she went back to cooking. I briefly caught a glimpse of a gold ring on her left hand, rather appropriately decorated with an amethyst and emerald in the shape of a heart, implying that a Leanboxian and Planeptunian found love despite their differences.

I can remember that but not what the fuck happened to me last night. My brain works in weird ways, I swear. Looking at the clock on the wall, I gasped. "Bugger! No time for breakfast, darling!" I gave her a peck on the cheek as I started to head towards the door.

"Your jacket and hat are on the door! Have a lovely day, honeybun!" She yelled at me happily as I grabbed said purple jacket and matching hat and put them on, adjusting the cap to better fit on my head as I left the apartment we shared.

Walking out of the apartment tower, I breathed in the air of my new home, the shining utopia greeting me and making me remember that this was my lovely home.

(Current Music - Sailing of a Daydream - Megadimension Neptunia VII)

Taking a quick look around, I remembered I was going to be late to work as I headed off to the Basil- wait, wrong place. Shaking my head, I headed in a direction that seemed random, but was on my mental checklist as my new workplace.

Planeptune itself was bustling with life as I saw people out and about in their daily lives, nary a fuck to give in the world. Why would they? The place was a utopia with the recent change in management making waves throughout the Nation.

Lady Purple Heart had stepped down officially, opting to retire and become a local celebrity among her citizens, acting as more of an adventurer for hire than a Goddess. This allowed Lady Lilac Heart to step up and lead Planeptune to a grand new future. Of course NepG would end up as head CPU one day, it only made sense.

I realized I was at my place of work when I reached the large double doors of a recently constructed military base. Two Basilicom guards stood in front of it, weiling the latest in Planeptune/Lastation firearms to ward potential trespassers away. I wasn't one of those, as I flashed my Staff ID and stepped aside without a word as I headed into work.

The base was bustling with more life than usual for some reason. Sure there was the Planeptune Special Forces, a military group dedicated to doing Guild work that was too much for normal adventurers, but there were also more… females than I remember, not dressed in Planeptune uniforms, but in various odd outfits. Whatever, sure my secretary will explain once I get to my office.

Some half-hearted greetings to my subordinates later, I was at the door of my office. "Koei Tech: Commander in Chief." The plaque read proudly in gold. I must admit it was more of an ego booster than anything else, hence why I insisted on using some of my paycheck on it.

Unlocking the door, I opened it up and entered my officer. A large wooden desk with a desktop and various bits of paperwork laid on it with a large purple leather chair at the back. Various filing cabinets full of boring paperlook were scattered around the place, but it was clean despite that.

Sitting down, I did my daily routine of checking my email, followed by sorting through any new paperwork I had received since yesterday. Ah, this was the life. A loving fiance, a steady job as the head of Planeptune's military and I'm buddies with the top brass at Planeptune so any insane requests I had for Lady Lilac Heart would be at least checked out by her.

Most of the time she rejected said proposals, such as the one for a dubstep based defense system for the Basilicom, but sometimes she'd do something like approve a plan to cross Planeptune's advanced technology with Lastation's military might to develop brand new weaponry never seen in Gamindustri before. Truly we live in blessed times!

A ringing from my desktop interrupted me. Taking the call, a girl with red hair and eyes with black hair ribbons appeared on the screen. "Commander, I have news for you."

I scratched my head. "That's great uh… You?" I genuinely forgot who the hell this was. I'd forgotten everything before this morning, but remembered a lot of things as I woke up. "Sorry, my memory isn't quite what it used to be."

The girl sighed dramatically, her pigtails bobbing. "I'm Kotori? You know, the commander of Fraxinus? We met yesterday after the rift between our worlds opened up?"

I guess that did happen. "That explains the giant fucking spaceship in Planeptune's airspace. Long as Lilac Heart pays for parking…"

She stuck a lollipop into her mouth, the end sticking out like a cigarette. "Yes, yes. We talked extensively about the deal between our armies. You help us with Kurumi, we help you with Starlight."

I blinked. "Starlight?"

She put a hand to her face. "You really don't remember? We had a briefing just yesterday. It lasted for over an hour. I'll give you a brief rundown… Fucking numbnuts." She muttered under her breath as images popped up of girls, each one labelled. "Yesterday at about 15:00, several rifts opened up both in Gamindustri and Tengu City. As it turns out, these weren't the only worlds connected, as we got reports that a naval base comprised of shipgirls was assaulted by one Monika."

An image of two girls dueling on the sea appeared, one of a blonde woman in a union jacket armed with way too many cannons and a red-headed girl with a ponytail somehow floating in the ocean, her body corrupted and glitch-like. "Fortunately HMS Hood was able to hold her off until the rest of the fleet could mobilize, but she took heavy damage in the process and is currently out of commission. At the same time…"

Another image loaded, this one of a purple and cyan haired young woman wielding a staff unleashing purple meteors as Lilac Heart shot at them. "One Starlight Glimmer invaded Planeptune with the intention to destroy it. Thankfully Lilac Heart, your boss if you don't remember." She emphasized that part just to annoy me, judging by the smug grin on her face. "Managed to force her to retreat without her entering Planeptune's airspace. Turns out she's a powerful archmage despite her looks and disappeared in a flash of light when she was about to be captured. Now, onto Uzume… Sorry, she goes by Kurome now…"

The military talk was interrupted by someone kicking in my office door, knocking it off its hinges as Nepgear- sorry, Lilac Heart furiously walked towards me. Oh god, what did I do this time?

"Koei!" She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me hard. "You have to wake up! Now!"

I blinked. Of all the things I had heard today, this was the weir- OW

I rubbed the cheek where she had slapped me. "We DO NOT have time for your damn monologues! You're falling for her delusion!"

Her…. Delusion? She pulled Peace out of my pocket… somehow. "Screw it, you'll thank me later. Sorry Koei, but we don't have time for this!"

She pointed Peace at my face and fired.

And then I woke up.

(Song End)

Rubbing my head, I returned to reality, slumped against a tree in a snowy wasteland… Wait, this looks familiar. Getting up off the cold ground, I looked down and- yup, it was the clothes I had arrived to Gamindustri with. Was this a fucking time loop?

(Current Music - Hall of Memories - Rabi-Ribi)

Seeing the world sort of glitch around me, I was left with more questions than answers as I sighed, going down the same path I first travelled when I first came to Gamindustri after my "Death". The loneliness gave me time to think, though. What was that dream I had? Was it a dream? Everything felt so… Real. The sights, the smells, the sounds, it was perfect…

Too perfect. It was everything I wanted in life. An advancement in my relationship with IF, a steady job as the head of a military organization, hell even a mega crossover with some of my favourite anime from when I was at Earth, including Starlight fucking Glimmer as one of the main villains.

Looking back on it, I chuckled to myself. It was entirely fabricated and I did in fact, fall for it. I'd have to buy NepG a drink after all this is over, she was right.

Approaching the Guild, the world continuing to glitch and twist around me, I opened the door and walked in. It was empty, aside from… Me.

Leaning on a nearby wall, there I was, decked out in my Planeptune clothing, a representation of my current self. "Hey." He said, pointing to a chair that just materialized. "Sit down, We need to talk."

I complied, not knowing what else to do. I could punch him, but I don't think that'd help. Sitting down in his own chair, he leaned back. "You're wondering what's happening, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Well, right now we're in your memories. As this is the first thing you saw when you woke up in Gamindustri, this is what was manifested. I'm just a manifestation of your current self, by the way. None of this is technically real."

I rubbed my head. "The last thing I remember was Nepgear shooting me, what happened?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much, really. As you "died" in the dream, you got kicked out of Uzume's mindscape and back into your own. As far as we're concerned, Koei… Just you and me. Ask me, your psyche, anything."

"Why am I such a retard?"

He gave me a half-lidded stare. "Okay, you can ask me anything, but I can't guarantee anything. As for your question, there are mysteries that even science can't explain. This isn't one of those, it's because you were born unlucky. Next… Try to keep it on-topic. I don't want to deal with hours of existential dread over the fact that you are in fact, technically dead."

I took a moment to process that. "Was that from the truck or NepG shooting me in the head?"

"A little of column A, a little of column B." He waved his hand. As of right now, Nepgear and Histoire are currently trying to pull you out of your comatose state. But that's not going to happen."

I blinked. "Why?"

"Because you're still connected to Uzume's mind. If they wake you up, she'll wake up as well. And as she's still a genocidal maniac, that would involve you breaking your morals on giving people second chances. You're the only one who can stop her at this point, whether that involves saving her or slaying her."

I shrugged. "You seem to know a lot about my incoming fate."

He gave a wry grin. "We both know how this shit goes, even if I wasn't meta aware. You've seen isekai before, after all."

"Fair point... Wait, meta aware?" I took a second to process what he said.

He pointed at me. "Don't act like this was a twist. You're a Neptunia protagonist, Koei. You have the aura and everything. Didn't Neptune give you the rundown two chapters ago?"

I rolled my eyes. "Reel it back, won't you. You're breaking the serious mood of this conversation."

"There was a serious tone?" He feigned shock, before realizing what was said a few paragraphs ago and mentally slapping himself. Which in this case was also a literal slap. "Right, sorry about that. Where were we?"

"Saving the world, I guess." I shrugged at him.

"Ah, right. Well, I said my piece. Got anything else you want to know? Locked away secrets, forgotten memories, whether you and Iffy will do it or not-"

"I AM INTERESTED IN THAT LAST ONE." I say without thinking. Oh well, this was between me and me at this point.

"Except when you're talking to me." Jill interrupted. "For the record, you don't have to say what the answer was. Keep it between you… and you I guess." She continued to clean out my previously used glass.

"Ehhh, can I trust bartender to client confidentiality on this?" I look around to make sure no one else was listening. Hey! I see you there! I breathed in as I leaned into Jill's ear and whispered the answer into her ear.

"About what I expected. My lips are sealed, Koei." She smiled before giving a wink to no one in particular. "Sorry everyone, but this'll remain our secret."

Giving a nod, I continued my story.

"Well, that was a surprising answer!" I reel back in shock as he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, all in the script." He waved a stapled-together set of papers, containing the story that you are reading right now on it. Somehow. I think it was up to Chapter 30 anyway, Whatever, details.

"Alright, so I'd better go save the world. Nice speaking to you, uh me."

He nodded. "A pleasure. See you when you have your next mental breakdown!" He waved me off as he got up and left the Guild. "Oh. Before I go." He walked back in. "Might want to pick up your weapons at the back of the Guild before you head out. Something tells me Uzume won't appreciate you crashing into her mind. Aight, I'mma head out for real this time. Laters." And with that he disappeared into Lowee.

Heading to the door that led to the back room, Serenity, Peace and Tranquility were all laid out on the back table. Picking them up, I tried to slot them in my inventory-

CANNOT CONNECT TO LASTAT-

Yeah, that. Putting Serenity on my back, I noticed two holsters and a scabbard were laid on there as well. Fuck it, it's my mindscape I guess. Taking what I could get, I put on the purple leather holsters before slipping Serenity into its scabbard and slotting both onto my back.

Walking back out, a doorway glowed in the otherwise empty room. Above it in neon lights read "To Uzume's Heart." A little on the nose, but whatever. Entering the doorway, my mind twisted and turned as I crossed what felt like light years as I landed with a bump into an unfamiliar place… Again.

(Current Music - Unfamiliar Place Again - Rabi-Ribi)

Getting up, the ruins of a city floated around an unending void, with a giant shattered crystal in the middle of the void acting as a light source as it shone faintly. If this was Uzume's Heart…

Walking around the debris to the best of my ability, I noted how some of the ruins resembled Planeptunian architecture.

I sighed to myself. It was lonely around here, with no life forms around to talk to or murder as I walked down the floating islands. After a while, I came up with a small ditty to keep myself distracted.

Here in this unfamiliar place

I'm lookin' for her familiar face

'Cus no matter how far she has roamed

I'll find Iffy and bring her home…

It was honestly the only thing giving me hope at this point. I was cut off from everything and only had my side arms to keep me company. This is what true loneliness feels like, then?

No wonder Uzume went insane. She's probably been trapped here for years. I've been here for what feels like an hour and I'm already becoming depressed.

I spotted something amidst the rocks an`d dirt ahead of me. Sprinting up to it, I picked it up and dusted it off. It was the plush of me that Plutia made after the 3 day coma I had. I smiled, remembering those happy memories, the overwhelming joy I felt when I found out she put in all that hard work and effort for someone she barely met…

Putting the the plushie in my pocket, I continued on, those memories giving me renewed resolve as I wandered further into the void. I knew she was here, at least.

That's all I needed to keep going at this point.

...

I don't know how long it's been since I found the plush of me, but I know I've been walking for a while at least, humming that song to myself as I clambered over debris and walked down the linear path of floating rocks. I was still determined, but my legs started to ache from the walking and my breaths became ragged from exhaustion.

I could see a figure in the distance. The faintest glimpse of navy blue caused me to go into a full on sprint, despite my tired legs, nearly tripping over rocks several times as I rushed to the figure. It was a good thing I was sprinting, as I needed to make a jump over a particularly large gap, combat rolling as I hit the ground before looking behind me, the rock I was just on being several meters above me now. No going back at this point.

I finally caught up to who I thought it was, the rock we were now both stood on being pretty large and barren other debris, which was suspicious but I pushed that out of my mind as I carefully approached IF. It was her! She was here!

"I-Iffy!" I said breathlessly as I put a hand on her shoulder, ready to hug her and never let go. "I finally found you! Come on, we need to find a way out of he-"

"K… Koei." She said monotonically, struggling to talk as she stood, unmoving. "P… Please go."

I took my hand off her shoulder, stepping back in shock. "Excuse me? But I just found you."

"You… Don't get it." She continued to struggle to talk, as if she was forcing the words out. "Uzume…" She turned around finally, revealing her eyes had changed from emerald green to dark purple. "She got to me."

I blinked, taking it all in. Just like Neptune... "Then I'll have to get you back myself." I steeled my resolve, pulling out Peace and Serenity. Even if I didn't want to, there was no going back now.

IF pulled out her katars, a single tear streaming down one of her unblinking purple eyes. "Kopey… I'm sorry." Her voice was getting quieter, as if the invading presence was finally done taking her over, as the same aura that surrounded Neptune was now around IF's body, though it looked even more powerful than before.

I gave a sad smile in response, knowing that she wouldn't be around for much longer. "Apology accepted. I love you." I wanted to say so much more, but this wasn't the time for words.

This was the time to be a hero.

Koei

Vs.

IF

Ready?

… Fight.

(Current Music - M.R. - Rabi-Ribi)

IF went right on the offensive, unleashing purple flames that erupted from the ground as I scarcely dodged by scorched, the flames licking at my jacket as I fired back with a Frostbolt, which she handily dodged with a flip, throwing a knife hidden in her jacket, nearly cutting my face. I opted to fire Peace at her a few times to get her to approach again, which she did as she slashed at me with her katars, death in her discoloured eyes.

Grabbing her jacket so she couldn't get away, I countered with a swift punch to the gut, followed by another one before she slashed at my punching arm, forcing me to stop lest I lose an arm. With the brief respite I had, I fired an Airbolt to launch myself away so I could have some breathing room, to which she responded by leaping into the air and launching a barrage of light infused knives at me which I dodged by a hair as I used Serenity to block a few of the knives, dinging the blade and causing a small fracture. How the hell is she that strong?

Shaking my head, I opted to enchant my blade with fire as she somehow covered her own weapons in a purple flame. We charged into battle, her superior agility ensuring I had no chance to get a hit in as she continued to try and slash at me like a wild animal. To call her assault relentless would be an understatement as I desperately sought to find a way to at least slow down her attacks so I had the chance to counter.

Opting to fall back with an Airbolt, I skidded to the edge of the arena, the endless void behind me as she started to slash from a distance, each one creating a dark purple fireball that was gunning straight for me. Opting to dodge roll forward, she anticipated this by creating a wall of flame right when I stopped the roll, scarcely avoiding being set on fire again. These calls were getting too close and I couldn't dodge forever.

Dusting myself off, I could barely blink as IF sliced at me again, each strike narrowly avoiding hitting my body as I looked for an opening to shoot her in the chest, I knew it was wrong to shoot my girlfriend but she's trying to kill me at the moment!

Seeing one such chance, I opened fire, scoring a hit right in her chest, as she got down on one knee and grunted in pain, I grabbed her head and slammed it against my knee, forgetting what happened the last time I did that.

OW. Knee pain aside, IF seemed to have taken some damage, judging by her bleeding nose. Shaking her head as she got back up, she started to glow green before the blood started to disappear around her face. She was healing, but vulnerable. Taking the chance to pick Serenity back up I went for a running leap, wanting her to see what I was doing and stop casting.

My on the fly plan went perfectly as she stopped casting, her nose still broken but no longer bleeding as she put her katars up to her face, perfectly blocking my attack, but knocking her off balance. Just what I needed.

Gripping both hands onto Serenity, I charged a spell, feeling my old wounds and new ones start to rile up as the mana flowed through my body, I prepared to unleash the most powerful Frostblast I could manage.

Once IF was back on balanced and preparing her own attack, I fired off a Frostblast. The recoil flung Serenity out of my hands as the person-sized spell nailed IF right in the chest, expanding to cover her entire body, freezing her solid.

Breathing a sigh of relief that it was over, I took the time to sit down and relax. I could unfreeze her once I figure out how to get rid of Uzume's presence inside her. It was a blissful few moments as I picked Serenity and started to slot it away that I noticed the chunk of ice glowing. It kept growing in intensity as I slowly started to hear a scream of infinite rage from it as I quickly unsheathed Serenity again, the blade having suffered some battle damage from the previous spell and blocking attacks in general.

Once the light became blinding I turned away only to see chunks of ice flying in my direction… This was not good.

Turning back now that the light had died down, I saw IF had changed. Her brunette hair had changed to a fiery blonde and her hair clip and clothes had become black and red, with images of fire on her legs to match her flame covered jacket. She stared at me, letting me take in this new form with those crimson eyes before backflipping to the middle of the arena. Taking off one of her katars for a moment, she made a "bring it" gesture with her free hand before putting it back on.

She was nice enough to let me prepare myself mentally, even if she still had that dark aura around her.

In the silence of the void, I thought I heard a guitar play notes to the same tune I had come up with earlier, a sort of calm before the fire storm that was to come.

I Awoke, forgetting to do so prior, knowing that the real fight had yet to start.

Awakened Koei

Vs.

Flame Awakened IF

Ready?

FIGHT!

(Current Music - M.R. - Rabi-Ribi (GaMetal Remix))

IF pointed her right arm at me, unleashing a barrage of now orange fireballs as I countered with Frostbolts, the spells dissipating as they met.

Realizing we were wasting our mana with easily counterable attacks, we rushed in, IF being quicker than ever with her red hot katar swipes as I struggled to even counter with Serenity. Deciding to play dirty, I shot Peace at her exposed torso between attacks but to my shock they simply bounced off her shirt. My reward was the feeling of blazing hot metal slicing my right cheek as I let my guard down.

In my anger and shock I instead opted to knee her in the stomach, taking the chance to slam both fists on her lowered head instantly knocking her down. Dirty? Sure, but I couldn't hold back against her any more. Forcing a foot down onto her prone body I charged up a Frostbolt pointed straight at her torso once again. She recovered too quickly and knocked me back with the force of her getting back up, using the time to charge her own spell.

Shaking my head, I noticed her pointed at me just in time as I dodged out of the way of a stream of flames erupting out of her katar. Charging at her while she was still casting, I slashed her a few times with Serenity, the blade not seeming to do any noticeable damage but knocking her back as I continued my assault.

Unfortunately for me she anticipated this and pointed her katar at my face as I advanced, nearly walking into the outstretched blade and causing myself some misery. I instead pointed Serenity at her feet and released an Airbolt, her turn to get pushed by it. While it didn't push her back too far, it gave me time to make room between us, ensuring that whatever she had up her long sleeves next would be easily dodgeable.

"I'm tired of this." She finally spoke, hatred dripping from her voice as the aura surrounding her seemed to intensify. "It's time to end you. APOCALYPSE SUPERNOVA!"

She suddenly leapt up into the air and released wave after wave of red-hot ethereal knives, some of which very nearly sliced my face open, but this wasn't the end of her barrage. She suddenly charged at me from the air and slammed her katar into the ground, causing a massive explosion that caused the ground to start erupting lava all around me as the explosion knocked me way back, the heat setting my jacket on fire as I desperately fanned the flame. Without moving, IF charged yet another attack, before slicing the air in front of her. Not a moment later I felt a red hot slash at my chest as I doubled over in pain. Looking at my shirt, it was singed and now covered in blood. She had managed to slash my chest open without even moving.

"FALL INTO HELL!" Was all I heard before I saw the finale of her attack, a giant sun-like sphere slowly growing over her head until it was the size of the arena we were fighting on.

"This is it, huh?" I mutter to myself weakly. "Killed by my own girlfriend with a transformation I didn't even know she had. Was a good run…"

This was all I could get out before I heard a massive explosion, followed by IF screaming. The light from the actual explosion was blinding, but after a few moments I took a look at the arena and it had turned pure black from the blast. Using the remains of my strength, I headed back to the arena, my base instinct telling me to not go back, but my heart saying I needed to. That scream would have haunted me for the rest of my days if I didn't at least check.

My fresh scars still burning, it was a slow and painful process to climb back into the arena, but I eventually found IF, who had reverted back to her normal form, scarcely breathing as she struggled to get up herself. Having the high ground by standing, I was done with this shit. Pulling out Peace, I put the barrel against her head, finger on the trigger. After an attack like that, I couldn't risk it.

My hand was trembling as I felt IF trying to get up. If she did, I'd die for sure. I couldn't take any more attacks like that… Right?

My hand still trembling, my finger slowly inched towards the trigger before one thought in particular came into my mind.

"The only one you couldn't give a second chance to turned out to be the most important of all." Neptune's words echoed in my mind as I snapped back to reality, my anger fading, as did my Awakened form.

(Song End)

What the fuck was I doing? Throwing Peace to the ground, I hugged IF with all my might, ignoring the grunt of pain as I bear hugged her with all the force I could muster, my own pain being irrelevant as I felt two arms wrap around my back.

The pain didn't matter. Nothing mattered in that moment. I embraced my destiny and she embraced me back.

I did it. I saved IF.