A/N: You know, I thought this was complete too, but this rumbles on. Just setting up sequel bait at this point. What kind of hack would set for a sequel?

Oh yeah, me. BACK TO IT, THEN.

It had been several days since the Poyu Poyu Plains incident and as we returned to the Basilicom more dead than alive, IF and I were immediately given medical leave and force- coerced by Compa to at least have some bedrest.

In separate beds, of course. Still, Compa was friendly enough to my bedridden self and was more than happy nursing us both back to health. The actual bedrest part of the recovery process was pretty boring. I had guests, there was TV, nothing of note really. I mean it was nice for Uzume to visit us, despite not really being friends she still visited. Did seem rather uneasy about being there, however.

Still, it had been about three days now and Compa had entered, medical record in hand and a bright smile on her face. "Ko-Ko!" She greeted very warmly, though at this point I wondered if it was a facade. "You and Iffy have fully recovered and are free to go."

With a curt nod, I get up out of bed, Planeptune duds already on. "Anything I need to know before we head out?"

"Just one." Her voice suddenly darkened as she pulled out a scalpel and held it inches from my neck. "If you ever try annnnything like that again, I will personally ensure your body is donated to science. Alive."

No matter how many times she threatens me, it's still freaky. "Understood."

Like a switch, she returned to her… Usual self? "Yay! Come on, I have to discharge Iffy as well and I know she missed you."

With a curt nod, I silently followed her to another room of the Basilicom, to which she opened to show IF putting on her usual navy jacket, the plush of me lying neatly on the bed. Admittedly that made me blush a little bit. Okay, a lot.

Seeing my blushing face, IF chuckled, still sounding tired but otherwise alright. "Jeez Kopey, you see me for the first time in three days and you're already a blushing mess."

"Y-yeah, well…"

As she got up, she grabbed the plush of me and brought me into a hug. "Save it. I needed these last few days to fully recover anyway. Might be a little tired, but I'm no worse for wear."

I breathed a sigh of relief I didn't know I had. "Good to hear. At least I haven't caused you any harm with that stunt I pulled…"

"Nothing that wasn't already there, anyway." IF reassured. After a moment, her face fell to one of concern. "You feeling alright?

I nodded weakly, realizing that in my bedridden state I had entirely sobered up. "Just realizing that I'm sober and you know…"

"Socially awkward." IF smirked. "As much as I like the drunken deadpan snarker, your nervousness makes you even cuter."

I felt my cheeks set on fire as she nearly burst into full on laughter. "Goddesses, no wonder you drink like you do when you just collapse from any sign of affection, ahahah."

I left the room almost in a huff, but knew she had a point. On my way out, I almost bumped into the flying book fairy.

"Histoire! Sorry, I'm just a bit in a rush." I nervously mutter as I nearly knocked over my own boss.

"Ah, Koei. Pay it no mind." She calmly replied. "I'm just glad you and IF are alright. Uzume is waiting for you outside the Basilicom. She said she wanted to talk to you privately."

With a curt nod, I headed down the elevator and out of the Basilicom, seeing Uzume leaning against one of the walls. Approaching the former CPU, she gave a half-hearted wave.

"Hey Koei." She almost forced the words out of her mouth. "I kinda need to talk."

"'Bout what?" I ask casually.

"I… Don't feel comfortable around the other CPUs." She stated simply. "Not even my successors can look me in the eye when I try to talk to them, let alone the CPUs of the other Nations."

"A matter of image, huh?" I ponder aloud, pointing to Uzume after figuring something out. "It could be due to you being a former genocidal maniac?"

Uzume gave a look. "This is serious, Koei. I don't think the other CPUs are going to trust me any time soon and you're the only person I can really talk to about this."

Blinking a few times, I geared my brain to a more "serious" mode. Pretty easy when I'm sober. "Honestly, I think you need a day off from being here in Planeptune. Want to go to another Nation and hang out there?"

Uzume shook her head, a grin forming on her face. "No. Ya see, me and Big Nepsy have been talking lately…"

"And we realized that we have one thing in common: Regret." Said Big Nep walked in from behind a wall. "So I asked her if she wanted to come with me to face my greatest failure."

I put my arms behind my head and leaned back "Let me guess. You want me to come with because there might be a threat on the same level as Dark Goddess Uzume?"

"I really don't appreciate you calling me "Dark Goddess" within earshot." Uzume sighed as a hole in space and time opened. "But this might be interesting, so come on."

With a curt nod, I followed the mercenary and former dark goddess through the rift.

We exited the portal that Big Nep had made for us, revealing a lovely landscape that spread out as far as the eye could see. Seemed to be some sort of park.

"Wow. I expected a smoking ruin or something." I mutter as Altradimension Neptune looked around.

"Home sweet home." She muttered as we wandered about the relatively empty park. Truth be told, it was rather lovely, with lilacs planted on each end of the concrete path. Down the end of the path was a large tablet. Walking down to it, I inspected it and…

This monument is dedicated to the fallen during the Siege of Planeptune.

"Oh…"

Hearing footsteps behind me,, I continued to read the tablet anyway. A lot of names I didn't recognize, but…

Jill Stingray

Compa

IF

Koei Tech

Histoire

Million Arthur

Lady Neptune/Purple Heart

…

Stepping back, I turned towards Big Neptune with a solemn look on my face. "Everyone's gone. Seems that whatever Uzume did, she went hard."

Big Neptune looked at the tablet with a sad smile. "Well, it seems that they mistook me and you for dead, but I can't say the same for the others. Poor Compa. Least she'll be with Iffy now."

I nod, getting back up as Neptune pulled a lilac out of her pocket and put it next to the shrine amongst a variety of other flowers. "I've been meaning to come back and leave a flower, but I was always afraid of being spotted by one of my… former subjects."

"What's the worst that could happen?" I dismiss her concerns as I turn around and immediately regret my actions.

I mean, it was technically Nepgear standing before me. She seemed older, more confident in herself but at the same time distant. In an oddly sweet touch, she was wearing Neptune's old hoodie, the one I'd seen after she returned from Lowee that one time. It suited her well, even if her… Less loli body ensured it was at least a little bit stretched.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief as she stared at the three of us. And stared. And stared.

"Koei… Neptune… YOU." She spat in sheer disgust at Uzume, who stepped back in fear. "You killed my Nation, my friends, my family and you're back just to torture me more with your twisted delusions?"

She brought a dark purple blade out of nowhere, which seemed to have an aura… Oh Goddesses no.

My face turned pure white as I realized what I was looking at. "The Malice Sword… Nepgear, put that thing down!"

Nepgear simply shook her head in response. "When I lost everything, I only felt hate for the traitor known as Uzume Tennouboshi. That's when I found this blade behind my lab. It promised me vengeance, it promised a new life. How could I turn down such an offer?"

Uzume swallowed her fear and approached the mad goddess. "That's what delusional energy does to you. I'm sorry you found that sword Gearsy. But that sword is dangerous and-"

"You know what else is dangerous?" Nepgear started a tirade. "A former goddess awakening from her coma to slaughter countless innocents and whoever tried to stop her! The other CPUs didn't lift a finger and because of that I lost everything! Tell me, if you were in my shoes, what would happen? Probably worse things, knowing how sick you are!"

She wasn't even acknowledging Altradimension Neptune or me at this point. Kind of annoying, but whatever.

"Riiight… I don't know who you think I am, but I've changed for the better thanks to Koei over here." Uzume explained before pointing to me.

I gave a wave as Nepgear stared.

"Koei's been dead for seven years." Nepgear said to herself almost inaudibly. "They've all been dead for seven years…"

Steeling her resolve, Nepgear pointed the Malice Sword right at Uzume. "I'll kill you all over again! THEIR DEATHS WON'T BE IN VAIN!"

Equipping Serenity, Altradimension Neptune pulled out her twin katanas in response.

"Let me make this clear." I say with a heartfelt sigh as I prepared to fight the one Planeptune CPU I never thought I would fight. "I didn't want this."

With a curt nod and a glint of determination in her eyes, she charged suddenly, forcing me on the defensive. Thinking on my feet, I forced her blade away from mine before taking a step back to regain my composure.

Staring each other down, Nepgear suddenly slashed at the air, causing a wave of dark energy to rush towards me. With a swift dodge, I could nearly taste the dark energy as it rushed past me.

I turned to Uzume and Alt Neptune, who just seemed frozen with shock, probably for entirely different reasons.

"Ladies, I know I'm powerful, but I just got out of a forced stint in bed and I really don't need to back so soon so if you could give me A HAND that'd be great." I state simply causing Neptune to jump into action, clashing blades with the corrupted Nepgear as I charged a Frostblast.

Nepgear managed to force away her sister just in time as I fired the charged spell which she then… Deflected? The fuck?

"Your cheap spells don't work on me! SLASH WAVE!" She slashed at the air again, a larger wave of delusional energy coming hard and fast as I felt my left arm be hit by the energy, tearing a fresh wound into it as I winced hard in pain.

"F-fuck." Was all I got out before I fell to one knee in sheer agony as Neptune charged back in to defend me, dual blades clashing against Nepgear's singular sword.

Turning to Uzume, she was still stood there in shock, staring at me. After a moment, she started to walk towards me, getting down on one knee herself. "Kosy…"

I was using my undamaged arm to hold in the pain. Well, attempting to anyway. I was in sheer fucking agony from the wound, the delusional energy upping the pain.

"Ya got any heals?" I ask simply as the former CPU shook her head sadly.

"Didn't think we'd be in a situation like this." She said simply. "But I have a plan. You have Progression on you?"

I nodded, reaching into my jacket's pocket and pulling out said Artifact. Hey, I'm the Hero of Planeptune, it's safer on MY person than in the Basilicom ready for anyone to steal… Probably.

Slipping the ring on one of her glove-clad fingers, Uzume got back up, her body now crackling with purple lightning, determination clear across her face. It was almost scary, before I remembered one crucial detail: She was on my side now.

I gave a genuine smile to my newest ally. "Give her hell, Uzume."

She looked down at me with a grin that could split her face in half. "Anything less and I wouldn't be Uzume goddamn Tennobushi."

Using the last of my strength to get out of the way, I leaned against a nearby wall and waited for the carnage.

Standing before the corrupted Nepgear, I cracked my knuckles and and prepared for my first serious fight since my redemption. "Hey, Altsy". I attracted the attention of my former gun-for-hire who turned to me with a look of concern. "I got this. Make sure Kosy doesn't bleed out, I don't need Ifsy giving me another broken nose."

With a curt nod, she walked over to my new ally and popped out a healing potion. She was more prepared than me, at least.

"Now then, Gearsy." I stared at the psychotic goddess. "You might have beaten my old self and you may be using the blade made from my sheer hatred, but there's something stronger than that. It took a good beating to realize it, but it's obvious in hindsight."

Gearsy stood there, saying nothing. "Not gonna try to figure it out? It's the power of friendship."

"That's FUCKIN' GAY, Uzume!" I heard Kosy weakly yell from behind me as I sighed. Cannot believe I lost to that guy.

"You talk too much." Gearsy stated factually. "Die." She charged at me, intending to decapitate me with a swift horizontal swipe to the head. Luckily I've fought sword users before and ducked under the blade, delivering a electrically charged punch to her gut, causing her to lurch forward. Perfect.

Quickly grabbing her hunched over head, I slammed it against my knee and OW FUCK.

"Yeah I could have told you that hurts!" Kosy taunted again, to which I simply responded by slamming Gearsy into the ground.

"It'll be your ass next!" I threatened to which he simply cackled.

"Yeah, yeah. By the by, NepG's back up." He pointed out, to which I was rewarded with a fist to the face.

After a came to, aching in both my knee and face now I looked at NepG who was bleeding and understandably looking rather pissed. Not since Compsy have I felt this much hatred from someone.

"I don't know who you are or how you're managing to hurt me, but it ends here." She raised her blade, to which it started to gain a dark aura along with her body. This… This isn't good.

"Yeah I think she's about to unleash an EXE Drive." Kosy pointed out again, to which I turned to face him.

"Do you want to fight her or are you going to shut the hell up?"

"I'm good." He shot a thumbs up with his undamaged arm as Altsy sighed.

"Less talking, more potion chugging." I heard Altsy chide as I focused my attention on Gearsy, who seemed to have charged her attack.

"I won't falter again. DELUSIONAL SEVERANCE!" Gearsy yelled as I felt a spike of delusional energy in my very soul as she charged towards me, death in her eyes. A swift dodge helped avoid the first slash as I countered via a swift kick to the knee.

Falling to her undamaged knee, Gearsy received a quick kick to the face. Now flat on her back, I stepped on her chest, ready to end this farce.

"Say hi to Histoire for me." I dug in my boot before feeling someone pull me away.

"Uzume, stop!" Came the panicked cry of Altsy as she managed to get me away from the weakened Gearsy. "It's the sword, dammit!"

I blink, realizing my mistake before turning my attention to the aforementioned cursed blade.

"How do you deal with that?" I ponder aloud as Altsy pointed her gun and fired a few shots at the cursed sword, the bullets bouncing off of it harmlessly.

"Well, I'm out of ideas." Altsy shrugged as I warily looked at the knocked over Gearsy, seemingly dazed from the fight. "Probably should move it away from her."

"You do it." I simply stated, crossing my arms. "Last time I touched the Malice Sword, shit went down."

With a nod, Altsy walked over to the blade and picked it up, moving it far, far away from Gearsy as I turned back to Kosy, who seemed to be up and about again.

Well, that was a fun fight! Kind of shocked at how strong Uzume was. Sure, I've fought her before, but that was under delusional influence.

"Uzume…. Hot damn." I say, very much impressed by the fact she could take down Gearsy pretty effortlessly.

"You don't become a CPU without picking up a few fighting tricks." She factually stated in a calm manner. "Gearsy's a fuckin' pansy anyway."

I nod in approval as Big Nep opened up a rift. "Come on, best to get out of here before someone gets suspicious."

With some help from Uzume, the pair hefted Nepgear's unconscious body through the rift. I followed suit after looking around to make sure nobody saw us.

"I cannot believe you've done this." IF sighed again as I finished explaining my latest escapade and my newly torn jacket. "You casually go to the timeline where you killed me, find Nepgear with this "Malice Sword", fight her and somehow win?"

"Everyone deserves-" I started but IF held up a jacket clad hand.

"I get it. Second chances, whatever." She said in a bored manner. "Just… Why here?"

I gave an incredulous stare. "Let's leave the unconscious girl in the middle of a fucking park alone, seems fine to me."

"Fair point." IF retorted. "You going to explain to Alt Gear over there when she comes too?"

I shook my head. "Not my responsibility. I feel Big Nep would want to talk to her first."

"You're really getting some fair points today." IF noted in surprise. "Don't you want your jacket taken care of at least?"

I nodded. "Dunno who would take up a jacket this important, though."

IF's eyes became half lidded. "Compa?"

I stared. "Ya do know she's threatened to murder me on several occasions, right?"

IF shrugged. "She does that to everyone who gets close to me. Don't tell me she's actually gotten to you?"

I give IF a look. "AND YOU TRUST HER WITH MY JACKET."

"Course I do. She knows how to stitch up wounds, ya think a jacket would be any trouble for her?"

I raised a finger to object, but came up with nothing. "Fair. Can you get her to stop threatening my life, though?"

She shook her head in response. "Tried. Failed. She's way too protective, even when I ask her to stop. Sorry if she has given you trouble, I rubbed off on her too much."

I took off my jacket and tossed it at the chunni. "You give it her. Make it look like it was your jacket that was torn. Last thing I need is her up my ass again."

"Figuratively or literally? I told her to stop with her… Unique methods of punishment." IF said with a scary amount of seriousness.

"Figurative." Was all I could say in response.

IF smiled. "Good. Last thing I need is for my boyfriend to have tension with my childhood friend."

"Could have said that… weeks ago." I sigh in response.

"Her bark is worse than her bite anyway." She blew off my concerns.

"She's threatened my life on multiple occasions and you're okay with this." I state simply.

"You should only get worried if she starts silently watching you." she advised. "That means she's planning on ending your life in the most efficient way possible."

I blink. "What."

"You get used to it." Was all she said before I noticed our guest starting to stir awake.

"G-goodness…" Alt Gear mumbled as she rose, looking around confused before she matched eyes with mine.

"K-Koei? She asked with some concern. "Where…"

"Planeptune. Namely a version where I didn't fuck up." I state simply. "Everybody lived to see another day."

Her concern fell away. "Goodness. Does that mean that Neptune…"

I gave a genuine smile. "I did one better. Hey, Big Nep. Your sister's awake." I got up to leave as said Neptune entered the room and saw the smiling face of her little sister for the first time in 7 years.

I'll admit, I started to well up a bit. I lost my family and my name. My former self is long gone.

Least I could do was reunite a pair of sisters separated by fate.

With that emotional scene now playing out, I headed to my Nepgear's lab to find Uzume and said scientist chatting happily.

"So this was your lab, huh?" Nepgear asked, clearly curious about her predecessor.

"Yeah. Spent many hours here back when I was CPU. Glad to see this place is still kicking." She mused nostalgically, running her hand across one of the tables. "Great condition to boot. I'm so proud of you, Gearsy."

Nepgear blushed."T-thank you Uzume…"

"No worries." She shook her head. "I know I have no real right to ask, but if you don't mind, I'd like to borrow the place once in a while."

Nepgear positively beamed in response. "Of course! It was your lab originally, come and go as you please."

"You two seem to be getting on." I interrupted their dialogue.

"Gearsy here is naturally friendly." Uzume motioned to her fellow nerd. "And we both have a natural interest in science. After the… Disappointment that was Neptune, I'm glad at least one of my successors has a good head on her shoulders."

I found it hard to disagree with that. "What're you doing here anyway? Don't take you as much as a scientist?"

"Emotional reunion. Be awkward with me in there." I simply replied as I headed towards the pair. "Guess this is just the first place that was out of the way."

Uzume chuckled to herself. "This was always my home away from home when Histy got a little Pissty. Worked on so many projects down here, it's little wonder that my successor is as tech savvy as I was."

Nepgear's grin could split a tree. "So you consider NepG to be a worthy successor. Seems that the other NepG had things under control… Aside from that cursed sword."

Uzume made a slicing motion with her neck. "Xnay onyay ethay alicemay"

I stared. "I don't speak pig latin. Least I didn't sa y about the cloth at the back of the la- A GH." Was all I got out before Uzume decided to slam me into the ground.

"Kosy. Shut it." Was all that was said before she let go of my throat. "Sorry about that, Gearsy. Official PSF business."

"I think Koei was referring to the funky purple sword hidden behind a cloth?" Nepgear innocently inquired, to which Uzume put a hand to her face.

"I told Histoire to lock it in a hidden room..." She muttered, offering me a hand back up as a quiet apology. "So you know of the Malice Sword?"

Nepgear's smile fell as she nodded solemnly. "I've known of it for a while. I've just kept it quiet because of… Neptune."

Uzume crossed her arms with a hearty sigh. "Yeah, can't blame you on that one. I guess it'd take a lot for a nice girl like yourself to pick that blade up."

I gave her a side-long glance, a shiver barely visible on her steady body. Seems that last fight left her a little worse for wear than initially assumed.

"Well, now that it's an open secret, I can start researching it, knowing that my friends will have my back if anything goes awry." The CPU Candidate smiled as she headed to the back of the lab, uncovering the Malice Blade once again.

"You know in hindsight there really should have been more than just that cloth covering Planeptune's dark secret." I sigh as Uzume shook her head.

"Can't blame Histoire on that one. Small fairy hands." Uzume reasoned while Nepgear took the sword to a clear table and started to mull over it, using various tools to poke at the dark blade.

Seeming content with how NepG was working, Uzume turned to leave before nearly bumping into the other NepG, puffy red eyes eyes indicating that the reunion was very emotional indeed.

"Uzume… I wanted to apologize to you and Koei. I wasn't very well when we met, so thank you for knocking some sense into me." She confessed sheepishly, looking away as she did so.

Uzume took it in stride. "Well, if there's one thing I know, it's what being under that power is like. Wish I could go back and never make that stupid Share Energy machine…"

"I don't mind either." I started before Uzume could get any more depressed. "I mean aside from tearing my jacket. That was custom made you-"

"Koei." Uzume stated simply, giving me a glare as she did so.

"R-right. Apology accepted." Seems that Uzume has the same sort of power that IF has. Intimidation.

"Thanks." Nepgear bowed, the strings of the hoodie bouncing with her. "Now that I think about it, maybe this parka isn't for me…"

I nodded in agreement. "Though we're still going to way to differentiate you two."

The Nepgear not focused on the Malic Blade stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I could get a new outfit. Now that I'm sane again, I realize this parka is… Pretty uncomfortable. Tight in all the wrong places."

"Hm. Do you think that's because of your physique being less… Jailbait than Neptune?"

She shook her head. "I swore this fit like a charm when I put this on years ago."

Now it was my turn to ponder. "AltG, just how many Shares have you lost over the years?"

"AltG, huh…" She mused momentarily before snapping back to reality. "Ah. I believe after Histoire… Passed, I became the sole CPU. Before I fought Uzume, I found the Malice Blade and it called out to me. After that… I just felt weakened over the following days and months."

I got straight to the point. "Did you… Kill Uzume?"

She fell back in surprise before regaining her composure. "Y-yes. I had to stop her by any means."

"Did you happen to keep using the sword?"

A nod. "It was the most powerful weapon I had. I thought it'd help me defend Planeptune to the best of my capabilities."

I shrugged. "My best guess is that the Negative Share Energy that makes up the Malice sword countered your ever weakening divinity, if you managed to lose so many Shares…"

The penny dropped. "You mean I lost my CPU form?"

I shrugged again. "Try transforming."

To her credit, she did try and transform for the best part of a minute before giving up. "Strange…" She looked at her hands. "Could it really have been the sword?"

"Theoretically, yes." The "younger" Nepgear said suddenly as she span to face us. "After some analysis, I've realized that the blade is definitely made of Negative Share Energy. In fact, I feel my very soul being drained by being in contact with the sword."

"You're taking this calmly." I mutter as the scientist got up from her seat.

"Planeptune's Share Energy should be able to counter the draining effect. Plus, if you slayed Uzume while she was under that influence, that means the blade might have absorbed that energy, adding to its power, including the apparent draining."

I blinked. "English?"

NepG stared. "By killing Uzume, the blade got stronger. With that and my alternate self's apparent loss of Shares, this may be why she lost the ability to be a CPU."

I crossed my arms. "Sounds stupid, but it's all we have."

"I… See…" AltGear said with remorse in her voice. "Guess the people don't believe in me if I managed to lose my immortality."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Think about it like this. You can step down as CPU, get Planeptune running as a CPUless Nation and make it a neutral zone for the other three Nations. Might not help much, but it's better than nothing."

Altgear seemed to agree. "Yeah, that sounds fair. But…"

"And the best part is that you can then opt to leave your version of Gamindustri and go live with Neptune!"

I swear her eyes sparkled. "Of course! That's absolutely genius!" Very suddenly I was engulfed in marshmallow hell as she embraced me. Yup, definitely mortal.

"Not… A problem." I forced out, her crushing grip limiting my breathing.

"G-goodness!" She let go very suddenly, letting sterile air fill my lungs. "Guess I forgot that I… Grew a bit."

"Definitely Alt Nep's sister." I crick my neck in an attempt to get it back straight with a mutter. "Speaking of, you two cool now?"

"Yeah, I apologised for abandoning her, she cried all over my hoodie, good times all around." The aforementioned Alt Nep made herself known by embarrassing her own flesh and blood. "Guess it's all smiles in here too?"

I nod. "Yeah, thanks for the heal back there. Needed it."

She winked in response. "Any ally of Uzume is an ally of mine. Don't think about that too much…"

Uzume shook her head with a grin. "Guess that works out, now that I'm firmly on the side of Gamindustri now." She clenched a fist as her grin turned determined. "By my power, Gamindustri will be protected!"

"Ambitious, but a weapon would be useful, you know." I pointed out, to which Uzume showed her right hand with Progression still equipped.

"Not with this baby. Truth be told, I did use a sword at one point, as that's just the natural weapon for Planeptunians I guess. But then I discovered a few techniques for disarming a sword through research and decided to learn how to fight without a weapon… Guess I just found my fists more fun." She cracked her knuckles.

I shrug. "And Progression is there to power up the punches?"

She shot a thumbs up. "That and augment them with electricity to effectively turn my fists into weaker tasers."

"Suppose that works out, long as Neptune or Histoire agree to you using it." I agreed, before making a "follow me" gesture. "Might as well get going. I'm sure NepG has a lot of work to do if we want to figure out the Malice Sword."

Mutters of agreement came as we all left Nepgear be to do her science.

It's a… weird sensation being sat here right now. Drinking tea with the alternate version of Nepgear, two versions of Neptune, IF, Uzume and Histoire.

"Gang's all here." I weakly chuckle before sighing. "Man, this is weird." I thought aloud.

"Yeah, this is rather weird." AltG agreed, fiddling with her messy hair. "To think, our dimensions differ so greatly from a single choice made by a single being."

"Butterfly Effect, yeah…." I rubbed the back of my head. "To be fair, it was seven years ago in your timeline. More time for the effects to really hit home."

AltG breathed a sigh of relief. "As much pain as I've gone through, being able to see you all again brings peace to my soul." She looked at me with a determined glare. "I won't falter anymore! If Planeptune needs defending, I'll have your back!"

I smile, nodding at AltG's declaration. "No hard feelings, then. Truthfully, I've fought…" I looked around at the assembled crowd. "Oh. Everyone here. Yeah, all of you have tried to kill me at some point, aside from Histoire."

"You are an asshole, to be fair." IF pointed out, much to the amusement of everyone present. "Not surprised. Everyone who knows you for more than 5 seconds wants you dead."

"Oh shut it." I smiled at the chunni. "You're the girl who came closest to beating me, at least in a metaphorical sense." I sip at my Beer, sobriety clearly broken at this point.

IF put a sleeved hand to her chin. "I guess that's true. As the one you're closest to, that moment when you had the choice to let someone live or die… It would be heavy on you either way, wouldn't it?"

I tensed up. I never really thought about that fight beyond the basics. Hell, I wasn't even in my right mind when I was presented with that choice…

I looked at Alt Neptune, who gave me the same look you'd give to a starving puppy. "Relax, Koei. You really don't need to think about it any more than you have."

I nodded grimly. "Yeah." I swallowed my feelings and got up to dust myself off, wincing slightly at my still aching left arm. "Ugh… How did that one slash take me out?"

"It seems that Serenity has a form of Share energy generation inside of it." The younger Nepgear emerged from her abode, finger scrolling the screen of a tablet. "From my analysis, whoever wielded Serenity in the past had some connection to Sharicite or something, because that's the main power source of the sword."

I scratch my chin. "That explains… Nothing."

Nepgear sighed and flipped around the tablet, showing Serenity being marked with several labels, one of which was the sapphire embedded in the handle. "See that gem? It's actually a tiny piece of Sharicite."

Neptune's hand shot up. "Oh! Oh! That was me. When I went to Lowee to fix up that sword, I may have borrowed some Sharicite to power up the blade a bit."

I gave her a look. "So I've been carrying around what is essentially a holy weapon for the back half of my adventure?"

Neptune shrugged. "It helped, didn't it?"

I put a hand to my face. "I thought something was off about that…" I took my hand off of it. "What did that glow mean, anyway?"

"Oh it was just "branding" you as the one true heir of itself." Neptune casually remarked, rolling her hand as she did so. "Really it should have been done that the first time you picked it up, I know how Lowee is with keeping things legitimate."

Taking out Serenity, I once again couldn't look at it the same way anymore. From an ordinary spellblade to Lowee's Artifact and now even a full on holy weapon.

But there was one thing that wasn't answered. "That's cool and all, but what does that have to do with the Malice Sword?"

Everyone assembled looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Koei… Serenity pumps Share Energy into you. When the Malice Sword cut your arm, that connection was severed due to the Negative Share Energy flowing into your wound.. Hate to say it, but that sword is the source of your strength now." IF explained sadly.

I put a hand to my chin. "So… I am just a guy with a magic sword." I mutter to myself, before starting to chuckle. "Yeah, seems 'bout right." I start to walk away from the various pieces of furniture.

"Koei…" IF started before I stopped her by raising a hand.

"I get it now. Serenity. A synonym for being at peace, untroubled." I turned to look at the friends I'd made… Well, the ones linked to Planeptune. "Histoire, you told me to bring peace to Gamindustri as my quest. I did that quite literally, didn't I?"

Blinking for a moment, the book fairy processed what I had just said. "Hmm. I guess you did bring peace to not just Planeptune, but all of Gamindustri."

"All while having Serenity on hand." I smiled. "I guess I brought Serenity, Peace, and Tranquility to the places I went, huh?"

Silence.

"Koei… That fucking sucked." IF sighed.

"So that speech might have failed." I finished off my drink and the recalling of my latest escapade to my ever so lovely barkeep.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright at least." Jill smiled. "After Uzume came in and I found out about the Poyu Poyu Plains accident, I was honestly worried about you."

I stared. "Really? This is me we're on about." I point out, to which Jill gave a half lidded stare.

"You are my best customer." She rubbed down a glass as she explained. "You come here most every night you're not incapacitated, you never cause a fuss and got a lot of new regulars in just from your presence, I guess."

I rubbed the back of my head while waiting for my next drink. "You know, I didn't really come here to have more praise lumped onto me…"

Jill chuckled to herself. "Comes with the territory. You saved a lot of people, you know."

I rolled my eyes. "The CPUs save people daily. They deserve all the respect they get. I got lucky."

"Humble as ever, I see." A third voice came to interrupt our dialog as I turned to see White Heart, panting slightly, covered in sweat and splotches of blood. "Don't mind the blood. It's someone else's."

"I uh…" I was speechless as the flat fairy sat down on the bar with a sigh.

"One Pile Driver, I need to get rid of my tastebuds."

"On it." Jill complied with all the grace of a bartender. Seriously, that professionalism is commendable.

"Pleasure to see you too, Blanc." I state diplomatically as she sighed.

"Don't mention it. As in, actually don't." She said flatly. "I did things that would be grounds for a reignition for the Console Wars if word got out."

"I uh…" I started again before a look forced me to look away as I got my next drink of the evening and chugged it gratefully.

"You remind me of my old boss, you know." JIll piped up, pointing to the CPU as she got her drink. "The hair, the eyes, the no-nonsense attitude with a sprinkling of mystery… Yeah, you'd make a great Dana impression."

White Heart smirked at that comment. "Thanks. I've heard a few things about the Red Comet myself. Must be a hell of a legend if her name rumoured about all the way from the PC Continent."

I nod in approval as I took a drink. "Why are you still in HDD anyway?"

White Heart shrugged. "The adrenaline rush goes well with booze. That and the barkeep called me cute."

"It's Jill and always a pleasure, Lady White Heart." She gave a little bow to complete her act with a smile.

White Heart gave a hearty chuckle to the display. No need for the formalities, Jill. I'm a customer, just like anyone else."

With that and a flash, she returned to her human form. "There we go. If I revert to my human form when I'm still full of adrenaline, I'll just go back to CPU form at the slightest provocation."

"And alcohol as a depressant, helps calm you down?" I prod, to which she nodded.

"Pretty astute of you, Koei. You might look like an alcoholic goof, sometimes you have pearls of wisdom."

I processed that… Compliment? "Thanks, but I'm smarter than I look."

"He is. His on the fly schemes tend to work out for him." Jill added, to which Blanc raised an eyebrow.

"That's luck." Blanc snorted dismissively. "Remember the Heavy Lobster incident when you jammed a sword into sparking electronics and got paralyzed?"

"Annnd didn't it work?" I point out to which Blanc rolled her eyes.

"Your Luck stat must be absurdly high, then." Blanc dismissed my bodacious boast in a very Blanc fashion.

"Whatever." I blow her off. "Anything new between you and Vert?"

"Anything new between you and IF?" She responded, taking a drink as she did so. "Aside from your new housemate who you should have killed."

I sigh as I polished off my drink. "Ya think Uzume didn't do some fucked shit to me as well? I fought IF, nearly executed her and then got a sword through the chest and an unofficial breakup as thanks."

"Yeah, yeah…" Blanc rolled her eyes. "I saw the fight during that first Seven Hels concert and it looked pretty brutal. Pretty shocked you're alive and kicking."

"Well, I have good friends watching my back." I gave a genuine smile to the imouto-looking goddess. "Rip her fucking head off, you said?"

Blanc was surprisingly caught off guard by that. "You… heard that?"

I shrugged. "I don't understand the logistics of it myself, but it gave me the boost I needed, so thanks."

Blanc let out a heh. "Not a problem. Goddesses knows Vert would have prayed for you regardless and she's pushy when it comes to these sorts of things."

"Ah the ol' arm twister. Guess we have that in common." I chuckle to myself, expecting some sort of threat or violence.

Instead I got a sigh. "Yeah… As much as I care for Vert, she's really pushing for me to come out of my comfort zone more."

"Tell her how you feel." Jill stated simply without hesitation. "If you let her continue to control your life, you'll end up getting to a point where she's living through you. That doesn't end up well for anyone involved."

Silence filled the air as the jukebox continued to play. "Jill, you have a point…" Blanc muttered as she got up to leave. "Thanks. I'll head to Leanbox now and talk to her."

With that she left, making it two again.

"You sound like you have experienced that. Want to talk about it?" I kindly ask, to which Jill shook her head.

She shook her head, twintails bouncing around. "I sorted that out long before I moved out of Glitch City. It's in the past now, at least."

"Alright. Guess I wouldn't be much help, considering how IF and I roll." I chuckle to myself. "Alright, hit me with a Crevice Spike and I'll be on my way. No alcohol, of course."

Jill smiled. "Coming right up. How are the alternate versions of Neptune and Nepgear anyway?"

"Catching each other up on how their lives went after they were seperated, last I saw. AltG's gonna freak when she sees Nep Jr." I noted as I finished off the bitter drink and paid my tab for the evening. "Always a pleasure, Jill."

"Please come again." Jill smiled warmly as I left the seedy bar for home once more. Another day, another friend made. I'd say that's pretty productive.

A/N: This chapter in particular is dedicated to my brother. Being a younger sibling myself, I know how it feels to be separated from an older sibling for years. Don't worry, we've reconciled since then (And he's been a massive help emotionally as of late too.) so I decided to write this little chapter to wrapping up the whole Altradimension thing. Because that was DUMB and now we have an older Gearsy to fuck about with. (Though I think she'll just be a side character, I've already ripped off Omegadimension enough as is.)