Disclaimer: I don't own Date A Live or Hyperdimension Neptunia in any way.
"Pow! Feel the fury of my wooden blade!"
Yelling sound effects with every attack, Neptune cheerfully bounced around the battlefield. IF and Compa were located a fair distance back, handling another set of monsters so for the moment, Shidou was the only one with Neptune.
Despite IF's words, Neptune wasn't so incompetent that she could not handle monsters going her way. While there was no inherent skill in the way that Neptune wielded her wooden blade, Shidou could at least tell that there was power and experience in the way she fought.
…it still made Shidou wonder what the heck that wooden blade was made out of to endure Neptune's less than gentle way of using it.
"So your name is Shidou, right?" Neptune began, engaging Shidou in conversation just as he thrashed a Dogoo.
"As far as I know. If you're going to ask if I have a surname, then I'm afraid to tell you I don't remember."
"You don't remember?" Neptune asked curiously.
"Currently suffering amnesia actually. Ever since two years ago. The only thing I can recall is my name and not even all of it."
Shidou said those words with hardly any other meaning apart from what one would expect when speaking of a simple universal 'fact'. He could not recall anything from his past, apart from the name 'Shidou' – there wasn't even any guarantee it was his own instead of something that may have been someone else's. When he had come to after supposedly losing his memories, he did not have any identification with his clothing nor did he have anything else with him by that point.
It would be nice to remember what it was that he had lost, but while his current life wasn't by any means perfect, it was something he was happy with all the same.
"Wow, so it wouldn't be farfetched if we had some mysterious past together and we couldn't remember it, huh? It would be totally cool if you were my destined lover and we just can't remember it!"
"…"
More and more, Shidou was beginning to question the sanity of this purple haired preteen.
"Hmm… so it seems we'll be amnesiac buddies! Unless of course you want to be amnesiac lovers, but you still have to build some love points before I'm cool with that! But if either of us finds a clue that we're destined lovers, then let's skip all the details and go straight to marriage!"
Deciding to ignore the majority of her words, Shidou asked what was particularly bothering about the last sentence.
"Amnesiac buddies? Wait, you can't recall your past too?"
"Yup!" She said far too cheerfully for a subject so depressing. "Compa found me a few days ago, and my memory only really goes that far. So as my senior in this whole memory loss thing, do you have any advice?"
"Advice? Well, I'm a failure at that department." Shidou said, giving a wry smile. "I haven't recalled anything apart from these odd feelings that I might have done something similar before. On that end, I discovered a few days ago that I'm a pretty good cook."
"So you were a master chef at some point in the past?! Or maybe you were the son of a wandering chef but before he could enroll you into a culinary school, you were caught in a tragedy that had him thinking you were dead!"
At that moment, Shidou couldn't help but feel that he was the insane one with how in-sync her thoughts were to IF's earlier in the day… especially since he considered IF to be the epitome of sanity.
It didn't take long before the party finally reached what Neptune donned as the 'boss room'.
The 'room' was a large semi-spherical structure deep into the cavern with various railways leading to and from the room. Scattered haphazardly around the room, were the shattered remains of various mining implements ranging from minecarts to pickaxes. There were also traces of mined crystals that literally littered the cavern walls and gave a small amount of natural light.
At the center of the room, was the target IF and Shidou were tasked to eliminate – the Sandworm.
"It's gotten pretty large… I think this one is at least thrice as big as the Sandworm we encountered in Lowee." IF commented, her katars becoming visible from her sleeves.
"So what's the plan?" Shidou asked.
Before anything else could be said on the matter, a purple blur dashed forward.
"Ready or not monster, here I come! Taste the fury of my wooden sword!"
"Ah, Neptune! You shouldn't rush in without telling us!" Compa immediately followed suit and took out… a large syringe?
Shidou felt that he should always keep Compa within his immediate sight…
"Tch… Just prevent the other two from dying!"
"Right!"
Shidou hastily took out his great sword and after seeing Neptune get launched through the air, he leapt up in time just to catch her.
"I guess boss monsters really do pack a wallop…" Neptune muttered her head swaying from side to side and her eyes swirling.
"Are you alright? Can you stand?"
"Yeah, I can! What kind of main character will I be if something like that can take me out in one-hit?"
"Er… right. Do you have any other weapon? As great as that wooden sword looks, it's not exactly something you can use to take out a monster like that."
Shidou paused for a moment, before leaping backwards with Neptune as the sandworm barely misses its attack towards them.
"If I use my HDD, then I'd have a different weapon. But other than that, I've got nothing."
Shidou was really beginning to wonder how Neptune managed to convince Compa to go along with her into a dangerous cavern like this one.
"Here." Shidou said, handing Neptune a knife. "It's not much, but it's certainly better than your wooden sword, at any rate."
"Eehh… why don't you give me your great sword then?"
"…because you probably won't be able to lift it? Anyway, gather IF and Compa to decide a plan. I'll get the monster's attention."
Releasing Neptune to the floor, Shidou dashed forward to engage the Sandworm.
"IF, Compa, regroup!" Shidou yelled, brandishing his blade towards the Sandworm to get its attention. "I'll buy you guys some time!"
IF, who had been engaging the monster head on sent an incredulous look towards Shidou, before realizing that for a monster of this size, a strategy might be required.
"Alright. Don't bite off more than you can chew, Shidou! And don't use that, alright?"
Nodding in affirmation, Shidou rolled to the side to avoid the coming attack before he delivered another attack and then backed out a fair distance.
It wasn't the first time that Shidou was relegated to distraction, but it was nonetheless rather nerve wrecking as this was a size too large than the situations he had dealt with in the past. There was also the thought that it wasn't only IF fighting with him, thus any mistakes would have a large effect towards party morale.
Shidou's blade was large enough to inflict sizable wounds towards the Sandworm, but the constant moving and the thick hide of Sandworm made it difficult to do any real damage. If he focused solely on attack, then there was a good chance he wouldn't be able to buy enough time for the trio to plan.
Still, if he did not inflict enough damage to be considered threatening, then the Sandworm might just decide to switch targets.
Using an arte in this situation might be justified –
Narrowly avoiding the Sandworm's tail, Shidou gathered energy with his blade and steadied his footing over the cavern floor. He gripped the sword with both hands, but in a way that seemed like he was pulling the large blade from a sheath. Motes of light began appearing by Shidou's great sword, lightly illuminating his position.
As soon as the blade's light reached a state bright enough for the sandworm to perceive it, Shidou's grip tightened.
But before he could release the energy, a sharp stab of pain entered his chest and the lights swirling around the great sword brightened considerably and began to shine more violently in comparison to the slow gathering of lights and low illumination from before.
This was a situation that Shidou feared might occur – if he continued, it was certain he would do a sizable amount of damage, but IF had forbade him from even considering the usage of it even if it was a minute amount.
Clenching his teeth, Shidou quickly tried to control the energy flow, but that soon proved to be fruitless.
After all, there was no way he could release an arte after being sent flying by the Sandworm's attack.
A few moments earlier, Neptune, IF and Compa had gathered a large distance away from the ongoing fight that it was unlikely the Sandworm would change target during their impromptu planning session.
"So what's the plan? I don't think Shidou over there can last more than a few hits with how large that thing is…"
"And who's fault do you think that is?!" IF said heatedly before shaking her head to focus. "Anyway, I see that Shidou gave you his knife… you seriously didn't bring an actual weapon with you?! Even Compa here brought that monstrous syringe!"
"I-I'd like it if you didn't call my syringe monstrous, miss IF!"
"But we really didn't need any other weapon in the tutorial dungeon! We even managed to beat a Guard Vermin!"
"Guard Vermin, you two? How the heck is that possible?" IF stared incredulously at the two. No matter how IF looked at it, she found it unbelievable that the two in front of her had managed to take out a monster that would make her hesitate if she was to hunt it with Shidou.
"It was all thanks to Neptune! She transformed and managed to easily dispatch the Guard Vermin!"
"Transformed?"
"Yup! I'm super strong you know! Although I'd rather not use it, but if I have to, then I can deliver a can of ass-whopping and send that Sandworm back where it came from!"
As if accentuating those words, Shidou was sent flying towards their general direction, skidding to a stop right underneath the discussing trio. Naturally, that meant he could see right under Compa -
"K-kyaaah!"
"Gubeh?!"
Seeing the scene, IF placed a hand by the temple of her head as if massaging a headache.
"Looks like we're out of time." IF said shaking her head. "Neptune, you said you're the one that took out the Guard Vermin, right? Then do whatever you did to take that one out! We'll buy you time to get ready!"
IF hauled Shidou up to his feet, and despite the situation, he shook his head quickly and rushed into the fray with her. Compa quickly followed, using her large syringe to fire bullets towards the large Sandworm.
"So what's the plan, IF?" Shidou asked, avoiding an attack sent to him by the Sandworm.
"We couldn't devise one." IF admitted a bit bitterly. "But supposedly, Neptune has already taken out a Guard Vermin with the help of Compa so I'm hoping they'll be able to do the same here if we buy them some time."
"A Guard Vermin?!"
"I'm as surprised as you are." IF breathed out, defending from a body blow. "Anyway, look sharp!"
Shidou defended another blow, but before a follow up could occur, pink explosions vibrated above him. Looking back, it seems that Compa was providing him cover fire.
"Thanks!"
Despite the numerous cuts and punctures the monster has received from the three, the wounds were far from debilitating. Rather, it seems that each wound only made it more stronger as time passed by.
"IF, maybe I should…!" Shidou grunted after defending Compa from another attack.
"No! Just wait for Neptune! There's no need to risk it!" IF vehemently denied Shidou's suggestion before he could even complete it.
Before the tides of battle could completely change towards the monster's favor, a bright flash of light emitted behind the three, causing IF and Shidou to look behind to see what was happening.
Expecting to see the purple haired preteen, Shidou was surprised to find a woman that looked like a grown up Neptune. Furthermore, she was no longer wearing the same clothing as before, instead, she seemed to be wearing a futuristic black one-piece bathing suit but with sleeves that reached up to a pair of sharp gloves and an opening on her chest area that revealed a modest chest. Her hair had lengthened and was braided into two separate sets furthermore, her eyes held an eerily familiar pattern.
"You've bought enough time!" Neptune, at least Shidou thought she was Neptune, declared, her voice deeper and more confident than before. "Leave the rest to me!"
Flying, as the wing like appendages behind her seemed to allude to, she quickly shortened the distance between her and the Sandworm, delivering a large gash with her katana.
Unlike Shidou's feeble attempts to deliver damage with his great sword, the damage that the Sandworm received was greater from a single attack delivered by the purple haired woman. It simply showed a great degree of difference between strength that Shidou had not expected to find except when comparing the attacks of a human with the attacks of a CPU.
"Is that Neptune?" Shidou asked Compa.
"Yes! That's what she calls HDD. She used that form to take out the Guard Vermin!"
"Amazing…"
From there, the battle could be considered a one-sided slaughter with the Sandworm in the unfortunate end.
Not even a minute since Neptune had engaged the Sandworm, the monster was utterly beaten, collapsing to the floor of the cavern with a quaking thud. Despite being a monster however, it suddenly faded away into black mist, leaving behind a small fragment of what looked to be a golden shard.
Floating over to the fragment, Neptune directed an inquisitive stare at the object, unsure of what to make of it.
Compa quickly dashed over towards Neptune, observing the shard held within her hands.
"Is that a Key Fragment?"
"No… it doesn't seem to be." Neptune replied. "And we've already obtained the Key Fragment for this land mass."
"Wait, wait, Key Fragment?" IF interjected, walking over to the two. "HDD? What the heck is going on here?"
Before anything else could be said on the matter, a dark laughter echoed throughout the room. The shape of the room itself made it difficult to determine where the source of the laughter was coming from, and Shidou immediately tensed as his eyes scanned the room around.
"Th-that doesn't sound good…" Compa said, shivering.
From the corner of Shidou's eyes, he spotted a glimmer of purple miasma and upon turning, Shidou saw a lady wearing a dark purple get-up that isn't too different from what witches might wear during Halloween – if a bit more revealing at that.
Like Neptune, she held purple hair.
"Hahahaha! I've found you Neptune! I didn't think you actually fell to the world below!"
Shidou could unconsciously tell that whoever she was, she didn't come here for a simple greeting.
"A friend of yours?" IF asked, her own katars held firmly in her hands.
"Not that I can recall, unfortunately." Neptune replied, her grip of her katana not shifting. "I have no past memories to speak of apart from the time that Compa found me, which was a few days ago."
"Amnesia? Didn't think I'd find someone like Shidou again..."
"Eh? Mr. Shidou also suffers from amnesia?" Compa gave an inquisitive look towards the only male in the party.
"Still haven't recovered unfortunately." Shidou replied, walking closer to the party while keeping his eyes on the newcomer.
"Hm? So you're suffering from an affliction? No matter, it will make my job of eliminating you simpler!"
From her vantage point from above, the mysterious foe flew with alarming speed towards the party. Shidou immediately took point and dashed forward to the foe while IF followed closely after. Compa had similarly sensed that their foe wasn't there to talk and immediately began firing at the woman.
Shidou's blade made contact with the glaive held by the opponent, but he was quickly surprised when the force of the impact nearly sent him flying and the vibrations nearly numbed his hands. He would have been taken out then and there, if IF hadn't followed up quickly with quick jabs to temporarily send their foe in the defensive.
It didn't last long however, as five seconds in, she brandished her glaive and a shockwave sent IF flying towards Compa, knocking them to the floor.
"Kyaaah!"
"IF!"
"You're next boy!"
Shidou parried the coming blow with his great sword, but the attack finally numbed his hands and a second blow knocked it out of his grip, sending the blade careening through the air, landing several meters from his position.
A third blow would have fatally wounded him, but Neptune had quickly appeared before him, forcing the opponent back under a flurry of slashes.
"Are you alright, Shidou?"
"Y-yes. Thanks, you saved me."
Neptune gave a minute nod. Somehow, the disparity between this Neptune and the other Neptune was a bit unnerving. That said, this Neptune certainly gave a sense of reassurance in this otherwise hopeless scenario.
"Stay here, I'll settle things with her."
"What? Take her on, on your own? She took out IF and Compa with barely any effort!"
"And she would have done the same to you if I hadn't intervened." Neptune replied back calmly. "If you continue to fight, you'll only be a hindrance."
Shidou bit his lip to prevent any remarks from spilling out, his fist clenched in frustration.
Her words were on the mark. From what little he had observed during the fight with the Sandworm, only Neptune had a chance of engaging the foe before them. Even IF who had far more experience than he had was easily taken out, what chance did he have?
But Shidou questioned himself – why?
Why did Neptune's words carve a deep regret within him?
He had only met Neptune today, and apart from their small conversations, he really did not know her. His pride wasn't so large that he couldn't swallow help from someone like Neptune. In terms of combat strength, IF was – and still is better than he was. Her instincts were sharpened after years of questing on her own and he knew that he could not hope to match that experience in the short time they had together.
He hadn't thought of matching it at all.
Shidou simply wished to be useful to someone who had helped him.
Yes.
In the end, Shidou realized that the reason why he felt regret and frustration.
It was because he felt useless.
"Shidou."
A voice brought Shidou out of his thoughts. Upon looking at who had addressed him, any remnants of his previous mindset were washed away by worry.
"IF? Are you alright?"
IF's clothing was torn at several areas and she had a small cut by her cheeks, but was otherwise alright.
"Yes. A bit dizzy, but it doesn't mean I'm out of the fight. Here." She held out her hand. Shidou realized that it was the great sword that had been knocked out of his hands moments earlier. "The battle isn't over and even if that idiot Neptune thinks we're not going to help, then she has another thing coming."
"Yes. I wish to help too!" Compa's hair was a bit frazzled, but determination was shining through her eyes.
Grabbing hold of the great sword, Shidou belatedly realized that his hands were still a little numb from the confrontation moments earlier.
"Do you have a plan?"
"Yeah. Whoever our enemy is, she has a lot of power… but in terms of skill, she's quite lacking. It's the only reason why Neptune is able to keep up with her. Still, if this keeps up, Neptune might run out of stamina sooner rather than later – she took out a Sandworm nearly on her own after all and it doesn't seem like our opponent is going to run out of stamina any time soon with the way she keeps brandishing those shockwaves without any trouble…" IF's eyes were trained on the high speed battle taking place before the three, she shook her head minutely and directed her attention towards Shidou and Compa. "Now, here's the plan…"
"What's going on, Neptune? Where did your bravado go? Where did your confidence go? If you don't defeat me soon, you might just die."
Neptune avoided a thrust to her abdomen, she lashed out with her blade but her foe had immediately pulled back, shattering the floor beneath her.
Her instincts told her that her foe was just playing with her – it was because of that reason that she knew she had a chance in this battle.
Neptune hadn't gone all out, at least not completely. For victory to be grasped, she needed to find an opening that she could exploit. Her earlier attacks were meant to test out the opponent's guard and capability – and she grimaced minutely at the sheer power her foe held.
Nevertheless, it was not a power she could not overcome.
For Neptune to overcome her foe however, she needed to lure the opponent in a false sense of security and attack when she least expected it with her full force to prevent any form of come back. If that didn't work, then she and her companions would be doomed.
The mysterious woman burst forward with the same speed she had pulled back in, her form easily blurring. Neptune, despite not being able to see the attack completely, sidestepped. If her action had been a second later, she would have been pierced by the glaive that the woman held.
Neptune brandished her sword once more, only for it to be blocked by the woman. She had not expected anything less however, and quickly maneuvered her body around the coming attack. Without wasting any time after avoiding the blow, she kicked the woman to have a distance between them.
It was a foolish hope, as the woman quickly recovered mid-air, a result of being capable to fly.
Without pause, the woman rushed forward her glaive flashing through the air, forcing Neptune in the defensive from the attack.
She could not parry the attack – it would simply drain her strength faster. Blocking was beyond her after the first few hits, and despite her speed with the blade, the woman could react faster. Although she had not unleashed any of her skills, an instinct deep within Neptune could tell that it would most likely not work. The woman before her fought with reckless abandon – simply because the power she held gave her that ability.
There was no inherent skill with the power the woman used. Her movements would break the earth, her attacks with her weapon would cause the shockwave produced by the attack to impact nearby objects like razor wind. Even if the woman did not mean to, every movement was a danger that only added up to the sheer strength she held.
Neptune looked for every opportunity for the opening that she needed but every time she tested out an opening, it would be rebuffed with that unnatural strength. Despite the hopeless situation, the fact that the woman needed to defend meant that she was not the type that can shrug off hits. In other words, while her strength stat was at a point in comparable to anyone including Neptune's own strength, her defense must be low enough that someone like her could possibly pierce it.
Having this information however, was useless without a proper opening. Time was not on her side – she could feel her strength draining, and with it, any chance of making out of this engagement alive –
Then unexpectedly, just as the mysterious woman made to dash towards her again, several bullets impacted the ground before the woman forcing her back.
"Tch… I was willing to let them live, but it looks like you're really asking for you death, huh!"
The opponent switches attention and rushes towards the unprotected nurse, but before the mysterious woman's glaive could come crashing down towards Compa, Shidou appeared before her and used his great sword to shield the blow.
"Guhh!"
The single blow forced Shidou to his knees, while making the ground beneath him crack.
Shidou's bones would have fractured upon the strain if he had not used enchant magic to increase his strength and durability. Even then, Shidou had felt that his body would not be able to withstand another one of those attacks.
"You're getting on my nerves boy!"
Neptune made to move forward, but a flash of light from above catches her attention.
From the ceiling of the cavern, IF descends with blinding speed and before the mysterious woman could react, IF had wounded her foe's back
The foe had flinched, it was only a minor wound but in this battle it might as well be the one thing that would change the tides.
Neptune dashed forward, intent to take advantage of the opening –
"ENOUGH!"
"Gaaaah!"
""Kyaaah!""
In a blast of pure power, Shidou, Compa, and IF were blasted back from the mysterious woman as black miasma flowed violently around her. Neptune managed to retain her ground, but was nearly knocked to her back when she was forced to alter her balance to catch IF.
"I see that your companions are as much as an annoyance as you are, Neptune! Then far be it for me to spare them or you!"
A large concentration of power began to manifest at the tip of their foe's glaive, an energy that Neptune was eerily familiar with – despite seeing the attack for the first time, she instinctively knew that neither she nor her companions would survive an attack from that blow.
Neptune tried to move, but after feeling resistance, she looked below her to find what looked like several pale hands protruding from her own shadow grabbing hold of her foot. It was a scene that would more commonly be found in some sort of horror movie, but no matter how much she tried to convince herself, this was simply reality.
"This is…!"
"This is the end, Neptune!"
Thrusting her glaive forward, the malicious energy surged forth – Neptune closed her eyes and placed her blade before her in a feeble attempt to defend…
CRASH!
Waiting for a second and another, Neptune wondered why she hadn't felt any pain. If anything, she had not felt any resistance from her blade and its weight still remained the same. Then what…?
"What…? What is this?!"
Hearing the voice of their foe, Neptune cautiously opened her eyes.
Instead of seeing the shocked expression of the mysterious woman as her voice alluded to, Neptune was surprised to find a large golden brown structure obstructing her view.
"What…?"
Neptune did not know what to make of the structure in front of her. It was definitely not there moments ago, so who could have possibly set it up?
The sounds of footstep entered her ears and looking to her right she saw Shidou dashing towards her, and when she looked at his eyes…
His pupils had whitened and his normally dull brown pupils had brightened to an almost glowing amber color.
Without pausing Shidou leapt. Not towards her, Neptune realized, but to the top of the structure that was in front of her.
Looking up, she wondered why Shidou had leapt there of all places until she noticed that Shidou seemed to have grasped a black handle at the very top – and then he pulled.
"Lend me your strength…"
The black handle, as it turns out, was the handle to a large great sword sheathed within the golden brown structure before her. In comparison to the great sword that Shidou held earlier, this great sword was pure white with dark blue pulsing lines running through it. From where the black handle met the blade was a golden hilt and further above it, was a circular sphere that glowed with an ethereal blue light.
"…Sandalphon!"
It was a majestic sword like no other, and despite its size, Shidou held it in one hand.
The golden brown structure began to fade away once the blade was pulled out, and as if expecting it, Shidou leapt to the ground the moment his foothold began to disappear.
With the obstruction gone, Neptune could now see the wary form of the mysterious woman.
"That sword… who are you?"
Shidou did not reply towards the woman and instead placed his left foot forward and slid his other foot slightly back. His eyes were set in a glare towards his opponent, and the anger portrayed within his eyes only got hotter upon seeing IF's unconscious form.
"Neptune, if you managed to catch her with your blade, can you take her out in one blow?"
Unlike before, there was a slight change in tone that she used to address her. It wasn't confidence, but there was a purpose and drive within those words that made it all the more different from the tone that Shidou used to talk to her earlier.
"Yes. She was wounded by IF's katar, so if I get an opening, I can end it in one blow."
Shidou nodded minutely.
"Then I'll force one!"
In contrast to the earlier confrontation, Shidou rushed forward to their foe instead of waiting for the mysterious woman to close in. His speed was a notch faster compared to before, and the presence he held made it a case of something that should have been expected for someone like him.
"Rushing towards your death? I don't know what you did, but if that's what you seek – then I shall deliver!"
The mysterious foe met Shidou midway –
KLANG!
A large shockwave rocked the cavern, causing fragments of the stone ceiling to fall towards the floor. To Neptune and their foe's surprise however, Shidou had not been blown away by the attack nor did he fall to his knees at the strength the foe held. Inexplicably, he had not only met the attack head on, he managed to force her back.
"W-what?!"
Shocked at the turn of events, the mysterious woman leaped backwards in an attempt to recover from the attack. Although it was difficult to perceive, their opponent must have received some sort of damage from the clash earlier evident by the slight shaking the woman's hand went through.
Shidou made no attempt to pursue – instead, the edges of the great sword that he held began to glow a bright blue, easily illuminating the dim cavern. Power gathered, in a way that wasn't too different from the attack of the mysterious woman earlier, but there was no feeling of malice imbued into it.
It was simply power – an honest feeling no different from a pure desire.
Neptune lowered IF's unconscious form onto the floor. She had many questions in her mind, but thinking on it during the midst of battle would be foolish. Right now, the best option was to shelve any question she might have and to spot the oncoming opening. Her role was near, and she would not mess up!
The power that gathered within Shidou's blade was nearly blinding in its light. As if the brightness was the signal, Shidou raised the blade high above his head, and upon reaching its apex, he swung down with a mighty roar.
A blue shockwave erupted from the tip of the blade and tore through the cavern's floor and headed straight towards the mysterious woman. Their foe brought her glaive to defend, but it was one done out of desperation rather than that of a planned move. The speed was beyond what she had expected and defense was the reflexive action.
Neptune capitalized on it.
The ground cracked from where she originated, her speed reaching the fastest it has gone throughout this whole battle. Their foe noticed the movement, but she could do nothing to prevent the coming attack lest she wanted to be overwhelmed by the attack that Shidou had sent.
"This ends here! Cross Combination!"
The katana that Neptune held did not hold any mystical properties that she was aware of, but it was a blade that could not be compared to any man crafted weapon. It was ordinary in its appearance, but its cutting strength and integrity was brought to the fore as Neptune tore through the opponent's guard with the first thrust and upon breaking through, she chained blindingly fast slashes that were without a doubt fatal wounds. The flurry of slashes ended after Neptune kicked the opponent into the air but only to send her crashing down with her blade.
With their foe losing strength due to the wounds, Shidou's follow up attack no longer met resistance and immediately pierced through their foe's body.
Despite the situation however, Neptune quickly moved towards Shidou's position intending to keep her guard up but upon doing so, a white light suddenly enveloped her.
"Aww… looks like I'm out of juice."
Shidou blinked at the sudden change as moments earlier, a more mature and serious version of Neptune was by his side, then the next second she was replaced by the Neptune that he had first met.
"So it looks like our victory, huh? With a combination attack like that, there's no way she can still be left standing! Unless of course she was a zombie all along – would make sense since she has that Goth theme going on."
Before Shidou could even attempt to formulate a reply to the lively Neptune's words, a groan echoed amongst the quickly settling dust caused by Shidou and Neptune's attack.
"No way, is she still alive after that? She must really be a zombie!"
Once the dust had settled, Shidou could only numbly agree with Neptune's assessment, as he raised his blade once again.
Despite the fatal injuries that were present on the woman's form, she had somehow stood up with the support of her glaive. She glared at them but did not move to attack.
"Damn it! You don't even look like you exercise, so why? Tch… I forgot, this is Planeptune… this is your home turf, Neptune." She spat blood, and a dark miasma began gathering below her feet. "Still… this wasn't a bad testing ground for that power. The next time we meet, do not think you'll make it out alive!"
The miasma covered their foe's entire body and once it faded away, there was no trace of the supposedly fatally injured woman.
"That was it?! She sure spouted lines like a villain from a B-Rated movie just before running!"
"We didn't even get her name." Shidou said, agreeing.
With the battle officially over, the sword held in Shidou's hands faded away into wisps of light. His eyes, just like Neptune upon returning to what Shidou deemed as her normal form, had also returned from bright amber to a dim brown color his iris similarly returned to normal.
"So what was that?" Neptune energetically asked, quickly approaching Shidou making the blue-haired boy take a hesitant step back. For someone who said that they ran out of juice, Neptune's disposition didn't seem to support her own words. "It's like you pulled out a legendary sword from out of nowhere! Are you a chosen one? Did you pull a sword out of a rock that marks you as a king of a desolate land? Or are you a legendary blacksmith that can make temporary swords out of thin air?"
Shidou was sure that many of those were references to various popular culture works, but he couldn't find it in him to reply with any form of coherence. So to save himself the trouble, he decided to change the subject.
"I'll talk about it later, we need to get out of here – I don't know about you, but I'm not quite confident with the caverns integrity after that clash with that woman."
"Yeah, it would suck to win but end up dying anyway due to something as lame as a cave-in. But you better not be changing the subject just because you're trying to keep that thing a secret! I want in!"
"…if there's anyone here with unexplained secrets, that would be you, Neptune."
Neptune however, was no longer paying attention and had gone to wake up Compa. Sighing, Shidou gently hefted up IF and began the process of rousing her.
"IF, wake up…"
Shidou's voice trailed off as a sharp pain assaulted his chest. A dizzying sensation similar to vertigo made itself known and not even a second after feeling it, his sight blacked out.
Author's Notes:
For one, don't expect chapter sizes to be consistently this big. Sometimes it can be bigger, sometimes it can be smaller - it really depends on the scene being tackled.
Anyway, Happy New Year everyone! I mentioned in Chapter 1 that this will follow the Re:birth timeline, but I'm only following it loosely so the events that may happen, the way the world works and various other nuances might be different. For instance, in the battle above, you might notice Arfoire (and perhaps Neptune) to be much stronger (although really, they should be given their origins). More changes like that will be present in future chapters so don't be too alarmed.
As for the next chapter, it would most likely be the lead up to before the party moves to Lastation. No idea when the chapter would come up, but hopefully it's before February since I'll be busy from February onwards.
