Chapter 36 - Round 2 and Revealing

Nico cursed as he hastily summoned Rebellion back to his hand from the Void Storage. The smoothness of the weapon's hilt did little to calm his nerves however, plus his raging Instincts weren't helping. It was all he could do to remain in control for the time being. "God fucking damnit!" this wasn't good, not at all. He could feel his instincts screeching, breaking the restraints, he had placed on them at the notion of an enemy that could take all teh punishment he could give it like this one.

Ivan patted his friend on the back of his shoulder, a sympathetic expression on his face as he got his Bionic Arm ready for battle. His Bionic Arm shifted to Blade Mode as he gave a small grunt. "You and me both, bro, you and me both." He remarked with irritation, thinking that Nico's irritation came solely from the fact that their foe still wasn't finished after all the damage they had dealt to it. His actions did serve to help Nico calm his instincts, the fact that he wasn't alone in this situation was able to assure the Instincts within that things would be okay, that they would come out of this alive.

Aiden hummed as he cupped his chin, no longer leaning on the lamppost as he slowly deployed his Wings in preparation for battle. He swiftly glanced to the Spec Ops Agent known as DEATHSTROKE, and his eyes briefly showed understanding before they resumed his usual blank, emotionless demeanour. "It appears that the enemy has been holding secret weapons back from us. It appears Ganache's words from earlier were not for show." He summarized thoughtfully before informing the group of his deduction.

Lucy groaned as she turned her head to level a face that basically said 'Really, captain obvious?' on it. She threw her arms into the air with her response. "Geez, ya think Aidy?!" she shrieked, sarcasm laced within her tone. She then pointed to the Killachine with her right hand, the said monster already having armed itself with it's Sickles, and it's Tail good as new. It was like their attacks hadn't even hit it at this point, not something that helped calm their nerves.

The stoic male levelled a stare towards his vice leader, as he spoke with a slight sense of annoyance and deadpan. "I must once again insist that you refrain from nicknaming me as such."

With the girls, Black Heart was groaning in displeasure all this drama was getting to her head. She needed a break, and a large one. Though, she knew that wouldn't be possible in the short future. "Jeez, I normally refrain from using obscene language, but this guy's already pain in the ass to deal with before, now it can regenerate?! Load of bull!" she yelled at the end, holding her head in frustration not realising that she still held her sword in one of her hands. It nearly hit IF, but she managed to avoid it in time with her new instincts.

The purple haired swordstress nodded her head in agreement with the white haired one, knowing her feelings all too well. This was often something she would see in an Abnormal so she figured the Killachine before them was one such monster. An Abnormal Boss monster, what a combination. "I must admit, I too agree with you, Noire. Maintaining this form after repetitive battles like this is exhausting." she said, rolling her shoulder as if to stretch several muscles that hadn't been used yet. Her power wasn't at full anymore, most of it had been used too take Ganache out, even though she failed in that mission.

Compa had teardrops in the corners of her eyes. She was so tired from all that running, jumping, rolling, dodging and ducking from earlier, abut with this she knew that there was more to come. She didn't like that, not one bit. "More fighting… muuuu!" she looked about ready to cry at this point.

IF, seeing this, patted her friend on the shoulder, careful not to apply too much strength into it since her strength as a BOW was greater than that of a normal human. "Easy, Compa, save the tears for AFTER we kick this thing's keister." She suggested, trying to help her. Though, in her mind IF was slightly glad the fight wasn't over yet, because she still felt that her powers needed some more testing.

"Hehehehehe, surprised?" Everyone turned their heads to see Ganache walking towards them from behind, a holographic data pad in his hand that showed the statistics of a certain programme within the Killachine. "I said this is the 1.5 version. We're still working the kinks out, but we did give it the ability to regenerate fully when in critical condition. Only works once though."

When Black Heart heard that, and glanced at the Killachine which once again loomed over them menacingly, she aimed a smirk in Ganache's direction, amusement and excitement dancing within her eyes as she spoke. "So, all that means is that we can beat it up some more so it won't recover." She summarized, lowering the doubts of her comrades who gave her relieved looks, then some smug ones to Ganache.

Said man retained his condescending smirk however, something which slightly surprised the group though they didn't show it. "Oh really? Well then, how about you get a taste of something else we've been meaning to test?" he asked it, but it was really more like something else when he pressed a few times on the data pad.

Afterwards, several mechanical whirring's sounded from within the Killachine as its eye seemed to enlarge slightly, then grew larger, and larger. Nico was the first to realise what was going on, and his face became pale as a result. "Oh, shi-!" he gasped as he listened to his instincts and jumped into the air. This was mirrored by IF, whose BOW instincts told her to get the fuck outta there just before a massive yellow beam was launched from the Killachine's eye.

The party had little time to react, and while Team RAIL's Lucy was able to move out of the way in time, the rest weren't so lucky, and were suddenly paralysed with constant yellow sparks flying from their bodies. The trio that survived the initial attack landed on opposite sides of the street they were on, staring with shock at the sight of their incapacitated comrades who fell to the ground, unable to move. Out of all the startled exclamations, Black Heart's was the loudest. "What is going on here, why can't I move?!"

At Black Heart's startled cry, Ganache burst into hysterical laughter. "Hahahahahahaha Ahahahahaha! Oh, that is just GLORIOUS!" he placed a hand on his chest and calmed his breathing down to normal, taking deep and slow breaths till his breathing was stabilised. "Whooo, wow I did not expect today to go like this. Anyways, it's just a special little eye cannon we've invented that paralyses foes on impact. Doesn't actually hurt them, but it shuts down their ability to move by overloading their nerve systems in the legs. Great for capturing pesky little brats, but not for outright killing them. It's still in the test phase, but it's making progress if it can paralyse a CPU." The man then pressed more on his Data pad. "Now, we haven't got all day, so I'll be making our Killachine finish you off now."

What remained of their party stiffened when they saw the shoulders of the Killachine open, to reveal its next salvo of missiles. Lucy cursed as she readied her Cleavers, she knew this would end up being bloody, especially with so many of them unable to dodge this attack. "Damnit, we were careless, let our guard down!"

IF did the same thing as the vice leader of Team RAIL as she flared her arm to the side and morphed it into her Tentacles. It was fortunate for her that she had listened to her instincts that time, otherwise she wouldn't be able to do this right now. "I can stop the missiles, but I'll be at risk if I don't move… but that'll leave the others wide open till the effects wear off… hopefully." She didn't want to entertain the notion that this effect would last the whole battle, but the thought just wouldn't leave her mind.

Nico, Nico was cursing up a storm in his mind, the same worries IF had coursing through his mind on an even greater scale. He knew this was because of his instincts going haywire, hell he could feel IT about to burst out of him and onto the surface, despite his attempts to suppress it. At moments like these he truly appreciated what it was like to have his armour. He missed it, he missed it dearly, but this was not the time to be sentimental, since his comrade's lives were on the line… again!

A brief flash of heat roared within his chest, and a gasp tore from his lips.

There... There was only one way he could think of due to the stress and anxiety this situation was causing him that could save the others: Transform into a DPU. It would keep IT under control as using DDD seemed to suppress IT better than his mental efforts ever could, likely due to the quantity of demonic energy rushing through his veins whenever he uses DDD. However, the possibility that he could lose control again was there, and it caused him to hesitate. 'I… I have to do it… but, what if I…?'

His mind was at war with himself as Nico struggled to conclude on what to do, searching for any other way than to transform and risk losing control again. However, he couldn't find any other way out of this. The Killachine's strength and defence was amazing, able to remain intact even after all that damage they had given it before. But unlike then, they didn't have a full party since most of them were paralysed. They wouldn't be able to help, hell, they'd just be a liability at this point, even though Nico loathed to admit this to himself, there was no other way to describe them at this point.

'I… is there really no other way… can I only just transform and…?'

All this hesitation was really starting to get on his nerves. He shouldn't be hesitating like this, he was Nico, the Spec Ops Agent DEATHSTROKE! One of the best in the Guild! He shouldn't be hesitating at all, it ruined his image and reputation! Even without his beloved armour, the name still stuck to him, it was his title, it was HIS! This wasn't like him, not one bit.

While he thought this, Nico remembered the first time he transformed to battle that white-haired woman in the Monster Cave. At the time, he didn't even notice the change in his power, as his mind was only focused on one thing, and one thing only. What was it? what was it that drove him back then that he didn't have back at West Wind Valley?

It hit him like a bunch of airliners falling on top of him. Goal! He had a goal in mind, one that he wanted to do so badly he didn't even think of anything else. He remembered what he had said that time when in that inferno, how he had said he wouldn't care if he came back as a monster, he would come back to the people that he gave a damn about. He couldn't let them die back then, and he most certainly didn't want to now.

But there was more to it back then, there was something even greater that he had lacked back at West Wind Valley. Back then, there had been the tiniest amount of concern for his power, since he hadn't used it before and didn't know much on how to control it. Nico soon realised what that was after seconds of pondering, resolve. He had the resolve to transform, not caring about anything else but to do what he wanted to do.

'I… I get it! I get why I lost control earlier! The resolve to do what must be done, the goal that was important enough to warrant not thinking of anything else… that's what I need!' Nico thought as he closed his eyes and returned Rebellion to his Void Storage. He slowly kneeled and placed one hand on the ground, and began to call on the demonic energy. 'Back then, I was more focused on my goals, but back at West Wind Valley, I didn't have a set idea in mind, which made my DPU form harder to control. I guess I'm not ready to use it without a goal in mind yet, but...'


Histoire gasped when she felt it: Demonic Energy surging forth like an unstoppable flood. She quickly checked history's events, and through them, saw how Nico was going to transform once again. However, this time it appeared he had come to a conclusion on how to control the uncontrollable power. A small, yet relieved and happy, grin formed on her features. 'Yes... that's the way, Nico! The power of a DPU is controllable, but only by a strong mind. It respects power, and so long as it knows your top dog, then you will be guaranteed it's obedience as its wielder.' She thought, an odd sense of excitement filling her up inside.

She had been looking into what little she had on the DPUs ever since Nico first transformed, and what little she came across wasn't good. In fact, it was safe to say that it was terrible, atrocious even. These DPUs were truly heinous creatures when in their prime, however there was one redeeming feature they had. That was the fact that they each held a warrior's Spirit, and thus they each had a special code of honor.

Plus, there's how Nico wasn't like his ancestors. He had people who wouldn't let him descend to their level. She could only hope that this time, the DPU didn't make the same mistakes they did.

Only time would tell.


A faint red aura formed around him, the air around the street slightly becoming heated as a result. Not everyone noticed this, but some of them did, one of them being a confused Lucy. "Um, why is the temperature getting hotter here?" she wondered in confusion, muttering to herself.

Neptune and Black Heart both recognised this power, and turned to Nico in horror as they saw the aura forming around him. "Nicky, what are you doing?!" the former yelled in panic, she realised that the situation was bad, but to warrant transforming?! Since she was paralysed she couldn't stop him if he lost control either!

"What she said, stop it Nico! Don't do it, you know what'll happen if you do?!" Black Heart yelled as she tried to get through to the male while struggling against what paralysed her. However, her efforts on both fronts were fruitless, no matter how much she struggled against them.

Raven and her Team looked to the girls, seeing their horrified faces and felt like they were out of the loop on something, something big. And when it concerned their friend Nico, Raven and Lucy would pay rapt attention to it. "What? What is Nico doing over there?!" they yelled, but the girls were too nervous to hear them.


Meanwhile, the heat emitting from Nico increased in intensity in a gradual manner. The male had his head hung low so nobody could see his closed eyes as he focused, feeling the chaotic demonic energy rushing free from its confines and beginning the process of his transformation.

However, unlike before, Nico didn't feel anything from it, he felt nothing but energy, no fears, no doubts. No, that wasn't quite right, while a part of him was nervous about transforming again, that part had been pushed aside and later snuffed out, replaced with determination and willpower. He couldn't afford to be nervous now.

'My goal… my goal is… well, it's not something a cliché harem protagonist would think like 'I'm going to protect my friends!' or anything like all that cliché bullshit you'd see in anime, movies and manga's. I'm nothing like them, but I do need a goal… and that goal… well, it's in 3 separate forms: FIGHT, PROTECT, and above all… SURVIVE!'


Ganache laughed as he saw that nobody was doing anything, not moving one muscle as the missiles were ready to be launched. "Giving up so soon? Oh well, I suppose it is inevitable. Great power always baffles the minds of the primitive and the gullible." He mused to himself. Before looking up at the Killachine and making a single order. "Finish them off, Killachine 1.5!"

The Killachine moaned as it unleashed its Salvo of missiles which prompted IF to get in front of the others readying her Tentacles. She may have some experience with her new powers, but not enough to use them with confidence. Nonetheless, she had to try and make it so they would at least get a fighting chance. She had cheated death with their help once before, so why not make a remake? 'Hehe, looks like Nep's rubbing off on me. Facing death in the eye and what do I do? Make a meta joke on the franchise's rebirth series.' She thought, an absent-minded chuckle escaping her lips.

Just when the missiles were about to hit her first Tentacle however…

(Play Blue Dragon Ost - Determination)

IF's eyes widened and her breath left her when she saw Nico jump in front of her, his body radiating a familiar heat that came with his transformation. Before she could ask him what the hell he was doing, Nico was engulfed in the flames of his DDD, flames that knocked away most of the missiles with their eruption, similar to the roar of a dragon, while IF's Tentacles managed to thwack the rest away, making them explode AROUND them instead of ON them.

Ganache's face lost colour when he saw this scene as he did a double take. He was forced to cover his face from the flames, a raging heat surging through the air that made breathing very difficult. "Wh-what the hell?! What is this?!" he shrieked, shock and fear rising in his vocals when he saw the transformation. There was a powerful sense of danger from that transformation, if it was even that, he realised. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, his palms began to sweat beneath his leather gloves, and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep calm.

Flames roared as they circled around the Cocoon that had entrapped the male inside, ready for his transformation. Trails spread across the ground and the air, some even arching upwards into the skies above, as if trying to scar the very heavens themselves with their presence. The heat in the air was almost too much, for the air itself seemed to be melting before them as sizzling sounds echoed throughout the vicinity. Pieces of rubble born from the conflict were already starting to melt.

For the girls of Neptune's Party, they could only watch in awe at the sight. Despite their fears for their male Party Member's safety, they couldn't help but admire the spectacle before them, it was almost memorising in a way, the way the flames swayed and arched about like they were alive, like living breathing organisms. The way that their orangish red colours meshed with the dirty brown colours of the earth and the metallic blacks of the buildings around them. Hell, if Neptune were in human form, she'd comment about the music suddenly playing in the background.

The rest of Team RAIL watched on, flabbergasted when they saw this new transformation, just as much as Neptune, Compa and IF had been when they first saw it back in the Monster Cave dungeon. "What the… Nico, what did you…?" Raven breathed, her eyes wide and her jaw dropping slightly before she glanced at Lucy, knowing about 'that' side of her. 'Lucy must be losing her mind right now… to see something that…'

When the flames died down, there Nico stood, in his full DPU glory. His eyes, which were closed, slowly opened to reveal their dark coloured power button symbols, sending chills down everyone's spines. The male's adult body was now encased in his usual fiery aura as his reddish orange armour gleamed menacingly, his pointed gaze enough to scare even the most battle hardened of war veterans. The impression wasn't helped by the insidious appearance of his primary weapon: the sword Soul Edge.

His appearance certainly set Ganache into a dazed stupor, even the Killachine seemed taken aback by the twisted, demonic appearance Nico now possessed. "wha-where-how-why…?" he tried to form a sentence, but his mind refused to form the words that he would need to do such a thing.

(OST Ends)

Ignoring Ganache, Nico looked himself over, something that instantly caught the attention of those that knew what this transformation was. This was new, Nico hadn't done this the last few times he had transformed, it was always 'stare silently while hacking away everything in sight'. obviously, something changed, they hoped that it was something good. They didn't want to deal with an out-of-control Nico, while paralysed, in the middle of a civilian area. If they did have to...

The results would be cataclysmic.

Their hopes were realised, much to their joy and awe, when Nico spoke. "Hmmm, so this is what I look like in DDD? Wow, this actually… feels kinda badass." He remarked, his eyes blinking in amazement. The fact that his face was morphing slightly into different expressions, as well as the fact that Nico spoke like an older version of himself, meant that Nico had done it, he had achieved control over his DPU form. Or at least, learned how to not lose control so easily judging by how he randomly twitched occasionally. Glancing at them, any doubts they would have had were vanquished when Nico floated over to them, making sure to rein in his power so they weren't bothered by the heat, and spoke. "I wish to apologise for how I acted the last time I transformed."

He then turned to Black Heart, who flinched slightly at his gaze, though it filled with surprise when Nico's own gaze became downcast with sadness, and guilt. "Especially you, Bl-Noire." He corrected himself before the others could hear what he said. Though, he had forgotten that she has transformed in front of them before. The male then turned around and hovered back to his previous position, getting into a battle stance with his Soul Edge gleaming sinisterly, eager to battle with its master. "To that end, I shall right my wrongs by burning this fool to cinders, sending it to oblivion."

Compa eyed the transformed Nico in awe. "Looks like Ni-Ni's alright, he's still in control!" she exclaimed with shock and, later, joy. Now that he was in control, Compa didn't feel as frightened by his new appearance as much anymore, in fact it was quite the opposite. She eyed certain parts of his armour that didn't hide the developed body of Nico's older, adult self. 'W-Woooooow….'

"Heh, hard to believe, but the dude pulled it off. I was honestly worried for a moment there." IF admitted with a bashful smile, her remaining hand on her hip as her instincts, which had been screaming at her to run when Nico had looked at them, settled down upon the realisation that he was in control and wouldn't attack them.

Neptune heaved a relieved sigh, although it was difficult considering her current condition. "It is relieving to me as well. Now, I am not the only one who can transform freely." She said, enjoying the realisation that she wasn't the only one who could transform anymore. While Nico had the portable armour at one point, it still didn't feel like an actual transformation. With it gone after that battle the male had nothing at all that could relate to her, save for that uncontrollable transformation. Now that he had control over it, Neptune didn't feel as lonely anymore.

Her thoughts were halted when Black Heart, while sharing their feelings, brought them back to the reality of their situation. "We can feel relieved later, right now we should focus on trying to escape this paralysing thing were on." she urged them.


Meanwhile, Ivan was cursing to himself as he tried to break free from his paralysis. This was the case, until he saw Aiden drinking a Paralaxin with his mouth, making him gape at the other male. "Dude, when the hell did you have the time to get some Paralaxin out? Didn't we run out of those when facing those Genprey back in Leanbox?" he asked him.

"I had some left on me that I failed to notice during my previous rundown of my equipment. A fortunate mistake, for it shall serve us well in this situation. Be patient while I recover from this and I'll get to the rest of you."

Aiden's answer bewildered Ivan as he sweat dropped, chuckling weakly at his fellow male. "How the heck did he forget something as important as that…?" he wondered, but didn't say it to a point where the others could hear him since like Aiden had said, it was a godsend for them. "Now, if Nico can just hold that thing off, then…"


(Play Blue Dragon OST - The Earth Shark is Comno)

Back with Nico, the male struck first by taking to the air and slamming his Sword down on the Killachine which blocked with one of its Sickles. It struck diagonally with the other one, but Nico generated a panel, akin to the ones CPUs use except this one was red and shaped like a slitted eye with a circle made out of fiery embers around it, that blocked the attack. He then raised Soul Edge to the skies and allowed fiery trails to emerge from the eye at its hilt, covering the blade's metallic edge. "This attack was nameless once before. Its name had not yet been learned, hence why Neptune's version of it was weaker than it should've been. That will change now, however. ATOMIC INFERNO."

Swinging Soul Edge, Nico sent the 30 fiery homing rays down towards the Killachine, which despite its best attempts to defend and dodge, was overwhelmed with the amount that had been launched. The resulting impact made by the rest of the homing rays caused a spiralling pillar of flames to erupt into an explosion, filling the area with intense heat.

Heat that wouldn't bother the others thanks to Nico's will over the power he wielded.

So far, he could feel himself remaining in control for the time being. He didn't know how long though, because he could feel it trying to wrestle free, to be free to do what it wanted. Nico wouldn't allow that, so te male resolved to end this fight quickly, while also learning how this power of his worked. Now that he had successfully retained his mental awareness and not allowed the demonic energy to overwhelm him, Nico could now learn how his powers worked properly, instead of small bursts unlike before.

Slowly, the male descended to the ground till he was floating just above it, his Soul Edge held at his side. The male then raised a hand, and the hand suddenly erupted in flames which condensed into a large gauntlet, 4 times larger than a human arm. With a single swing from Soul Edge, the smoke was dispersed to reveal the Killachine, mildly damaged but still kicking. Its laser was charged up and fired on him without a moment's hesitation.

"Nico, no! Get outta there, its dangerous!" everyone cried out, telling him to move out of the way lest he get hit, only for Nico to not listen and rear his fist back. "Good grief." He muttered under his breath. He then felt flames wrap around his Gauntlet like a second skin, forming a larger, fiery version of itself, before thrusting the flaming gauntlet forwards. "Take some of this... FIRE FIST." The fist contacted the beam, and instead of the beam passing through it like everyone would have expected, the two forces began a pushing contest, sparks flying from the point where the two attacks collided.

Nico grunted, but made no other indication that he was putting effort into pushing the beam back. "It appears that cannon is highly charged, which means that the power source must give large amounts of power to maintain it for this length of time." He mused, running his eyes over the beam with a critical gaze in them. "However,"

His face, or what can be seen of it thanks to his helmet, darkened while he thrusted his fist upwards, deflecting the beam in the same direction. He twirled into flapping his wings and talking off towards the Killachine's head. "That will not be able to defeat me." when he was close enough, Nico reared his fist back and punched through the side of the robot's head.

Sparks flew off the exposed side of the Killachine's head, exposing the gears and circuits within. But Nico wasn't done as the FIRE FIST dispersed into dying Embers as he raised Soul Edge to the skies above. Just before he could finish though, an idea struck him, and he lowered his Sword. "It may be best to finish you off above the city, so it does not get damaged." he mused, making Black Heart sigh with relief. She didn't want her city to be too badly damaged for savaging and repairs, where else would her people live? Though, she wouldn't mind if Avenir was destroyed, for everything they have done.

With his new idea in mind, Nico raised a hand like he was holding the bottom of a glass of water in his palm, fingers gripping the sides for support. From the air itself, fiery trails manifested and lunged towards the Killachine like a pack of wild Vipers. The Killachine tried to move, but it was soon proven to be futile, for the flames quickly wrapped around it in a cocoon, their bottom reshaping itself into a large fiery hand shaped exactly like Nico's gauntlet covered one.

"Whoa, now that's neat..." Neptune whispered in shock and awe as she watched the hand form. She hadn't thought of trying to control elements like this. She knew she could control flames too, but not on this scale she didn't think. her control over fire felt more like I was meant to be used to enhance her strikes. The same could be said for Black Heart too, who was literally forming a castle door's shape with her open mouth right now. Everyone else had various reactions of shock and awe at the power that was being displayed here. May be cliché, but they hadn't seen anything like this before. If a DPU empowered Nico could do this, what else could he do? The thoughts alone were terrifying enough.

With his 'cargo' secured, Nico flared his wings and ascended higher into the skies, embers falling like rain below him. The fiery hand soon began to ascend after him, taking the captive Killachine with it. The flames didn't burn or injure it, no, they were meant to contain it's movements, the male having mentally ordered them to do so. His power over flames seemed to be quite versatile, he noticed when he did his previous actions. There was only testing those limits now, but that would be saved for another time. A time where he could actually control this power fully and without a goal like he was right now.

When he felt that they were high enough, at this point they were right beneath the clouds, Nico looked down at the Killachine, which was still struggling to break free. He surprised himself as when he looked at it, the male didn't feel much at all, ono remorse, pity, happiness, joy, anything. He felt... nothing, inside. Like an abyss or a black hole, and if he was in human form he would have worried about that. Fortunately, he could still make expressions though, which meant he could still feel emotions, but maybe it was not the same as his human form.

Nevertheless, the time to end this battle had come. Nico gave a blank stare to his prey, raising Soul Edge to the skies. "Time to test one last finisher: FIRE SCORCHER." Fiery trails burst free from the eye of Soul Edge, which was literally on fire right now, as well as his fiery wings, pooling together in the space above the massive sword's tip. The trails combined, mixing and merging into what looked like... a giant flaming meteor the size of a multi-story building.

In one swift movement, Nico then pointed Soul Edge down at the Killachine, which sent the massive meteor down towards it.

If a robot could feel fear, then it would have seeing as how it was facing a giant freaking meteor made to reduce it to ashes. The Killachine made a desperate attempt to launch its missiles and paralyser cannon, sadly it failed to realise 2 things: one, the Missiles couldn't be launched as programming dictated they would have to be ready before use, and two, the attack from before damaged it badly enough to stop it from using its cannon so it couldn't damage its circuits more than they already were.

The Meteor crashed into it, creating a supernova sized eruption of fire and molten rock, this time hitting the girls hard with how much heat it had generated, even from where they were compared to the origins of the explosion. It forced them to cover their faces, both the paralysed and the non-paralysed ones. Well, the latter could only close their eyes due to lacking any body movement.

"What the heck is with this heat...?!"

"Ugh, what I wouldn't give to not be paralysed right now...!"

(OST ENDS)


When the heat died down and the pillar of flames vanished, there was a shower of embers falling around him… as well as a pool of melted metal on the ground, having fallen there after the attack died down. Nico floated down till he was just high enough to loom over it. His black power button symbol-sporting eyes leering down at the puddle of goo. "At last… the enemy shall not regenerate, even if it could use that ability more than once. I made sure that it wouldn't." he spoke dryly, watching the remains glow brightly before vanishing into particles. He then floated away, and landed before his companions.

A brief red flash blinded them, and when it died down there Nico stood before them, silent at first before he groaned in fatigue as he fell to one knee. "Nicky/Nico!" they yelled, rushing over to him. At this point the paralysis had either been cured by Aiden's spare Paralaxin or Compa's healing Skills, or it had worn off naturally.

"With the two of us, it was easy… is what I'd like to say, but we wouldn't have been able to do anything if Nico didn't go DDD." Black Heart admitted with reluctance, it hurt her pride to admit that she wouldn't have been able to defeat the Killachine back there, but even she had to admit that situation had been dire. She did feel a bit better when she saw what remained of the machine though before it vanished like every other Monster that threatened Gamindustri.

As she looked around, Black Heart noticed that there was someone missing, someone very important. A certain black dressed businessman, which made a curious scowl form on her features. "Hm? Where's Ganache?"

Neptune looked around as well, before concluding to herself. "Seems like he got away."

"Must have slipped away like a serpent while I was in DDD…" Nico suggested weakly, taking some breaths to get his strength back. Using that form and maintaining control had taxed his mental fortitude greatly, so he wasn't exactly 100% right now. He made to stand up, but the energy he had used for DDD drained him to the point where he almost fell over had Neptune and Compa not caught him in time.

Both girls levelled concerned stares at this. "You mustn't strain yourself, Ni-Ni, it's bad for your health." Compa lightly scolded him, holding Nico by the shoulder with one hand and the other around the back on his neck and on his opposite shoulder.

The purple haired sword maiden nodded her head in agreement, her eyes serous as she held him by the chest and his back. "Compa is correct, Nicky. I can sense your weariness, for that energy was trying to break free during your time transformed. You should focus on regaining your strength, don't do anything too strenuous." she lightly chastised him. This didn't distract her enough however, thus she managed to get a good feel for his body, and feeling it made her cheeks redden slightly, especially when she felt his pecs. 'So… this is what it feels like to touch a guy's body… I never noticed back when I was in human form, at least not much, but Nicky has a well-defined body… wait, why am I thinking of this now?' she wondered, shaking her head to get those thoughts out of her mind.

Meanwhile, Black Heart growled in frustration, crossing her arms under her chest and looking away in the direction of the Basilicom. She was clearly not happy about Ganache getting away from them like this, and it wasn't like they could sue him since Avenir had most if not all the power of government now. "Well, no matter. He'll get what he deserves the next time!"

"Speaking of next time, could you guys answer a few questions of ours?" Nico and the others looked to Team RAIL, who looked completely lost. They all realised that these newcomers were in the dark about what they had been through, as well as what Nico's powers were. Thus, it would be reasonable for them to want to know about what was going on.


It took them about a half hour before Team RAIL was caught up to speed about what they knew so far. They learned about Histoire, the Key Fragments what Histoire meant to the world, and most importantly what Nico's powers were and his current history with them. To say that Team RAIL was stunned was an understatement, Ivan had his jaw hanging open, Lucy and Raven looked like they had been smacked across the face by someone they cared about, and even Aiden had a slightly surprised expression over his features.

"So lemme get this straight, you're saying that Nico here has some cool powers he just now learned how to safely tap into, for the most part, that makes him even more of a badass than he usually is?" Ivan exclaimed with shock, awe and no small hint of jealousy. The girls nodded their heads in unison, confirming their claims. Ivan's response: his shoulder slumped as he sighed in despair as he hung his head low. "Damnit, now he's even more overpowered…"

Nico rolled his eyes at his fellow male's (in his mind) overstatement. "Pssh, I'm not overpowered…" almost immediately after he said that, everyone gave him looks that spoke otherwise, making the light blue eyed male shift in discomfort. Why did he have the feeling that he was in denial about something? Shaking her head at the male's obliviousness, though this time it was not at anything romantic, Neptune then looked at Black Heart and decided to address a new issue, switching the topic of conversation away from Nico, much to his relief. "Speaking of, Noire. That form of yours…"

"You look just like Nep-Nep transformed." Compa added with equal confusion. Black Heart sighed, her anger evaporating into reluctant acceptance. She knew this was coming ever since she had been discovered by the DPU in the abandoned factory, but it still didn't prepare her for telling her mortal enemy her identity. "You mean this form?" she asked, gesturing to herself from top to bottom before speaking again in a haughty tone that befitted her of her stature. "Well, of course. I'm the CPU of Lastation."

'Heh, so the truth's finally come out…' Nico thought to himself, feeling satisfied for the first time in a long while. Not only did he have at least partial control over his powers, but Noire had finally told them of her identity as the CPU of this Nation, although she did just tell it to Chian earlier. Team RAIL had figured this out already, and they had been told of Neptune's amnesia so they refrained from saying that they knew who she really was as well. Now to watch the show with some popcorn… oh, wait…

"What?!" Neptune shrieked in surprise, her mind boggled by the revelation. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, she wanted to ask so many questions, the most important one being why Black Heart would hide her identity like that.

However, the CPU stopped her from speaking by speaking first. "I had my reasons, but first off, I'm sorry for hiding my identity." She apologised humbly, before she stared straight into Neptune's eyes as she proceeded with another thing she found difficult in admitting. She had a lot of those today. "That said, thanks for your help. I couldn't have won without your help." When saying this, Black Heart glanced to Nico and Team RAIL as well, to let them know she was also thanking them. This made them smile in gratitude, liking that this leader was one who acknowledged everyone instead of a select few. Many leaders were like that.

When she finally found her voice once more, Neptune sighed lightly as she closed her eyes and held her forehead, trying to keep herself from falling due to dizziness. If she were standing normally she would have noticed that her legs were wobbly thanks to the revelation. "I didn't expect Noire to be Lastation's CPU…" Apparently, Compa was on the same boat as her friend as she regarded Black Heart in a new light. "I'm just as surprised as when Nep-Nep transformed."

The third one, IF, however, looked like she had expected this, if the knowing smile and gleam in her eyes were any indication as she waved a hand dismissively. "Not me… I knew all along. Nico did too, by the way." She revealed, getting stunned looks from the girls.

"No way!"

IF's face then dropped into a dismayed one as she face-palmed shaking he head at the while haired CPU. "Seriously…" she muttered under her breath, but it was muffled by her hand so they had to strain real hard to hear it. She then lowered her hand and gave Black Heart an incredulous look. "Was that your best, hiding your identity?"

At the jab at her acting skills, of which she couldn't deny unfortunately, made lack Heart become even more frustrated and embarrassed. The humiliation was strong in this one. "Great! Nico, I can understand, he's more observant than any guy I've met and that's saying something, and he did say you would likely have known, but still! All this hiding my identity was for nothing, then!"

A hand fell onto her shoulder, clasping it firmly. Black Heart turned to look at the owner, and saw that it was Nico and his face looked stone serious. Despite the fatigue he was under, Nico still got the strength to confront the CPU. "Now don't start scolding yourself just yet, missy. You may not have fooled us, but you did fool most of the populace. Not sure if that's a compliment or an insult, but I'll see it as a compliment since it allowed you to snoop on Avenir without them catching on… for a while." He told her with a steel that made his words much more meaningful.

Aiden opened a notepad he had gotten from his Inventory when Ivan gave him a look, one that spoke volumes about how he felt about this situation. When he stared writing down on the notebook, Compa noticed and gave them a curious stare. "What are you writing in that notebook Aid-Aid?" The Spec Ops Agent looked blankly at the cream haired girl in response to the nickname that she had given him. "… I am unsure as to which nickname I am more uncomfortable with. Aidy or Aid-Aid. I suppose though you must have bad luck when it comes to names. Nico informed us of this trait you possess previously."

"E-Eh?!"

"Yeah, us and Nico go back a few years, when our team was first formed actually. The first one he met back then was Raven, and like a lot of women these days she had great passionate hate for males. She thought that he would be like the others, but he soon proved her wrong. Lucy had been a Spec-Ops Agent for a lot longer than him, but he even got her to warm up to him when they went on a few Quests together. We were only introduced when we were selected to form Team RAIL with Raven as leader." Ivan explained to the girl.

Compa hummed in acknowledgement, Nico had told her once that he had met and indirectly became responsible for the formation of one of the best Spec Ops Teams the Planeptune Guild had to date. Though she refrained from telling them that praise while opting to ask her question again. "I see, but um… why were you writing in that notebook, again?"

This time, Aiden was the one who answered as he held the Notebook out for her to see, there was a list of names… female names much to her surprise, ones she recognised. "Well, CYBORG expresses jealousy whenever DEATHSTROKE is with the ladies, so we made a list of those that show interest in him, cause DEATHSTROKE's obliviousness is almost blonde-haired-knuckleheaded-ninja level… according to many male Spec Ops Agents, no idea what it means though."

At this, Compa sweat dropped weakly… as well as blushed heavily at the implications. That meant that they knew that she had a major crush on the red-haired male, her name had been on the notebook underneath Lucy's and now above Neptune's. Much to her surprise though, there was now another name added: Noire. "Why is Noire added?"

Now it was Ivan who answered her, and in a voice that no doubt belonged to someone who lost the will to live. "Because the damn lucky bastard always managed to charm women of high positions of power… and he doesn't even realise he's doing it. He's THAT oblivious to it, and it makes the ladies wanna eat him up…. In a physical mean, due to his purity and honesty. It's always the dense ones that are the most honest." He whined in despair at the end, falling onto all fours. The two swore there was a tragic theme playing in the background with a white stage light on his form.

Neptune sweat dropped at the sight, though she didn't hear what was said to make Ivan that way. She then looked to Noire, and saw how red she was getting at both the consoling words Nico had said as well as the expression he was giving her. She had to admit, she felt both the ugly feeling from earlier… as well as hot at the expression. The former was likely because she wanted to have that look directed at someone else… someone like h-noooo! Her hot feeling, well, she didn't want to get into that, so she struggled to think of something else.

She soon found something when she remembered what happened at West Wind Valley. "That's right!" she shouted, clicking her fingers as she got everyone's attention. Ivan's little display was no longer there, and Black Heart looked both relieved and slightly annoyed, though she tried to hide it. "You know who I am right?" she asked, pointing at the white-haired CPU. "Can you please tell me?"

On her end, Noire was feeling a conflicting series of emotions. On one hand, she was annoyed with the purple haired swordstress, for she ruined the atmosphere that had appeared around her and Nico. But on the other hand, she felt relieved because she didn't even know why she was annoyed in the first place, it wasn't as if she liked him, even if he was one of the most decent guys she'd met in her many centuries of living, right? Nevertheless, she decided some teasing was in order, so she pretended to think about it with a smug smirk on her features. "Hmmm… What to do…?"

Obviously, her teasing was working, as when it came to Neptune's memory, even her HDD self, got impatient. "Come now! I'm serious here!" she whined, almost falling to the urge to stomp on the ground below in frustration, though it would have looked like her foot just stopped above it with her floating.

IF rolled her eyes, knowing what Black Heart was doing as she addressed the two floating girls. "Well, it's not much of a secret, so you might as well say it." she remarked casually, not really minding the tension in the air, since she had figured it out already.

Nico nodded, sharing IF's sentiments and expressions as he folded his arms in front of his chest. "Amen to that, IF, amen to that." He said like a sage to his pupils, getting a thumbs-up from the brunette.

Compa stared at the two in bewilderment, not believing what she was hearing. Did they know this whole time and not share it? "Iffy? Ni-Ni? You know who Nep-Nep is?"

The brunette nodded in response for both her and the male Spec Ops Agent in question. "Yes. Once I saw Noire transform, and Nico here knew earlier." She explained.

With that knowledge, it only took a moment but finally Compa could connect the dots as a light of realisation lit up in her eyes. "Huh? … That means…you can't mean? Wait? Really…? Nep-Nep is…?!" she exclaimed with her jaw dropping.

The fact that Compa, someone who wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, managed to figure out what was happening before she could, irritated Neptune to no end. That urge to act like a child was getting insanely strong now. "Huh? Now Compa knows? Really? Compa?! Come on, just say it already!"

Alright, Black Heart Concluded, her amusement gone and replaced with seriousness. The time for teasing was over, so she should just cut to the chase and say what everyone else had figured out. "All right. Neptune, you're the CPU of Planeptune. You're Purple Heart."