Chapter 15: Silver Night of Elegance (Ultra Story)
A sparkling moon loomed above a calm and peaceful night sky. Spotlights that were used to inform nightlife activity pierced their bright beams into the sky. The source of these beams of light originated from one newly established Basilicom that was once merely endless grass with far off mountains.
That Basilicom was surrounded by a robust and lively city environment, that had firmly planted its roots into the land of Ultra dimension. This was the new land of Yellow Heart.
Outside the Basilicom, a mob of dapper and elegant, men and women, awaited their turn to be allowed entrance into the Basilicom by a large and opposing robot in a tuxedo.
Inside the busy Basilicom, a party of immense proportions had been going on, and there was no shortage of sea-like conversations that stretched the whole event room where the party was located.
Within the large group of people, a very board Ultra Purple Heart was enduring a long and winded conversation with two representatives from a brand-new freelance game company. "Oh… Oh… I see… my, that is something…" Her words were auto and empty as her cup of sparkling juice in her hand.
A sweat drop of awe registered on her face when she noticed that she had run out after she tried to pass the time with another drink. Funny enough, the band that was ordered for entertainment had already gone into their fourth song, and the two representatives were still going strong.
Their onslaught of boorish topics had started to put the CPU of Lastation to sleep. And it wasn't her being rude that was the main problem. From what she knew, before she turned off her brain and merely nodded away, they had been explaining their current main game that was in development with a pompous attitude. They had a goal in mind when they entered here, and that was to sell their product no matter what tools they had to use.
In a way, the second CPU of Lastation could respect that, but no more would be given. She had made it clear in the beginning, once they had pitched their intro for their game, that their flagship game was oddly similar to another one that Noire and she had, right to the fundamental foundation. Of course, the obvious intention of her words was lost on the two.
"So, what do you think, my lady? Should we lock in an exclusive with the illustrious Lastation?" Said the man with a smug aura to him.
Her attention returned once she had heard the keywords that marked the end of their conversation. "Well, I think that your concept for your main game is an interesting one, especially after going into… detail, even after the summary. You and your partner, including everyone else from your company should be proud of yourselves. But I don't think that either of us would gain any momentum from an exclusive deal."
The man, who did not deserve any description aside from him in a suit, looked bothered by the evasive response. "Preposterous! Surely you can understand that our game is just what the Lastation market needs."
"Hmm… a man in a suit that beats up other men with the use of martial arts. And is also in a gang…? I can assure you that if your game were to come to our market, it would be overshadowed by the competition there."
It was then the turn of the woman, who made her voice louder than it needed to be. "Excuse me!? You're clearly undermining the hit that our game could have. What kind of CPU are you that would let such an offer pass up?!"
Purple Heart narrowed her eyes at the rude woman but remained steadfast. "One with enough clairvoyance to understand the confusion our gamers will have when they have to decide which one to pick on release day. Earlier you boldly mentioned that your company's game was under the final stages of development and that it would be released early as next month. While that is impressive, it won't work at all. My wife and I have our own game that is also nearly done, so regrettable, it sounds like those two titles will be shoulder to shoulder on release day."
"Then just have your game delayed for a month- that should be enough of a gap for everyone to be happy," urged the woman. One could tell that the woman was a short-fuse type of person that even made her companion look at her as if she grew a second head.
"That's not an option," flatly declared Purple Heart.
"T-then how about we delay our game?" Said the man. His voice sounded less boastful and more desperate, which was a trait that the woman didn't share.
"Why should we delay our game!?" Shouted the woman.
"See. I told you neither of us would gain any momentum from this. Please understand that if your game was different compared to ours, then maybe we could have worked something out."
"This is unfair! Are you telling me that you don't trust your nation's people in having more than one option when it comes to a style of game? Look around you- that's the definition of competition," said the man, not angry, but one trying to be the voice of reason.
"You're not helping your case. This is my say in the end," said Purple Heart.
"Why? It's almost as if you're deeply invested in this game of yours beyond a market standpoint." The woman stopped talking as it all made sense to her now. "Oh… I get it. This is one of your purely personal titles, isn't it? And by the looks of it, your very first one. Your hand in this game does go deeper than a market standpoint. Were you the story outliner, character planner, and setting overseer? Pfft, I can see it in your eyes that this was your brainchild from the very start—that's why you refuse to have anything similar to compete with your game!"
Purple Heart made a face of contempt and disgust for the woman that had managed to figure out most of it. "Very good. It still won't change my mind."
"Oh, okay. Then maybe we can take this spicy info to the news. It can say that Lastation's second CPU strangles freedom of choice… all so that people would play her game," said the woman with a smirk.
Purple Heart grunted and she would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous.
A saucy laugh then came from her right that made both game representatives rigid
"Isn't that too long to be a title?" Iris Heart, dressed in a barely passable black and violet dress that showed a lot more cleavage than needed, appeared from behind the two representatives. "Are they bothering you?" She said with intense eyes that made the two shrivel in her presence.
"No, I was just telling them that Noire and I weren't interested in an exclusive with their company," said Purple Heart.
"So, I did overhear right, pardon my nosiness. Why don't you two read the room and go search somewhere else?" Said Iris Heart. Her aura had been enough to get the guy to fold.
However, the woman refused to let whatever injustice she produced in her mind to stand. "No, this CPU brings a bad name to her role. She's deliberately refusing an outstanding game only on the merits that it will tarnish her puppy-dog of a game."
"It's not like that!" Angrily declared Purple Heart.
"Don't worry, I believe you," said Iris Heart with a cheeky wink at the Lastation CPU. She then went behind the two representatives and placed a rather imposing gloved hand on their shoulders. "The CPU of the nation that you wanted to publish your new game has said no. Take that and run with it," she said very slowly as if she had reverted to her base form's personality.
"B-But… everyone is counting on us to seal this deal," said the man.
"It's not fair for us to work this hard and be unable to secure a good publisher for our game," said the woman, who appeared to be half angry, and half on the verge of tears.
"Then why don't you bet on the obvious Lady in the room," she said as she pointed across the room.
On the other side of the room, Yellow Heart was dressed in a yellow blouse, with a white knit blazer, and a black skirt. Numerous people were shaking her hand with some even pulling her aside to inform her of opportunities for her nation's gaming future.
Purple Heart observed the interactions with Yellow Heart and hoped that they weren't trying to squeeze her out of more money than some exclusives were valued. Her theory had evidence to it as Yellow Heart looked out of her element among all the fancy people.
"H-her?" Simultaneously uttered the representatives.
"Pfft… obviously. This is her land and her party, after all. I get that vultures such as yourselves would rather mingle with the power couples such as we, but please… have some restraint. If I were you, I would offer my game to the adorable Yellow Heart. She's up and coming and your company is looking for a CPU to get their game off its feet – win-win all around!"
"Hmm… I do suppose that it would be better than going back empty-handed," said the man. It was either the intimidating aura of Iris Heart or perhaps her silver charismatic tongue that won over the man.
The woman hit her partner on the side with furrowed brows. "Do you want to go home with second place?!"
That comment ignited an angered look from both CPUs since it was an unwarranted bad comment to Yellow Heart.
The one to do something about it was the sadistic CPU of Planeptune. Her soft and dangerously calm hands moved until they were rubbing the shoulders of the woman. "That's a very rude thing to say to the CPU of the land that your feet trot so carelessly on. She's done a great deal of effort to make this nation as splendid as she can. She even did away with all the child-like aesthetics that she had in the beginning."
The woman looked paled beyond belief at the sheer unnerving delicate hand motions of the CPU on her skin. "L-Lady Iris Heart… all we want is for our game to sell at its best." At this point, her words were coming out with shaky tones, like a kid telling the truth to their parent after breaking a vase.
"Then give Yellow Heart a chance. Let's face it, a third-party game like yours cannot compare to a first-party game that is built from the love and attention of its CPU… or do you wish to pitch your game idea to me? And then I can slowly explain why I wouldn't be interested either." Her right hand glided down the woman's back, and the Planeptune CPU wondered how far she had to go down.
The woman jolted forward and looked at Iris Heart with horror. "Ahh! V-very well. Grr… you'll see—You'll all see! Our game is going to skyrocket Lady Yellow Heart's fame. Let's get out of here," she said to her partner who cowardly followed behind her.
Iris Heart finally let out a laugh that she had been holding back. "Ahh… and that's how you move people."
"Thanks for the backup," sighed Purple Heart.
"Not a problem and if it helped out Peashy, then even better."
They both fondly gazed at the blond CPU that had been the center of attention since the beginning. The other CPUs had been offered exclusives and unique deals during the night, but all of them had maintained a guard for this night was dedicated to Yellow Heart.
"She looks so grown-up," said Iris Heart without taking her eyes off the blond-haired CPU.
"She is in her HDD," responded Purple Heart.
"Pfft, you know what I mean. Grown-up as a person. Blanc and I had agreed that we wouldn't even think about getting married until Peashy was ready to move on her own. A part of me is sad and happy she's on this path now."
Purple Heart smiled at the CPU she once hated. However, they had both grown as well and their bitter past now remained a relic. "Huh? Speaking of Blanc, did you know she's over there in the corner with a flaring red eye behind her blue hair?"
Iris Heart frowned with hesitant eyes. This look of hers was a rare sight to behold from one who lived to carve that expression upon others. "How bad is it?" She said to Purple Heart without making a move.
"Umm… something like, the heat of a thousand suns comes to mind," said the Lastation CPU.
Blanc, that was in her White Heart persona while also dressed in a dark blue dress, moved through the crowd. Her feet stopped right behind her now fiancée. "What were you doing with that woman?" She asked calmly and deadly.
The Planeptune CPU cautiously turned her head toward her lover. "That wasn't what you think, sweetie."
"—Oh, really! It sure as hell looked like what I think I saw. Why were you rubbing her shoulders and back like that?"
Iris Heart shrugged innocently at her fiancée. "Call it seductive intimidation, that's all that it was. Those two were giving our resident Purple Heart here a bad time."
"Is that true?" Said White Heart with vicious glares at the purple-haired CPU.
Something in the back of Purple Heart's mind told her to be truthful or else she would be facing the giant ax of the small blue-haired CPU. "Yes, that is true. Don't be discouraged, Blanc. Plutia might see her world full of toys but you… umm…" While she had a word in mind, she figured it might be in bad taste to say it, even if it perfectly encapsulated Iris Heart.
Iris Heart laughed like a child watching a comedy movie. She laughed so hard to the point that some guests made nervous glances at the CPU. "How sweet of you to understand me so well. I'll gladly take it from here. As she colorfully puts it, you are my only…" she inched closer to her fiancée with a smirk that followed a whispered word.
Red painted the face of White Heart, causing her to cough abruptly. "Grr… don't say things like that!" Her exterior was angry but deep down, she felt flustered by her fiancée's whispers. "Anyway, I prefer you to keep yourself behaved while we're here. This is Peashy's social gathering, so stop acting wild or you can forget about that thing we do during 'nap' time." Whatever that meant, it was enough to make Iris Heart grow serious and somewhat nervous. At the expanse of White Heart getting flustered, it was quite effective.
"Fine… anyway, she wouldn't put it that way. Of course, this fancy gala style event smells of Vert and not something that Peashy would have the foresight to do," said Iris Heart, trying to change the topic.
"I don't think it matters in the slightest. Only as long as Peashy delivers her welcomes to these big-time game influencers and developers. This is all an event to get her new nation the exposure she deserves," said the blue-haired CPU.
"She'll be fine. Noire and I have already agreed to allow our games to cross over to her hardware to provide support."
"Did she now?" Said Blanc with a raised eyebrow at the idea that Black Heart allowed for her games to be played outside her game console's ecosystem.
"She did. It might have taken a night out on the town with a large size buffet, but she did," said Purple Heart.
White Heart chuckled at the image of Black Heart folding all because of a menu in front of her. To think that being pregnant would make someone that diligent so absent-minded. "Well, not bad, I'll give you that. By the way, has Peashy said anything on her first-party games?"
"Maybe Vert would know. She does look confident while she stands behind Peashy over there." Purple Heart pointed back to where Yellow Heart was at, and Green Heart and Orange Heart were beside her, exchanging waves and smiles when people neared Yellow Heart. They both had a cute theme to their dresses where they had the other's main color theme going on. As they smiled and directed new people toward Yellow Heart, they almost acted like parents chaperoning kids during a prom.
"Hmph… screw that. I bet Vert had some big record-breaking game stored away in case her shares went low, but since she and her wife are all dandy right now, it's not hard to imagine that she could have given it to Peashy."
"What an act of pure passion if that's the case. I can think of no other kinder act unless Blanc were to give up one of her first-party titles," laughed Iris Heart with a hint of mockery.
Anyone could see that the topic was one that hit a nerve, as White Heart gave her fiancée a flaring red eye. "Don't hold your breath! We talked about this already—dammit! I told you that I would help her out on stuff like accessory designs, hardware upgrades, and branding. But my games are a different story. It's not the fact that I'm being selfish, but that I would prefer to keep my games under one house for the protection of the children," said White Heart.
A sweat drop appeared for both Lastation CPU and Planeptune CPU. They knew that her excuse of wanting to protect the kids was an empty argument, as Noire had tried saying the same thing before her third bowl of udon noodles.
Purple Heart also didn't want to address the elephant in the room that the woman she would be marrying was a harbinger of sadistic, unsafe, and lewd behavior.
Iris Heart laughed tenderly and hugged her soon-to-be wife from behind. "I can just see our daughter now, unable to even get a scraped knee because her mommy will always be hovering over her, like some helicopter mom."
"H-hey, to hell with that joke! Besides, what makes you think that I would be the one carrying the baby?"
"One reason: Bigger boobs," said Iris Heart with a cheerful smile that was almost similar to Plutia's carefree smile.
White Heart's face grew redder, making her lose the ability to speak and completely caught up in a dream simulation where she had the ideal bust size, she always desired.
Purple Heart made the wises choice and slowly backed away from the other two. She sighed once she was at a safe distance from those two. The sea of elegant people moved all around her, and she paused to think where her wife could be. Her gaze mindlessly observed the large chandelier that sparkled endlessly above her. It then hit her that she didn't have to think long or hard when she remembered that this party had a wide buffet display.
Her short trip through the people landed her in front of a table full of desserts, and an ice sculpture of Yellow Heart at the center. "Honey, shame on you for throwing me out there with the hungry Fenrir," said Purple Heart sarcastically but with a pout.
Her wife, Black Heart, who was dressed in a black dress with a blue waist sash that drew attention to her large belly, turned around with her mouth full of food. "Honey…" she uttered with the words coming out incoherent because of the food. She passed it down and sheepishly smiled. "Can you blame me? When Vert said that there would be food, she didn't say a buffet worth about four long tables wide and formed into a square! They even got a chocolate fondue fountain going on." She dipped a piece of chicken in the fondue and chomped relentlessly at it.
Purple Heart flinched from the sight and she made sure to keep her wife blocked from random photographers nearby. "Your appetite sure scares me at times."
"Blame the baby, okay? She's the one steering this ship right now, and she wants chicken and chocolate," cutely fired back the pregnant CPU.
Purple Heart softly smiled, and her eyes lowered toward her wife's belly. "I'm aware of that, Noire. Hey, Blake… I hope you're not causing too much trouble for your mommy now," whispered Purple Heart, her hands doing rubbing motions all over her wife's belly.
"H-hey! That tickles! And watch it with the name spoiler – there are reporters in this party," urged Black Heart.
The purple-haired CPU found herself laughing when she spotted chocolate on her wife's cheek. "Sorry." As the good wife she was, she passed a napkin across her wife's face.
"Hmm…"
"What's the matter?" Asked the purple-haired CPU.
"My feet hurt. It's such a pain," moaned the pregnant CPU. There was a chair nearby that she used to sit down. Her high heels were then slipped off to reveal the partially swollen feet of Black Heart.
Maybe we should get out of here, and put your feet in a nice hot bath," said Purple Heart, her seductive smile never faltering.
"But what about Peashy and her party?"
"I think she's doing surprisingly good, all things considered. Plutia did help me send her some exclusive offers her way."
"How? If Plutia was involved, then the story just got interesting," said Black Heart.
"I'll tell you later, but for now, let's go home." Purple Heart extended her hand out toward her wife, who smiled at her in response.
"I won't argue with you on that. Let me finish this next plate though," said Black Heart, while she also grabbed a skewered piece of collective meat from a passing waiter.
"Take your time, dear," giggled Purple Heart.
As I said in my last chapter, this story will undergo some restructuring for the future chapters to come. Of course, I will keep the Ultra stories coming, and if anything, they will be the new short stories like the main chapters had been up to this point. I hope to see you all in the next one and stay safe everyone.