Hi! Konductor has returned! Hopefully I won't take forever again, but I'm not super confident with what's been going on lately. Finally figured out a way to fix a couple problems when posting, though.
Time travel into the Console War is the easiest explanation I can give. Not too complicated like my other ideas, so, yeah.
I really look forward to your comments and it is not just isolation getting to me. please tell me what you think? This one isn't exactly my best, especially the minor clash, but I really do appreciate what you have to say. It helps push me through trying times like these and general inadequacy, thank you for reading!
Please be safe.
Posted: 7/5/20
Edited: N/A
She wasn't a hundred percent sure what had happened. One second, the goddess was going about her day and then boom. Well, not boom, it was more of a shrieking high-pitched wail that made her want to commit manslaughter.
It was just loud and unwanted and Noire really, really hated surprises.
The world groaned as she gripped her head to block out the damnable noise as soon as darkness ate away at her vision. Noire could still breathe, though. Losing sight alone wouldn't have gotten her to falter that easily.
Energy flared up and then all was quiet. A disorientating sensation where her senses continued to betray her.
And when she does come to, very little matches up with what she remembered.
There is no roof above her head, no walls surrounding in, no chair to sit on, no floor to have her shoes on… No. There was a sky far above, trees circling her form, grass acting as a sort of bed.
Bright, why was it so bright? She closed her eyes, groaning as that ball of fire burns a hole in the blue expanse. It wasn't bright and sunny before, the last time she looked outside it was evening. Time difference and teleportation? What a way to spend her day. Noire wanted to strangle someone.
But first was getting up and figuring out what happened. Pushing up was.. fun. Her muscles were aching as if she had finished a spar between the other three. Normally, she would've relished the sensation, the fact that they got together poured more fuel to the fire of excitement.
Having that happen now was an inconvenience, however.
This could be enemy territory and she would be stuck unable to do a damn with her mind and body like this. Ugh, this is one of the prime reasons why she hated impromptu events panning out on her.
And it was not just because Black typically got the short end of the stick, no.
Purple, she shook her head, reminding herself that wasn't right now — why did she keep on thinking of that name? — no, no, Neptune, not her.
Neptune would have been a much better choice for exploring new places. That lavender-haired fool was suited for exploration after the whole stunt that ended their millennia old bout. She had to handle it, if she dared to live as equals the three of them.
It wouldn't be fair for someone who couldn't handle it to be thrusted into their lifestyle, not that Neptune would ever fail that.
This was Planeptune's infamous Warlord, memories or not. She always won, it was a fact that existed to infuriate the three others. So it was fine to throw her the gauntlet, right? To make sure Purple survived.
That was the sole reason. The idea of killing, eliminating her fellow goddesses struck her the wrong way, you see. And while she did agree with White and Green's on the matter, she hadn't chosen to stand against her partner for spite's sake. Not that it mattered now. The price of how the four of them came to be here was consistently too high.
There was no way to turn back time, however. Each piece had been set, no one, not even the one who set the game in place, could change the way things were placed and time. A futile effort.
"Someone hates me. That has got to be it," Noire grunted, pushing herself up and shoving the pain away from her mind. It didn't get rid of it, but she needed to focus.
She inhaled, breathing in the scent of flowers and a complete lack of mortal pollution in the air and pulled herself up from her knees. Fresh. A twitch, everything was just natural and untouched. No humans were here.
Pure and uninterrupted wilderness. There were very few places of that description, the faint odor of decay followed the entirety of humanity after all. The continents she knew of had the same lingering smell attached to them, so it was unlikely she were actually there. Where else has she noted that untamed sort of feeling?
It didn't ring a bell.
And she knew she's been to somewhere like this before.
Knew and could remember this same feeling this place managed to make in her.
But reaching out for that memory gave her more blank space with sharp spears carving their way through her skull.
Walking actually hurts too. It only spawned more questions as she limped forward to look around, only for her eyes to inform of something very different. She wasn't on solid land, no, she was stuck on a floating isle and wasn't that wonderful?
Looking down into the endless blue tells her one thing and one thing alone. Celestia. She was in Celestia or somewhere that way too many similarities.
Her body was aching and Noire was in Celestia, you know, about a couple hundred miles in the skies? If she wasn't sure if her HDD would work with her like this, she would've jumped off the edge. Instead, a leap of faith was replaced with merely dangling her legs on the side.
Which wasn't unsafe or anything. The floating islands weren't that weak or crumbly, it took some actual pressure to cause one to break apart like a fallen cookie. Noire would know that after spending some days up above the mortal realm experimenting with how much the isles could handle at a time.
She could survive the fall.
Probably.
It was certainly better than being stuck in the sky, falling meant moving, despite the impact desperately following. That would probably feel better than walking too. Nnngh, she had to get going and endure the soreness anyways.
Wonderful, just wonderful. Was there any other way this day could go from bad to worse?
"I didn't expect to find a mortal here…" The high alto of an all-too familiar voice hummed, bringing shivers down her spine. An alarm started to blare in her mind as her head automatically turned. "Tell me, were you the cause of that spike of energy?"
Fuck.
Her heart sank to her stomach, traitorously fluttering with hungry anticipation. Black just had to think that goddess forsaken line, didn't she?
Before her stood Purple Heart in her full glory, tall and unbelievably proud. Metallic butterfly wings floating behind her, ready to carry out every command. The shared power symbol as the pupil of her eyes, the color of the coldest of oceans capable of drowning even titanic vessels. And a curtain of dark lilac hair hung behind her, expertly tied into twin braids.
And, of course, she's perfect.
So much so that Noire doesn't mean to open her mouth. She doesn't mean to reply without thinking about who she's with. "Neptune."
And the effects of that single screw up were near instantaneous.
The goddess before her smiled; before lunging forward with ōdachi already screaming for her blood. Adrenaline kicks in and she managed to leap backward, avoiding the lick aimed for her neck. But it doesn't stop there. It never stops and she's already mentally shuffled through her inventory for a blade, a weapon, anything to add distance between them.
Oh no, was saying this Purple's mortal name a bad idea.
Noire grit her teeth, sucking in as much oxygen as her lungs can handle as the twin-tailed woman stared at her. Just her luck. It's always her freaking luck.
Her position was so Stupid. She's on her back, elbows to the ground and knees bent in panic. So very vulnerable to the immortal who stood there. Black wanted nothing more to strangle herself, internally cursing damn near everything.
Faster, faster. Purple was so close, so close to getting a swipe at her carotid artery and spilling her ichor everywhere. The raven-haired immortal snarled at herself, letting the blade of her choice fall into her hand as she scooted back a bit further.
Celestia was nor going to be her place of death. It wasn't during the Console Wars and it was not happening now!
Still, that didn't mean she'd be capable of winning in an encounter like this, even with her inventory on hand, there wasn't a chance the woman in front of her wouldn't take advantage of the increased speed and strength granted to a goddess in HDD. Being stuck in her human form with a single weapon didn't help either.
Steel clanged together. The feint just barely threw Purple to one side while she crawled back to the other. Her hand shook as it gripped the blade in her hand, the resounding clash rippling through her fingers to the point that they were damn near numb.
Purple Heart, however, didn't let her ponder on her condition anymore. Hell, she didn't even give her a chance to stand up and continued her attack while she was on the ground.
Which sucked, given how ōdachi were primarily used for downward strikes.
Needless to say, there were quite a lot of close calls that almost ended up with Noire on her back and with a cut the length of her torso.
Weaving in between strikes while on your back was not a viable way to fight, it's terrible and makes one very vulnerable to being impaled. The fact that she hadn't been stabbed and had only been cut a good dozen times was a testament to her rolling skills. That or Purple was going easy on her and that didn't exactly help her situation either.
Thankfully, her uchigatana has been reinforced for centuries now, so despite the abuse it's managed to get by without a crack. And when you're trying not to get stabbed and using it as a pseudo-shield, that's pretty good.
This devil's strength wasn't to be trifled with. A rather ironic thing given their trysts, but Black Heart had never been the most.. well receiving when it came to attraction.
But she was digressing.
What mattered was that the weight of her sword could comfort her. It's an extension of herself; cold, cutting metal with one directive and a sole purpose in mind. To put it bluntly, it saved and was saving her life a lot more than she thought was possible, though, Purple was probably playing around with her strikes. Mortals, without underhanded methods, typically did not last against the divine, especially in situations like this.
But that little kernel of information didn't make her situation any less dire. Were she a regular person without training, she'd already have been gutted.
And that was never a fun sensation to feel twice in a lifetime.
To make matters worse, Noire's pretty sure her opponent was speeding up with every swing and giving how hard her hands were trembling, the haphazard strategy of forcing the goddess away won't last long now.
Blocking was improbable with an open guard.
She was stuck and she couldn't move fast enough. Of any opponent to face, it's Purple.
Why was she the CPU that keeps putting her in the same spot again and again? It's infuriating that Black can't seal off that one weakness.
If she looked away now, she could be dead. She was always so fast, too fast for her to catch up to sometimes. Move, a part of her wants to scream, move, move. But she can't. She can't move with her body worn out and head spinning from the information.
She hated it, she hated it, she hated it.
This was a zero-sum game, one where Noire herself was destined to lose the moment Purple Heart greeted her; resistance was futile. This wasn't her Neptune, her idiot. The lilac-haired woman threatening her life? That was Purple Heart, the one who victory favored over all else, someone who could have become the True Goddess in the Console War. The woman she betrayed.
"Impressive, to know that name and to dodge so much. Not bad, mortal, not bad." Purple said, heels returning to the grassy earth as Noire sat up, breathing unevenly. "Tell me how you know it and I may spare your life."
The dark-haired girl choked out a laugh. "As if you would ever believe me." That was hilarious, was Black going insane here? Her sole constants were the feelings of disorientation, fear and the comforting cloth-covered handle of her sword.
If ever her weapon would backstab her, it'd be by her hand and hers alone. And, really, that was starting to look like a good idea right about now.
The question was would a suicide attempt actually deter her? The woman was Stupidly quick on her feet, a fitting feature for the unspoken leader of the four goddesses to have. So, if Black did try that, there was a chance that Purple would stop it before any damage could be done. Which made even trying that idea absolutely foolish and outright idiotic.
But this devil sparing her? No, she can't imagine a reality where that could happen.
Purple smiled again, this time without the wave of malicious intent slamming into her, a fact that she wasn't sure whether to be happy or disappointed about. "Try me." It was, for lack of a better word, a challenge. Now, should she accept the damn thing?
Though, it really wouldn't hurt her to keep on talking in case a plan could be mashed together. "What's the point if you can't recognize me?"
Noire really was a glutton for punishment it seemed.
No surprise there. Nope.
'When was this?' Obviously, this was during the Console War if she wasn't recognized as Black Heart in this form and there were a good dozen millennia in that timeframe. She was missing something about this too, a faceless memory tugging at her heartstrings.
"...Recognize?" Now that seemed to have caught Purple's attention. A good and a definite bad thing with the sword that threatened her life out and about. She walked closer, disregarding the weapon in the Noire's hand to get a better look at her. "Now that you mention it.. I can see something."
But as soon as that escaped her lips, the air was knocked out of Black with a weight on her chest and her sole wall of defense thrown to the side. A low, and pitiful, keen is released as she was pinned.
What's with people and the unending cycle of just knocking her down?!
She tried to push Purple Heart off her. The attempt not going unnoticed as one hand goes to hold both of hers down with little effort. Fuck, did the world hate her guts or what? A human against a goddess was suicide, especially when the human was not alright and the goddess had just overpowered her altogether.
This was a situation of dreams and nightmares, not reality. Yet, she was here, beneath someone that she would never have thought to escape from again; losing in the face of the biggest trial of her life. It seems her role never changed, always the catalyst of her failure.
Her day was not supposed to be like this. Not. At. All.
Weak and slow. What a day to wake up to, she bitterly thought, still trying to push away the hand that cupped her face, its fingers tracing the curve of her cheek. This wasn't uncomfortable as it was more so humiliating — to be under attack from this woman, despite the war it took to properly befriend her fun-sized self, was so damn annoying — but how was she supposed to get out of this?
Unless Purple dropped her guard, she was stuck with being pinned this way. Did anyone else have to endure this treatment?
Seriously, why her?
Blanc didn't get pinned down by Vert. Well, maybe if they stopped that bullshit about doing some 'wrestling'. Black wasn't born yesterday, they should learn to shut the damn door.
And Vert… Vert was too polite to try that beyond her partner.
But not Purple, never her. The other pair did not know the praises that were going through her mind once she got to know Neptune better, thank Goddess for small mercies. Because she sure as hell didn't have any of those right now.
Her hands were warm, though.
Gentle with her as waves rocked back and forth trying to find some semblance of recognition, it's unreal and Black's too fizzled out to function. She doesn't stop resisting, but with a low hum and another minute of caresses, she can officially say that it wasn't going anywhere for her. Purple never ceased to be a confusing pain.
Curious ceruclean peered into crimson. "I will admit the possibility is improbable, but you are the type to surprise me, aren't you? Your mortal form is a striking reflection of HDD." The coy devil atop her purred.
Noire shivered, not at all enjoying the smug undertones of her voice with those undismissable touches. Maybe telling Purple was a mistake on her part?
"I enjoy toying with the methods of alternate worlds or time, dear. This, however, is none of my games."
Yet, the hold does not falter. The predatory sheen in her eyes failed to dissipate as Black's heart unwillingly calmed. "Ah, a surprise caught you off by surprise? How unfortunate and very you, I'd expect no less of my little rival." A pause. "I never thought I'd be able to see you this way. You have beautiful eyes, no matter what form."
"Excuse me?" What?
Laughter rang out as the wind rustled the leaves around them. "They're stars, darkened suns burning with passion unlike which the world has a right to witness. Orbitals whose appearances reflect blood moons in rarity and preciousness. An indescribable, valuable gift."
Noire pressed her arms against the weight, not pleased with where the discussion is beginning to taper off to. "You.. you do realize, I hate my eyes, devil."
Ahhh, she's slipping back into the nicknames again.
"Mmh, I'm aware." Purple's hand stopped exploring the soft edges of her face. "You tend not to share my opinions in your appearance. Your distaste for all things you has not been dealt with?"
Really, it's almost if Purple assumed that she would properly deal with her issues. "Would you be mad if I said no?"
"Not at all. It's in your very nature. I'm miffed to hear I have yet to help you as well." Endlessly deep blue eyes narrowed, practically daring the pinned mortal to say something that displeased her.
Ohhh. This part may not be a topic of conversation. How do you tell someone who is soon-to-be-ambushed that their future self has amnesia and you are one of the instigators of the cause of said amnesia? Shit, shit, shit.
And after Purple just complimented her too. Fuck. Black opened her mouth to voice a proper retort before shutting after coming up with nothing in response, her fucking fate.
"Has something happened to me?" Damn her inability to hide her emotions!
"Perhaps." Noire was screwed.
Because that was not the correct answer. "Oh, that just won't do." A whimper is all that the darker immortal got out as a shadow shrouds the oceans, the treacherous hunger duplicating the very instance of her admission. And while the grip on her wrists don't tighten around her or even hurt, she knew she was in so much trouble.
Black Heart practically backstabbed her half after the latter's spike in viciousness and arrogance. She had done the unthinkable.
"A coup being planned under my gaze after being turned away?" Purple whispered into her ear.
An even more pathetic noise left her mouth. Oh Goddess, oh Goddess above, oh no. This was a past event. This was a past event. This was a past event and she was lying in front of what were the most possessive and ruthless aspects of her partner. She really was screwed.
The smirk, the grin, the victory painted on her features was frigid. A blizzard well capable of beating Lowee's near impenetrable resistance to the chilling elements, an unquenchable force of nature in blinding prestige. Fuck.
"Any last words, Black?" Goddess, why even ask her that?
This was going to hurt...!
"You're utterly sublime," she choked out, unable to say more as an unmistakable danger and pain rammed into her diaphragm. Noire didn't dare close her eyes, not when she deserved this.
A gift remained a gift no matter what Purple did to her.
"Sweet dreams, little dove." The world tilted as her vision filled with nothing.
One dark empty void ate the goddess whole as her voice echoed as if muffled by water. Everything faded away, the pain and the cool dew of the grass against her arms, it all failed to matter. It's quiet and warm and awareness is slowly peeled away into what seems to be satisfying sleep.
Once again, Noire drowned. This time, though, she was here.
.
.
.
.
Black is light as a feather, Purple mused, smiling to herself as she picked up her now unconscious rival. Some things didn't change with time, then. Bridal style was always a fitting way to carry Black, it never failed to brighten her day too.
Especially when said birdie was avoiding her and was potentially going to dethrone her.
Purple knew how to read her partner. It was an art all of the goddesses cherished and had to learn in order to survive. A necessity when one could be planning to assassinate the rest. Honestly. These were the people she spent her life around and this was how they rewarded her? The violet deity wasn't that bad in this game of theirs, right?
Black — and she really should have asked about her mortal name before knocking her out — let out a light snore, a sound that easily brought forth a giggle from her lips.
She nuzzled her slumbering half's face, activating her flight system once more. But before Purple returned to her nation, there were a few loose ends that needed to be dealt with. The immortal took a deep breath, steadying herself for the confrontation.
To think that Black, White and Green would see her as such an obstacle. What a pain to deal with.
Then there were the sources of the other energy spikes… four of them to be exact.
If her dove was one of them, chances were the others were of the same world as her. What happened to her then? There were four and yet, Black looked so apologetic.
That wasn't like her. Her partner did not apologize, she said it was a sign of indecisiveness, and as much as it pained the snowy-haired CPU, she could not afford to falter; what changed? What made her go against her own ideals, her own boundaries and do something so baselessly radical as to gang up on her in such a way?
"Nep..tune," the dark-haired teen murmured to herself, turning to rest her head on Purple's cleavage. How cute.
Black regretted it. Hopefully. And perhaps, if this one regretted it, hers would think of doing otherwise to Purple as well. Wishful thinking, really, but it tended to be what she has on hand. Purple Heart was not a pushover and making her such was a dangerous game to play.
They were attached to each other. To severe such a bond so simply took guts that none of them possessed, so was it just bravado fueled by anger then? It was hard to tell. "I'm glad you decided on telling me the truth, Black."
Oh yes, it was an unwilling confession, but most of their conversations consisted of that.
Her half broke down and told her whatever she wanted to know while simultaneously going out and taking Purple's information through subterfuge.
An… interesting part of their relationship for a pair of divinities.
They could talk. It certainly wasn't difficult, but where was all in fun in that?
White and Green always resorted to fighting when they spoke with one another, it didn't matter where they were. During galas, during meetings and even occasionally during their alone time. Granted, she didn't find much of a point in aiming at personal matters, but given the fact that they were plotting against her, Purple could make an exception.
And speaking of divinities, finding the three — or rather six, seeing that the others probably found their alternate counterparts if she discovered hers so easily — wasn't difficult. In fact, it was blatantly obvious when she noticed the familiar aura of her partner.
Flying over undetected was a skill she perfected with her particular talents.
There were indeed six. Three of them are the same as the girl in her arms, powerful yet subtly moved through the world as an impervious force. People that Purple would need to deal with later on, it did not matter that one of them was herself. That was only an excuse here.
Were she piqued by the mortal selves of her fellow goddesses, the violet deity would have cared more to not antagonize the new variables to this infinite war of theirs; unfortunately for them today was not such a day.
And as for herself… That other Neptune would not be spared. Letting their other half's thoughts fester to the point that her hard work had been rendered useless was a trying sensation. Black Heart was strong, capable and able to rival her strength on even off days, knowing that she hadn't been able to keep that portion of their partnership stable was a grating reality above them all.
If she couldn't treat her right, then why have the right to stand beside her? It was needlessly cruel yet very simple.
"I hope I did not interrupt your squabbling." She cut in, smoothly coming to a halt as the half a dozen turned to face her. "I'll be retiring early today. Any future meetings in Celestia will be put to a pause as well." There was so much to do now.
So many tempting plans involving the little birdie in her grasp. They had all the time in the world.
The brunette, who shared too many characteristics with White to ever be pure coincidence, glared at her. "You can't expect us to let you to fuckin' take our fourth."
Yup, no denying who that was. The increase of strength emanating from her aside, this was just White Heart in front of her, nothing more and nothing less. Still, she positioned the napping princess in her arms a bit better for her borrowed blade to swing and rolled her eyes. "Yes, because you can challenge me."
Even with her hands full and armed with a new weapon, this made little difference. Her trump card had yet to be revealed and they would certainly hesitate when it came to potentially harming the one in her grasp. That and the katana Black wielded before wasn't bad either.
"You do not intend to cause a battle now, do you?" Green said, summoning her spear beside White's mortal self.
She grinned. "Oh no, not in the slightest, Greenie. I want to rectify the concept of you three gaining the idea of toppling me." Now that got a bigger reaction out of the five, the only one not to move being herself, which is in equal ways surprising and disappointing to see. "I find it funny. Funny that you think victory is close at hand."
"You are wrong." The violet deity continued to speak the truth, what was there to explain? "Regardless of what scheme you have in mind, I am not one to bow to underhanded tactics. She was quite informative of what is soon to come, how unlucky."
It seems bad luck never stopped chasing Black, no matter what version she is.
And then Green's human self got one of the most impudent of ideas. "Wait, you tortured N—?"
That was insulting. "We are halves. There has never been a need for something like that." Never has been, never will be. What sort of person did they think she was to believe that drivel?
"Wait." Her voice interrupted them.
She was in the center spotlight now, her actual partner trailed behind her with a lost look in her eyes. A kicked puppy. It almost made her want to comfort her. Almost. Being betrayed, or planning to backstab her, lingered in her mind, however.
Neptune looked like, well, her. The parka hadn't changed a bit, though, the way she held herself was less… proper. Purple would never say uptight, but it was odd to not need to look in the mirror to see her less-than-eternal side.
Nor was she particularly pleased to view her.
There was innocence that wasn't there before too. And she didn't know whether to feel nostalgic at the sight or annoyed that this child had been the one chosen to take care of her nation; herself or not, Planeptune needed proper leadership and experience to prosper. The prickling sensation of dislike was natural in her eyes in so many ways.
How far had she fallen if her little bird had retreated back to her self-destructive thinking? Purple couldn't just let that go. The woman in her arms was worth more than that, deserved far better than that.
"Why are you taking Noire away from us?"
Noire. Her name was Noire. Cerulean flickered down to the sleeping dove — or was the proper pet name blackbird instead? — inwardly smiling at the piece of information as her rage returned to a simmer. This day got better and better by the second, even if there were quite a few obstacles in her path.
Noire, huh. "No reason. A punishment perhaps, retaliation for a certain someone leaving me," Black flinched behind the lavender-haired mortal, "My sense of responsibility, sheer possessiveness over my rival.. really, the list could go on and on." This was her dolt in the end.
It was a cute name, fitting and blunt. Noire just rolled off the tongue and it was nice to share the first letter of her name with the darker CPU. Happy thoughts were key and Noire definitely made her happy, this technically being kidnapping or not — she would understand.
And it was calming too. There was no denying the twin-tailed goddess reflected the seas, her moods came and went with the tides.
This whole.. event of theirs drew more from Purple than expected. But it wasn't horrible; it was certainly eye-opening and made a good forewarning for her future.
Black would have understood and then immediately denied that it even made her happy. That was how she worked, contradictions and enough defiance to deny herself of happiness. Was it any surprise that Purple treated her the way she did?
"Besides, do you not think she would look better in a uniform of my colors?" One particular outfit came to her mind.
Yes, yes. Something form fitting that showed off just how wonderful her Noire was.
White put her head in her hands and groaned. "Of fucking course you have an agenda. Of course," the unimpressive red looked between herself and her darker-haired half. "To think you had to have Fluffy under your thrall too."
"You would best leave my relationship status out of this." They wouldn't. But verbalizing it was better than keeping everything an unspoken agreement. Now there were witnesses to this. "I don't interfere with your pitiful game of tug-of-war with Green and I expect the same courtesy to extend to me. And I was not the only participant, either."
"S–She isn't wrong." Black whispers, folding into herself still hiding behind Neptune as though she would be protected by herself of all people.
"Oh? Is the audience finally taking an active role? Or did she forget?"
"..You're pushing it, mongrel."
"And you have been ignoring me for months." Immortality didn't make time any less long. It made things worse, really.
"Just… just release me. Just release me and I'll accept whatever punishment you have in mind."
Tempting, but no. "I refuse." Black looked down. "I'm keeping her."
The other Noire wilted at the decision, shaking her head. Denial. As if she had any right to be, not when she had gone to the means of goddess-damned begging Purple. "She's the future me. Having her won't change a thing. Why can't you…"
"Bend? Break. Surrender? I'm not apologizing for a lack of self-hatred, dove." The future versions of them blinked at that, even more eyes landing on the snowy CPU. Might as well rip off this bandage. "I have one question for you, however, do you actually give a damn about yourself?"
She doesn't wait to hear the answer.
Not when the answer was as clear as day and Purple didn't need to hear what came next.
A handful of blades were sent hurtling in their direction, but without the tacitian putting any feeling behind her, they were mindlessly easy to parry.
Purple doubted she would be bothered by them anytime soon. Not with them distracted by Black's emotional mess and returning home. The difference between now and later were astounding as well as soothing in a way. The girl in her arms, Noire, was still burning bright, had tried to defy her and stand despite her cracks — the one hiding behind Neptune was a shade of what she could become.
And if Purple was destined to fail, then her time with the future Noire would at least make an impact. She wanted passion, life that bloomed in chaos, fires which blistered with an unending heat, a will to at least live another day. She didn't want someone who gave up.
Neptune wasn't sure her heart would take that.
Black was warm. The infectious comforting blanket of safety wrapped around her, a cruel contrast to where she was last, her mind supplemented.
It didn't help when she opened up her blurry gaze that a blizzard of dark lilac and mountains of bare skin had taken over her vision. Once her eyes registered, the rest of her senses started to trickle into existence. For example, the pair of arms wrapped around her waist and the soft breathing against the curved inclination of her neck.
Fuck. Purple still knew her ingrained weak spots, she whined with dread settling in place with the sensitive peaks. But those two were of the few outliers on how she was feeling this fine morning.
Meaning no impromptu playing while she was unconscious. Good, she didn't think her bedmate would actually do that, but it wasn't a smart move to constantly make assumptions.
And she would be lying if she wasn't interested in that happening, okay? Okay.
Next were the bandages. They really weren't necessary given her enhanced healing, but it was kind of Purple to have done so. Even if she was wearing a lacy red nightgown Noire didn't recall ever leaving in Planeptune's church.
A nice touch. The fabric didn't scratch at her skin and it wasn't the risqué type she knew Neptune was into, but it was mostly backless…
Ah, focus, focus. She can't get anymore distracted.
Noire glanced around the room, unwilling to move. Moving might disturb the fool here and that'd be rude to do to her gentle hostess, she enjoyed the cocoon of safety she had found herself in too. It was the exhaustion and pettiness in her talking, but it wasn't as though Purple's bedchambers had changed very much, they were still so quiet and warm.
There was something else that caught her eye, however. Clothing hung from a knob of the dresser, freshly pressed and pristine.
It was a military-esque outfit with bare shoulders, which translated into detached sleeves that were also sort of opera gloves, and instead of buttons, there was a sort of cross pattern going down? Then there was a skirt to go with it, the main coloration of the uniform was gold, silver and black with mere hints of Planeptune's lighter spectrum.
Was… was that also supposed to be hers?
It's sort of embarrassing. To have two outfits made especially for her from somebody else as a gift. Oh, and she had noticed the faint violet markings on it too, showing off whoever wore it was with Purple Heart — that did not, however, stop her from feeling grateful for the gift.
She really should have expected this; as soon as she was found, Noire would be taken. Kidnapped. Captured. Stolen. It didn't surprise her.
Purple had a thing for power and Black possessed enough of it to rival her. That had to be a kink of hers or something.
Ugh, actually no, that caused an influx of memories and feelings that were locked away.
Best not to do that, she internally moaned in despair. Waves of shivers that ran up and down her spine and converted her nerves back into the obsessive receivers they once were, Noire really didn't want to be reduced to someone's pet this time around.
Black liked it, but that didn't mean she was supposed to let her desires control her. She still had had pride and reputation, damn it.
"You're thinking too loud." Purple whispered, her lips brushing against the shell of her ear. "Do you like what you see? I worked very hard to make that for you, my adorable little Noire." Now that, along with the arms tightening around her, was a power move.
"How?" Goddess, she could not handle this woman with how said her name in such a way.
Just, no, please. She needed to function clearly and not have herself clouded by someone uttering her name in that fashion. Especially when it was the mongrel in bed with her.
Mmmn. At least Noire wasn't being toyed with. This was a straightforward conversation, it would have teasing because this was Planeptune's deity she was lying beside, but it was a truthful and blunt talk. Better than fighting.
A mortal wouldn't last very long without the aid of some power against a divinity. And she was in bed with her. She was in bed with her and Noire could feel just how little clothing Purple had put on before sleeping. If she hadn't been used to this, there would be an unconscious Noire on the bed. Yes, that would be nice right about now.
"I had a talk with Black and along the way, I discovered a curious sight." She closed her eyes, waiting for the shoe to drop. "My own mortal self and two others, imagine that. They were with those three."
The gentle caress of fingers on her skin nearly forced her eyes to open. It's a continuous thing, one that kept her attention and focused on the only thing that mattered at the moment, sense or no sense of sight. Figures that Purple would do this.
It's distracting, though. "You.. didn't, didn't hurt them… right?"
"No. Not really." There was this hint of a nameless emotion mistied its way through her tone. Inflection? "Well, I may have twisted the knife I had in my half, but she will recover."
"You can't be that certain."
"I am. You are here with me. Meaning, she will be fine and stand up from whatever it is that's holding her back."
Noire turned, hesitant eyes of blood gazed into a falsely serene sea. Purple had a smile on her face, a soft and idiotically warm thing. "You have too much faith in me."
A hand came to pat her head. "You don't ever have any faith in yourself, Noire. That's no way to live. Think of it this way, you're stuck here with me for the time being and I have no intention of handing you to the other me. You're my captive."
Falling into the sea always had her shivering. There was no escape in the infinite icy blue, there was no escape from a determined and knowing Purple as well; not when their similarities were so close. She hated the open ocean, but it was too beautiful for her to truly despise.
She wanted to hate Purple Heart, yet was only drawn in by her tides. There were no right answers for this.
"You're impossible. How am I supposed to say no?"
Neptune was going to be so mad at her for this. Blanc and Vert were going to worry and wonder if she had gone insane for going back against their decision all those years ago. And, and Purple was going to be so damn happy about this. What other option was there? Death? No, that would never happen with her here.
Laughter. "You're not," the big spoon tugged her closer, nuzzling her bare neck with a hum of appreciation. "Simply remain with me for now, blackbird. No harm in being happy."
A part of her genuinely doubted that and when Purple started to make shapes with her teeth on her neck, she knew her face had shown it. "I'm not, I've never been good with being happy." True, true, true. "But, I–I suppose I can try for the time being."
She was a selfish person at heart in the end and the opportunity to have Purple Heart by her side again was priceless.
Just for a little while Noire would take it. A moment trapped in time for her and Purple.
"There, that wasn't too difficult of a task, was it? Leave everything to me and I will ensure this detour between us goes swimmingly, it's not as though the other me could just provide such a service." Unsurprising that she noticed Neptune's.. Neptune-ness. "I'll see to it that you'll want for nothing with me by your side."
Noire shivers, leaning into the hand carding through her hair while the other only pulls her closer to the goddess. "Can you refrain from making jabs at Neptune so much then? I know she isn't what you wanted or expected, but still." She had some restraint at least.
Purple lets out a faint hum at the idea, a ghost of a pout wandering on her face before vanishing completely. "Perhaps, but only when that girl proves herself worthy. Planeptune deserves only the very best."
"And what, do I qualify for that category too?"
The devil in goddess' skin grins. "Of course, who better to stand beside me?"
Zenir: She didn't ask for marriage, but I have edited that part to clarify. But yes, please sleep. Impact's next chapter needs a lot of editing thus far. A good deal is done, but it just doesn't flow right? But you'll get it eventually, I've got no intention of leaving unless something happens to me. Thanks for reading!
Shiena: It definitely has the plot somewhat set up now. I've just got to get in the proper mood to write it out, kind of difficult given what's been going on nowadays. Glad to hear you liked it!