Me: "Hello again, my good readers. We have finally arrived at the last chapter of the story. Well, last chapter before the epilogue which will actually finish up the story. I will admit to being a little worried I dragged out the fight with Arfoire a bit longer than it should be."
Heero and Neptune: (Enter IC) "So we're finally gonna finish Arfoire for good? It's about time. Why does she hafta be so persistent?"
Heero: "As long as this nonsense is brought to an end, it doesn't matter."
Compa and IF: (Enter IC from Lounge) "Things were going really badly at the end of the last chapter. Are we really going to win against Arfoire?"
IF: "Well, we're the good guys of the story, so we have to win… Right?"
Nisa: (Enters IC through open window) "But of course! Justice always prevails over evil! Arfoire may be a goddess, but she is no exception!"
Lyrica: (Enters IC through hidden entrance) "Nisa, maybe tone down the heroic spiels a little bit for now. At least until Arfoire's gone."
Gust: (Enters IC from Break Room) "Let Nisa have this. We are at end of the story, after all."
Red: (Breaks through window into IC) "Once we beat Arfoire, I can go back to my quest of acquiring a hundred wifeys! So we have to win!"
Me: "Dammit! What did I tell you about break the office windows?!"
Vert: (Enters IC from Game Room) "I heard the sound of a window breaking. Is everything alright in here?"
Blanc: (Enters IC from Break Room) "...The chapter is about to start by the sound of it."
Noire: (Enters IC from Lounge) "It's about time. Arfoire made a mockery of us last time. She'll get what she has coming to her this time!"
Me: "Okay, we've wasted enough time here as it is. Let's read off the disclaimer and get this chapter going. It's not gonna read itself, you know."(Points at cast) "You know what to do at this point. Let's hear it."
Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Lyrica, Gust, Nisa, Red, Noire, Blanc, Vert, Histoire, and Zero: "HeeroUzuki does not own Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Super Robot Wars, or any work pertaining to these franchises."
Me: "We finally got the entirety of the main cast together to read off the disclaimer. Imagine that. We hope you enjoy the last numbered chapter of this story. Now, we just have to work on the epilogue, and this story will technically be done."
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa, IF, Lyrica, Gust, Nisa, Red, Noire, Blanc, Vert, Histoire, and Zero: (Leave IC)
Ch. 53 The Need For A Destined Lover
Within the holy land of the goddesses, the sound of gunfire echoed through the air that would be followed by the sound of a beam weapon discharging, an explosion or the roar of a dragon. The battle to decide the fate of Gamindustri was in its final stage. Yet, instead of facing the former goddess that was trying to destroy their world, Neptune and the rest of the party were running toward the entrance to Celestia, while the party's sole male party member fought against Arfoire in an effort to buy time.
Every step that Neptune took towards the entrance to Celestia, her legs grew heavier. It wasn't tiredness slowing her movements, but reluctance and unwillingness. Planeptune's goddess did not want to leave her Destined Lover behind to face the greatest threat to Gamindustri all on his own. She didn't want to, but what could she do? The party had been largely powerless to do anything to harm Arfoire, let alone defeat her.
Eventually Neptune stopped moving altogether, and Histoire noticed the lack of movement from the party leader. Turning back around, the Tome of the Goddesses pleaded with Planeptune's CPU to keep going, "Neptune, we must hurry! If we stay here, Arfoire will surely come after us!"
The rest of the party stopped their retreat when they heard Histoire speaking to the purplenette. They understood completely why the party's leader wasn't moving, and weren't keen on leaving Heero behind either. But with how poorly the fighting had gone for them once Arfoire transformed, no one was sure what they could do to turn things around.
Neptune wanted to know if Heero had a chance of winning against the former goddess, or at least to make it back to the party when the situation got out of hand. Planeptune's goddess wanted the truth, and turned to the one person she knew wouldn't sugarcoat the answer, "Z, Heero can win, right? He'll make it back, won't he?"
Zero wanted to tell Neptune that the Perfect Soldier would overcome the odds, defeat Arfoire and return in one piece. But it did no good to lie about it when the girl in front of her was looking for the truth, and the odds were so clearly stacked against Heero, "In Heero's current condition, victory is an impossibility. The most he can do is stall her for a time… But that's all. His chances of survival are essentially zero percent."
Everyone in the party had a feeling that was the case, but to hear it out loud was still a major blow to the girls. Compa looked towards Planeptune's CPU, hoping she would do or say something to give the party direction, "Nep-Nep… what do we do?"
In moments like this, IF knew that she couldn't get the party moving the way Neptune could. If they were going to do something, it had to be done now, "What's the plan? What're we doing?"
All eyes were on Neptune as she deliberated on what the party needed to do in that moment. Given how attached to Heero the goddess was, Histoire was certain that Neptune would do something reckless to save him, "Neptune, please see reason. I know you care for Heero very much, but trying to face Arfoire now is-"
Planeptune's CPU wouldn't hear of it. She could see exactly what listening to reason was going to get her; a broken heart and a life of depression, "I 'see' reason Histy, and it's gonna cost me my lover if I follow it!" Hoping to figure out what exactly the party should do, Neptune began to recall what Heero had told her just before they had gone to recruit the other CPUs. "I'm gonna do what I've done since we've been on this quest. I'm gonna do what Heero told me to do."
Considering that the most recent thing Heero had told them to do was run, Histoire assumed that was what the purplenette was referring to, "Then we should keep moving-"
Once again, Planeptune's goddess cut off the Tome of the Goddesses, having meant something else entirely, "Not that Histy, you goof! Before we went added Noire and Blanc and Vert to our party, Heero told me something. Something really important."
Curious to know what it was that Heero had told the purplenette, the party was silent. Even if he wasn't there to say it, perhaps hearing the Gundam pilot's words would help spur them into action. "He said 'The only way to live a good life is to act on your emotions. Do as your heart tells you, so you won't regret it later. That is the right path for those who live in the present.'" It was only as she had said those words aloud that Neptune knew exactly what needed to be done. Planeptune's goddess knew where she needed to be, "I'm doing what my heart's telling me to do! And right now my heart's telling me that my Heero needs me!"
Hoping that Compa and IF could dissuade the CPU, Histoire turned to them, only to find the two girls voicing their support for going back to help the lone male member of the party, "That does sound like something Heero would say."
"Alright, I'm sold."
It wasn't just them that supported the idea. Everyone else in the party was in favor of going back to face Arfoire alongside Heero regardless of their chances of victory, with Nisa breaking into another one of her heroic spiels, "In times such as this, the heart truly knows the right thing to do. We cannot leave our treasured friend to face the greatest threat to our world on his own!"
Lyrica herself was so moved by the quote from the Perfect Soldier that she didn't even think to tell the Keeper of Justice to tone back on the drama, "If you told me Neptune had come up with that, I wouldn't have believed you. It sounds so moving, like something only Heero could think of."
Gust was interested to helping the Gundam pilot not simply because they were members of the same party, but because the young alchemist felt a familial tie to the boy, "Heero is like family to Gust, so must go back and help."
Red may have focused most of her time on trying to woo other girls into being her wifeys, but she couldn't help but swoon over Heero's believe in how one should live their life, immediately attributing it to the boy's charisma, "My one and only hubby's charisma has to be even greater than EX rank to have this kind of effect! Now we have to go back and save him!"
Even the goddesses felt inspired by Heero's words, even if they were coming from Neptune. Blanc still felt the boy had an air of mystery about him, but to have such a philosophy contained within made that mysterious side even more attractive, "...Those really are words to live by. Heero's philosophy really does add to his mystique."
Vert was no exception, as she was deeply moved by the philosophy the boy adhered to, "He always acts stoic, yet his belief in how to live is truly astounding. Heero really is the most interesting human I've ever met."
Noire tried not to show it, but even she couldn't help but admire Heero's outlook on life, "I'll admit, he does sound kind of cool… b-but only a little bit."
Neptune knew that if the party could overcome this final battle, Gamindustri would truly be saved. But more importantly, they could save Heero from meeting his end, "Arfoire may have the power of the True Goddess, but us four goddesses together have as much power as her! Like four pieces of a pie! But unlike her, our pie has got more to it than just us! We've got Compa, Iffy, Z, and everybody else here!"
None of the girls knew what metaphor it was that Neptune was drawing from, but they did understand what she was getting at. The four goddesses combined had power comparable to Arfoire's, and with the rest of the party there, the scales were tipped in their favor. They could win if they worked hard enough to beat the former goddess.
Histoire was at a loss for words. Moments ago, the girls were running from a battle it seemed they had no hope of winning. Now, they were throwing themselves back into it with the intent to help the party's only male member and defeat the goddess trying to destroy the world. Zero on the other knew that the only thing the group lacked was the morale needed to achieve victory, having lost it during the first round of fighting Arfoire in her new form. They had everything they needed to win, now they just had to seize it.
Turning back in the direction they had just been traveling, Neptune was reminded of what it felt like to be separated from Heero because of the form goddess, and what she had to do to get him back. "I didn't cry in front of you guys or bust my butt working on our teamwork just to lose Heero to Arfoire. I've lost him once before, and it hurt! I don't wanna go through that again!" With a fire in her eyes, Planeptune's goddess stated her intent to defeat Arfoire without losing the Gundam pilot in the process, "We're going back, we're gonna stop Arfoire, and we're gonna do it without losing Heero!"
It was abundantly clear to Histoire that the girls would not back down from their chosen course of action. But then, what right did she have to stop them? They knew the risk they were taking, and the consequences of not going. At the very least, the Tome of the Goddesses wanted to know if Neptune had a means to defend herself now that her katana was gone, "I see that you are determined to see this through. Do you at least have a weapon to defend yourself? (,,꒪꒫꒪,,)"
Remembering that her sword had been reduced to a broken mess, Neptune began to rub the back of her head, as if racking her brain for something she could use. As the CPU rubbed her head, she felt her fingers brush against something that was neither her hair or hoodie. Grabbing a hold of the object, Neptune felt a texture against her fingers that she had not experienced in some time. Drawing the object from behind her back, the party's leader found that the object was the wooden sword she had acquire back when the party was first formed. Why she was carrying the wooden weapon was beyond her, as she believed it had been left at the party's safe house.
The girls all looked upon the wooden object with immense uncertainty. They all wondered if Neptune was seriously going to use such a weapon against a goddess that had turned into a dragon. The idea alone bordered on madness.
Neptune was fully aware that it was the least effective weapon that she could be using to face Arfoire, yet she was confident things would work out in the end. Aside from the wooden sword in her hand, she had another, more powerful weapon at her disposal. "This sword might not be much, but that okay. It may sound cliche, but I've got something more powerful on my side… the power of love!" The purplenette didn't have to turn around to know that she was getting skeptical looks. It didn't matter to Neptune, so long as she proved she wasn't just pulling their legs, "It's like I told you guys. As long as I've got Heero, there's no one I can't beat. So let's go and beat Arfoire!"
While they weren't entirely sure about Neptune's usefulness with a wooden sword, the girls did favor their chances collectively. With the same unifying thought, the group of girls raced back toward the castle rejoin Heero and end the threat posed by Arfoire.
Histoire remained where she was for a moment, still in disbelief over how quickly the girls had gotten back on their feet and made the decision to go back and face Arfoire, "How were they able to recover so quickly? I'm happy for them, but..."
"It's as I told you, Histoire." The Tome of the Goddesses looked to her right to find Zero casting a knowing look back at her, "Neptune is the one that can get the party moving, while Heero is what holds them together. She may have been using Heero's words, but Neptune is enough of a leader to know that they were exactly what those girls needed to hear."
They had recovered because Neptune was acting like a real leader. There was nothing more for Histoire to say. Nothing more she could say. All she could do now was have faith in the party.
Xxx
Bits and pieces of stone littered the floor of the castle-like structure as Heero and Arfoire continued their fierce battle. Machine Cannon fire ripped through the air and assailed the fallen CPU as she tried and failed to hit the Wing Gundam. While the Gundam's attacks were having an effect on the goddess-turned-dragon, it wasn't nearly enough for Heero's liking.
Arfoire reared back her head to expel a fireball at the Perfect Soldier, who in turn began charging his Buster Rifle. At the same time the goddess-turned-dragon launched her attack, the Gundam fired its high-powered weapon, with both attacks colliding for three seconds before detonating in a massive explosion that cloaked the center of the room in a thick cloud of smoke.
Not bothering to wait until the smoke cleared, Arfoire charged through in the hopes of catching the Gundam pilot off guard. But Heero had already anticipated that the former goddess would try such a thing and had flown over the cloud to where Arfoire had been before charging into it. As the Gundam landed it broke open the Buster Rifle and emptied the spent E-Cartridges while loading new ones in their place.
Once his primary weapon was reloaded, Heero took aim at Arfoire through the cloud, charged the Buster Rifle, and then fired. The beam of thermal energy struck the goddess-turned-dragon in the back. A sharp roar escaped from Arfoire's maw and echoed through the air as she was assaulted from behind, and upon turning in the direction of her attacker, the fallen CPU was struck was again by a harsh beam of energy.
The thick cloud of smoke began to dissipate, allowing both combatants to see one another more clearly. Even after hitting her repeatedly with the Wing Gundam's primary weapon, the only thing Heero could see was chipping and breakage in the scales of Arfoire's body. Nothing that would suggest his attacks were inflicting significant harm. And it wasn't just a lack of damage the Perfect Soldier was seeing, as the display in front of him flashed a warning that the Buster Rifle was nearly out of power. Having fired it eight times already, the powerful beam weapon only had one shot left.
Faced with the reality that he wasn't getting through Arfoire's tough hide with just the Wing Gundam's power, Heero dismissed his transformation. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but if the Perfect Soldier were to last long enough that the former goddess's defenses were down, he would need the last remaining E-Cartridge of the Buster Rifle for a kill shot.
As Heero began to weigh his options, Arfoire started speaking again in her now distorted voice, instead of just roaring as she had been, "You…! It's your fault! It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, the goddesses would still be fighting one another! The lands of Gamindustri would be consumed in in chaos! Neptune would be dead!"
It had been clear to the Gundam pilot before that Arfoire didn't have a positive opinion of him, but now it seemed that she truly loathed him. Of course, it didn't matter to Heero that the fallen CPU thought less of him. After all, it meant he was doing his job right, and it helped that he didn't positively of Arfoire either, "I have no respect for those who toy with life. Anything that interferes with your plans is a net positive for the world."
A loud roar filled the air, no doubt as a result of the anger Arfoire felt toward the boy for continuing to defy her. She would not stand for this. The goddess-turned-dragon would endeavor to kill Neptune, but would do so after getting rid of the Perfect Soldier. "You will die here, boy! I will make sure you feel true terror before I send you to the other side!"
Having determined how to proceed with his attempt to stall the former goddess, Heero activated HDD once more. In his place, the Crossbone Gundam stood in opposition of Arfoire. His defiance against Arfoire would continue until either she died, or he did. "...I'm a Gundam pilot. The only thing I fear is a mission left incomplete."
Raising the Peacock Smasher in it's right hand, the Crossbone Gundam unleashed a fusillade of beam fire that chipped away at more of the dragon's scales. Disregarding the relentless attack she was under, Arfoire charged toward the pirate themed mobile suit with reckless abandon. While surprisingly quick for her new size, Arfoire still was not fast enough to catch the Crossbone Gundam as it ducked underneath her claw before punishing the fallen CPU's failed attack with a swing from the Muramasa Blaster, cutting apart more of the scales that protected the dragon from serious injury.
The goddess-turned-dragon quickly turned toward the Gundam that was still in close proximity to her, refusing to lose a chance at ending the teenaged soldier within. Arfoire succeeded in grabbing ahold of the Crossbone Gundam and tried to bite through the suit's left shoulder.
Recognizing that he couldn't get away while Arfoire maintained a strong grip on him, Heero dropped the Muramasa Blaster and Peacock Smasher before engaging the Brand Markers on both arms. With both arm mounted weapons active, the Crossbone Gundam drove the Brand Markers into Arfoire's abdomen while firing the head mounted Vulcans and chest mounted Mega Machine Cannons. If Arfoire wouldn't let go willingly, he would force her to let go under duress.
Try as she might the fallen CPU couldn't seem to get through the Gundam's armor, and between the constant barrage of weapons fire causing more of her scales to break off and Brand Markers melting through even more of her natural armor, Arfoire was forced to release her hold on the Gundam before it finally got through and inflicted real damage to her.
Once free, the Crossbone Gundam retrieved the weaponry it dropped before creating some distance between itself and the former goddess. As the Gundam retreated, the goddess-turned-dragon created another fireball in her maw and quickly hurled it at her enemy while he was in the air. As the orb of fire drew near, Heero activated the Gundam's I-Field generators to stave of the attack, and when the intense ball of fire slammed against the invisible barrier created by the I-Field it failed to actually reach the Gundam pilot. The Crossbone Gundam raised it's Muramasa Blaster and swung the large sword across the middle of the fireball, cutting it in half and sending the two halves to collide with far away structures of the holy land.
The Gundam finally landed after fending off the former goddess's attack, and it was clear to both combatants that the Gundam was too much for Arfoire to handle. Even with her newfound power, the Crossbone Gundam's defenses were too great for her to overcome, and it had enough firepower that it could break through the fallen CPU's hide and even kill her given time. But time was something Heero didn't have.
His muscles were starting to ache, and Gust wasn't there to provide a potion for the pain that was steadily increasing and being one of the most powerful Gundam's at his disposal, the Crossbone Gundam was draining his already limited stamina faster than any of the other suits would.
Knowing that he didn't have the energy to keep the Crossbone Gundam out for much longer, Heero disengaged HDD once more to use another of his suits. And as quickly as it had ended, HDD was used once again, this time with the Exbein. Another threatening roar escaped Arfoire after the Gundam pilot's third transformation, furious that he was still putting up a fight even now, "It doesn't matter how many transformations you have, you won't defeat me!"
True as it may be, Heero could still hold Arfoire there until his body finally gave out. Drawing the Fang Slasher from it's left arm, the Exbein through the multi-bladed weapon at the dragon before closing on while drawing the Roche Saber and Photon Rifle, firing a few shots as the distance between them grew smaller.
The projectiles from the rifle inflicted negligible damage to the goddess-turned-dragon, and the Fang Slasher achieved similar success as Arfoire caught the bladed weapon and crushed it in her claw. Even when Heero took advantage of the goddess's lack of focus to strike with the Roche Saber, the beam weapon failed to do any more than chip through more of her scaly hide. Heero quickly put distance between himself and Arfoire before she could strike back, as it was clear the Exbein was going to get anywhere against her. The only weapons it had that could do anything required time to set-up, and with aggressive Arfoire was being, there was no possibility of it happening.
Again, the Gundam pilot exited HDD to swap suits. It was then that Heero was struck by an idea, and a crazy one at that. He already knew that defeating Arfoire on his own was not going to happen, and he could only stall her for so long, so he might as well inflict as much damage to her as possible. For that, he would need to use two suits at once. It was a reckless idea, but at this point he would do it if the plan produced some results.
Holding out both of his hands, two discs appeared before Heero before using HDD for a fourth time. The Nu Gundam stood in Heero's place, with the Gundam Exia standing next to it. As soon as the two Gundam were present, the Perfect Soldier felt his stamina plummet. He knew what would happen the moment he decided to use two Gundams at the same time, but the physical toll on him was still intense.
Doing his best to fight through the growing sense of exhaustion, Heero leveled the Nu Gundam's Beam Rifle at Arfoire and opened fire, while the Exia moved to engage the goddess-turned-dragon at close range.
Arfoire tried to block the beam rifle fire with her arms, but was left unable to stop the Exia as it assailed her with the blade of it's GN Sword. A chunk of scales came off of Arfoire's torso from where the large blade struck, forcing the dragon to defend herself against the Gundam assaulting her within arm's reach.
Swinging her left claw at the Exia, the goddess-turned-dragon tried to grab the melee-oriented Gundam or at least damage it and had gotten a hold of the suit's right knee when a series of explosions struck. As Arfoire had focused her attention on the Exia, she had been oblivious of the Nu Gundam arming the Hyper Bazooka until the rockets began to slam into and detonate against her.
The Exia backed away as fast as it was able to reassess the target it had been facing, giving Heero a look at the damage that had been done. Although the Gundam avoided serious damage, the armor over the Exia's right knee had been torn off by Arfoire's claw. Refocusing his attention on his enemy, Heero resumed his attack by firing another salvo of Hyper Bazooka round at the dragon while the Exia sped towards her once more with it's GN Short Blade and Long Blade.
With both swords drawn, the Gundam Exia swung it's blades at Arfoire as she was recovering from the second wave of explosives that hit her. The swords struck against the dragon's neck and began to grind down more of her scales into useless debris on the ground until the former goddess swung her right claw at the suit and effectively tore off the Exia's left arm, sending the severed mechanical limb flying behind it.
Tossing aside the GN Long Blade, the Exia rearmed the blade of it's GN Sword and took another swing at the fallen CPU's neck. The large blade broke through more of the tough hide, but before it could begin to cut into Arfoire's neck, the tip of the sword broke.
In retaliation for the damage it had inflicted, Arfoire thrust her left claw at the Exia's head, penetrating the suit's left eye and wrenching the Gundam's head off of it's body. The Exia's main body crashed to the ground while the head was sent flying across the circular room.
During the time Arfoire had been battling the Exia, Heero had maneuvered some distance behind the former goddess and deployed the Nu Gundam's Fin Funnels. Because he wasn't a Newtype, he needed the Exia's support to hold Arfoire's attention while directing all of his mental processes into manipulating the psychic weaponry. With the Exia now lying a battered mess, Heero was only going to get a single attack out of the Funnels.
The Nu Gundam held out it's right arm with it's hand open toward the fallen CPU. As soon as the Gundam closed its hand into a fist, the Fin Funnels laid down a barrage of beam weapon fire that engulfed Arfoire. More and more of the dragon's scales broke off under the hail of beam attacks, unable to withstand further damage. By the end of the all-range attack, entire patches of Arfoire's skin lay bare from losing the scales that had once protected her.
Having used up most of their power the Fin Funnels returned to the Nu Gundam to recharge, at which point Heero discontinued HDD. The Perfect Soldier was breathing heavily from overexertion, trying to catch his breath while formulating a plan of some kind… but the Gundam pilot was drawing a blank. The Crossbone Gundam demanded more energy than what he had left in, the Nu Gundam couldn't function effectively without support, the Exia was too heavily damaged to continue combat, and the Exbein was unable to use it's most powerful weaponry. All that Heero had left that he could use was the Wing Gundam for a very limited time, and a single shot left in the Buster Rifle.
Sensing that the Perfect Soldier had little if anything left to fight with, Arfoire charged toward the boy. Heero braced himself for the incoming attack with the GN Sword III, and while he was able to protect himself from serious bodily harm, the Gundam pilot was still knocked onto his back.
Before Heero could get back up the goddess-turned-dragon was already upon him. The dragon was looming over the Perfect Soldier and wanted to end his life for all the trouble he had caused her, "You have been a thorn in my side long enough! This is the end of your wretched life!"
"Hey, ugly!"
Arfoire tore her attention away in time to see a purple and white mass fly right into her before she was knocked off balance from a kick to her face. As the former goddess regained her footing, the one responsible for the assault on her face continued, "Nobody beats up my Destined Lover and gets away with it!"
Turning her attention toward her assailant, Arfoire found Neptune standing before her. The former goddess had not expected Planeptune's goddess to return so soon after being made to run away. And it wasn't just Arfoire who was surprised by Neptune's appearance, but Heero as well. The CPU of Planeptune should not have come back unless there was an actual plan to defeat Arfoire, and he doubted that was the case, so he wanted to know why she was back, "Why did you come back, Neptune?! Unless you have a plan to defeat Arfoire, you shouldn't be here!"
Neptune felt it was pretty obvious why she came back. There were only two reasons why she would be there, and the boy behind her was one of them. Turning to face the Gundam pilot, the purple haired girl answered his question, "I came back for you, Heero. There's no way I'm leaving my lover to fight Arfoire by himself! Besides, how are we supposed to be her if we run away?"
When the purplenette said 'we,' Heero surmised that the rest of the party had returned as well, and he was proven correct by the sight of bullets striking Arfoire's head that was followed by the voice of a certain nurse in training, "Nep-Nep, you really shouldn't hog Heero's attention so much. I want some time with him, too!"
After Compa blindsided Arfoire with a short barrage of bullets, IF ran up to the former goddess and across her now mostly unarmored torso before vaulting off of her while delivering a swift kick across her jaw, looking back at Planeptune's goddess as Arfoire fell over, "Stop acting like you're the only one that came to save him, Nep. It makes you look desperate."
Lyrica, Gust, Nisa and Red made their presence known as well as their intent to stand against Arfoire, with Nisa breaking into a heroic spiel, as was the norm for her, "Leaving a fellow hero of justice to face the greatest evil of our world would be a disgrace I could never live down! The surest path to victory is by combining our strength and courage!"
Still doing her best to hold her tongue regarding the Keeper of Justice's spiels, Lyrica spoke of the party's aspiration going into this final battle, "Winning here won't mean anything unless we all leave together. So, let's just beat Arfoire and go home!"
Gust's believe in her more familial tie to Heero was all the reason she needed to come back and face the former goddess, even if she had the power of the True Goddess now, "Blood is thicker than water. Gust and Heero are like family, so Gust had to come back."
From Red's point of view her ultimate goal of gather one hundred wives was linked to the Gundam pilot, so leaving him to die was not an option, "I couldn't leave my one and only hubby to die! If I can't hold on to one hubby, what chance do I have to get a hundred wifeys?"
Vert, Blanc and Noire appeared to finish rounding out the party, and Leanbox's goddess was gushing with adoration for the Gundam pilot, "I do not believe there is anyone else who could have such an effect on us goddesses… But your words and actions have truly moved us, Heero. Even Noire couldn't help but come running to save you, and she's not the most honest when it comes to her feelings."
Noire was flustered by the goddess of Leanbox blurting out why it was she came back to face Arfoire and went into her typical tsundere mode to downplay Vert's words, "I-I only said Heero was kind of cool, that doesn't mean I'm head over heels for him or anything! A-And it's not it's not like I came to save him! I'm here to defeat Arfoire so she won't harm Lastation. If I happen to save Heero while I'm at it… well, that's good too, I guess."
Blanc was more interested in dealing with the goddess-turned-dragon before them than listen to Lastation's goddess angrily rant how she wasn't interest in the Gundam pilot when it was painfully obvious that she was, "...You need to learn to stop being a scared little bitch and be more honest with yourself. But for now, can you stop talking out your ass and focus?"
The entire party had returned and there was no doubt in Heero's mind that they didn't have an actual plan. How Zero could allow this was beyond him, but these girls couldn't be allowed to throw their lives away fighting a battle they might not be able to win, "Your foolishness will only succeed in increasing casualties! All of you need to get out of here before you get yourselves killed!"
"You may as well save your breath." Heero looked over his shoulder to find Zero and Histoire behind him. The manifestation of the ZERO System wanted the Gundam pilot to be on the same page as the girls in front of him, as crazy as it might have seemed to him, "These girls won't leave for the simple reason that you're here."
Histoire herself had already given up trying to dissuade them. Perhaps it made no difference if they faced Arfoire now or waited to make a plan, but the girls had decided that leaving Heero behind was not an option, "I believe Neptune and the others have the right idea. For all of Arfoire's power, she stands alone, while all of you standing together are stronger than her. (*^▽^*)"
Heero had been so focused on the two non-combatant members of the party that he didn't notice that Neptune had already transformed until she was kneeling down next to him. The determination in Purple Heart's eyes was clear as day, she would not turn and run from this fight even if it meant she might perish, "If that's really the case, then fine. I would rather die here WITH you than live in a world WITHOUT you." Helping the Perfect Soldier to his feet, the swordstress of Planeptune refused to accept defeat. Somehow, she knew that the party would win their final battle, "But I'm not going to die here. Neither are you, or anyone in this party. We're all going to leave here victorious!"
A low, threatening roar came out of Arfoire as she gazed upon the party, focusing her attention on the goddess of Planeptune, "It's useless to resist me, Neptune. I know your weakness! It's that boy! Your heart throbs for him! Once I kill him, you won't have the will to stand against me!"
Purple Heart glowered at the former goddess that had just threatened to kill Heero. It may not have been the first time she had made such a threat, but it didn't get under skin any less, "Three times you've threaten Heero. Three times I've told you not to. This is the fourth time you've made that threat to him. So let this be the fourth and final time I have to tell you this." Planeptune's goddess pointed her sword at the goddess-turned-dragon. "No one threatens Heero in front of me."
Knowing that the full extent of their power would be needed, Vert, Blanc and Noire initiated HDD and assumed their goddess forms. Arfoire let out a loud roar as the four Hearts of Gamindustri stood before her. She would see them and the rest of the party dead at her feet before finally bringing Armageddon to the world.
Purple Heart charged toward the dragon at breakneck speed with the intent to land the first strike of this final round of battle against the former goddess. Arfoire took a swipe at the goddess of Planeptune with her right claw, only for the sword wielding CPU to duck under the appendage and cut into it from underneath. Instead of bouncing off of her as she had expected, a sharp pain shot through Arfoire's arm.
The goddess-turned-dragon took a few steps back and examined her arm and found blood seeping out of the fresh cut. Where once there had been scales that would have stopped or at least blunted the damage, there was now exposed skin. And it was not just Arfoire that could see the injury, but the party as well. The fallen CPU had been injured, meaning she could be defeated.
With the knowledge that they could now harm the former goddess, the rest of the party's female fighters dispersed to engage their foe in the way each of them knew best. Black Heart and Green Heart closed in from the front with White Heart behind them to get Arfoire's attention, while Compa, Lyrica and Gust circled around to the sides of the monster.
Arfoire swung at the pair of Black Heart and Green Heart with her claws, who parried the incoming attacks, and even when the dragon tried to take a bite out of them, White Heart stuck the head of her large axe in the way to keep the fallen CPU's jaws from doing any harm.
As the trio of goddesses had Arfoire focused on them, the goddess-turned-dragon didn't notice Compa, Lyrica and Gust getting into position around her until they started firing upon her. The string of bullets and lightning bolts didn't inflict much harm to the former goddess, but without the majority of her scales to protect her their attacks were having an effect, and while Arfoire was trying to weather the attacks from the party members that made up the party's rearguard, IF snuck around to her backside.
The Guild Moderatist jumped onto the dragons back and looked around at her mostly scale covered hide, until she found a spot that wasn't protected. IF wasted no time in driving her twin blades into the unprotected skin, earning an ear-piercing shriek from Arfoire. The former goddess began thrashing about to try and get IF off of her and even tried in vain to use her claws to reach the brunette.
When her attempts failed, the dragon beat it's wings and took to the air in a desperate attempt to get the nuisance off her back. Once high enough, the dragon quickly dropped back down to the ground with enough force to shake the castle and knock everyone that wasn't levitating onto their backs. The shock from the drop caused IF to fall off Arfoire's back and onto the floor like the others, where the former goddess saw a chance to flatten the Guild Moderatist, "Detestable little brat! You can burn in hell for daring to attack me!"
Raising her tail, the goddess-turned-dragon made to crush IF, but Green Heart was able to reach the brunette in time and pulled her to safety at the last possible second. IF had saw her life flash before her eyes within the last few seconds and needed a moment to gather herself before thanking the CPU that saved her from an untimely demise, "Thanks for saving me, Lady Green Heart. I would've ended up a pancake if it weren't for you."
Leanbox's CPU would have offered up a smile to the brunette were they not in a battle with the fate of the world on the line. Maintaining a stern expression on her face, Green Heart kept her gaze fixed on the dragon that had just threatened one of her friends, "Iffy, I believe I told you to just call me Vert. And you may thank me once Arfoire has been defeated."
Having failed to eliminate one of the party members, Arfoire decided to try making a tremor once more. If she could knock the party off balance again, she would either have a free attack at one of the humans, or one of the CPUs would have to risk serious injury to save them.
Seeing the former goddess start to take to the air once more, Nisa looked for something she could use to stop her. It was then that the Keeper of Justice noticed the damaged pillar next to her. Cracks stretched along the base of the masonry where it connected with the wall, no doubt from damage sustained during the battle between Heero and Arfoire earlier and made worse by the tremor made by the aforementioned fallen CPU. The blue haired heroine offered up a small apology in preparation for what she was about to do, "Goddesses of Gamindustri, please forgive me for this…!"
Nisa threw her fist into the cracks in pillar, breaking just enough of the stone that the pillar began to fall forward and towards her. The bluenette took a few steps back and held her arms up the air, barely catching the stone pillar as her legs felt as though they were going to give out from the weight of the masonry. Turning back around to face the party's enemy, Nisa threw the stone pillar toward Arfoire before she was too high for her to reach.
The stone pillar flew through the air and slammed into the dragon, breaking upon impact and sending her back to the ground on her stomach. As Arfoire was recovering from the hard strike against her, Black Heart closed in to put a stop to any further attempts by the former goddess at trying to get airborne, "I don't know exactly what you're doing, but I'm ending this nonsense right now!"
One second Lastation's goddess was next to Arfoire, and the next she was skidding to a halt on the other side of the dragon as she let out a pained roar while her right wing fell to the ground inert. Not content with simply removing one of the dragon's wings, Black Heart darted right back towards her and swung her sword twice in quick succession in the form of an X. Lastation's CPU continued her frenzied assault on the fallen CPU, picking up speed with each attack she landed and pushing herself to go faster still. Black Heart eventually lost control over her own speed during what was her final strike against Arfoire, sliding across the ground on her side and completely exhaust.
Although injured, Arfoire fought through the pain and focused her rage on Lastation's CPU. With Black Heart reverting to her human form, the goddess-turned-dragon saw her best chance to kill one of her biggest threats. Noire was too exhausted to do more than get back onto her feet, and seeing her incoming foe was a sure sign that she had gotten herself into inescapable trouble.
Arfoire lunged at Noire with the intent to decapitate her, and almost succeeded when a red and white object fell between her claw and the exhausted CPU's neck. A shield was between her and the girl she had tried to kill, and a familiar looking suit was standing right behind Noire. Once more, the boy that had proven to be far more troublesome than even the goddesses themselves was getting in her way, "You're still getting in my way? I'll send you to your grave once I've gotten rid of the CPUs, boy!"
The Wing Gundam continued to hold back Arfoire even as Heero's strength began to fade. He could only use this last transformation for a very short time, and he wasn't sure just how long he could keep Noire from biting the big one without support.
As if in response to his silent request, a glass vial flew through air towards Arfoire's head. Heero caught sight of the container that no doubt came from Gust, and while he didn't know what was mixed into it, the boy could tell that it wasn't necessarily lethal, but would prove detrimental to him if he looked at it. The Gundam pilot shut his eyes and maneuvered the Wing Gundam's shield to protect the rest of Noire's head as the vial exploded into a bright light similar to a flash grenade.
Arfoire was forced to cover her eyes after getting an eyeful of the blinding light, stepping back and away from the Gundam and Lastation's goddess. Using the reprieve given to him by the alchemic concoction, the Wing Gundam quickly grabbed Lastation's CPU and moved to a safe distance to get the CPU away from further combat. Once released from it's grip, a flustered Noire muttered her thanks for being saved from a situation she had put herself into, "...Thanks. I guess I got a little in over my head..."
Heero could understand Noire's wish to end the battle quickly but didn't think throwing caution to the wind was the way to go and she would need to keep that in mind for future battles, "Try not to let it happen again. Such a mistake can prove costly, and there are people who still need you."
Just then the Wing Gundam's head vanished, leaving Heero's own head exposed, followed by the suit's left shoulder. The Perfect Soldier was trying to maintain HDD as long as he could, but he didn't have much time left given that his armor was starting to disappear.
White Heart moved in on the blinded Arfoire as she stumbled backwards. Lowee's goddess saw the opportunity to slay the dragon and end the threat she posed. Taking to the air, the axe wielding goddess descended towards her like a comet ready to pulverize anything unfortunate enough to be underneath her.
The goddess-turned-dragon regained her senses and could feel White Heart's presence above her. The CPU of Lowee was moving too fast for her to move out of the way, but Arfoire could still avoid a fatal wound. Shifting to her left, the former goddess was able to avoid having White Heart's axe split her body in half, but her tail was not so lucky. A chill ran up Arfoire's spine as her tail was cut clean from her large frame, while White Heart slammed into the ground.
Seconds after cleaving Arfoire's tail off, the CPU of Lowee turned back into her human form of Blanc having but all of her strength behind the failed attacked. Falling to her knees, the goddess of Lowee clicked her tongue over her missed opportunity, "Tch… why couldn't you just… stay still, you bitch…?"
With her tail now gone, Arfoire was forced to turn around in order to strike back at her aggressor. But with none of the party members close enough to shield the weakened CPU, the former goddess believed she finally had a chance to slay one of the CPUs, "I'll shut that insolent mouth of yours permanently, you miserable brat!"
Red knew that her choice of weapons wasn't exactly effective against a dragon, but she saw the one chance in which she could provide some kind of assistance to the party. Pulling out her frisbee, the red head carefully aimed for Arfoire's right eye, then flung the plastic disc at it.
If there was one thing that could be said about Red, it was that she was a good shot when it mattered. Her frisbee zeroed in on the dragon's sensory organ and struck with incredible precision. And while the plastic object didn't do any serious damage, it had been enough to dissuade Arfoire from continuing her attack in favor of trying to sooth her damaged eye.
With the fallen CPU disoriented a second time, Green Heart took advantage of the situation to further debilitate the party's foe. Gathering up all of her remaining power, Leanbox's CPU charged into Arfoire at blinding speed, tearing through her left arm and wing. Like her fellow CPUs before her, Green Heart returned to her human form of Vert having spent all of her energy, hoping that the damage she inflicted was enough to see the party through the rest of the battle, "That's all I can afford you, everyone... The rest is up to you."
IF and Nisa arrived to help Vert and Blanc away from Arfoire to where the physically drained Noire was, With the three CPUs no longer able to continue fighting, Purple Heart was the only goddess left capable of carrying the day for the party, having stood by to see if her any of her counterparts could put down the former goddess. Arfoire was in such a weakened state that Planeptune's goddess didn't see her surviving more than a few solid hits.
The CPU of Planeptune extended her gratitude to the others for their efforts as she resolved herself to end the menace before them once and for all, "Everyone, you did well. I'll take care of the rest."
A beaten and bloodied Arfoire turned her angry gaze on Purple Heart. She had the audacity to speak as though she had already won, and the fallen CPU would have none of it, "You? You think you will defeat me? Me?! You will pay for your insolence, Neptune!"
Purple Heart saw nothing to be afraid of from an enemy who was down to one usable limb and was bleeding all over. Without uttering another word, the CPU charged toward her enemy with sword at the ready, quickly landing the first strike and continuing her attack against the debilitated dragon.
One strike, then another, and then a third. Planeptune's goddess continued to rain blows upon Arfoire. It wasn't difficult when her foe was large, cumbersome and only had the one limb left to fight back with. With each strike she landed, another cut was left across the dragon's body and Purple Heart applied more force to the subsequent attack.
As they watched the rest of the battle unfold before them, there was hope among the party that the twin braided CPU would cut down Arfoire. But the former goddess had proven herself to be a persistent enemy if nothing else. A single slip up on the swordstress' part could cost her. With segments of the Wing Gundam's armor vanishing due to his stamina dwindling closer to nothing, Heero threw the Gundam's shield toward Purple Heart knowing that she would get more use out of it now than he did.
Planeptune's goddess had prepared to finish off Arfoire, when the former goddess saw an opening and swung her claw with enough force that she disarmed the swordstress, sending her blade flying somewhere behind her. Without her sword, the CPU of Planeptune was defenseless and unable to do anything against Arfoire's follow-up attack that was sure to be fatal. Just when it seemed as though she was done for, Purple Heart noticed a red and white object in the corner of her eye. The Wing Gundam's shield slid across the ground towards her. Planeptune's goddess grabbed the shield off of the ground just as it passed in front of her, and not a moment too soon as Arfoire descended upon her.
The former goddess swung down at Purple Heart with her remaining claw, with Planeptune's goddess bringing the Gundam's shield back to stop her. Purple Heart fell to one knee as she pushed back against her attacker, trying to give the fallen CPU the opening she so desperately wanted.
Another threatening roar passed through the dragon's maw as she tried to break through the shield that kept her from ending the CPU's life, "Die, Neptune! Die so my dream can be realized!"
Purple Heart slid her left hand across the shield handle until her thumb could reach the button on the side. Pushing down on the button, the top of the Wing Gundam's shield slip open to reveal the saber storage compartment. Getting her right hand on the Beam Saber, Purple Heart let go off the shield while narrowly evading the dragon, sidestepping her foe, and swinging the thermal blade across her right eye.
Arfoire let out a roar that was mixed with her own distorted shriek of pain as she covered her now cut eye. While the former goddess was still reeling from losing an eye, Purple Heart tossed aside the now powerless Beam Saber and went to retrieve her sword.
It wasn't long before the goddess-turned-dragon recovered from having her eye slashed, and despite only having one eye left, she could clearly see Planeptune's goddess going for her sword. Having thrown reason out the window long ago, Arfoire made a futile attempt to reach her enemy before she could grab her weapon.
Planeptune's goddess reached her blade well before Arfoire could even get to her, and promptly headed back towards her enemy. The CPU of Planeptune went around to the dragon's left side to attack and quickly drove her sword into Arfoire's stomach as she tried to maneuver around to attack, then just as quickly put distance between them before the former goddess could exact some form of reprisal.
A pained roar came from Arfoire's maw, but she refused to fall. Compa couldn't understand what was keeping the fallen CPU moving. Any other monster would have succumbed to the injuries Arfoire had, yet she just kept coming, "What do we do? Arfoire keeps coming back for more, and I'm getting tired..."
Even after all the damage she had taken Arfoire just wouldn't fall, and IF was hating the former goddess's persistence, "Dammit, she just won't quit! She's gotta be almost down. We just need a little more to win!"
There was still something Heero had that might do the job, and unlike the rest of his equipment it was still in his hand. The Perfect Soldier tried to lift the Buster Rifle, but the soreness in his muscles and overall fatigue were making it far more difficult than he had anticipated.
Before he could drop the beam weapon from his own lack of strength, the Gundam pilot felt less weight from the rifle as it was lifted and pointed directly at Arfoire. The feeling of someone's hand over his drew Heero's attention to his right, where he found Purple Heart pressed up against him and with her left arm around his waist. The purple haired goddess knew what the boy had been attempting to do once she had gotten away from the former goddess and seeing that he had been struggling to lift the Buster Rifle on his own she offered to support him with what they hoped would be the final attack, "This is one of the most important things about us being lovers. We don't struggle alone. We triumph together."
Watching Planeptune's goddess for a moment, Heero found himself marveling at the woman next to him. He had met a number of strong women, but none of them were quite as steadfast as her. Even when faced with the prospect of death, she chose to stand and fight until the end. "(She's one hell of a woman...)"
With the two of them holding up their last means of finishing Arfoire, Heero and Purple Heart pull down on the trigger and fired the last remaining shot of the Buster Rifle. A beam of thermal energy shot out of the rifle barrel and sped toward Arfoire, where it slammed into her large frame. Beaten and weary as she was, Arfoire wouldn't just stand by and let the duo simply kill her. Even if she couldn't conjure anymore fireballs, the goddess-turned-dragon would still endeavor to kill her enemies with her one remaining hand.
Even as more of her scales and parts of her body were being disintegrated by the constant bombardment of intense thermal energy, Arfoire continued to walk forward. She had obtained the power of the True Goddess, she would not accept an outcome in which she was defeat by the lesser beings before her, "I won't be defeated by you, Neptune! Neither you, nor your precious human lover will stop me!"
Purple Heart couldn't argue with that. If she had come to face Arfoire by herself as she had previously attempted, there was no way she could have defeated the former goddess with her newfound power. But through the party's combined strength, and at this very moment with the support of her Destined Lover, what would have been impossible for her alone was very much within the realm of possibility, "You're right. Alone, neither I or Heero could defeat you..."
As the CPU of Planeptune tightened her grip over Heero's hand the Buster Rifle's usual gunmetal gray and yellow paint scheme gave way to black and purple, and while she felt her energy become severally depleted, Purple Heart stated her belief to Arfoire. "But together, we CAN defeat you!"
Almost as if in response to the goddess's continued defiance, the Buster Rifle discharged a larger beam of energy toward the fallen CPU. The dragon was completely engulfed by the thermal attack and the entirety of her body began to disintegrate. As her body fell apart and turned to nothing, Arfoire tried to make sense of what had happened, but came up with nothing. It shouldn't have been possible for her to lose, yet here she was dying to what she saw as inferior beings, "This can't be… this isn't possible…! I'm the True Goddess!" With what scant time she had left, the former goddess cursed Neptune and Heero as there was truly nothing left she could do now. "Damn you, Neptune! Damn you, Heero!"
The intense beam of golden orange energy ceased once the last E-Cartridge was completely empty. With the last of her energy spent, Purple Heart reverted to her human form of Neptune, who along with Heero, no longer had the strength to hold up the Buster Rifle and allowed the weapon to fall to the ground, where it disappeared as the rest of Heero's equipment had.
Neptune observed where Arfoire had once been, wondering if the party had truly succeeded in defeating her that time, "...Did we get her now?" When there was no sign of the former goddess reemerging, the party's leader voiced her discontent at the lack of a certain villainous offering from their enemy. "Drat. When she turned into the dragon, I thought she was gonna offer me half the world or something."
Compa felt it was a bit of a stretch that Arfoire would have made such an offer, considering just what her end goal had been, "I don't think she'd say that when her goal was to destroy the world."
Whereas Compa had focused on the impossibility of the former goddess offering such a thing, IF was focusing on whether Neptune would have accepted, finding the notion quite unsettling, "I mean, would you really have accepted if she had said that? I think that's a game over."
It was as if she would have actually accepted such an offer if she had been presented with it. Neptune was just disappointed that she didn't get to make some heroic speech about how she would never trade her friends and lover for half of the world, "Of course not. Not with Heero in danger. Or in front of everyone else, anyway. You're way scarier than Arfoire!
Although the party had just defeated Arfoire for the third time, Compa couldn't believe how freewheeling the others were acting, "Guys… we shouldn't let down our guard. We don't know if she's really gone or not." Feeling the need to get her point across, the nurse in training brought up a quote from her grandfather. "My grandpa always said, 'What appears twice, appears a third time!'"
Compa's quote from her grandpa would have had more impact, were it not for IF bringing up the fact that the party had faced Arfoire three times already, "That dragon was the third time. I really don't think that saying means anything. You sure you memorized it right?"
Histoire was in agreement with the pink haired girl. The girls were being a bit too carefree after the back-to-back fighting they had gone through, "Compa is correct, though. Most of your powers are drained.
The saying may have been 'third time's the charm,' but given how persistent the fallen CPU had been, the nurse in training was being understandably cautious. After all Arfoire had been slain once, got back up and fought the party a second time, and then transformed into a dragon to fight the party a third time. Who was to say the former goddess wouldn't appear again for a fourth round?
Noire wasn't keen on fighting Arfoire a fourth time, when she was running on fumes. What she wanted to hear right now was that the former goddess was gone and not coming back, "Another fight would be kinda rough. It'd be great if we could find out whether or not Arfoire's done for."
It wasn't as if there wasn't a way to verify whether the fallen CPU was well and truly gone, but the Tome of the Goddesses already mentioned how long it would take. "...There is a way, but it may take about three days."
Lastation's goddess was no less annoyed to hear the three-day requirement to access the relevant information than the first time she heard it. "That again? Can't you, like, 'feel' the change within yourself?" Wanting to know for sure that Arfoire was gone and unwilling to wait three days to know for certain, Noire decided to look through the pages of the tome herself, "Ugh, whatever. I'll look for you, so can you transform?"
Histoire wasn't used to anyone going through her pages, but would allow it so long as Noire wasn't too rough with her, "...Please be gentle with me." When she noticed the scandalous look she was receiving from Noire, the tome clarified what she meant. "Because… It would be very bad if you stain it, smudge the writing, tear a page, drool…"
IF had gotten on her phone when Noire had decided to go through the tome's records to determine if Arfoire was gone for good. Depleted as the group was, the Guild Moderatist believed that the party would win if the former goddess came back for a fourth battle, "We'll just fight her if she comes back again."
Vert wasn't quite so sure that the party would triumph over Arfoire a fourth time, considering how she had become stronger with each defeat she suffered, "So you say, but if Arfoire reappears, she will probably be even more powerful."
Not wanting Leanbox's goddess to worry about the possible resurgence of a stronger Arfoire, IF flashed a confident smile while reassuring the CPU things would be alright. "It's fine. Don't worry! We'll keep training so we'll always be stronger!"
Hearing the brunette's determination did much to ease Vert's concern and felt at ease knowing that IF would be working so hard to fight not just against Arfoire, but the various monsters that still inhabited Gamindustri. "How determined. You're so dependable, Iffy. I suppose I can stop worrying, now. No matter when Arfoire returns, or how many monsters exist out there… Iffy is going to take care of it all!"
Almost immediately, all of IF's confidence was replaced with panic. She didn't mean that she would battle every monster in the world or fight Arfoire by herself should she return, she meant that the party as a whole would face such trials. IF wasn't a slouch when it came to fighting, but she wasn't about to take on such a monumental task that she knew she couldn't accomplish alone, "What?! Don't make it sound like I'm gonna do everything. We're a party, so we do it together!"
Turning her gaze over toward Heero, Neptune immediately shot the brunette down. With the state the Gundam pilot was in, Planeptune's CPU could tell he wasn't in any condition to do else anything and wasn't inclined to let IF ask for his assistance at present, "Nuh-uh! No way, Iffy! Heero's all beat up right now, so no asking for help!"
Compa felt the party should focus less on the regular monsters populating Gamindustri and more on preparing themselves was a possible resurgence from Arfoire, "Save it for a rainy day! It's best to prepare in case Arfoire comes back in the future."
Blanc didn't like the idea of preparing for an encounter with Arfoire, as it sounded anxiety inducing to be ready for something that may not come to pass, "...That'll only make me restless. If I was all prepared and then nothing happened, I'd always be worried. Only the ones worried should get prepared."
The nurse in training started to get a bit defensive from how offhanded Blanc was being. It wasn't just that the CPU sounded disinterested, but it was something Compa's grandfather had said to her more than once. "That's not true! It's something my grandpa said and he's always right!"
Lowee's goddess wasn't looking to get into an argument, rather point out that preparing for something that might not happen was meaningless. "...Think of it like this. You leave your umbrella at work in case it rains. What if it rains while you're at home?"
The example posed to Compa exposed the hole in her logic, and the pink haired girl was beginning to feel as though there was no point in being prepared for a future conflict with Arfoire, "Th-Then I'd feel silly for wasting my time worrying… but!"
Blanc continued with her example that went into the unrealistic, "...What if it was snow and hail and cats and dogs and fire and meteorites at the same time?"
Although it was a highly unlikely example, Compa gave an honest answer to the question, all while feeling silly for suggesting that the party make preparations for a future battle with the former goddess, "Th-Then I wouldn't go outside..."
Lyrica was staring at Lowee's goddess with the most incredulous look on her face wondering why she was using such an extreme example to make her point, "I would be wondering why all of that was happening in the first place."
A growling noise came from Compa's stomach, drawing the attention of the other party members. A sheepish smile spread across the nurse in training's face as she thought about sating her need for food. "...I-I'm sorry, but I'm getting a little hungry."
Red was feeling rather peckish herself, having worked up an appetite from all of the fighting, "I could definitely go for some warm food with lots of love baked into it."
IF was expecting to hear that kind of talk out of Neptune first, given how she seemed to be hungry a lot of the time, "I thought I'd hear Nep say that before anyone else. Should we get going?"
A jubilant Compa was interested in exploring Celestia while the party had the chance. And was even hoping to take a souvenir home when they left, "Are there other buildings or popular tourist spots in Celestia? I want to take this chance to see them all!"
Surprisingly, Neptune had not once gotten hungry during the party's time in Celestia. Not only that, but she couldn't think of any place they could go in Celestia to eat anything, given that it was a place that wasn't frequented by humans for obvious reasons. "Hmm… Any place we can eat? It's strange, though. We shouldn't really get hungry in Celestia."
Histoire was quick to point out that the reason the party's otherwise perpetually hungry leader didn't feel such a need because she was a goddess and was currently in the holy land of the goddesses, "That only applies to goddesses. They do not get sick, nor do they experience hunger."
The idea of a land in which people never got sick or experienced hunger was something IF found somewhat appealing, which also brought to mind the prospect of people settling there, "That's crazy. If there were a land in Celestia, the CPU presiding over that place would be the most important one."
For a brief moment, Neptune actually thought about annexing Celestia and claiming it as her land just so she could be the most important CPU. She didn't say anything, and the idea quickly went out the window as she thought about spending time in a place that was devoid of other people.
After skimming through the Tome of the Goddesses' records, Noire was able to confirm that Arfoire was gone, at least from what she could see, "It looks like Arfoire's gone… I think. Unless I missed something, we should be fine now."
Wanting to leave and hopefully get some kind of rest, Heero was interested in leaving Celestia now that the party's mission had been completed, "Our mission has been completed. We should leave, now that's there is no reason to stay here."
Supporting the weakened Gundam pilot, Neptune led the party back towards the entrance of Celestia. With the source of monsters in Gamindustri now gone, the group wanted to put the land of the goddesses behind them and plan their next move.
Xxx
When the party arrived back on Planeptune they found themselves in front of the Sky Harbor instead of the ruins they used to access Celestia. Neptune didn't exactly care where on her land they were, just that the party was now on solid ground once more, "We're back on solid ground at last. What should we do now?"
Histoire had an idea of what the group should do in that moment, though wanted to go somewhere more private so that only those in the party would hear what she had to say, "It would be nice to go somewhere we could have a meaningful discussion."
The first place that came to the purplenette's mind was Compa's house. After all, where better to hold meaningful discussions than the place where the party was first formed? "Let's go to Compa's! It's not to far from here."
Compa wanted to know why it was that the party had been frequenting her house as of late. Sure, it had been fine when she had first found Heero and Neptune, but after the incident regarding Planeptune's CPU and her memories, she became aware of how small her home was. Trying to accommodate the party now would be asking a bit much of her humble abode, "Wh-Why my place all the time? It's so small… I think we should go to Planeptune's Basilicom!"
The Tome of the Goddesses was in agreement with Compa. Having the nurse in training play hostess the sizable party at her small home wasn'tvery fair to her, whereas the Basilicom was more spacious, and would no doubt provide for their returning goddess and the her party, "I agree with Compa. It is Neptune's Basilicom, so I am certain they will serve us tea and snacks upon request!"
Neptune was rather nervous about going back to the Basilicom. She had only been there once during their travels, and that was to get the permit needed to use the Sky Harbor to travel around Gamindustri. "Aww, but I haven't been there since I got my memory back. It's gonna be all flavors of awkward. I dunno if I'm ready." Wanting to avoid going to what might be an awkward reception, the party's leader once again pushed for the group to have their discussion at Compa's house, "It's cozy at Compa's. I know where she hides all her most yummy snacks, too!"
Compa was genuinely shocked to find that her stash of snacks had been uncovered by the purplenette. With that information now out in the open, the pink haired girl definitely wasn't going to allow the party to use her home for talks of any kind. Not when there was now a real possibility her stash would be cleaned out by Neptune, "You do?! Then, no way am I letting you in! The Basilicom is much more spacious and comfortable."
The others had been so caught up with talking about the Planeptune Basilicom that no one noticed that Noire was getting increasingly annoyed. Finally, the raven haired CPU couldn't take it and spoke her mind, "Hold it! Why not Lastation's Basilicom? It's way better than Planeptune's. It's future-proof!" The way Noire saw it, Lastation's Basilicom was superior to Planeptune's and any important discussions should be held there. "My room's spacious, too. I've got cute dessert cakes and expensive, organic blended teas!"
After hearing Noire's pitch, Vert believed the Lastation Basilicom to be no different from the Leanbox Basilicom when it came to creature comforts. After all, the blonde had access to tea, cakes and other snacks in her room, too, "That's no better than my Basilicom in Leanbox. We have our own personal patisserie… Along with an open terrace… which we may need to dust off, since I haven't used it in a while."
WithNoire and Vert pitching the idea of using their Basilicoms for the purposes of holding Histoire'simportant conversation, Blanc decided to offer her own Basilicom in Lowee for the purpose, "...Lowee's Basilicom is always warm and cozy… It's a little far, but I'd rather talk in a place I'm familiar with."
Gust couldn't understand why the goddesses were competing over where the talks were to be held, and frankly found it to be ridicules. She didn't want to go very far, wanting nothing more than to relax, "Gust would rather go to Planeptune Basilicom. Today has been quite stressful, and Gust wants to rest."
Lyrica was of a similar mind to the business savvy alchemist. She wanted to get the discussion over with so she could kick back and enjoy some much needed R&R, "I'm with Gust. I wanna take a load off and just relax. Musicians aren't machine's, y'know."
IF was leaning heavily towards going to the Planeptune Basilicom as well for the simple reason that it was the closest, and because she was tired, "I think we should just go to Planeptune's since it's the closest."
Although it really was the closest Basilicom to where they were now, Neptune still believed that it was a terrible reason for the majority of the party to vote to go there, "Geez, that's not a good reason! Maaaaan, I don't wanna go..."
No matter how much she protested, it was clear that Planeptune's CPU wasn't going to get her way on the matter. Ultimately, the purplenette was forced to acquiesce, and led the party toward Planeptune's Basilicom.
Upon their arrival, Neptune spoke up so the Basilicom staff that were present would hear her, doing her best to not show too much of her discomfort, "Um, I'm back… or...Nice to meet you. I'm the CPU Nep- Uh, Purple Heart."
Themembers of the Sanctified that were present had been caught off guard by the announcement from the group's leader, stunned even, as it took a moment for them to finally respond, "Huh…? Is that really you, Lady Purple Heart? That voice…!"
Another member of the Basilicom staff approached once it was clear that their goddess had arrived, expressing relieve over the CPU finally returning to the Land of Purple Progress, "Lady Purple Heart! We've been very worried about you. We're so glad you're safe… Where have you been all this time? Who are these people with you?"
Hoping that the Basilicom employees in front of her wouldn't deny them passage, Neptune navigated toward what she hoped would be a suitable answer for them, "Oh… Um, friends."
Looking upon the other members of the party, the first of the two Basilicom staff members immediately jumped to the conclusion that the rest of the group had to hail from the holy land as well, "Friends?! They must also be from Celestia, then!"
IF had been watching as the party's leader displayed ratherimpressive self-control with how she conversed with the Basilicom staff. However, the brunette could see the cracks forming in the party leader's facade and felt it better to take pity on her and get private room now before Neptune's nervousness finally broke her, "Oh, can we borrow a room where we can talk in private?"
"Certainly. Whatever has happened, you must all be exhausted!"
The Basilicom was alight with activity now that Planeptune's goddess was within the safety of its walls, and all of the staff there would do whatever they could to ensure the comfort of both their goddess and her companions, "We will offer as much service as we can. Please, make yourselves comfortable."
As the girls headed towards the back of the Basilicom, Heero himself was stopped by the Basilicom staff. Being a boy,they assumed that he had not come from Celestia like they believed all of the girls in the party had, "I'm sorry, but you will have to wait out here while our goddess speaks with her entourage in private."
Hearing that the boy was being stopped, Neptune ran back and positioned herself between Heero and the Basilicom staff that were in the way. She knew that as she could sort out the situation, what with her being officially recognized as the goddess of Planeptune, "But you gotta let Heero come with us, he's my De-"
Everyone in the party flinched as their leader trailed off. She was about to call the boy her Destined Lover, and while she may have been able to get away with that elsewhere, but saying such a thing in front of her own Basilicom staff was likely to cause trouble. Mostly for Heero.
Thinking of a plausible excuse for why the boy needed to remain with her, Neptune reached for a fallback that wasn't exactly a lie, but didn't fully capture the essence of her relationship with the Gundam pilot. "...Dependable bodyguard! He's been protecting me from some really mean monsters since I got back."
The Basilicom staff didn't think twice on the answer given, believing every word that game out of their goddess's mouth. If she said the boy was her bodyguard, then he should be treated as such, "My sincerest apologies! You have our most profound gratitude for protecting our Lady. Since our goddess deems you worthy, you may accompany her."
With the debacle concerning the Basilicom employees resolved, the party ducked into the room provided for them, which happened to be Neptune's room. Once the group was inside and the door was closed, Heero remarked on how impressed he was with how Neptune navigated the situation from before. He, like everyone else in the party expected the party leader to say what she usually said in front of new people regarding their relationship, "You handled that rather well, considering what your normal response to outside parties is."
It wasn't as if Neptune didn't want to say it. She had just been mindful of the fact that Heero was still weak and didn't need anymore trouble, "I only said it cuz your all beat up and sore. I should be free to tell anyone and everyone that we're Destined Lovers, and not worry about trouble."
Once everyone had gotten comfortable in Neptune's spacious room, Compa sighed in relief. With everything that had happened lately, the party had not been given time to get some proper rest. Now that Arfoire was dealt with, the nurse in training felt like she could finally relax, "Ahh. I'm glad we could all settle down for once. I'm feeling a little out of it."
IF could understand wanting to kick back and bask in their victory over the former goddess, but she knew there were still other problems that needed to be dealt with, "But there's still lots of stuff to do, even after defeating Arfoire."
Of the problems that Gamindustri still faced, Histoire knew that the most pressing was the monsters being summoned by the heretics that believed in the fake Overlord, "The monsters summoned by all the world's heretics. They will not go away, even if Arfoire is gone. (. .)"
Compa had all but forgotten aboutthe hordes of monsters having focused all of her time and energy worrying about Arfoire, "That's right, the monsters! What do we do about all the monsters that Arfoire created here in Planeptune?"
Lyrica was thrown into a panic when the nurse in training brought up the monsters around Planeptune. Because of all creatures that Arfoire created while Heero was under control, the songstress believed the capital was still in danger of being attacked, "Wh-What do we do? Do we still have time to pack our things and run to one of the other lands?!"
Zero assuaged the girls worries, as they clearly didn't realize that the hordes of monsters didn't pose as much of a threat anymore now that Arfoire was gone, "While the monsters still pose a threat, they lack the intellectual capacity to make it into the city without Arfoire leading them. Rest assured, there is no longer a threat of a massive attack on this city."
A collective sigh of relief was what came out of the girls at the revelation that they wouldn't have to worry about a horde of monsters descending on Planeptune's capital city. In addition to the news that they wouldn't need to prepare for an attack, Histoire already had a way to deal with the monster problem, "Never fear! I, the tome, and the four goddesses shall take care of everything. With their powers combined, they are as powerful as the True Goddess with my consent."
Compa was reminded of the checks and balances system in place regarding the CPUs and the Tome before her, "...True Goddess? Something about the idea and execution balance?"
"Yes. A goddess can overwrite the tome's records. In other words, she can change the world. She is able to alter the world so that monsters do not exist!"
The idea of being able to just will away all of the monsters in existence certainly had an appeal to it, and most anyone would have jumped on the opportunity in a heartbeat. Neptune, however, had mixed feelings on the idea, "True, it'd be swell to get rid of the monsters like that… But wouldn't that kinda feel like cheating?"
IF couldn't understand why the purplenette was thinking in such a way. It couldn't really be considered cheating since it was leveraging the full might of a True Goddess, and not inputting some kind of cheat code, "How? We're just utilizing the true power of a goddess to wipe out the monsters. You're one of the four CPUs. How is using your power cheating?"
While the Guild Moderatist was all for the idea of using the goddesses' power to rid Gamindustri of each and every monster, Vert didn't share her enthusiasm for it, "I agree with Nep-Nep. Iffy, the goddesses should never resort to a quick, easy solution."
Taken aback by Leanbox's CPU dismissing the proposal, IF sought to validate whether the blonde CPU was willing to resolve the monster problem in her own land personally. "It's about putting your powers to use… Do you actually wanna do this on your own?"
In Vert's mind, the monsters inhabiting Leanbox weren't just a threat to her people, but a slight against her personally. As such, she would endeavor the eradicate each and every one until the scourge was no more. "Of course. They're monsters invading my land. Doesn't matter who did it or why. I want to crush them. This is where we all must stand up and defeat the monsters ourselves to make sure it's done right."
Nisa wholeheartedly supported the idea. As the Keeper of Justice, she had to make sure that no evil was spared from her fury. And to ensure that Gamindustri was on it's way toward a lasting peace, no monsters could be allowed to live, "I firmly support your decision, Lady Green Heart. To ensure no more innocents come to harm, every last monster must be exterminated!"
In addition to the blue haired heroine, Red was also in favor of putting the smack-down on the monsters personally for no other reason than they got in the way of her personal quest, "Me too! Because of all the monsters in the world, gathering one-hundred wifeys is a lot of work. I wanna beat 'em up for making my quest harder!"
Neptune agreed with Leanbox's goddess, believing that the only way to make sure the job of disposing of the monsters would be done right was to do it themselves, "Yeah, that! Those are the words I wanted to have come out! Compa, you agree, right?"
Compa was split on whether to support Neptune's standpoint or not. She wanted the monsters gone as quickly as possible, but she could understand where Planeptune's goddess was coming from, and it left her conflicted, "I don't know… It'd be great if we could get rid of the monsters quickly, but I see where you're coming from, too..."
Whereas Planeptune and Leanbox's goddesses were all for slaying every monster personally, Lastation's goddess was only interested in getting rid of them. And seeing that they could do just that right now, Noire wanted her land wiped clean of them, "Who cares about the method? All that matters is that they're gone. You two gotta put your pride away!"
IF took a firm position along side Noire, wanting the monsters gone as quickly as possible without any regard to the method employed to do it, "I'm in agreement with Lady Black Heart. Monsters are troubling the people. We should do this quickly.
It wasn't just IF that sided with Noire, Lyrica was also in favor of a quick removal of every monster in the world, since it was a monster that had been responsible for pirating her music, and that of other musicians, "I'd like to get rid of the monsters quick so that they can't steal anymore music from me and the other musicians in the world."
Even Gust had sided with Lastation's goddess on the matter, as she to remove the biggest problem facing the daily lives of the common people, "Gust would like monsters gone quickly, too. They cause so much trouble, and Gust cannot be everywhere making potions."
While Neptune, Vert and Noire had taken firm positions on how they wanted to solve the monster problem, Blanc was indifferent to how the matter was dealt with. Whether it was done quickly using the tome's records or made into a lengthy affair through cutting them down as they had done normally, all that Lowee's CPU was interested in was seeing the monster population reduced to nothing, "...I don't care, so long as the monsters are gone."
There were four in favor of culling the monsters personally, four in favor of using the tome to remove them quickly, and two undecided votes that could fall on both sides that would still result in a tie. The decision on how to handle the monster problem wasn't going as Histoire had planned, "Oh, dear… This wasn't quite how I expected this to turn out... I thought everyone would like my idea. (´;Д;`)"
Recognizing that they had reached an impasse, Neptune determined that the only way the party would arrive at a meaningful answer was to hear the thoughts and opinions of the one person who had not made his position known, "Nothings gonna get done like this! I say we let Heero decide what we should do."
There wasn't any other option that would break the stalemate, and the girls knew that Heero's answer would be the result of careful consideration regarding how it would affect Gamindustri. With all eyes on him to decide on how to resolve the matter, the Perfect Soldier retreated into his mind as he thought of the best course of action that should be taken.
A minute of silent contemplation passed with all of the girls waiting to hear which way the boy would lean. After weighing the pros and cons of both options, Heero felt he had finally reached a verdict, "...Our best option in this case is to deal with all of the monsters personally, as we have been." Before anyone could voice their support or disapproval, the Perfect Soldier laid out his reasoning for his answer. "Under normal circumstances, getting rid of all the monsters at once would be the best option. What tips the scales for me is the possibility that Arfoire could come back."
Although Noire had looked through Histoire's records, she had been unable to confirm with absolute certainty that Arfoire was gone. If she returned, then it already made the idea of erasing every monster from existence a nonstarter, "We've already seen her come back once. If she comes back again, she'll just create more monsters. Our true problem lies with the heretics."
If that really was the group's biggest problem, Histoire had a solution, "If that is the only problem, we can just alter the perception of the heretics' with the tome. (‐^▽^‐)"
Zero had to stop the Tome of the Goddess from following that line of thought for a clear reason; it involved controlling others, something Arfoire would have done, "I'm going to have to stop you right there, Histoire. What you are suggesting is using power to control others. That's the kind of thing Arfoire would have done, if she had achieved her objective."
It was a harsh rebuke of Histoire's idea, but the others in the party could understand why the ZERO System was against it. If they used the record to influence the minds of others, even if it was for a noble cause, how would that make them any different from Arfoire? They couldn't do it. No matter how good their intentions, no one in the party wanted to be anything like the former goddess.
Heero could tell that there were those in the party who didn't like the idea of chasing down and getting rid of every monster in the world. And while it would no doubt be a time-consuming effort, he knew it had to be done this way to prevent Arfoire from coming back, "Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but handling the monster problem personally is our best way to ensure Arfoire doesn't come back. When the heretics see the elimination of the monsters, as well as the lack of any reprisal, they'll lose faith in the fake overlord, and in turn, Arfoire. Without their faith, she will be unable to come back and create more monsters."
In the short-term, it meant more work for the party and the various adventurers around Gamindustri. But in the long-term, it would result in monsters being eliminated as a threat entirely, leaving the four lands to focus their time and energy improving themselves.
It was a well-considered idea that took the needs of everyone into account and provided a way forward for Gamindustri. It also made Neptune seriously consider her role as a CPU, and whether she was truly qualified for it. Looking to the Tome of the Goddesses, Planeptune's CPU sought to find out if she truly deserved to be a goddess, "Hey Histy, that book can do just about anything, right? Could it possibly… take a goddess's powers away?"
Neptune's question was alarmingly specific and triggered a warning sign for Histoire. Nonetheless, she answered the question to see where the purple haired girl was going with her inquiry, "Well, yes, the tome can be used to take a goddess's powers away… why do you ask?"
Now that she knew the tome could relinquish a goddess of her powers, Planeptune's CPU revealed why it was important for her to know. "Ever since you told me that I was Planeptune's CPU, I've been wondering if I really should be a goddess. I mean, I wanted to deal with all the monsters personally because I didn't like 'em and just wanted to beat them all up. But Heero wanted to fight all of them because he was thinking about everyone in Gamindustri, and not wanting Arfoire to come back and ruin everything."
For Neptune, having put her own desire before the needs of her people with regard to stamping out the monster threat, it felt only right to step down as CPU so that someone more goddess-like could take the reins, "I've been thinking… maybe I should quit being a CPU, so someone better can run Planeptune." The party was stunned by the purplenette's decision. Even if it was only a thought, it carried serious ramifications. Of course, Neptune wasn't exactly sure about standing down. She was conflicted between giving up her powers and continuing to be a goddess to protect people. "At least, that's what I thought, but then I start thinking about how I won't be able to help people without my powers, and it really bothers me!"
Compa believed that the party leader should take more time to decide something that could alter the way people on Planeptune lived, rather than try to determine an answer now, "Nep-Nep, you might not be thinking clearly. You should eat something, get a nice nap, and think it over."
IF was of a similar mind. Neptune was trying to decide something significant too fast after they had just saved the world. It was a decision that certainly required more time to reach a meaningful answer than Neptune was giving it, "Nep, you really should stop and think about this more. What do you think will happen if Planeptune suddenly doesn't have a goddess anymore?"
Neptune wouldn't hear of it. She needed this matter to be settled now, and she knew there was only one way to arrive at a satisfactory answer, "I've given it a lot of thought. And because I can't decide on this myself… Heero should be the one to decide."
What was to be a serious, life altering decision was being dropped in Heero's hands, and Noire felt it smacked of irresponsibility on Neptune's part, "You're talking about not being a goddess anymore and giving up your powers! You can't just drop something like that in Heero's lap! It's irresponsible!"
While Lastation's goddess may have seen it as irresponsible, Neptune had traveled with Heero ever since they went to find the Key Fragments. She knew enough about the boy to know that leaving the decision in his hands was the most responsible choice she could make. "Ever since we first started on our quest to save Gamindustri, Heero's always done what was best for me. He's the only one I know who can make this choice for me. If Heero wants me to keep being a CPU, I'll do it. If he wants me to give up my powers, I'll do it. No questions asked."
Planeptune's CPU was resolute in her decision. It was clear to all present that whatever Heero's answer, she would follow through on it. It wasn't just Neptune that had been plagued by a question of her competence as a CPU, Blanc had been questioning her own fitness. Seeing Neptune commit to abiding by whatever answer Heero gave, the ivory haired girl felt it sensible to throw her continued rein as CPU behind his choice, "...I've been questioning whether or not I've got what it takes to keep being a goddess. So… fuck it, I'll let Heero decide for me, too. If he says so, I'll give up my powers. End of story."
Blanc's decision blindsided the other party members, who were still coming to terms with Neptune's own decision to let Heero to determine her fate as a CPU. As surprised as the girls were over two goddesses voicing the possibility of resigning, Vert had also harbored thought of potentially resigning from her position as goddess of Leanbox due to her own perceived failings, "Having the responsibility of deciding the fate of two goddesses is no doubt a heavy burden… and yet, I fear I must add to Heero's burden. I have questioned my fitness as a goddess as of late and whether or not I should step down. Perhaps Neptune is right, Heero may be the one person who can make such an important decision for Gamindustri."
Three of Gamindustri's four goddesses had left the decision of remaining the goddesses of Gamindustri in Heero's hands… and that left Noire in an awkward position. She had told the Gundam pilot that she had planned on returning to Lastation and taking up her duties as CPU, as she felt responsible for what Avenir had done and wanted to make up for her oversight at the time. Leaving Heero to decide for them what they should do seemed irresponsible to Lastation's goddess… but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel as though it made the other CPUs more responsible than her.
Not wanting to be thought of as lesser than her counterparts, Noire gave in and left the decision of her tenure as goddess in Heero's hands as well, "I still think it's pretty irresponsible to leave this kind of decision making to one person… but I am curious to know what Heero's answer is. So… I'll let him decide for me as well. Not that I couldn't decide for myself or anything. I just want to know what his answer is."
The rest of the party was in shock over the sudden determination of the four goddesses to leave one person to decide if they should remain the guardian CPUs of their respective lands. Compa had been hoping to relax after finally coming to a consensus on what to do about the monsters, but instead the air in the room had become rather tense as a serious conundrum had been brought to light, "What do you think is gonna happen, Iffy? Are the goddesses… going to stop being goddesses?"
IF wasn't sure how to answer the nurse in training. Not just because she was still processing what was happening, but because she was unsure of how Heero would answer. Determining a goddess's future already sounded like a difficult matter, so to have four goddesses dropping the decision in one person's hands without warning, even if it was Heero,seemed to make for an impossible request, "I don't know… this has gotten really heavy, really fast."
All of the human members of the party were dumbstruck by the turn of events. Even Histoire was still trying to comprehend what was going through the CPUs' minds. But as she stopped to think about who they were leaving the decision making to, the Tome of the Goddesses began to understand why Neptune and the other goddesses had cast their lot with Heero. His answer on how best to proceed with disposing of the monsters was the result of careful consideration, potential risk, and was ultimately a plan for the future. Although he was human, Heero's mindfulness and forethought was what was expected of a CPU.
Histoire saw no reason to argue with the four goddesses when they were so resolute about their choice. If that was their will, she would respect it. Turning to the Gundam pilot, the fairy-like being sought Heero's answer on the matter, "Heero, what would you have Gamindustri's CPUs do? Will they give up their powers? Or continue to serve in their roles as goddesses?"
If he had been asked this question when he first arrived in Gamindustri, Heero knew exactly how he would have answered. He would have had the goddesses stripped of their powers so that they would no longer have the capacity or drive to fight one another. But now, having gotten to know them and the other girls in the party on a more personal level and seeing the lands of this world, the Gundam pilot came to understand just how important the current system was.
Before he could make a final decision, Heero needed to know what would happen if the CPUs were to lose their powers. If he were to give such an answer, he wanted to make sure that they wouldn't simply disappear like Arfoire, "If the CPUs were to give up their powers, what would happen to them?"
That was a question the others wanted to know as well. Would losing their powers cause the CPUs to disappear? Or would something else happen entirely? Noticing the worried looks she was getting from the group of girls, Histoire already had the answer to the question, having helped to create the four goddesses there in the room. "If the CPUs were to lose their powers, they would lose their divinity and become normal humans. Their powers will then be used to create a new goddess, who will reside in Celestia and grant her protection to the human world in return for their faith."
There was a collective sigh of relief from the girls over the knowledge that the CPUs wouldn't disappear. But beyond that, Heero saw the deal breaker in the goddesses losing their powers. A system in which one goddess ruled over all was what produced Arfoire. Maybe the fallen CPU had been benevolent in the past, but somewhere along the way she changed. Perhaps the burden that came with protecting the world on her own proved too much, or maybe it was something else entirely about the job that changed her. It was too late to get the answer from Arfoire now, but Heero firmly believed it had something to do with bearing the sole responsibility of keeping the world safe. To revert to a single goddess system would likely produce another Arfoire, which would have made all that the party had accomplished meaningless.
Then there was the four CPU system that was currently in place. The goddesses weren't perfect, obviously. They each had their bad points that kept them from being entirely goddess-like, and after a bit of poking and prodding from Arfoire, the four goddesses went to war with one another for thousands of years and still didn't quite see eye to eye. However, they had their good points that made it easier for them to relate to the citizens of the various lands. And where Arfoire had become bitter towards Gamindustri, none of the four CPUs had any aspirations to destroy the world.
Heero may have been given the go ahead to cast their powers and divinity away, but the boy had reason enough to believe that the four CPUs would regret the decision when it meant giving up a part of themselves forever. No, there wasn't a need for them to give up their status as goddesses. Each land and the people that inhabited them worked tirelessly to prove their faith in their respective goddess, and it was that competitive spirit that drove this world and the CPUs forward. They may not have been perfect, but the CPUs could still change. They would still change. To better their world, their people... and themselves, "Histoire. The first time you contacted me, you said that you made a mistake in creating the four CPUs. I can confidently say you've had it backwards this whole time. Returning to a system in which one CPU governs and protects the world will just result in another Arfoire. Having these four watching over Gamindustri is actually the best choice you could have made."
The Gundam pilot had made his choice, and Neptune would not go back on her word. If he wanted her to continue in her role as Planeptune's CPU, then that's what she would do, "That's that, then. If Heero wants me to be a goddess, then I'mma be a goddess!"
Vert, Blanc and Noire did not raise any objections. Why would they? They had expressly said that they would let Heero decide what they should do concerning their positions as CPUs. It was his wish that they remain goddesses, and they would not refuse him.
Having decided on what to do about the monsters around Gamindustri, as well as the future of Gamindustri's CPUs, Neptune saw no reason for the party to sit around in the Basilicom anymore. Not when she had something else in mind for the group to do. "Now that we've got all this stuff figured out, let's head back to our house and have a big ol' party to celebrate our victory!"
IF wasn't against the idea of a party, but wanted to know why they couldn't simply do that in the Basilicom where the staff could cater to them, "What's wrong with having it here? The Basilicom staff can bring us what we want, and we won't have to go anywhere."
Neptune would have loved to just crash right then and there and left others to bring her snacks, drinks and other treats, but she wanted it to be a private party just for them and she didn't want people outside of the party constantly checking in on them. The only way they would be able to party in peace was from the comfort of the group's shared home, "Yeah, but they'll keep barging in even if I don't want anything. I wanna go back to our house for my R&R&R."
Compa knew what R&R was, but she didn't know why the purplenette was tacking on another R at the end for, "I get Rest and Relaxation, but what does R&R&R mean?"
A cheeky grin formed on the CPU's face as she unveiled what the acronym that could only have come from her mind meant. "Rest & Relaxation & Romance! We beat Arfoire, and now that we don't have to worry about anything really bad happening now, I wanna get real romantic with Heero."
Disapproving looks and senseless bickering were being cast toward Planeptune's goddess after she revealed her plans for the evening. Heero said nothing, knowing that this was to be his last night with these girls. It was better not to tell the girls anything when they were in high spirits.
Xxx
Upon leaving the Basilicom under the pretext of Neptune visiting her people, the group returned to their safe house to throw a party in honor of their victory over Arfoire. The girls had eaten, gamed and joked around until midnight, and once they had their fill, they all turned in for the night.
It was 2:30 in the morning, and Heero was putting his personal effects into his backpack. The boy was careful not to make enough noise to wake the others because they had earned their watched as the Gundam pilot went about packing his belongings wondering just what, if anything, she could say that would change the boy's mind about following through on his decision, "So, this is your decision. This is what you want."
It wasn't exactly what Heero wanted, but what he felt he had to do. With Arfoire gone and the CPUs no longer trying to kill each other, there was no threat to Neptune's life. There was no reason for him to remain in Gamindustri, "We've completed our mission, and Neptune is safe. There's no reason to stay any longer."
At least, that's what Heero had told himself at first. The Perfect Soldier knew that deep down the reason why he felt he must leave was because he was trying to protect Neptune and the others from finding out about who he was and what he did before arriving in Gamindustri.
Seeing that she wasn't going to get through to the boy herself, the embodiment of the ZERO System didn't try to persuade him any further, but instead asked one question of the boy. "You believe that you're doing this to protect them. But who are you really trying to protect by doing this? Them? Or yourself?"
The boy didn't say a word. He simply pushed down on the power button for the projector, and the hologram of his partner vanished. Slipping the portable ZERO System into his pack, Heero made one last check of his room to make sure he had everything before he left. Looping his left arm through both straps of his backpack and picking up his jacket with his right hand, Heero opened the door to his room and stepped into the hallway.
As he was about to make for the staircase, the Perfect Soldier noticed that the door to the room across from his was open. Setting down his bag, Heero entered the room to find the trio of Neptune, Compa and IF in separate beds and still asleep. Looking over the three girls for a moment, the Gundam pilot walked over to Neptune as she slept peacefully. Looking at the sleeping form of Planeptune's goddess, Heero was remembered how she used to act back when they first set out on their journey throughout Gamindustri to put a stop to Arfoire's plans. She had changed so much during their travels, and the girl who had once been a nutcase who he could barely tolerate had become someone very close to the teenaged soldier.
Could they really have made something of their relationship? Would the CPU of Planeptune really be so forgiving of who he had been before arriving in her world? The boy didn't know, but he couldn't risk it either. Noticing that Neptune had kicked off her blanket, Heero draped his jacket over her body to give her some means of staying warm while sleeping.
Taking one last look at the party's leader, Heero unconsciously lowered himself so his face was right in front of Neptune's. Slowly, the boy lightly pecked the sleeping goddess on the lips. Why he did it was beyond him. Was he trying to make himself feel better for leaving her without giving a proper goodbye? Was it a sad attempt at an apology? He really couldn't say.
Pulling away from Neptune, Heero quietly walked back to the hallway and grabbed his backpack, walked down the stairway, and then opened the front door of the party's home for what he believed would be the final time.
Xxx
Neptune found herself in a vast white void that she had seen only a few times, but came to associate with a visit from the party's more proactive helper Zero. Looking around the pure white canvas, Planeptune's CPU found nothing until she turned around to find the avatar of the ZERO System. The purple haired goddess had not expected a visit from Zero, at least not in her mind like this, but was still willing to talk with her all the same, "Hey, Z! Whatcha doing here? I can get up and we can go to the kitchen to get a snack if you wanna talk."
If only this were a cordial visit that was a prelude for such a thing. Unfortunately, Zero wasn't there for small talk, but to bid farewell to Planeptune's goddess, "That will not be necessary. I simply wished to say goodbye, while I had the chance."
The CPU couldn't understand why Zero was saying goodbye. Was something happening that she should know about? "Why are you saying bye? Are you disappearing or something?"
She wasn't technically wrong; it was that the 'disappearing' she would be doing was different than what the CPU was thinking of. "Heero has determined that now that our mission is over, it is time to leave this world and return to our own."
Neptune fell silent. After a moment of processing what she had been told, a nervous smile formed on the CPU's face as a forced laugh passed through her lips, "Z… if you're gonna to tell a joke, it's gotta be something funny. That's too serious to be used for a joke."
The somber look on Zero's face told Neptune that she wasn't joking. She was being serious. Heero was planning to leave her and the others behind. Neptune's expression changed to one of horror as she shook her head. This had to be a dream… a nightmare. The party had fought hard to defeat Arfoire, and were moving towards a brighter, happier Gamindustri. Why was her happiness being pulled right out from under her just when things were changing for the better?
No. She couldn't accept this. She WOULDN'T accept this. Planeptune's goddess had worked too hard for the relationship she had with the Gundam pilot to come to nothing. Neptune wanted to know why Heero was leaving, and how she could stop him from doing so. "W-Why? Why does Heero wanna leave? Did I do something wrong? Whatever it is, I'll fix it!"
It was through no fault on Neptune's part the Heero was convinced he needed to leave and Zero wanted to make sure she understood that, "No, you did nothing wrong, Neptune. The reason Heero feels we must leave is because he is under the irrational belief that if and when you girls learn more about him, you will come to view him more negatively."
If that was all that was bothering the boy, then Neptune wouldn't ask and she would make sure that the others didn't either, "If that's all Heero's worried about, I'll make sure the others don't ask about him anymore! So tell him he doesn't have to go!"
While that was certainly an option, Zero didn't think it the best. Refusing to question Heero about who he was or what he was doing in their world would be like refusing to get lifesaving treatment for a severe illness. It just made things worse, at least from the standpoint of a relationship. The way Zero saw it, honest questions would need to be had if Heero was to overcome this irrational fear of his. As for getting him to stay, that had proven beyond her abilities, "I've tried to convince him, but he won't listen to me." The Gundam pilot wouldn't listen to her, but there was the possibility that he would listen to the CPU she was conversing with now. "I can't convince Heero to stay… but maybe you can, Neptune. He has become noticeably softer around you."
When Planeptune's goddess noticed Zero beginning to disappear she knew it was a sign that she was waking up. Before the time in her unconscious mind came to an end, Neptune shouted at the vanishing form of the golden haired woman. "Don't worry, Z! I'll get Heero to stay! I don't wanna lose my one true love!"
Neptune could see Zero's lips moving, but couldn't make out what she was saying, and before she could ask her to repeat it the CPU's vision was engulfed in white.
Xxx
Neptune sat up with a jolt after waking from her conversation with Zero. Casting her gaze toward her legs, the CPU of Planeptune saw Heero's denim jacket in a bundle over them. The sight of the clothing was proof that Zero had been telling the truth, and that she needed to get moving if she was to find him before he left her for good.
Planeptune's goddess quickly slipped on her shoes and raced out of the bedroom with no regard to the amount of noise she was making. Compa and IF were woken from their slumber by Neptune's hasty exit of the room, prompting the nurse in training to groggily slip out of bed to find out what the reason was for the party leader's very early morning rise, "Nep-Nep… what's the matter…? It's too early… to be getting up..."
When Compa reached the bedroom door, Neptune had already descended the stairs and made it out the front door. She might not have been fully awake, but Compa could tell that something was wrong with the purple haired girl. Across the hall the door to Heero's room was open, which was unusual given that the boy never left it open for any reason.
IF reached the bedroom door at the same time the nurse in training entered Heero's room and the doors to the two rooms further down the hallway opened with their occupants stepping out into the hallway. Lyrica covered her mouth while releasing an audible yawn, wanting to know what was causing all of the noise, "What's all the noise for? We're still trying to sleep..."
Before the Guild Moderatist could respond, Compa came out of Heero's room with a panicked look on her face, "I-Iffy, Heero's gone! And so is all of his stuff!"
It took a moment for IF to process what she had just heard, but once enough of her brain came to life the brunette strode over to the room of the party's lone male member. Stopping in the doorway, IF could see that aside from the furniture that had come with the house, all of Heero's belongings were gone. It was then that the two girls realized what had caused Neptune to leave the room in such a rush.
The two girls bolted out of the room and straight for the front door as the rest of the girls finally caught on as to what was going on and get dressed to look for the boy that had left without saying goodbye.
Xxx
The night life of Planeptune's capital city was just as lively as it was during the day. People were walking to and from the various stores and stalls that were open, where some people were turning in for the night, others were coming out to begin their day.
It wasn't something Heero was used to seeing. Then again, he really shouldn't even be there walking the city streets. He had left the safe house to get to his Gundam and leave Gamindustri. So why? Why was he here wasting his time, when he should be on his way back to his own world?
Without any sort of rhyme or reason, Heero continued to wander the streets of Planeptune with no set destination for half an hour. He would unconsciously end up in locations he had visited with the party, which made him all the more wistful inside.
Why should I go back? Our old world doesn't need me anymore.
Heero tried to push the thought away. He had to go back regardless of whether his world needed him or not.
There are people here who need me. I actually feel happy here.
It didn't matter if the girls needed him or not, or if he was happy here. The longer he stayed, the more likely they were to find out something unsettling about the boy and be afraid of him.
Forcing down his feelings, Heero set himself back on track to reach the Wing Zero and leave Gamindustri before any of the girls found out he was gone. It took him fifteen more minutes to reach his destination from where he was at, but the Gundam pilot eventually arrived at the Wing Zero. Looking upon the towering mobile suit as it sat on the throne of rock, it looked as if it didn't want to move from where it was… and deep down the Perfect Soldier could understand that.
Forcing himself forward Heero was able to take three steps towards his Gundam, when he was stopped by someone shouting from behind him, "Heero…!"
The voice was unmistakable, as he had heard it enough to know who it belonged to without even turning around. Neptune came running towards Heero and stopped a few yards away, panting and gasping for breath from running the entire time she had been searching for him. Once she had caught her breath, Planeptune's CPU tried to persuade the boy from leaving, believing that there was a part of him that must not want to go. "Heero, you don't hafta leave! I'll tell the others to stop asking about you, I promise! Just… don't leave me!"
Compa and IF eventually got up to the CPU with the rest of the party not too far behind. The very fact that they were here was proof that Zero had tipped at least Neptune off to what he was doing. Feigning ignorance, Heero acted as though the matter had nothing to do with why he was leaving, "We've completed our mission, so there's no reason for me to stay. I'll just end up a burden if I do."
Even if that was Heero's actual reason for trying to leave, Planeptune's goddess didn't believe that for an instant. No one in the party did. The Gundam pilot had been such an asset during their travels that they didn't mind picking up the slack, even if it wasn't for the sake of fighting. They wouldn't let an inability to function normally in society be a factor in Heero's stay there.
Neptune ran past Heero and stood in his way, arms held out on either side of her in an attempt to bar his path. If she couldn't stop him from going now, then that was it, and she would have no hope of keeping the boy she loved here with her, "Remember when we first started our quest to save Gamindustri? I asked if you were gonna be with me, and you said you'd stay as long as I needed you. Well… I still need you!" Before Heero could offer up any word of protest on how he meant that in regard to their mission, the purplenette ran toward him and threw her arms around his waist while burying her face in his chest. Tears streamed down Neptune face as she desperately pleaded with the boy not to leave, "Please… don't go..."
Heero felt someone latch onto his right arm and found a teary eyed Compa holding onto him, "Please don't go Heero… I'll… I'll be really sad if you leave..."
IF grabbed onto Heero's left arm, burying her face in the boy's shoulder to try and hide the tears flowing from her eyes, "What the hell…? You show up out of nowhere, change our lives, and then try to leave with saying anything? Do you know how uncool of you that is...?"
It wasn't just them trying to keep the Gundam pilot there. Lyrica also wished for him to stay, and tightly clutched his tank top from behind while burying her face into the back of his right shoulder while trying to get her sniffling under control, "If you leave… the only songs I'll be able to make… are terrible tearjerkers! Nobody wants to listen to that…!"
Gust was a crying mess when she clutched Heero's left leg, trying to keep her family there instead of letting him go, "Gust does not want Heero to go. Do not want to lose closest thing to family Gust had."
Nisa didn't try to use some kind of heroic spiel to keep the boy from leaving, and instead did what the other girls were doing, tearful confession, "You're the first guy I've ever fallen for, and it would suck if you just up and left! I'd be self-conscious about romance for the rest of my life!"
Red grabbed onto Heero's other leg, trying her best to pitch in on the effort to keep the Gundam pilot there with the party, "If my one and only hubby leaves, I'll never get my one hundred wifeys cuz I'll be too busy crying over you leaving! You can't go!"
Even Noire was unable to stop herself from trying to keep Heero there. And while she was still flying her tsundere flag, Lastation's goddess couldn't stop herself from crying either, "You promised to visit me at my Basilicom, then you try to cut and run? Just like that?! ...You jerk!"
Blanc was also teary eyed, unable to hold in her emotion at that moment. This wasn't just her inspiration was about to leave, but the first person she had fallen in love with, "...You asshole, what are you doing coming into my life and then trying to leave without saying anything? Aren't you better than this?"
Vert, being more honest with her feelings than either Blanc or Noire, made a heartfelt plea to the Perfect Soldier in the hope he would stay, "I've never met anyone quite like you, and I would be absolutely heartbroken if you left, Heero… Please reconsider..."
Histoire was hovering a short distance away from the group. At the end of the day, no one had a right to stop Heero if he wanted to leave, but the emotional devastation inflicted on the girls from doing so would be irreparable, "No one can stop you from leaving if that is your choice. But these girls would be heartbroken if you left. ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` )"
Having been involved with the Gundam pilot since they first met him, the group of girls wanted Heero to be a permanent fixture of their lives going forward. Heero may have been able to keep his emotions in check, but he couldn't deny that he felt something deep inside from the teary-eyed requests for him to stay.
Should he really risk staying in this world knowing that these girls may one day find out about him? If they found what they were looking for, would they still accept him? Would they become scared and push him away?
...He had to take a chance. Nothing was set in stone, and he couldn't be entirely sure how they would react if and when they learned more about him. But it was for that reason that he could hold out some kind of hope that things would work out. Wanting to make sure she knew what she was requesting of him, Heero asked Neptune if she was fine with keeping him around, "Are you sure you want me around? Fighting is the only thing I've ever known how to do."
Neptune pried her face away from Heero chest to look at his face. Her eyes were red from crying and her tears had not completely dried up, but there was a glimmer of hope in them. Heero's question gave her hope that he was willing to stay, and it didn't matter if he was only capable of fighting. It just meant that she was the one who had to put more work into their relationship now, "Of course I want you around! It just means I gotta do my job as your Destined Lover and take care of you, right?"
For some reason, Heero felt that he simply couldn't win against this girl. Deciding to take a chance on them, the Gundam pilot decided to remain in Gamindustri with Neptune and the others. "Alright… you win. I'll stay."
Having the Perfect Soldier's word that he would stay, the girls pulled away while trying to clean their faces of their liquid emotions. As soon as she was somewhat more presentable than before, an angry expression made its way onto Neptune's face as she focused on Heero. "You made me really sad doing this, Heero! You're gonna hafta give me lots of kisses to make it up to me for this!"
Seeing the potential for getting a kiss from the boy, Compa also tried to guilt Heero into giving her a physical display of affection, "My heart is really fragile, Heero. You nearly broke it, so you need to fix it by kissing me!"
IF could plainly see what the two girls were playing at, and while she too wanted to lock lips with the Gundam pilot, she disapproved of how they were trying to get it, "Hey, stop trying to make Heero kiss you by guilt tripping him! It looks childish. Just come out and admit it, like me."
And just like that, the girls devolved into another bickering mess as they talked about who would be kissing Heero and when. Even Noire got involved, though she used the excuse that the others were pressuring her into doing it. How had they gone from something so serious to something so ridicules so fast? As the Perfect Soldier watched the girls, a familiar disembodied voice filled his head, "(My, my, my…. Aren't you popular?)"
It was Zero. Heero had momentarily forgotten her involvement in all of this. Neptune could only have known about him leaving if the ZERO System had said something. The way things played out between him and the party these past five minutes led the boy to believe that all of this had been premeditated by her, "(...You planned this, didn't you?)"
Naturally, Zero saw into the future and saw the various ways in which this moment could have gone, but she wasn't going to be so forthcoming with a confession. "(I have no idea what you're talking about. I simply told Neptune that you were leaving... then I just let things play out.)"
The Gundam pilot couldn't exactly prove that Zero had planned any or all of this and so dropped the subject. Perhaps it really didn't matter anymore. He made the decision to stay, so all he could do was wait and see the results of that decision.
Xxx
Me: "Chapter 53, done! With this, we're done with all the numbered chapters of the story. All that's left is the epilogue, and then the story's more or less finished. Still a little worried that I made the battle against Arfoire drag out a little bit, but oh well. If people like it, that's great. If they don't, hopefully they'll let me know in the reviews so I know what to tone back on."
Heero and Neptune: (Enter ACCC from Break Room) "I got scared reading this the first time. I thought you were gonna take Heero away from me for good!"
Me: "Why would you think? You know we have other stories in the works using this crossover, so there really wasn't going to be any chance of that happening."
Heero: "Am I to take it that Gamindustri is my new place of residence?"
Me: "Yep. It was either I make you stay, or risk Nep coming after me a nagging my ear off. This was the better alternative, so you'd better get use to it."
Compa and IF: "What a relief. I thought Heero was going to leave and we'd never see him again. I would have been so depressed… I might've given up on being a nurse!"
IF: "Well, Heero's staying, so stopped talking about how depressed you would be. You'll jinx us, or something."
Me: "Hey, where are the others? They should've been here by now."
IF: "They couldn't make it. They said they wanted to get the office ready for the Christmas Party."
Me: "Assholes. I could have done that for us and saved us a lot of time. Whatever, no point crying about it now. I'll just have to make sure they're all here for the epilogue. In the meantime, you guys will have to wrap up for us."
Neptune: "Okey-dokie! I'm in a really good mood, seeing as my Destined Lover is gonna be with me from now on."
Heero: "I suppose I'll have to get use to this..."
Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF: "Please read and review this chapter, and look forward to the final update."
Neptune: "We're finally getting this story all finished up, huh? Let's hope that like our Christmas Party, it was worth the wait."
Me, Heero, Neptune, Compa and IF: (Leave ACCC from Left Entrance)
