Hello all, and welcome to the climatic culmination of everything I've been trying to bulid. I hope you're ready, cause this is pretty intense! I don't wanna waste too much time here, but before I get to it I just wanted to mention to all those who read ch5 right after it was posted, I actually went back and rewrote and added about 3k words to it, it doesn't change any of the actual plot, but I think it adds a lot of clarity and smoothes everything out! Now, I hope you all enjoy!
-marketvalueneps
Noire sat almost motionless in her room. The clock on her wall slowly ticked by tick tock… tick tock… it went. And still, she could her lip furling up. Slowly, she picked up her phone, gingerly opening it up, the post she had seen earlier still there, Noire could only narrow her eyes as she stared at the image,
Shaking her head, she scrolled through the replies, the outpouring of support levied oozed from practically every Planeptunian citizen. After all… not only was Neptune their goddess, B-sha herself was one of the most recognizable faces in the country, and she was beloved by the populace of Planeptune, it wasn't like in Lastation, where K-sha was just like any other person, Planeptune adored their former Gold Third. So, for Planeptune's people, this seeming announcement certainly caught attention…
And attention it caught.
It didn't take long till it was the number one trending chirp on the website. News sites were reporting it everywhere. Every website had a news article reading 'Lady Purple Heart announcing a new relationship?' First reported by a certain atGeneralSummarySite, even if it was all meaningless gossip, Noire still felt her lips curl downwards.
Practically everyone had something to say, after all, it wasn't every day that a goddess just went and seemingly announced that she was in a relationship with someone, as a matter of fact… that had never happened before in Noire's time. Even if Neptune and her… never mind. Taking a minute, well more than a few, honestly, it took Noire longer than she thought to look through them all, to read all the replies, and quote chirps,
atNepgear- Oh my goodness… look at sis! You both look stunning! So happy for you two! ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～❤ atC_Sha- Woah! Looks like my friend here hooked a big fish! Congrats! Don't forget about us lowly mortals now, B-sha! atweiß_siro- Congratulations to my fellow goddess, and friend atK_Sha- Ooooo how romantic! This will be me and my Noire soon enough! atIF- Look at Nep go! atcompa- Nep-Nep is stunning! Her and B-sha are so cute~ atS_Sha- This is slightly interesting… atLil_Ram- Wow! Wow! They look like real princesses, don't they atRomRom?- atRomRom- Yea… sparkle~ atVert- My oh my~ My dear friend Neptune seems to be enjoying herself~
It went on and on… a practical outpouring of support, and, as Noire looked… even…
atBlack_Vita- Congratulations Miss Neptune! I hope you and B-sha had a great time!
Even her own sister… even she… Should Noire herself…?
"Tch…" Everyone was clearly happy for them… shouldn't she be as well? Sure, they had dated, but… Noire was the one that blew everything up, shouldn't she just be able to flip a switch and stop caring about that dolt's personal affairs? Why did she care; she didn't care! So…
What was this weird taste in her mouth then?
Several hours later, after frustratingly throwing her phone across the room, when Noire heard the door to the CPU wing open up, she dragged herself up as she walked to greet who she assumed was walking in,
"Good evening, Uni" She greeted, tone unreadable, as the adolescent soon gulped.
"Uh… hey, sis" She nervously responded, as Noire cupped her chin, "Sorry I'm back late, we played a game, and we kinda lost track of time a little…" Uni explained as Noire soon responded,
"That's fine, say…" She stopped, considering her words for a moment, "Did you see… Neptune?" She asked, tone almost coldly neutral, as Uni gulped once more,
"Uh… yea, she came back after me and Nepgear hung out for a few hours… it was her idea to play the game" She considered she'd leave out the fact the CPU used it as a method to tease the candidates, a 'couples duel' she called it…
"..." Noire was silent, before saying what had been on her mind from the very beginning, "She sure moves on fast" She almost scoffed, as Uni had to hold back the glare that she felt forming on her face,
"Her and B-sha looked happy, you should be for them too, sis. They're our friends." Uni pointedly spoke, as Noire looked at her with almost a confused face,
"Of course. But, if she does this too quickly, who's to say she won't do the same things she did when we were together? Hmm… actually… I should go over there and give her some advice, so she doesn't mess up again!" Noire explained, Uni's blood running cold.
"Sis?" She asked, looking her sister in the eyes, who, for the life of her, could not understand why what she had said could be seen as wrong. Uni could feel her mind slipping. After everything… was she still going to act like this?
"Hmm? What is it, Uni? I know I know… I'm brilliant" Noire flashed a smile, and then, suddenly,
Snap.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Uni screamed at her, as loud as her voice may have ever been, as Noire was taken aback immediately, staring at her blankly, as Uni took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm her boiling blood, "What… the hell… is wrong with you…" Uni spoke as she felt tears forming in her eyes from her anger,
"Uni?" Noire asked, delicately reaching her hand out, only to have it slapped away, Uni glaring at her, anger clearly bubbling under her young features.
"Listen to me! What the hell is wrong with you? She moved on quickly? Are you that stupid!? Do- do you not know how hurt she was!? Do you? Huh? Do you have any idea of how much your actions hurt her, do you even care!?" Uni continued her rant, screaming at the CPU who felt her face sour somewhat,
"Why do you even care? What happened between us isn't any of your concern… it was just… a lover's quarrel…" Noire tried to find the words. Truthfully, she wasn't even sure why what Neptune had done that night upset her that much, it just felt like… it had been bubbling in her for months. That, every tiny thing that Neptune did, every tiny immature thing she had done was just another straw on her camel's back, before it just… gave out.
But that didn't make it her younger sister's problem. It was her relationship; she could handle it herself. But it didn't seem as though those words helped-
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" and as a matter of fact, they may have made things worse, as Uni yelled, her hands clenched to fists by her side, she tried to find the proper words to express her frustrations, "I care because… she's our friend… because… when Nepgear is that sad, it makes me that sad! She… was so hurt. I've never heard her like that… don't you care, Noire?" Her anger soon extinguished as the young woman felt tears flood her eyes,
"Uni… how am I supposed to control how she feels? Isn't she your friend?" Norie asked, her choice in words sparking Uni's anger once more,
"You really are a bitch you know that" She snarled, a shocking emphasis on the middle word, as Noire was taken aback by the vulgar manner in which Uni had spoken. Uni had heard people say that about her sister for her whole life, and while she had scoffed at it back then… she was starting to get a good idea.
"Excuse you?" Noire huffed, as she returned Uni's look, never before had Uni defied her in such a way. Was it really that important to her?
"You heard me. Don't talk about Nepgear like that. You hear me?" Uni held her glare as Noire snarled, immediately coming to the only conclusion she could draw from those words,
"The way you talk you make it sound like you like Nepgear more than me…"
"I do." was all she said, pausing for a moment, as Noire's eyes widened, before she continued, "Especially if you keep acting callous like this! Your actions affect others, Noire!" she yelled,
"It should only be between us… can't you see that Uni?" Noire asked, her voice much quieted from before, Uni pausing, as she felt a pang in her heart. She knew… why it hurt so bad. It was… it was because… because…
"It matters to me because… if you treated her like that… would you treat me like that…? Where's the line, Noire? Would you treat anyone like that!? Would… would you care if you hurt me? Would you care if…" She sobbed, unable to finish what she had intended to say, and for the first time, Noire felt indecision. Conflicting emotions bogging her senses,
"O-of course I would!" She tried to defend, but Uni only pointed her finger angrily in her direction,
"How should I believe that!? Huh!? You didn't care that you hurt her so why should I believe you!? You hurt her and you don't even care!" She yelled, rubbing her eyes, as Noire looked at her, almost in revelation, considering everything that had led to this point, every action both the women had taken, everything.
Even if… even if Neptune surely had done some things to make her upset, and Norie considered, she withheld the right to be upset about those, should she have been gentler? Should… should she do something to mend the bridge…? Was that her responsibility? Should what Noire said warrant that having to be done…? Yet, she considered, she surely had to do something, at least to put Uni's mind at ease…
"Ok… ok… I'll do something. I'll go over there tomorrow, I'll explain that maybe I went a little too far… and explain myself better as to why I did that, and give a little friendly advice, how does that sound?" Noire yielded, as Uni wiped her eyes dry, looking at her in indifference, that was at least a start she supposed, and, she considered, that's really all that would be necessary at the moment, surely Noire couldn't make the situation worse than it had been,
"O-ok…" She eventually responded, drying her final tears, as the two quickly departed to their rooms for the night, and while Uni had no trouble falling asleep after her busy day, Noire couldn't help but lie awake thinking over everything. Some things just not adding up in her mind…
"Why? Why should I have to be the one to walk it back? Shouldn't she have to say something too? At the very least, don't we both share some blame?" Was that… was that the weird feeling she felt was? Was it some residual anger from that night? The embarrassment Neptune had dragged her through for those months? Was she mad that Neptune had moved on so fast? Perhaps a little…
But… didn't that show how little an apology from her was needed? I mean… if she had moved on, what was the need? They could both just move on, and act like it never had happened in the first place, right? What was the harm in that? And… if Noire wanted to give her advice, so that she wouldn't do the same thing to B-sha that she had done to her, that would be fine too, right?
"Yeah. That makes sense, honestly, she should be happy! It'll give her closure, and, ensure she doesn't mess up again!" Noire pridefully declared to no one as she began running through everything,
So… first things first, Neptune definitely needed to change her childish attitude, it got old awful quick as Noire found out. She thought she could deal with it, I mean it's not like it was a surprise to Noire that's how Neptune was, but, when it was every day, it got old. Awful fast. Secondly…
And on and on it went for the rest of Noire's night…
Planeptune- the next day…
As B-sha heard the buzzing, accompanied with the ever so 'delightful' tune that Neptune had chosen for their alarm ring out, she grunted as she tried to burrow herself further into her pillow, dragging the covers over her ear, even if she knew what the end result of this would be. Not ready to wake up, the night from the previous day still taking its toll on her tired mind,
"Come on lazy-sha, you gotta get up!" Neptune levied, as she shook her partner awake, who had to shake whom up in the morning always seemed to change, ever since B-sha had moved in, the pair exchanged their roles often, but today, it was Neptune shaking up B-sha, who eventually complied, rubbing her eyes of the cobwebs that seemed to be stuck on the irises. Yawning as she trudged herself out of bed, walking over to the dresser she had managed to drag all the way from her apartment (actually, Purple Heart was the one to accomplish this), grabbing a fresh pair of clothes as she prepared herself for the day,
"Anything special today?" She mindlessly asked, Neptune considering, probing her mind to recall the planner she had in her office, all her tasks written out for the day in meticulous detail by a certain fairy,
"Hmm… Nothing I can think of, maybe a few quests here or there, but nothing I can't handle" She eventually presented as B-sha nodded, pulling her 1 piece dress over her neck,
"Well then I'll see you after work~" She cooed, waltzing up to Neptune as she planted a gentle kiss on her cheek, Neptune softly smiling from the contact, "Tell Nepgear to save me extra!" She yelled as she left the room,
"K!" Was the quaint response she received, and Neptune had to admit, it really did warm her heart. It was the simple things, even the way they woke up in the morning that had soothed her scarred heart. The simple gestures of affection that showed how much she was loved, the simplest of phrases every morning, that motivated her to get through her day.
Even the work didn't seem so bad anymore.
She was beginning to forget, she was beginning to move on. She was beginning to love herself again, as much as B-sha loved her, and it was all thanks to her. She wanted every day to be like this, for the rest of her endless life, that was her new dream. And she was going to make her dream a reality, she didn't need a corrupted dream anymore.
Walking down the hall, humming a tune as she went B-sha felt a similar sentiment to her partner at the moment. The last weeks finally accumulated in her mind, the realization of what it meant finally occurring to her. This was her life now. This was her life. She had made it. Look at her now. A beloved hero in her beloved nation. She had the loveliest girlfriend that ever was. She even had all the money she could want! Imagine if the people from the orphanage could see her now!
"Hehe! I'd show em!" She giggled as she let herself out of the private wing of the basilicom, to which she now had her own access pass to! Neptune had quite literally ordered the staff to make her one, and while B-sha had to say it was more than a little embarrassing, it was still unbelievably sweet. It really was the simple gestures.
Riding down the elevator, B-sha heard the familiar beep, nodding to the staff, and making light small talk she eventually let herself out of the Planeptower onto the main street of Planeptune's capital city, taking in the fresh air as-
Her blood ran cold as ice.
"Oh, hello, B-sha, is Neptune in?" B-sha felt all the color drain from her face. Glancing over to where the voice had called out from, she stared her dead in the eyes. Her piercing red eyes met her own. B-sha didn't even have an idea of what to do. Why was she here? What did she want?
Why was Noire here?
"What do you want?" She decided she might as well cut to the chase, trying her best to not let the venom seep into her voice, B-sha responded to the goddess, who looked at her curiously,
"I just asked if Neptune was in, you should know, shouldn't you?" She asked again, as B-sha felt her mouth running dry. She wanted to talk to Neptune, what did she want? What was she going to do?
What else did she want to destroy?
"And I asked what you wanted. What do you want with Nep-Nep, she's busy I'll have you know" B-sha was doing her best, she was trying oh so hard to hold back from yelling at her. She knew she had to act civil. Even if she hated her, and she truly did, she was still a goddess. She was to be treated with at least a little respect. And B-sha understood. If she wanted to be with Neptune, she had to conduct herself in a manner that reflected well upon Planeptune, her actions reflected all of Planeptune now. It was something she had learned when she was the Gold Third, and it was something that still proved useful.
"Nothing that concerns you. Besides, as if that blockhead is actually working" Noire almost scoffed, the idea of Neptune seemed almost foreign. She just wanted this girl in front of her to stop playing arou-
"She's working hard, I'll have you know." B-sha spat out.
"Excuse me?" Noire scoffed, simply trying to walk past the blonde at this point, who had the audacity to step in front of her, blocking her entry to the Planeptower,
"You heard me! She's working hard, and you would know that if you paid any attention! Now what's so important you came all the way over here uninvited?" B-sha was starting to hear enough of this already. Noire was proving everything she already thought about her. Everything. B-sha didn't have the time nor the patience for this. This callous heartless…
"I'm doing this for you. If you could kindly let me in" Noire crossed her arms with a huff, as B-sha was taken aback slightly, looking her up and down, she tried to reason with what that could possibly mean.
"What does that mean? Just tell me why you're here. You should know I have plenty good enough reason, and plenty enough authority to not let you in without a good reason" B-sha narrowed her eyes as she and the goddess locked eyes once more,
"Under whose authority?" Noire asked, almost mocking, who did she think she was? As far as Noire was concerned she was just like any other human. I mean, that's what K-sha was, that's what they had decided together.
"Under Nep-Nep's; now tell me what you're doing here!" Her patience was at its limits. She had a job to get to, and frankly, every second she looked at Noire made her sick to her stomach. She had thought, oh how long she had thought, about all the nasty things she wanted to say to her, and she just wanted this conversation to be over before she said them all.
"Talk about rude" Noire pushed her hand through one of her intricate twin tails, before shaking her head, "Like I said, I'm doing this for you as well, I'm here to tell Neptune why we didn't work out, and give her some advice so she doesn't mess up again" Noire simply explained, as B-sha felt her eyes widen as she took in a breath,
"What?" She simply said.
"I know, it's great, isn't it? You won't have to go through what I did" Noire somehow managed to wink. Somehow missing the shadow that now covered the young woman's eyes, the venomous aura that practically radiated off of her, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down, she could feel her blood starting to boil. "I'm sure Neptune will be happy to see me, it'll be the first time since that 'date'"
Fuck it.
"Get the hell out of here!" B-sha screamed, clenching her fists to her side. "Get the hell out of here and never come back! GET OUT!" Her breathing was rapid, as she practically oozed her malicious aura,
"What? Now who exactly do you think you are?" Noire was getting really sick of this disrespect. Who did this human think she was?
"I'm… Nep-Nep's girlfriend… I'm not going to allow you in there to ruin her life again, you bitch!" B-sha had never been so angry in her entire life. She was always known as the silly, slightly goofy, greedy girl in all her groups. She didn't get angry. But… she was starting to break. Her vision was starting to blur… if she didn't stop herself… if she didn't stop herself…
"This is for you too, you know!? You don't want to have to go through what I did, do you?" Noire asked, starting to hit her limit of patience as well, didn't this broad see the greater picture here?
"What you went through. What you went through!? Don't make me laugh! You nearly ruined her life! I finally got her smiling again, and you want to take that away from her!? What the fuck is wrong with you!? Get the hell out of here before I make you!" At this point, B-sha had walked over, and was now face to face with Lastation's goddess, and despite the height difference between the two women, they glared at each other face to face.
"I'd love to see you try, you greedy wannabe" Noire hissed, as B-sha gritted her teeth, her eyes closing, and when she opened them again-
"I don't care if you're a goddess. I'm not scared of you. I'm not letting you hurt Nep-Nep again. I won't let you do it. Ever again. Try me you bitch. We'll see how that works for you." her eyes were highlighted with a golden hue, a signifier of the share energy that still flowed within her. When she had asked Histoire about it, she explained to her that the minuscule shards of the golden crystal that still existed had fused with the share crystal, and due to this, B-sha was able to receive a small amount of Planeptunes shares, it wasn't much, but it still allowed her to achieve her golden form, as well as halting her aging.
Noire snarled as she saw the challenge from the young woman. She knew how the Gold Third were still capable of their silly parlor trick, what was it K-sha had told her? That it was still possible, but it drained them quickly, and it was quite strenuous and painful on the body. Noire could only look at the blonde, she was serious about this, it would be unbefitting to not take her challenge seriously,
"Are you really doing this?" She lowered her face to B-sha's level as she met her challenge, "Because I don't back down. And I don't half-ass things." She was a goddess, she wasn't going to take this, if she wanted a fight, she would get one. B-sha didn't budge an inch, as she shot her arm out to the side, a pixelation appearing by her hand, as her weapon materialized in her grip,
"A hero never backs down when she's face to face with the villain" She boldly declared, as she slowly pointed her rocket launcher toward her opponent, who scoffed,
"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you. Don't cry when you get your ass beaten." This was a story whose ending she already knew. She'd knock a little sense into her and move on with her day,
"I said. I'm. Not. Scared. Of. You." B-sha re-upped, as Noire felt her own blood start to boil, she was going to teach this poser a lesson the painful way.
"Fine. Let's take this somewhere else, I'll be waiting for you at Lastation and Planeptune's border, there's a clearing there from where me and Neptune used to fight. I won't blame you if you don't show. Think this over. You don't want to do this" Was all she intended to leave it as, but B-sha still had more rocks she wanted to throw at this sleeping bear it appeared,
"What hero lets the villain walk free? You seem to have forgotten what happened the last time we fought" B-sha mocked, as Noire snapped back towards her, gripping her dress,
"And you seem to have forgotten who you're talking to. You think that you fighting with 3 others much stronger than you, after we all fought in a tournament makes you better than me?" She snarled, well beyond her limit for bullshit for the day.
"I meant the time you tried to strangle your own sister to death. But now that I think about it, that makes me 2 for 2 against you. Let's make it 3" She taunted, giving her as smug a look as she could manage,
"I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should" Was the last thing Noire said, as she transformed into Black Heart, silently turning towards Lastation, as she blasted away, leaving B-sha left alone, as she took deep breaths, preparing herself for what would come next, turning around to face her new home, she nodded,
"I'm off, Nep-Nep. I'm gonna make her pay, just you watch me" She then turned back, releasing her gold form to preserve her energy, she summoned her bandam, as she soon mashed her fingers over the inputs, the mecha warrior soon obeyed, as it took off in the same direction as the black adorned goddess had,
Meanwhile, in Planeptunes office, unaware as to the events that had transpired outside the building, Neptune hummed a tune as she flipped through the papers, "Hmm~ I wonder if B-sha will like the game I bought for us~"
"Took you long enough" Noire, back in her human form, scoffed as she finally saw the robot warrior land, she had been waiting for at least 10 minutes now. "Don't you know it's rude to make a goddess wait?" She taunted,
"Shut up" Was all B-sha could coldly say. It was all her mind could focus on. All she had to do. Was win. It'd all be over. She just had to win, and then, "When I win, you never show your face in Planeptune again, you only speak when spoken to, she doesn't have to worry herself with your existence anymore" B-sha only slightly flinched at her own words, and how chillingly similar they sounded to something K-sha would say. She didn't have time to doubt herself. Certainly not when this battle started.
"Ok. But when I win, you will know your place, and show me the respect I am owed" Norie corrected, as B-sha scoffed. B-sha wasn't a fool. She knew who she was up against, Noire was one of the strongest beings in all Gamindustri, her technique and speed were only rivaled by Vert. If B-sha slipped up here, she would find herself in a world of hurt very quickly. She couldn't misstep, every second she gave her was a second for Noire to force upon her with her rapier.
And that wasn't even all, Norie was a goddess, her divine status allowing her access to the HDD state, and while B-sha was no ordinary human, her golden transformation wouldn't hold up against a goddess, not for long. But that wasn't even all… NEXT. It was a form the Gold Third themselves were responsible for bestowing upon the goddesses, its power unmatched. She had witnessed the overwhelming power herself on a few occasions.
But… B-sha also meant what she had said earlier, and they were not empty words, she was not scared of her. She just had to focus, and force what she was good at on her opponent. And B-sha knew that she was no slouch herself, she had kept up training ever since the incident involving Kurome, and her becoming the Gold Third of Planeptune. She was becoming a common face around the guild hall to take on the most grueling quests, after all, if she were to be Planeptune's hero, she had to be able to defeat any bad guy, right? The extra paychecks weren't so bad either.
She would best Noire. NEXT and all. She would do it, it wasn't a matter of if, she had to do it. She would humiliate her entirely. She would never show her face around Neptune ever again.
The battlefield that had been decided was just as Noire had described, a restless range on the border of Planeptune and Lastation. It had been the location of many of the battles of Planeptune and Lastation's goddesses, even before Neptune and Noire's time. The conflicts left the area scarred, craters lining the lifeless battlefield. This area wasn't considered to be off limits for citizens, but it was an area that no person dared to travel, its proximity to the Gamindustri Graveyard certainly didn't help matters, but it was an area that marred Gamindustris restless past, it was an area most wanted to forget…
But. On this single day, it served as a battlefield once more; for a goddess far past the point of reasonability, egged on to the point of ire, and a simple human, protecting what she thought was right, hoping this would prove to be the path towards the life she had always dreamt. No more words were exchanged as both women took soft steps towards the middle of their battlefield, eyes locked with one another, the unspoken rules of their duel agreed upon far before either had touched down,
And as the made their way to the middle, faces mere inches apart, they simply looked at each other once more, before turning their backs to the other, in a final sign of respect for the importance of their fight, and what it meant, before both of them understood,
It had begun.
Immediately, Noire summoned her rapier as she swiped behind her, just missing B-sha who dashed away as far as she could, in an attempt to gain as much distance on the goddess as she could. If she were to stand a chance against her, she would have to utilize her strengths and advantages to their fullest, if this became a close quarters combat situation, she would be in trouble fast. But that wasn't to suggest she couldn't utilize some of her physical strength, surely…
On the flip side, Noire understood, that if she were to put an end to this quickly, she would have to force B-sha into range of her weapon, B-sha wasn't a goddess, but her firepower was nothing to sneeze at, she packed about as strong a hit as there was, she was used to high strength with her sparing with Neptune over the years, but this was a different type of strength, if she let B-sha stand back and fire shots at her, she would find herself in trouble.
"Tch" but, the blonde sure wasn't making it an easy task, rolling away from a warhead shot from B-sha's rocket launcher, the following laser grazing her shoulder as she tumbled down, "For a hero, you sure fight like a coward!" She taunted, as B-sha chuckled,
"And for an all powerful goddess, you sure complain a lot!" B-sha retaliated as she fired a 10-megaton shell, the explosion just missing direct contact with Noire, but the explosion was certainly close enough to damage her, the goddess' frustrations mounting. Seeing an incoming barrage, she used a glyph below her feet to jump into the air, and as B-sha lined up another laser to shred the goddess, her eyes soon widened as she quickly caught onto Noire's plan, "Volcano dive!" she yelled, activating her skill as she plunged into the scarred earth next to B-sha, the resulting explosion just missing her, but the momentum carried her off her feet as she stumbled to the ground,
"Hya!" Quickly orienting herself, B-sha reacted quickly to the thrusts of blades heading her direction, not bothering to dodge all of them, knowing the impossibility of this feet, she dug her teeth into her lip to suppress the pain of the blade cutting her skin as she dodged only the thrusts aimed at her most vital areas, eventually understanding the rhythm, as she used her oversized rocket launcher as a pseudo sword, intercepting a thrust aimed at her chest, pushing her weapon to the side along with Noire's she grabbed hold of Noire's arm, as the goddess' eyes widened,
"Grit your teeth!" She yelled, her fist connecting squarely with Noire's jaw, as she jacked her to the ground, the goddess thudding up, following up, B-sha planted her foot as she swung her hips, her other booted foot forcibly driven into the black goddess' ribs, sending her tumbling yards away from her opponent, who quickly resummoned her weapon, "Get up" She taunted. She didn't just want to win. She needed a total resounding victory.
Noire could only cough as she tried to catch her breath, the forceful kick certainly shattered at least a few of her ribs, looking down, she noticed the red liquid that escaped her mouth with every hack. How powerful was that small woman? How did she back so much force into just a kick? And still,
"What's that? Nothing to say?" She mocked, lining up her weapon as she pulled the trigger, "Then just stay still" the rocket flew on its line, before B-sha could see the explosion emanate from where the goddess had been laying, the resulting dust cloud obscured her vision, which made it a true miracle B-sha managed to dodge the oversized blade that swung for her midsection, jumping back a few feet, B-sha fired a few shells at her new opponent, now clad in her protecting processor, her hair a snowy white instead of the black she was known for, the shells were quickly sliced out of the air as Black Heart activated her thrusters, closing ground on her opponent in no time as B-sha tried her best to not get sliced by the sword she brandished,
Using her weapon as much as she could to deflect and parry oncoming strikes B-sha still found herself on the back foot, Black Heart showed no mercy as she continued intricately striking at the young woman, connecting with a swipe aimed at the shoulder that B-sha used to support her weapon, B-sha winced as she felt the metal cleanly slice open her limb.
Firing a shot to gain some distance, B-sha planted as she dashed backwards, only to immediately half to torque her body down, Black Heart already having cut off her escape route,
"I think I'll have you stay here. What kind of hero runs away from their opponent?" She mocked, as B-sha gritted her teeth, using all her strength, she used her launcher as a sort of blunt weapon, as she swung it at the goddess, who very easily parried the simple attack, returning the favor from earlier, Black Heart planted a kick into B-sha's sternum, as she felt herself stumbling back…
She wasn't going to make it. She had no choice. Summoning all the power reserves she could feel in her, she activated her golden form, with a blast of energy that knocked back Black Heart enough to allow her the time to transform fully, as she summoned her own glyph, her two bits joining her as her eyes became highlighted in gold. She gritted her teeth as she ignored the strain put on her body. This would all be over soon. She just had to endure.
The two opponents took the moment to stare at each other once more, even if both had sustained damage already, they both could tell, this is where the real battle began. Up to this point had just been them feeling each other out, spitting out the blood in her mouth, B-sha somehow managed to smile at the moment,
"Aww c'mon. Let's get this over with, use your NEXT form." She goaded, as Black Heart audibly laughed,
"You really think you're all that don't you? I don't need to use that against the likes of you" She explained, her laugh fading as her tone became icy,
"We'll see" and suddenly there was silence once more, both women waiting for the other to make the first move, waiting for the other to slip, before eventually, Noire decided she had had enough of waiting as she thrust off towards the Gold Third, who fired a shell to intercept her, the slow moving projectile being no issue for the goddess to swim around. Clicking her tongue, B-sha ran forward to meet her,
"Let's see you dodge this!" She yelled, as she fired a series of shots, activating her skill, as Black Heart gasped, the explosions engulfing her. As the dust cleared, B-sha could clearly see the damage her skill had done, leaving behind a less than pleased goddess, who charged her opponent, swinging her sword viciously towards the blonde, who braced her weapon with her arms, halting the sword, rotating on her back foot, she swung her leg as Black Heart contorted her body, flipping herself up, as she swung her sword down, B-sha used all of her will to force her head back as she the sword flew on by,
"Tch. I missed" Black Heart shook her head,
"Don't be stupid, you hit me" B-sha wiped the blood off her face, the cut above her eye leaking a bit, it was a shallow cut,
"I meant to end it right there. I missed" She coldly spoke, as B-sha wiped her brow, once more reminded, they weren't fighting for fun here. B-sha truly hated fights like these, but, this had to be done.
"Fine. Let's just end this, why don't we? Just use your NEXT form and I'll beat you at your best" She challenged as Black Heart once more laughed, angering B-sha, as she swiped her hand summoning her card, as she engaged her skill,
"Presto kick!" She dived forward with a charging kick, Black Heart blocked her skill with the side of her blade, but yet, B-sha only chuckled, as Black Heart gasped, B-sha's bits made their way to the side of the goddess, concentrating their energy as they fired on B-sha's command, flipping away, B-sha landed as she caught her breath, already starting to hit the limit of her form, concentrating as she forced more share energy into her body, she could feel the burning power course into her veins.
Black Heart swiped her sword to her side, as the dust scattered, flipping as she planted on a glyph, her sword glowing in rainbow energy as she planned her counter attack, B-sha quickly scrambling to think of a way to counter one of Noire's strongest techniques, only coming to one conclusion,
"Golden warrior, Bandam!" She quickly yelled, summoning her combat mech, as she unleashed her most powerful skill, charging forward, the metallic beings fist met with Black Heart's tornado blade, the resulting collision creating a sizeable crater in the already marred ground, as B-sha imputed her commands into the back of the warrior, rolling off the mech, as she aimed her weapon,
"Even I can't miss at point blank!" She yelled as she fired her most powerful shell, Black Heart doing her best to get out of the way, but she was unable to get out, as the shell impacted her dead on, a massive explosion overtaking the area, as even B-sha got caught somewhat up in the explosion, as she reorientated herself, her breathing getting more and more ragged, "Come on now, where's that goddess strength? You telling me you can't even beat a reject!? Huh!? Where's that NEXT form?! I'll beat her too!" She boasted, even if she knew herself, she was quickly approaching her limit. As she looked back to the now massive crater, at the bottom of it, next to B-sha's now destroyed mecha warrior, was a ragged Black Heart, her eyes reflecting her ire at the moment.
She had had enough. This was going to end. If it ended with the blonde dead, she'd deal with that later.
"Fine. You have a death wish! Come and get some!" She stood once more, as she summoned her hyper share crystal, slamming it into the summoned screen in anger, as she felt the surge of energy overtake her, her reinforced processor forming on her, the headpiece now covering her eye, "Let's end this silly game. Don't come crying to me when your throat gets crushed!" NEXT Black's cold voice rang out, as B-sha gulped, this was the final leg.
Firing a series of heat seeking missiles towards the bottom of the crater, NEXT Black simply shook her head, "Simplistic" She didn't even have to look at her scouter to know the trajectory of these shells, with one flick of her wrist the air pressure alone sent the missiles to the edge of the crater, harmlessly exploding, as NEXT Black gently floated out of the crater,
B-sha gulped as she was now face to face with perhaps the most terrifying opponent in all of gamindustri. All of the sass and tsundereisms of Black Heart were gone, dissolved into cold brutal efficiency, radiated in even her gaze, B-sha wasn't even sure NEXT Black was capable of not taking things seriously.
Catching her breath, B-sha waited for her opponent to make the first move, which wasn't long as NEXT Black quickly rushed B-sha a flurry of swipes and jabs keeping her off balance as B-sha was forced to play on the backfoot, pivoting on her heel, NEXT Black spun around her opponent as she ran her off-hand across her opponents face, causing her to stumble backward for a few moments…
More than enough time to unleash her next barrage, brandishing her weapon once more, she used the power of the wind pressure alone in a series of consecutive swipes to completely overwhelm B-sha's defenses, who stumbled back, her vision starting to blur. Planting hard on her back foot, she steadied herself.
"Give up. You know very well what will happen if you continue this, don't you? Give it up, you're not in the same ballpark as me" NEXT Black spoke, her tone not mocking, simply matter of factly, as B-sha gasped, struggling to catch her breath, she spit some blood out as she looked back at her,
"I… can't… I… have to…" Had to what? Did she even remember anymore? Just as she thought she may have forgotten, an image flashed in her mind, a beautiful smile, a warm face, the woman she… loved "Nep-Nep"
"Come on! Wake up! You can't be serious! She doesn't need you to protect her! Why are you doing this for her!?" NEXT Black yelled as B-sha gritted her teeth,
"You still don't get it. You never even loved her, of course you don't get it! So don't tell me what I can or can't do for her!" B-sha screamed, firing a shell at her opponent who sighed sadly, swiping away the pitiful attempt to damage her,
"And it still appears you need to learn respect. Fine. Let me teach you." NEXT Black emotionlessly spoke as she flipped herself planting on her glyph as she held her blade, "Infinite Slash" She simply declared as B-sha gulped, racking her brain for anything to protect herself…
But it was already too late. As NEXT Black dashed to and fro, slashing the Gold Third as she passed by, flipping, dashing again, pivoting, slashing again, the slashes across B-sha's body piled up, her vision blurring as she lost track of her opponent, falling to her knees as she let go of her weapon, she was only brought back to reality by the hand that soon wrapped around her throat,
"Ngh?" Was all she could force out as the gauntlet covered hand gripped her windpipe,
"It's about time I took out the garbage" NEXT Black hissed, "Have we learned respect, Gold Third?"
"Fuck… you…" B-sha croaked out, managing to spit in her advisories face in a last sign of defiance, who only felt her ire grow as she tightened the grip around the woman's throat, as B-sha desperately clawed at the hand around her windpipe, desperately she ordered her bits to fire at maximum output at NEXT Black's back, this doing nothing to ease the pressure on her neck,
"You really are greedy. You disgust me. I won't kill you, I don't want to start another console war after all, but I never want to see your face ever again. Disappear" She ordered, as her grip tightened again, B-sha's hands falling to her sides, as her golden eyes faded to a dulled blue once more, NEXT Black tossing her to the side, as she walked up to the bloodied and fallen woman,
As she stood above her all sorts of thoughts swirling through her mind, she suddenly felt her blood run cold, perhaps a first in this form,
"Back. Away. From. Her."
Turning to face the new arrival, NEXT Black gulped, as she was now face to face with none other than Purple Heart, weapon at the ready pointed directly at her, "Why are you here?" She asked, looking back at the blonde for a moment, had she called reinforcements…? No, that wouldn't be it. B-sha took this fight seriously, she wouldn't do something like that, then…?
"That is not important. Get out of the form, and back away from her. Now" Purple Heart ordered, her tone offering no room for negotiation, as NEXT Black considered for a moment, before putting her hands up, turning on her heel, as she once more reassumed her human form, only now noticing just how much damage she herself had taken.
Gritting her teeth, Purple Heart soon rushed over to her girlfriend, examining the damage done to the poor girl, the cuts that covered her body. Her dress tattered, and soaked with her own blood. Her blue eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, that welcomed Neptune back. That always looked at her with warmth and love. Faded, no life behind them at all, as Purple Heart desperately put her fingers on her neck, she let herself feel some amount of relief as she felt a pulse,
"Thank the true goddess..."
"It's not like I'd actually kill her…" Noire quietly spoke a distance away, before receiving the harshest glare she had ever received from Purple Heart in her life,
"You're lucky I don't kill you" She hissed, before immediately turning her attention back to B-sha, retrieving items from her inventory, she worked in a frenzy, using anything and everything in her inventory as she desperately tried to seal the wounds, quickly finding herself hyperventilating, before she felt a hand gently reach out, caressing her cheek,
"A hero… never dies" B-sha weakly declared a faded smile on her face, as Purple Heart felt herself crumble, her transformation breaking, as tears flooded her eyes, gripping the blonde to her as tight as she felt she could,
"B-sha…" She gently spoke, taking a deep breath as she gently set her down, using all her will, she shakily stood to her feet turning to face her fellow goddess with torn eyes, she looked at her, "Why?" was all she could say, as Noire felt the world slowing down,
"I…"
"Wasn't it enough you didn't love me? Why? Why do you want me to be miserable? Why do you hate me!?" Neptune yelled gripping her heart as it panged with an indescribable pain,
"Neptune I never…" Noire didn't even know how to respond anymore, how had she gotten so caught up in this? How… how?
"What… did…. I ever do? WHY DO YOU HATE ME!?" She cried before screaming out in desperation. "Wasn't it enough to break my heart? Why do you… have to hurt… her" She sobbed, as she fell to her knees. The world started to fall back in, as Noire looked around her, her eyes caught on the very girl she herself had bloodied.
What did she do?
"Noire…? Didn't it mean anything to you? All… the time we spent together? I know… I know you don't love me. That's ok… but I thought we could at least still be friends… After everything we've been through..." Neptune couldn't even look at her anymore, unsure of who it was she was even looking at.
"Neptune… I'm-"
"Just… get out of here. I don't want to see you ever again. Get out. Get out… just get out. Just leave me alone. Just leave us… alone." Neptune sobbed as Noire felt herself gutted. Biting her lip, she eventually let her arms crumble to her side,
"Ok." Was all she left with, turning away, she silently transformed back into Black Heart, as she wordlessly made the flight back to her basilicom, aching from the wounds she had suffered herself, she eventually trudged herself into the front door, as Noire hissed away the front attendants she walked back into the CPU wing, as she opened the door, she saw the frame of a young woman waiting for her in the main room,
"Uni…" she couldn't even look at her, as Uni wordlessly walked up to her sister, ignoring the obvious wounds on her body, as she slapped her with all her strength, Noire crumbling to the side as she thudded into the ground, she looked up at the torn, teary expression on her sister's face,
"Nepgear told me what you did. I hate you" was all she said as she left the scene. As Noire lay in a mess on the ground, the world collapsed around her. She didn't even bother to pick herself up.
What had she done?
Back at the battlefield, right after Noire departed, as Neptune wiped her tears away, B-sha somehow managed to force out a chuckle,
"That'll… show… her-" Neptune didn't even let her finish before she snapped her glare back at her girlfriend,
"I'm mad at you too!" She yelled as she tried to wipe away the tears that continued to leak down her face,
"Nep…Nep"
"Dammit B-sha that was stupid! That was so… stupid! Noire wasn't messing around!" Neptune painfully yelled as B-sha looked away,
"I wanted to protect… you" She tried to explain, but Neptune wasn't having any of it it would appear,
"I know… but… B-sha… The NEXT form doesn't mess around. You could have… died. How would I live with myself then!? Huh!? What was I supposed to do then… B-sha… I can't… lose you… you mean the world to me" Neptune uncontrollably sobbed, as B-sha felt her heart cracking, forcing her body to flip over, she somehow managed to throw her body around Neptune as she gave her a comforting hug, Neptune working the final tears out of her system, "Don't ever do that again ok? Whatever happens, we do it together, right?" She begged, as B-sha subtly smiled,
"Ok. I promise. Together. Right?" She offered, as Neptune tightly wrapped her arms around the woman.
"No matter what"
I really hope you all enjoyed, now, I know I'm not very good at writing combat scenes very well, but I really hope this came out good! Or maybe it didn't... either way, let's get to reviews, shall we?
Lix231- Well I hope you've enjoyed, hmmm I hope this satisfied your desire well enough, Nep really got in a few stingers against Noire!
Chocoboeater1- haha, hey Xia! Hope you enjoyed!
end5- Thank you as always! Ha... well... Noire certainly got the message now...
FenixBlaze- Of course! I'm always happy to respond to anyone, even if they may be a little critical of my work, it's not like I'm particularly good at this, so I'm more than happy to read constructive criticism! Glad you get it, and yea, Uni just happened to be the wrong person in the wrong place at that moment, Noire just deflected her anger onto her. Yea, I did mention it here, which was my plan from the beginning, hopefully, it didn't come across as too contrived lol... Lastly, I think the time skip itself was necessary to establish it took Nep time to become comfortable with being in a public setting with B-sha, now, you are entirely correct in saying that I should have had more moments with them before that, which is why I added more to chapter 5! Hopefully that smooths things out! Thank you, I hope this one entertained you as well!
Tony Anderson- Thank you! This one was a bit less sweet tho... yes... a storm indeed...