Dimension Zeta

by TheLadyRedHeart

When CPU Red Heart is left frightened and scared for her life, she flees her dimension, leaving behind her nation and her people. She travels to Hyperdimension, where she meets Neptune and her friends, who help teach her how to be more confident, and help her fight back against the tyranny that has taken everything from her…

3. The War Begins

"Why isn't the communication working? It worked fine enough last time!" Chena screeched as she frantically tried to get the communication system back online.

"Maybe something is jamming the receiver? Or the receiver isn't accepting?" Eva suggested as she kept readjusting the setting to try and find something to connect to, but nothing was working.

"Well we don't actually know what our receiver was, right?" Chena asked. "We just pinpointed something and it allowed us to connect, but now it's like…it's hidden."

"What are you two doing?"

A voice startled both girls, and Eva whipped around, holding her hands out as she expected the worst, only to find…her.

"Y-Yurei! Heyyyy!" Chena said to the hooded girl that stared at her with piercing red eyes. "Haven't seen you lately, huh?"

"We saw each other at the funeral." Yurei said plainly.

"O-oh yeah…" Chena said.

"I repeat…what are you two doing?" Yurei asked, narrowing her eyes as she examined the large machine before her. "What…is this?"

"It's…a portal. It's called the Gateway." Eva explained. "It allows transportation to other dimensions."

"And it works?" Yurei asked.

"Yes. We've used it multiple times. Red and Aila used it to get away from Tarou, but…" Eva trailed off as a look of alarm overcame her. "R-right! Tarou followed them, and we've been trying to warn them, but our previous communication method isn't working!" Eva said.

"Where's Arun?" She asked suddenly.

"…What?" Eva asked. "Did you not just hear what we said, we've got more pressing issues than him!"

"Where…is he?" Yurei asked again, and even Eva couldn't help but shrink back a bit.

"H-he…went through the portal." She said. Yurei sighed.

"Abandoning his duty, as usual." She said. "Alright, turn it on."

"Huh?" Chena and Eva asked.

"Turn on the portal. I want to go get him." Yurei said.

"W-well…we're trying to, but that would require a lot of power, and with Bios trying to hold out against Tarou's candidates, I worry about taking too much power from them-"

"I don't care." Yurei said. "Turn it on or I'll gut you." Yurei said. Both girls stared at her and blinked. Chena gulped, and Eva sighed.

"Fine! But only if, when you go through, you warn Red that Tarou is in the dimension with them, if she doesn't already know, alright?!" Eva demanded, and after a moment, Yurei nodded in understanding. Eva sighed, gave a silent apology to Mojin, and started flicking on the switches and turning the dials on the control panel. The machine lit up, making a whirring sound as everything started up. Chena did a final check on the power cables to make sure they were still connected and, once she got a thumbs up from the CPU, Eva turned it on. The power surged, and the portal activated, a swirling blue miasma emerging working the circular frame. Yurei was stunned for a moment with how beautiful the color was, before her resolve hardened, and she wordlessly walked towards the portal. She took one step inside, then another, and another, until her whole body was enveloped within. Chena and Eva watched as the blue portal disappeared once more as it became unstable, and silence filled the area. As they stood there in the silence, Eva had a realization.

"Hey…all the candidates are at Bios, right?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"And Tarou's in the other dimension."

"Yep."

"So…why don't we take power from Morkom instead?"

"…OH MY GOD."

Red collapsed onto the couch after a long day of training, her muscles sore from attacking trees. Neptune poked her cheek.

"Wanna play games now?" She asked.

"Don't you have like…anything to actually do?" Red asked as she looked up at the girl, startled when she saw how close she was.

"Yeah, but I can always have Histoire do it." Neptune said. "Playing with you is so much more fun!"

"R-right. Yeah…" Red said, blushing both at the compliment and at how close Neptune's face was to her own. Neptune moved out of the way as Red sat up. "Hey, where's Aila and Nepgear?"

"They're in Nepgear's room. I uh…decided it would be better to leave them be~" The CPU said with a smirk, and Red couldn't help but smile.

"Do you think they…?"

"Oh, definitely." Neptune answered. Both of them couldn't help but laugh. Neptune got off the couch and walked towards the game console. "Alright, what do you want to play today?"

"Smash." Arun suddenly said, startling Red so badly she almost fell off the couch. As usual, he seemed to have come out of nowhere as he jumped over the back of the couch and landed next to Red. "It's the most fun, surprisingly."

"Yeah…um…you're kinda close." Red said.

"I know." Arun said, making no effort to move, forcing Red to have to scoot over herself. Neptune nodded and started up the game, handing controllers to each of them, where they began to play. By far, Red was the best at this game, despite the fact that Neptune had been playing it for years at this point. Neptune loved the challenge though, finally finding someone who was better than her. The three of them fought hard for victory, and while it was a much closer game now that Red and Arun had found their mains, Red still won out over them both. Red cheered as Arun and Neptune sighed, though not out of annoyance. "Tell me, why are you so good at this?" Arun asked.

"Tell me, why are you so bad at it?" Red asked with a smirk, and Neptune laughed, leaving Arun to sigh again and shake his head.

"Because he's bad at games in general."

"I mean, I think that's a little harsh, but…" Red said, and then paused, realizing she wasn't actually sure who had said that. She turned towards Neptune. "Wait…was that you?" She asked.

"No?" Neptune said, blinking in confusion.

"I'm not hearing things, right? Somebody else said that, right?" Red asked, and then looked over at Arun, who…seemed even paler than usual as he gulped.

"Oh no…" he said quietly. Red was about to ask what was wrong when the voice spoke again.

"Hello, Red. Hello, Arun." The voice said, though it said the second name with much more malice. All three CPUs slowly turned towards its source, where they found a pair of dark red eyes watching from the shadows. Red initially tensed up, thinking it could be Tarou, even though that was entirely impossible, but quickly relaxed a bit when she realized it was red eyes, not blue. Plus, the voice sounded familiar. Thankfully, she didn't have to wonder for long as Yurei emerged from the darkness, the light making her pale blonde hair look a sickly light yellow. Arun seemed to shift in his seat as he looked at the girl, who stared back, anger in her eyes.

"Yurei? What are you doing here?" Red asked.

"I came here looking for him." Yurei said, and Arun glared.

"Why are you here?" He repeated the question.

"Because you ran off without telling me." She answered coldly. She then finally pulled her gaze away to Red. "But first, Red…I was told to tell you something. T-"

"Why did you follow me?!" Arun asked angrily as he stood up from the couch. Yurei turned to look at him again.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"Why did you follow me? I didn't want you to follow me!" He said. Yurei's nostrils flared.

"Because I'm worried about you, dumbass." She answered.

"Why? I'm fully capable myself, you should've stayed in the other dimension instead of coming to this place just to follow me!" He exclaimed.

"Um…is this normal?" Neptune asked Red.

"Pretty much, yeah." Red answered. She was curious about what Yurei had to say, but she also knew from past experience that she shouldn't get in the way of such an argument.

Meanwhile, back in Nepgear's room, she was showing Aila her recent invention, the prototype of a teleporter, developed to be used for commercial transportation. "It almost works perfectly, I still need to get it to transfer non-organic material…like clothes…learned that the hard way…"

"How?" Aila asked, not understanding, only to have Nepgear turn a deep shade of red.

"N-nothing! Don't worry about it!" She insisted. "A-anyway…there's…actually something I want to show you. But it's not in my room. It's a place."

"A place?" Aila asked, intrigued, and just happy to be spending time with Nepgear.

"Yeah! It's…a secret place. I don't think any of the other CPUs know about it. I'd…like to take you there." Nepgear said. The smile on her face was so bright that Aila couldn't help but blush.

"O-okay!" She said. She gestured for the girl to follow her, and the two walked out into the living room, where-

"Sorry for worrying about you!"

"I told you, you don't need to worry about me! Don't you know what I'm capable of?!"

"You're in another dimension! You don't have your shares! Did you even consider that when you came here?!"

"…Okay, no, but-"

"EXACTLY!"

"Uh…what's going on here?" Nepgear asked, wondering who the short cute girl that was arguing with Arun was.

"Huh…why is Yurei here?" Aila asked, feeling like she should be more alarmed. "W-well…we should probably just…go."

"Wait, but they're arguing! Shouldn't we step in?" Nepgear asked, only to have Aila give her a solemn look.

"Trust me. You don't want to get involved when they argue." Aila said in a serious tone. Nepgear blinked, and then nodded in understanding. The two resumed walking, and managed to slip out the door without anyone else noticing. Aila followed Nepgear down the stairs and out the Basilicom. They discussed random stuff as they walked, but Aila couldn't help but notice how close together they were both standing. Eventually they entered the woods, and Aila started becoming concerned.

"Hey, don't worry, I promise it'll be worth it!" Nepgear said upon seeing the look of confusion and worry on Aila's face. Deciding to trust Nepgear, the two kept going. They came across a few monsters along the way, but were easily able to slay them and keep going. At one point, Nepgear told Aila to close her eyes, and even though she did as she was told, she still felt a little nervous nonetheless.

Eventually, after walking for what felt like twenty minutes they passed through some thick bushes, and when they emerged, Aila heard Nepgear giggle, along with what sounded like a waterfall. "Alright, open your eyes." Aila did so, and immediately she let out a gasp.

They were in a large clearing, the sky above them bright and blue. There was a clean, beautiful river flowing through a meadow of flowers of dozens of different colors. The river extended out from a cascading waterfall, the light catching the water to create a small rainbow above the small pool it created. A few birds and other small animals roamed around, and when they saw the pair coming closer, they scattered. A gentle breeze blew by, tickling Aila's skirt, and the girl couldn't help but smile as she looked up at the centerpiece of the area: a massive, gorgeous tree full of animals and nests that stretched high above the rest of the trees surrounding the clearing

"Th-this is…"

"This is my special place." Nepgear said softly as she looked up at the tree, seeing animals skittering about. "I found it a while ago, and haven't told any of the others about it, not even Neptune." Aila looked at her in shock.

"B-but…you're showing…?"

"You? Yes…" Nepgear said with a bright smile that made Aila blush. "Neptune probably wouldn't really appreciate it as much as I know you would anyway." Nepgear walked over to one of the roots of the massive tree and sat down, looking over at Aila as she patted the space next to her. The two stayed silent for a while, admiring the beautiful scenery around them, before Nepgear finally broke the silence with a question that had been bothering her for a while. But before she could ask, Aila spoke first.

"Thank you, Nepgear." She said, sounding more sincere than she ever had. "I…I cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for us. It's…really nice. Not even just for me, but my sister, and Arun too, not that he'd ever show his appreciation, but…"

"Hey, it's alright! It's just the right thing to do, isn't it?" Nepgear said, scooting a little closer to the girl, though Aila didn't seem to notice.

"No matter if it's the right thing to do or not…thank you. Sorry if this comes across as…forward, but…I'm really happy I met you." Aila gave the girl a smile so warm that Nepgear couldn't help but feel her own cheeks warm as she smiled back. Aila scooted a little closer, and their hands touched for a moment. Aila brought hers back in surprise, but when Nepgear didn't move her own, Aila gently placed her hand back over hers, and Nepgear gripped hers back gently. Their faces burned a bit brighter as they watched the waterfall.

Finally, after a little more silence, Nepgear cleared her throat. "Can I…ask you something?"

"Anything." Aila answered.

"What…did Red do to you?" Nepgear asked. "You…you were basically dying, but-"

"Oh…well, it's…" Aila paused, and looked around them, just to be sure no one was around, "…I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone else, alright?"

"Why?" Nepgear asked.

"Because…well, Boken-" Aila cringed a little when she said his name, " -told me that her power should be kept secret…because if something happened, something bad, it might be something so powerful, so advantageous…that could help her win a war." Aila smiled sadly. "It's almost like…he knew this was gonna happen." Aila became lost in thought, but as Nepgear squeezed her hand, she was brought back into the moment.

"I promise." Nepgear said, not that there was any need to worry about Red's enemies finding out, right? Aila exhaled deeply as she smiled again.

"Alright. Red has…healing abilities."

"Well, I figured-"

"But not just that." Aila continued. "She can not only heal other people, but herself as well. And on top of that, she can boost her own strength and abilities, or those around her. She…doesn't use it often so she's not super good at it, but Boken said if she could learn to use it, she could basically become near-unstoppable, constantly able to heal herself and her allies, as well as boost herself and her allies' strength to an insane degree." Nepgear stared in awe.

"I…wow." She breathed.

"Yeah…but again, she barely uses it, so while she can do the smaller stuff easily…the bigger stuff, not so much." Aila said, and looked down at her lap. "Red…doesn't want to fight. I know she doesn't…but we both know…that we'll have to. Eventually. We can't just sit here forever while Tarou kills all our friends and takes over our home." Aila looked up at the beautiful blue sky. "So I'm gonna help her. I'm gonna help her train. We're gonna hone our powers and abilities, and…we're gonna fight him again. We have to."

"You…have a power, too?" Nepgear asked. While still looking up at the sky, Aila nodded.

"I heal…in the less physical sense. I can heal someone's soul, or aspects of their mind. It doesn't usually have much practical use, though. I can also increase the aura or focus of others, or increase their morality and spirit. Again, it's not as flashy or impressive as my sister's, but…yeah." Aila paused as she thought something over. "Do…you all not have special abilities?"

"Not really, no." Nepgear answered.

"Most of the CPUs from our dimension do. I guess I never really thought about it much. Either way…me and my sister…need to work on improving ourselves…because we need to be ready for him." Nepgear looked at the girl for a while, and felt Aila clutch her hand tightly as she looked back at her. "Don't worry, I won't ask you to help us. That wouldn't really be fair, would it?"

"Are you serious?!"

Nepgear's cry made Aila jump. "Huh?"

"Of course we'll help! We care about you! I'm sure you've noticed how thrilled Neptune is to have a friend to play games with every day other than her sister!" Nepgear said. "That's enough of a cause for Neptune to want to fight. And…for me…" The girl blushed, "…I-I'd be happy to fight for you. You nearly died protecting me, after all…"

"Nepgear…" Aila said, looking the girl in the eyes. "I-I…um…"

"Y-yeah?" Nepgear asked as their faces began to inch closer. Their eyes narrowed.

"I…wanted to tell you something else, too…" Aila said quietly, able to feel Nepgear's breath on her lips.

"Yeah? What is it?" Nepgear asked, their faces now inches apart as their eyes closed.

"I…" was all Aila got out as their lips brushed together-

BOOOOOOOOM!

Both girls leapt back, their faces bright red as they looked around for the source of the explosion they heard. Nepgear instantly transformed, and flew up into the sky. Aila tried to do the same on reflex, but…nothing happened, obviously, so she simply waited. When Nepgear came back down, the expression she had on her face wasn't good, and the words she said next made Aila's blood run cold.

"There was an explosion at the Planeptune Basilicom. Right where Neptune and the others were…" The words hung in the air for a moment before Aila's face hardened.

"Carry me."

When they got to the main city, people were panicking, pointing up and screaming as smoke poured into the air and bits of debris fell onto the street. The police were making sure people stayed far enough back that none of the debris hit them, but Nepgear flew straight up, carrying Aila bridal style.

"Do you see any of them?" Aila asked as they got close.

"Not yet…" Nepgear said, though she wasn't sure if that was reassuring or not. Then, she saw something, something that made her turn pale: a scorched book. But not just any book.

Histoire's.

Coughing from the smoke, the two landed in the now wrecked living room, pieces of furniture crumbling at their touch. They both searched frantically for the oracle, and after hearing a cough, they moved over and found her head sticking out from a pile of debris. Histoire tried to muster a smile as she saw them, but it quickly fell as she winced in pain. Nepgear frantically cleared the debris off of her, and saw that she was bleeding, badly. Aila rushed off to find some first aid supplies, and after locating a scorched box in the slightly destroyed bathroom, rushed back to Histoire, who was talking to Nepgear.

"-lightning, and a big fight broke out, it destroyed a few windows, before he pulled out a device, dropped it on the floor, and launched himself out the window. Then…" Histoire paused, not needing to explain the rest. Just the mention of lightning told Aila everything she needed to know.

Tarou had done this.

Tarou was here.

But where were the others?!

"Neptune and the others…" Histoire started, almost as if she read Aila's mind as the girl began to bandage her up, "…they chased after him once Red told them it was Tarou. They all got out before the bomb went off." Aila and Nepgear breathed a sigh of relief. Histoire sat up, though it clearly hurt her to do so. "You two need to go."

"What?! Are you serious?! No, we can't just-"

"Nepgear, I'll be fine." Histoire said as Aila finished bandaging her up. "I wouldn't be much of an Oracle if something like this took me out so easily." The small fairy-like girl gave them a weak smile. The two examined the bandages, where some blood was already soaking through, but Histoire smacked Aila's thigh. "Go! They need you!"

"But…Histy…" Nepgear said.

"Just go!" Histoire demanded, and then, in a lower voice, added, "Please." Nepgear was about to protest again when Aila grabbed her hand. Nepgear looked over at her, but the girl was staring hard at Histoire.

"You promise you'll be alright without us?" Aila asked.

"I promise." Histoire said with a nod, meeting her eyes. The two stared at each other for a while before Aila sighed, and nodded back, turning to Nepgear.

"Let's go." Aila said. Again, Nepgear wanted to protest, but she swallowed her tongue, and relented, nodding. She picked Aila up once again, and the two flew out the destroyed side of the building, leaving Histoire lying there, watching them fly off.

"Where would they even have gone?" Nepgear asked.

"Maybe we should go back and ask-" Aila started, before the two saw a bright blue bolt of electricity erupt from the forest. "That way!" Aila shouted, and the two flew off in that direction. As soon as they got close enough, Aila gasped. It was…him.

They all stood in a small clearing. Neptune, transformed into Purple Heart, stood in front of Tarou, while Arun, Yurei, and Red, all still in human form, unable to transform, stood at her sides. Purple Heart was holding her side with one hand as she pointed her blade at Tarou.

She was bleeding.

"NEPTUNE!" Nepgear shouted as she swooped down, dropped off Aila somewhat haphazardly, and landed next to her sister, drawing her weapon and immediately pointing it at Tarou. The girl looked over to see a pained expression on the CPU's face, though it brightened a bit when she saw Nepgear.

"N-Nepgear!"

"Is this everyone now, then?" Tarou asked. He held his naginata out in front of him, Purple Heart's blood dripping from the tip as the air crackled around him. Occasional small bolts of electricity erupted around him before quickly dissipating. Aila walked up and stood next to Yurei, whose red thread floated in the air next to her head, ready to strike. Arun had his claws out, as well as several other dark spikes jutting out from the skin of his arms.

"How did you get here?!" Aila demanded, and Tarou laughed.

"I'm honestly surprised you didn't find out sooner!" He said. Yurei looked down at her feet.

"I'm…I'm sorry, I was supposed to tell you, but I got caught up arguing with Arun." Yurei said.

"It's alright. I doubt there was much we would've been able to do about it anyway." Purple Heart said, still clutching her side. "I have to say…he's good. Fast, too. I wasn't able to land any good hits."

"Or any hits at all, really." Tarou said with a sneer. "Better than your sniveling leader, though." Aila was confused for a moment, before she suddenly realized Red was up and standing with them. She glanced over at her sister, only to find her…trembling. She stared wide-eyed and trembling at Tarou, her legs smacking together as she stood frozen on the spot in terror. Aila ran over to her.

"Are you okay?!" She asked, wondering if she'd been hurt.

"I-I just…wh-when I saw the others go after him…I followed, b-but…I…I can't…Aila…I can't…" Red said as she never tore her eyes away from their enemy. Tarou laughed a booming laugh.

"God, you are so PATHETIC!" He spat the last word. "It would be insulting if it wasn't so goddamn funny!" Tarou said, before putting his attention back on Purple Heart. "Now, enough of the sniveling, weak coward. How about we have a rematch, my lovely, barely dressed enemy~!" Nepgear felt sick as he saw her sneer at Purple Heart's exposed skin, and the CPU snarled at him as she gripped her weapon tighter.

"Bring it on." She said.

"NEPTUNE, NO!" Nepgear shouted, but it was too late, as Purple Heart lunged at him. She swung her blade, and he easily parried it with his own, swinging it towards her gut. Just as it was about to impale her, Yurei's thread cut Tarou's wrist, with him only barely missing it cutting through his hand entirely as he shifted away just in time. He glanced at the girl, who glared at him as her thread whipped back around and headed straight for Tarou's head. However, he was too quick and as the thread was about to touch his skin, he reached out and grabbed it. It burned his hand a little from something akin to rope burn, but he simply smiled as the thread quivered in his hand. Yurei frowned, and tried to call it back, but he held it firmly.

Purple Heart went for another strike, but by the time she swung, he was gone. Before Yurei could even react, Tarou was in front of her, his blade at her throat.

Before he could cut her head off, something barreled into him, knocking him off his feet. He managed to hold onto his weapon as Arun, now on top of him, swung his claws wildly at the man, who used his blade to stop any of the attacks from hitting him.

"What, you scared I almost killed your girlfriend?" Tarou said, and Arun's eyes and nostrils flared with anger as he attacked even harder, only to have Tarou push him back, and slice open both his chest and his shirt. Arun stumbled back in shock, and Tarou went in for a kill shot. "I've been waiting for this moment." He said, before he felt a pain at his side. He looked down to see the needle had threaded through him. He looked up and snarled at Yurei, before he felt an attack on his other side, one that he only barely managed to get away from with just a scratch, now with both sides bleeding after Purple Heart had attacked him.

He watched both Yurei's needle and Purple Heart's sword fly towards him, but he maneuvered around them and held out his hand. Arcs of blue electricity erupted from his hands and towards Yurei, striking her in the chest and knocking her off her feet. Her thread froze in midair as she tumbled to the ground with a loud cry of pain. Arun whirled around to her, allowing Tarou to ram his blade through the man's stomach, leading him to cough up blood as he dropped to the ground. He barely managed to counter Purple Heart's attack, and blasted electricity into her gut, causing her to fly back and crash against a tree, groaning. The wound on her side became worse, but she stood up, and was about to attack again when she saw Nepgear trying to attack him from behind.

To the CPU's horror, Tarou turned around in an instant, and seized Nepgear by the throat before slamming her into the ground, and then pointing his blade at her chest. Nepgear cried out, gasping for air as she tried to pry his arm away, but it was no use. He smiled crazily at her as he pushed his blade against her chest, drawing blood.

"Man, you guys suck if I'm winning this easily against…what is it…" He looked around, "…four people? Because you know, Aila and Red can't really do anything useful ever." He sneered.

"P-please…akkk! D-don't-!" Nepgear cried, but he pressed the blade into her skin, making her cry out in pain. Purple Heart took a step towards her, but Tarou clicked his tongue.

"Not another step, dear~" he said, delighting in the look of pure, unadulterated fear on Purple Heart's face. He looked back down at Nepgear, smiling widely. "Now…how should I carve you up~? Maybe I could remove these pretty little brea-"

Before he could finish his disgusting sentence, he was struck with a fireball that sent him flying several feet away. Nepgear immediately got up, and looked over to see Aila holding up a smoking staff, her eyes wild with fury.

"DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HER LIKE THAT AGAIN OR I WILL MELT YOUR SKIN OFF YOUR BONES!" She cried in pure rage. Nepgear couldn't help but laugh a bit, rubbing her throat as she quickly got to her feet and rushed to Aila's side. She gripped the girl's hand tightly as before Tarou could fully recover, Purple Heart rushed in again. This time, she managed to get a sizable strike on his chest as he lunged back, gasping as he began to bleed. Eyes wild with anger now, he held out both his hand and naginata, and lightning surged from both, striking the CPU in the chest and sending her back into the tree once more. This time though, she slumped over, and didn't get back up.

"N-NEPTUNE!" Nepgear cried as Tarou laughed, looking at Aila.

"I guess I discounted you too soon, huh?" He said as he started taking steps towards them. With every step, Nepgear's grip on her hand grew tighter. He whirled his blade around as the air around him hummed. "Too bad it was a single, lucky shot. You even hit my face, and you claim you'll 'melt the skin off my bones?' I'd like to see you live up to that promise." He smiled again. "Too bad it won't happen." With that, he launched a series of bolts at them, and Aila prepared to defend-

Until something else got in the way.

A sort of chain was thrust out in front of them, whipping around to intercept all the lighting as a person emerged from the trees. Once the lightning was gone, the chain retracted to form a blade being held by a woman who walked until she was standing between Tarou and the girls. A woman…

…whose butt was almost entirely visible.

Aila blushed as she was met with the sight of two nearly exposed cheeks as Nepgear let out a cry of shock.

"Wh-what?!" Nepgear cried.

"What…the hell?" Tarou said, as the woman chuckled softly. Somehow, that alone sent a strange shiver down his spine.

"My, my…I was simply hoping to visit my dear friend Neptune…only to find several new playthings instead~" The woman said, and once again, Tarou felt another shiver, but pointing his blade at her nonetheless.

"Hey! Who do you think you-" Tarou shouted, but the woman thrust out her blade, and the pieces separated to form a chain that wrapped around his naginata and ripped it from his grasp, leaving him shocked at how fast he'd been disarmed as the woman's weapon retracted once more. He simply stared in shock at her. Aila was still confused, but behind the woman, Nepgear smiled from ear to ear

"You can call me…Mommy~" Iris Heart purred as she stared deep into Tarou's eyes. Despite himself, the boy blushed, then his expression turned into one of anger.

"P-Plutia! I-I mean, Sadie!" Nepgear corrected herself. "What are you doing here?"

"Exactly as I said. I came for Neptune, only to find a hole in the side of the Basilicom, and a bunch of lightning and noise coming from the forest." Iris explained, still staring at Tarou. "Who's this little cutie?"

"H-how dare you mock me!" Tarou shouted, rolling to the side to retrieve his naginata as he blasted electricity at the dominatrix, only for her to hold up her weapon and absorb it.

"He's…he's Tarou." Aila explained to the strange, sexy woman. "He wants to conquer all of Gamindustri and slaughter all the CPUs, both of my dimension and this one." Iris turned to Aila, and upon their eyes meeting, Aila shivered in terror, though she wasn't sure why. Iris smiled widely.

"You're so adorable~! Nepgear, where were you hiding these two~?" Iris asked. Tarou suddenly shouted.

"I DON'T CARE WHO THE HELL YOU THINK YOU ARE, BUT DON'T THINK YOU CAN TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!" Tarou shouted as he lunged at her. He swung his weapon…only to be met with a punch to the gut that sent him back.

"Looks like our meeting will sadly have to wait." Iris said as she turned back to Tarou. "I'll deal with the cutie, you make sure the others are alright." Aila and Nepgear nodded as Iris, in an instant, flew up to meet Tarou. He barely had time to lift up his blade as Iris swung at him, though as soon as they connected, her blade once again broke apart, and the whip struck him across the face. He cried out as the new gash in his cheek started to bleed, and he shouted in pure rage as he grabbed her by the neck and sent electricity through his fingertips. Iris lurched in pain, but even through the pain, she managed to deliver a kick between the boy's legs, which was enough to make him stop instantly.

He collapsed to the ground as Iris stood over him, cracking her whip blade against the ground. "You're quite the naughty one, aren't you~? Looks like I'll need to teach you some discipline~!"

"YOU-!" He cried, and sent another bolt directly at her face, making her leap back to avoid it, giving him time to lunge back to his feet, though he still felt intense pain between his legs.

Meanwhile, Aila had pulled Red towards Arun, who was still bleeding profusely. Aila grabbed her sister's shoulders, who had never broken her gaze from Tarou. "Red! Pay attention!"

"B-but…he's still…"

"He's not even paying attention to you!" Aila shouted. "We need you, right now! I can't heal like you can, you need to heal Arun right now, or he's gonna die!"

"I-I can't…I-I can't do anything…not when he's right there!" Red said, clutching herself as she trembled.

"Who cares?! He's busy! He's not gonna come over here, and even if he does, she'll take care of it!" Aila said, gesturing to Iris. "RED, PLEASE!"

"I-I CAN'T! I'M USELESS AND PATHETIC! I-I WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE HIM JUST LIKE I COULDN'T SAVE BOKEN! I'M JUST-"

Aila slapped Red across the face.

As Red gasped, clutching her now red cheek, she finally looked away from Tarou and towards Aila. "Red, we need you. You can do this. I know you can." Aila said softly, holding her sister tightly, reaching down to grab her hands. "You saved me, didn't you? So you can save him, too." Red blinked at that, and with a shaky breath, she nodded. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hands over Arun's wound, and concentrated. After a moment, her hands began to brighten, a dim light at first, but it quickly brightened to an almost blinding glow as Arun's wound quickly started to close. Before it was even done, Arun opened his eyes, and Aila had to hold him down to make sure he didn't move as Red finished. She managed to heal Arun even faster than she'd healed Aila, but the candidate was sure that Red was so happy with herself that she didn't even notice.

Leaving Arun to rest a bit, they made their way over to Nepgear and Neptune, who was transformed back into her human form. As soon as they got there, Nepgear spoke. "She's breathing, just unconscious." She then pointed to a really bad burn mark on her chest, where Nepgear had cut open her clothes in order to see it. Aila couldn't help but blush as she could nearly see the CPU's breasts, but Red knelt down and once again placed her hands on top of the wound. Her hands lit up once again, and within moments, the burn mark was gone, though Neptune was still unconscious. "Thank you." Nepgear said to Red, tears in her eyes. Red paused for a moment, tears coming to her own eyes as she looked down at Neptune and Nepgear.

"Y-you're welcome." She said, her voice breaking, and then sniffled as she turned away from Neptune and started running towards Yurei. Aila couldn't help but smile as she followed.

Meanwhile, Tarou and Iris were still going at it, with Tarou becoming increasingly frustrated, especially when Iris pinned him underneath herself, and basically shoved her breasts in his face. He tried to slap them away, but that just made Iris moan, making the boy blush again.

"S-so naughty! I should give you a spanking for that~!" Iris cried as Tarou wiggled out from underneath her and tried to cut off her head. She easily dodged the attack, and in return, she whipped his side, cutting through his clothes and leaving another gash in his skin. He gritted his teeth as his blade connected with hers over and over. He constantly fired lightning at her, only for her to either reflect or dodge most of the time, and when he did connect, she acted like it was nothing! Who the hell was this woman?!

And why was she so hot?!

As their battle continued, Red rushed to Yurei, who was beginning to stir. Her clothes had been fried, leaving a hole in her top as a burn mark seared her skin. Red quickly brought her hands up to heal her while Aila instructed her to stay still. Yurei did as she was told, still a little groggy as Red quickly healed the burn mark. As she was finishing, Arun ran up to check on them, but as Red finished, leaving behind only her pale skin and the hole in her clothes, he…blushed, which was something Aila had never seen before. Yurei looked up at his face, then down at her chest, then back up at his face, her own face now having a blush to match his own. She thrust her arms over her chest as she leapt to her feet and immediately began to shout at Arun, calling him a "pervert" and "creep" and "delusional idiot", leaving Red and Aila to simply watch in surprise.

With everyone healed, they turned back towards the fight, where Red was shocked to see that Tarou looked…tired. His opponent seemed only slightly winded, while Tarou was cut up in several places, and panting.

"You're a bitch." He spat, and Iris giggled.

"I know~" She said, and in one last attack, she zigzagged towards him, dodging as he shot lightning at her, before winding up her blade and whipping his completely across the chest, shredding what was left of his shirt and adding a huge gash across his skin. He cried out in pain as he glared at her. He then noticed that Yurei and Arun were back on their feet, and looked shocked. His eyes flicked to Aila, then Red, at which she shuddered, and then back to Iris. He turned around, and started running. Iris made to follow, but Aila grabbed her arm.

"Don't, he's trying to separate you from us so he can ambush you or something." She said, and Iris sighed, but didn't follow. Meanwhile, Red just looked at the woman in shock.

"You…won?" She asked.

"Yes." She said.

"Like…you actually won? You didn't kill him, but you actually…beat him?"

"Mhm."

"And it looks like she kicked his ass, too." Aila said with a smirk.

"I…I can't believe it." Red said, as if her entire view of the world had been thrown out the window. It was…possible? She'd almost fully accepted that fighting Tarou was a losing battle, especially one on one, but this woman…had just proven that entirely wrong. "Who are you?" Iris smiled.

"My name is Iris Heart. I'm not from this dimension, but I am friends with the CPUs of it." Iris explained. "There also work part time as my personal slaves~"

"Please don't say weird stuff like that…" Nepgear begged. Iris rolled her eyes, and gently put her hand underneath Aila's chin.

"You though…I'd love to add you to my collection~" she purred. Aila blushed, but before anyone else could react, Nepgear shoved Iris away and grabbed Aila's hand.

"I-I don't think she'd like that very much!" Nepgear said, letting out a nervous laugh. "Hey, Aila! Why don't we go over here, yeah?" The girl pulled her away and Iris watched them carefully. As Arun walked past her, Iris leaned over.

"They're totally fucking, aren't they?" She asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely." Arun said, and continued on. Iris looked around for Neptune, and upon seeing her laying on the ground, having been moved from the tree, Iris walked over to her, transforming back into her human form along the way, floating back to the ground as she did, her bare feet finding the grass as she finished. Once she reached Neptune, looking as cute and deceptively innocent as always, she knelt down and tapped on the girl's cheek. She did light taps at first, before the taps became harder, until finally, Neptune opened her eyes.

"Mmmmmmm…" She said with a loud yawn. "What…happened?" She searched around a bit before her eyes met Plutia's, who squeezed her hand. "P-Plutia?"

"Hey, Neppy!" Plutia said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Blegh." She said as she slowly sat up. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come hang out, since it's been a while!" Plutia said in her cute voice. "But then! I saw smoke coming out of the Basilicom, and people said you'd run off into the forest chasing some blue guy, so I followed, and I heard yelling and shouting and all that stuff, so I transformed and came and beat up the bad guy and then he ran away and now we're here!" Plutia explained it all, and Neptune blinked, then laughed.

"Sorry, then." She said. "Didn't mean for all this to happen."

"It's fine. As long as you make sure to make it up to me!" Plutia said, and Neptune nodded, though in the back of her mind, she felt…worried.

Tarou had taken her down so easily…he really was powerful. Sure, Iris has apparently beaten him, but that's most likely because he wasn't expecting someone like her. He was definitely a force to be reckoned with, and if he had survived and nearly killed that many people attacking him at once…

Maybe it was hopeless after all.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

Janpu shouted at his sister as she ran up the hill towards them, fully intending to grill her about where she'd been the past few days while they'd continued to attack Bios, only to have his jaw drop at the sight of her. Her hair and clothing were disheveled and dark, and he was disgusted with how he could almost see her chest with how cut up her clothes were. Her face and body was covered in blood splatters, and her eyes and smile no longer that quiet semi-innocence they'd had before. Instead…all he could see now was insanity.

"Sorry, I was busy chopping people up when they tried to rape me."

"E-excuse me?!" Janpu exclaimed.

"Yeah, see I took a trip to Lenderia to scope it out, and when I was there this group of guys tried to rape me so I brutally murdered them, and then I went into the Basilicom and all this happened," she gestured to herself, as if the fact her skin, facial features, and hair changing was no big deal, "and after I went and destroyed Boken's body and killed Shose and almost killed Mojin, I went back to Lenderia and hunted down this annoying group of surprisingly organized brutes who go around groping and fucking any woman that wanders in their 'territory', god they were just gross and disgusting, and GOD it was fun to hear them scream as I destroyed their limbs and organs!" Moku said with a wide smile, to which all three of her siblings stared at her in utter shock and horror.

"So…Lenderia did this to you-" Danga started before Tatak shrieked in utter horror, as if he was being murdered.

"GOD YOU ARE SO DIRTY!" He shouted. "Absolutely covered in blood, and your clothes are an utter disgrace! For one, we can almost see your…you know…" The boy said with a blush as Moku looked down at herself, "b-but even then! What the hell?!"

"Who the hell cares about how clothes look?" She asked.

"YOU DID!" Tatak shrieked, to which Danga stuck a finger in her ear dramatically.

"I mean if you don't like them, I could just take them off." Moku said as she grabbed her shirt, intent on removing it, to which all three shouted at her not to, with varying degrees of red in their cheeks. Moku just sighed and dropped the shirt back down.

"Look, you're back now, right? So why don't you help us out with-" Janpu started but Danga cut him off.

"Hang on, you said you killed Shose and almost killed Mojin?" She asked. Moku smiled proudly and nodded, before explaining what had happened between her, Shose, and Mojin in the woods. Once she was done, they all turned to each other.

"So there's a secret entrance in the woods." Tatak said.

"Should we go find it?" Janpu asked aloud.

"Knowing their tech, I doubt we'd be able to find it, or at least it would take forever." Danga said.

"There's four of us, I'm sure we can find it." Moku said dismissively, but the other three ignored her.

"So do we just keep attacking the way we have been?" Janpu asked.

"We have Moku back now…sort of." Tatak said, before glancing over at Moku before shuddering. She once again considered removing her clothes.

"No, that's not gonna work. None of our strategies have worked." Danga said. "What we need is…" She paused. "Have any of you heard from Tarou?" Her siblings paused as well as they realized Tarou had never met back up with them.

"Huh…" Janpu said.

"Where did he go? Didn't he say he was going on a special mission?" Tatak asked.

"I know where he went!" Moku said, but once again she was ignored.

"He didn't really tell us where though, did he?" Danga said.

"So then what do we do? We can't just go looking for him." Tatak said.

"Guys! I know where he went!" Moku insisted.

"Honestly, I think I'd rather take that than get blasted back by those damn sonic things for the hundredth time." Janpu groaned.

"I'm still just not sure if-" Danga started, but suddenly an axe slammed into the ground, missing the girl's nose by an inch. All three slowly turned to Moku, who cleared her throat and glared at them.

"I might've left out that while I was gone I found something super interesting, and I'm like 98% he went there! No…88%. No! 95%. Actually…"

"JUST TELL US!" Janpu said, growing increasingly frustrated with his sister, but Moku just smiled.

"WHY DOES THIS DAMN THING NOT WORK?!" Eva exclaimed as she tossed a wrench out in the woods in anger as the monitor once again came up with an error message.

"Scientific discovery is about trial and error, Eva." Chena said as she hooked up way too many cables. Eva just groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Eva said as she walked over to retrieve the wrench. "It's just frustrating! I've never struggled with something this much."

"I know, trust me I know. But this is our most complicated thing we've ever made. Even teleportation was easier than this, since it was just transport within the same dimension." Chena said.

"Damn, where is the stupid thing?!" Eva said as she wandered further and further away from the Gateway, using her phone's flashlight. She surely hadn't thrown it this far, right?

"Eva, don't go too far!" Chena called after her, her brow furrowed as she tried to dispel the error message, and after rewiring something in the control panel, it finally vanished, and the screen lit up a bright green. "Yes! Finally! It's probably not gonna be stable yet, but we should be able to open it again!" Chena was about to call for her friend to tell her the good news when she heard something…terrifying.

Eva's scream.

Eva never screamed.

Chena whipped around to face the woods, but saw nothing. All she saw was the dark expanse of trees, and nothing in them.

"E-Eva?" Chena called out nervously, only to get no response. She gulped as she took a step away from the machine, only to have something whiz by in the blink of an eye, embedding into the tree behind her as blood dripped from the small wound on her ear. Chena froze in place, unsure what exactly just happened, until she heard a voice.

"Don't move."

Chena nodded, then realized that was moving, and stopped. She still couldn't see anyone, and genuinely wondered if it was a ghost. Then, someone emerged from the trees, someone that made her heart drop.

One of Tarou's siblings.

"Hello, Chena. Been a while, hasn't it?" Janpu sneered as he walked over. Chena wanted to run, but she'd been told not to move, so she stood as still as possible, even as the boy walked up to her and got so close she could smell him, and feel his breath on her. "I've missed you, you know~"

"P-please don't…" she begged, only to wince as his hand caressed her thigh.

"What, you didn't miss me, too~?" He asked. Chena knew the boy had a thing for her, whether it was just a lust or something more, for whatever reason, so she'd always done her best to avoid him, but now she couldn't, or else she might have what she now figured had been a bullet blasted into her gut. "But if there's one thing…or rather…two things I've missed, it's these~" He said as he suddenly placed his hands on her chest, squeezing them tightly. Chena gasped.

Maybe the bullet would be better than this.

"LET GO OF HER YOU FUCKING CREEP BEFORE I CUT OFF YOUR DI-"

A voice shouted before a sudden thump silenced it. Chena whipped her eyes to the forest, where relief filled her body as Eva's face emerged. Standing behind her though was…someone Chena didn't recognize, holding an axe with the blade up against Eva's neck. Though, one thing she did recognize was that the girl, whoever she was…was topless.

"MOKU! WHAT THE FUCK?!" A female voice shouted from the trees.

"D-DUDE!" Janpu cried out, his hands still on the CPU's breasts as he looked away from the topless girl holding Chena's friend hostage.

"C-can you please let go of me…" Chena begged, only to get squeezed again, and she had to bite her lip to keep anything else from coming out.

"Oh, lay off you creep, you can fuck her all you want when we're done." The female voice said as a girl emerged from the trees. It was Danga, holding a gun pointed at Chena's head. Janpu groaned and finally removed his hands, though Chena still felt absolute disgust and horror, making her body shudder. "Moku, seriously, where is your shirt?!"

"Tatak wouldn't stop complaining, so I took it off." The topless girl said. Moku? As in…Tarou's cute sibling Moku? There's no way…

"Well, sorry, but I'd really not see my sister's flat, naked chest!" Janpu said, his face red as he tried to look at anything except his sister. Finally, Tatak emerged from the trees as well, trying not to look as well.

"I know I said the shirt was disgusting, but this is just...wrong." The boy said.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Chena cried, and all eyes turned to her. The girl, who was apparently Moku, smiled.

"Where's Tarou?" She asked. Chena gulped, and her eyes met Eva's. The two knew each other well enough that they were able to have a silent conversation.

Are you okay?

Yes, don't say anything.

But you've got an axe at your neck!

Don't care. Don't say anything.

I do care! I won't let them hurt you!

Don't worry about me! Just DON'T SAY ANYTHING!

Moku looked between the two before delivering a knee into Eva's back, making the girl wince. Chena tried to walk towards her, but Danga sent a bullet whizzing by her head, and she froze once more.

"Last warning." Danga said.

"Let her go." Chena pleaded.

"Tell us where he went." Moku said.

"Don't tell her." Eva said, before Moku kicked her again.

"Shut up, or I'll gut you right now!" Moku shouted.

"Please don't hurt her." Chena said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I won't as long as you tell us where he went."

"Chena…!"

"B-but-!"

Suddenly, Moku threw the girl to the ground, and in one swift motion, she sliced a large gash into Eva's arm. The girl screamed in pain, a sound that haunted Chena. She wanted to cover her ears, but didn't dare move again. "TELL US!"

"H-HE WENT TO ANOTHER DIMENSION!" Chena cried.

"Ch-Chena…!" Eva called out, before Moku kicked her in the face.

"Show us how to get there." Moku demanded.

"D-d-don't…" Eva begged, but Moku held the axe up to her shoulder.

"Do it or she loses her limbs one by one." Moku said.

"F-FINE!" Chena caved.

"N-NO!" Eva cried.

"I-I'm sorry, Eva, I-I just…I can't let anything bad happen to you." Chena said, and looked over at Danga. "I'll turn it on…if you let me."

"Try any funny business and you'll be dead before you hit the ground." Danga threatened, and Chena nodded. With shaking hands, she walked over to the control panel Eva usually manned.

"CH-CHENA, YOU CAN'T!" Eva cried.

"I have to." Chena said. She started flipping switches and turning dials, and the air inside the Gateway began to shimmer. "I will only do this if you promise to let her go." She said, and looked Danga in the eyes. "Otherwise you can just kill me right now." Danga stared at her for a long while, before she eventually smirked.

"Fine, but only after you turn it on." She said. Chena nodded as she turned back to the machine. She knew she didn't have a guarantee that her friend would be okay, but it was all she could really ask for, so she kept going, despite Eva's constant pleas. Chena knew she shouldn't do this, that she should give herself and Eva up, to save so many lives, but…

She just couldn't lose her best friend.

With a dramatic shifting of a lever, the Gateway activated, a blue miasma of swirling matter situated within the circular frame. Moku smiled as she looked down at Eva. She grabbed the girl's arm, and Eva couldn't but cringe away…only for Moku to tear off her lab coat.

"I'm taking this." She said as she draped it on herself. It only barely covered her nipples, but nonetheless, she seemed to like it, and before any of the others could tell her not to, she barreled into the portal, immediately causing it to start destabilizing.

"I don't like her." Janpu said as he jumped in as well, though not without grabbing Chena's ass as he walked past her. He gave her a wink before moving in, and Tatak and Danga slipped in soon after, with the portal closing behind them immediately after. Chena immediately rushed to Eva's side.

"Oh god, are you okay?" She said.

"WHY DID YOU TELL THEM?! YOU MIGHT HAVE JUST DOOMED THAT OTHER DIMENSION!" Eva shouted at her, and immediately regretted it as Chena began to cry.

"I…I-I couldn't…I couldn't lose you…" Chena said, and buried her face in her hands as she sobbed. Eva sighed, and wrapped her friend in a hug.

"This…sucks." Eva said quietly, as she simply held Chena while the girl sobbed.

Suddenly, a boy emerged from the woods, and Eva grabbed a nearby screwdriver and tackled the intruder to a nearby tree, holding it up to his neck, her eyes wild with anger.

"Ch-chill! It's just me!" Mojin said. Eva blinked at the boy a few times before she blushed and leapt back.

"A-ah, sorry! I-I mean, umm…h-how dare you scare us like that!" Eva recovered, crossing her arms, before wincing and cursing at her still cut arm.

"What…happened?" He asked. Eva sighed and quickly explained what had just happened with the candidates, while Mojin simply stared at the Gateway. Once he was done, he whistled. "So this is what you kept blowing off our date nights for?"

"Date nights?" Chena asked as she got to her feet, wiping her eyes. Eva turned bright red.

"TH-THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY WERE!!" She cried, and smacked the back of Mojin's head. Mojin laughed, and finally noticed the wound on her arm. Immediately, his joking facade vanished.

"Oh my god are you okay?!" He asked, gently grabbing her arm. She winced again. "Sorry, um…do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yeah we brought one with us, just in case." Chena said as she brought it over.

"Alright sit down, I'm gonna take care of this." Mojin said to Eva, who snorted.

"Please, I can take care of this by my-"

"Sit. Down." He said, and Eva whimpered as she immediately did as she was told. He knelt down in front of her and started taking supplies from the kit. He held her arm gently in one hand while applying stuff to the wound with the other. Eva watched his movements, and how precise and gentle they were. Even when her wound stung when he put something on it, he apologized, and caressed her with his fingers, which was…surprisingly calming.

She was so calmed and focused that she didn't realize they'd been talking until she caught some of it.

"-here?" Chena asked.

"I saw the candidates leaving so I followed them. It seems we don't have to worry about them now, but we need a game plan, because they'll be coming back, right?" Mojin asked.

"We haven't come up with a way for them to come back yet, or even keep the portal stable, but if we want our friends to come back, then it's likely they'll hitch a ride as well." Chena explained.

"Then we need to prepare. But how?" Mojin asked as he bandaged up Eva's arm.

"Mojin?" Eva asked softly.

"Yeah?" He said, his eyes meeting hers. Suddenly her words froze on her tongue, and her cheeks flushed as she stared at him, then down at her arm, wrapped up and taken care of perfectly. She met his gaze again.

"Th-thank you…" she said softly, and turned away. He smiled warmly, and looked back up at Chena.

"So…what should we do?" He asked. "We have the people of Bios willing to fight, but-"

"We could rally the other CPUs." Chena suggested.

"Koji and Ema are the only ones left not involved, and something tells me neither of them want any part of this." Eva said.

"I'm sure I could find a way." Mojin said cryptically, and continued before the girls could question him. "But we need to prepare for their exact return."

"I'm just not sure-"

"We could lay traps." Eva said, meeting Mojin's eyes. After a moment, his eyes lit up with understanding, and he beamed, which made her blush again.

"What?" Chena asked, seeing the interaction.

"I know how we can deal with them~" he said. Eva and Chena leaned in as he discussed his plan.

Soon enough, they were smiling too.

"They're…trying to communicate with me again." Histoire said, lying on the couch as the CPUs surrounded her, with Aila switching out her old bandages for new ones. At her words, Arun, Aila, Red, and Yurei all paused.

"You mean…Chena and Eva?" Aila asked.

"Yes…they're trying to open up communication again…" she said.

"Well…will you let them?" Red asked as she knelt down. Histoire bit her lip.

"It…is rather painful, if I must be honest." She admitted. "But…because I refused to accept the message before, Tarou was able to attack us while we were unprepared, so…if you really need me to…"

"Thank you, Histoire." Red said. The oracle nodded, closed her eyes, and grabbed the shimmering thread that hung out in front of her. Her body spasmed as she connected to the people across the dimensions, and when the process was complete, she opened her eyes, now flat voids as the voice that came out of her was not her own.

"Hey! Can you hear me?" The voice said.

"Yes! We hear you!" Red said.

"Good, because we've got some bad news for you." Eva said, her tone worried.

"Oh come on, what could possibly be as bad as Tarou showing up-"

"The candidates are now in your dimension as well."

Everybody froze at the revelation, and Red shot towards Histoire. "WHAT?! Since when?!"

"Since just a few minutes ago." Eva informed them. "They…threatened to kill me if Chena didn't open the portal, so she did." Eva had a hint of something in her voice that Red couldn't quite identify, but before she could think on it further, Eva continued. "We're setting some traps for when they come back, but you guys need to get ready. There's other CPUs there, right?"

"Yeah, there's three others, along with their candidates." Aila said.

"Warn them. They may be attacked by the candidates now that Tarou has more numbers on his side." Eva warned. Red then quickly caught her up on the events that had transpired in the forest, and Eva sighed. "Well…I'm sure, knowing Tarou, that despite being defeated in the forest, he'll spread out his forces to attack multiple points at once. He believes in his candidates' ability to handle things on their own, and probably underestimates you guys even still. Man has an ego like a damn blimp."

"Send a warning to the others, quickly!" Red said to Neptune and Nepgear, who nodded and started pulling out their phones. Red turned back to Histoire. "Is there anything we need to know?" She asked.

"I don't think so. We're still working on opening the portal back up to either send reinforcements or lure them back over to our side." Eva said. "What about you? Do you have anything else?"

"I don't think so, no. Contact us again tomorrow, if you can, alright?" Red said.

"Understood. Until tomorrow…stay safe." Eva said, before the communication cut off. Histoire slumped over, her face pained.

"Sorry, Histoire, but thank you." Red said, and the girl sat up.

"I-I'll make…share crystals…for you…" She said.

"Histy, you need to rest! For once, let us take care of things, fighting is my specialty after all!" Neptune said proudly, and even Histoire looked surprised, then shook her head.

"I'm fine, just a little tired. I'll rest a bit, and then I'm going to make share crystals." She said, closing her eyes.

"Histy, we already told you no, you're not going to-" Neptune started, but the oracle had already fallen asleep. Neptune sighed, and got back to alerting her friends. Red and Aila looked at each other.

"It's coming isn't it?" Red asked softly.

"Yeah…are you ready?" Aila asked, and Red snorted.

"Of course not." She said, only to feel Aila squeeze her hand.

"Whatever happens, we fight together, alright?" She said. "I won't let you freeze up again."

"Promise?" Red asked, and Aila smiled.

"Promise!" She said, though as Red stared into Aila's bright eyes…

She wasn't reassured.

"What…happened to you?" Tarou said as he looked down at his once adorable, doting sister, now looking like a girl who had messed up while trying to be goth. "And why aren't you wearing a shirt?!"

"Tatak said it was gross so I got rid of it, but I got this instead! It's much better, right! Much more comfy!" Moku said as she smiled and raised her arms, nearly exposing her nipples as Tarou looked away uncomfortably. Moku latched onto his arm, looking up at him. "I missed you! I was so scared when I first went into Lenderia, but now I feel so, so…FREE! WILL YOU FUCK ME NOW?!" She begged, and Tarou pulled away from her.

"Lenderia did this to you?" He asked. Moku nodded and gave him the details of everything that had happened from when they'd first attacked Bios all the way to when they'd threatened Eva and Chena. Once she was done, Tarou thought it over. "I was wondering where the body went…"

"Did I do a good job?" Moku asked, and Tarou looked down at her, once again turning away as he saw her almost exposed chest.

"Um…sure." He said, and she squealed as she hugged him, though while usually he loved her hugs…right now as he looked at her jagged teeth, insanity-holding eyes, and much darker hair…he just felt uncomfortable. Not that he was one to talk but…seeing his adorable sister like this was…eerie.

"What's the plan?" Janpu finally said, and Tarou faced his siblings, who slinked back a bit at his glare.

"Well, considering that you all couldn't seem to take a single nation when all fighting together, I'm not so sure anymore." Tarou scolded.

"S-sorry…" Danga said, not meeting his eyes.

"Yeah, sorry…we uh…kept getting in each other's way." Janpu said.

"And we couldn't come up with a good plan of attack either." Tatak added, and Tarou sighed.

"Alright, look. This'll be your guys' chance to prove yourselves." He said. "This dimension had four nations, Planeptune, Lowee, Lastation, and Leanbox."

"Why so many Ls…?" Moku said quietly to herself. Ignoring her, he continued.

"Most of our enemies are at Planeptune-"

"Pla…Ph…" Moku spittled trying to say the name . "That's a weird name."

"-so I will take that one on myself. Danga and Janpu will take Lastation, which has one candidate, Moku will take Lowee, which has two candidates, though they're both children, and Tatak will take Leanbox, which just has a single CPU, no candidates."

"I bet she's lonely as hell. Sucks to be her." Moku said. Once again, Tarou continued to ignore her.

"That's the plan. Kill them as quickly as you can. No time for suffering or prolonging, this is war, and that means if you can go for the kill, you do it, do you understand?" Tarou asked, and his siblings nodded. He pulled out some papers from his pocket and handed one to each of them. "You won't be able to use your HDD here, so you'll have to navigate with these maps." He also pulled out some simple phones and handed those out as well. "I stole these for us to communicate. We all attack at the same time, alright?" Everyone turned to Moku.

"What? I won't attack until everyone else does." She said, and everyone kept staring at her. "I promise! I won't!" Tarou sighed.

"You better not. Alright, now…if you truly, truly believe you may die in battle, just retreat." Everyone looked at the man in shock, their conqueror who never had them retreat from anything. "These guys…may be stronger than I initially gave them credit for. And again, you don't have your HDD, so they might be able to overwhelm you if you aren't careful. I don't think these cowards are the kind who would kill, but be wary, alright?" Tarou said and, still shocked, they all nodded, except for Tatak.

"Are you…sure we should be splitting up?" He asked, and Moku immediately glared at him for questioning their brother. "I mean…without our HDD, we're-"

"Not capable of defeating a weak enemy?" Tarou finished coldly, and Tatak shut up, looking down at his feet.

"We won't fail you." Danga said, though even she sounded unsure.

"You better not." Tarou said, before he pried Moku from him and cleared his throat. "Now, move. And remember," he stared hard at Moku, "do not attack until we are all present, understood?" Moku nodded.

"Understood!"

"Lowee's been attacked." Neptune said as she burst into the room. Everyone immediately shot to their feet.

"Are they okay?" Nepgear asked.

"Yes, a building was destroyed, and some people were sadly injured, but Blanc told me she and the twins were rushing to the scene before she hung up." Neptune said. Suddenly her phone went off again, and she answered it. After a few moments, the line clicked, and Neptune looked back up. "I just got told that Leanbox was also attacked!" She informed them.

"Is Iris there?" Aila asked. They'd sent Iris to back up Vert since she didn't have a candidate to back her up. Nepgear's phone rang, and she answered it, her face paling as she turned to the others.

"Lastation, too!" Nepgear said, before they heard a loud boom. They all looked outside through the still slightly smoking hole in the wall as people began to scream and run from a now destroyed building, before another one had a bolt of lightning blast through it once again. Red felt herself immediately freeze up before Aila grabbed her hand, and as Red looked over at her, their eyes meeting, Red quickly relaxed.

"Let's go." Aila said, and after a deep breath, Red nodded, and as Neptune and Nepgear transformed, Yurei, Red, Aila, and Arun made their way downstairs, ready to confront their adversary once more. As they bounded down the stairs, Aila only hoped that Histoire would be able to finish at least one share crystal in time.

"I was told there would only be one of you." Tatak said as he stared at the two buxom women in front of him, who both stared daggers at him.

"You're not as cute as the other one." Iris said, smacking her whip against the ground threateningly. "Oh well, I'll still enjoy beating you to a pulp."

"I forgot how…uh…you are." Vert said as she looked nervously at her ally, but cleared her throat as she settled her gaze on the boy, but he was looking up at the sky. Before Vert could ask what he was doing, a bird swooped down and slammed into her face, making her stumble. Iris looked over, confused, only to have a deer erupt from the nearby woods and slam into her, knocking her to the ground as it trampled over her. The deer reared up to slam its hooves in her face but she wrapped her whip around it and flung it away, feeling only a little bad as she heard one of its legs snap.

"What the hell was that?" Vert asked, only to see the boy was still looking at the sky. Vert saw a dark shadow loom over her, as a single feather fluttered to the ground. She looked up just in time to see a massive horde of birds swooping down at her. She screeched as they descended, some slamming into her body as most of them pecked and bit at her clothes, hair, and skin. Tatak finally looked at her.

"Doesn't matter if there's two of you, or ten…I'll still kill you all, in the name of my brother, and my nation!" He shouted as he held out his hand. The ground rumbled as a herd of deer came rushing out of the forest towards Iris. She barely had time to fly up into the air before the deer reached her spot, and tried to clamor up to her. She smirked down at the boy.

"Fun trick." She said, before a bright light erupted from the middle of the horde of birds, and they were blown back by Vert's transformation into Green Heart, now even less clothed than before. "But that's all it is…a trick." Though, despite saying that, the birds rushed towards Green Heart again, and swarmed her even as she used her spear to stab several of them and swipe away dozens more. Iris flew towards Tatak, but he pulled two daggers from his waist and brought them up to meet Iris as she thrust her sword down on him. As their blades collided, Iris heard a squeaking sound, before she cried out as she felt something bite her. She looked down to see that a bunch of rats had climbed onto the deer, and jumped up onto her legs, climbing over her and biting her skin as they moved up. Iris immediately broke away from Tatak as she tried to swat the vermin, but they just kept coming faster and faster.

"Ughh! This is-!" She gasped, before one bit her directly on the ass, making her shriek. Tatak sneered at them.

"You can't even handle something like this? No wonder he didn't think very highly of you." The boy said as wolves emerged from the forest as well, running up and immediately snapping at Iris, who was starting to fly lower in response to her horror and pain from all the rats. She flew low enough that one of them snapped at her leg as the others rushed for Green Heart. Just before they got to her though, she swung out her spear, and sliced all the wolves approaching her, making them stumble back before she launched herself into the air, attacking the birds swarming her, which thankfully were beginning to thin out from her relentless attacks.

"DISGUSTING VERMIN! JUST LIKE YOU!" Iris shouted as, still covered in rats, she flew at Tatak. He held his blades out, but she wrapped her whip around one of them and yanked it out of his grasp, leaving him defending himself with only one as she lunged again, connecting with him briefly before she sliced across his chest, and he stumbled back. The wolves ran for Iris, but she whipped them so hard they flew back into each other. Tatak got to his feet, only to narrowly avoid being struck by her sword. He lunged back, and she followed, with Green Heart lunging as well now that she's taken care of most of the birds.

Tatak held up his blade as the two CPUs charged at him, swinging their blades at him.

"BLANC HELP ME SHE'S SO CREEPY!" Ram yelled as she ran from Moku, who attempted to slice her in half with her axe. She giggled as she watched her hide behind her twin sister, both of their legs trembling as they stared at the abomination she now was.

I mean, can you blame her for being unable to hold herself back and wait to attack when these two were so cute that she wanted to carve them into pieces? Moku licked her lips as she stared at them, only to have White Heart come in between them.

"God you're disgusting." She said, and Moku groaned.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?!" Moku asked as she rushed towards the girls, her axe swinging, only to have White Heart clash against her with her own axe, colliding so hard that the ground beneath them cracked from the pressure.

"Stay away from them, you monster!" She demanded.

"Well, am I a creep or am I a monster?" Moku asked.

"Both!" White Heart answered, slamming her fist into the girl's gut, sending her off balance before launching a kick at her face, sending her back into a building, the wall cracking as she slammed into it. She expected the girl to wince or cry out, but all she did was laugh as she climbed back onto her feet and stared at the girls, her eyes wild.

"Big Sis, what do we do?" Rom asked.

"Try to freeze her." Blanc suggested. "It'll make it easier to smash her face in."

"Got it!" Rom said. She and her sister held out their staffs and began shooting bolts of magic at the girl, who swiftly dodged them as she ran towards them. Moku tried to swing her axe at them, only to be blocked by White Heart once again, their blades ringing as they collided. Moku growled at the CPU getting in the way of destroying the innocent children, and so she attacked her. She slammed her axe repeatedly against White Heart's, causing the girl to slowly back up inch by inch. Somehow, Moku still was able to dodge every single attack from the siblings, until White Heart changed up her attacks, and ducked low, punching the girl in the knee. She bent down when that happened, allowing her to slam her knee in Moku's face, and then slice her axe across the girl's belly, opening it up and making her bleed. Moku stumbled back, and glared at her.

"Why won't you let me have your cute little sisters?!" She asked.

"Go home, before I end up killing you, whether by accident or on purpose." White Heart threatened as she pointed her axe at her enemy, who just laughed. She took a few steps back, and even turned around. White Heart, for a brief moment, wondered if she was going to actually leave, before in an instant, she turned around, and tossed her axe hard and fast at the CPU. White Heart blocked it with her axe, leaving Moku open to rush in, and slam her fist into the CPU's face. She was sent back from the strike, and as Moku caught her axe, she swung it at White Heart. The CPU barely dodged it as it nearly embedded itself into her chest, instead cutting into her shoulder, and pinning her to a building. The CPU screamed, and Rom and Ram ran over to her. Moku watched them with a sick laugh as she walked towards them. Ram tried to pull out the axe but not only was it stuck, but White Heart cried out in pain as she did. The two turned to Moku, their eyes filled with anger even as their bodies trembled.

"You'll pay for that!" Ram shouted as she and her sister began shooting ice beams at Moku, who easily whipped around them. They just weren't fast or accurate enough, and as she grew closer, she closed her eyes, her smile widening. Suddenly, after a moment, her eyes opened, and the girl's face became massive, her mouth opening up and closing around the two screaming girls, swallowing them as they were plunged into darkness.

When Ram opened her eyes…she wasn't where she was before. She was in a dark, stereotypically spooky forest. While this may have seemed cringy to anyone else, to the candidate with a child's mind, she was suddenly incredibly scared.

"R-Rom? Big Sis?" She called out into the darkness, only to be met with a loud growl that made her jump. Her body trembled as she walked through the dense forest, every creak and moan making her jump. "R-Rommmm!! Big Sisssss!" She called out, but there was no one. What was happening?

Suddenly, she saw them. Both of them. She smiled as she ran up to them, her body briefly filling with relief before it was ripped away and replaced with pure horror.

Her sisters were strung up on a tree, naked and bloody, bruised, and beaten. Their eyes were gouged out and their necks slit. Their lifeless eyeholes stared into her, and Ram felt like throwing up. She fell to the ground, clutching her head. "Th-this isn't real, r-right? P-please…Rom…Big Sis…I-I…please…" she begged. She didn't notice as something dark and slimy wrapped around her ankle, until it pulled her back into the forest.

The girl screamed as the tree branches slapped and stabbed her as she was dragged through them, until she was lifted up, and pulled up to a tree. Three other tentacles emerged from the darkness and grabbed her other limbs, splaying her out spread eagle against the tree. Ram didn't even fight back, fully believing her sisters were dead as she bawled. Moku appeared in front of her, smiling wickedly as she lifted her axe. In an instant, she lunged at the girl.

She swung at Ram, cackling as screams filled the air.

"YOU ALMOST HIT ME!"

"NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE A SPAZ!"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE BEST MARKSMEN IN THE WORLD!"

"I AM, AND IT'S MARKSWOMAN!"

"OH PLEASE, YOU BARELY ACT LIKE A GIRL IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Noire and Uni watched as Janpu and Danga argued with each other, both girls sighing.

"I hope the others aren't as annoying as they are." Black Heart said as she readied her weapons to strike, while Uni pointed her gun at Danga, wanting to take out the sniper while she could. She let loose a shot, but Danga reacted fast, and fired a bullet back that intercepted her own. The action was so fast that Uni barely had time to react before Danga fired another shot, grazing her ear. His attention pulled back to them, Janpu lunged again, swinging his staff at Black Heart, who blocked him with her sword, though the impact sent a ringing through her fingers.

Black Heart and Janpu traded blows and Uni and Danga had a gun fight. Neither one could hit the other, though both came close each time, always grazing an ear or the side. For once, Uni was happy with her small frame, and for once…even was happy she had small breasts, as one whizzed right in front of her when she turned to the side, which, if she'd had a larger bust, would've resulted in her getting hit. Not that she would ever admit that out loud, however.

"Heavy hitter, aren't you?" Black Heart said as they struck each other over and over. Janpu smiled.

"You like a man who's a heavy hitter~?" He asked, and the CPU rolled her eyes as she struck his knee, only to have him bash his staff into her back, knocking her to the ground with a loud groan as the air was knocked from her lungs. He raised his staff to beat in her skull, only to get a bullet to the shoulder as Uni fired at him. This gave Danga the chance to fire at Uni, hitting her in the leg. Uni dropped her knees as Janpu looked over at her. The man ran over and slammed his staff into her side, knocking her over as she cried out.

"That hurt you underdeveloped bitch!" He shouted as he kicked Uni in the chest. "You're someone that would never get groped because you have nothing to grope!" He shouted as he kicked her again. "Washing board freak!" He shrieked as he kicked her in the face. Uni could feel tears coming to her eyes, and as Janpu lifted up his staff, Black Heart tackled him, her eyes wild with rage as she straddled him while beginning to beat his face in.

"Don't you dare talk to my sister that way!" She shouted, striking him with every word. After a bit, he flipped her over, until he was straddling her, and as the CPU waited for him to beat her, he did something arguably worse: he grabbed her chest. She gasped as she felt his hands squeeze her breasts hard.

"Damn, these are firm~!" He cried, laughing, before a shot rang out next to him, startling him, but it hadn't come from Uni.

"FOCUS YOU DUMBASS!" Danga shouted, before aiming at Black Heart, who instead punched Janpu in the face so hard he lifted off the ground before crashing back down. She went for him, grabbing her blade and swinging, only to be struck in the arm by a bullet, causing her to drop her weapon. Janpu knocked her to the ground and looked over her, holding his staff, which he brought down onto her leg. Black Heart cried out as pain ripped through it. He raised it up again, but before he could bring it down again, a bullet blasted into his ear. He stumbled back as he howled, clutching the side of his head, wheeling towards Uni, who was pointing her gun at him.

"UNI, NO!" Black Heart cried as Janpu walked over, lifted up his staff, and slammed it onto the girl's head, knocking her out cold in an instant. Black Heart cried out, and lunged her sword at Janpu in a last ditch effort to do something. It connected, and stabbed through the boy's stomach as she heard Danga fire. The CPU turned to find a bullet coming directly towards her face.

"Where's the bitch?" Tarou asked as his five enemies surrounded him, or rather four, as Red cowered a bit further back from the others, though Tarou noticed not as much as before.

"You mean Iris?" Purple Heart asked. "She's waiting for us to weaken you so she can finish you off and take you as her new toy." Tarou cackled.

"Yeah, sure. I'm not that dumb, you know." He said, though he looked somehow disappointed. "Regardless, that just makes my job easier." He pointed his weapon at them, poised and ready. "Come at me."

Arun lunged first as Yurei's thread blasted towards him. He dodged away from both of them as he blasted lightning into Arun's chest, though the CPU erupted a spike from his chest as he did, cutting across Tarou's palm before being shot back by the force of the attack. Tarou barely seemed to notice the wound though as the thread whipped towards him.

"Aren't you the one people suspected would be capable of beating me by yourself?" Tarou said to Yurei, who stared at him blankly. He laughed as he effortlessly dodged the thread. "You're only good as support, or as a stealth attacker, not this." He said as he caught the thread in his hand. Arun suddenly rushed out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground, and he dropped the thread. Nepgear and Purple Heart rushed forward as well, and Aila stayed back with Red, holding her staff, ready to attack if she needed to.

"You okay?" She asked her sister.

"N-Not really, but I'll be fine…" Red answered.

"Don't pee yourself." Aila joked, and Red gaped at her, making the girl giggle. As Aila watched the battle unfolding, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt a wave of invisible energy erupt from her chest, and as it struck each of her teammates, they felt extra invigorated, and clutched their weapons tighter as they smirked at Tarou.

Arun clawed at Tarou's chest, managing to rip apart his clothes as the thread attempted to skewer him, but he managed to put Arun in front of him, taking the blow from the thread as it ripped through his stomach. Yurei gasped, and began to rush forward, but Arun held up a hand to keep her back. Despite his new wound, he pinned Tarou down as the two transformed CPUs raised their blades to strike, lowering them towards his chest.

Before they were all blasted back by a wave of electricity.

Purple Heart and Nepgear fell against trees while Arun was flung into Yurei, though he quickly got back up, apologized to her, and ran for Tarou again. Tarou simply looked disappointed as Arun swung his claws wildly like a tornado, though Tarou effortlessly blocked him, both with his free hand and his naginata.

"I'm surprised you don't try your nightmare shit on me." Tarou teased him. "Oh wait, that's right…you can't~" He grabbed Arun by the neck and once again sent electricity through his fingertips, but Arun reached out and sliced across his chest, finally touching skin and making the man cry out in pain as he threw him aside like he was a doll into a tree. Purple Heart and Nepgear attacked again, though he parried both of them with his naginata. The three of them traded blows for a while as Tarou simultaneously dodged the thread that constantly hoped to strike his heart or neck but just couldn't. Eventually, he was able to whirl his blade and cut it in half, to which Yurei collapsed clutching her chest in pain. Red rushed to her side, but Yurei shook her head, grabbing onto Red to lift herself up.

"I just…need to fix it…give me a bit." She said as she thread, in two pieces, flew back over to her.

After one swift dodge from the two girls, Tarou grabbed Nepgear's head and blasted her with electricity the same way he did to Arun. The girl screamed in pain, and Purple Heart cut his side open before he blasted her directly in the face, causing her to scream as well. She continued fighting though, despite her face now burning. She attacked him with a cross combo, managing to hit him once before he rammed his naginata into her gut, where she cried out in pain before he removed his blade and kicked her away. Red immediately rushed to help as Tarou turned his attention back to Nepgear. He stopped electrocuting her, and she twitched and panted as her skin steamed. Her arms hung limp at her sides as she stared at him with tired eyes. He smiled at her.

"Don't worry…I'll end your suffering now~" He said as he raised his naginata to her neck. Just as he was about to plunge it into her, a ball of fire hit his face. He got a sense of deja vu as he dropped the girl and collapsed onto the ground, before whipping around to find Aila looking at him, her staff smoking. He growled.

"I'M GONNA TEAR YOU TO PIECES!" He shouted as he started walking towards Aila. Arun went in for a sneak attack, but Tarou not only blasted him with more electricity to the chest, but he also rammed his blade into the man's chest, sending him flying back once more. While the man's wound thankfully wasn't as severe as his previous one, it still made him unable to move, and Yurei rushed over to him, her mending thread following. Red, having healed Purple Heart, looked up to see him approaching Aila, who stared at him in terror as she pointed her staff at him. All the blood drained from Red's face as Tarou lunged at her sister.

Aila immediately blinded him with a blast of light from her staff, and moved aside as he crashed into the dirt behind her. She extinguished the glow and before he could get up, she blasted a dozen more fireballs at him, which quickly incinerated holes in his clothes even if they didn't hurt him that much. Aila cursed her lack of power and training as he stood up and faced her, his teeth gleaming through the soot on his face. He swung his blade-

"I HAVE ONE!"

But stopped as a voice cried out. Everyone turned to see Histoire rushing towards them on her scorched book, carrying a share crystal, so focused on it that she didn't seem to notice the destruction happening around her. "I only managed to get one done, but I-"

SHINK.

Histoire gasped as Tarou's blade stabbed through her chest, and with her smaller size, more of her body was stabbed through as he chuckled. Her eyes went wide as blood poured out of the relatively massive wound, which only opened up her other wounds.

"Small fry." Tarou shouted as he threw her aside, her book crashing back to the ground as she landed in a bloody heap on the ground. Red rushed towards her, and turned to see Aila clutching the share crystal Histoire had dropped in her hand, staff pointed at Tarou, who eyed the crystal. "A share crystal, huh? I don't need it, but I'm sure one of my siblings would appreciate it~" he lunged at her, swinging his weapon. Aila, making a split second decision, tossed the crystal over Tarou's head, where it landed at Red's feet. Red looked back up towards her sister and Tarou.

The entire world froze as his blade sliced open Aila's neck.

Aila gasped as blood poured out, and she placed a hand over it reflexively as she collapsed onto the ground, with Tarou laughing. Aila wheezed, but that only caused more blood to pour out as Aila looked over at her sister. Their eyes met, but Red was frozen in place. Tarou's laughter died down.

"You're a coward." He said to Red, though he looked away from her. "You couldn't fight me yourself, and now your sister will die, all because you're too much of a coward to face me, just as you were a coward all those years ago." He smiled widely. "And now, you're next." He turned to face her, but as he did, the world became enveloped in a bright white that blinded Tarou for a moment. Realizing immediately what just happened, he waited for the light to fade, before he looked to see…her. Not Red.

Red Heart.

Her deep red eyes met his blue, a power symbol visible within her pupils as her body was wrapped in a tight red and black bodysuit, metallic red wings jutting from her back as she raised her plasma powered scythe blades towards him.

"You're gonna pay for that." She said, before lunging at her adversary with wild vengeance.

Tatak grunted as he was launched back into a building, before his head was nearly cut off by Iris's blade. His body was covered in cuts and bruises from the women's relentless attacks. If it had been just Green Heart, he might've been fine, but with both of them…

He was losing.

He needed to retreat.

The boy got up, dodging two more attacks, though one grazed his side, and another splatter of his blood hit the ground. He called a herd of deer to cover his tracks and put something between them as he rushed back into the forest, fumbling for his map to find his way back. He heard shouting behind him, but he just kept going, until the sounds got quieter and quieter, until he couldn't hear them any more.

Blood dripped from the boy's wounds as he pulled out his phone and spoke into it. "Th-this is Tatak…I'm wounded and I need to retreat. The dom woman was here with her and I was overwhelmed, I repeat, I am retreating!" He shouted as he ran into the wilderness, trailing blood all the while.

White Heart and Rom watched in horror as their sister's body was sliced in half through the stomach, both pieces falling to the ground, her blood oozing onto the ground as her scream died in her throat. Rom immediately threw up as Moku cackled with glee.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GOD THAT FELT SO GOOD!" Moku cried, before hearing a voice on her phone. She grabbed it from her pocket and held it up.

"…I was overwhelmed, I repeat, I am retreating!" The voice said, and Moku recognized it as Tatak's. He was…retreating? Moku knew that Tarou said they COULD retreat, but she'd seen it as more of a suggestion rather than an order-

Before she could finish her rambling thought, she was nearly cut in half as White Heart attacked, with Moku only barely catching her. The CPU's expression had changed. Her face had darkened, and all Moku could see was a single eye, glowing bright red.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" White Heart shouted as she began to mercilessly attack the girl, moving faster and hitting harder than before, each strike forcing Moku back a step or two.

"J-jeez! Y-you're…suddenly a lot stronger…" Moku said, then cried out as White Heart managed a hit on her side, then her arm, then her leg. Moku continued to be pushed back as White Heart relentlessly attacked over and over, until she bashed her axe into the girl's side, and Moku gasped in pain. But she wasn't going down without a fight. She tried to attack back, but couldn't stand up to the furious CPU.

Then suddenly, a flock of birds attacked White Heart. At the same time, Moku felt a deer crash into her as she was flipped onto its back, before it ran off into the woods, with Moku yelling profanities at it as they fled. After White Heart managed to get the birds out of her face, she searched for the enemy, only to find nothing.

"UGHHH! Rom, did you see-" She turned to her sister, only to find her crotch over Ram's upper half. All of White Heart's rage faded as she stared into her sister's now empty eyes, and she walked over to her, falling to her knees as despair instead took hold of her heart, and the two began to sob.

"WHAT THE HELL IS EVEN HAPPENING?!" Moku cursed as she didn't want to fall off the strangely fast deer at risk of being shredded up by the ground when she was already wounded. Eventually, after taking her for several minutes, it slowed down, and then stopped, allowing her to climb off. "What the fuck was-"

"Are you okay?"

Moku whirled to face Tatak, who was bleeding just as much as she was, pooling at a small puddle at his feet. Moku snarled. "So it was you who tore me away from my battle?"

"The one where you were losing and possibly about to die? Yes." Tatak said, and then groaned. "God, I'm utterly filthy. I need to take six baths when I get home."

"You shouldn't get to go home with what you've just done." Moku said. "Not only did you run away from your own battle like a coward, but you tore me away from mine! Did you even get any kills, because I did!"

"No…I didn't." Tatak answered, gritting his teeth.

"There you go, I always knew you were useless and pathetic, with your lame ass powers-"

"Oh, will you shut up?!" Tatak shouted. "I don't know what exactly Lenderia did to you, but it's made you unbearable! Not that you were much better before, but now I can't stand you!"

"Shut up." Moku said.

"None of us can stand you! Not only are you utterly disgusting, but you're also rude, completely insane, reckless, and to top it off, somehow even more stupid than before!"

"I said shut up." She warned, the grip on her axe tightening.

"Even Tarou has hatred in his eyes now! You refuse to listen to his instructions, almost get yourself killed, and all for a brother who will never ever notice you or return your delusional feelings!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Moku shouted, and without thinking, she swung her axe. It cleaved through Tatak's neck, and his head tumbled to the ground, soon followed by the rest of his body, crumpling into a heap onto the ground as the now spooked deer fled. Moku panted as she stared down at her brother's now dead body. She contemplated her actions for a few moments, before-

"Good riddance." She spat, before she started walking, taking out her map to find her way back to their hideout.

Using the boy's body was a good idea.

With him still attached to her blade, she held him in front of herself to catch the bullet, to which it landed in his chest, and he cried out. Danga immediately shot up, her eyes full of alarm, then anger. She tried to aim at Black Heart again, but she just kept moving Janpu around, who was thrashing in pain from both the bullet and his stab wound, which she was still twisting around. The girl seemed to have a mental battle debating what she should do. Eventually, knowing they'd lost and not wanting to risk his life, she leapt from the tree and landed on the ground, running over and snatching him off her blade, to which he turned deathly pale. She slung him over her shoulder as she grabbed her phone and started moving away, never looking away from Black Heart as she told Tarou she and Janpu were retreating.

Once the girl was out of sight, Black Heart limped to her sister and immediately checked her pulse. To her relief, she was breathing, but after a hit like that, she likely had a concussion. She got out her own phone. "Anyone who's there, I need help! Uni is injured, please I need immediate help!"

She held onto her sister's unconscious body and waited for that help to arrive.

Tarou watched in shock as golden light poured from the girl's right hand towards her sister as the other held her connected blades, clanging against his own. He wasn't sure what she was doing, but he felt like he needed to stop it, so he attempted to move his blade to cut off her hand, but she just blocked it with her own blade, her eyes staring deep into his own.

He couldn't help but think that they were beautiful.

Tarou looked over to see Aila's wound miraculously closing, and she settled into a gentle sleep, her chest rising and falling showing that she was somehow still alive, despite her neck bleeding out only moments earlier.

"You can heal people." Tarou said, and watched her flick her hand towards Histoire, and he watched as her wound closed as well. Yet her eyes never left his.

She was holding him back while healing the others at the same time.

Tarou launched into a series of quick attacks, but she effortlessly parried each of them, her gaze distant, as if she wasn't even really in the moment like she had been when he thought he'd killed her sister, when he'd finally gotten revenge on her for what she did.

But now here she was, mocking him with what she was doing.

His blood boiled as she finished healing Histoire, and turned her attention completely back on him, though her eyes were still empty, and if she lacked any sort of emotion…which was definitely not the girl he knew.

They traded blows, and he tried to blast her with lightning, but she just dodged it, and the one time he did land it, she barely even flinched as he scorched her skin. She just kept having that dead eyed look as their blades clanged together over and over.

"You'll never beat me." He finally said, and she shifted. "You aren't him. You aren't Boken." At the mention of his name, she finally snapped out of it, and the clarity returned to her eyes as her face softened. Tarou smiled at her, knowing he'd won. He slammed his fist into her gut, and blasted lightning through it, before he whirled his naginata around and sliced open her belly, slamming the butt of his weapon into her face and knocking her back. He whirled it around again, and she barely missed it cutting off her head as it sliced her cheek. Her wounds immediately began closing though, and he growled in anger as he swept her feet out and pointed his blade at her.

"I'm going to end you. I'm going to end you and everyone you ever cared about, just like you did to me." Tarou said as he struck her hard with the butt of his weapon across the face, then again, and again. Seeing the cut in her stomach closing, he stabbed her through it completely, seeing her gasp in shock. "You tried, but you will fail. Just like every other time. And no HDD is gonna save you." He shouted, but to his annoyance, the wound continued to close. He pulled his blade out and pointed it at her neck. "Goodbye." He said, lifting it up and bringing it down to her skin.

"I'm sorry."

He paused, right as it was about to penetrate her. He blinked at her, and opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke first.

"You don't know what was going on, Tarou. You just don't. I'm sorry he died, but I promise I had my reasons." She pleaded. He stared at her, seeming to consider it for a moment before he shook his head, snarling as tears formed in his eyes.

"LIAR! YOU'RE JUST A COWARD AND A LIAR!" He shouted as he brought his blade down again, only this time, a voice from his phone stopped him.

"Tatak is dead."

He paused as he grabbed his phone and held it up, keeping his blade pointed at her. His hands trembled. "R-repeat that?" He asked, and Danga's voice spoke back to him.

"Tatak is dead. We've all retreated. We managed to get one casualty." Danga answered, to which Red Heart stiffened. "Janpu and Moku are also heavily wounded. We think you should return, before it gets worse." Tarou's body trembled.

Tatak.

Dead?

Tarou's face showed something it hadn't shown in a long time: pure despair. He looked to see everyone was getting up around him and looked poised to attack again. He looked down at Red Heart, and saw her staring hard at him, her wounds healed. He looked around himself, before growling, and lifting the phone back up.

"I-I'm on my way." He said, though his voice was thin, weak. It was the voice he thought he'd gotten rid of all those years ago.

Tatak.

His brother.

Gone.

Without a word, he ran. He ran away from the CPUs at blinding speed, before they could even react.

He didn't want them to see his tears.

As he left the others behind, Red Heart got to her feet and rushed to Arun's side.

"Took you long enough." He said, and Red Heart healed him almost instantly, much to his shock. "Damn…I forgot how good your HDD form is—OWW!" He cried out as Yurei smacked him. Once he was healed, she returned to Aila, who smiled at her.

"How do you feel?" Red Heart asked.

"Weird, but…good." She said, and met her sister's eyes. "You've gotten better."

"Hard not to when you guys keep getting injured." Red Heart said with a dry laugh, before she looked down at the ground. "Aila…"

"Yeah?"

"Somebody died." She said. She said it right as Purple Heart and Nepgear came up, and Nepgear stiffened.

"I-I'll call the others." Nepgear said quickly.

"That dom sexy bitch got to him." Moku said when the others asked what happened. "I saw it, they cut off his head before lugging his body away."

"So they are capable of murder." Danga said as she helped bandage up both Janpu and Moku.

"Well I'd think so, they almost killed us, too." Janpu said, then sighed. "I…I know I ragged on him a lot but…"

"We know." Danga said, though from Moku's expression, she clearly didn't share the sentiment. "Though…" The three of them looked over at Tarou, who was facing away from them, head in his hands. He hadn't said a word since getting back.

"I'll go cheer him up!" Moku said as she got up, only for Danga to pull her back down.

"You idiot, he doesn't want your disturbing puppy love right now." Danga said. "Let him grieve on his own. He cared more about us than we did about each other."

"Got that right." Moku said, and their makeshift hideout descended into silence. Even once they were bandaged up and had medicine applied, no one spoke. Finally, sick of the silence, Janpu spoke up.

"Tarou, I think we should-"

Before he could finish though, a familiar blue swirled opened up above the grown several feet away, and all three siblings lunged to their feet.

"The portal?"

"But I thought-"

"Maybe it's a trap?"

"I don't think they had enough control over it to be a trap."

"Man, it's pretty."

"Helpful. Really, astonishingly helpful."

As the siblings bickered, Tarou stood up and walked towards the portal. As he walked up to it, they went silent. "Uh…Tarou?" Danga asked.

"Come on. We're leaving." Tarou said.

"B-but-"

"We. Are. Leaving." Tarou said, glaring at Danga. She gulped and nodded, watching as he stepped into the portal, and as it began to wobble, they all jumped on after him, leaving this dimension for good.

The punch echoed in the area, and it was so hard that Red stumbled.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Blanc shouted at her, tears stinging her eyes. Red held her cheek as all the CPUs gathered around Ram's body, covered by a tarp, all turned to them.

"Blanc, don't-" Neptune started, but Blanc whirled to her.

"YOU ARE AN IDIOT! YOU LET HER STAY WITH US, AND THEY CAME LOOKING FOR HER AND NOW MY SISTER IS DEAD BECAUSE OF HER!" Blanc cried, shoving her face in her hands. Rom ran up and hugged her, crying almost as hard.

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

"SHUT UP! SAYING SORRY WON'T BRING HER BACK!" Blanc shouted. "GET OUT OF HERE! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE HERE!" Red tried to speak, but Blanc reared up for another punch before Red raised up her hands.

"Fine. But…I am sorry." She said, and she turned to leave. Neptune and Nepgear looked like they wanted to say something, and turned to Noire, Plutia, and Vert for support.

"I…don't know if there's much I could say in this situation." Vert said.

"I'm sorry, Neppy. I'm not good in situations like this." Plutia said.

"I…I don't blame her per se…but Uni's hurt, too. So…" Noire said. Neptune wanted to shout, but Nepgear grabbed her arm, and the girl relaxed, for once keeping her mouth shut. Aila rushed off to follow Red, leaving Ram's body behind.

"Red-" she started.

"Don't." Red stopped her.

"Look, we won, didn't we? Apparently one of the candidates even died-"

"So did one of theirs. Does that make it 'even'?" Red asked, and Aila froze. "We only 'won' because of extenuating circumstances. The only reason I didn't die was because of HDD. And because of that…" her lips quivered. "Y-you almost…"

"But…I'm fine! Red, I'm fine!" Aila went to grab Red's hand, but she pulled it away.

"It was luck. And luck will not win a war, Aila." Red said, turning to her, her eyes wet with tears. "We almost died today, you almost died, Histoire almost died, Uni almost died…" she choked.

"But…we didn't-"

"That's not the point, Aila." Red said, and wiped her eyes as she sniffled, before she quickly rushed back, back towards their new home, the home they had ruined with their presence.

"Red." Aila said, and her sister stopped. "How…how can we win then?" Aila asked her sister, looking for some form of comfort or reassurance. But when her sister turned, all she got back was a look of pure defeat.

"We can't." She said, before she slowly walked back to the Basilicom, her head hung low as her footsteps echoed loudly in the silent air.