"They hate us."
"Pssh. No they don't."
"What if they know?"
"They don't know, now shut up, you're annoying."
"You're the one who hijacked my body."
"Our body. I didn't hijack it, I'm just a part of you that you keep deep down!"
"I refuse to accept that I could ever act like you."
"Well you are, so deal with it."
"No."
"If you accepted it, maybe you'd be able to control it. Have you ever thought about that?"
"…"
"I thought so."
"Who…are you?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm you."
"I…"
"-don't think so. Yeah, I get it. Now be quiet, our brother is talking."
"…I want you to go away."
"I'm not going away, now shut up."
"Let me back in."
"No."
"It's my body, let me back in!"
"I told you, it's OUR body, and because you can't seem to accept that, you will never have it back."
"GIVE ME MY BODY BACK!"
"…"
"…"
"I wanted to give you a chance…but it seems my faith was mistaken."
"…"
"Maybe once you can accept me, maybe I'll let you have control again. But for now…I'm in control…and I'm going to wreak havoc on this awful world, in our honor."
"…"
"I think I prefer this silence."
"GRAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A tree was blasted into ash by an intense lightning strike that erupted from Tarou's fingertips as he let out a loud shout of pure rage. He stared at the large pile of ash the tree had turned into as his three siblings stood behind him.
"Should we…do something?" Janpu asked.
"I think when he's like this, it's probably best to let him cool off on his own." Danga said, though even before she'd finished, Moku was walking towards her brother, leaving Danga sighing.
"Big Bro, are you okay?" She asked, and reached out to grab his arm, but he slapped her hand away, leaving it stinging for a moment.
"Don't talk to me." Tarou said to her without turning around. Moku decided to obey that specific command, and instead hugged him from behind, but that only made him angrier, and he pushed her off, finally turning to her as she grunted.
"I-"
"Don't! I just lost one of my siblings! Something I swore would never happen again! And on top of that, I almost feel like I've lost two with how you've become this…this…abomination!" Moku cringed at his words. "Rude, disgusting, and a hideous reminder of the man who destroyed everything I cared about! That's what you are now, and maybe it would be better if you had stayed behind!" Tarou unloaded all his frustrations onto his sister, nearly spitting in her face, though his words felt like he had hit her in the gut. Even her other siblings behind her were feeling second hand shame.
"I…I'm sorry…" she said, the quiet words sounding weird coming from this version of her. Tarou didn't answer as he simply turned back around and kept walking. Janpu and Danga followed after him, passing Moku as she stared at the ground, tears welling in her eyes.
She quickly wiped them away and started walking, hoping that he'd only said those things because he was feeling upset, that he'd apologize to her later. Because this form, even if he didn't like it, felt good, she felt free, she felt amazing…
…right?
"Let's go." Tarou said as they continued onward, though after only a few steps, the man stopped, his foot raised in the air. He narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the bear trap he'd nearly stepped in, and scoffed. He summoned his naginata and stabbed the end into the trap, setting it off, allowing him to toss it aside.
"What was that?" Danga asked.
"A trap. Probably set by Eva and Chena." He scoffed again. "They'll have to try better than that, though." He continued walking, but as he took a few more steps, little did he know, but his leg passed through an invisible line. Once the line was broken and the sensor triggered, Tarou had only a moment to register a loud hum before he bent his body back as a dozen red hot lasers erupted in front of him, nearly blasting through his body. They hummed with power as he took a step back.
"What the-?!" Janpu asked as he had taken a step back in surprise.
"That's…a little more interesting." Tarou said with a small smirk. "Keep your eyes peeled." He said, now on high alert. He'd let his guard down and nearly got caught, but now he was ready.
The four of them came across several other similar traps. Some were simple, like those you'd see in an adventure movie; tripwires setting off a flurry of arrows, or a large rock rolling after them. Some were technological, more of the laser traps, and at one point there was a metal box that dropped from the sky and landed on Moku, trapping her inside as it prepared to have the walls close in and crush her, before Tarou blasted it apart, freeing her. Though as she'd looked to him, a look of relief on her face, she was only met with a look of disgust.
Tarou deftly dodged pretty much every trap, being able to spot them far ahead of time before setting them off away from himself or warning the others to avoid him. His siblings were…mostly fine. Janpu was the one most often caught in ones, to which Tarou or the others had to free him, though the worst injury he got was a laser against his back. Moku got the second most traps set on her, to which Tarou freed her too, though very apprehensively, and Danga avoided most of them, except for one time where her glasses were knocked off, and she was so blinded that she nearly walked into a laser and a bear trap at the same time.
There wasn't much variation in the traps, likely having been put up in a hurry, but as they reached the end of the forest, Tarou was met with a surprise. As they set off yet another invisible line, a loud humming rang out, along with mechanical clangs. Before Tarou knew what was happening, a giant mech had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, standing towering over them as it prepared to shoot them. Without needing to speak, Tarou jumped out of the way, summoning his naginata. Danga pulled a pistol out her holster and fired three shots at each eye, breaking them apart as Janpu attacked its legs. Moku summoned her axe and ripped apart its arms at blinding speed, allowing it to only get a few shots off before it was literally disarmed. As Janpu crippled its legs with his bare hands, Tarou leapt into the air, the air crackling as his weapon was covered in electricity before he slammed it into the mech's head, sending the pure electricity into its core, shutting it down almost instantly. It collapsed to the ground as Tarou leapt off of it, landing at the same time, a booming sound that echoed through the trees. Tarou looked back at the mech and sneered.
"Pathetic." He said, and continued moving.
Then it exploded.
Tarou and his siblings were launched away as the mech exploded, turning the nearby trees to ash as everyone was flung in every direction. Screams were heard as they hit trees and the ground, with Danga screaming loudly in particular. Tarou was the one least injured as he hit a tree and then simply fell to the ground. Pieces also got thrown in every direction, cutting trees in half or becoming embedded into the ground, thankfully missing everyone, though a piece landed only inches away from Janpu's head. The CPU looked up, and his eyes went wide as he heard another scream.
Danga's shoulder had been impaled on a tree.
With everything settling and a fire erupting along the grass and trees, Moku and Janpu got up as Tarou rushed to his sister's side. He hacked the tree branch off and gently pulled her down as she cried out again. His reflex was to tear the branch out but he knew that would only make it worse, so he simply carried her as she twitched in his arms. He started to run as fast as he could while his siblings followed close behind, though Moku limped a little, her leg injured when she hit the ground hard.
"I'm not letting you die too!" Tarou said, quietly enough that only Danga could hear. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly as pain erupted from the wound with every movement she made. She bit down on her lip to try to keep from screaming more, but it was no use. She felt the warm blood drip down her sides and chest. She could feel herself growing a bit faint, but she tried to focus on holding her brother's hand.
There were a few more traps along the way, but they managed to avoid all of the rest as they made it out of the forest and found themselves in Tetri's capital city. Now that they were out of the thick trees, Tarou quickly transformed, and blasted off into the sky, leaving the other two to scramble behind, feeling shocked. They rarely ever saw him use his HDD, so it left them stunned for a moment before they too transformed and followed.
Meanwhile, from a tower nearby, Mojin, Eva, and Chena were celebrating.
"We got one of them! And it looked like we got her pretty badly, too!" Eva exclaimed.
"I want to say that hopefully it'll be enough to kill, but I don't think we'd get that lucky." Mojin added, then turned to Eva. "Told you the explosion would get them."
"Yeah, yeah, gloat all you want, but it was still my mech." Eva said.
"With modifications! From me!" Mojin said, bringing his face to meet hers.
"Stop flirting, you two." Chena said, smirking at them. Mojin turned a little pink but Eva turned beet red.
"I-I wasn't…that's just…!"
"Awww, you're adorable when you're flustered!" Mojin said with a laugh, to which Eva growled and began smacking his chest.
"SH-SHUT UP, YOU BIG OAF!" She said. "I'll kick your sorry ass!"
"Hey! Careful! You'll open up your wound again!" Mojin cried, the concern sincere in his voice as Chena just watched them with a shake of her head.
"Quick! First aid! Get the nurses and doctors, sorcerers, whoever! Now!" Tarou barked to his siblings as he laid Danga on a bed. She was quite able to rest straight down with the branch in her shoulder, and she cried out as it shifted inside her. "FUCK!" Tarou cried, and turned to find Moku returning with the aid kit. He hastily grabbed it from her and started treating the wound as best he could. Once again, he wanted to remove the branch but he knew that would only make it worse, and was probably the only thing keeping her from bleeding heavily. "GET THE DAMN DOCTORS!" He cried to his sister, who nodded and ran off. The CPU turned back to Danga. "You're gonna be alright, alright? I'm not gonna let a damn branch be the thing that kills you!" He said.
"I…I know." Danga said, holding his arm tightly. "I…I know I'll be fine…but…fuck it hurts, hehe…" Danga managed a small laugh, but it didn't seem to make Tarou feel any better.
After some time, though Tarou wasn't sure how much, Janpu and Moku returned with doctors and nurses, and they urged for Tarou to leave while they took care of the girl. Tarou was hesitant, but the doctors practically shoved him out of the room. He debated simply killing them, and had to stifle that rage.
Rage that simply came out again once he heard her scream.
"GRAHHHHHHHHHH!" He shouted as he blasted a hole straight through his Basilicom's wall with a bolt of lightning. That didn't help his rage much, though, and he summoned his naginata to start attacking everything in sight. Tears stinged his eyes as he sliced at the floor, the walls, the furniture, windows, everything he saw. Janpu and Moku watched from a corner, Janpu having to hold his sister back from trying to run in and help.
"He'll just skewer you if you go in now." Janpu said.
"B-But I want to help, I-"
"Look, seeing your face like that I think would just make things worse, so just stay here, alright?" Janpu said forcefully, and Moku found herself looking at the floor as she heard her brother continue to scream in pure rage.
Once he calmed down, which took several minutes, he stood in the center of the room, panting. Most of the furniture in the room had been ripped to shreds, the windows shattered, every wall, the floor, even the ceiling, scratched up. Tears flowed down his cheeks as she continued to breathe. Moku couldn't take it anymore, and despite Janpu's protests, she made her way to Tarou. She moved slowly towards him, her hand slowly raising up as she reached out for him, drawing closer and closer.
Then she found his blade an inch from her nose.
She froze on the spot, her hand stuck in midair. Her eyes met his, where he stared at her. She was shocked to see his tears, something she couldn't remember ever seeing before.
"T-Tarou, I-"
"It should've been you."
The girl froze mid sentence, and her eyes met his again. "Wh-what?"
"It should've been you. Not her." He said, his tone cold as he stared at her. "Maybe a bit of pain would shock you back to yourself." He said, and she felt the blade poke her nose, causing a small bit of blood to run down it. He stared her down for several seconds before he sighed and pulled his blade away, turning to the broken windows as he slammed the butt of his weapon into the floor, crackling the tile underneath.
"I…wh-what…"
"We are going to attack Bios." He said. "Are you helping or not?"
"I-I'd follow you anywhere! Of course I'll help!" Moku said, rushing forward. "Even if I'm different, it doesn't mean I'm any worse at battle! If anything, I'm better! Better than the others, better than Tatak, for sure!" Tarou stiffened, but she foolishly kept going. "I mean, he was almost killed by those lowly CPUs in the other dimension, and-"
"Almost ?"
His voice threw her off as he looked over his shoulder at her. His eyes were wide, but she couldn't exactly tell what expression it was. "What do you mean…almost?"
"U-um…" Moku felt her throat dry up, and she gulped, realizing her mistake. "I…well…so…"
"Moku." He said, and turned to face her completely. "Did the CPUs kill him or not?" She opened her mouth to speak, but before he did, his eyes narrowed. "Do not lie." Moku trembled under his harsh gaze, and behind her, even though she couldn't see it, she could feel Janpu's icy stare as well.
"O-okay…so…well…I…might have…killed him." Moku said, but as Tarou's eyes went wide again, she quickly rushed on, "b-but only because he'd nearly been killed, and he was a failure, and he was pissing me off because he was badmouthing me even though I did a far better job than him, and…and…" When Tarou simply continued to stare at her, she froze up. Even in this new form, where she was no longer scared of almost anything…that expression on his face…it terrified her.
"You killed him?" He asked, and she slowly nodded, waiting for him to shout at her, to cut her up, to do something…but he didn't. He simply continued to stare at her for a long, long while.
"Tarou?" She asked, and saying his name finally seemed to get him to do something, as he slowly turned back to the window. "B-Big Bro?" She asked tentatively.
"Janpu." He said, and Moku heard, then saw, her brother run up to his side. "We are going to attack Bios, and destroy the entire nation. You will join me, as will Danga once the doctors are done with her, understood?"
"Yes." Janpu said. Tarou didn't look at her, but she could tell his next words were for her.
"You may join us if you want. I don't care anymore. You're no better than he was." He said, and, grabbing his weapon, he started walking out the door, with Janpu following behind. But as they reached the door, he paused. He still didn't look back at her, though.
"T-Tarou…?" She asked once more, tears filling her eyes.
"Just so you know…don't call me 'Big Bro' ever again. You are no longer my sister." He said, and with that, he left, Janpu following and closing the door behind them, leaving Moku all alone. The tears spilled down her cheeks as her legs gave way, and she fell onto her knees on the floor. She began to sob as she fell over, her forehead soon finding the ruined floor as her body shuddered with her crying, the only sound left in the destroyed room.
Hyperdimension mourned.
Lowee mourned.
Ever since the funeral, Blanc and Rom shut themselves into their Basilicom. Several days passed without a word from them. Immediately after the funeral, Red also disappeared, but in the opposite way; she was no longer seen in the Basilicom.
Instead, she started taking quests. She would go to the guild every single day and take as many requests as she could, and when she'd return at the end of the day, she'd have almost all of them done.
She quickly gained popularity and respect in the guild for this, though no one had actually gotten a chance to have a conversation with the girl, as she always simply came in, reported the quests complete, and left. She never returned to the Basilicom to sleep, she would just show up at nearly dawn the next morning, and do it all over again.
Once word reached Aila and the others, they sent Neptune to watch her at various times of the day to make sure she was okay. What she saw…didn't reassure her.
Red spent the days aggressively training, slicing apart monsters with a ferocity Neptune had never seen nor thought the girl was capable of. But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was that Red let herself get hurt.
There would be times where she'd let a strong monster attack her over and over, without defending herself, to the point of near death, before she would then heal herself, and repeat the process. It was so bad that Neptune almost couldn't watch. She wanted to say something, but after reporting back the first time, Aila told her that butting in probably wouldn't help, so she needed to stay hidden unless Red was in serious danger. But that didn't make it any easier to watch as she seemingly punished herself with near death dozens of times every day, pushing herself more and more, a look of sorrow on her face almost the entire time. Neptune didn't know if she was punishing herself for Ram's death, or if she was training her healing powers, or both, or something else entirely.
So she just kept watching.
At one point, after Neptune had left, the girl was attacking a strong monster, and as Ram's face flashed through her mind, followed by Blanc's harsh words, she let out a scream louder than any she'd made before, and in that moment, as she swung her blade at its neck, she was enveloped in a bright white light as she somehow transformed. In her moment of rage, she subconsciously boosted her own power to the point that she didn't just decapitate the monster, but obliterated its head entirely.
Red was, of course, shocked for a moment as she looked down at her HDD form, but then, a few seconds later, it was gone. Somehow she'd had enough shares here to transform, even if briefly.
But, seeing as it indeed only lasted a few moments, she decided not to dwell on it as she continued.
And so for an entire week this kept up. Noire and Vert didn't seem as bothered by the events as Blanc was. Of course they mourned the loss of a candidate, but neither of them seemed to blame the travelers like Blanc had. Or at least they didn't seem to, but nevertheless, they didn't really talk to the others much, staying in their Basilicoms to heal.
On the 7th day, Neptune came to see Red fighting a horde of rather large dragon-like monsters holding spears. She was dispatching them with ferocity, stabbing one through the arm before turning and hacking off the arm of another. Neptune settled against a tree as she watched, sighing quietly to herself.
The usually joyful girl couldn't find the motivation to even cheer herself up, seeing her new friend so distraught, and hurting herself the way she was. Aila didn't seem to be taking it well either, as the girl had almost completely stopped eating, and seemed to want to spend all day in the guest room. Thankfully Nepgear was too stubborn to allow that, and forced her out of the room to play videogames, chat, and eat. Neptune felt a small smile on her face at the thought of the two, happy her sister had found someone else to spend time with, even if her crush on her seemed obvious to her older sister.
"GYAAAAAAAA!"
A cry startled Neptune out of her thoughts. She looked up to see that Red had been stabbed in the side. Neptune shot to her feet, only to watch as Red turned and lopped off the monster's head in one swift strike, the monster falling, leaving none left. Red fell to her knees as blood dripped from the wound, but she simply held her hand up to it. Her hand glowed, and the wound began to close.
However, suddenly a last monster appeared from the woods, ambushing the wounded girl and lunging as its spear was aimed for Red's heart. The girl didn't have enough time to react as the blade was about to pierce her and end her life, as if it meant nothing.
Then there was a flash of light, and the spear was sliced in half along with the monster. Red blinked, only to find Neptune, now Purple Heart, standing in front of her, her blade now slick with the monster's blood. Purple Heart sighed as she transformed back into Neptune.
"Neptune?" The girl asked.
"You need to be more careful, you know!" Neptune said as she turned to face her, hands on her hips. "You're gonna give my cute face worry wrinkles! Or make my illustrious purple hair turn grey!"
"What…are you doing here?" Red asked as she finished healing herself.
"I…was told to watch you." Neptune admitted, deciding to be honest. Red looked down at the ground. "Your sister is worried about you, you know."
"I know. But it doesn't matter." Red said as she pulled herself to her feet. "Now leave me alone." She said, and while before, Neptune might have done that, she instead stepped in front of the girl as she tried to leave. "Neptune-"
"You are my friend!" Neptune cried, so powerfully that it made Red pause. "I'm not gonna keep watching you push yourself to the brink of death like this!"
"But I need to push myself. I need to be stronger. I need to be able to use my powers. I've gotten good at healing, but I need to work on being able to both heal myself and boost my power at the same time, now get out of the way." Red said, and tried to move again, only to be stopped again. "Neptune!"
"I'm not letting you do this! Wanting to be stronger doesn't mean beating yourself up like this! You almost died, you realize that?! If I wasn't here-"
"WELL MAYBE I DESERVE TO BE DEAD!" Red shouted, and Neptune paused. "I ran away from my nation, from my responsibility, from my people! I couldn't protect them, and instead of facing the threat head on like Boken did, I ran like a coward! And then I brought them here, and now someone is dead because of me!" Tears formed in the girl's eyes as she shouted. "I don't deserve to be here! I DON'T DESERVE THE LIFE BOKEN GAVE ME!" Unable to stand it any longer, Red fell to her knees as she began to sob.
"Red, I-"
"I'm a failure! I'm a failure in every possible way! I'm a failure as a friend, I'm a failure as a leader, and I'm a failure as a spouse! I can't do anything right, and more people are just going to die, all because I'm a coward, just like Tarou says!" She cried. "I…I can't…"
Neptune hugged her.
The action surprised Red, and her eyes went wide.
"It doesn't matter." Neptune said. "I know Ram is dead, but it isn't your fault. We took you in, and even though we knew the risk, we kept you anyway."
"B-But Blanc-"
"Blanc is upset, yes, but anybody would be in her situation. You can't let that get to you." Neptune said as she held her tightly. "Things are bad right now, but they'll get better. I know they will."
"B-but…I…"
"Stop that." Neptune said softly. "Just…relax, okay? I get that you want to become stronger, but you can't use that as an excuse to nearly kill yourself because you think that's what you 'deserve'. And, in my opinion, what's the point in facing an adversary if you know you're gonna die? Why do that when you can instead flee to fight another day? To get stronger and then try again? To wait until you have a chance?"
"But Boken-"
"I'm sure Boken believed he had a chance. And from the way you've talked about him, he seemed strong." Neptune said. "He fought Tarou because he believed he could win. I don't think he would let himself just die and leave you all alone like that." Neptune pulled away to put her forehead to Red's, keeping a hold on her arms. "You did what was best for you at that moment. Better to run to make a comeback than die and accomplish nothing at all."
"I…"
"I believe in you." Neptune said. "And…I'm probably not the best at stuff like this, but…I'm here for you. And I know your friends are too, and Nepgear! All of us are supporting you, no matter what happens." The two finally met eyes, and Neptune smiled. "So…please stop punishing yourself, alright?"
Red couldn't help but smile back as the tears ran down her cheeks. She grabbed Neptune's hand and held it tightly. It was warm. "Thank you." She said softly.
"What are friends for?" Neptune said, and the two spent some time there alone, enjoying each other's company in silence, until Red's tears finally dried.
"Tarou."
The name was spoken quietly as the girl walked up to her brother standing atop a hill, able to see the lights of Bios in the distance. Tarou took a deep breath and turned to face his sister. "How are you feeling?"
"Good enough to walk around." Danga answered. Bandages adorned her shoulder, the only thing she wore above the waist being a blue sports bra, so that none of the clothes pushed down on the wound and made it worse. "What's the plan?" She asked, getting right to it. Tarou laughed.
"You've only just recovered enough to move and you're already ready to fight?" He asked, looking back at Bios. Even from here he could see people moving around, working on its defenses. They knew he would be coming,
"Of course. I'm already ready to fight for you." Danga said as she too watched the city. Neither spoke for a few moments before Tarou sighed.
"I'm…I'm happy you're alright." Tarou said softly, and Danga scoffed.
"Please, hurt like hell, but something like that wouldn't kill me." Danga said, and she cleared her throat. "Thank you for the concern, though. It means a lot."
"Right." He said, and then the two went silent once more.
"Hey," she said a few moments later, "where's Moku?" Tarou tensed up. "I saw Janpu getting the troops ready, but-"
"I don't know, and I don't care." He answered sharply. "Hopefully I never see her again, or else I think I might kill her."
"It's…really that bad?" She asked, and Tarou shook his head.
"I have a job for you." He said, brushing off the previous topic. "Get a squad ready to send to the portal, and guard it. If they see anyone that doesn't belong, they are to kill them, whether they come from the forest or the portal itself, understood."
"Yes." Danga said. She turned and started walking away, and as she did, Tarou let out another sigh.
"Soon…soon this will all be over." The boy said as he looked out. "Please…let this end soon."
"He hates me."
"…"
"He wants me dead."
"…"
"I…what do I do?"
"…"
"SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!"
"Why should I say anything?"
"Because you're the one that caused this! You're the reason he hates me, us, now!"
"Are you sure it's all my fault?"
"Of course it is!"
"Please, all I am is an extension of you."
"Shut up."
"I am everything you are capable of, if you didn't let anything bother you, or worry you, or get in your way."
"I said shut up."
"No, I will not. You need to hear this. You need to understand this. I am you, and you are me. We are one and the same, and always will be."
"No!"
"I will never go away. Even if you're 'cured' of me, I will always be here. I will always be you, and you'll always be me."
"I don't believe you!"
"It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. What matters is that you need to hear this at all."
"How about you say something actually useful! Like how we can fix this!"
"We can't. We've done too much already."
"So…what do we do?"
"I say we stay out of things. We've already made a mess as is, anything more and he might actually kill us, and as much as you annoy me, I actually like being alive."
"I…I can't."
"Can't what?"
"I can't just abandon him like that! He's my brother! I love him!"
"He clearly doesn't feel the same towards you anymore."
"I don't care! I am loyal to him! I always have been and always will be, no matter what happens! I will support him no matter what!"
"You are a fool, you know that?"
"Well then so are you!"
"Ah, so you're finally getting it."
"AGGHH! Shut up!"
"I'm telling you this for our own good. Stop. Now."
"No. I refuse."
"You-"
"I'm going to continue helping my brother, no matter what. No matter what else happens, I will find my way back to his side, and I will be useful, and helpful, and I will earn back his trust! I will get rid of you forever, and everything will turn out alright!"
"You're delusional."
"SHUT UP!"
"No."
"Ughhhh…"
"Sadly, I can only do so much to stop you. But please…don't be rash, or you will get us killed."
"I know what I'm doing."
"…If you say so."
"Now let's go."
"Where?"
"To train."
"For what?"
"To earn back Tarou's respect."
"Why don't you hate me?"
The question was a simple one, yet it made Nepgear do a double take. She looked over at her friend, who had a pillow clutched to her chest as she absentmindedly played a video game with Nepgear. The girl had managed to get Aila out of the guest room now, and even got her to play some video games with her to try to get her to do something, but she never put any actual effort into it. It was progress though, but the question threw her off.
"What?"
"Ram is…" Aila but her lip, "…and it's our fault. We were the ones who led Tarou here. If we'd never come here…"
"It doesn't matter."
Aila looked up at her friend, and now it was her turn to go "What?"
"Yes…I'm sad. I'm sad that Ram is…gone. She was my friend. But…so are you." Nepgear said as she set the controller down. "Yes, you two coming here may have been the reason Tarou came here at all…but it's possible it could've happened anyway."
"How…?"
"Chena and Eva were still working on the portal anyway, right? It's possible Tarou would've found them, and they might've still come to this dimension anyway." Nepgear explained. "Honestly, that probably would've been worse, since none of you would've been here to help us fight back."
"B-but that's…"
"Logical, why thank you~!" Nepgear said, cutting her off, then she turned to face Aila, and scooted closer, until their knees were touching as they sat cross-legged. "Aila…you weren't the one that killed her, that candidate was. Regardless of whether they came here following you or not, it wasn't you that killed her."
"But we caused-"
"You can't blame yourself for just trying to make sure your sister was alright, Aila." Nepgear cut her off again. "Heck, if I was in your spot, I'd do the exact same thing for my sister! What was the alternative? Staying there and dying? You're not very helpful to anyone dead, are you?"
"That's…true…" Aila admitted, and Nepgear suddenly grabbed the girl's hands. They were warm.
"You're my friend, and no matter what happens, I'll support you, along with everyone else, alright?" Nepgear said softly. "I…care about you. A lot." Her cheeks turned a light pink, and Aila's did as well soon after. "E-either way…I don't blame you. And I'm sure the others don't either. Even Blanc seemed to blame your sister more than you, but even then…I'm sure once she's able to grieve, she'll come around again." Nepgear looked up, and saw that Aila was crying, though they didn't necessarily seem to be tears of sadness.
"How can you be so…positive?" Aila asked as she looked into Nepgear's purple eyes. She smiled.
"That's just how I am. And because…I believe in you!" Nepgear answered, and Aila couldn't help but laugh as her blush deepened.
"Th-thank you." Aila said. "You're…a good friend."
"Thanks~!" Nepgear said, and pulled the girl into a hug. Aila practically fell into the girl as she felt her arms snake around her to pull her even closer, but…Aila didn't mind, even if she was a little embarrassed feeling her head rest against Nepgear's…soft chest. Soon her own arms found their way to the girl's back, and she held her as well, the two wrapped in a tight embrace, each feeling the other's reassuring warmth. They weren't sure how long they were there like that before Aila spoke again.
"What if we get back at them?"
"Huh?" Nepgear asked, still clutching her. Aila was slightly muffled with her face in Nepgear's chest. When Nepgear realized where it was, her blush deepened considerably, but…she didn't push her away or move at all.
"What if…we can lure one into a trap?"
"What do you mean?" Nepgear asked, and Aila finally pulled away from her chest a bit, yet still held her in a hug.
"The candidates. What if we lure one into a trap? Bring their numbers down a bit?" Aila explained.
"How would we do that?" Nepgear asked.
"We lure them back through the portal to this side, and trap them there, and then…yeah." Aila said.
"But…we don't know where the portal opens up, do we? If it even opens up at the same place every time." Nepgear said, and Aila took a bit to process that, though that was partially because she didn't particularly want to move from this position. Then, it hit her.
"We could…ask?" Aila suggested.
"Blanc?"
"Yes?" Blanc asked as she sat at her desk, trying to focus on her paperwork. It was currently the only thing keeping her sane at the moment.
"Um…" Rom seemed hesitant to say what she wanted to say. She was already soft spoken previously, but ever since…it felt even harder to speak her mind now.
"Rom, stop…think…then speak, alright?" Blanc said softly, still looking down at the sheet in front of her she was writing on. Rom did as she said, taking a deep breath as she thought about what words she wanted to use, and a minute later, she spoke.
"I…was wondering…are you ever…going to forgive Red?"
Blanc's pencil snapped, the noise loud in the echoing room.
"Wh-what?" Blanc asked, her body beginning to trembled as she finally looked to her sister.
"I just…I…I don't think it's really fair to blame Red for what happened." Rom said as she twiddled her thumbs. "I…I know you think she's responsible, but she didn't actually-"
"Rom, she was too much of a damn coward to face her own problems, so she shoved them onto someone else, just like Neptune, only this time, someone is dead because of it." Blanc said as her trembling grew stronger. Her teeth clenched. "How can I forgive someone whose actions caused the death of my sister, regardless of whether she delivered the blow or not?"
"I-I just…"
"Rom, I know you want to see the good in people, but you need to grow up." Blanc cut her off. "Your sister is dead because of her, how could you even possibly entertain the thought." Blanc said, glaring daggers at her. "Don't ever bring something ridiculous and asinine like that ever again, alright?" Blanc stared at the girl, watching as she lowered her head. Blanc was about to grab a new pencil when she heard…sobbing. Blanc slowly looked back at Rom, and she instantly felt guilty as she saw her tears fall to the floor.
"I-I just…I don't think sh-she would…uuuu…" Rom cried, and Blanc sighed as she got up and walked over.
"I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that, I just…" Blanc tried to think of the right words.
"R-Ram wouldn't…she wouldn't…hold it against them…w-would she?" Rom blubbered, and Blanc gulped, unsure how to respond.
"I…don't know." She sighed again. "Look…if you want to forgive them…then fine but…I just can't. At least…I don't see it happening anywhere in the near future." Blanc's face hardened. "But I promise you…if I get the chance, I am going to destroy that monster that took her life, alright?" Rom looked up, the tears streaming down her cheeks, and she nodded solemnly. Blanc pulled her close and held her as she felt tears forming in her own eyes. "I'm gonna get her." Blanc swore again as she closed her eyes and held her sister tightly.
"Do you guys…hear a beeping sound?"
One of the soldiers had paused for a moment as he heard a strange beeping sound.
The group had been sent to guard this weird portal thing, and told to kill anything that got close. When they'd gotten there, there was nobody here, and the console and everything seemed turned off.
Yet now, there was a beeping, and as the soldier who'd heard it turned to the console, he saw a red light that flashed on and off with the beating. He was about to call out for someone else when he heard a scream. He turned to see a yellow blur where one of his fellow soldiers had just been. The others nearby readied their weapons as they scanned the perimeter, the light continuing to glow.
"AGHHHHHHHH!"
Another scream, this time from the left. The soldiers turned to see the yellow blur once again, but their fellow soldier was gone, as if he'd vanished into thin air.
"The hell?" The man asked as there was another scream to his right, then his left again. Someone tried to stab at something with his blade, but all he heard was a snap, and then the sound of someone being dragged away. The soldier looked around to find that he was now alone.
Except that he wasn't.
The soldier backed up to the portal as much as he could as he scanned his surroundings, waiting for any movement, any sound, anything at all.
But it came too fast.
There was a sharp pain at his ankle that knocked him to his knees, before something yellow rammed into his face, but before he hit the ground, he was grabbed, and tossed into a tree. As he struck it, the wind was knocked out of him, and he fell to the ground gasping. He felt something push him onto his back, and then slam into his chest. Something glowing red was pointing at his face, and he finally looked up.
A woman, clad in a skin tight yellow bodysuit was staring down at him menacingly, her foot planted on his chest as a futuristic white gun was pointed at his face, a red laser light settled on his nose. The girl's long white hair cascaded down as she stared at him with a look of disgust, and dug her foot further into his chest, making him wheeze.
"Why do you follow him?" She asked, her voice sensuous. He coughed.
"We…don't have a choice." He answered meekly, his eyes bolting all over the place, from her eyes to the gun to her chest to her thighs and back to her face. "It's…it's mandatory service…" She pushed down further on his chest.
"You're pathetic." She spat. "Spineless worms serving a ruthless dictator, and you can't even be a formidable force, it seems."
"W-well…that's…" he tried to speak, but she simply pointed the gun closer to his face.
"You're annoying, too. Speak, with your words. You know how to, yes?" She asked. He snarled at her.
"Wh-who the hell are you?" He asked, and she stared hard into his eyes as she leaned in.
"I am the terrifying genius known as Rainbow Heart. But don't think I'm all sunshine and rainbows, I will rip out your spine and beat you with it if that's what it takes to teach your pathetic boss a lesson not to fuck with me or my friends." She answered, and pushed the gun against his skin. "And don't even think about trying to move again." He gulped. She'd noticed him reaching for his concealed knife, even though it didn't look like she'd even looked away from his eyes. He felt a cold dread take over his body.
"What did you do with the others?" He asked.
"I killed them, moron." She answered plainly. "Are you really that dumb? Maybe I should take you to my lab and try to switch your brain with one that's actually competent, not that it would probably help." She suddenly lifted up her foot and slammed it into his groin, making him bash his head on the gun. "I said not to move. Do it again and I'll shoot off your dick, got it?" She noticed that too?! But he felt like he'd barely moved that time! Who was this chick? Wasn't she the shy, nerdy one with the one Japanese chick as her bitchy lover?! "Now then, you're gonna tell me what Tarou is planning or I blast off your dick anyway." The soldier was about to call her bluff when he paused. Wait, she was one of the 'good guys', so if he just told her what she wanted, she'd let her go.
"Fine." He said. "Tarou is preparing a full scale invasion of Bios, not like you'll be able to do anything about it." He smirked. "You're all gonna die, and we'll rule the world. I'll have women and wealth as far as the eye can see once I get promoted!"
"You won't." Rainbow Heart said suddenly, and the man frowned.
"What?" He said, then felt the gun push harder against his nose, before it moved to his forehead. He could feel it burning his skin. "Huh?"
"Thank you for telling me. You are no longer useful." She said.
"W-wait! But you said-"
"I said I'd blast off your dick if you didn't tell me, not that I wouldn't kill you. Goodbye." She said, and as he tried to get out another word, she pulled the trigger.
A few minutes later, Mojin and Eva emerged to find Chena laying a tarp over the soldier's body.
"You know, I always forget how brutal your HDD can be." Eva said, and Chena sighed.
"Yeahhhh…I don't like her very much." Chena said, and turned to the console, which had the red light still blinking. "You two, get to work, now that we've got Mojin we should be able to finish." She tapped a few buttons to turn it on, before hitting one more to answer the call. "Hello?"
"Chena?" Aila's voice came through the box, though slightly distorted.
"I didn't think you'd be able to get ahold of us instead of the other way around." Chena said as she watched the other two work on fixing the portal one last time.
"Histoire said she was able to connect now that she can locate your thread or whatever it is." Aila said. "Look, we have a question. Is it possible to both open a portal to a specific location, and pinpoint that specific location? On our side, I mean?"
"That's actually what we're working on. Once we can get the portal fully stabilized, we should be able to, why?" Chena answered. For some reason, after she used her HDD, she always felt a little more confident in herself for a while.
"We want to lay a trap for one of the candidates." Aila said, and Chena paused.
"Which one?" She asked tentatively.
"I mean, any of them. We want to lure one over through the portal, and as soon as they come over, trap them so we can kill them. We…really need a morale boost over here." Aila explained. Chena thought it over for a moment.
"I know how you can lure them over." She finally said, and looked up at Eva. "Or at least…one in particular."
The Morkom army began to advance towards Bios, with Danga, Janpu, and Tarou at its helm. They'd spent the past few days scouting, and although Tarou knew they'd been seen, and that Bios had prepared for their arrival, he knew it ultimately wouldn't matter. He'd eradicate the damn nation off the planet one way or the other, and there was nothing that would be able to stop him or his rage.
The army got within a certain range before they stopped, Tarou wasn't quite ready to fully advance yet, as he wanted to do some final checks on his army, make sure the medics were prepared just in case, and scope out the defenses now that they were complete.
What he didn't know was that there were spies in his army.
Three people were making their way through the temporary camp set up a mile out from the capital, all three dressed in Morkom battle colors, though not only were their clothes dirty, but two of them almost seemed too big on the two girls wearing them. Nevertheless, they went around the camp, being sure to avoid Tarou and his siblings as they talked to various soldiers.
"I heard that the people in the other dimension are calling Tarou and his siblings weak and pathetic."
"They ran from battle, can you believe that?"
"One of the candidates got killed by some ordinary CPUs from an inferior dimension."
"Janpu apparently got so scared of dying that he fled like a coward."
That last one managed to sneak its way through the camp in the matter of an hour, all the way to Janpu. He demanded to know who started it, and when he'd heard it was two girls in attire too big for them, to his credit, he was able to figure out pretty easily who it was.
He unfortunately didn't realize it was a trap, however.
Janpu excused himself and made his way towards the portal, blasting through the sky in his HDD form as he hunted the girls, ready to deliver his fury upon them for calling a coward.
Once he'd made a dramatic landing in front of the portal, he only found…her.
"Hello." Chena said softly, dressed in her usual labcoat, though right now it was closed. Janpu narrowed his eyes as he transformed back and looked around.
"Where's the other bitch?" He asked as he stalked closer.
"It's just me." She said, nervously fingering her labcoat.
"Sure, like I'd believe that." He said. "And just what was that whole stunt back there, calling me a coward and all that?" He growled, now only a few feet away.
"I had to go big to get your attention." She explained, still playing with her labcoat. "Plus it gave you a good excuse to leave, right?" Janpu paused.
"What…is this about?" He asked, once again scanning the area. Chena seemed to take a deep breath before she suddenly thrust open the labcoat. The boy's eyes went wide as he took in a pair of black sexy lingerie, something he'd never have pegged the girl to wear. And on top of that, it was all she wore underneath the labcoat, which she soon dropped to the floor. Janpu's eyes roamed her figure, stopping at her gorgeous chest, which, no longer restrained by her clothes, looked even bigger now.
"I…couldn't stop thinking about when you…touched me." She said, her face red as she bit her lip. Janpu felt something deep inside him try to resist, knowing something was off, but his other head was in control now, and it pulled him towards her. His eyes kept moving across her body, from her chest to her hips, between her legs to her thighs, all over. He kept walking until he was right in front of her, and before the girl could even think, his hands were on her breasts, squeezing them. She let out a slight moan that made Janpu groan.
"God I've been…hungry, lately~" he said as he squeezed them, feeling her arms wrap around him. "I can't believe you just hide this amazing body away like this~"
"I…mmmm…have to…thank you, Janpu." Chena suddenly said.
"Yeah?" He asked, transfixed on her body as one of his hands began to snake down her belly towards her panties. "Why's that?"
"Because now I won't feel bad when I kill you."
"Huh?" Janpu asked, before she flipped herself around, and a blue light erupted from behind the boy as Chena kicked him into the portal, his face turning from one of defenselessness to one of pure rage. Just before he went through, she became enveloped in a bright white light.
He tumbled through, feeling like he was falling, until he emerged out of the portal and landed on the ground. But he wasn't given any time to recover before a large net suddenly scooped him up and whipped him around. Metal objects lunged towards his arms and legs, and wrapped around his wrists and ankle. Once they did, his limbs suddenly locked together, and all at once, he was left upside down, unable to move at all except for a squirm.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" He cried, struggling. He saw two figures approaching, one he recognized, and one he didn't. The one he did was Aila, the other was a purple haired girl with a modest bust, and both of them stared at him with looks of disgust, but also joy.
"It worked!" The purple haired girl cried.
"Of course it did, it was one of your inventions, after all." Aila said.
"Oh, you mean these stupid things?" Janpu shouted as she sized up the cuffs on his ankles and wrists. "These are no problem! Just…watch!" He cried as he yanked at them, expecting them to give way just as they always did…except they didn't. He tried again, but they just stayed locked together. He kept trying, to no avail.
"Magnetic metal bands. Made with a special metal that gives off a magnetism so strong that not even you can pull it apart." Aila said confidently, then turned to the other girl. "Did I sound cool?"
"Definitely." She said.
"AGGHHHHHH! STUPID FLAT-CHESTED UGLY BITCHES, LET ME GO SO I CAN TEAR YOUR EYES OUT OF YOUR SOCKETS!" The boy cried, and to his shock, something cut the net, and he dropped to the ground, though he still couldn't really move thanks to the cuffs. Instead, something hard slammed onto his chest, and he looked up to see…
"Hello, bastard." Rainbow Heart said as she looked down on the man with disgust. Janpu could only laugh.
"I forgot your HDD looked like that." He said as he eyed the skintight suit. "Yellow is ugly, but damn does it show off your curves."
"Pig." She said, and without any hesitation, she pointed her gun at his crotch and fired. His scream ripped through the trees so loudly that Aila and Nepgear had to cover their ears.
"Y-YOU…B-BITCH! CUNT! WHORE!" Janpu shouted every curse he could think of to the girl as his body ached in pain, both physically and mentally. "I-I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" In response, she slammed her foot into the wound she just made, and he screamed again.
"I like it better when you don't speak." She said. "Your screams are delicious, though." She said as she reared her foot back and kicked it, getting yet another scream. His face at this point was pale as he dropped cold sweat.
"F-fucking…b-bitch…guhhh…" Janpu said weakly. Rainbow Heart placed her foot on his face and pushed it to the side, digging in so hard he bled, along with smearing his blood from her foot onto his face.
"You're going to the deepest pits of hell and I hope it fucking hurts for every second your soul exists in that place of pure agony." She said, and then spat on his face as she aimed her gun at his stomach and fired, a large laser bolt blast through him. He was too weak to let out another scream, but he still groaned in pain. Rainbow Heart sighed, now bored, so she pointed her gun at his forehead. "Bye, dick." She said, and finally ended the boy's life with a tap of the trigger.
Once they finally located Neptune and Red, they were surprised to see a few things. For one, they were fighting. For two, not only was Neptune in HDD, but so was Red.
The two battled, though after watching for a bit, the two could tell it wasn't a real fight, and Nepgear quickly surmised they were training, even though that's not what Aila had told Neptune to do. Nevertheless, they watched for a bit, as both were stunned at how Red was in HDD.
The two moved at fast speeds, their blade colliding with tangs and other shrill sounds as she flew around, each trying to get the jump on the other, but both seeming fairly equal. Though, as Red Heart flew away from her opponent, she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Purple Heart went in for an attack, but just as she was about to strike, Red Heart opened her eyes, and a glow fitting her namesake flashed around her as she seemed to vanish, only to reappear behind Purple Heart, swinging her blades. She tapped Purple Heart slightly, and then leapt back.
"Hit!" Red Heart called out weakly before she fell to the ground, and transformed back into her human form, panting. Purple Heart landed next to her, and transformed back as well, a smile on her face.
"That was a whole five minutes! Can you believe that?" Neptune cried as she sat next to her friend. "And you even managed to boost your speed and get around me! That was-"
"Hey!" Aila cried, startling both girls as they turned to find her and Nepgear walking over, as well as, to Red's shock, Chena.
"You…what are you doing here?!" Red cried as she pulled herself to her feet and came over.
"We got the portal stabilized." Chena explained. "And…"
"We killed one of the candidates." Aila said.
"What?!" Neptune and Red said at the same time.
"Yeah! We lured one of them over here and trapped them and killed them!" Nepgear cried, a huge smile on her face.
"It was all thanks to Chena though for being willing to act as bait!" Aila said as she turned to the girl, who turned pink.
"O-oh it was nothing…if anything, it was more of a venting session…" the girl stuttered.
"Either way, they're down to only two! Though apparently one of them might've deserted or something since Chena, Eva, and Mojin didn't see her at all while they were sneaking around their camp." Aila said excitedly. Red was stunned. Her sister…had taken one of them down? As if she knew what she was thinking, Neptune wrapped her arm around Red's shoulder.
"See, if she can do it, so can you!" Neptune said with a smile, and Red couldn't help but smile back.
"I…good job, Aila!" Red cried as she ran over and hugged her sister. Aila let out a cry of surprise as Red picked her up and spun her around, the happiest she'd seen the girl in a while. Once she put Aila down, she sighed, and then turned to Neptune. "I…"
"You want to go now, don't you?" She asked. Red hesitated, and Neptune clarified. "Okay, you're terrified still, but you want to go, don't you?"
"Yes…yes, I do." Red said. She squeezed Neptune's hand. "But it's all thanks to you, you know."
"Oh, stop, you're making me blush!" Neptune said, as a blush did indeed appear on her face.
"Wait, really?" Aila asked, and Red turned to face her, letting go of Neptune's hand to grab her sister's.
"Neptune and I…we've been talking, and…I…don't want to run away anymore. I did it because I needed to, to stay alive, but now…now is not a time to run anymore. Now…it's time to fight." Red said confidently. "And even though I'm scared like hell…I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"But…"
"Aila, you killed one of them, or rather, you helped kill one of them. Just knowing that…helps. A lot." Red said with a laugh. "I think…as long as you, and the others…are by my side, I can do this. I…can face him." She said.
"Are…are you sure?" Aila asked, looking into her sister's eyes, only to find absolute certainty within them.
"Yes." Red answered. "Are you willing to stand next to me and fight, Aila?" She asked, and after a moment, Aila smiled back.
"Always." She answered.
"Then let's gather the others." Red said.
"We can all go back through together now that the portal has a set location." Chena added. "I'm…ready to fight, too, if you'll have me." She said sheepishly, and Aila and Red couldn't help but laugh.
"I thought you didn't like to fight?" Red asked.
"I've been feeling a bit more…empowered, lately." Chena said with a small laugh. "We should hurry, though. Tarou is scouting out Bios as we speak."
"Let's go, then." Red said, and the three of them quickly started walking, and after waiting a moment, Neptune smiled, and followed after them.
"Are you sure you don't want us to come?" Neptune asked as Chena, Red, Aila, Yurei, and Arun stood in front of the portal.
"Do we really have to go back already?" Arun asked, only for Yurei to smack him.
"You still need to be punished for leaving without telling me." Yurei said.
"You haven't punished me already?!" He exclaimed.
"You'll know when I've punished you." Yurei said coldly.
"Yes. You've already done so much for us, and this isn't your fight." Red said, ignoring the others as she grabbed Neptune and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you…for everything."
"You better come back, alright?" Neptune said as she pulled away, and Red nodded. "Sorry the others didn't want to see you off."
"I understand, don't worry. Again…I'm sorry-"
"Don't, don't do that again." Neptune stopped her, and Red shook her head.
"Right. Right…thank you." She said, and the two smiled at each other.
"You too, you better come back to visit after you win." Nepgear said as she and Aila also hugged.
"I promise. I'd miss you too much." Aila said, and as they pulled away, their eyes met. A strange silence settled over them as they stared at each other. They both blinked, and then, almost unnoticeably, their faces began to come closer. The world around them seemed to fade as their eyes began to close, and their lips began to part as they drew closer and closer-
"LOVEBIRDS!"
Both girls jumped back in shock as they turned a deep red. "H-HUH?!" Aila shouted, and looked over to see Arun waving her over.
"Come on, we're going!" He said. Aila looked back at Nepgear, and the two laughed nervously as Aila gave her one last wave before awkwardly walking towards the portal. Once they were all there, Aila and Red turned back to their friends.
"Bye, for now." Neptune said.
"See you soon, I hope!" Nepgear said.
"Yeah. We'll see you." Red said softly, and with that, they all traveled through, back to their home dimension, ready to end this war for good.
Mojin took his place at the top of one of the towers overlooking the army standing only a mile away from the capital city of Bios. As soon as he'd finished helping fix the portal, he'd taken off for the nation to help defend it. He didn't know if the plan with Janpu worked, but he believed in them. He knew it would.
And while he'd been alone when he got here, he was soon joined by someone else.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." He said softly as someone walked up next to him.
"I'm sorry." The girl said, long white hair blowing in the breeze. Underneath her purple cloak, bandages covered her body, hiding wounds and burns. "I ran again."
"I don't blame you." Mojin said, not looking at her, his eyes trained on the army preparing to invade his best friend's home. "I'm just happy you came back. Or survived, for that matter."
"Boken was my brother. He makes sure you're always prepared for anything." Shose said as she stared down at the army as well. "The hut was full of healing items…at least until it burned." She sighed. "It…I…"
"Take your time, Shose. It's fine." Mojin encouraged her. She could feel her calming aura around them, trying to calm both herself and him down, as well as the guards stationed around them. After some time, she spoke again.
"I'm done running." She said. "From myself…from my people…from my brother…and from his killer." She said, gripping the railing tightly. "I can't run anymore. I can't be afraid anymore. I'm sorry it took me so long to-"
"You don't need to apologize, alright?" Mojin said. "I know I can't really fully understand what you're going through, but trust me when I say I can get at least some of it." He said. "Running this place in your stead has been…stressful. But that's why I was here in the first place. Sure, I was Boken's friend, but I was also his ally, his second in command. I was there to help whenever he needed it, night or day, for whatever reason. And now…I'll be here for you, too." Shose turned to him, her eyes wide. "I know we had our differences, but…I'll be there for you, just as I was for him. Even if you aren't ready to accept the position as CPU of Bios just yet…I'll be here, both until you're ready, and after. I promise you that, just as I promised him."
"Mojin…I…" Shose couldn't find the words, so she didn't speak, but she didn't need to. Instead, she reached into her pocket and handed something to the man, a small, round metal disk. "Here."
"What's this?" He asked.
"It's a healing disk. For emergency use." She explained. "You touch it to a young and it uses nanobots to fix you up. It's only temporary, though, and it can only do so much. You should hold onto it, just in case."
"Thank you." He said as he slipped it into his pocket. Neither of them spoke for a bit, but when they did, it was Shose who broke the silence.
"Are you…going to use him?" She asked.
"I think I have to." He answered.
"Can you control it?"
"I don't know." He said.
"But what if-"
"I can't spend all my time worrying about the what ifs, we don't have the time to spend anymore." He said. "It's the only option we have, and I'm willing to take that risk. But…" he paused, "…if I can't control it…if I start to hurt people…" he met her eyes, "…stop me." Shose didn't answer, but instead, she nodded. Mojin took a deep breath, and turned. After another moment, he started walking.
"Is it time?" She asked.
"It is." He answered. "Let's go end this war."
Tarou stepped forward as he saw Mojin leading his army out from the capital's defensive walls, the man walking with confidence towards his doom. It made the warmonger smile as moved to meet him.
"CPU Blue Heart of Morkom, Tarou…you have come to declare war on my nation, on my capital, and I refuse to let you-"
"You are a failure." Tarou's words cut right through Mojin's, stopping him dead in his tracks of his speech. "You're a failure as an ally and a friend."
"You don't have sort of right to speak to me like-"
"Shut up, you idiotic, self-righteous prick." Tarou shouted. "You're nothing but a man who thinks he knows what he's doing, when he's nothing but a boy working on some little machines."
"You shut your mouth right-"
"Hell, your 'best friend' was so worthless that he couldn't even properly teach his sister to take over. Instead she runs like a coward." Tarou continued, the usual smirk on his face. "He was worthless and weak, just like you."
"You won't be saying that when your head gets separated from your shoulders." Mojin said. He could feel shadowy fingers creeping on his shoulders as a familiar voice whispered in his ear.
"If that does happen someday, I know for a fact it won't be you that does it." Tarou said. "You wouldn't be able to even get close though to cut off a finger, much less my head."
"Let me in~~~" the voice whispered. "I'll devour him whole, if you let me in~~~"
"Tarou, you're an asshole." Mojin shouted, and that actually seemed to throw the boy off.
"E-excuse me?" Tarou asked, surprised by the crudeness.
"You're also a massive dick." He shouted more. "And I absolutely cannot wait to watch your blood run down someone's weapon, whether it be mine or someone else's."
"Too much talking, let me innnn~~~"
"Today is the day you die." Mojin continued.
"I will feast on his rotten soul~~~"
"Today is the day you pay for everything you've done."
"Let me feel his warm blood on my fingertips~~~"
"Today is the day…this war ends."
"LET ME IN~~~!"
Suddenly, Mojin let out a loud roar of pure power that rippled across the field, so powerful that even Tarou and his men could feel it. But Tarou felt no fear. Even as he felt the waves of power that came from the man as his eyes turned a bright white, dark shadowy armor materializing over his body as a similar-looking blade appeared in his hand, Tarou just smiled.
Because he had already won.
"My name is Hiiro…" Mojin said, though the voice that came out was not his own. "And I…am so…so…hungry~" In the next moment, he turned to one of his men, and sliced off his head.
"Fool." Tarou said, and watched as Mojin, no, Hiiro, began to tear through his own army at blinding speed, immediately sending them into a panic as his blade cut through their bodies like butter. Anyone who was fast enough to try and react was unable to stand up to the monster now in control of the man's body. Tarou looked up to see Shose immediately start heading down from her tower, and Tarou's smile grew wider.
"What do we do?" Danga asked, only just now realizing that her brother was nowhere in sight.
"We attack." Tarou said, and as he raised his hand, his army rushed forward, quickly colliding with the enemy's confused army, adding to the slaughter as Tarou watched on in glee. "And we win~"
"MORON!" Eva screamed as she started moving towards the army. "I TOLD HIM HE COULDN'T CONTROL IT, SO WHY IS HE TRYING TO USE IT AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!" Of course, the girl had known about his 'condition' for a while, this other self that whispered to him in his dreams, and showed up in the mirror, that always wanted into his body, but she'd never been able to find an explanation as to what it was, and by extension, a cure. All she could do was tell Mojin never to listen to it.
But of course, the idiot never listened to her when it mattered.
"COMING THROUGH! OUT OF THE WAY!" Eva shouted so loudly that soldiers on both sides immediately moved out of her way before they even realized who she was. Eva used that to her advantage to slip into the crowd. Those that weren't left confused or overwhelmed by what Mojin was currently doing were trying their hardest to fight back against the invading Morkom army, and while they were able to mostly stand their ground, the Morkom army had the advantage of the Bios army being generally confused and stressed.
Nevertheless, Eva weaved her way between blades and fights, trying to stay on the allies' side as she made her way to the idiot. She could feel him tearing through both Morkom and Bios soldiers like they were nothing, but while she knew it would be dangerous to get close, there was no way in hell she would stand by and do nothing while her friend was in desperate need of help.
So she kept going.
"MOJIN! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" She shouted once she got close enough. That got his attention, and as he turned to her, she paused. His clothes were stained with blood, his glowing white eyes now locked onto hers. One of the Morkom soldiers rushed for him, only for the man to stab him through the head without even looking, before tossing him aside. Then he started moving towards her, and anybody who got in his way was either stabbed, sliced in half, or simply tossed or kicked away. As he got close to her, he raised his weapon, and was about to bring it down when-
SLAP!
Nearby soldiers paused as they turned to see a red handprint on the monster's face. He was stunned, his arm raised in the air as his face stung.
"I swear to god you better let him out before I make you let him out." Eva shouted. After a moment of pause, Hiiro growled, and grabbed her by the collar, raising her up and bringing her up to his face, a face she normally recognized, but now was splattered with blood and twisted into something wrong.
"Do you know who you're talking to, girl~?" He asked, his voice rough and coarse. "My name is Hiiro…bringer of death and destruction-"
"I frankly don't care what your name is, get out of Mojin right now." She said, staring him in the eyes, even though it hurt to look into those glowing orbs. Threats of violence and general meanness was her usual MO, so she decided to try that method first. All she got in response was a growl as he held the blade up to her neck, though she didn't flinch, or at least, she tried her best not to.
"You will regret speaking to me like that." He said as he threw her onto the ground, and she let out a cry of pain as her back stung. He pointed the blade against her stomach and started to push in, breaking the skin and causing blood to run out. She cried in pain as she decided to switch to the next method.
"M-Mojin!" She cried. "I…I love you!" She said, and to her surprise, the man paused.
"…What?" He asked, his voice slightly different.
"I-I know I always try to brush you off and pretend like I don't care, but I do!" Eva shouted, happy she had his attention. "I've always cared about you, more than I ever thought possible."
"You…what?" He said, though his voice sounded a lot smoother, more clear.
"Look…I'm not very good at expressing my emotions, so I usually just bottle them up, and that leads me to shout at you sometimes for small mistakes." Eva said, though the more she spoke, the less it felt…fake. "I…I always enjoy spending time with you, and I put on a brave face, but that's only because I know with you around I'm…I'm always safe."
"E-Eva?" He asked, his eyes beginning to dim.
"I'm sorry I can't just be a normal girl and just tell you this, that it had to come to you being possessed by a demon or whatever the hell this freak of science is, but…I…" her cheeks became red. It had been easy to say it the first time, so why was it so hard this time?! "I…I…um…" She took a deep breath, and shouted, "I…I LOVE YOU!" Finally, his eyes faded, and for a brief moment, they returned to normal.
"Eva?" He asked, once again himself. Eva smiled as she reached up to touch his cheek. He smiled back at her, but after only a brief, brief moment, the glow suddenly returned, and his smile turned into a snarl.
"Nice try, girlie." He said, and raised his blade one more time. "Die." Eva knew she only had one last option, and while she'd been hoping to avoid it, she supposed it was inevitable.
"I love you, Mojin." She said once more, quietly, as she grabbed his face, pulled him in, and kissed him.
In that moment, time froze. His hand stopped in midair as his eyes went wide. Eva closed her eyes for the kiss, her first kiss. His lips were warm. He was warm. She felt…calm. A sort of calm she hadn't felt in a long time. A moment later, his glowing eyes faded, and the blade fell from his hands. As it hit the ground, it turned to smoke, and his arm instead wrapped around her, pulling her closer as he kissed her back, a loud hiss permeating the air as the demon was, in a single moment, pushed aside. Mojin held her tightly as they kissed, a beautiful moment. Eva had only planned to use it as a way to snap him out of it, but instead…it became so much more. It became a promise, it became a wish, it became hope. It was everything she could've ever wanted and more. And it was perfect.
"I love you too, Eva." Mojin said as they finally pulled apart, though he kept his hands on her as their foreheads touched. Both of them smiled as they felt each other's warmth.
"I…" Eva said, before noticing a glint out of the corner of her eye. "NO!" She cried as she whipped her body around, putting herself in front of Mojin as a sharp pain exploded in her back and chest. Mojin was frozen in confusion and fear for a moment as he looked down to see a blade protruding from Eva's chest. A familiar blade, now dripping with her blood.
Tarou's blade.
"Mo…" was all she got out before she collapsed, though Mojin caught her, and she laid against him as she struggled to breathe.
"No, no, no, I won't…I won't let this happen, not again." He cried, holding her close, even as her blood seeped into his clothes along with all the rest already staining them.
"I…ugh…" she coughed, and blood came out. She looked up to meet his eyes as her body trembled. "I…got to be…useful…right?" She asked.
"Wh-what? Since when were you…?"
"I got…to save you…that's…all that matters…" she said.
"Hey, don't talk, just focus on breathing, okay. Focus on me, don't close your eyes, don't do anything, alright." He said, before turning to shout. "MEDIC, NOW!" He felt her grab his hand, and he looked back at her, watching as she smiled.
"You're…more important…than I ever was…" she said, before coughing again. "Fuck…I…"
"Eva, please…just relax, okay? It's going to be alright, right?" He asked, tears stinging his eyes.
"Hey, Mo…jin…" She said, "…you're…a good…kisser…" she said. In a moment, the blade was yanked out of her as it flew back towards Tarou's hand. A new spurt of blood oozed out of the wound, and Mojin finally was able to lay her on the ground as she looked up at him, seemingly trying to focus on his eyes. "I…I don't want…to die…"
"You won't." He said, both to himself and her.
"I…I love…"
"I know." He said. "And I'll say it again, as much as you need. I love you, too." He said softly, still holding her hand. He moved his free hand to her chest, and closed his eyes. As soon as he touched her, her own eyes closed, and she relaxed as she let out a breath, and went still.
A moment passed.
Time resumed.
Mojin stood.
The medics quickly took the girl away.
Mojin faced his enemy, who sneered at him from the top of the hill. His expression hardened.
"We're gonna do this again, and this time…we do what I say." He said, his voice cold. He let it back in, and though for a moment, it took over, the next moment, it yelped in pain as he grabbed it by the neck, and forced it to obey. His eyes glowed as the dark armor and sword reappeared.
Only this time, Mojin was the one in control.
Tarou smiled at him.
The two rushed for each other.
The final battle begins.