Chapter 13 – A Battle Filled With Soul (Part 1)
Neptune's POV
"Wh-What the hell…?"
"*giggle* Impressed, Arfoire?" I said to her still shocked face. "After all, I do owe you for shattering my soul in the first place. I would've never gained access to such a badass ability if you didn't ambush me days ago. So…you REALLY have my thanks*giggle*."
"Woah…so this is the result…"
"Resty, what happened to Nep-Nep?" Compa asked Resta. "Why does she look like…THAT?"
"Simply put, Compa…this is what happens when two or more Zodiac Stones fused their powers together. They create an entirely new power based on the other signs of the Zodiac. And in this case…the powers of Scorpio and Sagittarius have fused to create…the power of Aquarius."
"Aquarius…so, it's like an entirely new Zodiac power?"
"Yeah…pretty much."
An entirely new Zodiac power…and it's all MINE? *giggle*…I can TOTALLY get used to this!
"So…" I said. "…let's test this new power out, shall we? Ekchusis!"
*BOOM*
"Gah…"
I then attacked Arfoire with this new light-blue energy rushing through my body. Freeing Amitie from her grasps and catching her at the very last second.
Thank God my mind's not COMPLETELY far gone…
"Hey! Amitie! Are you alright?!"
"Ow…Geez, Neptune. You could at least try to go easy with these new powers you got." Amitie complained as she rubbed her head.
"Hehhehheh…sorry. But at least you're okay. Are you still able to fight, though?"
"Heh. Hell yeah, I'm still able to fight. I want revenge just as much as you do."
"*giggle* Great to hear, my dear cousin."
"Do you truly believe the two of you can beat us?" Arfoire asked. "Neptune's new power may be a hurdle…but you're still nothing more than a normal child, Amitie. You stand no chance."
"A normal child, huh?" Amitie giggled a bit. "So, you really don't know…what my mom did to me back then, huh?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about this. Come to me now! Light Soul!" Then, as Amitie removed her rainbow hat from her head, she was engulfed in a rainbow-like light. And then came out of it with an entirely new look. Now wearing a light-pink sleeveless shirt with a pink sailor-style tie and a yellow ribbon underneath it. With a pink flower pin to connect them together. Similar to Nepgear's.
Her shorts were no longer pattered purple, green, and yellow. And were just plain pink, with no patterns or designs whatsoever. And had a red belt that…didn't really connect to anything. Even her shoes pink crocs had changed to a pair of pink & white boots.
But the one thing I noticed about her…well, okay, two things. First, her green wristband was glowing. And second, the middle part of her blonde hair was a light-pink color. Showing off some high amount of power on its own.
Then again…Amitie as a whole was showing some immense power.
Wait…could THIS be the rather huge third thing she brought up before?
"Hah~…it's been a LONG time since I've used these powers. Can't wait to use them once more. *giggle*"
"Y-You got to be kidding me…YOU'RE the Light Soul?!"
"Light Soul?" Compa, Resta, and I asked as Arfoire was in a panic for some reason.
"Oh? So, you know about this, too? Well then, I'll be glad to give you a little taste of it. If you so desire.*giggle*"
"Tch! D-Damnit…"
"What are you so worked up for?" Revati asked. "Let's just kill them already and get the hell out of this dump of a world." She then raised up her Zodiac Stone and prepared for another attack.
"Y-You fool! Don't do…"
"Alrescha." A black hand formed from the stone and was heading right for us.
But…
"Mirror!"
…Amitie suddenly shouted. Then the wristband on her left arm changed from green to turquoise. And that pink part of her hair changed to turquoise, too.
"Reflect Force!" Amitie then shot out a bunch of tiny mirrors out from her left hand. Stopping the black hand from reaching us and even giving it a few cuts and scraps.
"What?"
"Plasma!" Amitie shouted again before both her wristband and hair changed from turquoise to light-green. With her wristband having electric sparks around it. She then started charging up a huge amount of electric power…and soon had an electrical barrier around her.
"Plasma Wave!" Amitie shouted once more as she shot the barrier at the hand. Electrocuting it like a taser as it fled back into the Zodiac Stone.
"Grr…What the hell? How did you get so strong so quickly?" Revati asked.
"This is what I was saying before." Arfoire said. "Fighting that girl right now would be futile for us."
"Hmph. Maybe for you. But I ain't quitting until Resta lays in a pool of her own blood. And if you're too scared to fight, then get the hell away from me."
"*sigh* You stubborn little girl…Fine, do as you wish. I'm too busy to deal with this right now." Arfoire then turned to the four of us. "Au revoir for now, girls. Next time we meet will TRULY be game over for you all! Hahahahahaha!"
"You're fleeing?! Hey!" I yelled as I tried to stop her. But I wasn't fast enough…and Arfoire got away again.
"Ugh! Damnit!"
"We'll deal with her later, Neptune." Resta said as she walked up to both of us. "Right now…we got this nuisance to go up against."
"You're still helping? I did take the citrine's power."
"Not all of it. I still got enough for me to fight with. Especially against a demented princess."
"I see…"
"You're gonna pay for hurting my friends, Revati!"
"Y-You too, Compa?!" I asked in shock.
"Don't be silly, Nep-Nep. You know that I'll always have your back no matter what!"
"Compa…" I nearly teared up from hearing that.
"Hmph. 4 against 1…even though the odds are against me, I will NOT lose to any of you. This shattering port will be your final graves."
"Is that so, Revati?" I asked her before giggling a bit. "Then come try me, bitch! All four of us will make you eat those pathetically cocky words of yours! And then some! *giggle*"
"Such cocky last words. I shall make you regret saying them. Now…let's…"
"PUYO BATTLE!" All five of us shouted in pure fiery rage as we prepared for a VERY unique boss battle.
The first boss and it's already life or death. This is gonna be fun. *demented giggle*
Noire's POV
"Meow. Meow."
*internal moan* M-My head…it still feels a little fuzzy…
"Meow. Meow."
Huh? Meow? Is that…is a cat nearby?
"Meow. Meow."
Yeah…that's definitely a cat. But where…
"Meow."
Gah! It's swatting my nose! At this rate, I'm gonna…
"ACHOO!" I made a powerful sneeze, which woke me up from my sleep and even gave me a little whiplash.
"*sniff* Aw, geez…"
"Meow." I then noticed the pure white cat sitting across from me. Constantly meowing as he wanted me to pick him up.
"Geez, kitty." I said as I grabbed hold of him. "You really gave me a powerful one back there."
"Meow." The cat then began to play with my nose like it was a cat toy.
"*giggle* Well, I gotta admit. You are pretty cute."
"I know right? Cutest cat I've ever seen."
W-Wait…th-that voice…
And so, I turned my head beside me to my left. And there, mildly covered with bandages and wearing a single white wing hair clip in her hair, a black sleeveless shirt with a white design on it, blue jean shorts, and a pair of grey boots, was…
"U-Uni! You're okay!"
"Of course, I am. I learned to be as tough as you, didn't I?"
"That's true, but…after what we went through, I'm just glad you're doing okay."
"Same for you, Noire. When the others brought you in here, you were a complete mess. I…I honestly thought you wouldn't make it."
"What? Geez…have some faith in your older sister. I'm not the CPU of Lastation for nothing, you know."
"*giggle* Yeah, that's true." Uni gained a small smile.
She seems to be doing okay…that's good, at least. After watching our home crumbling and tearing apart, I thought she would totally be broken.
…
Like how I am…a little.
"So…the outfit's new. Where'd you get it?"
"Oh, this? Well, my clothes were torn up pretty bad. So, I was given new ones. And I gotta say…I look pretty good."
"You don't say…"
"Why do you look unsure? You got changed, too."
"Huh?" And with that, I looked and finally noticed that (aside from the bandages) I wasn't wearing my original clothes anymore. Instead, it was more like a black & grey dress. With grey in the front and black in the back. I also had on long grey socks and a pair of purple & white boots with a silver crown on each of them. And in my hair were a pair of wing-shaped hairpins. A more grey color than Uni's.
"Wow…I actually look pretty good."
"Right? I had the same feeling when I changed into this."
"Who picked these out, though?"
"Uh…from what Arle told me, some guy named Oshare owns a clothing store in this world. It's known that he's a real fashion expert."
"Huh…" Was all I said.
A male fashion expert? You don't see that everyday…
"Meow. Meow."
"Oh. Sorry, little cutie. We were having a sisterly moment and we almost forgot about you."
"Meow." The cat began swatting my nose again. Normally, it would hurt, but…it actually kinda tickles.
"*giggle* H-Hey, stop."
"That cat is honestly really cute." Uni said. "I wonder who owns him."
"He's mine."
"K-KYAAA! A-A GHOST?!" We both yelled in shock after a ghost with blue hair appeared in front of us.
"Meow. Meow."
"Kat. There you are."
"Meow." The cat then jumped out of my hands and made his way to the head of his…apparent owner. Looking oddly comfortable.
W-Wait, so…this ghost OWNS this cat?! Was I holding a ghost cat just now?!
"Rei…don't just appear out of nowhere so randomly. You're gonna scare people."
"Y-You just did the same thing!" I yelled at the turquoise-haired girl who had also appeared out of nowhere.
"Yeah, but I'm human. I'm not gonna scare people when I do it."
"Anyone would be scared of that!" Uni yelled."Human or ghost!"
"Ugh. Whatever. Human emotions are too complicated to understand, anyway."
"You say that, yet you're a human yourself…" We both gained a sweatdrop.
"Hey, are you guys okay in here?" We heard a voice call out to us. Then saw Feli walking up to us.
"Hey, Feli. Do you…know these two?" I asked.
"The human girl is Yu and the ghost boy is Rei. Long story short, Yu used to be a ghost much like her twin brother. But then something happened that made her revive as a human."
"What happened?" Uni asked.
"It's a long story, from what I heard. I don't really know all the details."
"Plus, I rather not bring it up." Yu added.
"Huh…"
"Anyway…"Feli continued. "…You two seem to be doing alright. Nothing broken?"
"I'm doing fine."
"So am I." I said. "In fact, I'm feeling a lot better than I did when I first met you girls."
"Well, you can thank Lemres for that. He managed to make a potion that healed most of your cuts and bruises. Though, we still bandaged you up just in case."
"I see…well…thank you guys. Really, you saved our lives."
"Well, we did owe you for saving our lives before. It was the least we could do."
Never would've though other-worlders could be so nice…this definitely changed my opinion of them. Based on past experiences.
"So…where did you end up taking us?" I asked.
"This is the Precise Museum. A museum and library here in town. It's run by a guy named Akuma and Yu & Rei are some of its employees."
"A museum…and a library…well, that's an interesting combination."
"A lot of people think that." Yu said. "I just like it because the pay's good."
"And Kat's the mascot." Rei added.
"Meow."
"Wait…Kat the Cat?" Uni asked. "His name is Kat?"
"Rei's a bit of a lazy thinker…" Yu said with a sweatdrop.
To come up with a name like that, "a bit" is an understatement…
"Anyway…" Feli continued again. "…the others are upfront in the library. We're all trying to figure out what's happening and were hoping you two could give us your side of things."
"Our side, huh?" I went silent for a bit. "Well…I do have this feeling in the back of my mind that both of our worlds are involved in this mess somehow. If retelling what happened to us will help in figuring out what's going on…then we'll do all that we can to help. Right, Uni?"
"Yeah, Noire's right. We'll help with whatever we can do." Uni said.
"Thanks, you guys."
"Hey, uh…what exactly happened to you two?" Yu asked.
"To put it simply, Yu…a completely screwed up nightmare." I said with a depressed sigh.
I think my broken mind is starting to show…
Uni and I followed the three residents of this world to where the library part of this building was. There, we saw Arle, Ringo, Futaba, Rin, Lemres from before, and then…a giant blue bear doll?
…
O-Okay…
"Hey, guys. They're up now." Feli said. Gaining the group's attention.
"Hey, you two. Glad you're feeling better." Arle said.
"Thanks, Arle." I replied. "We really owe it to all of you for taking us in."
"And that potion really helped, too." Uni added. "I almost feel like nothing happened."
"Well, I'm glad you liked it." Lemres said.
"Still, though…you guys could've gave my potion a chance."
"Rin, I keep telling you. The stuff you make with your chemistry set are definitely NOT made for drinking." Futaba said to her friend.
"You don't know that. You, Hinata, and Naoko keep pushing off whenever I try to get you to drink it."
"That's because nobody wants to drink Mercury, Benzene, Arsenic, or Cyanide."
"Wh-What the hell?!" Uni and I yelled in a huge shock.
"Aw, come on. They won't kill you…r-right away."
"I freaking heard that, you know." Futaba gained a sweatdrop.
"Hmm…so, these are the two girls you mentioned before, KUMA!" Asked the blue bear doll (I think).
"Yep." Arle said. "Their names are Noire and Uni. They say that they came from a different world."
"I see, KUMA!"
"This is Akuma. The guy I was talking about." Feli said to us. "He's a demonic teddy bear who's pretty knowledgeable in stuff like this. Basically…if something's wrong with the world, he's the guy to ask."
"I see…" I said.
So, he's like Histoire, in a way…
"Noire and Uni, correct?" Akuma asked us. "From what I've been told. You two possess knowledge on these current events, is that right, KUMA!"
"Well…we don't know much. But we can explain the stuff up in the sky. And how we got here."
"Hmm…very well. Then, please…start from the beginning, MA, KUMA, KUMAAAA!"
Why does he yell "kuma" after every sentence like that? Is that normal for him?
"Well, you see…"
And so, like how I told the girls, I explained to Akuma what happened. And it was harder than the first time, too. Mainly because the horrific memories were almost too much to bear. And I was trying not to cry in front of Uni…who I noticed that she was trying to hold back, too.
So, she is mentally scarred from that…it honestly makes me a little better knowing that she feels the same.
"I see…such an ordeal you two went through, KUMA!"
"Damn…that is screwed up." Yu said. "I'm honestly shocked that you two are still alive after experiencing that apocalyptic mess."
"Did you really have to say it like that, Yu?" Futaba gained a sweatdrop.
"Yeah…it was." I said with a sigh. "And the worst part of it is that it all happened out of nowhere. Both of us were completely blindsided when the sky turned into that space void. And then our whole nation crumbling to literal pieces soon after."
"Man…how horrible." Arle said.
"Gu gu…"
"So, I guess that truly explains how those landmasses appeared in the sky." Lemres added.
Now that I think about it…could the same thing had happened to the other nations? I haven't seen any landmarks relating to Planeptune, Lowee, or Leanbox yet. But if if could happen to mine, then I guess it's only a matter of time.
"Hey, Noire…" Futaba said to me. "…Those monsters you fought earlier…you seemed to be rather familiar with them."
"Oh, that. Well, a lot of them are common creatures you find in our world. So, I was really confused when I saw a whole swarm of them here."
"Gah! It's all Ridel's fault!" Yu yelled. "Her psycho-ass used some weird stone-crystal-thing and brought on all this mess just to screw with us again! She NEVER gives up!"
"It's annoying." Rei added.
"Meow." And an added meow from Kat.
"Wait…Ridel? That name sounds familiar."
"Huh?" We all looked at Uni.
"Uni, you know who this Ridel girl is?" I asked her.
"Well, I don't actually know her. I just…" Uni then went silent for a bit. Trying to remember where she heard the name before. "…O-Oh, yeah! I remember hearing a girl named Amitie telling me about her!"
"W-Wait, what?!" Ringo yelled in shock.
"You know who Amitie is?!" Arle asked.
"Uh…let me see…Oh, yeah! She fell from the sky while I was visiting Planeptune. Both Neptune and Nepgear said that she was their cousin."
"W-Wait, seriously? Neptune has a cousin?" I asked with a mind completely blown.
How come she never brought that up?
"Neptune?" Feli said. "Wait, I know her. Amitie introduced Lidelle and me to her a few days ago. She said that she was from a different dimension."
"S-So, Am has a cousin, huh?" Ringo asked with a sweatdrop. "From another dimension, nonetheless."
"Leave it to Amitie to have a weird-as-hell family tree…" Arle said. Also with a sweatdrop.
"Anything else she said, Uni?" Feli asked.
"Well…she said something about Zodiac Stones and a girl named Resta knowing all about them. Everyone had decided to go look for her by the time I was leaving. So, they probably found her by now."
"I see, KUMA!" Akuma said. "Resta the Scorpio Princess…if we are to fully connect what has happened to both worlds, then we would need her full cooperation, KUMA!"
"How are we gonna do that, though?" Rin asked. "Isn't this Resta girl with Amitie in a different world?"
"That is true, KUMA! Lemres…see if you can find Ecolo out there. His knowledge with Space-Time could be proven useful, KUMA!"
"Sure thing, Akuma." Lemres said with a tip of his hat.
"Y-You're asking Ecolo?" Ringo asked. "Knowing him, he probably won't take any of this seriously."
"That is a possibility, yes. But with him constantly traveling to different dimensions, you cannot deny that his power to traverse through dimensions is our only hope in returning Amitie and the others back home, KUMA!"
Just how powerful is this Ecolo guy?
"Yeah…that's true. But still, I should tag along, too. He'll probably at least pretend to be serious if it's coming from my mouth."
"Fair enough, MA, KUMA, KUMAAAA!"
"You two are really going out there?" Yu asked.
"Those monsters…" Rei added.
"We'll just have to fight them if we encounter them." Lemres said. "Nothing else we can do about it."
"Don't worry, Arle." Ringo said to her. "I won't to too reckless out there. I'll come back safe 'n sound."
"Ringo…"
"Hey, Noire…you thinking what I'm thinking?" Uni whispered to me.
"Yeah…definitely." I said. "*clears throat* Hey, guys. If you don't mind, we're coming along, too."
"Seriously?" Feli asked. "But you both are still recovering from your injuries."
"It's not as bad as before. And besides, the monsters are coming from our world. So, we'll know how to handle them."
"And there's A LOT of strong ones, too." Uni added. "So, there's no telling which ones will start appearing here."
"What's your call, Akuma?" Lemres asked the demonic teddy bear.
"They both possess valid points, KUMA! It would be best if they tagged along with you both, KUMA! Just in case."
"Well alright, then." Ringo said. "Thanks for the help, Noire and Uni."
"We'll be under your care from this point on." Lemres added. "Try to keep up, okay?"
"Ha. Please. These low-leveled monsters are no match for Lastation's CPU. I'll slice them all down to size! Hahahaha!"
"Hey, is Noire normally this arrogant?" Feli asked Uni.
"You get used to it…" Uni replied with a sweatdrop.
Author's Note: With powers new and old fully charged up, Neptune, Amitie, Resta, and Compa face off against Revati as the worlds are slowly starting to fuse. Meanwhile, back in Primp…Noire and Uni tag along with Ringo and Lemres to look for Ecolo and get his help on bringing Amitie home.
Easier said than done…
I know I said before that there would be only five astrological signs would be referenced. But…thinking about it, using all 12 would be better. Case in point, Revati representing Pisces and Neptune's new power representing Aquarius (also some changes were made at the end of the previous chapter).
Thanks for reading. Later.