Chapter 38 – Recap of the Zodiac's Fusion
Neptune's POV
Soon after gaining the Aquarius Sapphire and randomly reuniting with Blanc and Lidelle, we arrived at the Precise Museum's library to meet up with everyone else. Mainly to hear about what Histy and Akuma found out about Zodiac power and the world fusion and all that stuff.
Not everyone was here yet. So, in the meantime, Noire and I were explaining to Blanc each of our situations and how they led to us ending up here.
"I see…so, the other nations got hit as hard as Lowee did, huh? Guess I should've expected that."
"It was…unpleasant, to put it lightly." Noire said to Blanc. "Uni and I barely escaped with our lives. The whole scene was highly traumatic."
"Yeah, same for us. Rom and Ram each had nightmares for days. Seeing all of that destruction and death at once really did some damage to their psyche."
Blanc then went silent for a bit.
"A-And, well…I-I can say the same for me."
"S-Seriously?"
"Wow, Blanc…that must've took a lot of guts to admit that." I said.
"I know. It's shocking coming from the short-tempered hot-headed no nonsense CPU of Lowee. But seeing your home crumble to pieces and your citizens being crushed and killed by the very same land they've lived on their entire lives…that's not something you can just get over after a good night's sleep. That apocalyptic nightmare is going to haunt my mind…even after we fix everything."
"Yeah…I can relate with you on that." Noire said in the same depressed tone Blanc currently had.
"Uh…I'm not trying to win the award for "Most Traumatizing Thing Ever Experienced" or anything…" I spoke out. "…but I had my soul shattered to the point where it can never be fixed and my sanity is damn near nonexistent. I'm VASTLY different from the Neptune you all knew since 2010."
"Not different enough to be still making these "fourth-wall break" jokes…" Noire said as both she and Blanc gained sweatdrops.
"Hey, Blanc." Our rather short reunion was (pretty much) cut even shorter when Lidelle walked up to us. "We managed to find everyone else. Poochy's guiding them all back here."
"Ribbit!" And on top of her head was the frog friend native to this world named Don…
D-Don…
Dongari…
Dongae…
Don…aru…? What?
"Dongurigaeru." Blanc corrected me.
"H-How can you say that name so perfectly?! It's way too long!"
"I've known him for well over a week at this point. Saying his name just became easier."
"Plus…it's not really THAT hard to say." Noire added.
"Ugh! And yet, people can never pronounce MY name right…"
"Well, to be fair…"Neptune" isn't really a common name." Lidelle said.
"Not common? What a load of crap! I mean…I'm named after a video game console!"
"That doesn't exist." Noire said.
"W-Well, it was going to!"
"Just accept it, Neptune. Your name's hard as hell to pronounce."
"Ribbit." Dongurigaeru added.
"NO WAY! I'll prove to you all that my easy to pronounce and that this running joke that it's not is so nepping stale! And I'll do it with the next person I meet!"
"When did this become a name-pronunciation contest?" Blanc asked with a huge sweatdrop.
"Blanc…"
We were then joined by Rom and a white-haired girl about her size. The latter of which…looking unamused as hell.
Even after what I assume she's been through…this girl must be tough as nails!
"Rom. So, you made it here with Chu?"
"Yeah…it was lucky for me. We ended up at a place called Moguru Bay and she guided me over here. It really helped a lot."
"So…your name's Chu, huh?" I asked the white-haired girl.
"N-Neptune, you really shouldn't…"
"Shhh! I wanna hear this." Blanc said as she covered Lidelle's mouth.
"Are these friends of yours, Rom?" Chu asked. Not really getting what's going on.
"Hiya! Name's Neptune!" I cheered. "CPU of Planeptune and protag of all protags! There's nobody better than me!"
"*sigh* Bragging as usual…" Noire mumbled to herself.
"Oh…okay, then. Nice to meet you, Nep…
Nepa…
Nepee…
N-Nepth…uh…"
*sigh* Here we go again. Might as well just give it up and tell her to just call me…
"Nickel."
…
…
…
Wait…WHAAAAAAT?!
"N-Nickel?!"
"Pfft! Nickel! Baaahahahahahaha! Oh, my GOD! That's so freaking hilarious!" Blanc and Noire yelled after they both broke into hysterical laughter.
"L-Like hell it is!" I shouted at them before turning back to Chu. "H-How the hell did you get "Nickel"?!"
"Well, your name's kinda hard to pronounce…"
"But even then…"Nickel"?!"
"I tried to warn you, Neptune." Lidelle said. "Chu has a very poor memory when it comes to names. She'll only remember some variant of it."
"Variant?! "Nickel" is nowhere NEAR my name! It doesn't even have "Nep" in it!"
"That's just how it works. She calls me "Rita"…and she calls Blanc "Bland"."
"Wh-Wha…Lidelle!" Blanc yelled in anger.
"Ha! Bland! Gaaahahahaha!" Noire broke down into more laughter."O-Oh, my God, I can't! My sides are hurting!"
"Sh-Shut the hell up!"
She's definitely enjoying this…
"What are you guys yelling about over here?" Feli asked as she walked up to us.
"Nickel here just found out why you shouldn't trust Chu in remembering your name." Lidelle said.
"D-Don't call me Nickel!" I yelled.
"Oh…that. Welp, sucks to be you, Nickel."
"S-Seriously! Quit calling me Nickel!"
"Anyway…everyone that got warped here from the Babylon Nebula has been found and brought here. We're ready to start the meeting."
"*sigh* Finally. We can put this aggravating conversation to bed…"
"Even though you're the own who started it?" Blanc retorted with a sweatdrop.
"H-Hey, Neptune…" Noire said. "…is it really true that you gained access to the Aquarius Sapphire? And what MAGES. said actually worked?"
"Oh, yeah. It totally did. I was able to put a piece of Lastation back in its place. So, maybe with a little more power, I could put together all of Gamindustri back together. It's only a matter of time now."
"W-Wow…s-so we really have a chance to return home." Noire began to tear up a little. "Neptune, I can't believe I'm actually going to say this, but…I TRULY owe you for doing this!"
"It's fine, Noire. Really. It's the least I can do before…well…THAT happens."
"Y-Yeah…THAT."
"Wait, what's "THAT"?" Blanc asked.
"O-Oh, um…I-I'll tell you later, Blanc. It's definitely important, though."
"Okay…?" Blanc didn't get it. But…it's best that she barely did for now.
After all, I still haven't told Histy and Nepgear. So, I'm basically using this as practice…
"Anyway…let's get going. I've been DYING to try out my new Zodiac power on some worthless ugly monsters~. Now I'll give them bloody hell~! *creepy giggle*"
…
…
…
Everyone just stared at me with huge disturbed looks due to what I had just said.
"Wh-When did you become so demented?" Blanc asked.
"I-It's a side-effect of my soul being shattered. Gave me like…a huge anger problem. Managing it is kinda hard."
"I-I see…"
"Neptune talking creepy…it's almost like Ram." Rom said.
"Huh?" I asked in shock. "You're saying Ram got her soul shattered, too?"
"W-Well…no. But…it's kind of…"
"…It's best if you saw it for yourself." Chu added.
And hearing that only made me wonder more…
We met up with everyone else at the library for the big update meeting. There were old faces, familiar faces, and especially brand-new ones. All and all…it's people from three different worlds crammed up in one area.
Interactions are BOND to be interesting now…
"Wow…never have I'd seen the library so packed. It's kinda like everyone's cramming for their Final Exam…"
"Final Exam?" I asked Amitie.
"It's a thing schools have. After a whole year of learning different subjects and lessons, you take one big test at the end to see if you've TRULY learned anything. Kinda like those "final bosses" from those video games you play. Only it's…a little more stressful, in my opinion."
"I see…" I then went silent for a bit. "…Hey. When I step down from Goddess life, would you get me into a school like yours?"
"You're really serious about that?"
"Like I told you before…I want a normal life. To live as a normal girl. I still don't have the whole thing planned out yet…but "going to school" seems like a good first step."
"Huh…" Now it was Amitie who went silent. "Well…I'll see what I can do, Neptune."
"Thanks, Amitie. I really owe you one."
"Hey, you two. Pay attention." Iffy scolded us.
"R-Right. Sorry." We both replied.
"So, you guys really did find some new leads?" Noire asked.
"Yeah…and it was the most grueling two days of my life." Melody answered. "I come home from a vacation and I immediately get dragged into a search for an old classmate and three crazies wanting to destroy the worlds because of their emotional issues. I better get paid overtime for this, Akuma…"
"Overtime for you is going through an entire shift without sleeping, KUMA!" Akuma said.
"What~? Why's the bar so low~?"
"It's pretty obvious as to why the bar's that low, Melody-senpai." Melody's friend Lily said with a sweatdrop.
"*clears throat* In any case…" Histy continued the meeting. "…While we do have new leads, it would be best if all parties involved in the previously explained "preparation phase" to be present first."
"All parties?" Arle asked before thinking about it. "Well, there's Satan and Ecolo…"
"Rivitie and Arly…" Nepgear said.
"Still in disbelief that Cheri knew about it…" Ringo said as she looked at her clone…who was currently being fed cherries by K-Sha to keep her paying attention.
Wow…someone who's a bigger ditz than Plutie. It's shocking…
"And you knew everything from the start, Lady Nasos?" Resta asked her.
"*sigh* Yeah…I did. Sorry for keeping it a secret from you girls. But I had to make sure that everything being told to me was in fact true. And by the time I fully confirmed everything…"
"…Was when the invasion started." Sagey finished the sentence.
"We did the best we could…but our powers alone were not enough to stop them." Neva (the Capricorn Princess, from what Resta told me) said.
"Not to mention that we still don't know where Spille is. You sure you never saw her while looking for your stone, Raum?"
Raum (the Libra Princess, from what Resta told me) responded with a simple "no" headshake. Apparently, she doesn't talk. So, "yes" or "no" questions are the only way to speak to her.
Not talking at all…that's kinda creepy…
"Well, in that case…finding Spille will be our top priority." Nasos said. "It'll be for the best if all 5 princesses were together at once."
That was when both Resta and Sagey looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces.
"Sh-Should…Shouldn't we tell them about Revati?" Sagey asked.
"W-We should probably save it for later. It's a pretty complicated topic." Resta said.
Speaking of complicated topics…
"Hey, Noire…" I said to her. "…We should probably tell Blanc about that "last person" involved."
"O-Oh, yeah…THAT "last person"." Noire replied with a pale look of her own.
"What are you guys talking about?" Blanc asked.
"Uh…w-well…"
"H-Hey…you guys might want to stand back a few feet." I said to the others. "This could get ugly."
"What's the big deal? Just tell her." Amitie said.
You're gonna regret being that hasty about it, dear cousin…
"W-Well…y-you see, Blanc…"
Noire and I then told her that…apparently, someone in Gamindustri knew ahead of time of the worlds fusing and ending up how they are now.
…
And how that person…was Vert.
*BOOM*
"WHAT?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! THAT TIT-FOR-BRAINED PERVERTED BLONDE KNEW ABOUT ALL OF THIS AND DIDN'T SAY A GODDAMN WORD?!"
Her reaction to it all was pretty much what we expected.
"S-So it seems…" Noire said.
"Tr-Trust us…it caught us by surprise, too." I added.
""SURPRISED" DOESN'T EVEN REMOTELY RELATE TO HOW I FEEL! ONCE WE FIND HER, I'M WRINGING HER FUCKING HEAD OFF!"
"C-Come on now, Blanny. I-I'm sure Lady Vert had her reasons for not telling." C-Sha said as she tried calming her friend down.
"I-If anything…maybe she was trying to protect us." Nepgear added.
"PROTECT US?! SHE DID MORE DAMAGED BY NOT OPENING HER DAMN MOUTH!"
"I know how upset you are at this news, Blanc…but do please calm down." Histy said. "It would be fair to at least hear Vert out."
…
…
…
"*sigh* Fine." Blanc said after calming down a bit. "I'll hear her out…but I'm still pummeling her ass once we find her."
"F-Fair enough, I guess…" Histy gained a sweatdrop.
"Well, I don't see how that's fair…"
We suddenly heard a new voice join the conversation. And for us Gamindustri residents, it was a familiar one.
Then we looked ahead to see…on a small TV screen…the one person who left us all in the dark about everything that's happened thus far.
…
A-Aside from the "soul shattering" thing. Highly doubt she knew about that.
"V-Vert?!" Noire, Blanc, and I yelled in total shock.
"Surprise~!" Ecolo cheered in a somewhat teasing manner. "You know how it was said earlier that ALL parties should be here? Well~…thanks to the power of Space-Time, we can have a nice little chat with the last remaining member. And in the highest quality, too. *giggle*"
"Wow…Space-Time can even do that?" B-Sha asked.
"It can do a lot of things, really." Feli said. "Connect multiple worlds, mess around with eclipses, stream these shows called "anime" through an other-worldly network…"
"W-Woah, woah. Wait a minute…you guys have ANIME here?!"
"Yeah, but it took a while for it to properly work. Even with Lemres' magic and Futaba's translating skills."
"*sigh* Translating all of those subtitles to English was a total pain in the ass…" Futaba added in agony.
I guess there's no Japanese in this world…
"So cool…I know what I'm doing after this!"
*BONK*
"Ow!"
"Focus, you." C-Sha said after hitting B-Sha in the head.
"So…this is Vert." Amitie said as she walked up to the screen. "She's definitely got this real look of…"
"VERT! YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO, YOU CONNIVING LITTLE BITCH!" She was then suddenly pushed aside by Blanc as she was raging at the screen. Grabbing and shaking it violently to the point where she could break it.
"I'm very much aware of how angry you are about it Blanc. And I can truly explain…"
"YOU BETTER HAVE AN EXPLAINATION FOR NOT WARNING US ABOUT THE NIGHTMARE WE ALL WENT THROUGH!"
"She's right about this, Vert." Noire said as she joined on screen. "Out of all the things you've done over the years, this is the most questionable and backstabbing of them all."
"I understand. I really do. And I deeply apologize for everything." Vert said as she gave a very serious bow. "But the honest truth is…by the time I had learned of this event, it was too late to inform the rest of you. I had to use what limited power I had and hope for the best. Fortunately…it resulted in Gamindustri still being able to stand. But only just barely."
"Wowie…so, it really was down to the wire…" Compa said.
"All of the nations and landmarks crumbling apart and floating lifelessly in the spacey void…it wasn't the worst of it, was it?" Iffy asked.
"*sigh* Sadly, no."
"The fact that you all survived proves that Vert's last-minute efforts were not in-vain." Satan added. "You all should be considered lucky to be even standing in this building right now."
And that was when all of us went dead silent. For the past couple of days, a lot of us (including myself) were confused and for the most part mad at Vert for not saying something about Kurome's demented plan. And even believed that she ditched us in favor of saving her own skin.
But after hearing what she did for us and how it could've been A LOT worse had she'd learned of it later…it's kinda hard to keep this grudge against her.
She's like one of those overzealous cliché hero characters from an RPG. You want to hate them…but you just can't…
"*sigh* Vert…I'm…I-I'm sorry for getting angry at you." Blanc said with a light red blush on her face. "And…th-thank you."
"W-Wow…Blanc…" Rom said in shock.
"Blanny actually apologizing to someone? That's as rare as a rare item drop." C-Sha added in the same tone.
"I-I'm…s-sorry too, Vert." Noire said with the same blushed face as Blanc. "I truly believed that you plotted against us or something…b-but I'm truly grateful for what you did."
"Noire…" K-Sha said in disbelief.
"Three for three here." I added. "I, uh…o-owe you big for this, Vert."
"Neptune…" Nepgear said in the same shocked tone as the others.
"To have all three goddesses bowing and apologizing to you…it truly sounds like they are grateful towards you, Vert." Histy said.
"Yes, it truly does." Vert replied."Such a once-in-a-lifetime scene I'm witnessing…perhaps I should take a picture to keep the memory alive."
"D-DON'T GET COCKY, JACKASS!" The three of us shouted in an embarrassed rage.
"*giggle* I only jest…"
"In any case…" Satan continued. "…Have you figured out where you are?"
"*sigh* No, not in the slightest. It truly is just one ginormous spacey void. The only good thing about my situation is that it seems to be quite peaceful."
"I see…"
"Ahhh~…stranded in a spacey void." Ecolo said. "Lost in your own thoughts…all alone with nobody to talk to…"
"Thinking of all the naughty sexual pleasures I could do to my precious little kitten…drowning in my own ecstasy as certain parts of me get super SUPER wet…*perverted giggle* it truly is the best~."
*POW*
"Shut up, you damn pervert." Rivitie said after slamming Arly's head on a nearby table."
She's a bigger pervert than Milli…
"Although…there is something strange about this place." Vert continued. "This void contains a bunch of silhouettes that seem to be other locations. Some of which I do recognize as Gamindustri landmarks…but a good majority are unfamiliar."
"Silhouettes of other places…" I heard Amitie mumble to herself. "…Hey, uh…Vert, was it? Could you show more of that void you're in?"
"Huh? Well…I guess. Though I'm not sure what you would find out here. It truly is nothing."
Vert then showed off the rest of the void filled with silhouettes of mostly unfamiliar locations. I mean, I did recognize some Gamindustri spots…but they're not really relevant ones.
"Woah…there's really a lot of them." Jarne said.
"Just floating in an endless empty void…it's truly depressing to look at." Neva added.
"Get really real…it really is that place."
"You know what it is, Amitie?" Lidelle asked.
"Don't you guys recognize it? It's Another Dimension!"
"Another Dimension?" Ringo asked as she took a look at the screen for herself. "Wait…yeah! It is that place! From Dream Land, right?!"
"Dream Land?" Blanc asked. "As in the world Kirby is from? How do you guys know about that?"
"W-Well, uh…long story short, some of us have been there before."
"WH-WHAT?! H-HOW?!"
"Seriously, it's a long story." Lidelle said. "It'll take too long to explain. So, just drop it already."
"H-How could I…*sigh* fine. Whatever." Blanc Finally gave in.
I don't blame her for wondering, though. Going to a place like Dream Land is EXTREMELY not normal…
"So, that spacey void is called Another Dimension…" Histy said as she took a look at the screen. "…It looks quite similar to the void that's plaguing our three worlds, is it not?"
"It…does look similar. No…it looks exactly the same." Nepgear said.
"So, does that mean that it's Another Dimension that's crumbling our worlds?" Arle asked. "How did those psychos even get access to that place?"
"Seeing as how they've been using our stones to travel everywhere, I wouldn't be surprised if they just found by pure chance." Sagey said.
"Not to mention that Ridel has a Crystal Shard." Lidelle added. "It must've boosted the Zodiac Stones' power somehow."
"W-Wait, how the hell did Ridel get a Crystal Shard?!" Amitie asked in total shock.
"*sigh* As if I know. And straight up asking her was pretty much pointless."
"Of course, it was…" Amitie gained a sweatdrop.
"Speaking of Ridel…" Iffy said. "…It would be nice if we knew any more info about the culprits responsible for this mess."
"About that, KUMA!" Akuma said. "Aside from what Lidelle has mentioned to me earlier…there has been no new details of their locations, KUMA! Or what their next move in this evil plot could be, MA KUMA!"
"*sigh* Nothing, huh? Man, finding these villains is a real pain in the ass this time around."
"They usually just pop up whenever you least expect it." Uzume added. "The fact that we have to actively look for them now must mean that they're really serious this time."
"You said that one of them got absorbed by a…butterfly?" Feli asked Lidelle. "How the hell did that happen?"
"Ah, that. Well, I still don't understand it, but…"
Kurome's POV
"G-Geez…a butterfly did all of THIS?" I asked in complete shock after meeting up with Ridel in the Babylon Nebula. And seeing the destruction that occurred when this world's biggest star exploded in the sky.
Thanks to Shiro's power, we were able to prevent its disintegration. But it still looks like a total wasteland. More than any of us could've done…
"See? I told you that I wasn't bat-shit crazy." Ridel said."That butterfly has an obsession with destruction. Or "Judgement Day" as it kept calling it."
"Judgement Day?" I then went silent for a bit. "The day that ends everything and everyone…what kind of butterfly has the power to cause something THAT grand?"
"A butterfly that is not of this world."
"Huh?"
"You know what that thing is, Shiro?" We both asked her.
"That butterfly is known as the Butterfly of Judgement. A corrupted being from my world. Brought into existence by absorbing power from past Dream Land threats, its one and only goal is to cast Judgement Day on all worlds. Leaving them…and anyone in them…to be permanently eradicated."
"Interesting…" I said.
"So? That's no different from what we're doing." Ridel added.
"The Butterfly of Judgement will stop at nothing to achieve its goal. Its stolen power, destroyed planets, and ended lives of innocent people."
"Again. That's the same thing we're doing. What makes this "Butterfly of Judgement" a bigger threat than us?"
Shiro made an exasperated sigh as she looked up into the damaged Babylonian sky.
"Because eventually…that thing will come for us."
"Wh-What?" Ridel and I grew shocked looks.
"No doubt in my mind that it sensed the power of the Zodiac Stones. And it came to this world to claim it for itself. Most likely to increase its own power."
"S-So, it's gonna come fight us for the stones?" Ridel asked. "H-Hell no, man! I'm not fighting that monstrosity! It almost massacred Lidelle's group for literally no reason!"
"Plus, it did absorb Arfoire." I added. "So, it already has one of the stones in its possession."
"What the hell are we going to do, Kurome?!"
"Calm down, already. *sigh* First off…we'll have to forget the search for the missing Zodiac Stone for now. The fact that I still have the Pisces Amethyst already puts us in danger." I then looked at the giant star in the sky. "As for that mess…"
"Stopping it from destroying this world was one thing…" Shiro said. "…But getting rid of something THIS powerful will prove to be a challenge. Even for someone of my strength."
"If you need a place to dump it, I know a small-ass island you can take it to."
"An island?" Shiro and I asked Ridel.
"Nobody goes there. So, it won't be missed if it's destroyed or some crap like that."
"The lack of empathy for the place you call home is deeply puzzling." Shiro said with a sweatdrop.
"Hmph. You're one to talk, Shiro."
"In any case…" I spoke out. "…You two can go to that island and dump this Zuben-whatever star. I've still got my own search to do."
"You're still interested in Amitie and Rivitie?" Ridel asked.
"Yes…but for different reasons this time." I replied with threatening giggles as I warped out of the Babylon Nebula.
So close…I'm definitely close!
Neptune's POV
"…And that's what happened." Lidelle said. Concluding the long story of how she, Blanc, and the others ended up here.
"We were lucky as hell to get swept up by that fish prince's wave." Blanc added. "Even though I still don't like the damn minnow."
"Really not the first person to say that, Blanc…" Amitie said with a sweatdrop.
"I see…" Histy said. "…So, this Butterfly of Judgement seems to be a very serious threat."
"It was crazy enough watching Chu fight that thing. And she's only 11." C-Sha said.
"The Butterfly of Judgement is no joke." Chu added. "It'll stop at nothing to devour all dreams and cast judgement on all of our worlds. And it'll gathering power until its goals are fulfilled."
"Gathering power…so, is that why it absorbed Arfoire?" Nepgear asked.
"Most likely." Nasos answered. "She had a piece of the Libra Opal with her when it happened. So, it's safe to assume that it wants to add Zodiac power to its strength."
"I could've gotten it back if I had more time." Chu said with tremendous guilt coming from her tone. "I really tried…putting all the power I had. B-But…"
"Chu, it's okay." Neva said as she comforted her. "What's more important is that we all made it out alive. Right, Raum?"
Raum replied with a head shake of "yes".
"*sniff* B-But still…I promised Mom I would stop it and…"
"Your mom?" Melody asked.
"R-Right, about that…" Lidelle's mom Yumi said with a crap ton of nervousness. "…S-So, apparently…Chu gained her new powers from…L-Lulisia-senpai."
"L-Lulisia-senpai?!" Lily yelled in shock.
"Th-The hell?! Didn't she die?!" Melody asked in the same tone.
"That was to be believed. But if what Chu's saying is true, then…"
"H-Holy crap…"
"Are you three familiar with this Lulisia?" Histy asked.
"Uh…well…"
"Melody…it would really help a lot if you would stop with these damn hidden secrets." Iffy said.
"L-Look, I got reasons for that, okay?! Reasons that…are complicated to explain."
"*sigh* Of course, they are…" Iffy gained an agitated sweatdrop.
"Why does she keep so many secrets from you guys?" Noire whispered to us two."
"It's been a thing since we were born, honestly." Amitie replied. "Whenever Rivitie and I would ask her about stuff like this, she'll just derail the conversation so much to the point where we just give up. There's still a lot we don't know about our powers, for one."
"As for the cousins thing…apparently, Melody knew about it months in advance before finally letting us meet." I added. "As to why…she said it was complicated."
"Huh…she sure is a mysterious woman."
"And that's DEFINITELY not a secret…" We both said with huge sweatdrops.
"So, what do we do about this Butterfly of Judgement thing?" Ringo asked.
"Well, it's obvious that we have to go after it." Satan said. "If it truly made its way here, like Lidelle said, then it'll no doubt attempt to do the same thing it did to the Babylon Nebula."
"But where did it go?" Arle asked. "I mean, we know Zoh's out there tracking its scent, but…"
"That's the other bit of news, KUMA!" Akuma said. "Thanks to Zoh's efforts, we managed to discover where it ran off to, KUMA! The thing is…"
"You know that weird island out in the middle of the ocean? Yeah, it's there." Rivitie said.
"Weird island?" Amitie thought for a bit. "W-Wait…y-you're saying it went to Pwurp Island?!"
"Pwurp Island?" I asked. "What kind of place is that?"
"It's this island located a couple of kilometers from Primp. It…honestly just showed up one day and not many people really know about it."
"Plus, it has a bunch of weird monsters roaming around." Jarne added. "So, simply going over there is way too dangerous."
"But if it went over there, then shouldn't we at least try?" Nepgear asked.
"Nepgear…the place is SWARMING with monsters. Some of them weirder than the ones I've seen so far in Gamindustri. There's no way we can deal with them all."
"You seem to be forgetting that we fight monsters almost on a regular basis in our world." Noire said with a confident (and also kinda cocky) look on her face. "Whatever these monsters are, we can totally handle them."
"And if worse comes to shove, we can have Nep go rabid on them." Iffy added.
"I-I don't wanna go RABID on them!" I shouted in anger.
"Even if we have people experienced with fighting monsters, going to Pwurp Island is still a dangerous event, KUMA!" Akuma said. "If you truly wish to go there, then we will need access from the Star Crusaders, MA, KUMA!"
"Star Crusaders?" Some of us asked.
"They're an agency of galactic officers formed shortly after the incident with that Fallen Angel thing." Melody said. "They go around to different worlds and fight off any threats that could screw up the universe or whatnot."
"I see…that's quite the interesting group." Histy said.
" Wait a minute…how do you know about them?" Rivitie asked.
"I know someone who's a part of them. As to who it is…"
"Let me guess…it's a secret, right?"
"Aw~! You know me so well, Rivi. Such a good daughter~. *giggle*"
"Tch! Q-Quit screwing around, damnit!" Rivitie yelled with a small blush on her face.
"Oh, my Goodness…I never realized how cute Rivitie looks when she blushes." Nepgear whispered to us.
"I know, right?" Amitie said. "It's a rare sight from her. So, when it happens, you just GOTTA take it in."
"Who would've thought the moody "too cool type" cousin would have a cute side…" I added with a few giggles of my own.
"I-I can freaking hear you guys!" Rivitie then yelled at us with a bigger blush on her face.
WAY too cute!
"So, we have to get a Star Crusader to help us out?" Feli asked. "What are the chances of that happening?"
"I've already made a request for a representative, KUMA!" Akuma answered. "But the chances of them actually replying is…"
But before he could finish, another one of those star-shaped portals suddenly appeared in the dead center of the room. And it began pulsing repeatedly as if someone was coming through.
"Oh, my…did they truly accept our request?" Histy asked.
"Heh. Good on our end." Uzume said. "Now we can kick some monster ass again!"
"U-Uzume…" Umio gained a sweatdrop.
Meanwhile, as the portal continued to rapidly pulse, we could hear a faint voice getting louder as the person was getting closer to the other end.
*BZZZT*
*BZZZT*
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZT*
"HeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY…..WIFEYS!"
And I was shocked as hell to see who that person was.
"Never fear, new potential wifeys! Star Crusader RED is here to protect you all with my lifey!"
"R…RED?!"
"Huh? Neptune?" RED then looked around the room. Recognizing some of the others that she knew. "W-Wait, why is everybody here?!"
"Well…"
"H-Holy crap! Her breasts are huge! GIMORMOUS, even!" Amitie silently yelled after getting a first glance at RED's…"stand-out" feature.
"How the hell is one able to grow that big?"
"This just proves that the gods are assholes~!"
"Tremendous assholes!" Lidelle, Feli, and B-Sha also had an instant reaction to RED's chest.
…
And looking at her's compared to mine…I can easily agree with that last statement.
Author's Note: A meeting with all preparation participants (including a surprise call from Vert) leads to confessions, apologies, and assistance from the Star Crusaders galactic group…which, apparently RED is a part of?
I gotta admit…I got stuck again. I was having a hard time deciding what the next chapter should be. Along with…"other ideas".
I've been thinking of redoing this whole concept of a Puyo Puyo X Neptunia crossover fic. Not that this story's bad or anything. But…this would be year 4 of this story being up and honestly…it's nowhere near done. In fact, it'll probably take MORE years to fully complete this story. And I honestly don't want a story to last that long.
I'm still thinking about it…but it may happen sometime this year. Of course, any thoughts on the matter are welcome.
Also, some good news: THE VIEWS ARE BACK! I can finally see view stats for my stories again after it being broken since September! I was just about to fully give up and start transferring more stories to AO3. But at least now I can be a lot more lax about it.
Thanks for reading. Later.