Chapter 17 – A Little Sister's Doubts & Confusion

Uni's POV

"Watch me!"

"Here I go!"

"Strike Hit!"

"Crescent Kick!"

"Slash Byte!"

*BOOM*

"Tch…damnit!"

"Had enough yet?! Cause I can go all damn day! Hahahahaha!"

"Grr…cocky little brat! This is far from over!"

"Wow. She's pretty good." Cheri said as the rest of us continued to watch the Puyo Puyo battle unfold between my sister and Arfoire.

"I know." Ringo said. "She's actually doing really well for her first time. A lot better than I did."

"So, this is…Puyo Puyo?" K-Sha asked. "It looks like to be a simple puzzle game."

"Trust me, K-Sha. Most of the time, this puzzle game is FAR from simple."

Meanwhile, I wasn't really paying attention to their conversation. My mind was still back on the moment Noire suddenly changed. The anger she felt…after learning that Arfoire's involved with all of this happening…Lastation being gone and all…

"Shut up…"

"Shut up…Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUUUUUUUP!"

*CRACK*

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Hey, you demented cliché pain-in-the-ass bitch! You and I are going to fight right here right now! I'm gonna make you PAY for what you did! I'll avenge ALL of Lastation for the nightmarish final shit you put them all through!"

…it all reminded me of the anger Neptune felt when she learned that Arfoire shattered her soul. Only difference is that Noire still has at least some of her sanity left.

That doesn't mean I don't feel the same way. I'm extremely pissed that this old hag went to this extent to make our lives hell. And even dragged in two other worlds into this mess. My innocent mind is forever shattered from the horror I witnessed that day. It'll never go away…even after we defeat these psychos.

But…for someone like Noire to get this angry…to the point where she nearly lost all self-control…it's definitely not like her. The only thing I could think of that truly caused Noire's sudden transformation is…

"Hey. Lemres. Can I talk to you for a second?"

"What's up, Uni? Something wrong?"

"I need to know…what exactly are these gems you gave us? They do more than just give us temporary power, right?"

"Hmm…" Lemres went silent for a bit. "…tell me, Uni. Are you aware of what Crystal Shards are?"

"Crystal Shards?" I thought for a moment. "Wait, you mean those crystal pieces from Kirby 64? Is that what this is?"

"Indeed, it is. After the events that brought the worlds of Primp Town and Dream Land together, I had asked Ribbon, the guardian of the Crystal, if I could hold on to a few for research reasons. Since then, I've discovered that they can contain strong powers born from the galaxy itself. And should not be played with like a toy."

"Woah…" I then held onto the crystal currently around my neck. Staring at it in amazement. "…s-so, then…why give Noire and me one if they can be that dangerous?"

"To simply put it, Uni…I'm not the only one who carries these shards. A colleague of mine…who actually resides in the same world the Scorpio Princess hails from…has a few of her own."

"Huh?! Seriously?! B-But why?! How, even?!"

"Well, you see…"

"G-Guys! I-It's Noire! Sh-She's losing!"

"What?!" I yelled after K-Sha had told us some horrible news. And then I turned back to the battle at hand to see yet another horrible sight.

"Go now…"

"Endless despair…"

"Double Strike!"

*BOOM*

"Dark Magic!"

*BOOM*

"Eternal Nightmare!"

*BOOM*

"Black Hole!"

*BOOM*

"Gaaah…"

"Noire!" I yelled in a panic. Noire had suffered multiple blows to the head. Blood was all over her face and the injuries from before were preventing her to get up and fight back. She was losing badly…any more and she'll certainly die.

"Hahahahahaha! You suborn arrogant brat!" Arfoire began to gloat at my downed sister. "You truly believed you could defeat me all on your own?! Pathetic! Even with your strange new powers, NOBODY takes on the Deity of Sin and lives! And now, you shall meet your demise!"

"N-No…I-I can still fight…I-I…c-can…*moan*" Noire then passed out in front of us all. Her massive blood loss finally taking her in.

"Noire!"

"Nooo! Noire! If only I didn't run out of ammo!" K-Sha yelled with tears in her eyes.

"Sine!"

"Parfait!"

"Sweet Cherry."

Meanwhile…Ringo, Lemres, and even Cheri were trying their best to stop Arfoire. But with their attacks constantly being reflected, it was no use.

"Hahahahaha! Fools! You really think those worthless spells will stop me?! OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

*BOOM*

"*screams of pain*"

"Guys!" I shouted once the trio were blasted by one of Arfoire's spells."

"Now…to send you all to the deepest parts of Hell! I'll finally be rid of two of you damn CPUs for good! And nobody will stop me from fulfilling my revenge! Hahahahahaha!"

No…No, no, no, no, no! Th-This can't be happening! This can't be happening! Noire…and everyone else…we're all about to be killed and I can't do anything about it! I can't transform! K-Sha doesn't have any ammo! Neither one of us can do anything and it freaking sucks!

And furthermore…this damn Crystal Shard isn't doing anything! How is it that it worked for Noire but not me?! What's its problem?!

O-Or maybe…a-am I the problem? Am I really just dead weight after all? Not just to Noire…but to everyone here in Primp, too? *sniff* I knew it. I am worthless. Even a powerful crystal from another world is telling me that. And now…my sister is about to die in a different world…all because of my worthless *sniff* pathetic *sniff* weak-as-hell self. I should just *sniff* hurry up and accept my early death already…

"Now, why the hell would you go and do that for?"

H-Huh? Wh-Who just said…

"Prepare to enter a world of despair and ruin! Destroy Guide!"

"Freeze!"

*BOOM*

"*cough* *cough* What the…"

"Woah…what was that?" K-Sha asked as we both witnessed Arfoire's being nullified.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I ruin the tense moment here?"

After hearing a new voice, we saw a lone girl walking…or rather floating…towards us from behind one of the ruined statues. Other than the fact that she wore a red shirt with a white stripe on each sleeve, black cargo shorts, and red & white sneakers…she looked really familiar. Almost as if I met her recently.

She…kinda reminds me of Amitie…

"You know…I would've ignored this scene altogether and allowed it to keep going…but violence towards little girls ain't my thing anymore."

"Who are you calling little girls?" K-Sha and I actually took offense to that.

"You?! What the hell?!" Arfoire yelled. "I thought I left you back in Gamindustri to fight against Revati!"

"Yeah, you did. Or rather…you didn't. Because that was my sister you encountered there. Not me."

"Sister?!" K-Sha and I said in shock.

No way…so, this is Amitie's sister Ringo was talking about earlier. She looks near identical…aside from the one part of her blonde hair that was red. What's up with that?

"Sister…" Arfoire went silent for a bit. "…So…you've been freed. Never did I think that Melody would let you out again."

"What can I say? Things changed. Now, are we gonna continue this chat…or are you ready to fight against the Dark Soul?"

"Dark Soul?" The two of us said in both confusion and mild fear.

"Hmph. Don't press your luck. I'm not staying for a fight I know I can't win…for now."

"For now?"

"Yes. For now. I've already copied two of them…once I find the other three, I'll be able to free myself from this curse. And exact revenge on the person who placed it on me in the first place! Melody will soon learn what TRUE despair is like! And so will the rest of you! Hahahahahaha!"

Arfoire then suddenly disappeared into a bright purple light. Fleeing from a fight that…at one point…she was going to win.

"Hmph. What a joke." Was all the Amitie look-a-like said.

What…is going on here?

"Hey. You guys okay?" The girl asked us.

"Uh…"

"*groan* W…We're fine." Lemres said as the trio got up slowly due to their minor injuries. "All thanks to your sudden assistance, Rivitie."

"Rivitie?"

"Meh. Whatever. Just be glad I made it here in time."

"Made it here in time?" Ringo asked. "Wait, what are you even doing here, Rivitie?"

"Look, I'll explain everything once we get back into town. Right now, I think that girl over there needs serious medical attention." The girl named Rivitie then pointed over at Noire…who was still unconscious and leaking out blood from her head.

"Noire!" I yelled as I rushed to her aid. "Noire, please! Hang on!"

"Guys! We need to get Noire help quickly!" K-Sha yelled with tear-filled eyes.

"But we're so far from town from here." Ringo said. "We'll never make it there in time."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Ringie."

"H-Huh? Ecolo?" And then suddenly, the questionable drooling shadow appeared in front of us all without so much of a warning.

"In times like this, all we gotta do is take a little trip through Space-Time. We'll make it there in a jiffy. *giggle*"

"Normally, I don't trust you when you say stuff like that…but at this point, we don't really have a choice. Uni…K-Sha…bring Noire close to Ecolo."

"Okay!"

"Right!"

We both picked up Noire and dragged her over to where everyone else was at. It felt weird…having this drooling idiot help us after it was him that sent us here in the first place. But anything to save my sister at this point is highly welcomed.

"You guys go on ahead." Rivitie said. "I've got somewhere else to be real quick."

"Where are you going?" Cheri asked.

"I'll tell you later. Just hurry up and go."

"*giggle* Alright, here we go. Warp!"

And then just like that, we had teleported out of the ruins. All in a quick effort to get Noire medical help. I'm still lost about what happened that saved her from being killed. And even more confused about what Lemres said about the Crystal Shards.

Someone in that other world…has these crystals in their possession. Does that mean that a THIRD world is being fused with Primp and Gamindustri?

Just how far do these psychos plan to take this nightmare from hell?

Author's Note: When all seemed lost for Uni, she and everyone else were saved by the sudden appearance of Rivitie the Dark Soul. But even with Ecolo helping them getting back to town for Noire's injuries…the CPU Candidate of Lastation still feels conflicted.

It wasn't really planned for Uni to get a POV. But after I remembered that Ringo got one, I thought "screw it" and gave her one anyway. Not sure if any other characters will get one, though.

Thanks for reading. Later.