Chapter 28 – The Mad Magician's Zodiac Theory

Resta's POV

After gaining the info from the shrine maiden, the dragon, and the talking fish with arms and legs (I swear, Primp has some really weird people…), we continued our way through the beach looking for this "totally not trendy derp" Nina had heard earlier.

We also had to fight some of those monsters from Gamindustri that are currently roaming around here. Fish skeletons and giant crabs and…frogs in boxes (I swear, Gamindustri has some really weird monsters…)…and it was pretty insane how strong they were, too. Some of us had to be bailed out a few times.

Like in one instance…

"Yo-Yo Throw!"

*BOOM*

"Rib rib…ribbit…"

"Phew…well, that seems to be the last of them." Amitie said after she had defeated one of the monsters with a yo-yo of all things. Causing it to disappear within that digital fog stuff.

"Thanks for helping me out there, Amitie." I said. "Though…why'd you do it with a yo-yo?"

"Oh, this. It's one of the Copy Abilities I have from being the Light Soul."

"There's a Yo-Yo Ability?" Uni asked.

"Well, that sounds pretty random." IF said.

"It may be random, but it works." Arle said. "Plus, we pretty much owe it to this one Ability. If Amitie didn't get this one a couple of months ago, she would be on a demented rampage right now."

"Really now? Heh. I guess you and Am really are related, Nep."

"Don't relate us with that…" Both Amitie and Neptune retorted with exasperated sweatdrops.

"In any case…this is where Suketoudara said he last saw those two." Ringo said. "They have to be around here some…"

*BOOM*

"Wh-What was that?!"

"I-It sounded like it came from up ahead!" Nepgear yelled. Also scared of the sudden explosion.

We all then rushed over to where it happened not too far from where we fought those monsters. There, we saw a bunch of smoke rise up from a bunch of small palm trees. And eventually, two people started coming out of the smokey tree. A girl with long blonde hair and another one with long blue hair and a black witch hat.

Come to think about it, that first girl kinda looks familiar…

"*cough* *cough* Geez…was that explosion really necessary?" The blonde asked the blue-haired girl.

"I was trying to have us escape from those monsters. You didn't even bother to help me out."

"I didn't help because I didn't know what those things WERE! Why the hell are there floating fish skeletons where you come from?!"

"Hmph. As if I know. The world known as Gamindustri is filled with bizarre creatures. Each more deadly than the last. Kukuku…Fuahahahaha!"

"*sigh* So, I'm guessing that everyone from this Gamindustri place is a freak like you, huh?" The blonde gained a sweatdrop.

She's dead-on accurate with that…

"Hey, Witch. There you are." Arle called out.

"Huh? Arle? What do you wa-" The blonde then froze mid-sentence as she looked at Amitie with the biggest look of excitement I've ever seen on a person. "O-OH, MY GOD! AMIIIIII!"

"Hey, Misuki! I'm back!" Amitie cheered.

The two then embraced each other in a huge long hug. The blonde girl looked like she was crying tears of joy as she clearly hugged tighter.

"Ami! You're ALIVE! You're actually freaking alive!"

"You really thought I died, huh?" Amitie asked.

"Well, duh! You got sucked into a Space-Time Portal! You usually don't survive that unless you have point A to point B in there somewhere!"

"Yeah…that's true."

"This is Witch. A Comet Magician originally from my world." Arle explained to the rest of us who didn't know this girl. "She makes potions to sell that are…basically pretty absurd."

"Absurd?" Compa asked.

"Basically, if you drink one, there's a good chance that you'll be flying with your ass cheeks for a few days. For example."

"Wh-What the hell…?" IF, Nepgear, and Uni said with pale looks on their faces.

"Huh…that's actually similar to how Neva makes potions." I said. "They can be pretty entertaining sometimes."

"R-Resta…" Neptune said to me with a concerned look of her own.

"My, my…to see known faces here in a completely different world is quite the surprise, indeed." Said the blue-haired girl.

"Hey, MAGES.. It's been a while."

"Indeed, it has. And I see that you've gone through some extraordinary changes since our last meeting, Neptune."

"Oh…so, you know about my soul being shattered?"

"With my own power, I can easily sense your soulless body even from 10 miles away. Plus…it was all over the internet."

"*sigh* Figures…" Neptune gained a depressed look.

It must still be bothering her that everyone in her world saw her in her insane state of mind…

"So, this is the person we've been looking for?" I asked.

"Yep, this is her." Nepgear said. "Everyone…this is MAGES.. A magician from our world."

"Mages? What kind of derp name is that?" Nina asked. "Totally not trendy."

"Excuse you, but my name is nowhere near derpy." Mages said in a pissed-off tone. "And for the record, it's MAGES.. All caps with the period."

"That makes no grammatical sense…" Ringo said with a sweatdrop.

"What difference does it make?" Arle asked.

"It makes all the difference. My name is a symbolization of all the magic and science experiments I conduct in order to be…"

"…A complete nutcase."

"I am NOT a nutcase!" MAGES. yelled at Witch.

"Was this the reason why you never told us her name until now?" Amitie asked Neptune.

"Yeah…pretty much." Neptune replied with a sweatdrop.

"*sigh* In any case…I assume you all are in this area because you're looking for a Zodiac Stone, correct?"

"So, you do know about them?" I asked.

"Indeed I do, Resta the Scorpio Princess. My knowledge of the Zodiac holds no exceptions. A young magician such as myself sees this as simple common knowledge. Kukuku…Fuahahahaha!"

"I see…" I said. Pushing aside the fact that she also knew my name.

"I also know that you're currently looking for a way to restore Lastation, am I right?"

"So, you do know a way?!" Uni asked in excitement. "Come on! Tell me, tell me!"

"Kukuku…easy there, CPU Candidate. I'll tell you…but it is in exchange for a favor of my own."

"A favor?"

"Look, MAGES.. I highly doubt you'll find any of that "Doc P" stuff you're always after here." IF said.

"Doc P?" Some of us asked.

"As much of a disappointment that is, it's not that. I wish to have…a Puyo battle."

"A-A Puyo battle?!" We asked.

"Specifically…with the Scorpio Princess Resta."

"W-With me? Why?"

"Wait, how do you even know what Puyo Puyo is?" Neptune asked.

"What, you thought Nepgear was the only one intrigued by this game? Having a chance to play it is a dream come true for me."

"I know, right?!" Nepgear cheered. "Getting to stack those puyos as high as you can and popping them to gain extraordinary power…it's a rush of excitement that overfills your whole body!"

"So, you've already played it?! What's the highest chain you've gotten so far?!"

"I can get up to a 5-chain. Which is pretty impressive for the amount of pressure I was under at the time."

"A 5-chain?! Tch. Damn, you're already a pro! I wouldn't be behind if Witch here would've taught me how to play!"

"How the hell is it my fault?" Witch asked.

"Guys! Now's not the time to be gushing over a realistic puzzle game!" IF yelled.

"Right. My apologies." MAGES. said. "*clears throat* Anyway…I have this theory in mind that we could use. But I want to see if the Zodiac power currently available will be enough for it to work. And what better way to find out than to have a simple and friendly Puyo battle. Am I right?"

"You say "friendly"…" I said. "…but I just met you and you're out here looking for a Zodiac Stone. How can I really trust you on this?"

"Believe me, I have no ill intentions. I just want to help restore the worlds, that's all."

"And the Zodiac Stones can do that?" Amitie asked.

"I believe so. We just need the full cooperation of all 5 princesses. Once we find them, of course."

"Well…" I thought this over with myself.

She does seem to be adamant about restoring the worlds. And she's aware of what the Zodiac is. Just like Feli. It does help to have at least one person from each world to know what it is…

Plus…she might show me stuff about the Citrine that even I don't know about. Or at least what Lady Nasos never bothered to bring up…

"…Alright, MAGES.. I accept your request. But if I win, you tell me what you know about the Zodiac Signs. Got it?"

"Kukuku…Alright. It's a deal. Time to show off the true almighty power of the Mad Magician. Let us begin our…"

"PUYO BATTLE!" We both shouted with sheer determination.


Feli's POV

*MEANWHILE…*

"Bal! Bal! *sigh* Geez…where did he go?"

Last night after learning what's truly going on with our worlds and having Amitie, Jarne, and Resta return, I went home for the day. Bringing Futaba, Rin, Noire, Uni, and K-Sha with me since it was just me and Bal there.

Problem is…Bal wasn't there. In fact, he was nowhere to be found. And I wanted to go back out and look for her…but the others convinced me to do it in the morning.

And now, the next morning, I was out here doing exactly that. Looking around town for my dog with Futaba, Rin, Noire, and K-Sha helping me out. Uni left early in the morning. Don't really know where she is.

Although, it did look like something was bothering her…

"Bal! Bal, come out, boy! I'm back! *depressed sigh* Where could he be?"

"Well, he can't be hard to find." Futaba said. "His size doesn't exactly allow him to stay hidden for long."

"Yeah, true…"

"His size? What do you mean by that?" Noire asked.

"Well…Bal's a pretty big dog. Bigger than most dogs tend to be, honestly."

"He's so big, you could easily ride him like a horse!" Rin yelled. "Or, at least I imagine."

"H-Huh?"

"Rin, for the last time…you are NOT riding my dog!" I yelled at her.

"*whine* Feli!"

"A-Anyway…" K-Sha spoke. "…do you have a picture of Bal we can see, Feli? We don't really know what he looks like so it could help."

"Yeah, she does have a point." Noire added.

"Hmm…I think I got one saved on my phone. Where is it…?" I began scrolling threw the gallery on my phone to find the picture.

Though…it ended up being harder than I initially thought. A lot of the pictures there were of Lemres that I…well…t-took in secret.

I-It was two years ago! Lay off!

And then there were pictures of me when I ended up in Toyama for the first time. Those ones are way too special and will NEVER be deleted.

I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for that…

And then finally, I found a picture with Bal in it. Specifically, it was a picture of me, Bal, and Lemres back when we first came to Primp from the neighboring town. I forgot why we came here…but I guess it was special enough for me to keep this photo.

"Alright. This is him in the middle." I said as I showed Noire and K-Sha my phone. Once they saw the picture, their eyes grew into a ginormous shock.

"H-Holy crap! He's huge!" They both yelled.

"See, we told you." Rin gloated.

"I remember having the same reaction when we first met Bal." Futaba said with a sweatdrop.

"I didn't think dogs could get that big…" K-Sha said. "How did you get him, Feli?"

"Um…well…"

"Yeah, go on, Feli. Explain to them how you got Bal." Futaba said to me with a smartass grin on her face. "It's definitely an interesting story."

"I'll freaking hex you…" I replied in a pissed-off tone.

"Well, whatever. How you got him isn't important right now." Noire said. "You just want to find him safe and sound, right?"

"Yeah, I do…" I then went silent for a bit. "…but with how Primp is looking right now, such a task won't be easy."

"*sigh* Yeah, that's true. With all the debris, monsters, and portals scattered all around."

"Well…you don't have to worry about portals getting in the way, Noire. *giggle*"

"Gah! Wh-Where the hell did you come from?!" Noire yelled after being scared of Ecolo suddenly appearing behind her.

"The shadows. Being an entity whose existence conflicts with the laws of Space-Time, I have the power to hide inside them. I use it a lot to spy on Ringo. Much to her annoyance about it.*giggle*"

"Uh…you just admitted to being a stalker." Noire said with a sweatdrop.

No way…hide within shadows?! I've been trying to learn that for YEARS! Do I really have to be a space-time traveler for that?!

"Wait, what did you mean by not worrying about portals?" I asked the drooling blob.

"Well, obviously…I've been going around town closing up the portals that spawned here. With Satan, Arly, and…" Ecolo then dipped his hand inside a small portal he created and pulled from it a very freaked-out Sagey.

"Wh-What the…wh-what did you just do?!" She asked in a panic.

"Brought you here through Space-Time. As Arly would say it…it was a titillating experience, wasn't it~?"

"T-Titillating my ass! You almost unhooked my bra, you drooling perv!"

"Geez…well, sorry. No one can truly appreciate the convenience of Space-Time nowadays. It's disheartening."

"Is he really sorry about nearly unhooking Sagey's bra?" Rin asked me.

"Knowing Ecolo, it's hard to tell." I replied with a sweatdrop.

"So, did you guys really close up all the portals here, Sagey?" Noire asked.

"Well…not all of them. There's still the one we used to get her from Planeptune. So, we kept that one open for convenience. But other than that…there's still a lot more. And some aren't mine, either."

"Huh?" We were confused.

"Some have the power of Scorpio in them. Due to Resta being here earlier. But others have the other three powers inside of them. Definitely confirming our suspicions of those four abusing the Zodiac powers."

"It also means that…without the other princesses, we can't close them. So, we're totally screwed." Ecolo added.

"Oh, no…that's horrible." K-Sha said.

"Yeah, no kidding." I said with a sad tone. "So, with this many portals around town, it's easy to accept that Bal must've fallen through one of them. Making this whole search pointless. *sniff* Damnit…"

"Feli…" Futaba and Rin said in tones matching my sadness.

"H-Hey…Feli. Don't worry too much about it."

"H-Huh?" I turned to Noire with a shocked look on my face.

"Well, what I mean is…based on what I've learned so far about the current state of my nation, I feel like he's not that far off."

"Not that far off? You mean he's closer than we think?" Futaba asked.

"I totally get it, Noire." K-Sha said. "Since most of the surviving pieces of Lastation seemed to have ended up here in Primp Town, it's possible that Bal ended up there somewhere."

"That's exactly it, K-Sha. Thanks for clearing it up for me."

"*giggle* Noire praised me~. *flirtatious giggling*"

K-Sha looks like a complete derp right now…

"S-So you really think Bal's in Lastation?" I asked.

"Either that or Planeptune. And since no one else came through the portal yesterday, I'm betting on the former."

"So, we just need to figure out how to get to Lastation from here." K-Sha added. "Something that's…not really easy right now."

"Can't we just go through that Planeptune place?" Rin asked. "It's in the same world, right?"

"Yes, but…from what B-Sha told me earlier, most of the ground between the four nations has torn up completely. Making it highly difficult to traverse through by land."

"*sigh* Damnit…"

"Well, Resta said that she was going to see Amitie and Neptune to see if they have anything new." Sagey said. "Maybe they found something."

"I guess…" And right when I said that…

*BOOM*

"Whoa! Check that out!" Rin yelled as we all stared at this huge orange-like pillar of light in the distance.

"Wh-What is that?" Noire asked.

"That's probably Resta." Sagey said. "And judging from the light…either she found some cake or she's battling someone. Hopefully the latter one."

"W-Wait, hold on. That light happens when she finds cake?"

"Resta is a complete nutjob for cake. You give her some and she'll snarf it all down in just mere seconds. It can be shocking sometimes."

"W-Wow…" The rest of us gained a sweatdrop.

Now I'm wondering if Resta could beat Lidelle in a cake-eating contest…

"In any case, we should probably go check it out. It might be something important."

"In that direction is Moguru Bay. A beach on the south side of town." Feli said. "I've gotten texts from Amitie that it got hit hard from the words fusing. So, it could be anyone's guess as to what's happening over there."

"Well, it could be worth checking out." Noire said. "Come on, let's get going."

"Oh! Wait, Noire! Can I do something first?" K-Sha asked.

"Huh? Do what?"

"Well…" K-Sha then turned to Ecolo. "…a-at some point before the worlds are restored, can you teach me how to hide inside shadows?"

"H-Huh?!" The rest of us shouted in shock.

"Ooh~! Someone wants to learn from me. That's interesting. *giggle*"

"K-Sha…why would you want to learn how to do THAT?" Futaba asked.

"Well…I may not look like it, but I was actually a bit of a mercenary."

"A-A mercenary?!" Futaba, Rin, Sagey, and I yelled in a panicked fit.

"I-I don't do it anymore. But I still use guns as a way of fighting. So, having a technique that allows me to sneak up on enemies could be useful."

"I see…that does make sense." Sagey said.

"Plus…having such a power would allow me to be even closer to Noire than ever before~. To be inside her own shadow~…it's like an unexplored fetish for the ages~. *lustful giggle*"

"Uh…"

"K…K-Sha…" Noire gained a highly uncomfortable look.

"Ooh~! I like your style." Ecolo said. "I'll definitely teach ya. And by the end, you'll be able to ALWAYS cling onto Noire. Even when she can't see you. *giggle*"

"D-Don't promise her that!"

"Oh, boy!" K-Sha cheered. "To be bounded to Noire through Space-Time…the ultimate dream come true~! *giggle*"

"K-K-Sha!"

"Wow…other-worldly lesbians are weird."

"THAT'S what you got from all of this?" Futaba, Rin, and I said to Sagey with exasperated looks.

Even though she's right…


Neptune's POV

"Celestial scorpion…"

"Come to me now…"

"Antares!"

"Graffias!"

"Sargas!"

"Dschubba!"

"Paikauhale!"

*BOOM*

"Augh! No way…"

"And the game goes to Resta!" Nepgear called out as she was refereeing the Puyo match between Resta and MAGES..

"*pant* *pant* I-I see…*clears throat*…so you have mastered Puyo Puyo as well. As expected from a princess of the Zodiac." MAGES. said.

"Well, this is only my second time playing this game." Resta said. "So, I wouldn't exactly call myself a "master" at it."

"Yeah, but even then…the fact that you can already do a 7-chain is really impressive, Resta." Amitie said. "It took me weeks to do that when I first started playing."

"Really now? Maybe I'm better than I thought…"

Or it could be pure luck due to how this story's going. But…I'll keep that to myself.

"Alright, MAGES.. A deal's a deal." Uni said. "Tell us how we can restore Lastation."

"Ah, yes. Of course. The Mad Magician does not break promises after all. Kukuku…Fuahahahaha!"

"That's a lie." Witch said. "You promised that we'll be done with this by lunch. I'm starving!"

"Hey, hey. If you want, Wicchi, I still have some Old Dirty Bastards left over." Nina said. "I'm sure they're totally trendy~!"

"Ooh~! I do love me some Old Dirty Bastards! Ohhohoho!"

"M-Misuki…" Amitie said with a sweatdrop.

Wait, Misuki? I thought her name was Witch…

"*clears throat* Anyway…" MAGES. continued. "…as you all know, the powers of the Zodiac Stones were used to fuse our three worlds together. Making their dimensional barriers unstable and causing the ground to tear apart."

"We don't need a reminder of that…" Uni said with a sad look.

"Right. Well, then…based on my recent studies, my theory consists of using the Zodiac power that negates the power that was used to cause the fusion."

"Negate the power…wait, you mean the Negative Zodiac Signs?" Resta asked.

"And just what do YOU know about the Zodiac?" We suddenly heard a different voice. And then saw Feli walking up to MAGES. with a determined (and kinda creepy) look on her face.

"My knowledge of the Zodiac is matched by nobody. You DARE challenge the wits of the Mad Magician?"

"Mad Magician? Fufufufu~…well, you definitely are mad. Believing that you can outclass someone skilled in the Occult Art of Divination…such a foolish little girl you are."

"Foolish? Kukuku~…that's ironic coming from you. A delusional little loli like you will soon regret making such baseless claims. And I will be sure of it~! Kukuku…Fuahahahaha!"

"Kieeeeeeeeeee! I'll make you regret your existence, foolish child~!"

At this point, both girls had weapons out in the open. Ready to attack each other and…possibly blow up the remaining area.

Which there isn't much of, to begin with…

"Guys! Knock it off!" Uni yelled as she got in between the two to break them apart.

"But this pleb started it! Claiming to know more than me!" Feli yelled.

"Feli, please. MAGES. was explaining how we can restore Lastation and I really want to hear this."

"Huh? Restore Lastation?"

"Is such a thing truly possibly?"

"N-Noire? I thought you were supposed to be resting." Uni said in shock from seeing her older sister join us. Along with Sagey, Feli's friends Futaba & Rin, K-Sha, and…that shadowy guy Ecolo for some reason.

"Uni…if you know me better than anyone, then you know that I'm not the type of person to just sit around and not do anything. Especially with how things are now."

"We tried convincing her to stay and rest. But she was really persistent on tagging along." Futaba said.

"I see…"

"I bet she just didn't want to be alone. *giggle*" Ecolo said.

"It's just like Noire to FOMO about being alone. It's in her tsundere DNA." I added.

"Sh-Shut it, you two!" Noire yelled at them both with a huge blush of embarrassment.

"Anyway…" Resta went back to MAGES.. "…what did you mean by "negate the power"?"

"Well…when I first arrived here and noticed the floating landmasses, I felt that some of them had a Zodiac aura around them. Mostly resembling that of Sagittarius."

"Sagittarius, huh?" Sagey said. "*sigh* That might be because they used my power to start the fusion. Even though I faked being under their control, I was still a prisoner. So, I had no control over it."

"I see. So, in this case, we would have to negate it with the Negative Sign of Sagittarius. Once we do that, we can start putting the nation back together."

"Hmph. I don't want to admit it…but she's right. That is the only way." Feli said.

"The only way, huh?" Sagey mumbled to herself. "Well…that may be a problem."

"Huh? Why?" Noire asked.

"Well…the Zodiac Sign that's negative to Sagittarius is Aquarius. Which means…"

That was when everyone else figured out what Sagey was talking about. And turned to the ONE person who can do this sort of thing.

Which just so happens to be…

"W-Wait…you mean I have to do it?!" I yelled in shock.

"Well, you are the only one with the Aquarius power, Nep." Iffy said.

"Y-Yeah but…putting part of the world back together?! That's crazy! It sounds like something only done by an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who goes feral at night!"

"D-Does such a person even exist?" Ringo asked with the most baffled look on her face.

"Ooh! I know who that is! That's Soni-mmmph?!"

"Rin, be quiet." Futaba said as she covered Rin's mouth.

I guess they're aware of who I'm talking about…

"Okay, I really don't know what the hell you're talking about, Neptune…" Resta said. "…but you really are the only person who can do this. There's no other way."

"No other way? Like for real?" I gained a sad look.

"Neptune…" Noire said. "…this may be hard on you. Considering what you've been through these past few days. But…if you do this for me…it'll no doubt be the greatest thing you've ever done for me. And I'll remember it for all eternity. Even after…that."

"That?" Some of the others asked.

"Noire…" Meanwhile, I went dead silent as I thought about this long and hard.

So, I really have to put Lastation back together? With a power that I barely have experience with? The entire situation is being placed on my shoulders AGAIN! This is exactly why I hate being a CPU!

But…I am doing Noire a HUGE favor. And she did say that she'll remember this moment even after I step down as Planeptune's CPU. That alone made me happy…

Plus…it would be pretty nepping awesome to leave a mark THAT big before stepping down. No doubt about that…

"…*sigh* Alright, fine. I don't think I have a choice, anyway."

"Neptune…thank you." Noire said as she was holding in her tears of absolute joy.

"Wait…what was that part when she said "even after that"?" Nepgear asked.

"Uh…I-I'll tell you later, Nepgear." I said. "For now…what do I gotta do?"

"Well, to negate a Zodiac power, you would need the stone of that Negative Zodiac Sign." Resta said. "So, in this case, Neptune…you'll first have to gain access to your power's Zodiac Stone. The Aquarius Sapphire."

"M-My power's Zodiac Stone…the Aquarius Sapphire…" To be honest, that gave me chills down my spine. To think that I would get my own Zodiac Stone…and use it with my own new power…

This is starting to get bigger than I originally thought…

Author's Note: After finally finding MAGES., the group learns that it is possible to clear Primp's skies of Lastation's ruins. And put the nation back together to its (partial) former glory.

But…Neptune's the only person that can do that. And she needs the Aquarius Sapphire in order to do it. A Zodiac Stone that's…not easy to obtain right now.

So, yeah. This chapter would've been up sooner…but I was away from my computer for a week. Basically a family vacation. Nothing I could really do about it.

Next chapter will be checking up on Lidelle & Blanc after their own life-threatening fight. And what they're doing afterward.

Thanks for reading. Later.