Planeptune

Nepgear was dozing quietly on her bed inside Planeptune Tower. She had returned home rather late and after telling Histy about Uzume's situation she had been waiting for Neptune to return. At some point she had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room.

Now she stirred in her sleep. Her face contorted in fear and then her eyes opened widely! With an increased heartbeat she took a few shallow breaths. That dream again…

Umio with long feminine legs. Why was she still haunted by this nightmare? A fish shouldn't have such strongly developed calves!

Nepgear: "Ouhh…"

She had to erase that image from her mind. Still half in a sleepy daze she stared at her ceiling. This bed was really comfy and warm, so it made her forget about the bad dream fast. Still, she could have sworn that she had fallen asleep on the couch. How did she get here? Histy certainly couldn't have carried her here. The poor tiny Oracle barely managed to lift a chair from the ground.

Nepgear's chest still felt heavy. Maybe it was the worry about Neptune. That must have been it.

Nepgear: "Haah… haaah…."

Actually she felt really heavy on the chest. Like something was pressing down her lungs!

With a swift move she pulled the blanket off herself and revealed… Neptune! Completely curled up on top of her little sister's bed, head firmly placed on her chest. Was she a cat or something?

Nepgear: "Sis… did you bring me here?"

She mumbled. Neptune grimaced as the light of the morning sun tickled her face. It must have been really hot below that blanket, but she seemed more agitated without it. Nepgear smiled faintly and petted her sister's head. She responded by moaning comfortably.

Maybe staying like this for a while wasn't a bad idea.

But why was Neptune sleeping on top of her in the first place? Did she fall asleep while carrying her to the bedroom? Nepgear was very curious about that conversation Neptune had with the person below the tree. But she wasn't confident that her older sister would confide in her about it. Despite being pretty open about her desires, Neptune had a tendency to not bother other people with her problems. They usually got involved on their own.

Neptune: "Polka dancing fish leeeeeeeegs!?"

With a jerk Neptune awoke from her nightmare and her head hit Nepgear's chin at full force. They both rolled over the bed holding their hurting body parts.

Neptune: "Nep Jr.? What are you doing in my bed?"

Nepgear: "Ow ow ow… this is my room, Sis."

The CPU candidate rubbed her red chin and pointed at the abundance of Nepgear related merchandise. You can buy it for low prices on Nepazoon! It's a real bargain!

Neptune: "…I see."

She was still holding her pulsating forehead, but her face became drearier. The fact that she didn't make a joke about the situation and left it to the narrator instead was a little concerning.

Nepgear: "Is something wrong?"

She leaned forward in worry. Neptune just spread out on Nepgear's bed again and stared at the ceiling. Then she pulled over the blanket and hid under it.

Neptune: "Do you think I can just sleep the day away today?"

She asked in a weird tone. Nepgear tilted her head. This was not particularity deviating from her usual behavior. Skipping work was one of Neptune's three favorite pastimes after all.

Nepgear: "Are you asking me to cover for you in front of Histy?"

Neptune had promised the Oracle to return to work harder than ever after the events surrounding the BFF contest had been resolved, but the winged tome girl's patience was not everlasting.

Neptune: "Something like that…"

She sounded under the weather, no doubt about it. Nepgear couldn't remember Neptune ever being sick before. The worst she got was a stomach ache or nausea from eating too much bad stuff at once. Seeing Neptune curl up in her blanket like this was really worrying.

Nepgear: "Alright I will do it! You can rely on me."

She gave her a determined look – which Neptune couldn't see from below the folds of the blanket. But Neptune seemed to notice Nepgear's supportive attitude.

Neptune: "Look at me… worrying my little sis over nothing."

She kicked the blanket into the air and then rolled off the bed before it fell back down. After straightening her back she gave Nepgear a thumbs up.

Neptune: "I'll leave the home front to you! Let me take care of the rest."

Her playful smile was looking almost natural. She then left the room with deliberately goofy movements. Just as she disappeared Nepgear asked.

Nepgear: "What 'rest'?"

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and got up as well. There was enough time to sleep later, for now she should find out what was going on.

As she groggily walked out of her room in her standard dress she noticed that Neptune had already left the hallway. She was really fast. Not thinking too deeply about it Nepgear moved into the living room area. Histy was probably in the office, so Neptune wouldn't go past there.

Nepgear: "W-what?"

She was wrong. Histy was floating inside the living room! And her eyes were running with data lines like crazy. She was making weird sounds like an organic telephone or something along the lines. She had seen this before. This was Histy's expression when she was connecting a call to another dimension.

Histoire: "Uzume? Please come in Uzume! We got disconnected…"

Oh, so she was calling Uzume in Gamarket. Nepgear had told her all about it during the night and Histy said she would call the redhead CPU immediately. There was some trouble with the connection last time she checked though. This sounded like Histy had some success at least, but got cut off again.

Uzume: "Bzzzt… ry…. Frrrk…. busy right now… fshshs… battle…"

Histoire: "The connection is still unstable. Please hang in there while I adjust the time dilation. It seems one day over here is a week in your location."

Uzume: "Guess…. right… bzzzt… MAGES. … same thing….!"

Histoire: "It will take 3 hours to improve the connection. Please wait in line."

Uzume: "…frrk …put me on hold?!"

From what Nepgear could tell this was way above her head. Histy was an incredible piece of technology, even if her limitations were a little weird. Talking to her during her calculations usually just got her a snappish reply.

Instead she was more concerned about Neptune. If she didn't go to the living room, then where would she go? The new games that she had bought with Noire a few days ago were still untouched. And her allowance was virtually used up.

Nepgear: "…maybe Uni has an idea."

For some reason Lastation's CPU candidate was the first person that came to mind whenever she needed someone to rely on. She immediately made a call to her friend.

She didn't take it.

Nepgear: "That's weird. Is she still asleep?"

That didn't sound like Uni at all. Her goal was to be as hardworking as Noire one day, so she wouldn't sleep in, no matter what.

This was all very strange. Nepgear couldn't shake the feeling that something big was going to happen soon.

Final Frontier Plains

Located right between Planeptune and Lastation's borders and only a few kilometers away from the ominous Gamindustri Graveyard were the Final Frontier Plains. The name's origin was a little more fantastic than first expected. The area was mostly one huge crater. It was covered in dry rock and black earth, which made it look almost scorched. The shape reminded of the craters on the surface of the moon itself. It was rumored that this spot was the impact location for a meteor that hit the land eons ago.

Such a mysterious place existed in the middle of Gamindustri and yet it was almost completely unknown. People rarely dared to venture so close to the Graveyard, but even then there was nothing to see here. Just this dead earth in the middle of nowhere that created a surreal setting even for Gamindustri standards.

And now, in the middle of noon, with the sun high on the firmament, the final confrontation took shape.

Clouds were gathering in the distance, foreshadowing a shower on this hot summer day. The grey and white constructs of gas and water approaching seemed to reflect the mood of the only two people that had found their way here.

On the left was Neptune, showing an unbreaking smile. She was not wearing anything special and generally didn't seem to have prepared anything for this coming fight. Whether her self-confidence was just that high or she had a trump card that was not easily visible was impossible to tell.

On the right stood K-sha, atop a hill in the crater. Her hair band was black today and she was wearing protective gear along her arms and legs. The girl's turquoise eyes didn't let go of Neptune's silhouette for even a blink. Her killing intent was still as palpable as when she left yesterday. From this perspective she seemed worse than when she was manipulated by Kurome Ankokuboshi. That ice-cold determination was deadly. There was no doubt that she was not going to back off.

Neptune: "Yo K-shadberry. You're super punctual! I even came early to check for landmines, but you got it all covered."

Of course the landmines would have been placed by K-sha herself.

K-sha: "There are five more minutes until the promised time."

Neptune: "I don't even remember setting a time at all~"

K-sha: "Make your final preparations… I will defeat you nonetheless."

Neptune: "I like confident girls. Pretty sure Noire does too. Did you invite her over to watch us?"

Her words were rewarded with a glare.

K-sha: "Noire shouldn't need to concern herself with your fate anymore."

Neptune: "If I die today that would at least have some ramifications for Black Heart."

K-sha: "I will not kill you."

The high school girl put magazines into her two Uzis in a beautiful single motion.

K-sha: "I will destroy your will to fight. Crawl back to your nation and never show your face around Lastation again."

Click. The guns were ready. K-sha posed with both of them aimed upwards next to her head.

Neptune: "You know, no matter how many villain lines you throw at me, I won't be able to take them seriously."

Neptune whistled and put her hands behind her head. The last thing she could allow was for K-sha to put herself into the position of the bad guy. That was exactly what she wanted.

Both girls gathered their thoughts for these last few minutes of stillness. Each had their own goals and plans laid out for them.

K-sha knew that Neptune was putting on an act. Instead of trying to cling to her status quo she had gone for plan B. Should she win this contest she would accept her role as Noire's best friend. She had already decided to step off the stage and give up. This was Neptune's solution. This was her greatest mistake. To free her off this self-destructive mindset, K-sha would defeat her here. Put her down and create the path that was the best for Noire.

Neptune knew that K-sha was putting on airs. She was forcing herself to accept her own inferiority and give up her love for the sake of Noire. She couldn't allow her to become Noire's best friend, because that would mean that she truly accepted to never go beyond. Neptune would beat K-sha here and now, erase that terribly sad option for her and take her place instead.

Neptune: "Let's have a fair match!"

She summoned a bastard sword in her left hand and then held it ahead, pointed directly at K-sha in the distance.

These unequal opponents faced each other now. Once before they had fought back to back, with the knowledge that the other would keep them safe at the stake of their own life. But now their backs were turned away from each other. Weapons were aimed like a barrier of thorns between the two girls. And the gaping gorge that had erupted between them could only be crossed with blood and steel.

Not far off, behind a crater wall, hid the crouched down figure of Uni. She did her best not to stand out and reveal her position. If she made her presence known it would probably have had an even worse effect on the situation.

Her red eyes peeked over the wall ever so slightly, but she could make out both of the contestants with relative ease. Neptune was not exactly hard to miss in this dreary place. Her white hoodie dress stood out like a sore thumb. K-sha's red and black uniform was a little more in tune with the scorched earth around her.

Uni had brought her own weapon as well. She had already decided on her course of action. If either of them went too far… she would stop them! It wasn't the best plan and it was dangerous for her to get in-between these two, but she couldn't let them go mad. She had fought both of those girls before, although in very different conditions. Uni wasn't sure if she stood a chance against a serious K-sha without Noire backing her up.

As for Neptune… she was strong. Even her big sis acknowledged that part, so it was definitely true. When the Planeptune and Lastation sisters sparred, Uni was usually paired up with Nepgear, but even then she had seen Neptune in action dozens of times.

Nepgear: "You always find such great sniping positions."

Uni: "Yep, that's what Nepgear would say."

She nodded at the conjuring of the gearhead's voice. Uni's imagination was really top notch today. The way she managed to project Nepgear's voice on the outside and behind her as if she was really talking to her was just incredible….

Uni: "You are right behind me, aren't you?"

She closed her eyes and mumbled those words in resignation.

Nepgear: "Hi."

Uni: "Why are you here?!"

She spun around and gave Nepgear a questioning glare. The purple haired girl wasn't even trying to hide! Just standing there with a clueless face like it was nothing… Uni grabbed her by the sleeve and pulled her down next to her on the dirty ground.

Nepgear: "Kyaah…!"

Uni: "Hush! I'm serious, how did you find me?!"

At this point she would believe anything with this girl…

Nepgear: "Don't worry Uni. I didn't find your position from looking around. Your location is really good."

Uni: "I don't really care about your compliments or anything! J-just tell me how you did it already."

Nepgear: "O-okay. I was following the signal of your N-Gear. When I was going towards Lastation I noticed that it was in this weird place, so I followed it until I found you."

Uni: "These things have trackers in them?!"

That was actually something she couldn't agree with. How could Nepgear hide something like that from them?

Nepgear: "I thought it would be helpful when you lose it somewhere. That way you can always find the hardware again."

As expected her intentions were far from nefarious, but this was still a breach of trust to Uni. Her facial expression apparently gave Nepgear an idea what she was feeling.

Nepgear: "I am sorry if that wasn't a good idea."

Her apology was heartfelt. That guilty expression made Uni want to apologize to her instead!

Uni: "J-just deactivate it when we don't need it."

What a wishy-washy reply. She turned her head away to avoid facing Nepgear.

Uni: "Why did you want to come to Lastation anyway? Y-you didn't want to make good on our promise already?"

There was some hope in those words, no doubt about it.

Nepgear: "I was looking for you."

She explained.

Nepgear: "I thought you might know what's going on with my sister."

Oh no. This was a really tricky situation. The sister in question was just one tiny crater wall over and about to fight K-sha seriously. What was she supposed to tell her? Uni felt cold sweat run down her back.

Neptune: "Let's have a fair match!"

The yell reverberated throughout the entire crater. Well that at least took away her choice in this matter.

Nepgear: "Eh? That was Sis' voice!"

She peeked over the crater wall to see what was going on, but was forced down to the ground almost instantly.

Uni gulped. She had instinctively pulled Nepgear's leg and made her faceplant into the ground. What could she say? She was panicking!

Uni: "Don't blow our cover!"

She hissed.

Uni: "Those two are battling each other for the contest."

Nepgear: "Ghmgmth wfersmy?" (Goodness, really?)

It was a lot harder to understand Nepgear's words with a layer of dirt between her face and the air. Uni clicked her tongue and pulled her up. Planeptune's CPU candidate was covered in black and brown earth. It would have been funny if it wasn't so undeserved.

Uni: "H-here take my handkerchief. You look dirty. Hmph."

She handed it to Nepgear and flicked one of her twintails to the side while posing like she didn't care.

Nepgear: "Thanks."

The dirt was soon wiped away and Nepgear was looking her pristine self again. But her eyebrows were twisted in worry.

Nepgear: "They are fighting each other in this remote place without anyone watching?"

Uni: "Yes. I… found out about it. So I came here to look after them."

Nepgear: "So adult and cool!"

She praised Uni without a second thought.

Uni: "Ehehe… It's no big deal."

Wait! Don't get caught in her pace!

Uni: "You can't go out there, you hear me?"

Nepgear: "It would be rude to interrupt their contest."

Uni: "Exactly!"

Actually, she was more afraid that they would blame her for it, because Nepgear only found her way here due to Uni's stalking.

Now both of them pried over the wall again and saw the two fighters stare each other down. Neptune was holding the huge sword in one hand and slowly walking towards the center of the crater. K-sha was doing the same from the opposite direction.

Nepgear: "They look so serious."

Uni: "I guess."

Nepgear: "Miss K-sha is at a disadvantage."

Uni: "You think so?"

It was pretty obvious. Neptune's raw strength was nothing to trifle with. And she had her HDD as well. K-sha's Gold transformation was by far not as powerful anymore since the Golden Towers had been destroyed.

Uni: "That doesn't mean she has lost yet. K-sha is really skilled."

It wasn't just empty flattery. K-sha knew how to fight people to take them out completely. She had experience in battle and in assassinations. She knew how to fight stronger opponents as well. Neptune's raw power was superior, but she didn't rely on tactics or tricks. She was very straightforward in her fighting style. To put it bluntly, Neptune preferred to smash her enemies rather than exploit their weaknesses.

Nepgear: "Maybe you are right."

They listened to their final words before the fight began.

K-sha: "Don't hold back. I am not afraid of anything you can offer. Not even your NEXT form."

Neptune: "I am not trying to keep it from you."

Nepgear: "What? That's too much!"

She could tell that Neptune was serious there. Without any doubt she would be using her strongest trump card today. That was completely unfair! Was she intending to end this in one strike?

The combatants were only half a meter apart. They could see each wrinkle on each other's clothes. Neptune's purple eyes were not wavering even in front of this all devouring aura of death in front of her.

K-sha's turquoise eyes were dull, but a small glint spoke of a dedication that would rival even the power of the goddess in front of her.

They didn't shake hands. They didn't exchange insults. There was nothing but raw desire to end this conflict once and for all.

Neptune: "Ready…"

K-sha: "…"

Neptune: "GO!"

As soon as the words had been spoken Neptune swung her blade in a vertical line across K-sha's body. Had it connected, she would have been split in two uneven pieces. But K-sha did dodge. With a backflip she had managed to only be grazed across the uniform.

As soon as her left hand touched the ground she used her right to fire a salve at Neptune. The CPU blocked the bullets with her sword, but had to lose sight of her opponent.

Tick tock…

The sound of a metallic object rolling over the rocks. Neptune looked down and saw the grenade just in time - for it to light up.

The flash bang took her vision away and stung her retinas like they were assailed by a thousand little needles. K-sha wasn't wasting her opportunity and immediately fired two salves of her Uzis at Neptune and then followed up with a knife stab from behind.

Neptune: "You blinded me…"

Neptune ducked instinctively and managed to not get hit by the bullets, but K-sha's knife was much more controlled. It was aimed straight at Neptune's weapon hand.

Neptune: "Psyke! I don't need my eyes to blast you!"

A bunch of 32-bit swords appeared behind Neptune and rained down on K-sha. The black haired girl barely managed to dodge them and deflected one with her knife.

K-sha: "Tch…"

Neptune: "I heard that!"

With an upwards swing and a downwards slash she hit K-sha out of the air.

Neptune: "Eat my Dual Edge!"

K-sha: "Think again."

She caught the sword between her guns and then kicked Neptune in the stomach from her position on the ground. That looked like it hurt.

With a vertical slash Neptune tried to regain some space, but her eyes were still hurting, so K-sha easily circumvented her attack and shot her from behind.

Neptune: "Ouch! Right in my HP."

The glaring white of the flash bang started to fade and Neptune could see the flutter of black silken hair next to her. Slash!

Sword hit muzzle.

The release of each bullet created sparks and impacts between the blade and the muzzles. The fact that Neptune could keep up with each shot was impressive enough, but K-sha's deflection of Neptune's swings with just the barrels and muzzles was just as unbelievable.

After a flurry of exchanges, K-sha finally backed off and slid behind a rock, which Neptune split in two with ease. As things stood right now, Neptune couldn't afford to cease attacking. As long as she managed to stay close to K-sha she was at an advantage.

K-sha flipped her Uzis back into the holsters. Their muzzles were covered in cuts and looked like they might fall off any second.

Neptune: "What, are your pew-pew guns already out of ammo?"

She taunted as she barely missed K-sha's headband with her sword.

K-sha: "I will show you the basics… of CQC!"

Two military knives sprang from her boots and slid into her hands. Neptune's oversized sword was much more destructive, but…

K-sha: "Humph! Haah! Dorya!"

This knife play was a lot faster. A rain of stabs was covering each inch of Neptune's bastard sword, but in a lever like motion K-sha managed to twist it into the air. Afterwards she turned into a silver flash and appeared behind Neptune. She held one knife in front of her face and stopped in a half crouched pose.

The slashes had gone right across Neptune's chest.

Or should have.

Neptune: "Grrr… datsh nhot twashty!!" (That's not tasty!!)

She was holding one of the knives between her teeth! Biting down on the layered blade she managed to break it into pieces just with jaw power alone.

Neptune: "Cross Combo~"

She used her skill backwards somehow and slashed behind her, accompanied by kicks. K-sha blocked the impacts and dodged the blade's arc. Then she grabbed Neptune's hood and smashed her into ground! The bastard sword was flung out of the CPU's hand.

K-sha: "Stay down."

She flipped the remaining knife in her hand and stabbed it downward without hesitation. The knife was supposed to sink straight into Neptune's shoulder, but instead it just sliced her hood.

That is… because Neptune headbutted K-sha with all her strength!

K-sha: "ARGH!"

The impact was so hard it made the school girl fly into a rock formation close by.

Neptune: "Huff… This is… the skull that hit pavement at the speed of sound… Your cute little head can't even put a dent in it…!"

She was wiping the sweat from her face with one of her sleeves. Actually she felt that painful clash quite well. But K-sha was even worse off than her. Any normal human would have been knocked out for a straight week.

K-sha: "It's not… over… yet…!"

She moved her arm out of the crumbling rocks. Then a circle of golden light started to envelope her. The rocks exploded and revealed K-sha in her Gold Form. A black eye-patch covered her left eye and she was wearing some sort of mobile weapon platform on her shoulders. Additionally she was now wearing a new hat that was reminiscent of an Admiral's or at least someone with military background.

And in each hand she held a golden Uzi. There was no golden hue in her eye though.

Neptune: "Phew… you didn't use this during the Festival."

K-sha: "It strains my body immensely. But this mission requires some wetwork."

A chill ran down Neptune's spine. In this state she couldn't even tell if K-sha had the capacity to be kidding.

Neptune: "Let me even the odds a little then."

She grabbed the bastard sword that was stabbed into the ground and then took a deep breath. The familiar pillar of light and numbers enveloped Neptune's body and reshaped her whole appearance. Her height increased, as well as the length of her hair. Her whole body simply grew and was now covered in the black processor unit that indentified her as Purple Heart, CPU of Planeptune.

Even the sword changed into the standard HDD shape. This blade was never broken even once.

Purple Heart: "Show me all of your willpower."

K-sha: "You will see the power of a human soul!"

While opening her arms wide she released energy beams from the contraption on her back. Red, gold and green, they all swirled and combined as they aimed for Purple Heart.

Purple Heart: "Now you rely on power instead of skill?"

She frowned and slightly side-stepped the energy beam. It passed her and exploded in a giant flaming pillar behind her.

K-sha: "Just a feint!"

Two rocket launchers were placed in each of her arms. And they both shot at the same time.

Purple Heart grabbed her sword with both hands and held it in front of her. Her stance was serene. She closed her eyes as the projectiles propelled themselves into her direction with irregular patterns. One would hit her from the right and the other from above. She could already predict their trajectory!

Purple Heart: "I can see them."

Her power button like eyes opened wide as she executed two consecutive slashes in front of her. The first rocket was cut clean in half and exploded in the air, while the other one was smashed and flung into a nearby crack, which created another huge crater.

K-sha: "I already told you… it was a feint."

Purple Heart: "What-?!"

The former Gold Third of Lastation had somehow closed the entire gap between them in mere moments! And now she was right in front of Purple Heart.

A weak attempt to cut her down was deflected by the golden Uzis. And now Purple Heart was wide open. The two energy cores on K-sha's shoulders began to rotate.

K-sha: "Point blank."

She looked down on her enemy with finality. The trigger was pulled. Purple Heart had no way to defend herself or to dodge. The energy beams would crash into her with complete unadulterated power!

???: "Volcano Dive!"

The beams were split apart by a sword that dove straight into the ground and created a heated impact! Flames spread K-sha and Purple Heart apart and forced them to retreat backwards.

Purple Heart: "That special move…"

K-sha: "But you shouldn't be here…!"

They both seemed shocked.

Purple Heart & K-sha: "Noire!"

Black Heart had appeared from the sky and plunged straight into the crater. Her silver hair was fluttering in the hot breeze of her impact. The ridiculous sword in her hand was stabbed firmly into the ground, parting the two parties with an imposing presence.

Now that she checked out the battlefield and saw both Neptune and K-sha armed to the teeth and battle ready she looked angry. She didn't undo her transformation for now.

K-sha: "How did you find us?"

Black Heart: "I noticed that Uni was gone. Then I saw that a few things were missing. The rest was an easy deduction for me."

She looked back and forth between the two opponents.

Purple Heart: "That was a pretty good guess. This specific location too…"

Neptune was a little sharper in HDD. She didn't take Noire's words for granted. But it would explain why she could feel a presence a little distance away at the edge of the crater. One glance up there proved her correct. She and Uni accidentally made eye contact and while the CPU candidate immediately went back to hiding, it was already too late.

Black Heart: "I can't believe you two… What are you trying to accomplish here?"

She finally began her questioning. It was inevitable, but it's not like Neptune or K-sha had any response for her.

Black Heart: "I told you to stop competing already. And whose crackpot idea was it to have an all out battle? You two could get seriously hurt!"

K-sha: "This fight decides… who will be your Best Friend Noire."

Black Heart: "Then you can stop already. I have made my decision!"

The words got stuck in both girls' throat on that revelation. It was not just sudden, but also completely unacceptable at this point. No, they couldn't stop…

Purple Heart: "This is a fight that I have to see through to the end Noire. I'm sorry, but your choice isn't important right now."

Black Heart: "What… did you say?"

Her dumbstruck expression was completely justified. Even the noble Purple Heart couldn't face her fellow CPU right now. She avoided eye contact. Just what had gotten into Neptune? The Neptune who had insisted all this time that Noire was the one who should make the decision?

K-sha: "…I agree with her. Even though she is just trying to run away. If I beat her here… If I can finally do it… all of this will end."

She grabbed her golden guns tightly until her knuckles got visible below her skin. Noire shouldn't have been here. It was already hard enough to go through with her plan without having to see her so disappointed.

Neither of them wanted Noire here right now. Her presence could only make them waver. If Noire chose her best friend right now… no matter who she chose it would create problems.

Purple Heart was uneasy. If there was a chance that Noire would choose K-sha… she couldn't afford the possibility!

K-sha was biting her lip. If Noire chose Neptune then it would all have been for nothing.

Black Heart had to recover her thoughts for a few seconds. This wasn't what she wanted. Maybe this had happened because she had taken too long? Did they get fed up with her indecisiveness? But their solution wasn't sane!

Black Heart: "You two will fight each other no matter what?"

Purple Heart: "I'm sorry."

K-sha: "…"

They could barely look at her! Black Heart looked down with a shadow over her eyes. Maybe it was her fault, maybe they were just being childish. Either way…

Black Heart: "I won't allow it."

She raised her head and exclaimed such to the two rivals.

Purple Heart: "You won't allow it?"

The purple haired CPU looked at Noire with a bad feeling. This stubbornness was another part that Noire had in common with her.

Black Heart: "You're ignoring my opinion in this matter? Well then I will just ignore your wishes as well! This fight is over!"

K-sha: "Noire… we can't stop."

Black Heart: "…then I will make you stop."

Up on the edge of the crater two loud gasps could be heard.

Uni: "No way?!"

Purple Heart: "Do I understand you correctly? You wish to interfere with our battle?"

Black Heart: "Absolutely."

She grabbed her sword and held it to her side.

Black Heart: "I'll only ask once more. Won't you stop this already?"

It was her last word. There was no room for negotiation.

Purple Heart and K-sha faced each other and communicated silently. It seemed they had little choice. They both turned towards Noire.

K-sha: "If you aren't going to let us pass, then we will create our own path. Right through you."

Purple Heart: "Our final contest will be changed. This will be a fight between all three of us."

Black Heart: "What has that to do with becoming my BFF?!"

She retorted in annoyance.

Purple Heart: "You, K-sha or me. Whoever wins will decide the future."

K-sha: "The only person that deserves to be at Noire's side… that's the one that is as strong as her. That can stand tall with her through thick and thin. Forever."

K-sha crossed her arms with both her guns and spread her legs to get into a defensive stance.

Black Heart: "You two always keep saying what you want to my face without even listening…! Fine, I'll stop your fight with my own strength!"

Uni: "Wait big sis! Don't fight them by yourself!"

Nepgear: "Sis, please don't do it!"

The CPU candidates came out of hiding and rushed down the crater side. But Black Heart slightly twisted her head back and made them freeze with her glare. Their legs just instantly stopped moving. Against their will they were stopped in their tracks.

Black Heart: "Don't get involved here Uni. You will only get hurt."

Uni: "…!"

Those words hurt, but she knew them to be true. When Noire and Neptune got serious Uni couldn't keep up. She would only get in her sister's way.

Purple Heart: "Nepgear… you know what to do, right?"

Her apologetic voice was making it hard for Nepgear to deny her. She had promised to cover for Neptune. Now she understood what that really entailed. She dolefully put one hand to her heart.

Nepgear: "I… I got it."

She nodded ever so slowly. Purple Heart smiled faintly in response. The sisters had a trust in each other that would never break even if they didn't agree on something.

Black Heart: "I guess you two will try to take me out first. Not a bad idea, because I am clearly the strongest here."

She boasted.

Black Heart: "In that case there is nothing to it. I will have to go all out from the start!"

With a flick of her finger she started up a digital screen in front of her. Afterwards she pulled out a silver share crystal from her chest and integrated it into the projection. Energy was released and her HDD transformed once more. Immense Share power flowed into Lastation's CPU and granted her the ultimate power of the Next form!

From the light emerged Next Black, wearing the big arm protectors and the headgear with the scouter over her right eye. The wings on her back resembled boosters more than ever before. Her outfit had taken on a strong theme of black and blue.

Next Black: "This will be over in an instant."

With those words a blue energy blade extended from her right hand.

Purple Heart: "You always tend to overdo it."

A cold sweat drop was running down her neck. Trouble brewed alongside the dark clouds that had gathered above them now.

Whoever made the first step would start the avalanche. Would be responsible for the consequences. Their triangle of opposing goals was shrinking by the second.

Thunder roared above.

The fight began.

…..

….

Purple Heart: "You will have to say it."

K-sha: "I won't say it."

Purple Heart: "You are the only one left."

K-sha: "Noire didn't either!"

Next Black: "I was actually fooled into it. Now it's your turn."

K-sha: "…you're both bullying me…"

Purple Heart: "I suppose I will go a second time then. There is no shame in being embarrassed."

K-sha: "! ...I'm not embarrassed! I can do anything that Miss Neptune can do!"

Next Black: (She is so easy to manipulate.)

K-sha: "Come back next time to watch my perfect Noire's splendid performance in the continuation of the finale! Same Noire time, same Noire channel~!"

Next Black: "Aaahh… Y-y-y-you did that on purpose!"

Purple Heart: (She is pretty easy to tease.)

(To be continued)