Nep-Nep Brother: The Reboot!

Chapter 14: Things Just Got Worse

The next morning came and we all woke for breakfast. Overall, it was slow day without any hints to where this Crostie may be. By the time we made it back to HQ, it was dark and dinner time. Neptune kept telling me it's okay to call her big sis, but I just kept refusing. Nepgear must have really gotten to her head. As if she wasn't up her own ass already...

As we were eating dinner, I had lost my appetite and left the table without a word. I'm not sure if anyone noticed, besides Umio because he notices everything. Other than him, no one noticed. I decided to build up an appetite with some sword training. I didn't transform due to our low Share energy and Share Crystal deficiency, but basic practice will do. Since it was forbidden to fight any monsters in the camp, I had to practice against a tree. About fifteen minutes in, I heard someone speak to me. "That tree's not gonna do anything, ya know?" I hear Neptune say.

"Don't you think I know that?" I ask her. "What do you want?" I added with a sigh.

She smiled and pulled out one of her swords. "Spar with me." She said, taking attack position.

"You're joking, right? I don't have time for that. I have training to do." I refuse her offer and got back to swinging my sword.

"Why not? I'd make a much better training partner than some tree. Or is it because I'm not your real big sister?" She asked. "Tell me, what makes us so different?" She questioned.

I stopped and couldn't find an answer. "Well...nothing. It's just that..." I stuttered trying to answer.

"Not much, huh?" She finished for me. I still had my back turned, but I heard her approach.

"That may be true, but still, that doesn't make you my sister by default." I said to her. "Just because you look alike and act the same doesn't mean you are the same." Suddenly, I felt her arms wrap around me as she pulled me into a hug.

"I know that. But the reality is, I don't actually have younger siblings. When Nepgear called me big sis for the first time, I felt all bubbly inside. And I learned something too. I learned that, no matter what, even if I'm not your real sister, we can at least fill the holes in our hearts. I know you miss you big sister just as much as Nepgear." She said.

That was true. I did miss her. Her annoying and smart-assed personality. Her love for pudding. Even her oversized ego. "I'm not trying to take you away from your sister, but I at least want to be a big sister to someone who needs my help with something." She said finally. I gave up and embraced her back.

"I guess you and big sis aren't so different after all." I said. We separated and started our sparing match. I didn't notice until Uzume brought it up, but apparently her and Nepgear were watching as well... Embarrassing for me. "Okay, tomorrow we start our search nice and early. So we're going to bed early." I said.

We all woke early to search for Crostie. Whoever that is. Still nothing. We went back to HQ and started to prepare dinner. Neptune, Uzume, and Umio all seemed a little distasteful toward some of the food we had gathered though. I was about to start cooking when I noticed the eggplants, the fresh water fish, and the shiitake mushrooms were gone. And I know just who did this. "Neptune! Uzume! Umio! Where are all the ingredients and food?!" I called.

"I hate eggplants!" Neptune whined.

"No way am I eating shiitake mushrooms!" Uzume cried.

"Eating fish is like cannibalism for me!" Umio said.

I face palmed myself and groaned. "Honestly, it's like I'm dealing with literal children." I groan. "Okay. Then where did they go?" I sigh.

"I gave them to Arfoire." They all said at the same time. I remove my hand from shock.

"You what?!" I shouted. If Arfoire gets fed, who knows what will happen.

"Ahahaha!" We heard her laugh from our tent. We ran over to see Arfoire back to her normal form and out of Neptune's Nep-Note.

"This day just keeps getting better and better." I said sarcastically.

"What happened?!" Nepgear asked as she ran up to us.

"Take a look." I said and pointed at Arfoire.

"What?! How?!" She was puzzled.

"Twiddle Dee, Twiddle Dumb, and Twiddle Foolish over there!" I pointed to the three perpetrators and prepped for battle. However, Arfoire had no plans to fight, instead she ran off. We gave chase and followed her to a very familiar building. We went in and battled some monsters, for level grinding. Nothing wrong with being a little over leveled.

We made our way to a stadium like room and found Arfoire waiting for us in the center. "You kept me waiting, CPUs." She said.

"We were right behind you this whole time." I said.

"Shut up! This time for sure, I will end you." She laughed. I roll my eyes.

"How terrifying..." I said sarcastically. Arfoire started to shine and completely changed form. When the light faded, Nepgear freaked out. "What is it?" I asked.

"That form...! It's just like when Arfoire took the body of the Deity of Sin!" She responded.

"I heard about that from Histoire. But I didn't know it looked like...that." I said. Honestly, it was a bit disgusting. Okay, very disgusting. But I guess I don't know what I was expecting from Arfoire at this point.

"Whatever, Arfy is still Arfy, no matter what form she takes." Uzume said.

"C'mon! Let's tussle." Neptune said.

"Enough talking already! Arfoire, hurry up kill them!" We heard a small voice come from the corner of the room.

"Gasp! Crostie?! What are you doing here?!" Neptune asked.

"Wait, that's Crostie? Why is she with Arfoire? She is, like, quite possibly the worst ally anyone could have. Like, ever." I mocked her.

"Hey kid, I record history. And it's not everyday you just happen to appear in a world on the verge of destruction." She said. "And my name is Croire. Stop calling me Crostie." She added.

"Hey Nep. Can I suggest you get yourself a better friend?" I told her.

"Heh. Well, yeah. She gets like that sometimes." Neptune chuckled.

"Enough of this talk. Let me end you with my new awesome pow-!"

"We win." We cut her off for what might be the third time in this world. Honestly, this is just getting sad.

"Still though... That fight was pretty tough. I remember it like this the last time we fought her in this form." Nepgear panted. She must have been exhausted.

"It's...not over...yet...!" She said and could barely stand up. "Croire! Give me that power." She commanded.

"You've got to be joking. I don't think your body could handle it right now." She argued.

"Just DO IT!!" She shouted.

Croire shrugged. "Alright, don't say I didn't warn you." She said as she focused her power to Arfoire. She began to glow again, but this time the light didn't fade so quickly. In fact, it seemed she was growing in size. The roof of the building broke as she continued to ascend. Finally, the light faded. And when it did, we didn't like what we were seeing. It was Arfoire, but in the body of the giant. Dark Purple had been taken over by Arfoire.

"No way... it can't be..." Uzume stuttered.

"Well that's annoying." I comment.

"AHAHAHA!! TREMBLE BEFORE ME, FOOLS!!" Her voice boomed throughout the surrounding area.

"C'mon. We're retreating." I said and picked up the girls.

"Hold on!" Neptune said and pulled out her book. She opened it and sucked Chroire into it, and shut it tight. "That's punishment." She said and followed after me.