[Tokusatsu Themes, Corruption, Brainwashing]

The birds chirped outside the window of one young Hiro Fukano, slowly but surely causing her to rouse from her tired slumber. Her hair was a mess, but it was to be expected. It was the weekend. Whenever she didn’t have anything planned for the day, she typically woke up around noon and just lazed away in bed. She couldn’t commit to anything without a plan…

“Mmmm… They’re really late…” The tired black-haired woman yawned as she carefully pulled herself up into a sitting position, her eyes still blurry from the sleep refusing to release her from its grasp. “Thought I sprayed the windows with Atlas Bird-B-Gone© recently…” She muttered in her half-awakened state, slowly rubbing away at her eyes to get them cleaned.

Everything seemed to be normal, with the exception of the birds being around this late in the day. So she checked her clock, wondering what the time actually was. Maybe she just slept a little less than she normally had, and-

“S-Seven? It’s Seven?” Hiro’s jaw fell, her vision clearing up as she got out of bed and looked out the window, noticing that it had only just started getting bright outside. That’d explain the birds, but... It was a weekend! Why was she up this early?

With no clue to go on, the black-haired woman quickly ruffled her hair to make it seem more presenting, before heading down the stairs to her kitchen. Maybe some breakfast could fix her up. Then she’d have all the time to think about what the hell was going on, and… and…

...Her mind was having trouble comprehending the presence of one silver-haired superior sitting comfortably in her living room, devouring cereal like she hadn’t had a proper meal in years.

“Oh, morning, Hiro-chan.” Tsukiko said with a mouth full of chunks of cereal, grinning a little as she put the bowl down on the table in front of her. “Had a good night’s sleep? Wouldn’t blame you if you hadn’t, Haruhi-chan’s mental manipulation is killer when you get hit with it at full blast.”

Hiro looked at her direct superior a couple of times, blinking a few more times after that as she rubbed away at her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Only after making sure that everything was real, she very nearly toppled over then and there. The concept of having somebody this close to her come over out of nowhere, when her mind still hadn’t remembered everything that happened the night before, nor most of the previous day…

And like usual, once she saw that the young woman was on the verge of falling over, the silver-haired woman was quick to rush over and catch her. “See? What’d I tell ya?” She chimed, helping her stand back up on two feet as she guided her over to one of the chairs in the living room.

“Just… Just give me a minute, Tsurugi-sensei…” The black-haired woman muttered as her head felt like it could tear itself apart at any one moment, her brain throbbing and her heart pounding. “How’d you… How’d I..?” She mumbled near-incoherently as she tried to put everything together…

Only for her superior to pat her on the head and ruffle through her messy hair. “You want the short or the long explanation, or do you want some breakfast first? I’ll make you a new batch, wouldn’t want to give you the soggy stuff.” She asked, with her younger partner nodding slowly as her head continued throbbing rhythmically.

While Tsukiko sauntered over to the fridge to try and fix her something to eat, Hiro continued to try and push her mind to remember everything. The last thing she could vividly remember before her mind tried to tear itself apart and follow the red trail between the lines… Was nothing but gold itself…

“...Golden… Gold…” She muttered, everything slowly sliding into place, with only the soft click of her superior’s heels managing to draw her closer. The same kind of click that was hidden underneath the voice that gently whispered into her ears when everything was all golden…

The bowl full of milk and colorful cereal bites plopped down in front of her, breaking her concentration and giving her the eureka moment she needed. “T-That… Kaneko-sensei was, she-”

A spoonful of cereal found its way into her mouth, courtesy of the silver-haired woman who kept on smiling. “Yep. Haruhi-chan did some real shady stuff to you. Thankfully, whatever she was planning got stopped by my timely arrival. I’m not surprised you’re still focused on it though, I’d be fixated on it if it had happened to me.”

“But, she was supposed to help me, help us, wasn’t she?” Hiro couldn’t believe what she heard, nor what her mind put together. All while she tried to rejuvenate her energy by eating the rather tasty Atlas Rainbow Crisps© that her superior had poured for her. “Was it all a lie, Tsurugi-sensei? Did she trick us all this time..?”

Tsukiko shook her head as she walked over and grabbed her own bowl. “Nah. Well, maybe she did lie in some ways, but I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was how quickly you started learning.” She shot back, pouring the tasty treat into the sink and watching the individual specks get washed down. “Especially with all the crud that she talked about when I had to protect you. She was really invested in that stuff.”

“What’d she say?” The black-haired woman asked, her right arm practically uncontrollable as it shoveled more and more of the milk-smothered crisps into her mouth, feeding her in a steady rhythm. Something she was used to, considering how much she ate these for breakfast. The motion was a side effect of the delicious taste, made to ensure that every meal would be finished and filling…

Her superior tapped her chin a bit as she took a seat once more. “Let’s see… She wanted you to not fall under the whims of Atlas Corp, specifically the big pinhead himself, because she knew something that we don’t. She knew the depths of his depravity, and…” She paused, shaking her head. “Stuff like that. Honestly, I’ve kinda forgotten the details, the emotional response was all that I focused on.”

“I think she wanted you to hear it, Tsurugi-sensei, it’s not nice to just forget what she’s saying when she’s pouring everything out at you.” Hiro muttered, her arm finally calming down as she finished chewing through the last few crisps. “What’d you think of that then? The emotions pouring out?” She asked, before biting into her lip and looking down at the empty bowl. “I have to admit, if she wanted to try and free me, and she had to go so far as to trap me within a golden realm just to set me free or whatever...  That’s kind of desperate, isn’t it?”

Tsukiko nodded, stretching her arms with a mild groan before leaving her hands behind her head. “I think whatever she had seen him do, and the innocence in your eyes whenever you saw me save you… It made her try to pull you off this path, by any means necessary. Of course, I had to beat her up because I didn’t want you to be forced into doing something that you didn’t want to, but…” She paused, closing her eyes and sighing. “I can’t say that she was wrong to want you away from him. Not with how much I’ve known her.”

“So… She’s telling the truth? There’s something wrong with Atlas Corp, and I should’ve just… Never joined? Never met you or her?” The younger of the two women asked, before biting into her lip again. “That’s not fair at all. I’ve been working so hard to get here, and now I met you two, the…” She paused, her cheeks flushing red. “The best people I’ve ever met…”

Her superior nodded, smiling from ear to ear in response to the compliment. “I don’t think it’s wrong to want to join up, but I do wanna find out what she’s hiding. If it’s anything like what I’ve heard from Byakko regarding Suzaku, then I don't like what either Atlas Corp or she’s doing.” She answered firmly, her smile turning into a grin as she let her hands fall onto her knees. “Besides, she can’t just bottle all of that up forever. Somebody has to listen to her, and that might as well be me.”

“Listen to her, huh.” Hiro replied, looking up from the bowl at her silver-haired superior, before smiling a little herself. “So you’re saying you’re going to tell her that you love her and that you trust her no matter what, even if what she’s saying sounds insane?” She asked, the edges of her lips curving into a smirk.

Tsukiko’s face turned a bright red as the younger woman pulled the rug out from under her. “Nope, nuh-uh. Not like that. I’d just tell her that I’d listen to her and that we’d figure things out from there. Maybe get her to prove her side of the story, irrefutably. Nothing more than that.” She quickly defended herself as she tried to hide her face behind her hands…

“Just that. Nothing else. Sure, Tsurugi-sensei.” The black-haired woman giggled a little, enjoying the way she learned how to turn the tables. Seeing how the two reacted to one another was good for her. “Well, if that’s the case, then… I should quit, shouldn’t I? If she’s right, and if you end up being right too, then…”

Her superior pulled her head out from behind her hands as she cleared her throat. “She might be right. I might think that she’s right too. But, and I want to stress this, Hiro-chan.” Her voice got serious for just a moment, as she looked straight into those beautiful eyes, the one she had begun to nurture over these last few days. “You have to make a decision for yourself. If you just follow somebody else without choosing for yourself, you’re basically just following her orders.”

“But I’ve been following your orders since she gave the duty of teaching me to you. How’s that any better?” Hiro quickly shot back, resting her head on one of her hands as she leaned to the side in her chair. “You can’t just say that stuff, it’s not that easy.” She muttered, closing her eyes. “Maybe that’s why she keeps getting annoyed with you, because you say things are simple when they’re clearly not at all…”

Tsukiko giggled a little as a bit of sweat ran down her cheek. “Yeah, now that you say, it does sound kinda silly, doesn’t it?” She replied, getting up from her chair as she walked over to one of the windows, the view from the young woman’s home giving her a nice look at the thick forests not far from the city’s outskirts. “But the world’s simpler than you think. So, I just want you to keep your choice in mind before you do anything, Hiro-chan. And hopefully, things’ll turn out alright. Even if they seem bleak or grim.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely part of what’s giving her a headache.” The younger woman sighed as she got out of her chair and joined her superior by the window, smiling in response to the lush nature. A place she hadn’t been, but a place that’d be nice to visit once everything was over. Just to enjoy the lack of responsibility. A lack of choices to worry about. “...I’ll keep your advice in mind, Tsurugi-sensei. I just hope we won’t end up fighting or anything.”

Her silver-haired superior laughed as she patted her on the shoulder, turning towards her with a bright smile. “No matter what happens, we’re never fighting. Ever. I’ll make sure of it. Whether I have to tackle you to the ground and hug you until we see eye to eye, or find a different way. I won’t hurt you. I promise you that, Hiro-chan.” The self-assured woman let her heart lay bare as she patted her on the head, her gaze briefly turning out towards the greenery once more. “Now, where would I be, if I was actually a Monster trying to transform people out of some desperate need to shake up the status quo…”

“...Underground? They seemed like the type to dash in and do whatever they needed to do, before disappearing and leaving no trace behind.” Hiro hypothesized, putting her fingers against her chin. “But if that’s the case, how’re we going to find them? They could be anywhere, and the tunnels underneath the city aren’t exactly easy to navigate.”

Tsukiko laughed, patting her companion on her head instead. “Nah. They’re clearing their heads after yesterday’s showdown. It’s what Haruhi-chan always does after a night of passion with me, and she usually goes to wherever she last had fun. Which would be the Amusement Park.” She put out her deduction, a gleam of ingenuity in her eyes. “I’m sure we’ll catch them off guard if we go there.”

“...I don’t know how you would ever come up with that idea, Tsurugi-sensei, but there’s no way they’d go to the Amusement Park. There’s just no way…”

---

“I’ve got a ticket for two, ma’am!”

The excited voice of one young Rose, wearing a much more conservative red dress compared to the one she wore when she was terrorizing the populace with her little stunt to the point where it reached all the way down to her ankles and up to her wrists, echoed around one of the park workers as the sun slowly hung overhead.

A park worker that honestly didn’t have it in her to deal with guests right now. “Listen, kid.” She muttered, turning towards the owner of the voice and only slightly blinking as she noticed both the blonde and the golden-armored woman at her side, before speaking up once more. “Park’s not open yet. Wait another hour.” She yawned, not really freaking out about either of the two weirdos in front of her…

“That’s no fun, miss. That’s no fun at all.” Rose whined, her eyes gradually glowing crimson. “So, won’t you please look into my eyes? I’m sure you can let us in a little early. It won’t be that bad, I promise.” She chimed, giggling as the glow intensified.

Initially, the park worker wanted to just turn her away again and get back to her attempts to wake up fully. But as she looked into those nice eyes, those beautiful eyes that were shining like rubies, she suddenly felt that her thoughts couldn’t really get anywhere. Her thoughts were being plucked out of her head and thoughts that were more agreeable plopped in. Thoughts about listening to the cute young girl’s suggestions. Thoughts about being a good girl who listened to her mistress…

“That’s more like it, miss. Look into my eyes. Keep a close look, lose yourself in the glow. And then let us in, because you know we won’t cause any trouble. We’re just going to have a little bit of fun. When we’re done, we’ll let you have some fun too, we promise.” The bat-themed Monster chimed, milking her Ability for all it was worth…

Her new thrall nodded and smiled from ear to ear, totally under her sway. She stepped aside, the words from her mistress floating through her ear and keeping her nice, calm and happy. Just listening to the voice inside her head was enough to drive her to utter bliss, which would keep her from blowing the girl’s cover…

“See, Hopper? My power is useful for more than just converting people, like I’ve always told you!” Rose giggled as she walked right on in, skipping towards one of the rides without really thinking about how slowly her partner walked. She had better things to be doing than standing around and looking at the scenery!

Hopper, or rather Haruhi Kaneko, adjusted her hoodie. Garishly golden, to the point where she stood out but at the same time got ignored by the common individual, simply because it was too weird to notice. Nobody would realize that she was one of the high ranking officials at Atlas Corp when she went out like this. That, and she’d never be caught dead with somebody as energetic or annoying as the bat she followed.

“I never said your power wasn’t useful, Bat. I merely said that it had dominant roots, and ran counterproductive to our goals.” The golden woman muttered, shivering slightly as she hadn’t found a shirt to use since the night before. So underneath her hoodie, she wore literally nothing. Her breasts even having a tough time getting used to the feeling of fabric brushing up against them like this, without a bra to support them.

Rose pouted as she whipped around and stuck her tongue out at her companion. “If you’re going to complain, I’m going to tell D’Or that you’re a smelly dummy who thinks more about what she wants than what you want. You know she doesn’t like that!” She huffed, before turning towards the ride that she had her eyes on. The tea cups, perfect for a quick bit of fun.

“That’s not how that works, Bat!” Haruhi shouted back at her as she ran over, gritting her teeth a little. She had to deal with Tsurugi on a daily basis, and now that she finally tore herself away from her, she had to deal with this child instead? It was the worst deal she could’ve ever made… Even if she was forced into it, by how quickly her former partner had evolved…

Before she had a chance to rant more at the younger girl, the blonde grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her along. “Let go of me you little gremlin! Let GO!” She cried out, trying to yank herself away from her younger-looking companion.

“No! We’re having fun! That’s what I want to do! And you wanna calm down after your fight with Tsukiko, so it’s only fair that I drag you along!” Rose argued loud and clearly, using her strength haphazardly as she practically threw the older woman into one of the teacups, jumping after her as she giggled.

The park worker manning the ride watched their antics, and since they had no incentive to really report them given the lousy rules regulating the park, they just tapped the button and let the ride begin. Let those weirdos enjoy themselves.

Haruhi grumbled and mumbled and groaned as she took a proper seat, the ride slowly starting to rotate as she looked at her shorter companion. “I’m going to find a way to make you pay for this, Bat. Mark my words.” She mumbled, a thin veil of rage filtering through her gaze.

“And I’m gonna make you smile, just to pay you back.” Rose chimed as she rested her elbows on the little ‘table’ between them, the weight in her body keeping her from being shaken around as the two felt the teacup spinning faster. All while sighing a little bit. “Honestly, I can’t believe somebody like you would strike D’Or’s fancy. I know she wanted to try and fix the world by dismantling the big bad company, but with how grumpy you are, it’s getting really hard…”

Her golden-haired companion narrowed her eyes as she closed her eyes, instinctively using one of her hands to adjust the tightness of her hoodie. “We share a goal. I just want to get there faster. The longer we take, the longer he has to make the world his. The projects that’ve been worked on worry me too much…” She muttered, crossing one of her legs over the other. “The faster we topple him, the better. Regardless of the consequences. If we don’t, then he’ll continue his spread so quickly that we won’t be able to chip away at it without his forces replenishing as soon as we move onto the next vulnerable spot.”

“And what if you fail?” The blonde replied, tilting her head just a little. “What then? If you end up getting us in trouble, so nobody can save anyone?” She asked again, her expression actually looking like she was worried about the golden-haired woman. Despite how the two had feuded just a little bit ago…

Haruhi opened her eyes and looked at her blonde companion, silent for a moment. “...I don’t know.” She answered truthfully, clenching her fists. “At first, I thought that I could do it on my own. Then I remembered the power that the saints possess, and a chat with Genbu… Discouraged me from that decision. So I hoped that, after tossing our strongest Jõtai to Tsurugi, we might gain an ally on par with me…”

“And we ended up with an enemy that got so strong. Who wants to stop us, who wants to keep the status quo. That’s pretty bad.” Rose chimed, giggling a little. “Tsukiko’s cool though, wielding that power for the sake of others. If only she knew how bad the person she was working for was, everything would be so much better…”

The golden woman nodded slowly. Only to blush when she realized what she agreed with. “N-No, she’s not cool. She’s the enemy. She’s supposed to be kicked into the ground so we can get through. So we can save everyone from tyranny, so they can get to the place in life where they belong.” She muttered rapidly, the blush growing just as quickly.

“Suuuuure. Suuuuuuure, Hopper. Use that excuse. Make yourself happy, knowing that you’re absolutely certain you don’t love how cool she was when she beat you up.” The blonde giggled, teasing her as much as she could. Though they hadn’t known each other for long, the tempting Baroness already knew how to inch into her defenses and pick them apart.

Haruhi huffed, the teacup they were in slowly stopping as the ride came to an end. “She wasn’t cool at all. We just reached an agreement. She’d eventually come to my side, if I beat her. So once we’re done here, I have to work on improving the Hopper System, so that she can join us. I have to do it. I must.”

“Or you could relax, because she wanted you to try and calm down. I got to hug D’Or all day yesterday, and I’m so refreshed after what she did to my plan. Maybe you should just ease up and have a talk with her?” Rose giggled, winking a bit as a bat-shaped heart floated through the air. “I’m sure you two love birds can figure something out. You weren’t about to kiss before I arrived if you couldn’t do that.”

The golden woman just shut up and grabbed the strings that tightened the hole in her hoodie, yanking on both to hide herself away. Better than to be teased by a brat like the blonde. She even crossed her arms in a huff and turned her head away…

“You’re adorable when you try to act like you’re the better woman, Hopper.” The younger blonde chimed, only to notice something out of the corner of her eye. “Ohoho? We have a guest, Hopper! A very special guest, just for you. Why don’t you take a look? I’m sure they’d be happy to talk to you!”

Haruhi blinked as she turned her head to look towards the entrance to the teacups ride, flinching as her hidden golden eyes met a certain somebody. Somebody that didn’t seem too displeased to see her, even in her current outfit.

“Yo, Haruhi-chan.” Tsukiko stood there, wearing her usual outfit. Scarf and all. “Still upset about everything? Otherwise, I’d like to talk.” She reached out to broker peace, hands in her pockets…

While Hiro was in the background, carefully guiding the mesmerized park worker from earlier into a better place to stand blissfully unaware of anything around her. Somebody had to take care of the mess that the Monsters made.

“...Tsurugi. Why should we talk?” Haruhi steeled herself as she stood up, leaping out of the teacup thanks to her Monster Ability, landing right in front of the woman she once considered a partner. “Why should I not just turn your brain to mush with my Ability, like so long ag-”

Her foreboding and harmful words got her nowhere, as the scarf-wearing woman put her hand on her shoulder and grabbed her hoodie to loosen it up. “Haruhi-chan, quit the act. You’re not the type to talk with grandiose language like that. Come on and just say it. Say what you want to say. Tell me why you think it’s okay to do this instead of exposing the bad stuff in the company.”

Tsukiko’s words were pinpoint compared to usual, making the golden woman who hadn’t even braided her hair properly slowly twitch. With just a few sentences, she had completely thrown off her vibe. And yet, she still wanted to hear her out. She wanted to understand why they had to be like this.

“...You wouldn’t understand!” The golden woman tried to push her away, glaring into her eyes on instinct. “You’d just brush it aside like you did before! That’s precisely why I don’t want to tell you! I just want to free you and her from his grasp, without you two needing to worry! You just have to listen and-”

Haruhi’s words fell flat as the silver woman gave her a tight hug, pulling her as close as she could. “Oh, shut up, Haruhi. You know better than that.” She whispered into her ear, smiling a little as she tightened that grip. “I’ll listen. For real this time. Just promise that you won’t go as far as you went yesterday. That’s all I have to ask.”

The golden woman could hear her heart beating louder than ever. Not just her own either, she could hear Tsukiko’s beating in tandem. The two were in sync for the first time in a long while… Maybe it was alright to tell her what she had planned. What made her turn out this way. She just needed a little time to breathe.

“...Rose.” She turned her head over towards the blonde, who had been watching with glee, grinning all the while. “Check up on Fukano. Make sure that she doesn’t wander too far away, we wouldn’t want her to get caught up in something she could avoid.”

The blonde Bat nodded, her grin widening as she skipped past the two hugging women. “You two lovebirds just figure it all out, I’ll take care of the newcomer. Don’t worry, Tsukiko. I won’t hurt a hair on her head.” She chimed, happy to leave the two alone as she disappeared into the distance.

“Heh. She’s nice when she’s in a good mood. Who would’ve thought.” Tsukiko chuckled, only to look at the thoroughly-blushing golden woman. “So, what’s the gist? How bad is he?” She asked as she kept her arms wrapped around her. Just to make sure that they could keep listening to their hearts beating as one. No more miscommunication or bickering. Just two close friends that needed to be on the same wavelength…

The golden woman looked into her partner’s eyes, clearing her throat as the blush slowly died down. “We’re… We’re going to be here for a while if you want a recount of everything. Do you have a pen on you?” Haruhi muttered, her arms slowly wrapping around the silver woman…

“Nope. But I think you can tell me. Bit by bit. Then we can work out a better plan than turning everyone to Monsters. I’m sure of it.” The scarf-wearing woman admitted, giggling a little as she felt those arms tenderly hugging her. She couldn’t remember the last time they were this close. Not even in the tunnel of love or the ferris wheel were they this honest with one another…

Their eyes met. Gold reflecting in Silver. Their lips came closer, the warm breaths brushing against their cheeks. The intimacy rushed through them, begging for them to consummate and confirm their love for one another. They were this close, to the point where a breeze could make them kiss…

“T-TSURUGI-SENSEI!” “HOPPER! HOPPPPEEERRRRR!”

Both of them seized up as they heard those screams. Their partners, who they trusted to take care of things, were in danger. And not just regular danger that came from either of them betraying one another either. This was real danger.

Tsukiko quickly broke away from her hug with Haruhi, sprinting towards the sounds of panick. Her golden friend wasn’t far behind, using her legs and her Monster Ability to jump ahead of her. Neither of them wanted anything bad to happen to their allies, especially when they could stop it.

Once they reached the blonde and the black-haired woman, they were rather quickly introduced to the reason behind the screams. A short, yet infinitely intimidating reason, one who held the two ladies into the air using a pair of overly massive tentacle-like limbs, ready to squeeze into them and turn them into paste if not something worse than that…

“Ahahaha! Look, I play with my food, and the main course arrives!” The culprit, a girl that was barely half the size of either adult, giggled as she looked at both of the recent arrivals. All while rubbing her hands together as she adjusted her cute dress. “I can’t wait to feast on you two and all the desire within you, it’s going to be such a treat!”

The girl, whose jet black and almost ink-like hair reached down to her ankles, was dressed in a single piece of clothing. It was frilly, almost like the types of dresses that you’d see in the shows that Tsukiko were into. But at the same time, it didn’t seem to be layered in any way. Any segment that should be a separate piece of fabric instead seemed to jut out of the main part of the dress, serving as some sort of living organism… And to make that comparison all the more striking, it seemed to be the source of the limbs that were currently busy crushing the two helpers.

“ROSE!” Haruhi cried out in a fury, the Hopper System materializing on her arm as it started sparking with power. It was still in terrible condition compared to the day before, but this was an emergency. She wasn’t going to let her get hurt, not when she was this close to getting her partner on her side!

The silver woman wasn’t far behind her partner, clenching her fist and letting the energies within her materialize her silver-and-black belt. “I’m going to give you one chance, kiddo. Let my Hiro-chan down. Give me your name. And then I may not kick your face in for making my partner mad.” Her voice was tranquil compared to the rage dripping from her partner’s.

“Ehehehehe. My food wants to play, my food wants to play!” The strangely dressed girl chimed, causing her to lash out with both of her tentacular ‘limbs’ and toss both the blonde and the black-haired woman aside. “I’m Luna! I’m going to eat you both, okay?” She giggled, maddeningly so. Whatever she was, there was no way that they could negotiate with her…

Tsukiko shot a glance at Haruhi, both of them nodding to one another as they got into their respective stances. It wasn’t the time for words. It was time to thoroughly smash this brat into the ground!

The silver woman adjusted her scarf and reached her hand into the air, only to slice it down and clench it at her side. She closed her eyes, letting the energy run along her body, her veins visible despite her outfit as they filled with silver and black outlines. Any and all pain of transformation, compared to the days before, had completely vanished. Her determination, nay, her will to smash the girl for what she had done to her subordinate completely dominated any other feeling.

The golden woman reached down and grabbed her hoodie’s zipper with her unarmored hand, pulling it down to expose her chest and her Hopper mark. “Insertion - Hopper!” She cried out as she slammed the back of her fist into the mark, releasing her desire in the form of an orb and inserting it the same motion. Shards of crystalized energy flew out of her, hovering around her to mirror the energy flowing through her partner’s veins.

“HENSHIN!” “ACTIVATION CODE - HOPPER!”

Both the Heroine and the Monster transformed in a flash, their respective armors materializing on their bodies thanks to their desires amplifying in unison. A process that would’ve taken more time was shortened down to mere moments, leaving the two completely armored not long after their passionate shouts.

Tsukiko, formally Jõtaider Shadow, tossed her hand out as it was covered in silver. “SHADOW SABER!” She screamed, her blade appearing in her hand as she pointed it towards the malicious brat. Her eyes were seething behind her moon-shaped visor…

If there was one thing she was going to make sure of, it was that the brat tasted the ground below. She reserved this kind of treatment to scum that had hurt her friends, especially her partner earlier in their relationship. But this girl? Oh, she was going to get the full course treatment....

Haruhi, formally Hopper, felt the cracks in her Hopper System affecting her. She didn’t let it stop her, her gauntlet audibly grinding against itself as she clenched her fist and stretched it out towards her enemy as the system within spoke out loud.

<Hopper System - Overdrive>

Her armor, just like her partner’s had when they last fought, repaired itself in the blink of an eye. Her will to fight had fixed any little imperfection. And with that willpower fueling her, that sole desire in her heart… She was going to make sure that she understood what it meant to mess with a Monster. What it meant to cross the one who would sacrifice everything for the world she loved!

“Alright, kid! Let’s see if you can handle the two of us! Jõtaider Shadow and Hopper, side by side, ready to kick your ass!” Shadow cried out, energies already coating her blade as she got ready.

Hopper withdrew her repaired gauntlet, fury burning past her bug-shaped eyes. “In the name of all of Monster… no, in the name of Hopper! YOU WILL PAY FOR HURTING MY FRIENDS!”

Luna laughed in the face of their bravado, as several more tentacular limbs emerged from underneath her dress. “So feisty, so fun! Luna’s going to have so much fun with you two!” The crazed creature grinned, each of her teeth as sharp.

Instead of letting either of the two women get the chance to dash at her, she took the first step. Her extra limbs lashed out in an attempt to strike them or wrap around them, using the superior numbers to give them little chance to fight back from the word go.

Shadow didn’t even flinch in response to this aggressive approach, swinging her blade without calling her attack. With every swing, a corresponding wave of energy flew off her weapon and straight through the enemy’s limbs, severing them and leaving her to slash directly at the girl herself.

Hopper clenched her fist as several of those limbs descended on her at the same time, putting up a barrier. As they slapped against her field, it was easy to tell that she couldn’t just absorb them like she had absorbed her partner’s attacks prior. Which meant that she had to take a different approach, her eyes narrowing underneath her helmet.

The short monster of a girl giggled as she came into melee range, catching the blade mid-swing as it gradually started to turn black. “Such a delicious sword! Filled with desire, filled with so much power! I’ll eat it!” She laughed as the heads of her tentacles regenerated in the blink of an eye, all of them yanking on the blade before the silver-and-black heroine had time to react.

While she was preoccupied with the ‘human’ heroine, the golden Monster leapt into the air as her power shedded off her and gave her space to breathe. Then, as she flew straight up, she kicked the fabric of space itself to reposition herself, launching herself directly down at the girl once more with one foot outstretched to meet her face.

Shadow jumped away as she watched her partner meet resistance in the form of tentacles acting as a barrier, though she didn’t let up her assault. Every time she collided with a tentacle, she jumped back up and repeated the cycle so she could whittle away at her defenses. Meanwhile, her weapon had been yanked away from her, so what could she do?

What came naturally to her, of course! While her partner was attacking from the air, she’d attack from down below!

The silver-and-black heroine’s energies quickly filled her ‘veins’, orbs of concentrated willpower filling her palms as she crushed them. The colors melded together proper, giving a uniform look to her veins as she dashed forth. “SHADOW PUNCH!”

Luna laughed as her tentacles kept up the defensive effort. Every single time the woman above tried to kick through her tentacles, another one would spawn. And while her tentacles were busy breaking the sword of the heroine into nothing more than its base components, she could still command another couple to defend herself from the assault coming at her from the front, as half a dozen tentacles wrapped their way around the multicolored heroine’s arm.

“Ehehehe, you’re both trying so hard! It makes it all the more fun when I’ll eat you! You’ll settle in my tummy and get converted into new life, won’t that be so much fun?” Luna giggled like a creepy child, her tentacles trying to eat away at the arm she held. All while licking her lips like the glutton she was underneath it all.

Only for those very same tentacles to start bloating out, her expression changing from an assured victory to a quizzical one. “Why’re you not being eaten, lady?” She asked, not feeling any threat from the silver-and-black heroine in front of her, yet a sense of dread was slowly creeping up her spine as the armor didn’t leave her body…

“You think you can just eat me, do you kid?” Shadow shot back, with a very clear sense of pain in her voice. It did hurt to fight back against the influence of those tentacles, but that wouldn’t stop her. Even if the armor, and the energy by extension, was a part of her… She could power through the pain! She had done so before! “You’ll get indigestion before you eat all of me, and I’ll give you something more than that!”

Luna frowned as she tossed aside the blade she wanted to eat, letting it slide away in the direction of the two idiots she had thrown away earlier. “I can’t get indigestion! I don’t know what that is!” She cried out as those tentacles wrapped around the arm that seemed to inch closer and closer to her with every passing mom-

A scream of pain echoed from her lungs as she was knocked back, her tentacles unfurling as she rubbed a massive mark on her cheek as well as on several of the tentacles that had been defending her. Each of them feeling the burn of several kicks at the same time.

Hopper landed gracefully, bouncing slightly with every breath she drew. “Hopper Jump. Using my Monster Ability, I can bounce off the air, and even the limbs of my enemies. I can jump while jumping, stacking jumps upon jumps until there’s nothing left to jump on.” She explained, adjusting the collar of her armor with the hand not covered by a gauntlet. “Your defenses will fall, if I get the time to shatter my way past them.”

Shadow scoffed a little. “Yeah, yeah, steal my spotlight why don’t you.” She whined, causing her partner to glare at her for a second. “I’m joking. Keep up the good work, Hopper! We can beat her back before she gets a chance to snack on anybody!”

“You’re both so mean! The worst of the worst!” Luna cried out in anger as her tentacles split into two around the tip, revealing several teeth-filled mouths that were drooling and ready to bite into anything that came near. Like a child, she’d change the rules when things weren’t going her way…

This time it was Hopper’s turn to grimace. She could deal with the tentacles since they were flat surfaces, but if any of those mouths grabbed ahold of her, she’d be in for quite the rough time. How was she going to get around any of those sharp points? There had to be some way for her to deal with them…

She felt a tug on her gauntlet, only to feel a rush of energy pouring through her. Her head turned to look at her partner, causing her eyes to widen in response to the sheer amount of power radiating off the silver-and-black heroine. “Shadow, what-”

“You did that Blast on me thanks to my strikes on you, yeah? Use the Absorption part of your weird system and blast through her defenses!” Shadow cried out, her willingness to put aside any enmity the two had for one another to give them a chance to win. The more she wanted to beat that kid up and pay her back for what she had done, the more the energy rushed into her partner with such vigor that her armor started turning silver from how much she had been filled…

Hopper let out a gasp, her body shivering and shaking from the amount of power filling her. Her gauntlet, overflowing with that much power, even took on a different shape for just this occasion. A cannon, where the energies could charge at the tip and fire off to tear straight through any and all defenses. “If you keep powering it up, you’re going to run out of energy!” She shouted at her partner, and yet…

“I don’t care! If we hold back, we’re going to get eaten! Besides! You keep saying I exceed your expectations, who’s saying I can’t exceed them now!?” The silver-and-black heroine shouted back at her as she clenched her fist, the energy pouring into her and causing the cannon’s own ‘veins’ to fill with their mutual energy…

Luna frowned as the two kept talking. What terrible adults. They didn’t even pay attention to her, when she was going to eat them and turn them into fuel for her body and for Mama! “Come on! Stop being meanies and fight! You’re not tasty food if you don’t fight!” She shouted angrily before going on the offensive, dashing at them with her tentacles ready to rip and tear off meat like they were starving…

“FIRE, HOPPER!” Shadow shouted as the energies were starting to overload the cannon, while her hands wrapped around it to try and stabilize it. Anything to give them an edge over that enemy!

The energies were coalescing into a ball at the tip of the cannon, and just as it was about to fire off then and there-

One of the tentacles stabbed its way into the front, clogging it and happily slurping up all the energy within. All while the girl’s tentacles tried to descend on both heroines with an intent to consume them whole without even trying to chew them up.

“HOPPER SYSTEM, FULL POWER!” Hopper cried out as the gauntlet cannon shone golden, silver and black at the same time. The tentacle that tried to slurp up the energy within got the first taste of the laser that fired out and pierced straight through it, burning away any other tentacles in the direct proximity…

Luna barely got a chance to jump out of the way of the laser, frightened as it burned its way straight through several of those tentacles of hers. “N-No way, that’s not supposed to happen! You’re supposed to get eaten and then I go back to Mama and get spoiled!” The little girl screamed, flailing her tentacles around in an attempt to try and get herself a bit more defended.

That wild flailing just reduced her defenses even further, courtesy of the silver-and-black heroine guiding the beam with her firm grip. Little by little, her attempts to seem threatening were clipped away. Heck, she even got knocked further back, giving her even less of a chance to eat them…

“We have her on the ropes, we can do this!” Shadow cried out, only to feel a sharp shock of pain as her adrenaline wore off for a brief moment. And there was a good reason for that shock as it turned out, since instead of holding a cannon in her hands…

There was only scrap. The gauntlet sustained massive structural damage from firing off a blast like that, leaving the Hopper System in a much more compact and ineffectual form. “We can, most assuredly. Her defenses have been torn away, and-” Hopper said, only to freeze as she noticed where she had knocked the girl towards.

“ROSE!”

Luna giggled as the beam disappeared, and she painfully groaned as another tentacle spawned from underneath her dress. “Ehehehe… If I can’t eat you two, then Luna’s gonna eat one of your friends!” The maniacally hungry grin on her face grew as she turned towards the vampire that was still on the ground, seemingly having been squeezed into uselessness when she had her in her grip earlier.

“ROSE! GET UP! HURRY!” Shadow cried out towards her enemy-turned-’friend’, her legs kicking into overdrive despite the pain in her body. Energy rushed through her despite the deprivation, as she tried to reach towards the girl before she could get eaten, whatever that actually meant.

The girl’s giggles quickly grew distorted as the tentacle opened up to reveal a row of teeth, the mouth just about to grab the blonde Bat and quite literally devour her whole. This meal was going to replenish her and make her stronger-

A flash of energy rushed past her, causing her eyes to widen. It was black, yet with a hint of hope filling that color compared to the silver that accompanied it before. “Who’s being a meanie now!?” Luna cried out, turning towards the flash as she lost her concentration…

Only to see Hiro standing tall, the Shadow Sword burning away at her hands. “Let… LET HER GO!” The impromptu heroine cried out as she swung the blade again, a rush of her willpower manifesting through the swing before blasting straight at the tentacular monster!

The formerly tentacled monster cried out in pain as she felt the gash impacting her body, the sheer shock at being attacked by her former prey leaving her open to the attack. “N-Not fair! Not fair at all! Not even close to fair!” She whined, stomping into the ground as her wounds slowly started weaving back together as she regenerated from the attack…

Or rather, she would’ve if not for a fist finding its way into her face, sending her away from the girl that she wanted to devour. A silver-and-black fist, brimming with energy intended to defeat her and leave her utterly unable to hurt anybody ever again.

“Get away from her!” Shadow shouted, her fist steaming after the blow. Hopper wasn’t far behind, having leapt after her and jumped in the air to get even closer. The two were in synch, and with the help of the suited heroine’s subordinate lending a little hand, victory was in sight…

Luna slowly but surely got up onto her feet, her eyes vibrating and throbbing as she slowly lost any sort of physical form… “You! YOU MEANIES!” The monstrous youth screamed as her own energy started to expand, forming a massive black void behind her. “I’LL JUST EAT EVERYTHING, STOP PLAYING AROUND AND HAVE FUN LATER!” Rage dripped from every word that left her mouth, which was now nothing more than a set of teeth grinding against one another. She was utterly done with all of this…

The more she screamed in pure anger, the more the world around her started to get covered in darkness. Parts of the environment were being sucked in, the ground itself cracking as dirt and grime floated into the darkness. She wasn’t kidding when she said she was going to eat everything…

Hiro stabbed the blade into the ground to keep her footing, her eyes darting towards her senseis. “Tsurugi-sensei! Kaneko-sensei!” She cried out, her expression turning into one filled with utter hope for the two armored women. “Finish her! Make her wish she never came here, make her wish she never tried to hurt anybody!”

Shadow and Hopper both looked at one another, each of them grinning underneath their helmets as they bumped their fists together. While they didn’t have anything to properly channel their energy through, like the silver-and-black sword or the gauntlet’s cannon form, they had their shared spirit. And if there was one thing they could do when they set their minds to it, it was work together.

“I hope you’ve got your fill, Kid!” The silver-and-black heroine shouted as she kneeled down, energy flowing into her feet as the ground underneath her cracked and slowly cratered. She was building power, and once she released it and propelled herself into the air, the energy could be seen rushing through her to the point where it made her armor slowly shatter. So much of her own energy, ready to be unleashed in one attack.

The golden heroine jumped and jumped again, leaping further and further into the air as she aligned herself side by side with her partner. The morning sun reflected off her armor, making her look like a true heroine in this one fateful moment. “Because you’ll never eat anything ever again!” She finished her partner’s sentence, her own energies running wild as her armor quickly started cracking just as much, warning signs popping up on the inside of her helmet…

“LET ME EAT YOU AND BE DONE WITH IT!” Luna screamed as tentacles started flying out of the massive darkness, some of then slamming against the ground and consuming it as they made contact, some of them turning serpentine dragons that headed up towards the two women that wanted to stop her from having her fun.

Hopper and Shadow each kicked the air, sending them flying directly down at the monster. The power within their bodies focused squarely on their feet, the sheer aura made from their attacks disintegrating every single speck of the darkness that tried to claim them. No matter what angle the attack came from, it all ended up as nothing more than dust in the face of their continued and vigorous assault. Their desire to see her fall made manifest, as they both cried out in unison.

“SHADOW!”

“HOPPER!”

“KICK!”

The little girl, the monstrous glutton that wanted to turn them into nothing more than energy for her to feast upon, couldn’t believe her eyes as everything she threw at them disintegrated. She could feel her body shaking as they came closer. The ground itself, already being torn apart by her power, was shaking in response to the sheer amount of power they possessed.

“M-Mama… MAMA!” She cried out in fear, her heart seizing up as she brought up her arms to defend herself. The darkness behind her wrapped around her, serving as an emergency shield. Everything she had eaten, everything she was trying to consume, served as the last layer of protection against the desire and sole-minded need to defeat her that the two women displayed…

And it did absolutely nothing to stop them. Their kicks pierced straight through the dark veil, shattering it before their feet made contact with the young girl’s body. The heroines let loose a shout of pure condensed willpower as their kicks dragged their enemy along the ground, the momentum causing them to blast through anything in their path. Ride, wall, whatever stood in their path was broken until their power finally ran out…

Leaving Tsukiko and Haruhi armorless and bruised, their sheer excessive power having caused more than a little blow back as the two smashed into a wall together with the young girl that had tried to fight them. A massive dust cloud kicked up around them, a sign of just how powerful the impact had been even with the energy in their bodies dying down…

The two women breathed a sigh of relief as they fell to the ground, their bodies exhausted beyond all belief. They put their everything into this, and they came out on top. Showing just how powerful their teamwork would be, if they actually bothered to stick to the same side of a conflict. And yet…

Something felt wrong. Something, inside the mind of the silver-scarfed heroine, didn’t sit right. The girl… She was a girl, right? Yeah, she deserved to get kicked, but…

Drip.

Tsukiko’s eyes widened in shock as the cloud of dust slowly dissipated, revealing Luna’s thoroughly mangled body. A sign of the power she held in her feet, and the destructive effects it had on somebody that wasn’t corrupted…

“No…” She muttered, covering her mouth with her hand as her cheeks slowly turned green. The sight of the girl in such a state was something she just couldn’t stomach…

And then it got worse, as she started laughing once more. The kid wasn’t dead. “Aw, guess I won’t be coming back to Mama.” She chimed, as if having half of her body vaporized and the rest turned into what was little more than a bloody smear against a wall didn’t bother that much.

“Well… It’s for the best. I didn’t wanna be Mama’s little Luna anyway.” Her voice changed tones, turning a bit more mature as she looked up at the two women that had bested her. “You two are in trouble now.” She smiled, her lone eye slowly letting a tear run down her cheek. “Just like I was.”

Haruhi, who didn’t feel as disgusted at the sight, flinched in response to the foreboding threat. “What do you mean? What are you talking about? Who are you anyway, if you’re not this woman’s daughter?!” She had so many questions, as she grabbed ahold of the mangled girl’s body…

Luna just laughed in her face, a bit of blood running down her cheek. “Mama changed me. Mama made me Luna. She ate everything except me, and she’ll eat you too.” She explained, the cryptic words making absolutely no sense. “All because of desire. She wants to make it all hers…”

The girl’s body went limp as she continued laughing, her eye peering toward the silver-haired woman that had managed to do the most damage. “...Run…” Another tear ran down her cheek, the last vestiges of the person who had been forcibly turned into this ‘Luna’ giving them one last warning before her eye closed, and her body turned into nothing more than specks of pure dark energy…

Both of the two heroines stood there, unable to truly understand what had happened. They looked to one another, their hearts pounding. Not because they were assured of anything, precisely the opposite…

And because of this insecurity, they had to act fast.

“Tsukiko. I’ll make sure Rose is okay. After that, I want you and Fukano to meet me at the diner. I’ll introduce you to our final ally, and we’ll have to figure out what the girl was talking about.” Haruhi spoke up, hoping that she’d get through to her silver-haired friend…

Unfortunately, the scarf-wearing heroine didn’t react. She was still shaken from the way she had taken somebody’s life. She had gone past the limit, far too past it. All because she got caught up in her need to pay her back for what she had done…

“Tsukiko!” The golden woman shouted, grabbing ahold of her friend’s collar. “She was a monster, a creature from another world! And if any of what she said was right, we have to get ready!” She shouted, shaking her to make sure that it sank in this time…

Her partner slowly reacted, nodding very carefully. “Just… Just give me a day, Haruhi.” She muttered, her eyes looking past the woman that she had just fought alongside.

The golden woman let go of her, sighing. “Very well. Tomorrow morning, at the diner we always eat at.” She laid the terms out, walking past her with a determined look in her eyes…

Only briefly stopping to speak once more. “I trust you, Tsukiko. We need to protect everyone. Just this once.” Haruhi’s trust was laid bare as she continued walking, intending on grabbing Rose and heading straight home…

Leaving Tsukiko to soak in the consequences of her actions, the morning sun casting a dark shadow upon her…

---

In the depths of darkness itself, in the world between worlds, a lone woman stood. A woman with tentacles that did everything she could ever want. Just like the girl that had just attacked a world that she thought would be very easy to devour. And yet here she was, feeling a single tingle run down her spine. A sign that she didn’t like.

“Luna, oh Luna.” The blackened woman, whose dress looked like a set of octopus tentacles arranged neatly in the shape of a skirt, hummed to herself. Her precious daughter, the one she had groomed since she birthed her, had been killed. By somebody that didn’t understand the meaning of the love she had for her. Or the meaning of treating another’s children with care.

And yet… She couldn’t help but laugh just a little. Her worthless daughter had been killed once again. Her absolute disgrace of a daughter, who couldn’t even eat a single world, had finally been killed. Good riddance. Now she had reason to make another. A better Luna. One that would listen to her and obey properly, instead of just fading into nothing when faced with a strong will. One that would feast on desires and grow strong, one that she could spoil all day long.

“Luna, little Luna. You’ll be with me soon enough.” The monster within the darkness chimed, her yellow irises serving at the only light within the darkness. The malicious light, ready to prey upon the world at large. And oh, she’d prey upon it. She’d make it a snack and then some…

It was time for her to make a world her brood, just as she had done many times before.