A/N: This is the final chapter. Straight up. I know this has been complete for 5 chapters now, but NOW it's completely complete. Because I'm a hackkk.

Mukuro Kaze, ryan4ever2016 and Incognito Doom: I'M SO SORRY WHAT THE FUCK WAS I THINKINNNNNNG

AHEM

Ace-Of-Weeb: Hopefully never. Might fuck with Serenity's holy energy.

Enough delays. It's fanfic time.

Another day, another lovely fucking hangover. Blargh. Lazily throwing the quilt off of me, I was surprised to see IF still in bed with me, sleeping happily. I kinda forget that we're a couple, but eh.

Leaving her be, I slipped on some clothes and snuck out of the bedroom, finding Uzume as usual sitting up awake, watching TV with a coffee mug in her hands. Leaving her be for the time being, I made a cup of tea and sat down next to her.

Silence reigned between us for a few minutes before Uzume started. "So… We're not going to talk about Alt Nepsy ad Gearsy?"

I sighed. I wanted to avoid this topic. "Look, they're probably in Ultradimension, enjoying their new lives reunited, why the hell would you bring it up-"

"It's not about them specifically, but… Alternate versions of this world, ya know? A future where you disappeared and Gearsy had to step up to the plate, burdened by so many innocent deaths." She seemed genuinely hurt by what she saw at least.

I leaned back on the sofa and thought about how Gamindustri would be changed with one single action. So many divergent timelines made from a simple pull of the trigger is fascinating, but ultimately speculation.

"I wonder what kind of villain name I'd pick." I muttered wistfully as Uzume looked at me.

"Ya what?" She responded simply as I leaned back further, sinking into the cushions further.

"I mean, if NepG can be corrupted, I'm a prime candidate for becoming a villain myself, no?" I postulate aloud. "Knowing me, I'd go full melodramatic dark lord. You probably know the kind, right?"

"Maniacal laughter, dark cloak, runs their mouth like it's their job?" Uzume replied, to which I gave a nod. "It's weird that I have shades of that, looking back."

"I mean, it is pretty cliche." IF interrupted our dialogue, coffee in hand and jacketless, revealing her arms for one of very few occasions. "I didn't really want to bring it up seeing as it might have been seen as insensitive." She finger quoted that last word as she exposited. "But yeah, you were pretty generic. You could have easily killed Koei at the point you had him at your mercy."

Uzume rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up. Delusional energy makes you do crazy shit. Imagine being stuck with it for 20 years and then finally having some company. You'd want to go all-out too." She finished off her coffee as I shifted to let IF on the rightmost seat, becoming a buffer between her and Uzume. "I don't even know why you're critiquing me, considering that my insanity is the only reason that Kosy is even alive!"

I turned to IF with a worried look. "She raises a fair point. Do you really want me dead just to have Uzume be a less cliche villain?"

IF sighed. "Of course not, but she sets a bad precedent. You know people saw that fight between you and Uzume, right? All the talking makes people think it was rigged or something."

I felt my eye twitch. "I got a sword. Through the chest." I stated simply. "See those naysayers get a sword through the goddamn chest."

"Yes, yes." IF patted my head in a soothing manner. "We know your struggles Kopey and thank you for being the hero you are."

I blushed hard at the petting, but did feel somewhat better. "T-thanks, Iffy."

"Comforting aside." Uzume interrupted. "The danger of potential alternate timelines is a very real one. Who knows what would happen if a rift opened up and an evil version of myself came out of it, for instance."

"Geez, don't act like you're a goody two shoes who didn't attempt to blow up Planeptune or anything." I rolled my eyes in a huff.

"I'm thinking of a version of me that won. Not just "Beat you but died to Gearsy", but "Beat you, got the Malice Sword then shit went down.""

I shuddered. The thought of a fully evil Uzume with that sword's power… Would I even be able to stop her?

"Buuut I doubt anything would happen. A version of me that "won" would probably be content with taking over Planeptune. Not even going into the possibility of the other CPUs coming for me, that wouldn't end well at all."

"So what you're saying is we don't have to worry about any alternate timelines?" I ask hopefully.

"There's a more than 0% chance that it may happen." Uzume crossed her arms and lowered her head. "But it's highly unlikely, considering there's infinite timelines and all."

"So what you're saying it won't happen until it does." I state simply. "Sounds about right, if I must be honest."

IF leaned back with a content smile. "Well, it seems that things are fine for now at least." She turned to me with a smile. "Which means that we have the day off, bassically."

I felt my face flush red as IF got up to leave. "Come on, stud boy."

I get up to look back at Uzume, already laid back on the sofa and fumbling for the remote. "Go on ahead, the new season of Magical Girl Nowaru just dropped on Nepflix. Gonna binge that while you're both out."

Thanks a lot, Uzume…

It was weirdly warm today. That explains IF having her jacket off, along with having a simple shirt and tracksuit bottoms outfit on.

Still, Planeptune was as bustling as ever, and I like it. People going about their days in this lovely utopia made all the pain I went through worth it. After all, their smiling faces were thanks to my efforts, along with the CPUs when they came to.

"Hey, Iffy," I started, causing the chunni to turn to me with an adorable smile. "What do you think of Planeptune as a Nation?"

"Hmm…" She put a hand to her chin as she looked at me with a smile. "Well, I live here so I guess that says a lot. It's easy to find your way around, the architecture is fascinating and of course, Neptune herself is a joy to be around, despite her laziness."

I was surprised by her answer but she seemed genuine about it. "Well… I guess if I risked my life for this Nation, it means a lot to me, right?"

IF simply nodded with a giggle. "Sounds about right for you. So, want to see more of the Nation you helped save?"

I smiled right back. "Gladly."

IF started to walk away from the apartment complex, to which I followed. "Planeptune is the second oldest Nation, right behind Lowee." She started to explain. "Obviously a fierce rivalry started, mostly headed by the CPU at the time…"

I thought back to Plutia. Yeah, no surprise that happened.

"Eventually, Lastation got involved, and after Leanbox was created, things calmed down. Mostly due to Neptune taking the helm, of course." IF finished, before pointing to the Basilicom. "Of course, there's the Basilicom, the towering jewel of Planeptune, you've been there before."

I nodded as she moved her hand to a section of Planeptune with notably more skyscrapers than the area we were in. "There's the sort of industrial district, where business happens. Not quite as famous as Lastation's, but a lot of high-ranking CEOs reside here for health reasons."

She then pointed behind us. "This is of course, the residential district. Apartments, local stores, everything a Planeptune citizen needs to live happily is here. Yes, including booze." She joked, causing me to chuckle slightly as we continued the tour.

To skip a lot of needless padding, we toured Planeptune, IF explaining a lot of the Nation's history, pointing out local hotspots and generally just hanging out.

Actually, that sounds pretty good.

"So we've both been in Celestia before, but Planeptune does have a variety of restaurants. Sushi places, ramen places, Chinese takeaways imported from Leanbox…"

I look around the aptly named food district, gawking at the restraunts like some form of fuckin' tourist, despite living here for a while by now.

"Hmm, a lot of choices." I ponder aloud. "Any that do fish and chips?"

Not 10 minutes later I was chowing down on a platter of a British staples, said fish and chips. IF also had a portion and we were outside, sat on a bench with diddy disposable forks. It was all disposable, really. Very efficient for eating and all that.

"So… How do you like fish and chips?" I asked IF between bites.

"Good, surprisingly." She admitted with a small smile. "Honestly never considered this to be so delicious."

I gave a smile back. "Good. I always liked fish and chips back home, so I'm glad Gamindustri adopted this British staple. Reminds me of home, almost."

My smile turned sad as I thought of my old home for the first time in a while. I didn't have fish and chips much, but...

"Thinking of times gone by?" IF asked, a genuine look of concern on her face. "Compa always got that look when she thought about her parents. Lovely people, but they passed on due to… Medical complications."

"Ah." I responded, suddenly feeling sorry for the nurse who has threatened me on more than one occasion.

I mean, I did the same with Uzume, so this is not shocking to me at least. Still…

"So that's why she went into medicine?" I prod, to which IF shook her head between mouthfuls of haddock.

"I think she would have gone into medicine regardless. She's that sort of person, despite her… Quirks." IF smiled a bit, knowing Compa well, it seemed.

Finishing off my meal, I tossed it all into the nearest bin before requipping my UI Gloves. What? I don't want to get them greasy, just in case these are not machine washable. Gotta take care of my tech, after all.

"I'll admit, that was really nice." IF said, putting her rubbish in the same bin. "Thanks for that, Koei."

I smiled back. "Anytime."

The day has progressed pretty quickly. Maybe it's just being with Iffy, maybe it's because I'm enjoying learning about the Nation I almost died for, maybe it's just enjoying life in general now that I'm free to do pretty much whatever.

Either way, the sun had set and we were heading to the outskirts of Planeptune for some reason. There were some familiar buildings around, so I assume this was the southern part of the city, including our apartment in the distance.

"So…" I started. "Where we headin'?"

"Somewhere." Was all she said. Helpful, thanks a lot.

We continued in silence for a while, climbing a hill and ending up on a cliffside overlooking Planeptune, with a single tree for decoration. It was… Goddesses what a view.

The city twinkling below, purple and white light pierced the darkness in a brilliant display of technology that almost looked unreal despite me, you know living there.

"Wow." Was all I said as IF sat down on the edge of the cliff, which briefly worried me before she beckoned for me to sit next to her.

Sitting down, IF sighed. "Koei, I didn't just bring you here for the view. It's lovely, don't get me wrong. I discovered this secluded location coming back from a Quest one day and come up here sometimes to think about life without getting bothered by Nep or Compa."

I nodded in agreement. "Seems like a great place to unwind. Tranquil, picturesque, all that good shit."

IF giggled in response. "You have a way with words. But still, that's not the only reason."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I have something I want to get off my chest… A confession." She looked away. Oh god. Oh fuck.

"Look, if it's about my lack of affectionate actions with you, I am not that kind of guy…"

IF very quickly shot up, waving her hands in a very panicked manner. "Not like that! Our current level of intimacy is fine, don't think you need to increase your affection if you're comfortable with it as it is! You're allowed your own space and-"

I pulled her into a hug, partly to ease my worry and partially because she really needed a hug. Hugs are nice and feeling her warmth and heartbeat put me at ease too.

Letting go, IF's blush was very visible. "T-thanks." She cleared her throat and returned to what she was thinking of. "Anyway, I wanted to confess something to you. Something that I've never told anyone before."

I nod solemnly. She seemed serious, so I stayed quiet.

"You remember the first time we were at Celestia? I got kinda drunk and talked some shit about being Ifrit's daughter or something?"

I chuckle as I thought back to that night. It was the first time we spent any significant time together as a couple? Guess we weren't a couple back then, just two friends hanging out after a long day.

Heh, things haven't really changed since then.

"Fun times, what does that have to do with your confession?"

IF's smile fell. "Well, it's related to that day. Ya see, I do have something I've never told anyone… It's about my latent power."

Pretty ominous. "Aight, shoot. Keep in mind I don't really understand how magic works here."

IF nodded before she started. "Okay. So you know how people have their preferred element? You have ice, I have fire, Vert has Wind and generally Planeptune favours energy-based weapons?"

I nod, to which IF smiled and continued. "Well, your weapon favours ice because it's a weapon forged in Lowee, the Nation that favours ice? I want you to guess why I favour fire."

I put a hand to my chin and think for a moment before turning back. "Your katars were made in Lastation?"

IF shook her head with a grin. "You're right about the katars, but nope. Keep trying."

"You just like fire?"

"Also true, but nope!" She was clearly enjoying this. "You won't get it."

I thought deeply about my third guess. Truly it must be something deep within her. "You're hot as fuck?"

… Okay, not my best answer.

IF sat frozen for a moment before she started to giggle softly to herself before it got louder and she stopped trying to hide it as she fell back in hysterics. I didn't think it was that funny, but I let her have her laugh as she got back up, tears in her eyes.

"Oh Goddesses Kopey, that's something else entirely." She wiped the moisture from her eyes. "Again, technically correct and really sweet of you, but no."

I sigh, all reasonable options out of my system. "Alright, I give up."

IF's face lit up as she smiled very adorably at me. "Told ya." Her face fell again as she thought of what she was going to say. "It's something pretty serious, though. Hence why I haven't really talked about it to anyone."

I put an arm over her as I pulled her in. "I nearly gave my life for you and gave up my adventuring because of what I did to you. It's alright to be honest with me."

I could feel her blush. "Kopey…" She said almost breathlessly before I felt her push me away. "Okay. I'm ready." She took a deep breath "The source of my power is a yokai."

I process this confession for a minute. Probably longer. "A… Yokai?"

"Ancient demon. They were thought to be extinct, but one reawakened in Lastation… 15ish years ago?" IF explained.

I started to put the pieces together, processing the fact that my girlfriend has demon magic.

"That's… Pretty fucking awesome?" I admit.

"Yeah, but she's kind of… very murder-ey." IF visibly cringed. "She started yelling something about "Protecting the reactor" before starting to rain fire down on Planeptune."

I lean back in surprise. Jesus christ, yokai go hard. "What were you doing, anyway?"

"We were out and about. Me and my old man." IF's smile turned sad. "I miss him a lot."

"Oh." Was all I said in return, putting the pieces together finally. "So he…"

"He went out like a champ, at least." Her smile rebounded a bit. "Not everyone tries to take on a yokai with a garbage lid as a shield, ya know."

"So how did that yokai… You know?"

"Well, she was about to kill me, but Purple Heart descended from the sky and impaled her pretty hard. After that, the yokai just… disappeared into energy, looking for the nearest human… That happened to be me."

I put a hand to my chin. "So the yokai's energy didn't really care that it was going into a clearly traumatised Young Iffy?"

IF gave a wry grin. "Surprisingly, no. The good news is my latent power awakened a few months later while I was training my katars." Crossing her arms, she raised her head. "On that day, I knew what my duty was. And my element."

I lie back, feeling the cool grass on my back as I contemplated. "So, you've never told anyone this because?"

She stopped for a moment. "You try telling people "Hey, so I have the spirit of a yokai inside me, that might cause issues later down the line?" Ya sound nuts."

I lift myself back up with a sigh. "Yeah, if I didn't trust you wholeheartedly it'd sound crazy. Still sounds crazy, but this is Gamindustri after all."

IF smiled, seeming relieved to have finally shared her burden. "Hey, a problem shared is a problem halved, right?" I reassured her with a light pat of the head.

"Alright, alright." She removed my hand and even in the darkness, I could see her blush. "You got any Beer on you?"

I pulled out two cans of Beer from my inventory. "You have to ask?" I handed one to IF as I cracked open mine.

"Doesn't hurt to be polite." IF took a drink of her own Beer. "Blegh, it's warm."

I put my Beer down as I stood up, lifting myself from the cliffside. "Maybe I can sort that."

Pulling out Serenity, I pointed it at the night sky, starting to charge everything I had into Serenity. IF understandably looked at me with concern, but I fought through the gradual burning feeling, Serenity glowing like a star by the time I felt the last of my strength leave me.

I breathed in as much as I could and let out a mighty war cry. "COVER THE WORLD IN SNOW! MEGA SNOWSTORM!"

With that chant, all of Serenity's energy shot out towards the sky, barreling before it randomly exploded into a mass of snow, before a tornado appeared to spread the snow all across Planeptune.

(Current Song: Neptune Sagashite

- Hyperdimension Neptunia The Animation)

Cause and effect happened to blast me backwards into the tree as soon as the spell detonated, somehow leaving me unharmed as I felt the world drop a few degrees.

After opening my eyes back up, IF was stroking my head with a look of concern on her face. "Christ, Koei." She said in a sacred manner. "You sure know how to scare a girl, huh?"

I chuckled breathlessly before taking out a SP Charger and chugging it without a word. Feeling my strength return, I got back up and headed to the cliffside and… Wow.

Planeptune was already striking at night, Planeptune covered in fresh snow is absolutely the most perfect sight I could have laid my eyes upon.

Sitting back down on the cliffside, I opened my Beer and took a drink of it. Ice cold, just as planned.

"Well, aside from the breathtaking view, our drinks are cold too." I snark, a genuine smile on my face as IF sat back down next to me.

"It's a once in a lifetime view with the man of my life and a drink to relax with. I couldn't ask for anything more." IF admitted, a genuine smile and a blush on her cheeks. She seemed happier than before, maybe it was just the perfect moment for her, a weight off her shoulders and the view of a lifetime.

Looking down to Planeptune, it seemed that more than a few people had noticed, as a snowball fight was going one with Neptune and Nepgear leading the attack, unsurprisingly.

Yeah, I could agree with her on the view.. "Why not take a picture?" I suggest. "Surely one of your phones has a camera?"

IF giggled. "Thanks to the unification, I'm down to two phones. One work phone…" She took out a very inconspicuous phone and snapped a picture before very suddenly grabbing my side and pulled me into a hug. With my look of surprise clear across my face, a flash appeared and just like that, I had a photo taken of me.

"Perfect." IF smiled as she fiddled with her phone a bit before turning the screen to me. It was her lock screen and it was the very same image she had just taken, with her having a wry, blushing smile and me having a very confused look.

"Wow, now I'll never forget that my girlfriend has a picture of me on her phone screen." I blink as she slipped the phone back into her pocket.

"Just think of it as you being with me, even when we're not together." IF said simply as I pulled out the plush of her and gave it a squeeze.

"Ya mean like our matching plushies?" I turned to her with a wry grin.

IF looked away with a blush "S-shut up…"

I laughed politely, taking a victorious and cold drink of Beer. Getting one on Iffy after a sweet gesture of love? Definitely the perfect night.

"There you two are!" I heard Uzume call out to us as she strode through the snow. "Goddesses above, one minute I'm binging Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animated Series, the next I see a massive snowstorm start up. The hell did you do, Kosy?"

I shrugged. "My usual?"

Uzume pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh before looking back at us. "Well, if that'll be all, I just got to the episode where Eden invades. Good drama, you know?"

"Why not stay here and have a Beer with us instead?" I suggested, to which Uzume stopped her trudge and turned back around.

"Really? Seems like you and Ifsy are having a good time on your date. Don't want to crash it or anything." She said quietly, to which I shake my head.

"Nah, nah. You're part of the team now, you know?" I put a hand to my chin thoughtfully. "Come on, we got more than enough Beer to go around."

Uzume seemed to contemplate for a moment before shrugging. "Ah fuck it, Nepflix will still have that anime." And walked over to join us on the cliffside as I pass her a Beer.

Looking out to the utopia, I couldn't help but smile. The world was safe, Planeptune was even more picturesque than usual and it was just the three of us, ready to spend the night joking and drinking.

Yeah, I could get used to this. Even funnier is the fact that we were under a tree the whole time.

My story started with a snow covered plateau under a tree, and it ends with one.

I'm sure some threat will force us to take our duties as protectors seriously at some point, but who cares, right?

Between the three of us, I don't think anyone could stop us.

A/N: And that's all he wrote. Sociopath With a Spellblade is officially, 100% completed. I honestly wanted to end it at EX 4, but decided a cute epilogue date chapter would suffice. As for the chapter after this… We do not discuss Suplex the Shark. It is not canon and very, very dumb.

Moving away from that, to make up for that… mess, there's a bit more to this chapter, a few sprinkles of mystery for a potential sequel. Speaking of mystery, IF's inner yokai! Who is it?

Well, considering I have no creativity, I decided to borrow from another story. If you can guess who she is, good for you. But there are some hints, namely to a type of bird that IF is often described as. Oh and for extra spice, it involves a franchise that I've already mentioned in this fanfic before, so no surprise what, 4th series to crossover with?

God this went way too far with the crossovers, even if it's for bit characters like 5pb./Helena and Jill.

Still, let's focus on the positive. KoeIffy is adorable and while at first I was skeptical of IF x OC, I think it worked out reasonably well. Not to throw shade at other degene- I mean writers, OC x CPU is kinda off putting considering they're immortal and all. See also that Vert x IF thing in Re;Birth 1, glad they made her a siscon instead and not just because I lowkey ship her with a power fantasy version of myself.

FANFICTION!

Why hasn't someone taken my keyboard away from me yet?

Oh well, to make up for… Next chapter in reading order, last chapter cronologically, here's a post-"credits" scene. I already gave my obligatory platitudes in New Game, New Life, so there's no point reiterating.

Once again, if you've made it this far, you are epic and I love you. Thank you for reading and please, stay safe.

This is Hclegend, signing off this project. Ciao!

Four females sat in a house on the cost of PC Continent. Four very talented and powerful humans with the ability to manifest so-called "Gold Forms" when needed. Being a third party, not invested in any particular Nation, they call themselves Gold Third. The leader, C-Sha was quietly reading the latest release of the Peashy Times when she came across a peculiar article.

Not just because it was clearly ripped from the Gamindustri News Network, though that was part of it. But because it described the Planeptune Special Forces as "The strongest humans in Gamindustri."

This angered C-Sha. Not just because she'd been ripped off with a inferior product (Though that didn't help matters.) but this "Planeptune Special Forces" was led by a man. And well, C-Sha wasn't sexist, but she does wish that men would only see her for her chest sometimes.

Throwing the newspaper in a huff, C-Sha got up. "Ladies, we're heading to Planeptune."

The others clearly looked at her with confusion at her sudden outburst. "But why?" The youngest member, B-Sha asked curiously. "Do they have jobs open?"

C-Sha shook her head. "No, but if we defeat these "Strongest Humans", we might just get some notoriety.

Some mutters of agreement and a boat ticket for four later and Gold Third were headed to Gamindustri to settle a score.

C-Sha stood on the port, awaiting the boat that would lead them to their next big challenge. "Koei Tech… Let's see if you can step up to Gold Third."

"I see. So the CPUs of your world haven't made any moves on you since the lab incident?" A eyepatch clad CPU-lookalike and the alternate Rei Ryghts were discussing via a rift that had recently opened, allowing the corrupt former goddess to travel to the Gamindustri Graveyard as she pleased.

"Not as far as my sources know." She said with a sigh. "I do miss Anonydeath. Impossible to find good help these days."

"I'll take that as a compliment." The eyepatch clad woman rolled her one working eye. "Regardless, are you ready on your end?"

Rei shrugged. "As ready as I can be with my ragtag group. How is "ASIC" coming along?"

The future villain sighed. "Ever since the Uzume incident, security's been on high alert. Pirated games are almost impossible to get onto the market." She crossed her arms in an angry manner.

"Well, stay persistent. Once you get an audience, ASIC will grow naturally." Rei advised with a smile. "Contact me again once your end is set up and I'll start distracting the Ultradimension's pathetic CPUs."

With a curt nod between the pair, the line cut out.

A/N: Looks like Koei's got trouble incoming, from both good and bad guys. Guess that's becoming a Nation-wide Hero does to you.

(Also explains the lack of VII's Gold Third, considering they were on another continent the whole time.)

So if the sequel ever does come around, it won't be in the same style as this. It's for the best as there'll be a wider cast to focus on and I figure there's going to be a lot of perspective shifting if I stuck with the original.

In this hypothetical sequel that I may or may not write, depending on how I feel. I definitely need some time and hey look at that a brand new high end gaming PC and a huge Steam library that I couldn't run before how convenient.

Her name is Monolith and I am using her to play VII and see how wrong about Uzume I was. And a lot of other things.

FANFICTION! FUCK CANON!

I'm so sorry for writing this.

And the next chapter.

Thank you for reading.