Noire failed to suppress a smirk. Not that she was trying particularly hard to. It was Halloween: the one day out of the year she could flaunt her cosplay hobby in public. When the goddesses had visited the nude beach on R-18 Island, Neptune and Vert had treated it as liberation—those perverts!—a license to do things that they wouldn't normally have done. Noire hadn't been too keen on that, not least of all because they were there on business. But Halloween—now this was Noire's liberation.

And this year she had outdone even herself. Noire was, as befitting her name, partial to the color black, but today the only black she was wearing was her hair. In fact, today her clothes were positively pastel. Purple boots with a white fold-over. Thigh-high white and sky-blue striped socks. A white, short-sleeved mini-hoodie with lavender and sky-blue lining, fastened by a large circular brooch with a stylized purple 'N', with the hood itself featuring strings in the form of controller plugs. Underneath, a deep purple dress with lavender trimmings and a white sawtooth hemline. White cloth cuffs under white doughnut-shaped bangles, and a similar choker. To top it off, two white directional-pad-shaped hair clips.

In short, the livery of Planeptune's goddess, Neptune.

She wasn't a perfect doppleganger, of course. Noire had drawn the line at dying her hair, as it was a damned nuisance both getting it in and taking it out. Besides, she most certainly didn't want to risk leaving any evidence when she went back to work tomorrow. Another difference was that she clearly had the fuller figure of the two, not that that was saying much when it came to Neptune. Anybody even casually familiar with the both of them could easily tell it was Noire underneath, no matter how closely the clothes matched.

But that just made it easier to give the credit to the right person, didn't it? After spending weeks crafting, taping, and sewing for this little project of hers, Noire had been giddy seeing herself in the mirror in this Neptune costume for the first time, a transformation she relished even more than becoming Black Heart. In fact, she was giddy even just recalling how she looked. Noire couldn't care less about the treats she gathered during trick-or-treating; the compliments she received from the citizens of not only her native Lastation, but also Lowee, Leanbox, and most especially Planeptune were far sweeter. Not to mention that, as a bonus, that would surely generate shares for her beloved Lastation as well, offsetting the time she had spent making the costume.

Sure, she probably could have just stolen a set from Neptune's room when she wasn't looking, but where was the fun and accomplishment in that? Besides, by assembling the costume herself, there was no way that Neptune could see this coming. Traditionally, the incorrigible prankster Neptune had always held the advantage over the serious, easily-flustered Noire when it came to playing tricks. But maybe, just maybe, this time Noire could turn the tables on her long-time frenemy. Noire wondered how Neptune would react when she ran across Noire and discovered that she was costumed as Neptune. Would Neptune be surprised? Jealous that she hadn't thought of such a brilliant plan? Or perhaps—

Whumph!

Distracted, Noire slammed bodily into somebody. Somebody who was wearing some very familiar clothing. Thigh-high black boots, black evening gloves with pearl domes on the back of the hands, and a black outer dress. All with gold buttons and trim, plus white frills with a black stripe. The bust, a double skirt and a detached collar in the same style. A red inner corset with gold and black sawtooth edges. Blue garter belts running down her thighs. Twin blue-and-black ribbons in her hair. Another blue ribbon with gold trim at her collar, and yet another huge one at her lower back.

In short, the livery of Lastation's goddess, Noire.

Her clothes, worn by the familiar face of... Neptune!? Impossible! How the hell had Neptune reversed her plan? There's no way Neptune could have learned of it; Noire had assembled her costume in the privacy of her room, which she had kept a close watch over ever since that incident where Anonydeath had planted hidden cameras in Noire's room. Could it somehow be just a coincidence? Neptune did look as surprised as Noire felt. But even putting aside the question of whether Neptune had foreknowledge of Noire's plan, how did she acquire such a costume? Neptune couldn't have made it herself; the goddess of this Planeptune wasn't known for her tailoring skills, and she was far too lazy besides. Could she have—

Neptune shot first.