neos-ultra

[neos-ultra]

nuh uh

-your mind tells you to stay. not to jump after the person who tried to kill you. not to save one of your enemies. just get down safely and find the orb.

-but your heart? that tells you something else.

-you run. you leap. and you fall.

-cybernetic wind lashes at you as you speed up, falling like a bomb towards loneus blade as he flails around in the air. you get next to him then splay out your limbs to slow down.

nitro: "WHAT ARE WE DOING YOU ARE INSANE"

loneus blade: "DUDE WHAT THE HELL WE'RE GONNA DIE"

neos ultra: "SHUT UP, I'M GONNA SAVE YOU!" a heat rises in your chest. you know what time it is. you pull up the battle chip menu and pray for anything good. you grab one and... ping shield! heavily reduces damage taken (and negates critical effects) but massivly increases knockback for a short time, and most importantly, stops damage from colliding with walls and floors!

-you take the chip and put your hands on him, hoping and praying it works... as the chip is uses, loneus is surrounded in a light yellow aura.

loneus blade: "BRO... WHY?" he seems utterly just... confused.

neos ultra: "why?" the ground is getting ever closer, it's now or never! "BECAUSE MY HEART IS BURNING WITH AN AWESOME POWER!" you put your hands together, charging the energy into a great blue ball of power, "AND THIS BURNING FLAME TELLS ME TO SAVE YOU! SO TAKE THIS! NEO CANNON!!!" you fire it right at him! he braces and blocks it but you barely see much of him before he's rocketed away! although it almost looked like he was blushing? no matter. he's safe...

-and you're still falling.

neos ultra: "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" you scream out and flail, closing your eyes as you fall and fall and stop feeling the wind on you at all and stay still and feel something holding your leg and-

phantom flame: "HRRRRRN... NEOS..." your leg is in the grasp of phantom flame's massive metallic hand. it hovers around silently until it's close to the ground. before dropping you in a dark cyber-alleyway. it also drops a text file before it logs out instantly...

neos ultra: "...what?" you take the file.

nitro: "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

neos ultra: "loneus is a person! a real human! i'm not just gonna let him die and-"

nitro: "SO IT'S BETTER FOR YOU TO DIE I SEE THAT MAKES SENSE YOU IDIO-"

neos ultra: "SHUT UP. JUST SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! I KNOW THIS IS STUPID. I KNOW ALL THIS NEOS STUFF IS INSANE AND I'M GONNA DIE DOING IT BUT I DON'T FUCKING CARE!!!"

nitro: "WHY?!"

neos ultra: "I DON'T KNOW!!!"

-there is silence. you two do not speak further.

-the silence remains.

-the silence remains.

nitro: "...THE FILE JUST SAYS: WE'RE EVEN NOW."

neos ultra: "...okay... i don't get it..." the silence resumes.

-there's no way for you to track down the orb now. it could be anywhere on the net...

-you log out. back in your room. and untransform...

sho-co: "damn that was gay" oh and she's sitting in your chair

geo: "GAH!!! how much of that did you-"

sho-co: "people saw the whooooole thing. even the fall. people are drawing you two kissing already." thats strange. whats stranger is how little you react to that or find that thought bad but we will not elaborate on that right now. "sooo i'm guessing he was like. a real dude like you huh?"

geo: "yeah... i saved him instead of going after the orb and i know it's stupid and-" CRUTCH TO THE HEAD. "OW."

sho-co: "YOU'RE A SUPERHERO YOU SAVE PEOPLE DON'T-" she coughs violently suddenly, "don't act dumb cuz your like. dumb AI wants to be edgy or somethin. you saved a guy. congrats."

geo: "yeah... but the orb-"

sho-co: "this orb?" she shows you a picture on her terminal of net gnome holding a big glassy yellow sparking orb near a purple pyramid. they did it. you saved someone's life and sho-co got the orb...

geo: "sho-co... YOU'RE THE BEST THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK THANK YOU!!!" you jump into the air in excitement, even jumping over to sho-co and picking her up in a hug! "THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!" you let go, "sorry i-"

sho-co: "eh whateves" she hugs you back, "it's like, all part of the superhero best friend job bozo."

geo: "yeah... i guess it is!" she lets go and you hold your terminal, "we've got all the orbs, we've beaten most of organisation X," you raise the terminal up into the sky, "things are going ULTRA!!! nothing's gonna bring us down now!!!"

END ACT 6: RIVALS

PREPARING

ACT 7: TORN ASUNDER / BEAST UNLEASHED

[neos-ultra]

turn up the HEAT BABEY

-you might not have speed on your side, but he's fully blade type now, which means he's got a weakness!

neos ultra: "STYLE CHANGE, HEAT STYLE!!!" your transformation shocks loneus for the moment, giving you the perfect chance to uppercut him with a flaming punch! a grin slides it's way across your face.

loneus blade: "BWWWOOOOOOOOOO-" the punch sends him straight into the air! big red letters reading CRITICAL appear at the point of impact, you were right! he crashes down on the tower face first, you dash over as he gets up and begun laying down a pummelling!

-his blades melt at your fists as you start a barrage of attacks! heat style is slow, but the sheer power each critical punch is packing keeps him stunned for a combo! you utterly lay into him with the barrage, hitting him and hitting him and hitting him and-

-skin. part of his armor breaks over his head. just a small chipping on his cheek but... thats skin... none of the cameras spot it but you do.

-loneus is human. just like you. you say nothing. you step away and look at your hands. what were you going to do? were you going to... kill him? he's a person. you were loving this fight weren't you? you hurt a person YOU HURT A PERSON AND-

loneus blade: "ALRIGHT! was gonna save this for later," you look back at him. your body shaking as he rubs the broken part of his helmet and it fixes instantly... you can't do it that easily. "now the thing with this one is..." he drops his swords. "i actually DO gotta power up for it... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" his body is surrounded in a purple aura, "STYLE CHANGE," this is it, it's time to-

loneus blade: "DARK STYLE!!!" what?

-the aura turns into a blinding burst of energy! you barely keep your footing as it blasts out! until it clears up and he emerges...

loneus blade: "alright..." there are no swords here. just him, and you. "ain't really used this one yet, let's see what it's got blueboy!"

-dark style... that's not a thing. you enter ultra style on instinct, this has to be some kind of trick right? the two of you circle each other once more, you try to hide it but you're practically rattling. still thinking about what you just-

loneus blade: "THINK FAST!" he instantly fires a blast at you! you dodge it but he closes in and punches you in the gut!

neos ultra: "GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" it hurts more than any punch ever has, the spot he hit feels like it's on fire! and...

-CRITICAL is in the air. in big. red. letters.

-thats not possible. ultra is neutral to all types. thats not how it works. that's not...

-this isn't a trick. dark type exists now.

loneus blade: "HOLY CRAP THEY SHE RIGHT THIS IS AWESOME!!!" he steps away, getting focused on his own fist and admiring himself. you hold yourself and try to get your breath back. this is a nightmare, this is-

conehead: "BEEP." why is there a stack of coneheads trying to build up and reach the top of the spire?

loneus blade: "HEY KNOCK IT OFF THATS FOR IF HE WINS THE FIGHTS NOT OVER YET!!!" he seems... genuinly annoyed, like someone just turned off the internet in the middle of him doing something or took all his toys away. he charges up a ball of energy in his hands, "LONE GRENADE!!!" and fires it at them! althought it comes out as a beam attack so you're not sure why it's named like that.

-the blast knocks out the coneheads... but also the spire! the elec orb rolls right off the massive tower and plummets down to the cyber city!

loneus blade: "AAHHHH- THIS IS A DRAW WE'LL REMATCH LATER" and he JUMPS OFF THE BUILDING AFTER IT! he's a person, you don't know what the hell is happening... but your mind is telling you one thing.

jump?

-yes

-no

[neos-ultra]

distract?

-blade style lacks raw power, you'll need to say something to throw him off his game... your eyes widen as the perfect idea comes into your mind!

neos ultra: "yep i'm single!" you force on a smile so wide the lenses of your neos form express it too.

loneus blade: "W-GUH-HUH-" you kick his legs while he's dazed, flipping him over sideways and for a split second it almost looks like there's some pink on his suit... blushing? must just be embarrasment and nothing else at all.

-while he's in the air you kick him again, knocking him away and giving you some distance. he lands on one of his hands, balancing on it before bending his arm and using it to jump right above you!

-the two of you swing at each other wildly, blades clashing and countering each time perfectly. the force and momentum keeps him in the air right above you. a blindingly fast clash of blades that you can barely keep track of, but the two of you are truly matched in speed! adreneline rushing through you, each strike gaining more and more momental as you lose yourself in the heat of battle.

loneus blade: "ALRIGHT!" he kicks off your head to jump away, landing infront of you with a blast charged up on his pink hand! "I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA BE RAD!!!" that side of him has to be heat element, but you still block it with your sword on instinct!

-and the energy ball... is deflected away? launched off to the side but... that would mean it was a neutral attack, like aqua or ultra or blade would be to a blade type weapon. if it was heat you would still have taken damage, if it was elec the blast would have reflected back to him...

loneus blade: "oh... okay then..." the two of you circle each other again, it seems he wasn't really prepared for an even match. "well uhhhh wanna see somethin' cool?"

neos ultra: "..." this is obviously a set up. it's so obvious has something planned to turn things back to his favor it's like the world is screaming at you to act right now. "maybe..."

loneus blade: "awesome. HYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH-" he suddenly surrounds himself in a green aura! it's obvious what this is... he's transforming! but what could it be? what would need so much- "STYLE CHANGE, BLADE STYLE!!!"

-oh... the aura calms down as the style change completes.

loneus blade: "pretty awesome huh? i'm just that badass. didn't even need to grab the stupid orbs to get it!" he spins around and poses at you, one arm pointed at you while the other is outstretched upwards, forming an L shape with his own body.

neos ultra: "i mean... i kinda thought it was gonna be like, a super mode? like the style changes are awesome but they're like, alternate modes. upsides and downsides. not big power up type stuff."

loneus blade: "yeah but like," suddenly he forms a sword in one hand. then a second in the other. clashing them together in an X shape. "this." ...yeah thats bad.

-he charges in! slashing with both blades faster than you can comprehend! you barely manage to block some of the attacks but more keep reaching you! a wave of slashes and cuts crash against your body. he's doubled in speed in this blade style form, you try to gain some distance and fire off some shots at him but he just reflects each one perfectly while closing the distance! he raises up both blades and slashes them both down at you!

neos ultra: "AAHHH!!!" you're sent to the floor from the pain, rolling across it until your back hits the spire in the middle of the arena. you start to get up, bracing yourself on the spire. you need a plan. blade style just isn't cutting it here...

what do you do?

-go for the orb

-heat things up

[neos-ultra]

..its not like you have much of a choice, do you? you have to be.

-you have to be ready for all that's coming. after all...

-the future never stops because you're scared. does it?

-Another day strikes your eye. you awaken from bed by yourself, a few minutes before nitro's alarm. you change and grab your terminal, taking a great deep breath and slowly letting it out.

nitro: "WHY ARE YOU AWAKE. SCARY."

geo: "because i'm ready, i've gotta be!" you head down stairs, scarf down a ceral bar as your entire breakfast today, and head... right back upstairs to your room. oh right, the battle's on the net... "CROSS/MERGE SEQUENCE, CHARGE! NEOS ULTRA!" with a transformation you log into the net!

-at the cybernetic city you find the streets crowded with EVNs, many just watching but tons of them seem to have recording programs, cameras being set up and all of them aimed right at the tallest skyscraper on the net. most of them barely notice you as you rush your way up to it, but as you make your way more and more spot you and start focusing the recording on your journey.

-you pay no attention, but there's a massive wave of speculation and crowd chatter as you climb one building and leap to another, moving through the net feels lighter, free-er than anything in the real world. scuttling up the walls like a bug and batting away flying EVNs trying to get a close up on you... until you reach the very top.

-and he is there waiting, leaning on his sword with a hand on his hips. the elec-orb placed stop a spire at the top of the tower's flat circular platform.

loneus blade: "right on time blueboy!" he spins his sword in a circle then points it right at you, "this is gonna be a HELL of a fight!" he takes a step to the side, and so do you. circling each other around the roof of the tower. you both stay silent for a few moments, "aw come oooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnn say something cool! you're ruining the like, mood dude!"

neos ultra: "what the hell is wrong with you?"

loneus blade: "something awesome. also are you single?" you stop dead in your tracks at that question. raising one eyebrow so far it feels like it's about to fly off and- "ALRIGHT IT'S FIGHTIN' TIME!" he charges straight at you!

-you catch the blade in your hands, clapping around the flat edges and twisting to flip him over! you get him into the air and take the chance to sstyle change into blade style!

-he lands and slashes again, only for the hit to be countered by your sword! sparks fly out as energy builds up at the clash of the two blades, both of you locked in it for the moment!

loneus blade: "AW YEAH BABEY, NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!" he pushes harder against your katana, slowly overpowering you in the clash!

what do you do?

-overpower him

-distract him

[neos-ultra]

A SUPERVILLAIN IS GONNA STEAL MY BOYFRIEND

geo: "SOLO HAS A CRUSH ON LONEUS?!" an incredibly logical conclusion. so logical that sho-co is laughing, almost falling out of her chair and even coughing from the amount of laughter. thats now correct you are. "oh my god someone's probably gonna record the fight somehow- IF I LOSE HE'S GONNA SEE THAT!!!"

sho-co: "MHM- BWAHAHAHAA- YEAH HE'S-" she takes a deep breath, "yeah. you gotta beat him dude it's the only way to date the stupid pink guy."

geo: "HE'S NOT STUPI- okay maybe a little- I DON'T WANNA DATE HIM I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH!" you lack a crush so much that you're blushing when thinking about him. as people without crushes do.

sho-co: "mhm. yeah. anyway like finish your food and stuff we've gotta train your like. green sword mode." she's right, you do really need to practice with blade style before the fight. "imma go now, later nerd." she gets up and walks off from the table as you're left with the food.

-you finish it up, still festering on thoughts about the fight tomorrow... although before you even know it, the food is done! you quickly rush out of school and hop onto the bus. with a quite few passengers!

-to let them off one by one it slowly combs through official stops in the town. you see all sorts of people getting on and off and, while you simply stay seated, there's one moment that catches your eye.

-a mother with a stroller is trying to get off the bus with a person in a wheelchair, but as she steps off she slips in a puddle. before you can even get up a random person, just walking through the area at the time, catches her before she falls. the man in the wheelchair catches her stroller, and another passenger helps his chair stay stable.

-people simply help each other on instinct...

-you feel a lot better. about... everything really.

-eventually, you are the last passenger left on the bus, and the driver finally pipes up.

bus driver: "you know, me and your dad didn't get along at first. i know we got REAL close later, but we uhhhh... kinda fought alot y'know kid? kinda rivals really, in the same martial arts club and just hated each other." you're not sure what he's getting at here... "so we kept fighting and fighting, until at one point, we just got too tired and talked. and then well... we still liked fighting, but it felt a whole lit different to, y'know? your mom liked watch'en us too, thats how your old man met her..." it's... nice. to think about your parents and how they met. your dad always mentioned the martial arts rival friend he had, but you never really thought you'd meet him.

bus driver: "anyway, here's your stop kid!" the bus parks outside of the junk yard, and you step off with a wave.

-you walk inside, and sho-co is already waiting at the controls. you both give each other a smile.

geo: "CROSS/MERGE SEQUENCE, CHARGE! NEOS ULTRA! STYLE CHANGE, BLADE STY- wait." you did all the motions of the transformation but... you forgot something.

sho-co: "oh yeah you left the thingy at home. idiot. okay uhhhhhhh just like describe blade style or something i guess?"

geo: "well... when i summoned the katana it came with, it felt like when i charge up a blast so, maybe i can't charge them up? my speed felt super charged too but i felt way lighter, like i was weaker in some ways?"

sho-co: "hmmmmm" she ponders this description for a moment, before her face lights up with excitement, "dude, you have a SPEED FORM! CUZ LIKE HEAT AND AQUA WERE WERE ALL POWERFUL BUT SLOWER SO THIS IS LIKE A SPEEDY MELEE FORM YOU GOTTA GET CLOSE AND- OOOOOOOO YOU MIGHT BE FASTER THAN HIM YOU CAN ACTUALLY COUNTER HIM NOW!!! i mean. it's cool." despite how fast she talked there, you got what she said... a super fast melee form that gives you a sword... this might be exactly what you need!

geo: "i think... i think i can win! with this form, and all my others, i can finally take down loneus!" your face lights up as you look up at sho-co, putting a fist to your chest and feeling the heat of your heart, that great fear of tomorrow is fading, and giving way to a great excitement!

sho-co: "heck yeah nerd. and net gnome can record the whole thing and we can get like a bagillion views."

geo: "orrrrr we could not? please?"

sho-co: "nnnnno"

geo: "pleeeaaase?"

sho-co: "nnnnno"

geo: "pleeeaaase?"

sho-co: "nnnnno"

geo: "pleeeaaase?"

-this goes on for several hours. the same exchange over and over like a loop of vocal stimulations until the sky is dark and the stars shine above.

neos ultra: "plea- wait i should go home."

sho-co: "nnn- oh yeah. see ya tomorrow nerd don't like die while sleeping." she then walks back to her junk home, while you head to the bus.

-inside the find the bus driver sleeping at the wheel, you tap on the glass to wake him and take a seat near the front. the drive is quiet, but you soon think of a question before he can offer his advice...

geo: "bus driver?"

bus driver: "yeah kid?"

geo: "why does rose phantom call you babygirl?"

bus driver: "how about we stop talking for a while." he stops at your house and you wordlessly get off without even making eye contact. simply walking inside, heating up some frozen food for a quick dinner, then getting to your room. collapsing on your bed.

nitro: "HAVE YOU DECIDED TO QUIT BEING A STUPID HERO MAN."

geo: "no..." you instantly start falling asleep, barely hearing it as you enter a deep slumber...

-the fight will soon be upon you

are you ready?

-yes

-no

[neos-ultra]

i'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NORMAL

geo: "i am. SOOOO normal. everything is fine! really fine!" you put on the best smile you can. you can feel your face straining and shaking as you try to maintain it. your teacher only looks more concerned...

creachur: "..." she lets out a heavy sigh, "well, i'm... not going to argue with you about that but... when i first came to this school i was given a lot of notes on all the students and for you, all i got was that you barely attended and never talked to anyone."

-she's right. you'd just skip school everyday and never even say a word the whole day. just doing... nothing. barely even getting the work done like you were just some pathetic-

creachur: "but that's not what i've seen now," your spiral stops, and you listen much more closely now... "you've been in quite a few days, and you've been talking to sho-co and solo a lot, not sure what you're saying but you all seem to be rather happy! in fact, sho-co had some of the same problems you did, not attending or talking much, and i really think you two have helped each other a lot!"

-your brain pauses at that. sho-co? she was like you? that can't be possible. this whole time you've known her as someone who loves to talk, who always seems to confident that it rubs off on you and makes you believe in yourself more... and you helped her? just by... being around?

creachur: "i just hope you two can keep being friends, just... what i'm trying to say is that if there's anything bad going on and you need someone to talk to. i'll always be here! i'm licensed as a counceler for the school as well as being the teacher for... every class... now i won't hold you here any longer," she takes a piece of paper from her desk and writes something on it, handing it to you, "this note will let you get ahead a bit in the lunch line. no lesson this afternoon given all the remodelling the school has to do from all the..." you both look out a window and see another wing of the school, heavily damaged from the fight against rose phantom. "that. so go on now!" and with that, she waves you off.

-you keep thinking about all she said as you get your lunch. idly ordering the same as every other day as you sit down with the tray of food. staring down at it in thought as-

sho-co: "uhh... you good nerd?" it seems you sat by her without even thinking, "oh yeah and where's solo? you think he uhhh died?"

geo: "OH! uh i'm good... i think... and WAIT NO HE'S NOT DEAD RIGHT?" you only half heard her but the thought of solo dead suddenly crashed your train of thought into a big horrible explosion.

sho-co: "relaaaaaax he's prolly just like, getting ready for tomorrow or somethin. you know cuz he's... yknow." because he's... what exactly? you think for a while... what could solo have to do with your battle with loneus blade... unless...

-no... no no it couldn't be... could it? fear dawns upon you and flushes through your system as the words reach your mouth.

what do you think?

-solo IS loneus blade

-something else idk man i don't fucking get payed enough to narrate this idiot's life he's so fucking stupid

[neos-ultra]

it's fine nothing to worry about at all it's not like anyone has ever attacked the school to get to neos ultra everything is completely fine really normal SUPER

geo: "it's fine." you put on a very forced shakey smile, stretching your face like you're the jonkler from famous comicbook character Man.

sho-co: "okay but-"

geo: "IT'S FINE." your fake smile drops and our face goes to a complete blank expression. as you look away and stare at your desk. you just have to ignore things like your responsibilities and tasks and- YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN TO DO HOMEWORK FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

-you start shaking and grip your desk so hard it shakes too as your knuckles and fingers go white from the sheer tension. you forgot to do work you forgot the basic tasks it's so over it's all over you're going to DIE-

sho-co: "DUDE. CALM DOWN." you stop. there's a level of concern in her voice you don't think you've felt before from her... you breathe... "look i know the like, rival fight thing is tomorrow. so maybe just like... chill today. i'll deal with stuff if it comes up. okay?"

geo: "but i can't-" interupption via crutch to the head.

sho-co: "too bad! you're gonna!"

-you try to speak up but she pokes your forehead with her crutch each time you open your mouth, completely throwing off your train of thought.

creachur: "okey dokey class! that's it for the history of yuri silver's lost space exphidition, looks like lunch is in 5 minutes buuut i'll let you all go early juuust this once! oh boy geo can you just stay in the class for a minute?" the whole class uproars into cheering as they all leave, sho-co giving you a thumbs-up as she heads for the cafeteria.

-the teacher walks over to your desk and crouches down you meet you at eye level.

ceachur: "so geo, you've been missing a lot of days at school recently and a lot of homework too. i just wanna check you're doing alright, is there anything going on lately?"

what do you say

-i'm scared of dying

-i'm really normal

[neos-ultra]

calmly get ready. repress that existential dread boy dont even worry about it <3

-you put your face in your hands and let out a muffled high-pitch scream. stomping your way to the bathroom and staring into the mirror, pointing at yourself.

geo: "YOU. ARE. NORMAL. YOU WILL CONTINUE TO ACT NORMAL. YOU ARE SO NORMAL. NO ONE THINGS YOU ARE WEIRD OR STRANGE. YOU ARE REALLY NORMAL." you stomp back into your room and get changed into one of your many identicle outfits.

nitro: "THE LATENESS IS INCREASING-" you toss a pillow onto your terminal to muffle it. rubbing your eyes again and rushing out to the door and falling down the stairs. hitting your head several times as you reach the door.

geo: "...really normal." you say with your face flat on the carpet floor. you force yourself up and outside, rushing to school and to your class, trying your best to avoid bumping into anyone in your sprint but failing multiple times as you finally get in, and take your seat.

creachur: "hello george! since you're over hour late i'm meant to give you a card and a detention-" she suddenly drops the detention card into a paper shredder by her desk "oh noooo how sad! such a tradgedy!" her antics manage to make sure most of the class pays no mind to you. "now then kids, we've got an interesting subject today... history! now, blah blah blah blah-" her words start to fade into white noise as you keep trying to force your brain into focusing.

-you think to yourself, "just focus on what she's saying. the words she is saying. focus on them and nothing else and what if you're bad at being neos what if someone else could have done it better what if sho-co got it what if the rival kills you- FOCUS ON WHAT SHE'S-"

sho-co: "dude are you like. exploding something with your mind?" your internal dialog is broken as you look at sho-co and see her staring at you puzzled.

geo: "no i'm just... i'm really normal todAY." you instantly slap your hands over your mouth. you just had a voicecrack. just from normal talking. you can't remember a time that's happened before.

sho-co: "dude." you both just stare at each other for a minute. "anyway. how are you gonna fight the- wait where's your fucking terminal."

geo: "my- OH i uh... left it at home."

sho-co: "wow you're extra stupid today huh nerd? what if school gets attacked by the like. things and bad guys? huh?"

geo: "i, um... uhhhh..."

what do you say?

-this is bad

-it will be fine

[neos-ultra]

ACT 6: RIVALS

-you are fighting. it's at the top of a building so tall it reaches the stars but also you can see the ground and you're fighting your enemy loneus blade and he's killing you with swords and blasts and hammers and also attacking from the front and your side and sho-co is there and you're getting run over and also the killer is there and killing you and he's loneus and loneus is you and and you're watching it happen and fighting him at the same time and also you're in school but not and you fall over and

-another day... does not strike your eye.

-your name is geo solar, and you are in your bed. at home. it's 4am and you have school in the morning. you went to bed at 1am. you are not rested at all...

-you get out of bed and turn on the computer.

nitro: "GO TO BED."

geo: "i had a nightm- nightmaf nightmo- BLEH." you give your own cheek a quick slap, "nightmare. that's the word." you stare at your terminal for a few moments. nitro staring back at you...

nitro: "YOUR NORMAL IS DECREASING."

geo: "..." you don't respond to that. you simply look at the computer instead. the only think lighting up the room as the sky remaind a dark dingy purple

-there isn't really much to look at, no new posts on vidtube you actually care to watch, nothing on shfumblr from the blogs you follow, in a moment of desperation you end up checking... news sites.

-there's tons of buzz about neos ultra. about you. some claim you might be an EVN, that seems to be a popular theory, other says you're a government experiment let loose or an alien invader. none of them think you're... a person. are they talking about you? or about... neos...

-you turn your chair and look in the mirror. you look in your eyes. deep and blue and staring back. you slowly blink a few times, wobbling in your chair. you look in your eyes. bright blue plastic lenses with something glowing underneath. you put a hand on the mirror as neos stares at you. you pull it back but the reflection doesn't.

-you look in your eyes. the lenses of neos. he acts different from you. he's louder. he's less scared. why? you look in your eyes. can you even see yourself inside them?

-you look in it's eyes. where does neos and geo begin?

-you look in your eyes.

-those aren't your eyes.

-another day strikes your eye

-your are still in the chair in your room. your relfection is you, of course it is, it'd be weird and stupid if it wasn't. it's 10am and...

nitro: "YOU ARE LATE FOR SCHOOL."

what do you do?

-calmly get ready

-panic and die

[neos-ultra]

yeah, we did a good

neos ultra: "i think... i think we did good..."

sho-co: "eh probably. since you got the big stupid kiss."

neos ultra: "HOW'D YOU SEE THAT?"

sho-co: "i'm da best. anyway it's starting look."

-lights turn on at the stage, and before netzy comes on, his voice can be heard through the speakers.

netzy: "okay people, this concert is only gonna be one song today. but it's gonna be one i REALLY want to sing. my contract has ended so i'm gonna be going independant after all'a this. so thank you... and enjoy a song my manager kept rejecting called..."

-they walk onto stage, wearing their usual outfit of the yellow hoodie, and both true eyes visible, and let loose a blasting riff on an electric guitar!

netzy: "HYPER HARMONIC THUNDERSTORM!!! 3. 2. 1. COME ON!!!" they start shredding out, and the song isn't perfect, it's far from their pop songs, some of the audience is even leaving as they hear it. but everyone else

-they can feel the sheer joy of the music!

-and you can too, you stare out over the view and are caught in a daze as you focus on netzy, zoning out to the music and your love...

sho-co: "gayyyyyyy- also this is actually good. damn." you don't even pay attension to her comments as you're too zoned out to even listen to the lyrics, just the pure emotion.

neos ultra: "...wow... just... wow..." soon, the concert ends, but not before netzy spots you in the distance... and blows you a kiss. "EEP-" you blush so hard the blood rushes to your head and you collapse to the floor. "wwwgwgwgwgwgwaaawaawoooo-"

sho-co: "yo mistah ultra check it out." they shove their terminal in your face as it shows a video they just got emailed.

loneus blade: "YO I KNOW YOU KNOW NEOS ULTRA SO SHOW HIM THIS-" oh god it's him. "THIS IS YOUR AWESOME REALLY COOL RIVAL, LONEUS BLADE! I KICKED YOUR ASS LAST TIME BUT YOU'RE STRONGER NOW WO WE'RE GONNA FIGHT AGAIN IF YOU WANT THI-" he falls over as he reaches to grab something. coming back on camera soon holding a giant yellow orb with lightning blasting off it... uh oh. "YOU GOTTA BEAT ME TO GET IT. 2 DAYS OR- wait would it be three if we count toda- THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. TOP OF THE HIGHEST TOWER IN THE CITY. BE THERE OR BE FUCK-" they then fall over on the camera and end the recording.

sho-co: "...you're fuuuuuucked."

neos ultra: "...yeah."

END ACT 5: HYPER HARMONIC THUNDERSTORM

PREPARING

ACT 6: RIVALS

[neos-ultra]

da money

-as some of the money falls down, you grab a handful of it. and blast it.

manager: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH-"

-you smile wider than ever before as you go wild! blasting out all the money you can with rapid shots while it falls!

sho-co: "only way we're gonna stop is if you-"

manager: "OKAY OKAY TAKE IT HERE! IT'S THE ONLY COPY I SWEAR" he frantically hands you a paper contract, you take it... then shoot one more zenny, "AHHHH I PROMISE IT'S THE ONLY ONE PLEASE!"

nitro: "LET ME TO READ." you hold out the contract and in a splot second nitro's got it down! "UNDERSTOOD. IN STUPID LEGAL JARGAN IT SAYS THAT IF YOU BURN THIS CONTRACT IT IS THEN INVALID."

neos ultra: "yippee!" you turn into heat style and instantly burn it before going back to ultra style, "okay! now please change everything about yourself or like. uhh-"

sho-co: "die. badly." you fail to come up with a further response and simply leave the manager shocked and horrified as you leave the room.

-you try to search for netzy after to tell them the good news, but you fail to spot them. all you and sho-co can do now is wait for the concert... which is in 5 minutes!!!

-you grab sho-co again and race to the roof once more! getting a good view of the show while not being inside the massive crowds...

sho-co: "so nerd... you think we did good? oh also i made gnome put the orb in the net place. because i'm not stupid."

neos ultra: "thanks, and..."

what do you think?

-we did good

-we did not

[neos-ultra]

FROM THE HEART BABEY

neos ultra: "i... i don't need a reason to help people." you put the orb down and grab your sword with both hands, "but if you want one? fine. how about this?!" as XCITE-BALL launches an attack you hit it with the sword like a baseball bat! "i'm gonna help you..."

neos ultra: "BECAUSE MY HEART IS BURNING WITH AN AWESOME POWER!!!" you complete the slash and send XCITE-BALL rocketing towards the big white sky-square in every cyberspace, "AND THIS BURNING FLAME TELLS ME TO SAVE YOU! SO TAKE THIS!"

-you leap grab the orb and leak into the air, tossing the orb out so it enters the real world while you ready an attack for XCITE-BALL,

neos ultra: "BLAAAADE-STOOORRRM!!!" you unleash an impossibly fast barrage of slashes! each one shooting out an energy wave that goes straight for your enemy!

XCITE-BALL: "WAAAAAAWWAWAWAWAWAWAAWAW-" the EVN is diced up into perfect cubes! they all float in the air for a second before it logs out, returning to netzy's terminal.

-as you fall to the ground, you feel the fatigue of one of those super moves set in...

-but you're not done yet!

neos ultra: "LOG OUT!" you exit the machine and look around, netzy's made a run for it but sho-co has the orb secured! she gives a thumbs up as you hear someone running up stairs, it's gotta be netzy!

-you chase after and go back to ultra-style, going up all the stairs until you reach the roof, and find them waiting. leaning on the safety rails and looking out over the concert hall.

netzy: "i know she's a monster. she's killed people for god sake i KNOW i should never trust her but... who the hell else can i turn to? YOU? you're just some EVN. you don't even have a heart to-" they turn around. and see you.

geo: "my name is geo solar." the real you. " and... my parents are dead too... my mom died when i was born and my dad, he supported me so much when he was alive. everything i chose to do, what i really needed to be, he was there for me. i know what pain you're going through,"

-you hold out a hand. bags under your eyes, a shakey smile, messy hair, sickly pale skin, your whole body shaking with fear and anxiety so visible it hurts.

-and you still hold out that hand.

geo: "let's face that pain... together!" they stare at you for a second, with tears in their eyes and a look of utter shock... before they take your hand.

-and pull you into a kiss right on the lips. it soon breaks and they wipe away the tears and smile.

netzy: "i... thank you. i don't even know if you can help but just... thank you geo." they walk back to the stairs... while you are stunned, blushing so hard you're whole body is red as a tomato...

-after a while, someone taps your shoulder.

sho-co: "hey nerd. you good? you alive?" you're still stunned... "i found the contract that's keeping netzy here so if we blow up up theeeeen" THAT snaps you out!

neos ultra: "OKAY THANK YOU AWESOME LETS GO!!!" you don't even notice yourself transform as you pick up sho-co and she points the way to the manager's office as you sprint through the halls, knocking over several people and objects on the way.

-breaking down the door you spot the manager in his room counting his zennys,

manager: "EY WHO THE F- WHAT DO YOU WANT? you want a contract? i can get you movie deals and-" you jump into his desk and send his money flying everywhere,

sho-co: "yeah i'm his uh. manager. i'm gonna let him do the talking."

neos ultra: "LET NETZY LEAVE AND BREAK YOUR CONTRACT. NOW."

manager: "HAH! and why would i go'n do that huh?"

what do you do?

-attack him

-attack his money

[neos-ultra]

stupid ball

-you direct your motion dowwards in a massive stomp towards XCITE-BALL! crashing into it and using it as a platform to land on another mine! you both bounce off the explosion and get even closer to the core!

neos ultra: "LOOK I'M SORRY ABOUT THIS BUT I GOTTA STOP MADAME X AND HELP NETZY AND- WHAAAAAA!!!" machine guns pop out of the ground and begin firing on you! the bullets don't really do anything other than sting, but dang it there's tons of them!

XCITE-BALL: "AWBHUSBAWBBUBUREBGYHERGUEGGIHRUHER" thats all it says as you roll it across the ground like a wheel while trying your best to balance ontop of it!

-after a few more mines and guns you reach the pedastal and kick XCITE-BALL away, grabbing the orb as fast as you can! you now finally realise this element core, it's not yellow like elec would be...

-IT'S BLADE-STYLE!

neos ultra: "blade style? WAY PAST COOL!"

nitro: "HOLD OUT A HAND QUICKLY." you do so and in your hand, a green katana forms! it looks rather simple and generic, but now you have a fucking katana transformation.

XCITE-BALL: "HEYNOFAIRYOURENOTMEANTTOBEGREEN" it clangs the two spikes together and charges up a bolt of lightning! firing it at you, but you feel faster than ever! you slash forward and deflect the bolt with your sword! looks like you really got lucky

neos ultra: "look, i DON'T wanna fight you! there's a better way for you and netzy than working with madame x! i just want to-"

netzy: "SHUT UP!" seems like they've been watching all this go down, "do have no god damn idea what i've been through! I'VE BEEN STUCK MAKING THESE STUPID POP SONGS I HATE FOR YEARS AND MADAME X WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO REALISED I HATED IT! a-and now YOU'RE going to help me? YOU'RE JUST SOME RANDOM EVN XCITEBALLKILLHIMDELETEHIMDOSOMETHING WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO HELP ME?!" they're screaming with rage, but you can almost hear tears too. so much pain and hate festered over years and years...

-XCITE-BALL meanwhile starts zipping around in every possible direction, clearly getting ready to unleash a powerful attack!

what do you say?

-something smart

-something from the heart

[neos-ultra]

MACHINE NOW

neos ultra: "LOG IN!" you slap the machine and are taken inside! when your feet touch solid ground it's very... different from other cyberspaces.

-you can see the pedastal of the orb in the distance through glass, but the room you're in right now doesn't look like cyberspace. it looks like... a mueseum or art gallery?

-long grey stone hallways are all around you, with paintings on the wall depicting things you don't really get. they all seem to be abstract mixes of colours or random shapes. all the podiums are in a language you can't recogise. except one word.

-the painting is a massive black canvas, easily 30 meteres wide and 10 tall. you're really not sure what it is.

-but you don't like it. there's a lot of things this could be, but you have a big feeling that it's depicting something... important. you should remember this for later. and the text on it's podium sends a chill down your spine. maybe it's just pure coincidence, but maybe...

-these painters knew something. and you need to figure-

XCITE-BALL: "HEYISTILLGOTTAKILLYOUOKAYLETSGO" the ball of thunder charges at you again, ramming into you faster than you can react, crashing through the glass towards the massive field in the way of the element core you're searching for!

-but as you look at the field, you realise it's covered in metallic discs... and as you touch one, it explodes and sends you both flying into the air!

-the place is a minefield.

what do you do?

-land on XCITE-BALL

-land on a mine

[neos-ultra]

woke liberal path pronouns bottom text 1000000000 dead joker

-you crawl to the left path and eventually reach the end, looking through you see two people in a room, an old buisness man talking on several phones, and... netzy! you try to listen in...

netzy: "after this concert can my contract end-" their voice is monotone but they're interrupted by the manager pulling out a wad of cash and throwing it at their head.

manager: "NUH UH! you make me MONEY. MOOONEEEYYYY" he does an annoying finger rub with his hands to indicate money. "it's MY money too. go cry about your dead parents shouldn't have signed the contract IDIOT." he immediatly leaves the room. while you struggle with the urge to go after the man and break him in half.

-their eyes twitch as they stare at the manager. teeth grating on each other and fists so tight the fingers are digging into the palms. this is a recurring problem.

-their terminal suddenly starts rigging, and they pick it up rapidly.

netzy: "hello?"

madame x: "bonjour, soooo how did it go this time?" there's an air of smugness in her voice, even more than usual.

netzy: "same as ever." that rage hasn't left them yet. they could easily do something stupid like-

madame x: "i guess you just have to kill tons of people at the concert and fake your death then no?" that.

netzy: "i-"

madame x: "ah-ah! clock is ticking deary! your poor late mother wouldn't want you stuck in the soul-crushing corporate music world no? what's a little death to safe yourself hm? unless you want to disappoint-" their mother? and what that manager said... you know the pain netzy is going through. the same thing you've been struggling with this entire time!

netzy: "FINE I'LL DO IT!" they hang up the call quickly and kick at the wall several times, before a certain EVN reappears on the terminal.

XCITE-BALL: "HEYCONCERTSOONALSOISETUPALLTHOSEWEIRD THINGSMADAMEXSAIDLIKETHELIGHTINGRODSANDSMOKEMACHINESANDBLOODEXPLOSIONSTUFFAREWEREADYNOW?"

netzy: "yeah. we're ready..."

XCITE-BALL: "YOU KNOW... if you don't wanna do this we don't have to..." it's the first time that thing has slowed down... it feels weird, yet sincere.

-you then hear a heavy creaking. turns out this vent isn't very stable after all and it falls out from under you. crashing you to the floor.

netzy: "WHY ARE YOU- right i invited-"

neos ultra: "DON'T KILL PEOPLE!" you really weren't sure what else to say as you wave your hands up "listen, i know what you're going through-"

netzy: "OH SHUT THE FUCK UP!" wrong move it seems. "YOU'RE JUST SOME STUPID EVN OR WHATEVER FUCKING DELETE YOURSELF! EXPORT SEQUENCE CHARGE, XCITE-BALL!" they slot a chip into their terminal and out of it a ball of electricity blasts out at you!

-you're knocked right through the wall and into a storage room, as you recover you see netzy walk away, as xcite-ball storms at you again! tackling you with the spikes and slamming you into a very ancient looking machine thats here. you can barely get a look at anything but it seems to be an old artillery cannon being used here as a prop. wait... an old ancient machine?

sho-co: "TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE THING IT'S GOT THE ORB!!!" and sho-co was here investigating it! you kick xcite-ball away and get a chance to finally react.

what do you do?

-go in the machine

-keep fighting here

[neos-ultra]

gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

neos ultra: "netzy, we gotta find them and help with... whatever's going on!"

sho-co: "okay but. cool new form."

nitro: "I AGREE. WITH SHO-CO. IF YOU WISH TO ENDANGER YOURSELF AS A SUPERHERO YOU WILL DO IT WITH MORE POWERS." that does make a lot of sense...

-you could help netzy at any time, hell they might even be working for madame X willingly! but it's a race against time to get the orb before organisation X can. it's the smart move to focus on that.

-but you're kind of fucking stupid.

neos ultra: "i... i'm still going for netzy. when i saw them walking in past us they looked... there's something bad going on. and they need help and i'm NOT gonna give up when they do, okay?"

nitro: "DUMB."

sho-co: "eyyy see you're like. going full hero mode and stuff! alright yeah we'll save your crush first."

neos ultra: "I DON'T HAVE A-" the sound of footsteps echoing through the halls starts to approach, it might just be a random worker in the concert hall but sadly, you're startled like a cat and immediatly jump for an air vent and crawl inside. while sho-co walks like an actual person.

-a text from her pops up in the corner of your vision, "GO LOOK FOR YOUR CRUSH IM GONNA FIND OLD MACHINE FOR ORB OK BYE" and with that, you crawl deeper into the vent for lack of anything else to do.

-you come to two paths, a left one with faint voices echoing from it, and a right one with heavy machinery sounds.

what do you do?

-left path

-right path

[neos-ultra]

yes i'm stupid. wait-

neos ultra: "yeah i'm stupid- WAIT-"

XCITE-BALL: "WOW YOURESTUPIDWHYAREYOUSTUPIDTHATSSTUPIDIMALSOSTUPIDBUTIWOULDNTSAYTHATANYWAYIGOTTAGOCONCERTSOONBYEOHALSONETZYSAIDABUNCHOFPEOPLESHOULDNTGOTOTHEMAINSTAGEANDYOUREONTHATLISTSODONTSITATTHEMAINSEATSBYE" and with that, the ball leaves the monitor and zips off to some other machine...

sho-co: "wow you're getting better. you even know you're stupid now"

neos ultra: "SHUT UP I'M NORM- wait. wait..." your mind suddenly races, an electric EVN that looks like a ball with two metal spikes... "no..."

sho-co: "...you oka-"

neos ultra: "DAMN IT!" you slam your fist into a wall and leave a massive crack in it. "it's netzy. THEY'RE IN ORGANISATION X FU-FREAKING DAMN IT!!!" you punch the wall a few more times before you calm down and see that you've almost broken it.

sho-co: "dude. calm down. just like, think, baldy was manipulated and stuff soooooo"

neos ultra: "YOU'RE RIGHT!" your mood instantly turns around and you hug sho-co for a few seconds, "we just need to figure out why they're with madame x, then help them through that!" you then let them go as she laughs.

sho-co: "see? you are stupid dude, thats why i'm here. anyway what did the ball say about the main stage?"

neos ultra: "hmmm... sounded like something weird and dangerous to warn people about where they sit... OH MAN THERE'S GONNA BE X STUFF AT THE CONCERT!"

sho-co: "then that probably means there's gonna be another like, old machine thingy, WHICH MEANS YOU'RE PROBABLY GETTING THE ELEC FORM LETS GOOOOOOO- i mean, you gotta like, find the orb and stuff. or maybe solve netzy's stuff first. i dunno."

what first?

-netzy

-orb hunt