The Game

"Is this the twentieth time we've fought? The thirtieth?" a white-haired woman with bright magenta eyes asked as she let a finger rest near the edge of her lips. Sitting comfortably with her back bracing an intricately designed white chair and her legs crossed beneath an equally intricate table that held nothing but a lone teacup and saucer, she smirked as the footsteps approaching her stopped. "My memory may have gotten hazy… but for some reason, I can't shake this strange anticipation after seeing you again," she continued as she lazily shifted her hand from her face to one of her long twin-tails, twirling it slowly around her hand in front of the black star on the incredibly revealing white and magenta jacket she wore. It hung loosely open to her sides, exposing her almost bare chest save for a single white bra.

"White Rock Shooter… WRS," answered a black-haired woman with bright blue-eyes, looking almost exactly like a palette-swapped version of the first woman, her outfit also matching the color of her hair and eyes. The girl in black had her right arm immersed in what seemed to be a gigantic cannon, and easily aimed it at the woman in white before she spoke again. "Now, it's just us… even Saha and Nana are gone."

"… But of course. This is what I wished for… my, or rather… our long-awaited game, Stella," WRS said. She giggled as the black-haired woman seemed to tense upon hearing that moniker. "Or would you rather remain Black Rock Shooter? BRS… it's so fitting. I wanted to call you 'White' before, but you've found an even better name," she continued as she slowly stood up from the white chair she sat on, taking slow yet deliberate steps across the black and white checkered floor. She closed her eyes and sighed, slowly walking even further from the table as BRS simply watched her, the cannon on her arm tracking her every move. "Remind me again… when did you stop trying to save everyone?"

"What does it matter?" BRS asked. "No matter who I save, everything will be reset soon after we fight… you and I will both enter another long slumber, and the world will revert to what it once was. Then, we'll awaken, and do everything again… even if Nana is with me, or even if the members of the PSS survive, it will always boil down to our game in the end."

WRS smiled at her, a devious look reaching her face as she stared across the Moon Terrace. "… You finally said it, Stella," she said. "You've acknowledged it… this is our game. The Apostles, the PSS, Nana, even the world itself… they're all just setting the stage for us. Nothing else matters."

"I haven't acknowledged anything of the sort!" BRS shouted as she lowered her cannon to her side. "You're the one that wiped out humanity… you're the one that waits here for me to challenge you every time. I-"

"No longer care about who lives and who dies?" WRS asked as she tilted her head to the side. BRS paused, and WRS couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, but I just can't help it… you've jolted my memory with that little admission. It's not often I can poke fun at you like this… but please, tell me why you're different than me… even though you do just as much to make sure our game never ends."

"… What do you mean?" BRS asked. WRS vanished from her sight, the only thing BRS saw being the faintest hint of a silhouette moving in front of her. She quickly glanced around, only to feel arms rest on her shoulders. She reached for the blade at her waist, but then stopped when she felt something unexpected. An embrace.

"Even though I've told you it doesn't really matter which one of us goes on…" WRS began as she hugged BRS' back, "and it's obvious by now that I can't defeat you… you always leave me be."

"… There's no point in me killing you," BRS said, glancing over her shoulder. "The world will just reset itself, and I…"

"… It's alright if you want to play, Stella," WRS whispered. "Or maybe… you want company? Hehehehehe… do you want to spend time with me until the world turns back again? I wouldn't mind… maybe you can find us another game to play."

"… Only if you tell me one thing," BRS said.

"Anything you want," WRS said.

"Is… Is there a way to stop the world from resetting itself?" BRS asked. WRS said nothing for a few moments, until a giggle escaped her lips.

"I could tell you… but I think it'd be better if I showed you," WRS said. "But, for me to show you… you have to play the game."

"Don't screw with me," BRS snapped, quickly brushing WRS off and turning to face her. "Play the game, and put you to sleep... I'll take the explanation, even if it's 'boring'."

"Stella, Stella, Stella… how'd you become such a liar? I thought Gibson had raised you well," WRS said as she walked backwards, shaking her head as a smile crept onto her face. When she stopped, a sudden burst of magenta energy appeared on her back in the shape of wings, and BRS immediately slid backwards, a trail of blue flames following her feet as she aimed the cannon on her arm at WRS and the metallic battledress around her legs snapped upwards, revealing a plethora of mechanical parts and exposing two specialized black blades resting near her waist.

"If you'll talk once I defeat you again, then I'll play your game," BRS said.

"Our game, Stella," WRS said as she held her right arm out, a white and magenta scythe forming in her grip as two huge metallic wings sprouted from her back, metallic white feathers lining a black base as she used them to hover above the ground. "You're only honest when we're playing… but I like that about you. There's just something about watching you release all of that raw emotion when we're playing that makes me so happy… No, I can't wait any longer. It's time, Stella… the game begins again."

As soon as she finished speaking, WRS vanished from sight. BRS instinctively turned around and raised her cannon up just in time to block a direct swipe from WRS' scythe as she hovered behind her, the impact sending her skidding along the checkered floor. As she was sent reeling back, BRS managed to aim her cannon once more and fire off a quick cluster of shots, blue orbs of energy spiraling towards her target with every blast. WRS simply raised her scythe up, a flare of energy shooting into the sky as she ascended in a zig-zag, avoiding the shots. "There's the reaction I-" WRS began, but was silenced as a tiny spiral of energy pierced her left shoulder, breaking her flight pattern and forcing her to stop and focus on recovering in midair.

WRS stabilized herself just in time to see the faintest trail of blue fire in front of her amidst the explosions from the descent of her previous attack, following it upwards to see BRS with a blade in her free hand, her left eye ablaze with blue energy. "Black Blade…" she began. WRS couldn't help but cackle as she saw a smile creeping onto BRS' face, and she readied her scythe just as BRS' blade was coated in the same energy that spewed from her eye. "Genocide!"

"Red Wind!" WRS said as she spun around and swung her scythe at a ridiculous speed. BRS swung at the same moment, and for a moment, the entire area was blindingly illuminated by a torrent of magenta and blue energy mixing together between them before the attacks seemingly cancelled each other out, residual streaks of energy scattering over the Moon Terrace.

BRS landed in a crouched position, and immediately dashed to the left as she felt a presence behind her. As she moved, she caught a glimpse of WRS smiling wildly as she flipped through the air with her scythe, passing just over where BRS was before skidding to a halt herself. "That's it, Stella! This is what you wanted!" WRS said as she turned and begun rapidly spinning her scythe around, orbs of red energy forming in front of it.

"It's a Dead End…" BRS said before the sudden sound of glass shattering got her attention. She opened her eyes, snapping out of her thoughts and finding herself face to face with the even dirtier looking 'Sing Love' poster in San Francisco, WRS' emotionless face mirroring her own. The wind whistled through the ruined city, rusted steel creaking momentarily before stillness and silence once again settled around her. "… Stop laughing," BRS muttered before turning around to get back on a repaired version of her motorcycle. As she gripped her bike's handles, a look of disgust reached her face.

She slowly released her grip on the now creaking lever jutting out of one of the UEF Headquarters' various command consoles. Averting her gaze from the fizzling chamber on the huge screen in front of her, she trembled. "… Why? LLWO never got to the cloning samples… this base was undisturbed until Nana and I got here!" BRS said before she slammed her fists down on the console. "I followed Gibson's steps… I tried NEXT, I even went for a Gray clone… how could this happen? I can't even create a fetus…" she said as she slowly dropped to her knees and gripped the side of her head. She took a shaky breath, slowly pushing herself up before staggering away from the console, a tear streaking down her cheek.

BRS' motorcycle slowed to a stop as she turned onto the highway, the only destination she could think of being New York. The littered remnants of Armaments served as little more than obstacles that required her to pay some amount of attention to driving, though that was all they provided. Ever since her last victory, the remaining Armaments had all shut down on their own. Without so much as movement from her former mechanical adversaries, there truly was no sign of life left on Earth. As she veered between a zigzagging pattern of deactivated Armaments, the familiar sense of movement sparked her increasingly active memory once again.

BRS repeatedly dashed forwards across the Moon Terrace, barely avoiding the explosions of numerous red orbs of energy flying past her. With her Black Blade already drawn, she went in for a swift slash with her final dash, only for her target to vanish from sight as she came within striking distance. "Chaser Gun!" BRS said as she sheathed her Black Blade and lifted her cannon into the air. It glowed a bright blue before it warped into a strange mixture of shotgun and launcher, seething with energy as BRS quickly swung it around and let loose one huge blue orb that split into four much faster spirals of energy.

"For someone just playing for answers, you're really getting into this," WRS said as she appeared a decent distance in front of BRS and began flying backwards, the two end bits of either of her wings detaching and flying forwards to form shields that intercepted the attacks heading her way. She stopped and held her scythe up, the weapon being illuminated in a bright red light before changing into a cannon similar to BRS own and forming around her left arm, energy building up in its barrel as she took aim. "You can't deny it, Stella! There's nothing quite like this feeling!"

"So what?!" BRS asked as she aimed her cannon at WRS, the weapon reverting to its normal appearance as energy began building up in its barrel as well. "There's more to life than just fighting!"

"Obviously! Fighting without a reason would be so boring!" WRS shouted as she flew up into the air, even more energy flowing into her cannon. "Every game needs a set-up, and what better than the fate of the world itself?!"

"Tch… you're as unreasonable as ever, even after so many losses!" BRS said as she adjusted her aim.

"I'm not playing to win, Stella, but I'm glad you are!" WRS yelled before she unleashed a huge torrent of magenta energy from her cannon. BRS responded with her own torrent of blue energy, and the two attacks collided between them, once again releasing a cataclysmic shockwave that began to break pieces of the already fragmented moon apart. After a few moments, both of their cannons overheated and released one last push of energy, sending a second shockwave out with a similar effect to the first. A huge cloud of lunar dust formed around the Moon Terrace, the area surrounding it almost vaporized from the titanic clash of energy.

BRS' cannon dissolved in a flash of blue light, freeing her arm and allowing her to ignore the sound of fumes escaping the barrel after it overheated and instead focus on listening for any kind of mechanical warbling or movement around her. At the distinct sound of tapping, she bounded towards the source and drew a Black Blade simultaneously. She swung at the recognition of a silhouette, but it moved as fast as she did. BRS' Black Blade slammed down into a White Blade quickly raised by WRS before BRS herself was sent backwards from a swift push from WRS.

The drop down into the remains of a UEF hangar seemed to disturb the peace of a museum, though the planes, fighters, and Armament scraps showed no reaction to BRS' sudden arrival. Not even the wind accompanied her into a place that looked and felt deserving of silence, but that wasn't of her concern. "Well, at least the clones weren't the only things ill-preserved," BRS said as she slowly rose to her feet and started a stroll through the aging line of fighters.

"Gibson's decision and the discontinuation of Next's project ruined any hopes of having viable samples… I guess they never considered the option that there wouldn't be any humans left after the battle," she continued as she stopped to examine a jet similar to the one she had used to reach Moscow. "Then again, if they considered that… why would they have kept fighting? With what the Armaments did, the UEF had to turn away from the option… even the PSS denied it."

Once she managed to open up the cockpit, a quick startup of the onboard systems informed her in glaring red letters of her next task. "… Well, at least I won't have to worry about fuel degrading," BRS murmured as she opened the cockpit once more. A quick walk through the low-powered but operational hangar led her to a storage room with exactly what she needed and something she didn't expect to find.

"… I haven't seen one of these since Rothcol mentioned them…" BRS said as she stood facing a small white device that sat on a charging port. "What did he call this again…? It played music, but… well, I suppose the name doesn't matter," she continued as she walked over and picked it up. It turned on at her touch, revealing an image that froze her in her tracks.

Unmistakably staring back at her on the small screen with the slightest hint of a smile was none other than Sing Love, or, as she knew her, White Rock Shooter. "How are you-?!" BRS began, dropping the device to the floor. As it touched down, it began to play surprisingly upbeat music.

"Heeeeeyyyy~

Isn't this nice?

It's just you and I~

Let's do what we like~

I'll give you everything you wanted and more..."

"… She was a singer," BRS remarked. She stopped to listen to the music, the tune and lyrics filling her head as she felt a strange urge to sing along.

"We can be who we are~

Here under the stars~

Why should we worry?

When there's nothing to hide?

I just want to sing love!"

A strange shockwave ripped through the cloud of smoke in front of BRS, and she leapt to the side just before the strange force cleared the area. WRS walked across the now clear Moon Terrace once more, her wings oddly absent as she held her hands out at her sides, her eyes slowly opening as she finished singing.

Almost as if on cue, BRS lunged at her from the left, Black Blade ready to impale her upon contact. WRS giggled as she swung upwards in an almost dance-like crescent motion, her blade forcing BRS to a halt as she widened her stance. "Don't you like that song, Stella? Whenever I sing it, I'm thinking of you," WRS said before suddenly bringing her White Blade down at a ridiculous speed, the tip of her weapon trailing magenta energy.

"There aren't many other things you could be thinking about!" BRS retorted as she quickly recovered and managed to counter with a similar slash of her own, the collision of their blades releasing a flare of energy between them that was quickly dispersed as their weapons slid off of each other.

"You aren't wrong about that!" WRS replied as she flicked her wrist up and went for a sudden overhead slash. BRS ducked and went for a quick thrust at WRS exposed midsection, but WRS followed the momentum of her slash with a sideways flip, passing over BRS and her blade as she spun overhead. Once WRS landed, BRS had already turned to deliver a sweeping slash at her back. She smirked as two of the smaller metallic wings that made up her overarching wings descended from above her and intercepted the blade, stopping BRS' attack cold. "You could say I only have eyes for you... the only one worthy of playing against me."

BRS withdrew her blade and quickly flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding two other metallic wings that flew down and tried to dig into her shoulders. Once she was on her feet again, WRS had appeared in front of her, her free arm in the shape of a fist as magenta energy swirled around it. In the next moment, BRS felt the barrel of WRS' rock cannon against her stomach, and barely had time to let out a surprised gasp before a shot at point-blank sent her tumbling backwards. "Vortex," BRS managed to say as she used her Black Blade as a brace for her tumbling, preventing herself from flipping over. As she expected, all of WRS' wings were heading for her along with WRS herself, and she held out her free hand as it was consumed by her own blue energy.

A turret with four highly modified Miniguns formed around her extended arm, the gun barrels already spinning as she steadied her hand. In the next moment, she began unloading a massive wave of projectiles in a spray pattern as she swung her arm, the barrage of bullets easily sending the wings into a tumble and forcing WRS into the air to avoid the onslaught. Once BRS stopped, she propped herself up and sheathed her Black Blade, allowing the turret on her arm to be consumed by energy once more before it warped into a giant fusion of a chainsaw and a sledgehammer. The chainsaw blade began to spin as WRS flipped over in midair, sheathing her blade and summoning her massive scythe once more as she began to descend. As WRS drew nearer, BRS raised her new weapon high into the air in anticipation. "Only you can excite me like this! We're the only worthy ones!" WRS yelled as she sliced down with her scythe. BRS yelled and slammed her new weapon down, matching WRS' strike and sending her flying backwards as her attack easily won out.

BRS pulled upwards, the jet's takeoff sequence finishing with ease. The music by Sing Love now served as her company on the journey she'd have to make, and she had begun humming in tune with the player in her pocket long before she had gotten into the jet. "… Now, to Tokyo again," she said before starting the jet's weapon systems. With a few quick button presses, she released two missiles from the underside of the wings and launched those forwards, blowing a hole through the wreckage of the hangar's door. She flew out almost immediately after the explosion, the collapse of the building she was just in completely irrelevant in her mind as she quickly took to a higher altitude.

"I just want to know, are you having fun yet?

Do you want to stop and take a deep breath?

Hey, listen up, I'll tell you this one secret,

But if I did, could I trust that you'd believe it?"

"… What other choice do I have?" BRS responded to the song's ending line. "There's no one else to ask. If you lied about this… then everything else must have been a lie too," she continued as she finished the jet's ascent, the slow release of pressure sent her back into her mind, the clear and cloudless sky hinting at utter stillness for the foreseeable future.

After a powerful clash, WRS bounced on her back, tumbling backwards as BRS' right eye suddenly flared up immensely, her weapon disappearing as the energy from her eye formed a flare above her. "Absolute 00," BRS said as the flame around her eye died down to a more sustainable size, her now free hands going for both of the Black Blades at her waist.

"There it is… that mirrored smile that fills me with joy," WRS said, a huge smile on her face as she pushed herself up off the ground. When she stood up, BRS appeared in front of her with both blades drawn, ready to sever both of her hands with a single coordinated attack. As the Black Blades went down, WRS simply drew her singular White Blade with one hand, a sudden surge of red energy forming at her back in the shape of her wings once more. "It's time we got to the interesting part… White Doctrine."

"Aggressor Mode," BRS said as the sudden surge of white energy surrounding WRS forced her backwards. The blue flame in her eye began to glow intensely, leaving an outright trail with each movement she made. WRS' magenta flame seemed to match it, reaching a similar emission level as the two fighters bounded towards each other.

WRS hurled her scythe forwards, the massive weapon splitting through the floor of the Moon Terrace with each spin. BRS easily sidestepped the weapon, a small burst of blue flame speeding up her movement as she went around and threw a low slice at WRS upon her approach. WRS seemed to see the attack coming and matched with her own blade as she suddenly summoned her own cannon on her free hand, once again attempting to shove it straight into BRS before firing. BRS managed to deflect the weapon's massive barrel by letting it glance off of her second Black Blade, continuing her advance with a swift turn to her side so she could slam her shoulder into WRS. Her move was easily countered by WRS forcing her blade up, the sudden force sending the weapon flying out of her hand and the two fighters into a back to back spin.

The first things to cross BRS line of sight as she turned were the numerous small mechanical wings that formed WRS' wings heading straight for her. With little choice but to continue her spin and drop down to a thruster assisted slide from the specialized battledress she wore to avoid the attacks, BRS managed to avoid a sudden skewering as WRS raised her cannon up, forming a huge ball of energy at the tip while her wings reformed. "It's your favorite… Grateful Sun Ray," WRS said as she aimed her cannon at BRS while catching her scythe, the weapon having returned to her like a boomerang.

"Over Limit," BRS said as she held out her free hand, her cannon forming around it as she began to sprint forwards low to the ground. She aimed forwards and began unloading shot after shot into the massive ball of energy, the attacks forming a small crater in the massive attack before it split into four distinct orbs. Seeing an opening in the center, BRS attempted to leap past the attack only for WRS to suddenly appear in her way, her scythe at the ready. She swung, only for BRS to take the attack with her cannon and get sent into a slight tumble off to the side as the four smaller spheres of magenta energy swirled around in search of their target, passing by WRS and approaching like a spiral. BRS smirked as she rose to her feet, the energy in her cannon building up immensely as she aimed forwards. "Right there… Photon Shower!"

At the sound of those words, WRS flew off to the side as fast as she could, moving just in time to avoid being caught in a colossal stream of energy from BRS' cannon, the attack obliterating her own smaller spheres with ease. "You can't even hide it anymore, can you?! There's nothing quite like this!" WRS said with a cackle before she flew towards BRS. As the stream of energy from BRS attack dissipated, so too did her cannon, and she rushed forwards just in time to pick up the Black Blade she lost before WRS could intercept her.

"Can you afford that breath?!" BRS asked as she slid on her knees to avoid a high swipe from WRS' scythe, passing under her and then stopping herself by driving one Black Blade into the ground so she could pivot with minimal momentum loss as she went for WRS' back.

"That's what I like to hear!" WRS said as she spun around rapidly, her wings extending to serve as spiked whips. BRS easily deflected both and went to stab straight into WRS' chest, but she managed to bring her cannon up just in time to let the blade glance upwards, making the attack simply scratch her shoulder instead of impaling her. WRS' wings broke apart, letting her descend to ground level as she pushed BRS back with nothing more than sheer force before going for a swift overhead slice with her scythe. BRS easily sidestepped the attack and slammed down on the back of the scythe with one blade, forcing WRS to release it and hop backwards or else have her head sliced off by the second blade.

Raising her rock cannon at BRS, WRS wasn't worried about a follow-up as the small pieces of her mechanical wings flew at her opponent from all directions. Without any safe movement options, BRS began a frantic dance of dodging and deflecting the persistent parts with quick flips and flurries of her blades. "Defender Mode," BRS said, the flame around her eye growing slightly as she suddenly slammed two of the bits away with swift upwards slashes. Her attention was more focused on WRS, who suddenly began launching a series of fast and curving shots of red energy towards her. BRS slid to the side, a trail of blue energy propelling her out of the way of the first salvo before she managed to deflect two shots headed for her with a single upwards slash. The attacks suddenly stopped, and BRS only barely noticed WRS a slight distance above and behind her, firing off the final series of shots.

The first shot managed to strike her raised arm, forcing open her grip and letting her blade drop before she managed to move out of the way with another quick slide. WRS landed on the ground once more, and hurriedly picked up the dropped Black Blade as BRS ripped the White Scythe out of the ground. BRS spun around and swung in a wide arc with the White Scythe to counter WRS' approach, but her attack was met with a swing from her opponent's rock cannon. The massive gun managed to halt the White Scythe before the blade could dig into its target, leaving WRS free to lunge under her raised arm, the Black Blade ready to pierce its owner.

Metal skid over metal as BRS managed to raise her second Black Blade up, misdirecting the thrust so it only scratched her jacket. WRS' momentum forced the duo into each other for a moment, their foreheads colliding as they stared one another down. "You weren't lying about being excited this time… I don't think I've ever seen you fight this hard before," BRS said as she suddenly bounded forwards with the aid of her booster unit, flames trailing from its back as she easily forced WRS back.

"Something about this fight just feels so special… I can't help but want to see how far we can go!" WRS squealed as she suddenly fired off a shot from her rock cannon, the blast releasing just enough force to send her to the side and let her tumble out of BRS' path. BRS quickly turned and skid to a halt, hurling the White Scythe at WRS as she rolled along the ground. The mechanical portions of her wings intercepted the weapon, forming a circular blockade between it and their master. As the White Scythe was stopped cold in midair, BRS charged right past it and at the now standing WRS, her free hand extended forwards as a flash of blue energy around it was replaced by her own rock cannon.

A series of strange beeps turned the small smirk on BRS' face into a quick frown, and she glanced around the sky only to find it much darker than it should have been. A quick look at the monitor on her HUD revealed that she had flown straight into a thunderstorm. With a sigh as the first flash of lightning crossed her field of vision, she banked hard to the left, her entire jet tilting sideways. Though she was unaffected in the pilot's seat, the phone accompanying her fell and smacked into the jet's wall, breaking on impact. "… No more music, then…" BRS said as her jet cleared the storm.

Once she readjusted her flight path to go around the obstacle, she caught a glimpse land in the distance. "… But for such a short ride, I could probably try… if I'm her clone, then my singing should be around the same level," BRS continued. She tried to recall the lyrics, her thoughts drifting back to WRS' voice.

"I love you, Stella," WRS said as she aimed her rock cannon at the charging BRS. They both fired simultaneously, their shots exploding between them as the distance separating them shrunk by the second. As the explosions drew nearer, WRS tried to slam down the Black Blade she held, only for it to do little but part the smoke in front of her. BRS hadn't rushed in with the sudden flare of her thrusters, but had instead gotten around behind her in one swift motion. With little time to react, WRS just barely managed to turn and throw a wild swing that was easily sent skywards with enough force to send the weapon flying out of her hand. She tried to raise her rock cannon up, but BRS already had her own thrust right at her chest, the barrel still blazing.

The burst of blue energy following a direct hit to WRS chest was short-lived, with BRS rushing right through the smoke after her now flying target with yet another burst of her thruster. Caught horizontally in midair, WRS barely had time to draw her own White Blade and counter BRS' follow-up slash, the second impact only serving to slam her down into the ground. She managed to aim her rock cannon up and fire off a barrage of shots in BRS' general direction, forcing her back to avoid the fierce counter. "Useless!" BRS screamed as she began unloading a series of shots at the downed WRS.

As explosion after explosion went off, the lack of counter attacks tipped BRS off to what was coming next. She instinctively aimed upwards, firing off a shot that WRS was forced to deflect with her extended White Blade. With the sudden change in trajectory, BRS easily leapt up and charged her blade with energy, the weapon seemingly getting longer as she went for the falling WRS. "Black Blade…" BRS began as she held her Black Blade at her side. WRS grinned, aiming her rock cannon at BRS as it began to seethe with energy. "Genocide!" BRS finished as she swung. At that moment, WRS spun around and aimed upwards, firing her cannon with enough force to propel herself underneath the arc of BRS' attack. She rolled to the ground and rose to her feet as the blade of energy BRS swung only served to light up the Moon Terrace for a second before disappearing.

"That was close… but that's not how this ends. It's time for the climax," WRS said as she glanced back at BRS over her shoulder. BRS performed the same gesture, the flame in her eye flaring up immensely as the one in WRS' own did seemingly in response.

"Final round," BRS said. They both grinned before sprinting in opposite directions, circling each other for a few seconds before they both began firing off shots from their rock cannons at each other. Some collided while others narrowly missed their targets, but before long, the majority of the Moon Terrace's floor was in ruins as blast after blast went off. Though they encircled one another, the distance between them slowly shortened until their barrels were nearly touching, and with one final push from both fighters, the distance disappeared altogether.

The Black Blade and White Blade scraped past one another between their wielder's faces before BRS used her momentum to go down into a low spin, using her rock cannon as a bludgeon to try and take out WRS' legs. WRS saw the maneuver coming and pivoted into a powerful jump, easily clearing both the attack and BRS before she aimed her rock cannon skywards, energy pulsing in its barrel. She fired, launching herself back down as BRS stopped in a stopped position with her rock cannon extended. Energy was pulsing in that as well, and with a swift rise and some well-timed use of her booster unit, BRS fired off her rock cannon and propelled her rock cannon overhead like a rocket-powered hammer. With her trajectory set, WRS had little choice but to block the slam with her own cannon, the impact spiking her down to the ground, though she managed to land in a stooped position with clear strain on most of her body.

Forcing herself up to full height, WRS managed to shift BRS' cannon to her side and aim hers forwards, firing off a shot that forced BRS to move with her cannon or take the attack head on. As the blast burned a piece of her jacket off, BRS thrust forwards with her Black Blade, the retaliation ensuring that WRS withdraw her White Blade or face impalement. Their blades clashed for a split second before both were brought around in a swift crescent motion and met again, though this time they were accompanied by quick shots from their owners' cannons. BRS and WRS leaned in opposite directions, letting the two new shots fly past them before lunging forwards, slamming their foreheads into one another as their blades barely divided their bodies.

In the next instant, they pushed each other back just enough to create space for a frantic exchange of slashes, their blades moving at a ridiculous speed as they seemed to only focus on using their sword hands for a few seconds until they began to move from left to right, their feet slowly joining the frenetic exchange. In another matter of moments, BRS managed to fire off a shot at WRS' foot, but the shot was easily avoided and countered by a quick shot that flew past her waist. In seconds, random shots were being sent flying past and between the two fighters as they focused only on one another. The rate of their exchange increased constantly, and there seemed to be no end in sight. However, as they continued, spatters of blood slowly began appearing around them.

"… Maybe you were right," BRS said as she slowly walked up to the remnants of the Moon Terrace. "Even if you weren't… I would have like to have played together for longer," she continued as she walked over to the table and chair WRS usually used. She stopped near it and looked down at WRS once more.

An upwards slash just too quick for WRS to react to severed her right arm, and though she managed to land a direct shot at BRS' leg, it was countered by an even stronger shot at the underside of her chin. Helpless, she could do nothing as BRS drove her Black Blade her chest, pinning her to her own chair before the blade was ripped out and then rammed through her right eye, extinguishing her flame. "… Y-you… won…" WRS barely managed, a smile forming on her face despite the heavy injuries she sustained. "W-why the… sad face…?"

"… Tell me what I wanted to know," BRS said as she let go of her Black Blade, leaving the weapon wedged into WRS' eye.

"… Of course…" WRS said. She coughed up a bit of blood, giggling all the while. "World Maker… is more than… what you think. Only one… can have it. And you… Stella… you can take it… just like the rest of us… Huhuhuhu… What you do with it… well… I trust you… as I trust myself. No matter which of us has it… World Maker can only belong to one…"

It had been months since she heard WRS' broken message, though she had disregarded it as mad ramblings after realizing what she originally implied. Now, with nothing left in a dead world, she had returned to WRS' corpse prepared to try what she had seen countless times. "… If I Neblade you, then World Maker will be mine…" BRS said as she took hold of WRS' lifeless hand.

The stillness between the two seemed fitting for the ruins of the Moon Terrace and the void of space around them. Time had seemingly frozen for a few moments, until the faintest hint of light began to envelop them both. "… So this is what she meant about World Maker…" BRS' voice resounded as the entire moon was suddenly engulfed in a bright light. Slowly but surely, that same light seemed to be making its way towards the Earth, intent on consuming it.

"- hell are you doing?!"

"If you want to switch roles, be my guest!"

"Look at what you're doing! She's going after the Governor!"

"How about you swing that axe instead of your tongue?!"

Crashing metal, explosions, and constant thumping. The smallest breath passed through her lips as she opened her eyes. She could see outside of a small glass window for a split second before her sight was obscured by a black figure rapidly approaching the glass. Noting that her visitor was clearly hostile from the massive weapon it carried, she reacted in the most natural way she could think of. A swift kick to whatever was holding her sent some kind of door flying forwards and into her assailant, allowing her to step out and stretch rather carelessly.

WRS winced in the bright light, glancing around as two much more recognizable presences appeared on either side of her. "G-governor! I'm so sorry we weren't here to greet you!" MEFE said with a bow, the purple-haired woman in a witch's outfit bowing profusely as she hoisted a giant violet axe on her back.

"Ah, sorry you have to wake up to something like this," MZMA said as he scratched the back of his head, the red-haired man tilting his head awkwardly to the side as he turned to the door embedded into a wall directly across from WRS. "I'd have gotten a little show together, but this one's been intent on crashing party preparations."

"… MZMA, MEFE… who's that supposed to be?" WRS asked as her eyes adjusted to the light. Upon a quick inspection of her surroundings, she realized she was in some kind of human facility similar to the one she had gone into to develop the Gray clones. Her focus was on the person who managed to get rid of the door she had kicked, a horned-girl with long black hair and a dark red flame coming from her right eye. She wielded a giant saw blade, and wore some kind of long black cloak that revealed a breastplate and shorts.

"… Y-you didn't wake up prematurely, did you?" MEFE asked, her eyes widening at the question.

"… MZMA?" WRS asked, ignoring MEFE.

"That's one of those 'Black Knights' the Moon Beast sent to destroy us," MZMA said. "This one is… hey, your name is Gold Saw, right?"

"… That's right," the horned-woman replied. She glared at WRS, the flame in her eye intensifying for a few moments. "White Rock Shooter… if you're awake, then there's no reason to keep fighting."

At that, the woman drove her weapon into the ground before seemingly sinking into it and vanishing. "… Moon Beast?" WRS asked, not having any particular interest in her assailant.

"Yeah, the one who hijacked our Armaments and managed to defe- I mean, got lucky and made you require some… regenerative work," MZMA said.

"… Is that so?" WRS asked with a grin. She remembered the moon, and she definitely remembered someone fighting like a beast. "So… I take it the other Apostles are dealing with the rest of these… 'Black Knights'?"

"Of course… well, they're trying to," MEFE said, regaining a bit of her composure. "SZZU, CKRY, and MNFE are trying to deal with a tricky one called Dead Master in Russia. LLWO and SAHA are dealing with something that calls itself Strength that's defending the Moon Portal."

"… And this is America, right?" WRS asked.

"Not just America… San Francisco, the hometown! Or at least, what you could consider it," MZMA said. He chuckled. "It's poetic… we got here, wiped out the humans, and then this one thing pops outta nowhere and turns our own weapons against us… I bet there's never been an invasion movie like this before. Breaks my heart that we didn't record anything…"

"… No. It's what I wished for," WRS said as she closed her eyes. "After all… this should be a good game."

On the Moon Terrace, the white table and chair had been replaced by an odd chair seemingly made of scrap metal. Sitting hunched over atop it was none other than Black Rock Shooter, but her appearance had changed drastically. She now wore larger boots, a white belt atop her shorts, and a full on black vest that covered up to her mid-riff. A massive black claymore that seemed like an empowered version of her usual Black Blade stood impaled near her as she held a large pistol in her hands, slowly examining it as a small TV in front of her showed her WRS' awakening. "… That's it. Hurry up and come…" BRS said as the flame in her eye slowly began to burn. A crown of blue flames formed around her head as a natural accompaniment to the unconscious reaction, and a smirk settled on her face. "This is what we wished for… our long-awaited new game."

The End

General Author Note: To those who know me, I tried to do your recommended one-off work. I hated it entirely. Regardless of that, I hope all who read enjoyed my little experimentation with story-telling style. I'm open to all criticisms!