Hello everyone and welcome. For those of you that are just first reading this, welcome to my first fanfiction! For those of you returning to...perhaps go through the series again for sheer delight, I've made a few changes. By a few, I mean I added a couple bits of new content throughout the story. No worries though, nothing changed the primary plot of it. I just added a few tidbits and cleaned up a LOT of grammar issues. So, without further screwing around, enjoy the read!

Some time ago, someone important asked me what I thought of the world we were in, and what I thought of the sins we saw every day. She asked me, "What do you think? Do you think that people should give themselves up to protect a world that doesn't care?"

And I told her firmly, "People shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves for a so-called 'greater good'. A world shouldn't have to fall apart because of a so-called 'all-powerful evil'. We, as people of this world, have much more power over 'fate' than we realize. It is our choice to act upon it."

"I take it we haven't acted upon it then? Is that why we are the way we are today?" she asked.

"No, we haven't acted upon it. But I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. Even worlds deserve a second chance. No matter how bad things look, people can overcome even the worst of nightmares. It's all up to them though. It's up to them to act upon this nightmare."

She pondered aloud with a sullen voice, "I wonder how we can get them to help us out of the nightmare."

I wanted to tell her, "You can't get them to do anything."

I wanted to tell her, "It's up to them, not you."

But I kept myself quiet, smiling complacently. That girl, adorned in her modest clothing, wearing that aloof gaze buried under her long hair, she meant the world to me. She wasn't just a leader, she was a caretaker, a person to seek refuge from. But that was the blanket that covered up the sparse confidence that resided deep inside her. She was weighted not just by guilt, but by the pressure of keeping aloft a falling world. And nobody would ever guess how far the poor thing was falling.

She just needed a little help. And that...was where I stepped in...

{||o||\Y/||+||)

"You're up next noob, get going!" A distant shout caught my attention. I folded up my blade sharpener and crammed it in my personal locker, rusted and aged. With a mighty heave, I thrusted my battleaxe over my shoulder and started toward the main chamber. I stepped down the hallway, lurched over slightly from the weight of my axe, watching the many contenders of the Coliseum run about. They filled out forms, worked on weapons, and a couple other things I dare not mention.

"Right through here, noob," A grisly-looking man instructed me through the door leading out into the open grounds of the Coliseum. In the distance, I could see my opponent for the day, clad in just a fisherman's uniform, shoes, hat, and all. I couldn't see much of his weapon now, but it didn't make much difference. Walking out of the shadows cast by the grandstands, protected by wrought-iron fences that still had the blood of many drenched inside of them, I entered the bright spotlight, opposite of my foe. I could see that the steel floor had a few conspicuous slots mounted in the corners that I was wary about nearing. Knowing the Coliseum and the crowds high demand for bloodshed, I was sure there was more than enough hidden in those slots to ruin my round.

"Welcome all to Planeptune's Coliseum! Today we have an exciting match of two mighty foes, ready to grind each other up!" The loudspeaker boomed onto the field. The crowd flared just hearing them announce the beginning of the game.

"On the red side, we have Fisherman Davis and his favorite spear, the Leviathan Hunter!" The announcer shouted over the loudspeakers again. The fisherman at the red side, spotlight shining bright on him for all the crowd to see, posed and laughed hardily. I could see he had a spear finally, and his spear had quite a tip on it. The rest of it looked oddly like a fishing pole, a plastic one at that. I wondered what kind of controller he had in it. If I didn't know any better, it looks like one of Lowee's products.

"And on the blue side, we have Code Oprashunal and his battleaxe, Grindrix!"

I kept still while in the spotlight, thinking to myself, "Grandstanding's for people that think they've already won."

"Ready? Fight!" The announcer echoed. Davis got in a fighting pose, knees bent and holding his spear with a cocky expression plastered on his face. I walked around casually, slouched over slightly from the weight of my axe. I kept my hand wrapped around the grip, holding on and preparing myself. I was going to let him come to me. He had the advantage of distance.

"Whaddya waitin' for? Got the smell of fish stuck in yer nose?" said Davis, circling the arena with me. He grew closer and closer to me. I watched his spear closely, eyes focused on his movements. I braced myself as he charged forward, daring to make the first move. He ran with the spear aimed right for my heart. I waited and waited, time slowed down just for me, bracing myself silently without so much as a movement. I could see it, his spear almost touching my clothes. With that in sight, I shoved myself out of the way.

Arms prepped and ready, I swung my hardest at him, leaving a grim wound on his hip. Blood poured like water and already he was losing grip on his spear he had caught in the chain-link fence. Under his breath he muttered curses, knowing his fate to be sealed now. I drew my blade up high, my axe refracting all kinds of lights above, then brought it down on his shoulder. He stopped moving for a moment, shocked and stunned at how quickly the match had ended, then dropped down with his emptied eyes facing the lights above.

"I can't...believe I was beaten by...by a noob like you..." He moaned as he bled out.

"Looks like someone skipped the tutorials," I shot back, walking towards the center to be congratulated on my victory and such. The fisherman's body slowly vanished, along with his spear in the wall, then appeared once more at the red side. He gave me a smirk as he sheathed his fishing spear on his back. The dorky looking man that led me into the arena came out from the red side door, dressed in referree's clothes. Him and Davis walked over to me, standing in the main spotlight.

"I'll get ya next time, kid," Davis raised an open hand to me. I shook his hand with my free hand.

"Next time, you'd better read up," I jested firmly. The referee congratulated me, then escorted me out of the arena. I gripped my ten thousand credits then stored them in my hoodie pocket.

I walked towards the locker room, watching the other contenders walk about after their own matches. Heading to my locker, I noticed that Davis and one other contender were talking amongst themselves not far from my locker.

"Be thankful the respawner didn't spawn you without your clothes!" The man conversed with Davis.

"I just can't believe I lost so fast, I really thought I had him. I haven't ever seen an axe like his before. How much you wanna bet it's modded?" Davis continued being a sore loser in easy ear-shot, not noticing me being in the locker room as well.

"It's not modded, you just suck," I mumbled under my breath while I retrieved my blade sharpener and towel. I wiped off the days blood, rejuvenating the blade and restoring its sparkling sheen. I folded out the silver blade sharpener and began grinding the blade to perfection. The noise blocked out Davis's conversation, not that I cared to listen in anyways. I just kept my Titan gaming headset plastered over my ears, isolating all sound with my favorite video game soundtracks.

An hour passed of perfecting my blade and I stowed away the sharpener again, ready for tomorrow's match. I honestly wondered why I was still in that business, all the opponants all had the same attitude and no sportsmanship. I remembered back when the arena used to be a place where a good sport and a good sport could fight each other just for fun, regardless of rank or kill streak, and after every match both contenders would say "good game" to each other. Those days were gone though, nothing but a memory. Still thinking to myself, I walked solemnly back to my home to rest up and get ready for the next day.

Gamindusty had really gone down the hole in general. It's hit a sort of low that not even the CPU can properly fix. Everyone's morals have hit the worst bottom of all.

The sun was shining bright that day, the silvery, futuristic buildings glistening sharply. I took my favorite shortcut home, through a shadowy alleyway that kept me out of the way of any reckless drivers zooming down the streets. The alleys were just as damp and musty as ever, no signs of rust but a certain thickness in the air that always made it hard to breathe. My headset on, hands buried in my pocket and fingering the credits I had stored in them, I walked along the winding pathway, steel skyscrapers looming over me. Taking a sharp corner, I came face-to-face with a girl that was speeding down these alleys a little too fast. She knocked me on my feet, my axe hitting the ground with a massive thud that echoed in the alley. I held myself up with my hands and saw a familiar face trying to get back up as well.

"I..I'm so sorry!" She apologized, her voice blessed with innocence.

"Careful ki-" I paused, quickly examining the locks of purple hair and rigid stance that any Planeptunian would know, "Wait, aren't you Nepgear? CPU?"

"Uh..uh yeah...sorry, I gotta go!" She fled, leaping over me and dashing off down the alleyways again. What she was in such a hurry for, I knew not, but it'd be unbecoming of me to question the CPU. I grabbed Grindrix from the dusty concrete floor and walked on, Grindrix resting happily on my shoulders. This massive weapon killed my back, but she was my pride and joy, the only thing I had left to remember my parents. Couldn't get a replacement for it either. They stopped making the axes once the game series it belonged to was cancelled. I was lucky enough to have one of the last few remaining, albeit heavily modified. Rounding another corner, the blinding sun greeted me as I departed the damp dark of the alleys. Cars of futuristic design zoomed past without a sound made and people walked up and down the streets, occasionally glancing at the giant battleaxe that rested on my shoulder. I didn't care what they thought, all I cared about was getting on with my life like usual, unfiltered and undisguised.

My home awaited with it's simple two floors of steel design. I didn't need much at all to please me, I had my HDTV with my custom console hooked up to it and I had a bed to sleep in. I stuck my cold hand on the hot hand scanner that kept my door locked. A buzz and whir later, it opened the door wide to my favorite living room. Casually, I plopped on the couch and turned on the TV to the news, ready to see what went on today before I played some games on my custom console.

"Today marks the release of the eighteenth installment of Final Sci-Fi! Gamers rejoice in the re-updated graphics and new storyline!" The gaming channel chimed as it showed a gameplay trailer.

"What's new? Honestly, it's the same damn thing over and over again, same gameplay, same overused plots, nothing new," I sighed to myself, realizing that talking to myself was futile. Despite that, I continued aloud, "Like anybody would listen anyways, people are so blind these days. If they aren't crappy in sportsmanship, they're mindless sheep just following trends, only playing what media tells them too."

"Now onto geographicals with Angelique!" the newscaster motioned for the cameras to switch to a different set. On the other set was a short girl with green hair. For a girl that was also cannon fodder for the corporate gaming media, she was pretty cute.

"Thank you Frank, today we take a look at Leanbox, which has had another shift across Gamindustry. Seems anymore like all the lands are on completely different corners of the nation. Lastation isn't even visible at Planeptune anymore and Lowee is at the very top of Gamindustry," The lady on the TV prattled on. I couldn't care less about geographical stuff. Ever since faith waned in the CPUs, every land was slowly floating away from each other. None of the CPUs wanted to work together either, I remembered when I was a lot younger, Nepgear, Uni, Ram, and Rom all worked together to save Gamindustri. Now they're just helping rip it apart at the seams. It's horrible to see what happened to a once beautiful world of gaming. But what could I ever do about it? Nothing but keep fighting on.

"Now onto sports."

And as soon as I heard 'sports' I switched off to my console. If there was one thing I hated more than pointless sequels, it was sports. People made way too many games off such a pointless thing. I turned on my console, the Omnivox as I'd dubbed it, and it hummed silently while it read and played one of my older games, Dead Ground.

"0 people online playing this game." A message read on my dashboard. It was just like all my other games, nobody ever played them anymore, online or off. I laid Grindrix on her perch mounted just above my TV. The bolts holding her up started to rattle, reminding me that I needed to reinforce the supports sometime soon. Letting out a sigh, I went back to my bookshelf stashed away under the TV. I had recently picked up a popular book from a writer that went by the name of Valve. Her book was focused on a lot of theories, some of which she picked up while adventuring. I saw them as just dreams, but interesting dreams nonetheless.

{||o||\Y/||+||)

Dawn broke and morning lights elegantly flashed over the couch I slept on. I held my arm above my eyes while they readjusted to the brightness. I brushed the crusts off the edges of my eyes and got ready for the day's match. Walking to my nearby mini-fridge hidden in the corner of my living room, I opened the lock on it and pried it open. My mind drooped at the sight of only one Creature Energy drink to wake me up, but it'd have to do. I popped the cap off and chugged silently while I stepped upstairs to my bedroom. Light flooded that room as well, but helped me see which jacket I was going to wear. Hands picking and looking, I chose a black and red jacket with the title "Axe Hero" plastered across the deep pockets. I slid down the rail leading downstairs and retrieved Grindrix from her perch before I head back to the Coliseum.

My door closed behind me with a mechanical thud, sun blinding me as I stepped out to the sidewalk and across the empty streets. Not many were walking about and even fewer were driving, tempting me to walk along the streets to the arena, but far be it for me to break a habit. I took my usual route through the desolate alleys, chilled from shadows cast on their concrete path. I wondered what all happened there at later hours, what mischief and misdeed happened in the shrouded corners. I never needed to walk about at night, but sometimes I would think about just roaming around at the later hours. The city looked entrancing at night, different spectrums of color decorating the shops and stores and services scattered about the town. But as the lights appeared so did the delinquents that roamed about, attempting to rob many of their belongings and even their lives.

Lawlessness had really taken shape ever since the CPUs lost their faith. Well, at least in Planeptune. Nepgear may have been nice, but she seemed to have problems with taking action, especially after the previous CPUs sealed away Arfoire. I wondered what happened yesterday when she slammed into me. The alleys were just a little dark for someone as important as her. I stepped out into the sun again, shadows losing their grip on me and sunlight gleaming off my axe.

I stepped inside the Coliseum with greetings from occasional contenders who knew me. I didn't have much to say, but I could muster a greeting to anyone with a greeting to give to me. The dorky referree stood at the red door again, watching me with a silent gaze as if he was waiting for me to make a shifty move with my axe. Normally I'd cut him down to size if he even so much as threatened to hit me, but I had a thing about self-defense that I'd rather not ruin over some scrawny nerd.

Davis wasn't in the locker rooms. I wasn't complaining, but I was wary of the newest arrival to the Coliseum and my opponant for the day. She was a CQC fighter with a pair of spiked knuckles that were in the shape of controllers. I let down my headphones, drooping off my neck while I opened up my locker to retrieve my axe sharpener.

"Uh...he-he-hello," She said quietly to me while I unfolded my sharpener.

"Sup," I gave my subtle response, waiting for her to start trash talking. A few moments passed of her staring at my axe while I sharpened it. I looked over to her, wearing a discouraged expression as well as she wore her spiked knuckles.

I stopped sharpening for a moment, asking, "What?"

"That's a...b-big axe," She commented, her voice shakey.

"Yeah, sure as hell is," I replied, sharpening the blade again. I had the feeling that she hoped that I wouldn't be her competition. I kinda hoped that she wasn't my opponant either. All those rips in her jeans were exposing her panties and, well, male gaze and all. She walked cautiously around me and exited without a word.

"Seems like my reputation's starting to catch up," I mumbled to myself while I finished the final touches on my blade. Stepping out, I wondered why they felt the need to switch doors on me every damn day. It was becoming a little more than annoying.

"Ready for the fight, noob?" The dorky referree asked, emphasizing that damned 'noob' word every time he said it.

I kept quiet, waiting for the match to start. A few minutes passed and finally it marked the time to enter and fight again. The crowd cheered fanatically, chanting names all around. I stepped into the red side's spotlight, shining bright on me, opposite of my opponant.

Over in the corner was that exact same girl from the lockers. She kept her arms up in a defensive position. I wasn't getting why she was preparing herself so much, but then again, she seemed scared in the locker rooms.

"Today, we have for you another epic match here in the Coliseum!" The announcer started, silencing the audience for a moment, "We have on the red side, arena underdog, Code Oprashunal with his battleaxe, Grindrix!" The crowd cheered for a moment and silenced again.

"And on the blue side we have Tekken and her spiked knuckles!" the loudspeaker announced. The crowd cheered again.

"Ready? Fight!" The announcer began the slaughter. I had faith that this would be easy, her attacks were very limited with those knuckles. I had little time this time to brace myself, she had rushed at me with a fighting stance. I got a good grip on my axe and waited for her first punch. It neared my face, but I dodged quick out of the way. That left her shocked for a split-second, but she shot another fist that shredded into my shoulder. I gritted my teeth as I watched her swing her second fist at me while I was recovering. I dropped to the floor and rammed my foot into her chest, making her wretch over. I stood back up, raising my axe high and thrusting down. Her knuckles withstood the blow, but were shattered to hell. The crowd cheered furiously, enjoying the tense match. I wasn't as enthralled though, she wasn't half bad as compared to my last opponant.

Tekken gave a bit of a grunting sound and thrust her spikes at me again. I turned my axe to the side and she got her spiked knuckles caught in one of Grindrix's decorative holes. Bewildered, the headstrong fighter swung her other fist only to miss. I shoved her down to the ground, breaking her arm in the process. With a few tears in her eyes, she gave a firm punch to the back of my leg and I dropped to the floor. I could see a pain in her eyes that bugged me. I hated fighting girls.

"Let's at least make this quick," I said to myself as I lobbed her head off with my axe. I slung my axe over my good shoulder when I noticed a peculiar site. I recognized a certain shield of purple hair in the background, eyeing me with interest and astonishment. I wondered what Nepgear would be doing at the Coliseum watching something as underground as a Colosseum tournament. Peeling my eyes from that, I noticed the referree approaching and leading me to the middle of the arena.

Tekken had already left the arena, probably sad because she lost. The ref handed me my ten thousand and I exited to wash my axe. I wasn't even gonna bother sharpening it, I could do that tomorrow. I had my mind on other things, sadly that girl being one of them. I knew better than to think it, but in my mind I kept wondering if she was alright.

"I really, really hate fighting girls. Maybe I'm already growing soft," I thought to myself, passing through the blue light that marked the exit to the arena. My wounds regenerated at lightning speed, just as they should. All the crazy technology they had anymore bewildered me but as long as it kept me alive, I couldn't care less.

The walk to my locker was surprisingly empty and quiet, nobody else wandering around, not even the dorky ref that pestered me constantly. Entering the locker rooms, I met up again with Tekken. She wore a look of disappointment, but that quickly became a look of fear once I entered the room.

Opening my locker, I said to her, "Good game out there."

"Th-thanks," she said quietly.

"First time I've fought someone using CQC. You're pretty good," I complimented her, hoping maybe I'd hear something other than trash-talk for once. She didn't seem like the cocky sort that usually lingered in the Coliseum.

"N-n," She paused, "Not as good as you though."

I got out my rag from inside my locker. It was coated with a special blend of Slime Gel and Deathweed that helped clean off bloodstains. I just had to be careful not to cut the fabric on the blade. Washing off Grindrix, I said with a slight smirk, "You just got an unlucky competitor choice. Hope I wasn't too hard on ya."

"No, no. I kinda liked that fight actually. We should fight again s-sometime," said Tekken, a slight blush appearing on her slightly-tan face.

Finishing up washing off Grindrix, I put the rag away in my locker and shut it tight, saving my blade sharpener for tomorrow. "Sounds good," I finished, passing her a few thousand credits from my earnings. She wore a shocked look and had a little more blush on her face. "You fought pretty damn well out there. Consider it a consolation prize," I told her earnestly.

"Wh-why are you-"

"Let's just say I don't believe in winners or losers," I interrupted her, walking off with my battleaxe slung over my shoulder. She didn't have anything else to say. Exiting the arena, I said to myself, "I am getting soft. Damn."

The blinding sunlight made me rear back a little. It was midday and still there was hardly a soul out and about, which worried me that I had missed a monster warning or something.

Almost on cue, I saw in the distance, a gaggle of monsters working their way down the street. "Of course I'd miss another freakin' monster alert. And I'd just cleaned my blade too," I thought to myself, tightening my grip around Grindrix.

I rushed across the street and into my alleyway shortcut, hoping to avoid detection. Luckily, there was not a single red exclamation point above their head, so I assumed my escape a success. I walked along with an awaited sigh and innocent gait until I found the same certain somebody from before, up to her neck in monsters ready to slay her. I've witnessed her power long ago so I guessed that she'd take care of these monsters just fine. But as I turned my head towards my proper path, I noticed that I had now been blockaded by the foul wolves that sought nothing but destruction.

"Fenrir pups, just what I need on the way home," I sighed under my breath, backing up into the alleyway leading to Nepgear. If I could funnel their numbers to just one at a time, I figured that I could get out without any major casualties. They did just as I planned, one at a time dashing into the narrow alley. I gripped my axe and readied myself for the first Fenrir's attack. He leapt at me with claw extended, drool hanging from his rugged teeth and dots of black clouding his blue fur. I dashed forward a little and gave a mighty uppercut that severed him in half, but my fight was far from over. Another wolf leapt off the back of another and performed the same leap the last one just did, but with another wolf charging at me as well, baring his ferocious teeth.

I thought fast and speared the top Fenrir's mouth with the spike on the end of my axe's top. The Fenrir rammed his eye square into the spear and while he was attached, I slammed his body into the lower Fenrir, downing him but not crushing him. Problems arose, for my blade had now been jammed in the Fenrir's skull. The final Fenrir, undamaged and unscathed, leaped over the bodies of his fallen brothers and leapt at me. I dropped my axe and slammed my back into the concrete, holding my feet up and tossing him clear over me. I tugged hard at my axe and forcefully dislodged it. The bottom Fenrir still struggled to escape, clawing constantly at the floor. I took a quick swipe at him and finished him off, body disappearing into thin air, along with his brother that still rested atop him. I looked behind me to a grisly sight of the final Fenrir surprise attacking Nepgear. It clawed furiously at her back and shredded her clothes and skin.

"Get the hell off her you grimy little ass!" I screamed, heaving my axe high and dropping it's full weight on the foul creature. Severed in half, it dissappeared, marking the end of our ambush. Nepgear was breathing still, but injured badly. I did the only thing I could think of and retreat quickly back to my home where the impenitrable walls of adamant would guard against any attack. Carrying Nepgear was taxing but the trip home was short and once I was inside, I rushed to my medical cabinet and poured a solvent on her wounded back. The blood and wounds disappeared, luckily, but I didn't think she'd going to be too happy about her shredded clothes. "Has the drop in faith really weakened her this much?" I asked myself while I dressed her wounds. I only had a light bandage that I kept over her wound until the solvent took a full effect.

I carried her up to my bed and let her sleep, returning downstairs patiently. The news reported many casualties caused by the monsters. The rise in activity and power of the monsters is said to be 'unknown' but I assumed that they only said that just because people don't want to admit that Gamindustry has fallen into a hole it should never have been put in. There isn't gaming anymore, there isn't joy in gaming, there isn't a bit of creativity, it's all competition and melancholy. It's like the whole industry has fallen from a civilization into a barbaric tribe. We couldn't keep living like this, with little faith to hold up the CPUs and keep their civilization strong.

"Gamindustries ruined, ruined so badly that I don't think all the effort in the world could pull it out of this..."