Ch. 003 - Unforeseen consequences

Ram, ever the more cheerful and energetic of the Lowee Candidate twins, notices that she might have bitten off more than she can chew. Moments earlier, she exited the stairs, and now she finds herself facing a horde of boar-like monsters.

Usually, this amount of enemies wouldn't be a problem for her if she had Rom and the other two Candidates as support, but being alone makes this challenge a lot more difficult. As two of the boar monsters stampede in her direction, Ram uses their momentum against them, jumping over the wild pigs and letting them ram into the surrounding foliage. They get stuck in aggressive vines, and quickly disappear from view.

Ram considers her options: seeing how she is, against all logic, in some form of jungle and several terrifying creatures are circling her, it would make sense to try not to destroy the environment, or she could accidentally cause a wildfire. On the other hand, maybe that would be precisely the best option. But she has to act, and quickly.

As more boars charge to attack the diminutive Candidate, Ram quickly gets fed up with the things. She has a mission, and that mission is saving Rom! Throwing all caution away, she summons her staff, her left hand raised high, and shouts from the bottom of her lungs: "FIRESTOOOOOOOORM!"

Unleashing a blazing inferno, she has to force her eyes closed due to the brightness rivalling the sun for a moment, she can feel the heat harmlessly touching her skin. The effect is near-instantaneous, animal and plant alike burned away in a colossal whirlpool of fire with Ram at the very centre of it.

The artificial glade smells of burned meat and destroyed wood, the ground charred and coloured like coal. Small embers and singed grass are the only indication that there were dense tree covers just a moment before, and a look at the sky reveals to Rom that she is still somewhere underground. Which only raises the question how a forest could grow in a cave to begin with.

"Looks like... they're gone for the moment." Ram says with a sigh, and sits down on a nearby rock to catch her breath. She poured large amounts of magic into that spell, and slightly exhausted herself as the lack of Shares fails to make up for the difference.

Not letting her mood get spoiled, she quickly picks up the pace looking for an exit.

"This dense jungle cover is totally annoying!" she shouts in frustration as hanging vines and large grass keep obstructing her view. Eventually, she finds a stone door with a metal ring protruding from it, and ponders it for a moment. Not seeing any mechanism or obvious trap, she steels herself and tries pulling on the metal ring. With a low groan, the door opens. Very, very slowly. Taking several breaks during the pulls, she eventually gets the door open, revealing a new staircase for her effort.

Annoyed and vaguely tired, she carefully descends the new stairs, her staff ready for action clutched in her left hand and in front of her body.

----------

The new tunnel leading downwards is just as overgrown with vines as the jungle layer before, giving Ram a terrible feeling. She thinks she saw one of the boars earlier get dragged away by something, and only now is she realising that she might be in far more danger than initially expected. However, she refuses to let fear overcome her; she is supposed to be the cooler and braver sister, so she has to prove that she is just that.

"If Rom can manage this, then I can totally do it, too!" she mutters to herself, mostly to stave away any feelings of dread.

The next floor is similar to the first, but actually not as densely covered in plant life. In fact, down there it mostly keeps to the walls while seemingly avoiding the middle. Ram, as a Loweenian, knows all too well that life tends to cling to any space it can grab, which is all the more true in the snowy lands of Lowee. Therefore, plants infesting one place but avoiding a certain area can only mean that the middle is dangerous.

Of course, that only means that Ram has the choice between the danger that the plants may represent, and whatever is in the middle of the room. Her mana sense does not pick up anything ill-meaning from that spot, while the plants give off a much more disturbing sensation; as if countless eyes are watching her every move and waiting to pounce on her.

"Those plants must be the real trap, I'm sure." she concludes to herself, and skips over toward the middle of the room. Of course, being comparatively young and inexperienced, she did not consider the other option: that whatever is in the middle is merely hiding its presence. A mistake that shows quickly.

Ram skids to a halt as she notices she almost fell into a shallow pool of water ringing a central section. Inexplicably, a treasure chest made from sturdy-looking wood and covered in various curved designs made from wrought iron sits right in its middle, the metal slightly gleaming from a small beam of light coming through a crack in the ceiling. She considers for a moment to break the ceiling, but a cave-in obviously wouldn't help anyone. Dismissing the thought, she looks around and finds a small bridge across the moat. As she tries to come closer, a blue field of energy starts fading into view; the same kind of forcefield that prevented entry or exit at the beginning.

Looking around, she finds a stone tablet and tries to read it:

"Bear thine body and prove thyself worthy for the spoils!"

In other words: she has to strip naked to be allowed to proceed.

"I'm not gonna do that, you poopyhead!" she childishly shouts, and promptly walks around the moat. The tablet does not seem to like the reaction however, as it suddenly starts glowing in a bright pink light, engulfing Ram and causing her to trip straight into the waters below.

Cold, strange water covers the young-looking Candidate from head to toe, and she has to spit out whatever got into her mouth.

"AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" A large shout of frustration later, she realises that she's been had, and vows petty revenge on whoever is responsible for this. It is hardly the only issue though.

"Wh-What's happening to my clothes!?" She looks down her body and sees her clothing dissolve right in front of her eyes, small holes quickly growing larger and devouring the fabric entirely. Struggling to get out of the water, she manages to grab a ledge and pull herself up. The water, and her clothes, entirely leave her body... which leaves her body completely uncovered. At least she is dry even so. Something of a chuckle can be heard from somewhere, so Ram alertly sweeps around, but cannot locate the source.

With a defeated sigh for having been had like this, she goes back to the tablet and sees it unassuming and seemingly-harmless.

"Alright, you got me naked regardless. Can I get the treasure now!?" The cheeky girl asks in a half-demanding tone, her spirit still unbroken.

"Proclaim thine apology."

Is all the tablet says, and Ram shortly feels the urge to just smash it to pieces. Especially when she realises that the treasure chest itself could also be a trap. However, basing her actions on that thought would still leave her nude, and the chest might contain clothes. If her experiences in RPGs are worth anything, well-defended treasure chests almost never contain enemies, stereotypical chest mimics aside of course. So it is at least worth a try.

"Fine... I'm, I'm sorry about that. I didn't want to insult you. I'm just in a hurry. Really, sorry there.”

"Thou art forgiven."

Allowing herself a smile, Ram sees the blue wavy glow disappear, leaving the way clear toward the treasure chest. Remembering just now that she still has some doubts, she turns back to the tablet.

"That's not a trap, right?” She cautiously asks, and to her relief the tablet says it is no trap. While not exactly trustworthy, well, she has no other chance anyway.

With careful steps, she walks over the thin bridge and reaches the chest. As it does not seem locked, she rattles it a bit, studies it from various sides, but eventually her natural impatience overcomes her and she just throws it open.

What she finds is exactly what she needs - clothes!

What she doesn't like is that these clothes are really just a blue bikini with gold-metal framing and some accessories. A voice floats into her mind:

"Wear the full set, leave none behind!"

Gritting her teeth, more at the fact that the voice sounds like Mina rather than it being a command to begin with, she starts checking out the clothes.

There is a small golden tiara with a sapphire in its front, a dark blue choker held in place with a small golden chain, a bikini top made from gold metal and blue inlays, matching bikini bottoms that are also lowleg, and blue-gold glove armour and leg armour, the latter ending in short thin heels. In other words:

"This looks like woman warrior armour from old RPGs."

Shrugging, remembering that she's worn skimpier outfits both when fighting monsters and at the beaches of southern Lowee (not that Blanc approved of the latter), the Candidate of that cold country starts putting on the various articles of clothing. The bikini bottoms expectedly barely go high enough to cover half her butt, but seem to magically stay in place just fine. While she has some trouble with the clasps of the boot armour, she nonetheless manages to get everything in place. With an odd sensation, she notices how everything slightly shrinks until it fits snug on her small body, and a feeling of power rushes over her. With a twirl, she picks up her staff and marches off to a newly-opened door, more confidence in her every step.

Little does she realise that the armour is cursed, and a tiny, barely visible tattoo has formed just above her crotch...

----------

While Ram, Rom, and Uni are walking through the various areas of the tower, each girl carefully advancing in their respective section and wary of possible dangers, Nepgear is starting to feel very worried about her friends. It does not seem like help will come anytime soon, and the silence and loneliness make her very anxious.

"I should have gone first. I should have. Now I'm all alone and they are all on their own. Who knows what could happen to them...? What a leader I am, unable to protect my friends..." These and similar thoughts turn circles in Nepgear's mind and keep spilling out of her mouth in a mantra-like mutter. She does not notice that the taunting presence has returned and takes great delight in her melancholic suffering.

But silently watching is boring when direct taunting is so much more fun, and thus:

"OH MY, SOME GREAT LEADER YOU ARE! SENDING YOUR PEONS OUT AND NOW WALLOWING IN SELF-PITY!"

Nepgear, pulled out of her thoughts due to the booming voice, looks up and around, but as before she cannot make out the source of the voice seemingly coming from everywhere at once.

"Stop it already! Please... What do you even get out of all this?" Nepgear asks, but the silence is as deafening as it is surprisingly short.

"ENTERTAINMENT."

Just that. One word, but it says so much. She finally realises that all this is probably just a sick joke, and falls back into even deeper despair.

Ability reactivated: Negativity! - A girl who has tasted bitter despair at least once. Doubt about her self-worth comes up at random times, and memories that make her sad may surface during such episodes.

Eyes wide with shock, Nepgear can feel the change in her heart and it makes her want to cry. A memory of her older sister Neptune invades her mind; it is about Neptune demanding pudding and not listening to Nepgear when she has a problem she cannot solve on her own. The reminder of being ignored hurts her terribly, and she slumps down even more.

"...Reactivated? That's a new one. Girl, what are you?"

The voice does not sound nearly as booming or omnipresent as before; rather, it appears to be in thought, even surprise.

Nepgear looks away, tears flowing down her cheeks, not caring to answer. That is, until...

"You intrigue me, girl, so listen up. Since I can control just about anything in this tower, I can rig the game in your favour. Not too much of course; after all I want to be amused by your struggles. However, if you manage to reach the top, you and your friends can go home. Therefore, you'll need every advantage you can get. What do you say?"

As if a shining beacon of light is touching the pedestal, Nepgear's eyes brighten up again, and she slowly gets up. Forcing the negative thoughts away with pure willpower, she knows she has only one chance. The voice will definitely not ask again.

"If you can truly control everything, then take away this ability please." With unsteady legs, but conviction in her heart, she addresses the empty room, waiting for the answer.

"PFFF, BWAHAHA! AND NOT LET YOU STRUGGLE? NO, I THINK... ACTUALLY, WHY NOT? IF YOU MANAGE TO REACTIVATE ANOTHER HIDDEN ABILITY, I WILL TAKE AWAY THE OLD ONE. I WANT TO SEE WHAT ELSE YOU HAVE IN STORE, PINKY!"

While not exactly the answer Nepgear hoped for, it is still better than nothing at all. Now she just has to remember what hidden abilities she picked up before and find one that she would like to keep in exchange for the "Negativity" ability. Nodding to herself, she takes a few steps towards the pedestal, but is suddenly stopped by the blue forcefield.

"E-Eh!? Why are you stopping me now?"

"WHAT? YOU DIDN'T THINK MY HELP WOULD BE FOR FREE, RIGHT? STRIP EVERYTHING OFF, AND ONLY THEN MAY YOU REACH THE PEDESTAL! IF YOU'RE QUICK I'LL EVEN GIVE YOU SOMETHING ELSE! AHAHAHA!"

Once again realising that she is merely being toyed with by this insane intelligence, for lack of a better word, the pink-headed Candidate quickly does as she is told, even while blushing profusely. At least she does not have any trouble taking off her sailor dress, panties, shoes, and socks.

Trying to preserve her modesty with her hands, she tries walking forward, but still is unable to.

"I-I took everything off! Isn't that enough?”

"YOU FORGOT YOUR HEAD PIECE, LEG STRAP, AND CHOKER."

Just about to facepalm, Nepgear holds back, and takes those items off as well. As she puts them on the pile, the blue glow finally fades, allowing her to advance.

"WELL DONE. I LIKE OBEDIENT GIRLS. YOU KNOW HOW THE PEDESTAL WORKS, SO GET TO IT!"

With unsteady steps, the nude Planeptunian teen girl reaches the bike-like seat and, hesitating for only a moment or two, sits down on it. As she grabs the handlebars, the wires she observed multiple times already come out of several hidden compartments and restrain her body in various ways.

Being forced to rub her slit against the bumpy seat feels weird, but she cannot keep herself from starting to moan due to the unfamiliar sensation.

With a low cry, her vision going pure white, and panting heavily she is eventually released from the sexual torment. Getting off the seat takes a bit until she feels her strength returning, her first-ever orgasm having been a lot more powerful and draining than she thought possible.

"GOOD JOB GIRLIE, I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! HERE'S MY REWARD, ENJOY~!"

Before Nepgear can comprehend what is happening, a powerful pink glow envelops her and she suddenly feels refreshed... but there is also something else.

"Ouch!" She can only shout as she feels a sting in her lower body and a strange pulling on a particularly sensitive part of herself. But before she can take a look at that, her arms come into her view, and she lets out a small shriek in surprise.

Her hands and arms are suddenly covered in black gloves reaching almost to her shoulders, with purple designs on the outer sides. Her breasts are covered in a black-white-purple crop top, and what Nepgear can feel is a slightly angular choker has been placed around her neck.

Her legs are similarly covered in thigh-high black socks with purple lines and a zagged border not unlike a buzz-saw, while her feet were forced into dainty high-heels.

She can see that the rest of her body is bare and tries reaching at her crotch to hopefully feel something covering it; while there is something there, it also seems to be an appallingly tiny piece of cloth and metal. What's worse is that stays in place only because it somehow bared and pinched her clit at the very base, every little rub and movement bringing her attention to it and making her very conscious of the situation.

Cheeks flushed bright-red while trying to ignore the pain mixed with a hint of pleasure, she quickly grasps the fact that she cannot exactly take the offending thing off - because otherwise she would end up bottomless - and decides to just bear it for the time being. The mistreatment still leaves her a bit hopeless, until:

Ability reactivated: Badly Treated! - A girl who has tasted abuse at least once. Memories of being mistreated in various ways such as being bullied may resurface at random times and impact her thinking. She may even develop a taste for being bullied or violated...

Ability forgotten: Negativity!

"...WELL THAT WAS QUICK. AREN'T YOU HAPPY NOW? BY THE WAY, NICE HEAD PIECE! GAHAHA!"

And with that, the presence fades once again. Nepgear, more confident again than when the "Negativity" ability had her in its clutches, starts grabbing her head. Feeling around, she notices she seems to have grown some kind of horn-like protrusion on her head. To her, the fact reminds her of Rei. Has she become a demon now?

"Uhhh... Why does this keep happening to me???" Almost sobbing, she catches herself and reminds herself that she has a job to do. While she cannot properly transform at the moment, she is still Purple Sister, and she has people to save - and nobody less than her best friends.

With confidence, an almost forgotten feeling newly awakened in her, she struts toward the now-open stone door to find a set of stairs. With one step after the other, she walks down, summoning her sword as she does so, ready to face whatever will come her way. She will find her friends, and together they will escape!

JackyHF

Thank you for reading. If there are any errors or other things you found odd, please let me know in the comments. I am a novice writer and wish to improve, so constructive criticism is always welcome.

Have a nice day~

P.S. I don't know if I'm allowed to post the reference pictures I have since they are expectedly showy (but no naughty bits visible). If someone could clarify that in the comments, I'd be very glad. Otherwise I may link them somewhere else, maybe.