Hi everyone, and thank you for taking the time to read this!
First let me do like everyone else and preface this with...
Disclaimer : Blablabla don't own anything appart from the story blablabla Compile HeartⓇ™, Idea FactoryⓇ™ blablabla don't sue me please.
Now that's out of the way let me say that this is my first ever fanfiction (and even my first ever story) so I'm very much a novice at these sort of things. Secondly I'd like to say that I'd very much appreciate it if you could warn me about any grammatical/spelling mistake, English not being my first language I tried my hardest to not miss any but some might have slipped in.
Finally on the story :
Let me warn you guys, we're here for the long haul, Victory's Good Ending is not something that can be addressed in a few chapters, if you want a quick story this might not be the best place for it. For the rest of you then let's say that I fully intend to make it to the end with you guys, I'm as curious as anybody about where the characters will take us in their adventures.
Also there will be no OC or anything of the sort, this is a story for and about the Neptunia cast.
Now that this is out of the way, let's start !
"NEPTUNE!"
This was bad.
Like seriously bad, Neptune was pretty certain that even that one time when she had exhausted the Basilicom's pudding stockpile wasn't as bad as this.
As Neptune's back hit the wall of the Basilicom's throne room with full force the sharp pain she felt served as a confirmation: yup, this was definitely super-duper bad.
Maybe that time she spent in the Gamindustri Graveyard was worse? It was a pretty dark episode of her life after all, but at least she had been comatose through most of the ordeal so it was alri…
Before Neptune could finish this most important train of thoughts however her enemy rudely lunged at her with inhumane speed and she was forced to dodge to the right to avoid being eviscerated on the spot.
Her opponent barely missing her the CPU seized the occasion to put some distance between them.
Maybe they could talk things out? Surely her protagonist powers would come in handy like always to get herself out of this situation. After all she had always managed to make friends with every CPU she had ever met (well, except for that Tari CPU but she was the exception that proved the rule correct, right?)
And if she couldn't convince this enemy… Well then, her second most awesomest of protagonist powers would kick in! She'd win the fight, yes, this will be as easy as making Noire go full blast Tsundere after making some innuendo about a certain cat ears and tail incident...
There was just one teeny tiny problem here.
And that problem was that today Neptune's opponent was none other than…
"I'm going to gut you for what you've done Neptune!"
Recovering from her previous attack with freakish speed Purple Heart spun around and threw her threat at the object of her absolute hatred.
Neptune had to admit it though, her goddess form really was a terrible beauty, her braids twirling around in synchronization with her body had a certain hypnotic effect, and… By the True Goddess was she really that developed in the chest area?
If some random passer-by saw Purple Heart right now he could never have guessed that the CPU had just spent the last 20 minutes screaming and trying to disembowel the other girl in the room. Indeed, her face was the textbook definition of complete serenity and regality that she was known for. The only hint this poor hypothetical citizen might have caught was to be found in Purple Heart's eyes.
In this (seriously confusing) situation Neptune could only be sure of one thing and she only needed to peer into the Cobalt orbs that never lost their focus on her to be certain of the other goddess' intentions:
If Purple Heart had ever wanted one thing, above all others, it was to see Neptune dead.
Seriously, was she really capable of being this terrifying in her goddess form?
But much more important than this whole hypothetical terror-inducing capability of hers there was a train of thoughts that had been making its merry way into Neptune's mind.
Neptune was the protagonist and as such she could never ever lose but could it be possible for another protagonist to beat her?
Could Neptune beat Neptune?
A long time ago
In a dimension far, far away…
In her whole life there had not been a single moment when lady Nepgear, the CPU Candidate of the technologically dominant nation of Planeptune had not looked up to her big sister, lady Purple Heart, the Goddess that the people of the country worshipped.
It was even a common joke among Planeptunians that Lady Purple Sister had secretly taken over the Nep-Nep fanclub and started financing them, diverging the country's treasury to their coffers. Their ever-increasing variety of Neptune-based products surely needed funding by some wealthy individual. This rumour was fuelled by the fact that with the sudden increase in quality and quantity of merchandises a number of particularly popular NepNowa doujins had found themselves banned from convention shops.
Not that it stopped the most fervent of admirers of acquiring those one way or another.
The workers of the Basilicom had their own jokes, those were mostly about robots in the Planeptower's basement who allegedly looked a lot like a short purple-haired girl and who had the tendency to voice their love for teenagers in sailor outfits a bit too explicitly.
Of course, those were just jokes! Nothing like that had ever existed in the basement! The rumours about a giant war machine fuelled by a massive share crystal and able to annihilate anything in its path were closer to the truth. And anyway, that project was abandoned…
However, an army of loving Neptune robots…
"Nep Jr! Gamindustri to Nep Jr! Are you with me sis?"
Crashing back to reality (like a certain purple haired goddess into the ground) the CPU candidate named Nepgear realized she had been drifting off in a particularly important moment. In front of her the massive flat screen that rested in the bedroom was proudly displaying in giant letters 'PLAYER 1 WINS' what was she doing again?
Looking around to recollect her thoughts the situation slowly came back to the sailor-outfitted girl… Ah yes that was it: the two sisters who ruled Planeptune were enjoying their morning playing a game from Lowee. It was quite a fun game where the typically cute characters from all across the snowy nation's flagship franchises fought against each other. The morning sun showered the room in a comfortable light while the purple pair was sitting on their bedroom's incredibly comfy couch.
Although… For some reason the TV was flashing in and out of her vision almost like someone was…
"Seriously junior! You're really worrying me now! Please don't leave me! What will I do without you?!" The CPU known as Neptune was frantically babbling like the end of the world was nigh on. Concluding that waving her hand in front of her sister's eyes had absolutely no effect the goddess decided to resort to the most appropriate remedy she knew of for that type of situation. Grabbing her little sister by the shoulders she started shaking her like she was some kind of pet toy that would make bells inside it ring.
"Aaaah I'm alright sis! I just spaced out! Please stop!" Although no one in Gamindustri would be surprised to hear that lady Nepgear always enjoyed the touch of her beloved big sister, being shaken back into reality, like she was a bottle of sparkling wine ready to be opened by the champion of the Lowee kart racing tournament, was definitely not how she fantasized those contacts.
"hum…" Neptune had raised an eyebrow in doubt and was looking at her little sister intently, like a doctor looking for the cause of a mysterious illness. She seemed legitimately worried. Nepgear loved her sister the most when she was being her playful self but seeing her like this was a special treat in and of itself. It was a part of the Planeptunian goddess that very few people ever got to see... "If you're alright then… Recite my favourite pudding parfait recipe right this instant!"
…Ah, of course Neptune wasn't worried, how typical of her to act all serious in front of her little sister just to play around. Stopping a giggle Nepgear still answered correctly:
"You don't have a favourite recipe Neptune, you enjoy each and everyone of them." Nepgear couldn't stop herself and be a bit smug as she gave her answer, after all nobody knew more about the CPU of Planeptune than her own little sister!
"Correct! Now that we've established that you are indeed my sister and not some android suffering from a malfunction; would you mind telling me what happened for you to leave the world's orbit like that?" suddenly Neptune reeled backward as if struck by a revelation that would change the world forever. Opening her mouth in a big 'O' she leaned back on the sofa's arm as if recovering from a serious punch.
"Don't tell me! You were thinking about Uni again!" pointing a finger dramatically at her sister the CPU looked like one of those attorney heroes from a video game. Nepgear could almost hear a 'Dun, Dun, DUN!" sound effect playing in the background.
"Wha… Wha… Whaaaaat?!" How could Neptune say that to her face? And so boldly too! Sure it was no secret that Nepgear had grown fond of the Lastationite Candidate. The two of them were nearly inseparable and where one could be found it was a certainty that the other wouldn't be very far. In fact… Didn't Uni say she was planning to come over today? The younger of the two sisters could feel her cheeks burning hot as she remembered how overjoyed she had been after receiving Uni's call, it wasn't every day that Gamindustri's Tsundere-in-chief let her little sister go play in another nation!
B… But this closeness was completely normal for friends! It was the natural result of them bonding together while teaming up to save their sisters! Surely… Maybe…
After all, although Nepgear could say with certainty that she enjoyed the company of her fellow Candidate immensely she could not determine if what she was feeling was that sort of affection. That was a part of herself that she had difficulties understanding. Every time she started imagining being… More than friends with the black haired girl, something in the back of her mind reminded her of somebody else whom the young goddess held deep feelings for… feelings that she had even a harder time comprehending…
Pushing the troubling thoughts away the younger goddess refocused on the situation at hand:
Neptune was sporting a smug smile and looking quite proud of herself to have been able to obtain such a cute reaction with so little teasing, her unique ability of flustering her sister was truly something to behold!
Although she was quite enjoying herself she decided to put a stop to it before the people of her nation started rebranding Nepgear as 'Red Sister'.
"Relax girl, I'm just joking around!" Neptune raised herself back to a more comfortable position before suddenly flinging her arm around her little sister's shoulder and pulling the confused candidate right into her arms, forcing her head against her chest before the young girl had any chance to react! "You should just have told me you were tired! I totally could use a nap too right now!"
Now that was troublesome. Nepgear had barely had the time to recover from Neptune's previous teasing and she was now suffering a full-blown attack! If she could acquire some sort of ability to disappear, she would not hesitate to use it right now!
"Si… Sis! What are you doing?!" the Candidate's protesting were obviously just making her that much cuter to her sister. It was like music to Neptune's ears as she started patting the younger girl on the back. She then lowered her head so that she could whisper into the lilac haired girl's ear:
"What I'm doing is taking in as much of my adorable little sister as possible before some black-haired mini-Tsundere snatches her away from me!"
Nepgear could not decide how she should feel.
On the one hand her sister talking like that was making butterflies fly in her stomach. Butterflies flying? More like nuclear bombs exploding! This, this right here was what she lived for: being pampered and loved forever and ever by the being she owed her entire existence to. After all, Candidates were born out of a goddess' shares, Nepgear being anything more than a mere concept in some citizens' mind was all due to the perfect being that was holding her in her arms. Wasn't it natural for her to be this attached to the one who had taken care of her for as long as she knew?
Many people called Neptune a lazy goddess who just threw her responsibilities away for Nepgear to pick up. But they didn't know her like Nepgear did!
They didn't know of the tireless nights Neptune had spent, comforting her sister when she was a small candidate right out of the share crystal being scared by the dark, by a storm, by anything really!
They didn't know how patient the CPU had been with her Candidate to teach her how to wield a sword or even use her Hard Drive Divinity for the first time. (that had taken months of hard training!)
They didn't know of the constant love and attention that Purple Heart had shown, always being there for Purple Sister when she needed her, being extremely protective of her to the point of not letting her leave the Planeptower for the first year after her birth and not revealing her existence to the world for two whole years.
Let it be known that being showered with such love right after birth would have had an effect on anyone. Let it also be known that CPUs are not like humans, no human owes its entire existence to a single other human and no human is conscious of the love and attention they received right after their birth.
Could Nepgear truly be blamed for being so attached to her sister like she was?
Neptune's love was the fuel that Purple Sister ran on, it was just the way things were.
Of course she knew that her attraction for her sister would be considered weird by a lot of people. It would even be repulsive if she was being truthful with herself. It was the thing she hated the most about her own being; out of all the people she had ever met she just had to be a weirdo with her sister, the one and only person she wanted to never disappoint!
On the other hand, Nepgear's ecstasy was nearly overridden by the sudden rush of embarrassment. How did Neptune find the boldness to say such things so openly? Nepgear would never ever be confident enough for that!
This was the second thing she hated a lot about herself: from the moment of her birth, Nepgear had always lacked confidence. It was this lack of trust in her own abilities that was the root cause for one of Gamindustri's darkest moments:
When Gamindustri's Graveyard had started to stir up Histoire had convinced the CPUs to unite their forces and go investigate, it was during this occasion that Neptune had chosen to reveal Nepgear's existence to the others and bring her with them. It would make for a good training exercise, better than slashing some doggoos in a reclusive forest away from anybody's prying eyes.
But Nepgear had failed her sister, worse she had failed the entire group of CPUs by cracking under the pressure. Purple Heart was a perfect being, she could never ever lose, her little sister was convinced of it. The only way Nepgear could explain her big sister's defeat at the CFW's hand was that Neptune had made the fatal mistake of putting her trust into someone as useless as Nepgear who collapsed immediately in front of the terrifying being that was Magic.
And that ended with them being captured for three entire years, years during which a good portion of Gamindustri was corrupted by the Deity of Sin's power. Nepgear would not, could not ever forgive herself for being the cause of so much darkness.
In the end, she had managed to save Neptune and the others. But was she really worthy of praises? No, of course not, it was IF and Compa who deserved praises, Uni, Rom and Ram had done so much too… In fact every single Maker and companion they had made on the road was more deserving than Nepgear. What had she done apart from revelling in self-doubt and depreciating thoughts during the whole journey?
It was a testament to Purple Heart's perfection that the CPU had found it in herself to praise her pathetic little sister despite her uselessness…
And on the… Third hand? The feeling she most definitely was sensing growing out of her was one of… confusion? Why was Neptune acting like that right now?
Nepgear had trouble remembering things (this was worrying in and of itself) but… Wasn't her big sister colder with her nowadays? Of course she knew she deserved much more than just being mocked but she could have sworn that Neptune hadn't acted like that in what felt like… Forever.
Now that she thought about it more consciously Nepgear could feel like there was something… A deep hidden fear of hers. Once in her life, for what had felt like decades but had only been a few weeks she had been separated from her sister in order to gather the help she needed to save the CPUs. She never ever wanted to relive that moment again, she simply could not imagine a world where she was kept apart from Neptune.
And yet it felt like at any moment now Neptune would just rise up, say it was all a joke and disappear in puff of smoke, leaving Nepgear all alone forever. This was a terrifying thought. Something right out of a nightmare…
In her darkest moments of doubts the CPU Candidate had always had to use but a single word to help calm herself. It was like a mantra that would always prove effective no matter what. Forgetting all about where and with who she was she just used the magic word.
"Neptune…" she just had to whisper her sister's name and all her worries would dissipate, it was one more thing that most people would definitely consider abnormal. She looked more like a fanatic worshipper than a goddess.
"Hey! I know that name!" Neptune gleefully answered, completely oblivious to the storm of emotions she had unleashed inside her sister. "Something on your mind Junior?"
Nepgear considered her options carefully; she could just hug her sister back and pretend that nothing ever happened, after all wasn't Neptune generous enough to not mention how disappointing of a sister she was?
But… She really, really needed to be comforted right now and there was only one person in the whole world who could provide what she was looking for…
"I just…" Nepgear raised her head and looked at the greatest goddess who had ever graced Gamindustri with her presence. By the True Goddess was she like a shining sun basking everything around her with her radiant smile!
"I need to know something, Neptune…" But before Nepgear could finish her sentence a finger was put on her lips and shut her up.
"Ooooooh I definitely know where this is going, this is a 'serious talk' moment we're having, right?" Neptune winked at the girl who was resting in her arms. She then carefully grabbed her little sister by the shoulders and pushed her away.
Neptune rose to her feet and slowly walked away towards the bed that was resting in the middle of the bedroom, all the while her every move was being tracked by Nepgear's confused eyes. She finally reached the bed and sat on its edge, patting the space next to her inviting the Candidate to come rest on it with her.
Nepgear slowly rose to her feet and walked to come sit next to the one who was the center of her world. The way to the bed was particularly long, like if the space between them was extending with each step before contracting back to normal, what was going on? This was definitely not normal!
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, Nepgear reached her destination and sat next to Neptune, the CPU had a smile on her face, her look indicating that she was all ears to what her Candidate would say.
Nepgear gathered all her courage, there was one question above all that she wanted to ask, it was a matter of survival for her, she knew it, she could ask any other question afterwards but she needed a positive answer on this one.
"Hey sis…" Nepgear really didn't want to ask this question, it would make her look like an oddball to the one being she did not want to ever disappoint. But it was part of who she was: in her moments of doubt she wanted, no needed, to be comforted and reassured by her sister. It was childish but knowing that did nothing to change her wants.
No…
"What?" the smug smile Neptune was wearing indicated that she knew perfectly where this conversation was going, but she still played the part, turning to face her little sister and looking her straight in the eyes. Oh her eyes were so pretty… Nepgear could just lose herself in them and wander forever…
Please… Stop
Nepgear still hesitated; she knew she was just being needy but still…
Balling her hand in a fist and pressing it against her chest, she found the resolve to ask the question that would help her dispel her self-doubts once again.
"We're going to be together forever, aren't we?" the tone of her voice was a mix of hope and hesitation, why did she still feel like she was going to be left behind at any moment? And why did she feel like there was some sort of echo in both their voice since she had started with her question?!
At least she was glad she had found the courage to voice her concerns now all she needed was for her strong sister to…
Not that…
"Of course!" the smile Neptune wore could have melted the entirety of Lowee; she truly was the sun around which Nepgear's life gravitated… "Even if you don't want me anymore I won't let you go!"
Why? Why do you keep doing that?"
Her big sister's smile truly was a contagious thing, but… Surely, it wouldn't hurt to be a bit greedy and ask for more? She really needed that right now.
"You promise?"
You need to realize…
"I promise! It's not even something I need to promise!" the little purple headed girl started patting her sister's head, ooooh how Nepgear had wanted that!
…That she…
Closing her eyes and drifting off with this wonderful feeling of loving and being loved in return, the Candidate could only sigh and whisper a small "Thank y…"
"Do you honestly think that's what I would say? Geez, get a grip, you really should get yourself checked girl."
…Lied to you.
What?...
Her eyes snapping open Nepgear looked straight at her sister, the smile was still on the CPU's lips but something was terribly odd about it, it was a cruel smile, something that definitely did not belong on her beloved goddess' face. The patting had stopped instead Neptune's hand was now grabbing the long lilac hair with her full strength.
She doesn't love you
"I mean come on! Why did I have to be stuck with such a stupid useless sister? You honestly believe I would say something so cheesy? We're not in an anime you know?" This wasn't possible… Neptune would not say such cruel things…
But… she was right, wasn't she? Nepgear truly was useless, without her screwing things up Neptune would never have lost against the CFW that trapped them in the Graveyard, and she then took so long to rescue her… Neptune would have saved everyone in a single day! Nepgear was just too pathetic and her sister had finally had enough and was telling her what everyone thought.
She never did
"Sis… Th… This isn't a joke!" Nepgear could feel the tears rushing to her eyes, she wanted to try and hope that this was just all a bad prank, the goddess she loved was kind and perfect in every way, she wouldn't be so mean… would she?
"A joke? If this were a joke I would be having fun right now, like goofing around with Plutie! Now that's what I call fun! Why would I ever have fun spending time with someone so useless and unreliable as you?" the purple goddess gripped her little sister's hair even harder, pulling her closer until their faces were mere centimetres away from each other. "Saying that, it makes me think… You saying such nonsense like being "together forever"… Do you seriously believe that trash like you deserve to even breathe the same air than me? Are you mocking me Nep Jr? Little sisters shouldn't mock their big sis you know…"
Why are you so surprised?
Suddenly Nepgear was feeling an immense sense of dread, as if the whole world had turned into a replica of the Graveyard, she could smell her doom coming, her heart started racing like crazy. What was going on? Where was this coming from?
"I'm sorry! Sis please I'm sorry!" tears had started running though her face like a waterfall, something horrible was coming, she knew it and the only one who could protect her was Neptune, this was a big misunderstanding wasn't it? Her sister would protect her like she always had.
"Like she always had?" Are you for real?
"Junior, you need to understand: you're a bad sister, you mock me, you boss me around all the time even though you're so weak and couldn't do anything by yourself. And you waste my time with your cheesy talks straight out of a bad RPG… And for all that you need to be punished..."
A plaything to be toyed with…
"Aaaaaand It just so happens that I've got just the right thing for you, dear lil' sis o' mine…" Neptune's tone was one of wonderful glee, as if this was Nepmas morning and the lake at the Planeptune Park had had its water turned into pudding.
And thrown away when it got boring…
A cold sweat had started running through Nepgear's neck; she knew it was here, the source of her feeling of impending doom was in the room…
Slowly (and with some difficulty considering how hard Neptune was gripping her) she turned her head to the bedroom's door.
In front of the opened door a terrible being was standing, radiating of evil, the smirk across her face slowly opened so that she could meticulously lick her lips. She was eyeing Nepgear up and down like she was some piece of fine meat that would make for a great diner.
…this is all you ever were to her.
If miracles ever existed in Gamindustri then Nepgear would, without a second thought, wish to forget one single moment in her life. She would pay any price to forget that, a century in the Gamindustri Graveyard would be an easy price to accept.
And now… it was going to happen a second time.
It's alright…
"Oh my… My dear Neptune, is this little plaything all for me?" Iris Heart playfully inquired, while slowly walking towards the bed, taking her time to delight herself in the look of terror that the candidate was giving her as she slowly materialized her whip-blade into existence.
…we are going to…
The CPU of Ultradimension's Planeptune was a nightmarish being, her tight bodysuit would not have been out of place in one of Lady Vert's raunchier VN game (in fact Nepgear was certain that even Leanbox's goddess would forbid her to play a game with that sort of material.) Her smile was closer to a predator's after having cornered her prey than to anything a human being could produce. Her long, serrated whip-blade was a promise of anguish and pleasure, although only its victim would feel the former while the later was the sole property if its wielder.
…get out of this…
"Of course, Sadie! Enjoy yourself! You know what to do!" Neptune playfully replied while leaving the bed, throwing her sister away with such force that Nepgear fell on her back against the puffy pillows. The CPU went on to sit comfortably on a chair and watch the spectacle begin "after all it's not the first time that you punish Junior for being a bad girl! And I oh so love watching her suffer…"
…you just…
This was just too much, what Neptune was saying was just smashing her heart into pieces before grinding them into dust… Why? Why was Nepgear such a bad little sister? Why did she always screw things up?
"Please… Sis… Uni… Anyone… Anything but that again…" Nepgear had already been reduced to a sobbing mess and was pleading in the most pitiful, broken voice imaginable; she truly was worthless of being the sister of Gamindustri's greatest goddess. Meanwhile Iris Heart was now towering over the bed and started reaching her hand to grab the purple Candidate. Running on instinct the young girl started reeling backwards, although she knew her back would soon hit the bed's head and with it her chances of escaping would hit zero.
And that's when she broke.
…need to…
Nepgear screamed. She screamed like she had never screamed before. She couldn't stop herself, her lungs were seemingly bottomless and would give it their all to help her express her pure horror to the entire world.
But even her most powerful screams could not cover the sound of Neptune's cackling laugh.
Just as Iris Heart's hand was finally reaching her and the lilac haired candidate had run out of space to back up the world went black.
…Wake up!
In the highest point of the Neptower, a goddess' eyes truly opened for the first time in the day.
And we've reached the Opening's ending !
Do not hesitate to tell me if you spot anything that can be improved from a literary standpoint, as I said in the preface I'm very much a novice at writing.