My New Life as a Gamindustri Citizen: Arrival
I wasn't expecting anything exciting to happen. Stuff like that just didn't happen in my life. So how should I react when I find myself dragged to a different dimension?
The first run of the first chapter of my Neptunia OC run. In future chapters, let me know if there's anything specific you want to read about, and I'll endeavour to make it happen. Feels good to post again.
Before I go, a small disclaimer: Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Idea Factory and Compile Heart, not by me. I only own my OC. Please enjoy all official media
"All right. That should do it. For now, anyway," I say to myself. I've been working on a small project for a few days now. I don't know why I started it; it was just a whim. But isn't that where most inspiration comes from these days? "Oh, man, I'm bored. Maybe I'll play a game. Or maybe I'll read a book. Having options sucks. Wonder if this is how she feels. Nah, I doubt it."
Lately, I've taken to just clamming up and listening to my music. That is what standard-issue bored teenagers do, right? And before you say it (yes, I can read your thoughts), I am not brooding or depressed. I just have absolutely nothing to do. The last thing I want to think about is school tomorrow.
"Screw it. I'll organize my collection. Maybe I'll think of something in the meantime." With that goal in mind, I gather my entire music collection (and there's a lot). Hey, may as well go for it, right? My first step is to alphabetize it. Then as I look, I realize it already is. "Oh. Well, that kills the fun."
Right as I finish that sentence, my room starts glowing in a bright light. Damned if I know what color; I'm blinded. Okay. This isn't normal. I'm not gonna lie; I'm a bit scared. Well, wouldn't you be? These kinds of things usually only happen in fantasy or science-fiction, and I don't think sorcerers or teleporters exist in our world (well, maybe they do, but I sure don't know). Well, it doesn't seem harmful, not like Raiders.
In a split second, I feel a sense of weightlessness, then I'm touching solid ground again. I'm still a bit blinded from the light, so I can't see yet, but I can hear a voice above me.
"All right! A success!" An energetic cry resounds in my ears. Guess I'm still a bit disoriented.
When my head finally clears up, I see four young(-looking) girls crowded around me. And they couldn't look any more different from each other. Is her hair purple?
"Where am I?" I ask, not bothering to hide my confusion. "Any one of you tell me where I am?"
"I guess she has enough sense, if she can already ask questions."
"Yeah. The last time I did this, it took a while for them to get over it."
"Get over what?" I ask, again trying to make my voice heard. "Look, I don't know who you all are or where I am, but either answer my questions or I'll find out myself."
"Are you sure this was a good idea, Neptune? She seems rather…hostile."
"Yeah, whose fault do you think that is?"
Four people crowding me, and not one of them is listening to me. Screw this. I'm out. Giving up on them, I stand up and walk out.
"Hey, where you going?" that irritatingly cheerful voice asks. "Do you know where you are?"
"I don't have a clue, but you don't seem to want to tell me, so I'll find out on my own. Thank you for nothing, and good-bye."
As I walk out, I realize that my stuff that came with me is still there. Oh, well. Hopefully, whoever lives there will be kind enough to hold onto it. Still, where am I? This doesn't feel like my world.
Since I stormed out of there in a rage, I realize that I have no idea where I'm even going. Hopefully anywhere away from all that crazy. Finally stopping, I stop and check out my surroundings. A wide open grass field is covered by a tree, with a playground set across from it. Looks like a park. I like it here; it's nice and quiet.
"Hey, you doing okay?" I hear a voice ask. Turning, I see the girl from earlier with the lilac hair. "You just went off."
"Yeah, and I'm not sorry. I asked you guys where I am, twice, and you still didn't answer me."
"True. I know how it feels to be ignored. I kind of got the shaft in my last adventure. Sorry about that."
She acts like an airhead, but she's surprisingly down-to-earth. Maybe I misjudged her.
"So, now that we're both here, would you mind telling me where I am?"
"You're in Gamindustri," she answers simply.
"Yeah, that doesn't help me. Where, or more accurately I guess, what is Gamindustri?"
"We did bring you here, after all. Gamindustri is our world, and we're divided into four nations."
"Four, huh? Which nation might I be in right now?"
"I'm Neptune, and you're in my glorious nation, Planeptune. I'm the CPU here."
"Narcissistic much? Naming your nation after yourself?"
"Hey, which came first, the game or the console?"
Okay, I'm lost. Well, I am new here. She's crazy, but at least she's friendly. Kind of.
"I guess that doesn't make sense to you."
"You're right, it doesn't. So all I can do is wait until I wake up."
"You're not dreaming, and don't worry! Come on. I'll give you a tour. You'll love it here. Oh, and don't worry. I got Histy to hold all your stuff."
"Wait, wait, wait! You're not making any sense. Like, none. At all. Just let me go back, please."
"I wish I could, but the spell we used to bring you here is one-way."
One-way? So I'm stuck here? Forever? She's lying, has to be. This has to be a dream.
"Neptune. Neptune! Where'd you go?"
"Oh, Nepgear, perfect timing. I think I messed up somewhere."
"Who's this? Is she a new friend?"
"Friend? Yeah, that's funny. I've never met her, and she dragged me here, away from my own world and everything I know, and I'm her friend!? I don't know or care who you are, Neptune, but I'd rather you leave me alone. Got it?"
Great. Now I'm cutting my only link to getting to know this world. "Look. I'm sorry, but this just doesn't happen. You just pull me into this world with no warning, and I'm supposed to accept that at face value? Where I'm from, things like this don't happen. Magic isn't a thing, we don't have parks that look this nice, and a CPU is not a girl just a few inches shorter than me. She said your name is Nepgear, right? I guess it's nice to meet you," I tell her politely, trying to calm myself.
"We all used a spell to bring her here," Neptune explains to the new arrival. They're almost a dead ringer for each other! Minus the hair length, of course. Sisters?
"Sis! What do you think Histoire will do when she finds out!?" Nepgear asks, panicked.
"Nep Jr., we both know Histy knows everything that happens in our Basilicom. Besides, we all asked her if we could this, so it's all good."
"Jr.? You're the older sister, Neptune?" I blurt out.
"And once again, it's the mistake of thinking Nep Jr. is older than me. Well, not like it can be helped. She's a new face to the series, so it can't be helped."
"Neptune, please stop using meta. She's getting confused. Sis, why not go back? I'll take care of her for a while."
"Alright, but be careful, Nep Jr."
"I'm not going to attack your sister. But she is pretty cute," I tease.
"No! My Nep Jr."
"Please don't fight, you two."
"Sorry. Couldn't help it. I'll see you later, Nep Jr."
After she leaves, I comment, "Your sister's nice, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she is. But she can be hard to deal with. She's pretty impulsive, and she doesn't really listen to others."
"I've noticed. And she's supposed to lead this nation? How has it managed so far?"
"Well, she's had some help."
"Help? Like you?"
"It's not just me."
"Huh? Gear, what are you doing out here?" I hear someone behind me ask. Turning, I see a girl riding a green motorbike, wearing a three-sizes too large blue jacket. I want to laugh at the sight, but I keep my silence.
"Oh, IF. I thought you were on a quest. What happened?"
"Well, the client exaggerated a few details, and it wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. So I finished it, and was just going to check on Nep. Who's this?"
"I'm a victim of circumstance," I answer her vaguely.
"Actually, now I think about it, I don't know your name," Nepgear tells me. "You haven't said much since you arrived."
"I haven't had to say much, thankfully. Talking to people really isn't my forté. But it won't do me any good to be a nameless stranger forever. I'm Mavis. Neptune said something about using a spell to drag me here."
"Here? As in Planeptune? Where are you originally from?"
"Not from here, I can tell you that. She made it sound like this is a different dimension."
"You actually seem to be taking it rather well," Nepgear says to my narration.
"What, you've never heard of the Multiverse theorem? I've always believed that there are worlds rather than my own. But my own world is pretty boring, not to mention that we don't have anything resembling magic. It's fiction to us."
"Then why'd you freak out earlier?"
"Because, if I ever wanted to go back to my world, I can't. Plus, like I just said, magic is fiction."
"Then how'd you get by?"
"I'll start with the fact that my world pretty much sucks . My issue is that, right now, all my stuff is still back in that huge building I stormed out of."
"That's Planeptune's Basilicom, and I was heading there now," IF tells me. "Wanna go together? Gear, you coming, too?"
"No, I actually have something else to do here. Sorry."
"Okay. So let's go."
"Alright," I say, though I'm curious what's occupying Nepgear. But I doubt she'd just tell me outright if I asked. "Hey, IF, do you know what she's doing waiting there?"
"Honestly, no, and I really don't care. It's none of my business."
Before we get too far, I turn back to her, waving at someone. I can't tell who, before a girl with long, black twintails runs up to her. She looks like she's apologizing, but I can't tell.
"Again? Just once, you'd think she'd go over there," IF comments, looking at the sight, too. "That's Uni. You could say they're best friends, but Uni's too immature to say it."
"Are they on a date?" I ask.
"Nah, Nepgear doesn't see it like that. It's not that she doesn't like Uni, but I don't think she knows just how bad Uni has it for her."
"Oh, she's clueless," I sum up bluntly.
"I think "oblivious" works better, but that's about it. The problem is, everyone knows about it."
"Seriously? Everyone? Is she really that bad?"
"Oh, yeah. Spend even a few minutes with them, and it almost becomes embarrassing to watch."
"Like something for late-night TV."
"Yeah, but you can't stage this. So if you were at the Basilicom earlier, you saw all four of them, right?"
"You mean those three girls with Neptune?"
"Yep. All of them are CPUs of their own nations, and she's the younger sister of another CPU."
"Okay, so if I traveled to the other nations, I'd meet them?"
"Well, it's not exactly that easy. The Basilicom is meant for use by the CPU, CPU Candidate, and various Basilicom staff, except Planeptune has one exception."
"You?"
"No, I'm a Guild intelligence agent, so it's normal. So, Mavis, while I have you here, what's your impression of Planeptune so far?"
"I don't know; it seems nice here. I am honestly liking the laid-back atmosphere. But Neptune is a little too eccentric for me."
"Yeah, that's Nep for you. I had a hard time dealing with her when I first met her. But she's actually pretty nice, once you get past her teasing."
"Iffy!" someone calls.
"Compa, what's up? You off for today? Mavis, this is Compa, and she's a…how do I put it?" she trails off. She looks like she's blushing a little.
Compa looks a bit like a peach, but that's mostly the color of her clothes. A very cute peach, I admit. She would look really good as a dakimakura.
"Nice to meet you, Compa," I say, offering a small smile. "I just got here in Planeptune."
"Oh, I see. Iffy, did Nep-Nep do something again?"
"Used magic to bring her here from another dimension."
"Hey, don't just say it like that! She wouldn't believe it."
"Don't worry. We're used to Nep-Nep."
"Is dimensional travel nothing new?" I ask, now confused at Compa's lack of reaction.
"Pretty much. Compa and I have done enough jumping for a while."
So they're used to things like this, but I doubt that pulling someone from another dimension is something they do often.
"We were just going to see Nep. Coming?"
"Sure!"
"You guys seem to know Neptune well."
"It's not a big deal," IF responds.
"Yeah, we've known Nep-Nep for years. We've done so much together."
I don't know why I didn't notice it before. That's a lot of cell phones. Does she really need that many?
"Hey, IF, what's with all the phones?"
"Most of them are for my work. I travel all over Gamindustri, handling quests whenever I can."
"Whenever you can? What do you mean?"
"When I'm not babysitting Nep."
"Right. What about you, Compa? What do you do?"
"I'm a nurse here in Planeptune. When I'm not working, I usually stay with Nep-Nep."
"Makes sense."
"Trust me, you get used to things here. Once you learn to accept the crazy, Gamindustri isn't so bad. Right, Compa?"
"Yeah, but be careful about dimensions."
"I hope I never have to deal with it."
"You should be fine. The only people who get caught up in her mess are those aren't prepared for it. Hey, Histoire, we're back!"
"Welcome back, IF, Compa. And you must be the one Neptune brought over here."
I'm greeted by a…fairy? She looks like one.
"Not used to Histoire? Yeah, your reaction is normal. But you haven't seen Umio yet. Histoire's an artificial being created by the first CPU. Where are Uzume and the other Nep?"
"I believe she said she was going to visit Lowee for a while. But that was three days ago."
"Lowee?" I ask before cracking up in laughter.
"Did I say something?"
"No, no, it's not you. Just the name brought something to mind from my own dimension, that's all."
"Oh, you're back," I hear Neptune say behind us. "Hey Iffy, Compa."
Better late than never. "Hey, Neptune? I want to apologize for what I said back in the park."
"It's fine. Honestly, I'm used to it. You should have seen Noire in Ultradimension when I first met her."
"Didn't she threaten to scramble your brains even more, Nep?"
"This reunion is well and good, but what do we do with her?" Histoire interrupts, pointing at me. "You brought her here, Neptune."
"Well, we have that guest room in the Basilicom, right?"
"Yes, but that's also in use by Uzume and Neptune."
"She can stay with us," Compa says abruptly. "It's not a problem, right, Iffy?"
"It's so much a problem as it is sudden."
"IF is right. This is very out of the blue, and I'm she would like to consider other…"
"I'll do it. It's no big deal. If someone else is using that room, I'd hate to be a bother. But what do you mean when you say Neptune's using it?"
"That, yes. Well, we have the Neptune you see here, from this dimension, and we also have a Neptune from a different dimension."
"Got it. But how did she get here? Did you drag her here? Thought it'd be fun with two of you around?"
"No, but I wish I'd thought of it. She's got this wack notebook that lets her travel to another dimension whenever she wants."
"Again, can we stay on a single topic, please? I'm afraid we didn't get your name."
"Yeah, sorry. I'm just kind of letting the talk go around me. I'm Mavis. Not sure what you'd call my home. Earth, maybe?"
"Odd name," IF comments.
"Oh, and 'Hyperdimension' isn't? I'm sorry for intruding on you like this, Compa."
"It's fine. It'll be nice to have someone else around. Right, Iffy?"
"The only problem will be moving all of your belongings from here to there, I'm afraid. It may take a while."
…
"Well, that took a while, even with Nep.
"Are you sure you don't mind me staying with you, IF? I know Compa said it, but I want to ask you, too."
"It's fine by me."
"Why do the two of you live together?"
"It was something Nep did a while ago. Compa and I have, for better or worse, known Nep for years. She thought it'd be fun to have us live together, so she pulled some strings. And here we are."
"Okay."
"Why all the questions?"
"Well, I'm new here, right? I need to figure out how this world works."
"Yeah, that makes sense. I think you'll like Gamindustri. But you should be careful. Each of our CPUs is…odd."
"How so?"
"Nep told me she'd introduce you to them."
"What am I, a carnival attraction?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll fill you in so you're not surprised. Noire's a busybody, always pushing herself for the sake of her nation. She also has a bit of a hard time telling people how she really feels."
"She has no friends," Neptune adds behind me. "Well, except for me."
"Careful, Nep. I don't think K-Sha would like hearing that."
"It's fine. She's not here now, is she?"
"Moving on, before I'm tempted to pound Nep's face in. Blanc's the CPU of Lowee, and she always does things the old-fashioned way. She even settles arguments that way. If someone's annoying her, she'd just smash them with a hammer."
"Hey, when all you have is a hammer, right?"
"One way to look at it. She's also a massive bookworm, and is an amateur novelist."
"Yeah, emphasis on 'amateur.'"
"Come on, Nep. Just be careful if you visit Lowee."
"Why? Is it a bad country?"
"Not at all. It's just cold. Nep decided to be unreasonable and expect it to change overnight."
"A Nep can hope, right? But seriously, Maze, Lowee's dangerous for newcomers."
"Nep, be serious."
"I am. If Ram hooks her claws into you, it's all over."
"Right, that. Blanc has two younger sisters, unlike Noire and Nep. They're a handful, but it's not that bad."
"Can we backtrack for a second? Neptune, did you just call me 'Maze?'"
"Yeah! Cute, isn't it?"
It's not like her nickname really bothers me. When I was a kid, I had some of my classmates ask if I was a boy, my name was odd to them. The problem is, "Mavis" and "Maze" don't exactly match. Sure, they're similar, but…Ah, who cares?
"I guess it's alright."
"Yay! Now you're part of the family!"
"Hey, Compa. When did you get back?"
"Right as Iffy got to Lowee. Could I get your help with this? I kind of bought of a lot."
"Wait. What are we doing?"
"We're having your welcome party back at the Basilicom. I forgot to tell you. Sorry."
"You're impossible, Nep. Give us a little warning when you do this."
"But it's always fun to see your reaction, Iffy."
They almost seem like a family. I can't help laughing at them.
"Is something about this funny, Mavis? You know she's saying we have to go all the way back to the Basilicom. With all of this," she elaborates by pointing at the rather absurd collection of bags stuffed with food, drinks, and other miscellaneous. How much can she carry?
"I didn't mean to laugh. I just haven't had this much fun in a while. I don't get outside much, and I don't have a whole lot of friends; none that I see on a daily basis, anyway. So it's just fun to watch you guys."
It's not a lie. I couldn't just go off and see my friends. They went to a different school than me. And besides, I didn't know where they lived.
I think my words had the wrong impression; the others look at me, unreadable emotions on their faces. I know what they're thinking, and in that instant, I'm tempted to grab a knife from the kitchen and butcher all of them. Without a word, I grab about ¾ of the bags Compa brought, more than one human is capable of carrying, and storm off silently.
One thing I never wanted was for people to pity me. Help? I can accept that. Sympathy? Sure. But pity? If you're not going to try to help me, then move aside.
"Mavis? What are you doing with all that?"
"Nepgear, hey. Thought you were with your friend."
"She went back home. Why are you carrying all that? It looks heavy."
"Well, we do weird things when we're upset. Maybe I'll tell you later. I'm just not in the best mood right now."
"Still, do you mind if I help? I don't think you can carry that much longer."
She's right. I was able to ignore it for a bit, but now my arms are screaming with the effort. I graciously accept her help and hand her a few bags.
"So, Nepgear, when we left you, who was that girl who was running up to you?"
"That was Uni, and she's one of my best friends. But I don't know if she likes me that much."
"I don't know. If she's one of your friends, don't take that for granted. She seemed apologetic when she got there. Yeah, sorry, I turned and watched for a few seconds. But I wouldn't worry."
"Right. I'm just afraid that she might not like me at all."
"Nepgear, you're the first person here that I can actually describe as 'decent.' IF counts too, but I met you first. You're fine. Have some faith in yourself. Don't tell me. You get lumped in as a supporting character, don't you?"
"What the goodness? How could you know?"
"'Cause I thought that way once myself. Until I learned something. We all have our own lives. Don't get bogged down in someone else's story. It also doesn't hurt to be a little bit selfish, if you have to. Stand up for yourself. Or is that just not in your character type?"
"Hey, there she is. Maze!" Neptune calls behind me. "Where'd you go?"
"I'd rather not answer. I just bumped into Nepgear here. We were on our way back to the Basilicom. Are you coming or not?" I take off running. I'm faster than I look. I did a lot of sports in school, even did some gymnastics, though that part was hard to do. As in, it was hard to find a place offering gymnastics.
"Hey, wait up! Maze!"
"No way. You'll have to catch me. Come on, I'm carrying all this stuff, it should be easy for you."
"Uh, Mavis, big mistake challenging my sister. She's really competitive, and…"
"Then hold onto these for me. Neptune, race you to the Basilicom?"
"All right, you're on. Just don't whine when you lose."
"Neptune, are you sure?"
Before she could get an answer, we were gone. The two of us take off running through the streets. For the first time since getting here, I'm actually smiling for something other than a joke. Maybe it was my spirit of competition. I don't really know, but this is my new life now. My world will be fine without me.
We're at the Basilicom in maybe five minutes. I can't remember the last time I ever tried so hard to win a race that wasn't Mario Kart. "That was kind of fun. Geez, Neptune, you're quick."
"My SPD stat is the highest of the four of us," she boasts.
"How can you tell? Some invention gives each of you your individual parameters?"
"Yeah. Nep Jr. made it."
"I was right? I didn't know Nepgear was good at tech."
"Hey, you two, don't just go running off," IF calls, catching up to us, Compa and Nepgear dragging along, carrying everything. "What were you thinking, challenging Neptune? She can't resist a challenge."
"Oh, come on, Iffy. It's all good."
"And what about all this stuff you left behind?"
"Okay, that was my fault. I couldn't help it."
"Well, all that's done. So let's head up and party!"
"But you-"
We aren't listening to her. Neptune's positive spirit is infectious; even IF stopped complaining, though she still looked a bit sour.
When we're all sitting around the table, Neptune raises her glass and says, "I want to welcome Maze to Gamindustri, who wouldn't be here if it weren't for my genius idea."
"Your 'genius idea' remains to be seen. And if this is proper, please use my real name."
"Whatever. Let's party."
My wishes go unheard. Picking up on my frustration, Nepgear says to me, "Sis always refuses to listen to others."
"I've noticed. I'm the same myself, actually."
Our party carries on into the morning hours. None of us could keep up with Neptune. She was nearly bouncing off the walls the whole time. What did they give her? I got my answer soon.
"This is my fault," Nepgear confesses. "I stopped by Neptune's favorite pudding shop, saying they were advertising a new one. I thought Neptune would want it, so I bought it for her. I didn't know it was spiked with caffeine."
"What, is she sensitive?"
"No, but she's trying to act out like they do in the movies. You know, where the hyper character gets an extra dose?"
"Oh, that explains it."
About an hour later, she was passed out. I offered to help Neptune to her bed, but Nepgear insisted. For that night only, IF, Compa, and I all slept in the Basilicom, tired, but satisfied. Maybe it'll be fun here after all.
So, yeah. This one was rushed. The biggest error with this is that I made a reference to Cave's special from Re;birth3, but but she doesn't know who that is, so I had to live with that. I didn't plan a thing, but I'm still proud of it; mostly in that I was able to finish it at all. I also re-wrote the first chapter, and it is wildly different from this one. I'll post it, too, just for posterity's sake. Still, I hope you enjoy reading about Mavis's exploits. Let me know what you want to see.