(A/N: This story will not follow the Anime canon)
It was a perfectly normal day in Planeptune. Neptune was goofing off, Nepgear was doing everything that her sister asked her to do without question, and Histoire was close to having a migraine from the lack of work that was getting done.
Yup, perfectly perfectly normal.
The Planeptune CPU was currently playing an online tournament, while her loyal sister was making her some delicious milk pudding. Histoire just sat in the corner, a sullen look on her face. Much as she loved the two of them, and she really did, this behavior got on her very few remaining nerves. Histoire sometimes questioned how Planeptune was still the thriving metropolis that it was. She supposed she shouldn't though, heaven forbid the day Planeptune actually falls. She could already imagine worst case scenarios. Neptune running herself ragged, Nepgear in a coma, Shares at an all time low, marrying another CPU to help support her country, only to fall in love with her later on...
No, that would never happen. As lazy as Neptune was, Histoire knew she would never let Planeptune fall that low. And for that she was grateful. NOW however, she just wanted Neptune to get some work done.
Nepgear whistled merrily to herself while she stirred the pudding ingredients in the bowl. She knew just how her sister liked it, not too much, but not too little either. While she was making the milk pudding, Nepgear suddenly felt really hot. Did someone turn up the temperature? Unlikely, Neptune always preferred it cold (though her attire says otherwise). Needless to say, Nepgear felt sweat pouring down her body like no tomorrow. Setting the almost finished pudding down, Nepgear turned to her Oracle.
"Histoire, did you change the temperature at all?" Nepgear asked while tugging her collar.
"No one touched the thermostat. Why do you ask?"
"I feel...really hot..." Nepgear wiped the alarming amount of sweat dripping from her forehead to prove her point. Histoire raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps you need to lie down..."
"Nep Jr! Is my pudding ready yet?!" Neptune asked from the living room.
"Oh yes, almost done Neptune!" Unfortunately, at that point, Nepgear felt a really nasty headache approaching. Her head pounded against her skull like a jackhammer. Nepgear rubbed her temples in a vain attempt to make the headache stop. Histoire floated over in worry.
"Nepgear, are you alright?"
"Head...hurts..." Nepgear groaned. She couldn't even form proper sentences it !hurt so bad.
"You need to lie down, you might be coming down with something" Histoire sounded like a worried mother as she helped Nepgear out of the kitchen.
"Yeah...you're...right..." Nepgear was feeling worse by the second, and now found it hard to even BREATH properly. What was going on?! Was she really sick?!
Neptune saw the duo leave the kitchen, and would've complained about the lack of pudding, had she not seen Nepgear's current condition. She was sweating buckets, her hand was on her chest, and Histoire was looking worried. That couldn't be good.
"Are you Ok Nep Jr?" Neptune dashed to her sisters side, and felt her head. It was burning hot and covered in sweat. Definitely not a good sign.
"I-I-" Nepgear found it incredibly difficult to breath, and thus couldn't answer her sister properly.
"Junior?" It was at that point that Nepgear collapsed in front of them "JUNIOR!"
-O-
Neptune had changed Nepgear into some comfortable looking pajamas and layed her down on her bed, tucking her in. She was sweating like crazy, her skin was pale and she was breathing funny. Neptune placed a wet rag on her little sisters forehead, all while sitting besides the bed, a worried expression on her face.
"How is she, Histy?"
"She's still burning up, and the amount of sweat she's releasing is...alarming." Nepgear's pajamas were nearly soaked by the amount of sweat coming from her body. Not even a Goddess should be sweating this much. "But I do know what she has"
"Well? Don't leave me in suspense! What is it?!"
"It's something that I have seen before. Bad End Syndrome"
"Bad End Syndrome?" Neptune never heard of that before.
"Yes. It is a disease that makes whoever catches it see constant Bad Ends until they are cured. I do not know what or where this cure is unfortunately." Histoire seemed disappointed in herself because of that. She WAS a tome after all. "All I DO know is that it is in the Ultradimension."
Neptune's mouth formed an "o" Looks like she was gonna pay Plutie a visit.
"I believe it is vital that you get the cure as soon as possible. This appears to be a very severe case. I have never seen one this bad before." Nepgear looked like she was on the verge of DEATH for crying out loud. Not even patients in hospitals looked this bad!
"Hang on, I have to tell the others!" Neptune jumped on her computer and sent video chat requests to Noire, Blanc, and Vert respectively.
Histoire: T_T
(Lastation)
Noire was working on...work. Her pen clashed furiously against paper, though she had barely scratched the surface. If she was lucky, she could have all of this done and be back on her normal schedule by the end of the week.
Or at least she would, had her computer not beeped. Noire grumbled.
"What is this? Video Chat? Neptune? What could SHE want?!" Noire was about to decline, unfortunately, her curiosity got the better of her, and she clicked accept. It's not like she WANTED to talk with Neptune or anything! She was just curious! R-Really!
"This better be good."
(Lowee)
Blanc was in the middle of her best piece yet. This was it. The fan fiction that will trump over all fan fictions.
Siblings will be Blanc's most successful story ever. She was sure of it. She worked freaking hard on this, and while she wasn't very proud of it, she knew it would be successful. She started typing the summary
"It's a known fact that Rom and Ram love their big sister, Blanc. But what happens when it goes beyond sisterly love? After near-death experiences, Rom and Ram begin to harbor feelings toward their older sister. But what will happen when Blanc finds out about this?"
Yeah, Blanc DEFINITELY wasn't proud of this one.
Just before Blanc was going to publish it and show all of Gamindustri her masterpiece, her computer beeped. Raising an eyebrow, Blanc clicked.
"Neptune wants to Video Chat? Hmm..." Neptune rarely did this. She was curious with what Neptune wanted to talk about. Unless she would be herself, then she would smash her with her hammer through the screen. Blanc didn't care if she had to defy molecular physics to do it, she would DO IT. Blanc clicked accept.
"This better be good."
(Leanbox)
Vert was busy grinding in 4 Goddesses Online. Her eyes solely fixated on the screen, not missing a single line of the log. She occasionally took a sip of her tea that Chika had graciously brought in. She had been bothering her a little to do something with her, but Vert was just not in the mood for that right now.
She was preparing for the hardest boss in the game. Until her computer beeped that is. Vert clicked.
"My, it seems Neptune wants to Video Chat. Very well." Vert wholeheartedly clicked accept, wondering what Neptune wanted to talk about.
"This better be good."
(Planeptune)
"Wow, that was easy" Neptune was honestly surprised that the others actually accepted her requests. She at least expected Noire to decline, being the Tsundere that she was, but she was shocked to see all 3 of them pop up in little windows on her computer screen.
"Just tell us why you called." Noire droned.
"I was in the middle of my greatest work yet (The 3 had to keep themselves from snorting) so this better be important." Blanc said.
"Well this IS important! Nep Jr has come down with a FIERCE case of Bad End Syndrome! She's sweating buckets, paler than a vampire, breathing funny, AND has a temperature hotter than the sun!"
"...I'm on my way."
"Wait Vert, I didn't-" Vert had already closed the window, and would most likely be in Planeptune in less than a minute. "Well then"
"Well, if Vert's coming, I'll go as well. I'll bring Rom and Ram with me" Blanc closed out the window, and Neptune looked towards Noire.
"W-Well I guess I'll come too, b-but only because the others are coming! I-It's not like I WANT to see you or anything!" Noire furiously closed out the window, and Neptune just grinned.
"Oh Noire, you're so Tsundere"
-A Few Minutes Later-
Naturally, Vert was the first to arrive. She probably would've smashed through the window if Neptune hadn't frantically opened it in time. Vert had quickly gone to Nepgear's side and, after comically shoving Neptune to the side, took a firm grasp of the girls hand. Neptune gave Vert a pout, before sighing and sitting on the opposite side of the bed.
"Poor thing, she looks so miserable..." Vert placed her hand on Nepgear's forehead, and felt the heat through her gloves, which were now covered in sweat. She wouldn't be leaving Nepgear's side anytime soon, not until she was better.
Blanc arrived next, with Rom and Ram right behind her. Rom, being the adorable one, had been worrying about Nepgear the whole trip.
"N-Nepgear..." Rom knelt by Nepgear's bed, worry more than apparent in her tone and facial expressions.
Ram however, was doing her best not to look like Rom, and she looked more annoyed than anything. Though it would probably be impossible NOT to notice the worried glances every now and then.
Noire was the last to arrive, with Uni in tow. Although she probably would never admit this, Uni had been worrying sick about Nepgear as soon as the news reached her. Right now though, she had to keep a dignified appearance like her sister was doing.
"..." Or try to anyway, with the way she was lingering around Nepgear's bed. And she also may have been SLIGHTLY jealous of the fact that Vert had a hold of Nepgear's hand, but just slightly.
"Now that everyone's here, can we PLEASE work on getting the cure?" Histoire had been waiting patiently in the sidelines. Now with everyone present and accounted for, Histoire saw no reason to prolong the process anymore.
"Oh right, that." Neptune had gotten so caught up in everything that she almost forgot what she was supposed to do in the first place. "It's in Plutie's dimension right?"
Histoire nodded "Correct."
"Well, I have NO idea where to look..." Histoire face palmed "...but I'm sure Plutie knows where and what it is! Maybe..."
"Why'd you say that last part REALLY quietly?" Blanc spoke for pretty much everyone, but Neptune was already leaving.
"Everyone, keep an eye on Nep Jr. for me, I'm going to the Ultradimension!" With that said, Neptune lept out the window, transformed, and flew off.
The others however, were a little worried on how well Neptune's quest would go.
(Ultra Planeptune)
Neptune had let herself in, quickly looking around for any signs of Plutia. Unfortunately, she only managed to find the Ultra Histoire, or as Neptune liked to call her, Mini Histy.
"Why hello Neptune, what brings you here?" Histoire asked politely.
"Hiya Mini Histy! Uh, where's Plutie?" Neptune asked while checking everything.
"She's sleeping...in her room" Immediately after Mini-Histy said that, Neptune dashed into Plutia's room and found her sleeping peacefully and comfortably in her bed. Unfortunately for Plutia, Neptune cannonballed on top of her and shook her violently.
"PLUTIE, WAKE UP! I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU!" Neptune yelled as she tried to wake her sleeping friend.
"Oh my, Neptune PLEASE don't do that!" Histoire said with worry.
Neptune stopped shaking Plutia, and saw her now awoken friend with her eyes going slot machine.
"Oh, sorry Plutie" Neptune let Plutia collect herself from...whatever the heck just happened.
"Oh...Hi Neppy" Plutia said lazily "What're you doing here?..."
"Plutie, I need your help! Nep Jr has come down with a TERRIBLE case of Bad End Syndrome!"
"Bad End Syndrome?..." Plutia pondered.
"Exactly! Now I need YOU to help me find it! Do you know where or what it is?" Neptune asked hopefully
"Umm..." Plutia's just tilted her head to one side "Sorry Neppy, I never heard of Bad End Syndrome before, sooo I don't know where or what it is."
Neptune's face could've fallen to the floor with how disappointed she looked.
"Well, perhaps I can be of assistance. I know exactly what you are looking for." Mini-Histy's words made Neptune perk up instantly.
"You DO?!"
"Yes. What you are looking for is a special remedy flower called The Walkthrough Flower. It is located in The Cursed Hell Devil Death Bloody Spectral Tower."
"Oh...crap." That sounded like something totally evil, like a final level before the final boss.
"It has 10,000 floors, with a swarm of enemies on each floor. It may take you the entire day to get up there, if you're lucky."
"Oh...CRAP."
"You cannot transform into your Goddess Forms while there, so you must rely on your human forms throughout."
"OH...CRAP"
"This is a trip that only the bravest warriors would even THINK to consider. Many have tried, all have fallen."
Neptune: O_O
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"It's for Nep Jr's sake, so I kinda have too" Sighing, Neptune got up from Plutia's bed "Plutie, you're coming with me, I need help."
"Ok..." Plutia reluctantly got to her feet, and followed Neptune.
"Good luck. You will certainly need it"
Neptune nodded, and she and Plutia left the room and started their journey to the The Cursed Hell Devil Death Bloody Spectral Tower.
(Regular Planeptune)
The others were waiting patiently for Neptune to get back, though their faith that Neptune would actually be successful in her mission was...slim, to say the least. It fact, a few of them were ready to take over if Neptune failed (mostly Vert and Uni).
Speaking of, Vert was still on Nepgear's right, while Uni had taken over Neptune's spot on the left. Uni had considered taking hold of Nepgear's free hand, but she thought it would look embarrassing. Especially in front of Noire.
"Mmm" It was at that point when Nepgear started mumbling, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "...all my fault..." Nepgear turned to her side, a disturbed look on her face.
"Histoire, what's going on?" Vert asked, a little concerned with how Nepgear's first words were "all my fault"
"It seems she is starting to have a dream about a Bad End. I do not know what she is dreaming about. We can only guess through her mumbles..."
The others looked back at Nepgear, who was fidgeting a little.
"Well, it can't be THAT bad, right?" Noire asked.
"Don't...want to...kill..." Nepgear mumbled again.
Everyone's eyes bulged.
(Outside of The Cursed Hell Devil Death Bloody Spectral Tower)
"Well, here we are..." Neptune droned. The tower was so tall that you couldn't even see the top. It looked like Planeptune's Basilicom on steroids from Hell. This was going to kill her legs, resurrect them, and kill them again. Even being AROUND the thing rendered them unable to transform. This was when both of them flew towards it in their HDD forms, only to immediately cancel out as soon as they got near it and crash to the ground below.
"All of this to protect a flower? This is one hardcore gardener..." Plutia mused.
Had the situation not been so dire, Neptune would've certainly laughed at that. The only thing she could manage was a small smile.
"Are we going to go in Neppy?" Plutia asked.
"We have no choice Plutie. We made it this far, we can't back down now."
"I'm scared..." Plutia gripped Neptune's hand firmly, her own hand shaking in fear.
"I'm scared too, but for the sake of Nep Jr getting better, we HAVE to do this!"
"Ok..." Plutia didn't let go of Neptune's hand, and the 2 traversed into the Cursed Hell-y'know what? Screw it. She's just gonna call it "The Hellish Cursed Neptral Tower"
(Planeptune)
Everyone in the room was taken back by Nepgears words. She had a disturbed and slightly terrified look on her face as she fidgeted in her bed.
"What...did she just say?" Blanc asked. They heard wrong, they definitely heard wrong. They definitely with all the positivity there was in the Universe heard wrong. But Vert disproved that with her next sentence.
"Something about not wanting to kill. What could she possibly be dreaming about?" Vert answered/asked.
As if to answer her question, Nepgear started mumbling again.
"Noire...no...Noire...let go of the...sword..."
All eyes trained on Noire, who was shocked more than anything. She was in Nepgear's dream? Why was there a sword involved? And why was she trying to take it away from Nepgear?!
Nepgear let out a horrified gasp, and concerned gaze's went back to the Candidate.
"Noire...why did you...stab yourself...?"
Noire let out an audible choking noise. Was she...dead? Why did she stab HERSELF?! She needed answers dammit!
"Uni...Uni please...don't be mad..." Nepgear looked upset as she squeezed whatever her hand was on, which was Vert's own hand. The CPU didn't know whether to feel happy over Nepgears display of affection, or worried over the poor girls current state. She settled for being worried.
Now all eyes were on Uni, who was frozen in shock. Now SHE was in her dream? From the looks of it, she could be mad at her. Which was reasonable, since she was partly responsible for Noire's apparent death.
"No...Uni I...I don't want to kill you..." Nepgear's grip on Verts hand tightened, a saddened look taking over her face.
Uni choked. Was SHE gonna die now?!
A few seconds of silence, then...
"I'm sorry Uni..." Nepgear let out a pained gasp, and...wait, was she crying? She was actually crying!
"Oh my..." Vert, and nobody else for that matter, knew how to respond to that. It was clear that the gasps meant that someone had died, but the very thought that Nepgear, NEPGEAR, would have this kind of dream in the first place was horrifying!
"Kei...I-I..." Now KEI was there?! Was Nepgear going to kill her too?!
"I-I'll leave. I'm so...sorry..." Noire and Uni had to keep themselves from sighing. It seemed their Oracle was being sparred. Though they were sure that Kei's reaction to their murders would be...unpleasant. Not even she could stay composed after that.
"I'm going to call Neptune to see how well she's progressing" Trying her best not to focus on the situation, Histoire instead tried to focus on searching for Neptune's location. Eventually, she projected a holographic window to show what was happening right now.
What they saw was...chaotic.
They saw Neptune, a little bruised and scarred, Plutia, also a little bruised, hitting things things with her doll, and monsters flying everywhere.
"Oh hey Histy!" Neptune greeted her Oracle after finally noticing the projection. "Plutie, say hi to Histy!"
"Hi Big Hist-OOF!" Unfortunately, Plutia was blindsided by a flying monster, and was knocked off screen, followed by a rather loud crash.
"I'm Ok..." Plutia assured.
Everyone in the room sweat dropped at the scene of utter mayhem in front of them.
"As you can see, we're kinda busy." Neptune grinned and scratched the back of her head.
"What the hell is going on?!" Blanc asked.
"Well, Mini-Histy told me that the only way to cure Nep Jr is to get this remedy flower thingy in this super evil tower we're in right now" Neptune kicked a monster in the stomach, and sliced it's head off in a totally not graphic way.
"So, have you found it yet?" Noire asked.
"Not even CLOSE. That baby is located on the 10,000th floor, and we're still in the dozens!" Neptune roundhouse kicked another monster off screen "Mini-Histy said we'll be lucky if we get to the top of the floor by the end of the DAY."
"T-T-Ten THOUSAND f-floors?!" Histoire looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack, but Neptune just nodded.
"Yeppers. Each one is jam packed with a room full of monsters, like right now! They're like, REALLY tough. Mini-Histy even said that everyone who came here died!"
Thankfully Histoire kept a paper bag with her at all times, as she took quick and panicked breathes into it in an effort to calm herself down.
"Why didn't you just transform and fly to the top?" Vert asked.
"Don't you think I woulda done that by now?! This tower wont let me and Plutie transform, so we're doing this the old fashioned way!" Neptune struck a monster right in its chest, and kicked it to the side. "I MIGHT be home by the end of the day, take of care of Junior until then. I don't wan-OH CRAP!" A flying monster hit Neptune from the side, causing her to hit the projection and knock the feed out.
Everyone just stood there, speechless. Seriously, what can you add after seeing THAT?
Unfortunately(?), their thoughts on the predicament were silenced by another round of Nepgears mumbling.
"Rom...Ram...I'm sorry..." Now Rom and Ram were in there?! And with the way Nepgear's dream was going, chances were they were going to die too! Nepgear had a look of sadness that the others didn't think was even possible for a girl like her to make.
"Blanc...no, I can't...do it..." Blanc's eyes widened at the mention of her name, though she shouldn't be that surprised. Rom and Ram were there after all, most likely trying to stop...whatever the hell Nepgear was doing. But it sounded like they would be sparred...
"Neptune...no...please don't..." Or so she thought. It appeared that Neptune was in this dream as well, not only that, but she was helping Nepgear kill them! What the hell?! What did they do wrong?! Was this pent up anger from all the crap they put the 2 of them through over the years? Cause they would stop, seriously! But then why was Nepgear apologizing and crying? Gah! It didn't make sense!
Another pained gasp, which most likely meant that Blanc was killed, which meant...
"Rom...Ram...I'm so sorry..." Nepgear apologized. Tears trickled down her cheeks, her grip on Vert's hand tightening even more.
There were 2 pained gasps this time, signaling Rom and Ram's deaths, followed by Nepgear crying even more. Vert bit her lip at the scene in front of her. She wanted to hug Nepgear and never let her go, but she had to wait. Neptune had been gone for hours.
"M-Mina..." Uh oh, that was bad. They knew Mina's reaction would be far from pleasant. Nobody liked an angry Mina, and Rom and Ram were more than enough witnesses to testify that.
"I-I'm not...m-maybe I am a...monster"
Rom and Ram looked at Blanc, who just froze in shock. She certainly never heard Mina say THAT before, and to NEPGEAR just made it a little surreal. She was actually a bit mad at Mina for saying that, even though she didn't actually say it yet.
"I'm sorry...I'm s-so sorry..." It seemed Mina was spared from death as well. Nepgear however, had a look that could only be described as suffering. It was...unsettling.
"Neptune, please hurry" Blanc mumbled, and everyone found themselves wishing the same.
(The Hellish Cursed Neptral Tower)
The waves of enemies had finally been taken care of. Neptune and Plutia were in the hundreds in terms of floors, so they were slowly making progress. Unfortunately, it was doing absolute hell to their stamina, and it showed.
"Neppy...I'm so...tired..." Plutia, bruised and beaten, looked like she was on the verge of collapsing right then and there. Neptune wasn't doing any better, but she knew that she couldn't fail now. They NEEDED that remedy flower! Nep Jr's very health depended on them!
"I'm tired too Plutie, but we can't stop now! That flower is the only thing that can wake Nep Jr up!"
"I'm tired...and hungry..." Plutia whined, her stomach growling for further emphasis
"You can sleep as long as you want and eat all the food you want AFTER we conquer this tower! So man up Plutie!"
"B-But I'm not-"
"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"
(Planeptune)
The others just stood there, silence overtaking the entire room. It felt like Neptune had been gone for years instead of just hours. Nepgear was looking worse than ever, but she hadn't said anything yet. For now at least. Most of them were still trying to piece together what this dream WAS. All they knew was that Neptune and Nepgear were killing them with a sword, but they still didn't know why. The only one who wasn't thinking about that topic was Vert, who was more concerned about Nepgear herself than anything. Her fever hadn't gone down in the slightest, her breathing had become more hitched and forced, and she was sweating so bad that the BLANKET was starting to get wet.
Needless to say, Vert was worried.
"No..." Nepgear started mumbling again, and everyone turned their attention back to the sleeping girl.
"I've...already stained my hands with...the blood of...5 CPU's..." Nepgear had yet another disturbed look on her face. She gripped Vert's hand as tightly as she could manage.
That was a sentence nobody ever thought would come out of Nepgear's mouth.
Nepgear started fidgeting again, and for the last couple of minutes, it was just that. Until...
"Vert..." Vert's head poked up at the mention of her own name. All the others had appeared and tragically died before her, so was Nepgear saving her for last?
"Vert...no...Vert please...don't die..." Tears once again ran down Nepgear's face, her grip on Vert's hand tightening so much that it was actually starting to hurt.
Speaking of, Vert was caught off guard by Nepgear's words. Was Nepgear...actually trying to save her life? But wasn't she the one who struck her with the blade in the first place? Or maybe...Nepgear actually cared about her that much? So much that she wanted to save her from certain death?
"Neptune...don't..." It seemed that Neptune was not as forgiving as her little sister. Another pained gasp, followed by a look of absolute anguish as she cried once more. Vert had no response to this. The more she saw Nepgear hurting, the more she wanted to comfort her. If only Neptune would hurry up!
"C-Chika, I-I..." Vert was afraid of this. Her death would destroy Chika, the only one who was the closest thing she had to a sister.
"I-I tried to s-save her, please...listen..." So that was Nepgear's intention? She REALLY wanted to keep Vert alive? Though the question of why the Planeptune sisters were killing them in the first place still hung in the air.
"I-I'm sorry..." Nepgear's crying turned into full blown sobs as she gripped Verts hand harder than necessary. At this point though, Vert didn't even care anymore, she just wanted Nepgear to feel better.
"Neptune, where are you?" Vert whispered as she gently stroked the sleeping girls hair, hoping that it was giving her some comfort.
(The Hellish Cursed Neptral Tower)
Neptune and Plutia were worse for wear. Now in the thousands in terms of floors, they knew that they were sorta, kinda, maybe, almost there. However, their bodies were betraying them. Neptune's legs felt like they were going to snap in half, while Plutia was quite literally crawling. Both of them were pretty badly damaged, and their display looked quite pathetic. But thousands of floors with thousands of enemies will take its toll on you one way or another.
But despite all of this, Neptune wasn't giving up. Her resolve was only strengthening each time she thought about Nep Jr, which pushed her to move forward.
Plutia however, was not so easily influenced. She had been ready to call it quits ever since the FIRST floor. The poor CPU couldn't even find it in herself to stand anymore, choosing to lay on the floor and enjoy every second of the brief peace they had before moving to the next floor.
"C'mon Plutie, the faster we get this done, the faster Nep Jr will be cured!" Neptune was ready to tackle the next floor, despite her current state. Plutia did not find herself agreeing with her friend.
"So...t-tired...I want to.. s-sleep..." Plutia sounded like she was on the verge of tears, but Neptune wasn't having any of that.
"Don't give me that baby stuff Plutie! Nep Jr's life is on the line here! If we don't save her, who will?"
"All of our friends?"
Neptune blinked. "...I wasn't actually looking for an answer Plutie."
"Then why'd you ask the question?"
"..." Neptune didn't respond, choosing to just simply lay against the wall, and slowly slid down. The sensation of not being on her feet anymore was tremendous.
"Fine, we can take a LITTLE break, but only a little! That's it!"
"Yayyy..." Plutia passed out on the spot, while Neptune was left on guard duty.
"Don't worry Nep Jr, we're gonna get that cure, and we're gonna save ya!"
"Keep it down...I'm trying to sleep..." Plutia grumbled.
(Planeptune)
It was well into the night now, and still no sign of Neptune. She had mentioned that the Ultra Histoire had said that it would take the entire day if they were lucky. But what if luck wasn't on her side? Did that mean it would take Neptune DAYS to get the cure? Weeks even? No, they wouldn't allow that. If the day ended, they would go in Neptune's place in case she didn't come back. And that was a depressing thought on its own, Neptune never coming back. Strong as she was, everyone has their limits. Even CPU's.
And once again, everyone's thoughts were silenced by Nepgears mumbling.
"Noire, Blanc, Vert...Uni, Rom, Ram...was this really...the right choice?" It appeared Nepgear was having second thoughts. But it was far too late for that. And with the way Nepgear had been acting the entire time, she was hurting the most. All she had left was Neptune after all. It made them wish that said CPU would get her ass over here and just end it already!
There was a shocked gasp, and eyes fixated on Nepgear, looking upset.
"N-No Neptune...y-you don't have to be a...sacrifice...!" Tears were already pouring down the girls face as she tightened her grip on Vert's hand. She had a panicked look on her face.
So, Neptune was killing HERSELF now? What kind of sense did that make?! Wasn't she kind of the leader of this whole operation? Why sacrifice herself and leave poor Nepgear all alone?!
"N-No Neptune please...I-I don't want you to leave me...again..." Nepgear's words had a pleading tone, a fresh wave of tears replacing the ones that were already falling.
There was absolute silence for what seemed like an eternity, then...
"I-I'm sorry N-Neptune..." Another pained gasp, quickly replaced by sobbing. Nepgear had a look of absolute defeat on her face, like she had lost everything. And in a lot of ways, she did. What made it even worse, was that it was by Nepgear herself.
"It's..ironic...we saved you all, only to be killed in the end..."
At that point, everyone heard the sound of something approaching. Fast. Everyone turned their heads toward the open window, and saw a faint purple object, and a few seconds later, that purple object had flown into the room and came to an immediate halt.
It was Purple Heart, who immediately transformed back to Neptune upon entering the room. Everyone's relief at seeing Neptune again quickly turned to concern when they took in her appearance.
Her clothes were ripped and tattered. She had scars, bruises and gashes running down her body. She was leaning on the wall for support and looked ready to pass out. She looked like she had seen the war to end all wars, and she had been placed right smack in the middle of every single battle.
"H-Here...you g-go" Neptune barely managed to say. She handed Histoire a daisy with a plus symbol on the center. "T-That's the...c-cure...Nep go sleepy now..." It was at that point Neptune collapsed and passed out right in front of them. Considering the absolute hell she and Plutia (who was now resting safely in her own dimension) went through, she most certainly deserved it.
"So...what do we do with it?" Noire asked. Neptune hadn't told them how they should implement the cure, and she had passed out before they could ask anything. "I...have no idea." Histoire was lost on the whole matter, and for a moment, they all just stood there, before Uni got fed up.
"Oh gimme that!" Uni snatched the daisy away from Histoire, and went to Nepgear's side. After kindly shoving Vert to the side of course. She gave Uni a pout and sat on the bed.
"Bottoms up Nepgear!" Uni opened the sleeping girls mouth, and forced the daisy in there. She helped Nepgear chew it, and eventually swallow it.
"Well, I guess that works too..." Histoire said with a visible sweat drop.
There was a moment of silence, then Nepgear jolted awake. Her eyes were red and stinging from all the crying she had done, and was desperately trying to catch her breath. Vert pulled her in for a hug almost immediately, despite her still being extremely hot and sweaty. Nepgear graciously accepted the hug, still trying to get used to her surroundings.
"T-This is r-real, right? I-I'm not d-dreaming? Y-You're all still a-alive?" Nepgear had started crying on Verts shoulder, who in turn hugged the girl tighter.
"Yes, we're still here. It was just a nightmare..." Vert said in a soothing tone as she gently stroked Nepgear's hair.
Nepgear didn't want to leave this spot. She felt amazing in Vert's arms, especially after what she had just dreamt about. A hug was more than appropriate in this situation.
"Nepgear, would you mind telling us about your dream? We would all like to know." Histoire said. All eyes trained on Nepgear, who looked a little hesitant.
"...Ok"
Nepgear had shared her entire dream with everyone, all while in Vert's comforting embrace. It had made her feel a little better when she retold the events, but it was still really hard to go through regardless. Everyone was silent as Nepgear finished her retelling, with Vert whispering comforting things in her ear.
"I see, so what you dreamt about was a worst case scenario on ASIC's defeat" Histoire said, breaking the silence. Admittedly, none of them expected ASIC to EVER be brought up again after its fall and defeat, but apparently anything can happen.
"Yes..." Nepgear wanted very much to forget about that horrible nightmare. Seeing everyone die, and at her own hands no less...
Nepgear trained her gaze to everyone in the room, all alive and well. The nightmare had felt so real, that the situation she was in right now almost felt like a dream itself.
That was, until her gaze trained to Neptune's body.
Everyone who had been looking at Nepgear's face could already tell what was going through the girls mind. She just had a nightmare where she watched all of her loved ones die, and now she was looking at Neptune's battered, bruised and bloodied body only moments after waking up. Her relieved expression turning into one of horror.
Needless to say, Nepgear freaked out.
"W-W-W-WHAT HAPPENED TO NEPTUNE?!" Nepgear tried to get out of Vert's hug to see if her dear sister, but Vert held her back. Why was she holding her back?!
"Nepgear, please calm down..." Nepgear was writhing, trying her best to get out of of Vert's grasp. Eventually, she gave up battle. "Histoire will explain everything." Vert turned to Histoire, who nodded.
"Neptune had gone on a dangerous journey to get that cure for you Nepgear. She had risked her life for you. She was...a little scratched up along the way, but I can assure you she's still breathing." Histoire explained, and Nepgear sighed in relief.
"Well, now that this situation is taken care of, I do believe we should be heading back to our OWN nations now." Noire said, and the other Candidates pouted, but complied. Transforming into their Heart forms, the 2 Goddesses and their sisters flew out the window and headed back home. Only Nepgear, Vert, Histoire, and Neptune's unconscious body remained. Histoire sighed, and with much effort, dragged the Planeptune CPU's body to her room.
"What about you Vert? Aren't you going to leave too?" Nepgear asked.
"Chika is more than capable of handling things for one night. And besides, how can I leave you alone after all that?" Vert smiled at the wide eyed Candidate, and gave her another hug.
Vert was sleeping over. She might even sleep in her bed. Nepgear wouldn't put it past her.
But oddly enough...
Nepgear did not mind this one single bit.