It was fairly safe to say that Neptune worried her. She worried Histoire a lot.
The blonde haired being watched nervously as the lavender haired girl began tying her shoelaces and prepared to go out on yet another quest...more specifically her sixth S Rank one. Even for a goddess, taking on several of the most difficult missions in the span of two days was a lot to handle.
"Neptune, maybe you should consider taking IF with you today," She suggested. Deep down though, she knew her words would fail to persuade her. Neptune knew her role as Planeptune's CPU well. Protect the land. Help the people. It was a mantra she had done for years.
Neptune shook her head, "Nope, no can do. She's probably really busy; the Guild is already swamped with hunt requests. Besides, it's just a couple of Ancient Dragons. I'll be done with them in no time." She stated as she got up from the carpeted floor and prepared to head out for yet another time.
"Even a CPU has her limits. Your shares are not nearly high enough for you to keep up this reckless behavior and..." Histoire paused. Despite being Planeptune's Oracle, second only to the CPUs in terms of governmental power, she had become much more than Neptune's advisor over her reign.
Just like the CPU before her...
The lavender haired CPU gave a playful shrug and smiled at her fairy like friend, "I'll be fine, Histoire. I know what I'm doing." The grin faded as she headed for the exit of the small living room area, "I'm taking my N-gear so let me know if anything major happens before I get back."
The blonde haired being could only nod, sighing as the CPU left.
'She seemed so tired…'
Even though only a few minutes had passed since Neptune left, Histoire shook her head. No. Not anymore. She couldn't let her go alone. The Planeptunian Oracle pulled out phone from her pocket and started dialing, "Hello IF, it's Histoire…"
Gamindustri.
This world is made of four countries: Planeptune, Lastation, Leanbox, and Lowee. Each land is ruled by a goddess, otherwise known as a CPU. Respectively, these deities are known as Purple Heart, Black Heart, Green Heart, and White Heart.
The four countries compete with each other over an energy source called Shares, which are produced by the faith of the people in their respective goddess. The stronger their belief, the stronger their goddess is. However, due to a finite number of people in the world and thus a definitive amount of shares in the world, the CPUs have been locked in a battle known to all as the Console War since their birth.
In the beginning of the current age, each land was combative and feuded with the other over shares.
Now, things are more...tense. While no country has declared war in a few years, the boundaries have been drawn and the damage done. Treaties have been signed. Blood has been shed. And the memories of the past are firmly in the minds of all.
And despite the dust settling, the world still waits for the next signs of smoke.
"Cross Combination!" Purple Heart yelled as she brought down her sword on the last of the dragons. The beast gave a pitiful roar before dying in a flurry of pixels.
The CPU of the Land of Purple Progress gave a heavy sigh, "That appears to be the last one." She gasped as she wave a of exhaustion hit her. Before she knew it, a flash of light surrounded the area as the Goddess returned to her human form.
Neptune landed on the ground softly. She pulled out a small pink and purple, flat oval shaped device that her sister affectionately called the N-Gear from her pocket. Only an hour had passed since she started the quest and she had already reached her limit. Her time had decreased again.
She shook her head. Then again, having only five percent (and refusing three percent of that for her sister's sake) of the world's shares would do that to a CPU. "At least the quest is done…" She murmured before turning to leave the dungeon.
As she started down the path to exit Virtua Forest, a low growl caused her to freeze. Neptune turned and barely had time to jump out of a massive claw. As it impacted the ground, the creature's other "hand" swung out and slammed into the girl, sending her flying hard into the trees.
She crashed head first into the hard trunk. Luckily, being a goddess had its perks. She groaned as she rubbed her head. Even in her human form, she could easily take a hit decently well. However, that didn't mean that taking damage didn't hurt.
She turned her attention to the remaining ancient dragon as it gave a mighty roar. Neptune summoned her katana; the blade appearing out of a flurry of pixels. The girl was still out of gas from the last onslaught, making her CPU form unavailable. She gripped her sword's handle.
Almost as if something (or someone) had the worst timing in the world, a dark orb appeared in front of the Ancient Dragon. Data flowed out of it, surrounding the beast and blackening its orange scales. As the sphere faded, it opened its yellow eyes are gave another loud roar.
"Really…" The lavender haired girl mumbled as the beast changed and turned into a Viral Ancient Dragon. If she squinted, she could swear that it was smirking at her.
She stared down the beast. Trying to find a way to escape would be best, but she couldn't just leave this thing for someone else to deal with. For someone else to get hurt by. For her to get hurt. She'll get hurt. You'll fail her ag-
Neptune shook her head, blocking out the thoughts before they could manifest. No...no, she wouldn't allow it. Not again. Never again. Her purple eyes flashed dangerously. This monster was going down even if she had to give it more than her all!
The dragon growled in delight, probably thinking that it had an easy kill since she hadn't moved since being tossed aside. However, Neptune wasn't a CPU for nothing. Raising her hand up, she focused the little share energy she had left in her system to the sky. Above her, a giant dark blue sword of digital data formed.
"Eat this! 32 Bit Mega Blade!" Neptune yelled, launching the attack.
The dragon snorted before swiping at the oncoming sword with its claw. It howled in pain as the digital blade ripped past it and embedded itself into its body. Digital pixels started to fly from its wound as it thrashed wildly, trying desperately to rip it out of its body. While it did so, its eyes locked with the purple ones of the CPU's.
Neptune barely blinked before the thing charged her. Spinning on its foot, it slammed the purple haired goddess with its mighty tail.
As she crashed onto the ground, her head was spinning. She looked around dazed for a moment before she was forced back onto the ground. by the large creature's foot. She could see spots in her vision; the increasing pressure forcing the air out of her lungs wasn't helping her stay conscious. It was times like these where she wished she didn't need to turn back into this. Despite being stronger than the actual thing, these human forms were so much weaker than their CPU ones. However share consumption and all prevent them from staying in their goddess states for an indefinite amount of time.
Her vision blurred. She couldn't make any room for herself. The pressure wasn't increasing; the dragon's form began to flicker. In fact, it was beginning to disappear entirely, fading in and out. Though it was enough to get a tiny bit of air, the returning weight pushed it right back out. Her attack probably landed in a sweet spot, making it a one hit kill. However, even as it was dying, disappearing into pixels, it continued its quest to kill the CPU.
Again, she tried desperately to get at least an inch to breathe to no avail. She only needed a few more seconds!
Before the blackout set in, Neptune heard the sound of another loud roar as the pressure lifted. She was only able to able to get a large gulp of air before the dragon's foot came down on her again.
Despite the strike being significantly weaker, the lavender haired girl was done, completely exhausted from working overtime. As her eyes fluttered shut and the creature disappeared into a flurry of data, she could faintly her the sound of someone calling her name. When that didn't get her fading consciousness's attention, the person started to drag her away. She didn't even have enough energy to fight back.
Then...there was darkness.
"Hey…I think she's waking up!" a cheery voice said before she started to hear the sound of rushing footsteps.
Neptune's eyelids opened gently, trying to filter as much light as possible, "Ugghhh…what happened to me?" She moaned as she tried to take in her surroundings through squinted eyes. She could feel her head ache as she dared to open her eyes wider.
After a few moments, she was able to properly see her environment. It was an orange room with two other girls and…
The lavender haired girl closed her purple eyes and opened them once again. Nope, not a dream. There was definitely a fairy floating on a book in front of her.
Said being wore a simple purple dress with a rather large white hat with a 'N' on it. Her blonde hair went down to her shoulders. She had two blue wings on her back that seemed to be composed of blue-pinkish triangles. However, she didn't seem to use them to hover in the air which apparently her book was used for. Her blue eyes looked at her with concern.
"Good grief, Nep. Could you try not to scare us like that?" One of the girls said. She sounded like she was being sarcastic, but seemed just more relieved that she was up. The girl had brown hair with a leafy green bow in it that went about to middle of her back and wore a short black one piece with an 'i' on it that ended at about mid thigh.
The fairy like being breathed a sigh of relief, "You had us worried that you wouldn't wake up. I can only hope now that you will take some time to recover properly." She said in a proper, but yet adorable fashion.
"Don't worry, Histoire. I'll make sure Nep-Nep stays put in bed until she's better." The other girl said. Neptune wasn't sure why – perhaps it was that overly large syringe in the corner of the room – but had the feeling that she shouldn't test this one's patience. This girl wore a whitish armless sweater with sleeves in the same color and a short red skirt. In her orangish hair was a hairband with a 'C' on it. Her orange eyes watched her carefully as if the purple haired girl in question would suddenly flee, although her smile said otherwise.
Neptune bit her lip. The three seemed so happy to see her awake. But...
"Um, hey..." She started. It wouldn't be fair to them to keep leading them on, "I appreciate the concern and all but…who the heck are you guys?"
A moment passed.
The brunette was the first to react. She chuckled nervously, looking at the purplette with her emerald eyes, "Haha. Very funny. Even by your standards that's a pretty sad joke, Nep."
The lavender haired girl shook her head, "I'm...I'm not lying. I don't know who any of you are." She sighed looking down at the purple sheet on the bed, "I don't know where I am. I don't even know who I am! And to be completely honest," She brought her head up and pointed at an object, "The scariest thing I don't know is why that giant syringe is in the corner?!" Seriously could a person actually lift that thing? What the hell needed an injection that large?! Wait...they didn't poke that thing into her while she was out did they?!
Histoire looked back at the brunette, "IF, you said she had been slammed to the ground?" Histoire asked as the sweater wearing girl seemed to look over her, specifically around her head.
IF nodded, her face was beginning to pale, "Yeah...you don't think that..."
The blonde haired being grimaced, "It would appear that I do. A head injury coupled with her lack of shares..." She trailed off in a mumble before become audible again, "I suppose I should be happy that the quest was cleared but..." She turned to the purplette, "I'm sorry. I suppose you don't know what's going on do you?"
The girl shook her head, "Not really. Kind of a blank slate here."
Histoire sighed, "Compa, IF could you excuse us? I should probably inform Neptune as to what is happening. And please don't tell Nepgear yet. We can't keep this secret forever, but I'd like to assess the situation before we tell her."
The two nodded. As they left silently, Histoire took a breath, "Well…just where to begin?"
About thirty minutes later, Histoire let out a long, patient sigh.
This amnesiac Neptune certainly wasn't the same as her Neptune. This one could barely make it through her talk without falling asleep and she wasn't even trying to lecture her! Though it was quickly becoming one.
At first, she had been worried that she had been suffering even more serious repercussions of her injuries. Even though CPUs recovered significantly faster than humans, she was still working with a small amount of shares. However, it was soon becoming obvious that it wasn't some kind of side effect, but rather a new personality difference. Even after this extra abbreviated version, the fairy like construct wasn't sure if Neptune even grabbed a quarter of what she had said.
Histoire looked back at the purple haired girl, who was once again falling asleep to escape an, as she put it, 'obvious exposition speech', "Neptune!" She practically screeched, for the first time in a long while.
"AHHH!" The purplette yelled, waking right up.
The blonde haired Oracle took a breath. 'She has no memory. Just breathe. This isn't her fault.' "Do you understand the state of affairs now?"
Neptune merely stared blankly at her.
Histoire facepalmed. She knew having their goddess's memory gone was going to be a painful experience. She just never considered that it would be a much different kind of torture.
The fairy like being looked to the bandages around the lavender haired girl's head. She supposed it would be irrational to think that she could've stop this. Living in the past was never a good idea. Still, she couldn't help but think as Neptune's Oracle that she should've be able to convince her to take IF with her. After all, she knew her mindset better than many people and she still let her go. Now...well...she had just lost Neptune and gotten her replaced now with another one, didn't she?
The thought honestly saddened her.
The sound of Neptune giggling tore her from her depressed mind, "Relax, Histy. I pretty much got it. Me and Nepgear are the goddesses of this country. Our ally is Lowee. Lastation and Leanbox hate our guts. And we're pretty much on our last legs. It's all pretty standard RPG storyline to be honest. You know, when the author called this a reboot series, I was at least expecting a revolution to be going on. But I guess this type of story has its perks too."
Now it was Histoire's turn to be stunned. The girl had gathered more info the she thought she would have. "I'll take that as a victory." She decided before looking at the time, "Well...I suppose that'll be it for the night. I'll leave you to get some rest."
"Okay, thanks Histy." Neptune said as she tucked herself in and quickly fell asleep.
"Histy?" Histoire asked, turning around to look into her purple eyes.
Neptune nodded, "It's a lot cuter than calling you Histoire all the time."
"I see." Histoire turned her head. A nickname? She didn't know why, but she didn't feel opposed to it. She was certain it was the first time she had received a nickname and it yet the concept didn't feel that foreign to her. Additionally, whether she liked it or not, there was a chance her Neptune would never return.
She smiled faintly, "Very well. Have a good night, Neptune." She wasn't one for the shortening of names herself, but perhaps this would be the start of a new relationship. At the end of the day, she was still the Oracle of Planeptune. Whether Neptune remembered the past or not, they all needed to work together well to run (and in current times, save) this land.
Yes, even if she never remembered, Histoire wouldn't abandon her or Nepgear. She just hoped they found a way out of this hole before things got worse.
She plunged the purple blade deep into the ground. If she listened close enough, she could her her bumbling around, trying to find her way in the goddess-forsaken place. However, she wouldn't let her.
Histoire. IF. Compa. Nepgear. I...I...
She shook her head as regrets began to creep into her mind. After all, they were the reason why she had to do this. Yes...yeah, this would be the best for her. For them all. They didn't need her anymore. She didn't need her anymore.
As she disappeared into the darkness, she finalized her decision.
No door would be opened.
The blade would not be pulled out.
She would forget...just like she always wanted.
Update Date: ?
AN: Hey everyone, it's me. Welcome to the Neptunia Reboot (aka AltDimension), I hope you enjoy your stay for this story and the upcoming ones. I don't really have that much to say here. However, I have a request.
I'm in two minds about this story's update schedule. The outline to this story is done and finalized. It's been that way for a bit. But...I don't have all the chapters written yet. So, please go to my profile and vote on the update schedule you would like this to have. I will finish this story no matter what but I want to know whether you all would like me to take time to write everything first or update as soon as I get Chapter 1 done. Thanks in advance for your participation.
Don't forget to leave your thoughts/reaction in a review and have a nice day!