It was a day like any other. The sky was clear, the city clean and the people happy. The only difference was the slightly cooler temperature. But of course, this is how it always was in Gamindustri; things hardly changed, and the people of the world were fine with that.
Inside the central building of one of the four nations, everything was beginning to match the description of the land outside. The windows and floors had been scrubbed, the dishes washed, no clothes scattered about. Everything was as it should be. Even so, the girl who had just completed all this hard work couldn't help but let out an audible sigh.
"Yo, Nep Junior, what's up?" a voice called out half distractedly from across the room. "Can't wait till Nepmas, can ya? Me neither. Nepmas rocks."
There goes her sister again. Plopped in front of the TV, eating chips, playing games, and thinking of nothing but that very night where she would be showered in gifts from the people of her nation: Planeptune.
Selfish, lazy to an extreme, and lately, vain too. As if her nickname for her sister wasn't enough: "Nep Junior". She was Nepgear, her own person! She wasn't another lesser Neptune at all! But no, everything had to be about Neptune. Websites had their names and themes changed to incorporate her. She claimed it was all for parody purposes, a likely excuse. She no doubt knew full well how vain it made her look.
"Hey, Nep Junior. Grab me some more snacks, will ya?" Neptune's shrill voice cut through Nepgear's thoughts yet again. Why did she still put up with Neptune's antics? She was a goddess, not a teenage slob! She gritted her teeth and stormed from the room.
The decision was rash and Nepgear knew it, but she pushed on regardless. She headed straight for her room she shared with Neptune and sat down at her desk in the small corner that was hers. Machine parts were scattered all over the desk, which Nepgear promptly shoved off onto the floor, giving her space to write a long letter to her dear sister.
Nepgear didn't bother rereading the note. There wasn't any point, it would only be more wasted energy. She simply folded it once, wrote "To Neptune" on the front in large, clear black letters, dropped it on Neptune's bed, then grabbed some clothes and left the room.
Though she hadn't called ahead to check if it was alright, Nepgear headed to one of the other nations: Lowee. She was sure the goddess there, Blanc, would allow her to stay for a short time. They were friends after all.
Just as Nepgear thought, after explaining the situation, Blanc agreed, so long as she stays in the living quarters of Lowee's central building.
Blanc's twin little sisters, Rom and Ram, greeted Nepgear alongside Blanc. After finishing her explanation with many interruptions from Ram, the two begged Nepgear to play with them. They were cute and hard to deny, as with most little kids. However, with her thoughts on her sister, Nepgear was easily able to tell them they could play later once a few matters were settled. The twins insisted, asking with puppy dog eyes that could melt the coldest of hearts, and for a moment, Nepgear's began to melt. However, remembering how her own older sister would do the exact same thing, she was able to reaffirm her answer.
The guest room Nepgear had been given was small. Though this didn't matter to her, as she wouldn't be there for very long. It was neat and cozy, which was good enough for her. She sat on the edge of the bed, thinking of what she should do next. She hadn't thought of what she would do with herself after leaving Planeptune; she just needed to get away from it. Her head soon became filled with various ideas on where to go and what to do. Mulling it over for hours, her thoughts were only interrupted when there was a soft knock at the door. It was Financier, Blanc's personal maid. She politely informed Nepgear that dinner was being served, after which, she left, slowly closing the door behind her. Nepgear hadn't realized how late it had become; it was already dark out. She got up, figuring she should spend some quality time with Blanc, Rom, and Ram, even if she wasn't hungry.
On her way to the meal, a staff member called out to Nepgear, telling her she had a visitor at the front entrance. Though unsurprising, she couldn't help but be a little impressed that it took Neptune such a short amount of time to come looking for her. Speaking of, there she was. Neptune was sitting on one of the couches in the lobby, unusually still and rigid. Though when she noticed Nepgear, she jumped up with her usual amount of energy.
"Gotta say, Nep Junior, you running off to ol' Blanny because I was taking a little break from work isn't something I ever expected ya to do. Talk about breaking character," she said with a teasing smile on her face, as though she were talking to a small child. Nepgear's look alone caused Neptune to drop her grin.
"You didn't read my letter," Nepgear responded simply.
"Well, I uh, sorta skimmed it, I'll admit," Neptune scratched the back of her head and stuck out her tongue, "You always use such big words, and you know I fall asleep if I read too much."
There were a few long moments of silence. Neptune looked around awkwardly.
"Why so serious, Nep Junior? Planeptune'll be just fine with my vacation today. Nothing to worry-"
"It's not about Planeptune!" Nepgear shouted over her. Neptune's eyes widened, and she even took a step back.
"All day long, all you do is play games and lounge around like a social reject. You make me do all the work, the cleaning, the cooking, your own paperwork, and CPU duties. Do I hear any praise or thanks at all? No! Nothing. Instead, you're too busy forcing another website to change their name to be about you! It's always about you, huh? I'm not my own person to you, I'm just Little Neptune, isn't that right? We're both goddesses, you shouldn't be acting this way, and I shouldn't be your personal maid! Why don't you take some responsibility for once in your life and do something that might benefit someone besides yourself?!"
Neptune's eyes were so wide her eyebrows had vanished behind her hair. Nepgear was breathing heavily as adrenaline ran through her. She waited to see what dumb joke Neptune would use to puncture the atmosphere this time.
Neptune began to twitch, as though she was trying to force her face and posture into a different position, eventually resulting in a scowl, which looked even more terrifying than ever on her normally permanently cheery face. She opened her mouth, seemingly ready to scream, but stopped, then she slowly sank to the ground, the energy sucked from her. Nepgear couldn't see her face anymore, but she saw tears begin to fall to the ground.
"It's funny. Every time someone else lectured me about these problems, I was always able to laugh them off easily," she said softly, barely audible, her voice shaking slightly. "But hearing it from you Nepgear, especially like that, I can't deny it. You're right. I've got no excuses this t-time. I'm a horrible g-goddess and an even worse s-s-sister. I can't deny or try to brush it off. You're t-totally right."
Nepgear wasn't sure what to expect from Neptune after her outburst, but this reaction was not one she had considered at all. Criticism always bounced off her, joking about it, making it seem as though it weren't a big deal, even when her nation was on the brink of collapse, and yet here she was, accepting her faults without resistance.
Neptune slowly raised herself up, wiping away tears and shaking slightly.
"I can't force you to come back, Nepgear. I know I've done things like this in the past, and I can't make you believe that this is the time I finally improve myself, but...I'm sorry. Really."
After Neptune finished speaking, she turned around and began to slowly head toward the exit, her head still facing down towards the ground. Nepgear stood there watching her for a moment, and after a few seconds, she took a deep breath.
"If you truly mean that, sis, then I guess the least I could do is spend Nepmas with you before I really head out," she said softly with the smallest of smiles.
Neptune stopped. She stood still for a second, then slowly turned around with a small tear-stained smile of her own.
"Nepmas? I think you mean Christmas, Nepgear. A special day for families to spend some quality time together, enjoying each other, good food, and trading presents."
After informing Blanc that she'd be gone for a while, Nepgear flew back towards Planeptune with her sister. As the two flew back over the Planeptune and Lowee border, snow began to fall, causing a thin white blanket to coat the usually bare ground. They landed and went inside the central building, where a tense, but enjoyable Christmas was spent as the snow outside continued to fall.