Hyper Dimension Holidays

by Str1k3N01r

A series of stories, showing how the goddesses (and occasionally the makers) enjoying Gamindustri's holidays. Will cover Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's Day. May expand to include Halloween and Lunar New Year when I have the time.

1. A Christmas Tale

Before you begin reading I would like to say that Hyper Dimension Neptune doesn't belong to me. I only own any Maker and Goddess OCs that are mentioned in this fic.

First and foremost thanks for actually clicking on this fic to read, but i would like to warn you that I picked Pururut and Piishe instead of Plutia and Peashy because I don't like what NISA did to them. I use Japanese honorifics because it is easier for me to show respect compared to merely calling someone big sister. Alright, now that the introduction is done... Go on, get reading!

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Hyper Dimension Christmas

[V Planeptune – Basilicom] {23/12}

"Christmas is coming soon," Pururut looked at her calendar while sitting in the middle of her room, using the kotatsu to keep herself warm. It appears that she was in the middle of doing her work, but she was rather unmotivated. The kotatsu was only making things worse. Histoire was reminding her to do her job even if her 'relatives' are not around. IF and Compa were accompanying Piishe to play snowball war outside. The young goddess did not even know what responsibility was, so she got off lightly.

"Neptune-san did ask everyone to gather at her Planeptune for a Christmas party right?" Histoire replied. "Well, I'm going to prevent you from leaving here unless you clear your pile of work."

"But…"

"No buts," Histoire stopped Pururut before she continued. "If Saturn is here, what would she say?"

Pururut took a deep breath before she sighed. Saturn was one of the people she befriended during their adventure just a few years ago. It pains her to remember that she actually had forgotten all about her at the end of their journey… no. not only Pururut, everyone except Blanc seems to forget about Saturn when their journey was over. Pururut could not forgive herself for forgetting about her friend.

Realizing that Pururut's mood suddenly took a turn for worse, Histoire could only sigh and said that she's sorry for bringing Saturn's name up. Pururut was not listening and actually did her work seriously for once. She might not look like it, but she did miss Neptune and Nepgear. Occasionally Pururut will flee from her nation to visit her counterpart only to be recalled home when Histoire noticed. Of course, now that she's in a relationship with her Noire, she started to take her work as a goddess seriously... a little bit. Although, as Noire said, it wasn't good enough.

Pururut glanced at the stacks of papers that she had to clear before Histoire would re-open the portal she and her counterpart maintained for an easy dimension jump. Pururut had to clear it before Christmas Eve, or else her efforts would be for naught and she'd have to spend Christmas alone for the first time in a few years. Before Noire became a goddess, the pair always spent Christmas together. After Noire became a goddess, Neptune was there to keep her company. Noire had begun spending time with her again now that Neptune and the others had returned home. However, Noire also had her own nation to look after and could not be in Planeptune all the time. Pururut was contemplating on combining the two nations together, as Noire once suggested with Blanc's and Vert's full support, but waved it off. After all, she had both Noire and Blanc wrapped around her little finger. Mainland Gamindustri was under her control… if she wanted to dominate the others.

"It was so lively back when the four of us shared this room," Pururut said softly before she continued her work. "Ahh… what I wouldn't I give to bring those days back…"

"Well… you have to be more responsible with your work if you want to spend time outside your nation," Histoire replied before she left Pururut's room. That was the moment that Pururut had been waiting for. She quickly took out her N Gear and dialled her best friend's… no, her girlfriend's number.

---

[V Lastation – Basilicom]

"Yeah, I predicted that this scenario would happen. Don't worry, I'll come over to help as soon as my work is done," Noire said over her N Gear while her subordinate, Ace, looked at her questioningly. Noire then closed her N Gear and sighed.

"Is there something the matter, Noire-sama?" Ace asked.

"Ah you know… the goddess of Planeptune likes to skip her work to come over here and play," Noire smiled.

"I think I understand. So you're heading over right now?" Ace smiled knowingly before asking again.

"I'd have to at least clear the job that only I can do. I trust that you can do the rest in my absence?" Noire asked before she returned back to work.

"You know me, my lady. I'm always here to serve," Ace bowed. "You can count on me."

Noire sighed before she looked at the picture Ace took before they left for Neptune's home dimension a year ago. Saturn and Nero's wide smile only made Noire miss their company, especially when they too played a part in advancing Lastation so quickly that it overshot the other Lastation by a huge gap. Although, it seemed that her counterpart from the other Lastation was none too happy about it and quickly closed the gap within a year. Noire find it increasingly difficult to contend against a goddess and her candidate while she's doing everything on her own.

"I'm still an idiot… I was too blind to see that my Lastation won't remain ahead of the game without their help," Noire stated. Ace laughed slightly when Noire sighed at her apparent immaturity as a ruler.

"I heard… she gave her life in our place, did she?" Ace asked.

"Yeah… I can't believe how cold I was back after that… I totally forget about her," Noire replied. "What sort of friend am I, forgetting about the very person that helped me to understand what being a goddess is like?"

"I know it is not my place to say this, but…" Ace continued. "Didn't she entrust an important task to you and Blanc-sama?"

"Yes. But neither I nor Blanc could make any heads or tails of what her blade is showing us," Noire replied. She then gave Ace a set of instructions that the soldier can follow while Noire went to Planeptune. After another hour of work, Noire was finished with the tasks she wanted to clear before Christmas and quickly made some preparations for the Christmas Eve party, since Neptune told them that they were going to stay for the week until New Year's. Good thing that she already packed her bag beforehand. Noire went out to her room's balcony and was about to transform, but her subordinate's voice interrupted her.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Noire-sama," Ace smirked. "If you know what I'm saying, that is. I wouldn't want to make Pururut-sama angry."

"W-w-what are you suggesting I would do?!" Noire started to stutter, clearly flustered at the topic her subordinate just said.

"Well, Noire-sama just confessed that you love Pururut more than as a friend," Ace replied. Noire was shocked that her subordinate knew despite the fact that the fact that only the other goddesses were supposed to know. "So will you merge Lastation with Planeptune?"

"I… don't really know about that," Noire replied. "Blanc and Vert was voting for it to happen, although it isn't exactly a good idea."

"If you decided to merge both nations, what would you call it?" Ace asked. "Planepstation?"

"As if I would name the new nation after that stupid television show Neptune invented," Noire sighed. "Although… it does merge very well and has a nice ring to it."

"I think you better get going, my lady. Only the true goddess knows what Pururun-sama will do to you if you're late," Ace smirked.

"You're the one that made me late, idiot!" Noire said before she transformed and flew towards Planeptune, her bag of clothes in one hand.

"Well, I best get back to work," Ace smiled before she retreated into the basilicom.

---

[V Leanbox – Basilicom]

Vert wandered along the halls of her basilicom as she thought of her days with the party and meeting her counterpart back at Neptune's home. However, her objective of attending the Christmas party was to visit that short, black haired goddess once again. Nero's maturity never failed to surprise her and she was impressed that Nero chose to back out instead of fighting when they went to Lowee's basilicom to confront Blanc.

Running around Vert's office was Tecmo and Koei, helpers that Nero picked to help Vert around given her gaming habits can sometimes result in stacks after stacks of ignored work. When Vert tried to show appreciation through a hug, Nero runs away by transforming and flying off the balcony.

"What's wrong with that girl, really… anyone would enjoy getting hugged by someone like me," Vert said. "Well, anyone but Blanc and Nero."

"Vert-sama, here's your food," Koei brought some lunch for the goddess of Leanbox, who was once again playing some games on her console. "Don't overdo your gaming… you might overheat."

"Thank you," Vert patted the shorter girl before returning to her game. "I'll make sure I take enough rest."

"Don't ignore your work too," Tecmo groaned. "We might be able to help you out with most of the repetitive tasks, but jobs that specifically require your attention shouldn't be done by us."

"Oh all right. Just let me save my game and I'll get it done," Vert replied as she reached the save point. "After all, I have a Christmas party to attend to. It would be inappropriate for me to attend with work piling up behind my back."

Vert joined her two helpers to clear the stack of work that she had ignored ever since a few weeks ago. She wouldn't want to be the only one that was late to the party. While doing her job, she was asked by her two helpers about the goddesses from the other Gamindustri, mainly the candidates, Neptune, Nero and Saturn. Vert explained that Nero and Saturn seemed to originate from alternate timelines within their own dimension, thus them not knowing each other until they noticed each other's weapons. On the other hand, Neptune and the candidates originate from a dimension that theirs were currently linked to.

"So… where did Nero-san and Saturn-san go?" Tecmo asked.

"Nero returned with Neptune and the candidates back to their dimension," Vert said before her face turned sorrowful, even if it was for a while. "As for Saturn… she's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Tecmo asked. Vert's silence only convinces that she was correct. "She didn't… did she?"

"Saturn sacrificed herself for the greater good of Gamindustri, to say the least," Vert answered. "I don't really want to talk about it. I claimed to be her friend, yet…"

"Then don't force yourself, Vert-sama," Koei said before she took yet another stack of papers for herself. "And Tecmo, stay focused. We don't want Vert-sama to be late for her Christmas party."

The trio blazed through their work without much conversation aside from Tecmo's occasional questions on her goddess' friends. Despite Koei's misgivings, Vert gladly responded. After all, she said that working without any conversation or background music was boring. Seeing that Vert doesn't mind, Koei chose to keep her mouth shut and focus on her work.

After the piles of work were finally cleaned off Vert's table, the two helped her to pack enough belongings for her trip to the other side of the portal. Initially, Vert wanted to bring more than just her clothes, but after a long negotiation, she agreed to leave most of them behind and brought only her clothes.

"Don't forget. Vert-sama is the ambassador of this Leanbox," Koei smiled and gave the goddess a nod.

"I doubt there would be any work piling up now that it's Christmas," Tecmo placed her left hand on her chin. "So don't worry about us. Your nation is in good pair of hands."

---

[V Lowee – Basilicom]

Blanc placed her pen down as she finished her job. The magicians of Lowee did a good job in preventing the change of weather from ever affecting the nation, placing the nation in eternal autumn. Not too cold, yet not too hot for the young-looking goddess.

"Good job today," she said to the people she met as she walked around her basilicom. Everyone except the guards would be returning to their family in order to prepare for Christmas. It is the only time of the year where Lowee's magicians will drop the barrier, even if it was only for a little while, so that the little ones could enjoy the snow.

"You said that… because of my appearance, I should appeal to the young ones or the ageing population instead of trying to compete directly with the other three," Blanc said to herself and smiled at the memory of her best friend. "So far, it is working well."

Blanc then looked up towards the sky, which was illuminated by the light of the setting sun. "I know you're out there, somewhere, watching over us. I'll find your successor and train her like how you had advised me."

Blanc's path of her usual walks around the basilicom eventually led her to the same room that Saturn had used when she stayed in Lowee to help her out. The same room now housed the only object she left behind after she faded on top of Neptower in the other dimension: Saturn's nameless sword. It was the reason why Saturn had remained as a goddess even though Neptune lost her powers after they were stranded here. Next to the sword was a piece of Goddess Memory.

After the Seven Sages were exposed, they left behind the stockpile of Goddess Memory that they had gathered while pretending to serve her. Saturn's last instruction was that Blanc and Noire work together and locate her successor, somewhere within Neptune's or Pururut's Gamindustri. So far, she and Noire had ordered their armies to sweep their respective territories for clues, but they had found nothing. She also asked Pururut and Vert for help, although while Vert replied that she didn't see what Blanc was looking for, Pururut hadn't replied to her query yet.

"Why?" Blanc spoke quietly as she looked at the sword. Tears threatened to fall as all the painful memories returned. "Why did you have to disappear? You were like a big sister to me."

"Blanc-sama?" someone spoke from the other side of the door. On Saturn's recommendation, she invited the source of the voice, Treasure, to assist her in not-so-important duties.

"Not now, Tre. Leave me be. I'm fine," Blanc replied.

"But you sound…"

"I said, leave me be."

"If you say so, my lady. By the way, preparations have been made for your departure into the other Planeptune."

"Thank you."

Blanc then grabbed the sword by the hilt, once again experiencing the same vision that the sword gave her and Noire. A house located near a lake and a purple haired girl wearing a straw hat casting her fishing rod into the lake. This time, the vision was a little clearer. After a while, the vision stopped and Blanc carried the sword back to her room and placed it together with her luggage. The days between Christmas and New Years would be sufficient for her to conduct a search in Neptune's Gamindustri… provided that Noire actually helped more actively.

After getting ready, she transformed and left her basilicom from her room's balcony. Her current destination now was Pururut's nation, Planeptune, where the portal to Neptune's Gamindustri was located. Not that Blanc really mind travelling there first instead of meeting directly at the portal entrance. Pururut was her first friend from outside Lowee after all. Although Blanc occasionally shudder at how Pururut pretty much holds the power over Lastation despite Noire being the actual goddess.

"I need to ask her on that topic later," Blanc muttered as she willed herself to fly faster.

---

[V Planeptune – Basilicom] {23-24 / 12}

"Looks like everyone is here," Histoire said as she acknowledged Vert's arrival.

"Last one to arrive… again," Vert sighed.

"Well you're the one who were having fun playing games while we're working our asses off, thunder tits," Blanc reprimanded the taller goddess using a line that she picked up from her counterpart. That nickname caused Vert to cringe slightly.

"Now all we need to do is to wait until Pururut and Piishe finished their preparations," Noire sighed. "Good grief. Not only I'm forced to leave my not-so-important works to my secretary, I have to do some of her work for her as well."

"It's your choice," Blanc replied. "You were the one that confessed to her after Neptune and her girlfriend declared their relationship in front of everyone that was present."

"Indeed. I can't really deny that," Noire smiled. "This is just a price to pay. I like Pururut, I really do."

"You really sound like a married man that is complaining about his wife yet at the same time he loves her no matter what she do," Vert sniggered, causing Noire to pout slightly.

"Can't deny that one either," Noire sighed after she realized that the two are picking on her. She can't really blame them for picking on her every time the chance to do so presents itself. She picked on both of them when they had just met. It was through Saturn, Pururut and Neptune working together that the three are incredibly close now, despite the fact that they do insult each other often.

"I can't imagine what would've happened without them, though," Blanc replied as she sat down and began peeling the oranges that was piled on the kotatsu. "If they didn't even arrive in here, the Seven Sages would've betrayed and got rid of me after they had finished using me."

"We should be glad… if it weren't for those two, we would be at each other's throats by now," Vert supported Blanc's statement. "It pains me that one of them is gone and the other outright dislikes me."

"I don't think I recall her asking you to smother her, given how well endowed you are," Blanc replied, venomously when she's talking about Vert's ample chest. "She's only one centimetre taller than me, you know. Hugging her that way will only prevent her from breathing. Of course she wouldn't like it."

"Vert, you should try hugging her from the back or asking her to sit on your lap," Noire suggested and smirked. "Maybe Nero might like it. Can't guarantee the results, though."

"I think I'll give that a try," Vert replied.

Pururut and Piishe then arrived at the living room, joining the three that were already using the kotatsu. With the five goddesses from this dimension assembled, Histoire contacted her other self on the other side and started to make preparations to reopen the portal. Both Histoires chose to shut down the portal after they realized that Pururut or Neptune would cross over in an attempt to skip work. Now that the two had started to take their job more seriously, they decided to reopen the portal on Christmas Eve… tomorrow.

It was getting late. Piishe returned to the room she shared with IF and Compa while Noire slept back on her old bed in Pururut's room. Vert and Blanc took the guest room that was previously occupied by Saturn and Neptune. They woke up early next morning to see that the portal had been opened and was now stable for inter-dimensional hop. The five stood in front of the portal as IF and Compa watched.

"IF, Compa. I trust that the two of you can handle anything in my one week absence?" Pururut asked.

"We will. Although I'd prefer it if we can come along," Compa sighed.

"Now now, Compa. Pururut did mention that our counterparts back in Neptune's dimension dressed similarly as us," IF replied. "We wouldn't want to have a case of mistaken identity."

"Yes, but…"

"Now that everything is settled, let's cross over," Noire smiled.

"Me first!" Piishe ran ahead of the group and into the portal.

"I envy her enthusiasm," Blanc smiled before she and the other three entered the portal one after another.

---

[Planeptune – Basilicom] {24/12}

"We're here," Pururut announced as she led her group into Neptune's basilicom. The five were covered in snow thanks to the freak snowstorm that was going on outside. Thankfully they were dressed for the weather.

"Ooh! About time!" Neptune pouted before her smile returns. "What's keeping ya so long?"

"Pururut and Vert needed some help to catch up to the amount of work they stacked over the past nine months," Blanc explained.

"We're truly sorry about the delays," Vert apologized.

"Nah, it's okay. The others told me that they're running late because of this unusually heavy snowfall," Neptune said. "We've got time to spare. Histy told me she already had the rooms ready, but she's leaving the sleeping arrangements up to us."

"Where's Nero? I expected her to be here," Piishe asked Nepgear, who was fixing Uni's Laptop computer.

"Nero stayed in the house that Saturn built a few years back," Nepgear explained. "The others will be stopping by before heading here to ensure that Nero comes along."

While the others are busy talking and catching up, Blanc tugged Noire's sleeve and brought her into the corner to discuss about how they're planning to find Saturn's successor in just one week. While Noire wasn't very optimistic about their chances, she believed that if they could get some help from the goddesses in Neptune's home to narrow down search locations, they could do it.

They foresee no other potential problem in the search for Saturn's successor. The actual problem lied on how to train said successor after she had been found. Maybe they could just let their counterparts here do the job? After all, they had known Saturn for much longer than the pair. They should be able to groom the new goddess better since they were also veterans.

Noire then told Blanc that she had located the house that the sword showed them in the vision, at least within their own dimension. Unfortunately, it was infested by monsters with no trace of its inhabitants. That pretty much guarantees that they could locate her here, within Neptune's Gamindustri.

The pair rejoined the group around the table, with Nepgear serving them some of her famous blueberry pancakes. Piishe and Pururut looked like they're in heaven. At the very least, Neptune was trying very hard to maintain her manners.

"Ah. You two, where have you been?" Vert noticed the pair. "You missed on the good stuff."

"You mean the first serving of the mature candidate's pancakes?" Noire sat to Pururut's right before helping herself to a piece of pancake and taking the maple syrup away from Neptune despite her protests.

"Ehehe. Gear-chan will grow up to become a good goddess," Pururut beamed. After years spent in Pururut's dimension, Pururut viewed Nepgear, Neptune and the currently absent Saturn as family. She then hugged Noire before asking, "Don't you think so, darling?"

"D-d-darling!? I told you not to call me that in front of the others!" Noire's face immediately grow as red as a tomato… or maybe an apple.

"Eeeeeeeeeh? But, that's the only way I can refer to you in front of Neptune's own Noire," Pururut frowned slightly.

"Ah… young love… ain't that cute," Blanc smiled before putting another piece of pancake in her mouth. Noire tried to open her mouth to protest but she promptly shut it when she realized that she had no proper words to make a comeback.

"You're so stiff," Vert remarked. "That's why you're so easy to tease."

Out of the corner of Noire's eye, she noticed Neptune making a 'heh' face for a split second before she returned to eating. Nepgear had finished cooking and was now seated next to her sister. Nepgear also took some pancakes, but compared to Pururut and Neptune, she barely took more than a few pieces. She then returned to trying to fix Uni's laptop after finishing her share of the pancakes.

"Anyway, Neptune," Noire glanced at Neptune and looked at her from head to toe. "Please wear something more decent. Do you seriously wear those outdoors?"

Neptune glanced at her purple hoodie before she grinned. Noire looks significantly disturbed that Neptune was only wearing her hoodie and nothing else, unless Noire counted Nep's undergarments. Although Noire didn't have the right to complain given that what she wore usually exposes a lot of skin. Her winter clothing was the sole exception to her collection of midriff-baring outfits.

"Whatever happened to the clothes you wore when you get sent to our dimension?" Blanc joined in.

"Well…" Neptune tried to avoid the question, but Nepgear answered instead.

"Uni borrowed it a couple of days ago," the purple candidate answered without realizing that she had indirectly dug her own grave. "She wants to go around Planeptune incognito."

"So you let her borrow your clothes?" Vert asked. Neptune nodded and went to explain that the Lastation candidate has similar measurements so she was glad she can help.

"And?" Blanc asked, clearly more perceptive than the others. "What happened to it?"

"Let's just say that Gear here went out of control halfway through the ordeal," Neptune smiled nervously while Nepgear went extremely red and started denying what had just left from Neptune's mouth.

"I did not do such a thing!" Nepgear said.

"I never actually said what you did… well, if you didn't, I wouldn't have to wear this again," Neptune remarked. "It's a fact that you did something to her."

"I did not do anything!" Nepgear protested.

"Okay… you two please calm down," Pururut tried to dissolve the minor conflict caused by Vert, Noire and Blanc. The trio had taken the chance to seat at the various couches that are placed around the fireplace area which Neptune had installed a few days prior to make the room cozy-er.

---

[Leanbox – Basilicom]

The abnormally heavy snowfall was causing most of Leanbox's populace to remain at home. The same can be said to their goddess, but it's only because Vert was one of the new game's beta testers. 'Four Goddesses Online 3', a sequel to the online game that Vert pretty much plays all the time, were using their experimental Virtual Reality technology and Vert was excited to be among the one thousand players from Gamindustri chosen to beta test it.

Leanne, also known as 765 when she's on stage with 5pb., looked at her adoptive elder sister before she sighed. So does Chika a few seconds later. Both of them are rather worried because Vert has been gaming nonstop, taking a break only to eat and nothing else. Not to mention that this new Virtual Reality technology allowed her to endlessly play her game without getting tired at all since there were no need to press any buttons on the keyboard whatsoever.

"Leanne… onee-sama has been wearing that thing for days now," Chika groaned.

"I really wanted to just disconnect it from her console sometimes," Leanne replied to the worried oracle. "Still, I wouldn't want to see her pout."

"My, my... is that so? How cruel,"

It appears that Vert was logging out of the game when Chika and Leanne started speaking. Despite what Vert just said, she looked really happy.

"I take it that it was a good experience, onee-chan?" Leanne asked.

"Yes. I was able to retain all of my combat skills even in game," Vert smiled and patted her adoptive younger sister on her head. "I must admit, the developers really want to make video game similar to reality. This helps me a lot, of course. Now that I'm no longer bound by most of rules in MMOs, I could grind faster with my own skills."

"Most of the rules?" Leanne asked.

"Basically, the only thing restricting me from doing what I like is just the level system and the fact that I can't transform in game," Vert explained. "Otherwise, I'm allowed to use all of my combat skills, except my special attacks, to fight monsters in the game. All the training I got from sparring with the other three finally paid off."

"That sounds good, onee-sama!" Chika smiled.

"Thank you, Chika. Now I'm afraid I must get going," Vert smiled at the two. "I promised Neptune to drag that girl from Saturn's home to celebrate Christmas even if I have to resort to force to do so."

"That girl? You mean Nero-san?" Leanne asked. Vert nodded to answer her question. "I thought Nero-san is very friendly to Neptune-san?"

"Let's just say that… Planeptune holds many painful memories for all of us," Vert replied. "Saturn died there exactly one month after the final battle ten months ago… but… Noire and Blanc from the other side believed that she was already dead ever since that last battle we fought."

"How so?" Chika asked. "I mean if she's already dead, then why is she still around for a month? Is she a ghost?"

"I only know that she isn't a ghost. We could still interact and see her… anything other than that is unclear," Vert answered. "Technically it would be impossible… that shows how powerful she really is."

Vert stopped and looked outside her room's window before continuing her explanation on how Nero was emotionally attached to Saturn because they originate from the same dimension, even though they originate from different timelines.

"That girl really missed Saturn… but she needs to know that she's not the only one that misses Saturn," Vert replied. "Chika, Leanne, do you two mind preparing the bath for me? I have to reach Planeptune before the sun sets."

"Okay," Leanne got up from trying to write down her lyrics and left with Chika. In the meantime, Vert prepared her clothes for her stay in Planeptune. She also decided to bring some books as well, to share with her other self. After Leanne and Chika informed her that bath was ready, she dragged both of them inside to join her. Given that she's staying over at Planeptune for a week, it would be a good idea to do this before Chika gets what Leanne described as 'withdrawal symptoms'.

After the bath, Vert left her basilicom already transformed and flew towards the direction of where Saturn built her home. It would be her first stop before heading to Planeptune. Vert had wanted Nero to become Leanbox's candidate, but Nero had refused the offer even though Vert's nation had always been the only nation that lacks a candidate.

---

[Lowee – Basilicom]

"Mid-day street walks, lights fell and dispersed in the air. Nobody stopped to see them fade. Your eyes seemed so innocent. Everything made sense to you. They didn't to me…"

"Could you two be quiet?" Blanc asked. "I'll admit that you two are very good singers, but I'm trying to read here."

"But… onee-chan… Atlus wants us to memorize the lines for our next singing session," Ram pouted. Rom only nods a few times to support Ram's sentence.

"Why don't you head to your room and practise?" Blanc suggested while still maintaining her usual straight face. Her tolerance level with the twins had been greatly increasing ever since Atlus gave her some pointers on how to deal with the two. "This is a place for reading. It's meant to be quiet."

"Okay," the twins chimed before leaving the reading room. Not long after the twins left, Mina entered. It has been quite a while since Mina returned from her sabbatical away from national matters. Apparently she was unable to stay away from Blanc and the twins for too long and eventually decided to return to work at the basilicom, although now she only works part time.

"I can see that Atlus' presence in here have made you more tolerant with your sisters," Mina said, causing Blanc to smile slightly.

"It's not just me. The twins have improved too," Blanc smiled. "I guess I have a good eye for talented people."

"Atlus is no doubt skilled at attracting the twin's attention. I've seen her use a simple trick with the rubber band that causes the twins to stop doodling on your book and started paying more attention to her," Mina replied and smiled as she recalls the days when Blanc was recovering from her imprisonment in the graveyard. "Atlus also have a very traumatizing, yet not physical punishment that she did on the twins before. I haven't told you about it yet, but… the twins were hit by something Atlus said as 'Execution' after doodling on one of her books."

"Execution?" Blanc's face paled. Just hearing the word alone causes Blanc to be extremely concerned about her sisters' safety.

"Your sisters were left frozen to cool off, at least that's what Atlus told me," Mina explained.

"Frozen huh…" Blanc thought of the image of her younger sisters frozen in ice while Atlus looked at them with anger evident in her face. "I'd hate to see that happen to myself."

Mina left the room after leaving Blanc with some tangerines. Blanc continued reading for a moment before she used the bookmark that the twins and Atlus worked together to make for her to make sure she won't forget where she stopped reading and left the room. Along the way, she met with Atlus and asked the librarian to inform the twins to get ready to leave.

"The Christmas party, right?" Atlus asked. When Blanc nodded, she smiled. "Have fun, Blanc-sama."

By the time Blanc had her preparations completed, the twins were already waiting outside with their own luggage for their one week's stay in Planeptune. Although they were all smiles, Blanc could see it in their eyes that they did miss Saturn's constant presence for one week every month. To be honest, Blanc missed her too. She and Nepgear was the only reason Blanc had faith that Neptune will eventually stop being what she is.

"Ready to leave?" Blanc asked.

"Sure do!" Ram smiled.

"We will visit Nero-chan first, right?" Rom asked.

"Nero? Oh… that Lastation goddess from Saturn's dimension," Blanc remarked. "Neptune did told me to drag her to Planeptune whether she liked it or not. Well I am confident to say that I should be able to drag her over should thunder tits and Noire fails."

Blanc, Rom and Ram then took off in their transformed state towards Saturn's hidden house. Hopefully that short goddess will agree to go to Planeptune quietly without the need for Blanc to resort to force. It would really ruin her Christmas mood if she had to do that.

---

[Lastation – Basilicom]

"Onee-chan, here's all the papers I've done," Uni said while she tidied up the stack of papers on her desk before handing them over to Noire.

"Thanks to you, we are able to get it done rather quickly," Noire smiled. "Not that I can't do it myself if I have to."

"Impressive," Kei remarked. Although she was no longer working at the basilicom full time, she still returned once in a while to ensure that everything is alright. "Last time you would always require Saturn to force you to bed."

"I'm not a workaholic anymore," Noire puffed her chest proudly. "Saturn taught me the importance of resting in between work so that I can continue giving my one hundred percent effort to everything."

"That parable of the lumberjacks, isn't it?" Kei asked. "One that continues doing her work and one that rested once in a while to sharpen her saw blade."

"Exactly. It took me a while to figure it out. Oh right… while I remember, Uni… no more asking Neptune to take over your job," Noire reprimanded the candidate, causing Uni to flinch. "Could you imagine the shock I got when the one wearing your dress turned out to be Neptune?!"

"Well, she was the one who called here out of concern," Uni said, recalling the incident. It happened on the same day when she borrowed Neptune's clothes to hang out with Nepgear. That didn't end particularly well, though. "And it was before Saturn decides to help out the other nations because she didn't want to start a nation on her own."

"In any case, shouldn't you two get going?" Kei asked. "Neptune had asked if you can rest for a week to enjoy Christmas and New Years, so I had taken the liberty of keeping the entire week free of work."

"Efficient as always. Thank you, Kei," Noire smiled before she tidied up her table.

"I'll take my leave then. I too would like to enjoy my Christmas break," Kei replied before she left the basilicom.

"Let's take a bath before we depart for Saturn's home," Noire told her sister. "Come, Uni. Our 'long lost sister' could use some cheering up."

Uni started packing while Noire took some winter clothes out of the wardrobe before heading for the bathroom.

"We'll take turns to save time," Noire replied. "We've been busy with work that we haven't had the time to actually packing our luggage for our one week stay."

"Onee-chan sound excited," Uni replied. "Just don't embarrass us further in front of the others. Onee-chan being jumpy during your first meeting with the others from the other side back then was bad enough for me."

"Put yourself in my shoes. If you had been patrolling around the corrupted Planeptune for days, I'm sure you would've done the same," Noire retorted. "The others and I were barely getting any rest since you choose to follow Nepgear while bringing Rom and Ram with you."

Uni didn't answer so Noire continued on telling her that they're running short of time. Earlier today, Neptune had given a call that the portal to the other side had been opened and the others should be arriving soon. After a quick shower and preparing their luggage, Noire and Uni flew towards Saturn's Retreat.

---

[Saturn's Retreat]

Blanc and the twins were the first to arrive in the hideout, right outside the house that Saturn called home. They were followed by Vert a few seconds later.

"I knew I would meet you here, Blanc," Vert initiated the conversation. "Hello to you too, little ones."

"We're not little anymore!" Ram pouted.

"Really big onee-chan looking for Nero-chan as well?" Rom asked.

"That's right, Rom," Vert answered. "Although I doubt I alone could drag her to Planeptune if she refused."

"You can leave it to me," Blanc replied. Right after she finished speaking, Noire and Uni joined the group.

"What's up?" Uni asked. "Why is everyone outside? We should get inside and talk to Nero."

Uni knocked on the doors and waited before Nero opened it. Nero did open the door, although her eyes were even redder than normal and showed signs of having cried just recently. Her hair was also in a mess.

"Oh… you guys," Nero seemed surprised. "I thought you should be over at Planeptune already?"

"No can do, Nero-neechan," Ram replied. "You're coming with us."

"I… I'm not going," Nero replied. "I'm staying here."

"Look, we don't have time for this. The others are already waiting," Blanc said.

"Then just go on ahead. My absence won't harm anyone," Nero replied.

"It might not harm us, but you've been with the others for years, haven't you?" Noire tried to play on Nero's guilt. "I'm sure they wanted to see you too…"

"Pururut and the others are here?" Nero asked.

"Yes. They're here," Uni replied. "Come on, Nero. We've known Saturn for years. We missed her, we all do."

"But…"

"No buts. You're coming with us," Uni said and attempted to pull the goddess out of her home. While Nero resisted, she didn't do so without much force.

"Alright. I'll go," Nero gave up. To her, it's either she comes voluntarily or the others will force her to do so. Seeing no other choice, she agreed and hoped that it would give her a time to get over the fact that Saturn was not coming back. "Give me some time to tidy myself up and pack, then we'll be on our way. In the mean time, make yourselves comfortable inside. I'm not rude as to leave my fellow goddesses outside in this snow storm."

While waiting for Nero to finish her preparations, the group looked at how Nero had turned Saturn's once-humble house into a fine place for anyone to live.

"As expected of a fellow goddess of Lastation. Her taste is perfect," Noire declared proudly.

"That's some high quality books there," Blanc said as she looked at the rack in the corner of the room. "Where did she find such extensive collection of Assassinate Creed books?"

"Pity she didn't have any of the books I wanted," Vert sighed.

"I think your 'books' only target a certain group of people," Blanc sneered.

"Excuse me," Vert glared back at Blanc before the twins stepped in between them to calm them down.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Nero ran downstairs clad in her usual outfit, contrary to the home clothes that she wore just now. "Let us leave. Oh, about those books, you can borrow them if you like."

After Blanc finished packing the extra books into her luggage, the group of seven transformed and flew directly towards Planeptune's basilicom. Along the way, Blanc, Vert and Noire conversed with Nero to get to know her better. It seems that Nero was unable to get over her attachment to Saturn and was deeply hurt that she actually withdrew into seclusion inside Saturn's home. Noire, who had been through Nero's current state when Neptune didn't return from work and when Uni disappeared into another world, consoled the younger goddess who started tearing up mid-flight.

"Just let it all out," Noire said. "Trying to act tough will make it even worse. I've been through worse, I can assure you."

---

[Planeptune – Basilicom]

"Well well… lookie here," Neptune greeted the group when they arrived. "You guys are super duper late. Gear was getting ready to prepare some awesome food for today and tomorrow but she can't do it alone."

"Took us a while to encourage Nero to come here," Noire replied. "She's still affected by Saturn's demise."

"Is that so? I'm so sorry, Nero, but… you need to learn to let stuff go…" Neptune looked at one of her best friends.

"Sorry, Nep. I've had a lot on my mind recently," Nero replied.

"Sorry!" Neptune replied quickly before she realized. "Wait a minute… what am I apologizing for, exactly?"

Neptune's last sentence caused the group to crack for a moment. Neptune always spoke randomly as long as she isn't in her Purple Heart mode.

"Nero!"

Nero looked towards the seating area and smiled at the other goddesses that were seated there. V Blanc, V Vert and V Noire smiled at her. Pururut waved while Piishe looks as if she's about to pounce Nero if Pururut hadn't held on to Piishe's hand.

"Nero! Nero! Nero!" Piishe repeatedly said before Pururut let her go and allowed her to approach Nero. "How are you?"

"I'm fine now Piishe. Thank you," Nero smiled.

"Thank goodness. I was beginning to worry you won't show up," V Noire smiled. "It's been a while, senpai."

"I trust that your Lastation is fine?" Nero asked.

"My nation's doing well. But it looks like Neptune's 'honey' is catching up to me very quickly," V Noire sighed while looking at her counterpart who was now kissing with Neptune under the mistletoe.

"Well, she's definitely the more experienced goddess. Not to mention she had Uni and Arc helping her out with her duties while you only have Ace around," Nero grinned. The two were soon joined by the others from Pururut's dimension to catch up before Nero's cell phone (which was Saturn's) rang. "Excuse me for a moment."

Nero then left towards another corner where she conversed with whoever that was on the other side of the line. After ending the phone call, she gulped before repeating, "I can do this… yeah… I can do this… I just need to spike the drink and make them drink 'it' while they're drunk… or… I can always just hand 'it' over to Pururut…"

After her phone call, Nero realized that the group have divided itself into four while she's gone. Lowee group was decorating the room. Planeptune group was at the Christmas tree, which Nero find odd considering that they aren't exactly tall and the Christmas tree was at least twice of Nepgear's height. Lastation and Leanbox group were inside the kitchen, cooking.

Rom and Ram were setting up the large table that will be used for Christmas dinner tomorrow by setting the tablecloth, followed by plates and other eating utensils. The candelabra were later placed after they were satisfied at the table's condition. The red scented candles that Neptune provided were then placed on each candelabrum before the twins muttered 'Agi' to light the candles without the need for them to use matches or lighters. Blanc and her counterpart decorated the basilicom's windows and walls while transformed, so that they could fly and reach areas where they wouldn't be able to reach normally. Nero was surprised that the two were able to do so without making so much noise, given how brash and rude the two can be whenever they're in their White Heart form. They placed the mistletoe on the arch which leads to the dining area.

After a short discussion, the Planeptune group settled on red and gold decoration for the Christmas tree. Pururut had initially wanted blue and silver, but Nepgear argued that it will make them feel blue. Red and gold would make them feel cheerful and happy, something that Saturn would want. The lavender haired goddess always urged the party to stay positive. Decorating the Christmas tree gets progressively harder as they moved on to its higher branches, especially when one took Neptune and Pururut's height in question. They decided to form a human Nep-Tower, with Nepgear at the bottom, Neptune sitting on Nepgear's shoulders and Pururut sitting on Neptune's shoulder to decorate the higher part of the tree. After some struggles and near-falls, the trio finally finished decorating the tree proper. Piishe wanted to transform to put the star on the tree, but Nepgear prevented her from doing so on her own. Instead, Nepgear transformed and carried Piishe to get the younger goddess within range. Neptune sighed in relief, because she knew that Yellow Heart might accidentally topple the Christmas tree since she was unable to contain her excitement often. Given that the tree was placed quite near to the fireplace, it might end up catching fire.

Nero moved quickly to join the other Lastation and Leanbox goddesses in the kitchen since their share of the work was to do the cooking. The two Verts were stuffing the turkey while the two Noires were in charge of making dessert, so Nero joined the lone candidate and started chopping on random items as instructed by Vert. The ingredients Nero took care of will be used to make the side dishes for tomorrow's turkey dinner.

After Nepgear helped Piishe, she went to the kitchen to help Uni out with today's dinner. It seemed that they have settled for a simple V Lowee style dinner of some fish, meat, vegetables and a bowl of rice. Nepgear made sure to cook more than enough, given how much her own older sister, Pururut and Piishe can consume. While the dishes are taking some time to cook, Nero helped to take care of the rice before she returned to her own duties.

While Uni can cook, she just can't make any dish that was too sophisticated. That's where Nepgear's expertise comes in. The two seemed to complement one another in any kind of scenario. Nero looked at the young lovers helping each other and can't help but to smile. During that moment, V Vert took the liberty of hugging the younger goddess from behind. While Nero seemed uncomfortable at the thought of having V Vert's assets directly above her own head, she didn't display any retaliation whatsoever.

"Make sure you don't overcook the rice," Nepgear smiled. "I'm sure you won't want to eat porridge for dinner."

"I'm sure that while we don't mind, but I doubt your sister would be the same," Nero replied before she slipped away from V Vert to join Noire and her counterpart in making dessert. There are all sorts of pudding, pie, even homemade ice cream. V Noire seemed to have made some weird looking liquid and was now in the process of putting it in the freezer to get it ready for tomorrow.

"What's that for?" Nero asked.

"Shaved ice… at least that's what Uni told me," V Noire replied. "It's not just any ice. I mixed it with some milk and sugar."

Nero waited until everyone was too busy to pay attention to what she was doing before she poured a bit of the alcohol she brought into the jugs of orange and apple juice that was placed in the corner of the kitchen table. What she didn't notice was Pururut spying on her from the kitchen's entrance with a split-second sadistic grin in her face. She had her back facing the entrance since she wanted to keep an eye on everyone in the kitchen.

The two Noires add the finishing touches to their collection of sweets and other desserts by pouring the pudding solution into the cups before they placed them in the fridge to cool down. They have yet to prepare the sauce for the pudding, although it can be done some other time. With most the food for tomorrow's Christmas dinner prepared, the group wiped their sweaty brows and rested around the kitchen table. Nero had prepared cups of iced water beforehand. There weren't enough chairs for everyone, so Nero sat on Vert's lap instead. During the short break, Uni and Nepgear prepared the deep fryer to fry the meat and fish.

"In the very least, our connection with Laplace Village has allowed us to sample the good stuff," Uni smiled. "To be honest, I'm not exactly confident with the recipe myself, but looks like the cookbook that I borrowed from the village works."

"Indeed. The name of spices are odd, but after you took me to that village, I was able to discern what they are called in Gamindustri," Nepgear hugged Uni from behind. "Or else, we won't be able to have a good Christmas party like this."

"Laplace Village?" V Noire asked.

"Oh, it's just a place in another world where Uni was sent to when she discovered something in the ruins," Noire answered. "We've established a trading post close to that village and had begun introducing them to Gamindustri's products."

"Another world? Not just another dimension?" V Vert asked. She stopped cutting the vegetables for a while.

"Exactly. Another world. It's not related to Gamindustri in any way. They don't even have goddesses," Vert explained while she picked a large bowl and took the dressing out of the fridge. "Well, they said that they did have one. She's long gone, though."

"It was a long story. I don't think the author would even have enough time to do it in this Christmas fic," Uni remarked.

The short break ended and the group resumed with their respective objectives. Nero didn't have anything to do, so she helped the two Noires with the pudding sauce. The two Verts decided to make salad for tonight's dinner while the candidates fried the meat.

After the food was done, the kitchen team served dinner for everyone. Ram and Rom were playing on the dinner table while waiting for the food, while Piishe kept asking Pururut the same question. She seemed to be incredibly hungry. The two Blancs read the volumes of Assassinate Creed books that Blanc borrowed from Nero. On the other hand, Neptune and Pururut were lazing about as usual.

Exactly like Nepgear had predicted, they managed to finish seventeen people's worth of food even when there's only fourteen of them around. Neptune kept asking for refills, while Piishe and Pururut ate more than just their portion of food. It wasn't long before Neptune started choking on the rice, prompting a worried Nepgear to pass her older sister some water to gulp down the food. Noire could only look embarrassed by what Neptune just did. On the other hand, V Noire had a good laugh despite being silenced by a glare from Pururut.

After dinner, the group returned back to the couches around the fireplace. The goddesses didn't do anything other than relaxing and just discussing random topics among each other. Time just kept passing by as they discussed on random topics that came to their mind. It was obvious that the two Noires are much closer to each other now, given with their bad first impression of each other back then. Their discussions were more business-like, although Pururut and Neptune quickly reminded their respective Noire to quit discussing about work, just relax and enjoy the holiday. Blanc wanted to write a biography about Saturn for the next book competition, so she had been going around asking people what Saturn did. She's currently asking her counterpart on how Saturn changed her life. The two Verts were exchanging some doujins and visual novels from their nations.

Nero, not being in charge of any nation, mingled with the candidates instead of the goddesses. That, in return, prompted Vert to ask Nero once more if she would become her candidate. Before she could finish her sentence, however, Nero shot her down.

"Why didn't you set up your own nation?" Ram asked. "Is it because of the responsibilities?"

"No. it is nothing like that. My country will always be… Lastation," Nero replied. "I'm the goddess of Lastation from where I come from and I always will be. Still, I can see that the Lastation here and the Lastation there are in good hands. There is no need for me to interfere."

"Then come with us!" Uni replied. "Sis could always use an extra pair of hands."

"Oh no you don't. She's coming with me," V Noire overheard the conversation and joined in. "Your sister already have a candidate to help her around."

"I'm sure Saturn would want Nero to resume her duties in helping my nation," Noire brushed off her counterpart's arguments. "Saturn had been doing that long before she landed in your dimension."

It wasn't before long before everyone argued with who Nero should be helping. Nero ended the argument by saying that she will help out only when they really need her help. After finishing her sentence, she looked at the two Verts and gave them a warning not to suffocate her again using their assets.

"Does that mean?" V Vert asked.

"I don't mind sitting on your lap or getting hugged from behind… to be honest," Nero sighed as she felt herself blushing. "Although… I can't say the same to Piishe. She seems to dislike you."

Piishe hid herself behind the slightly taller Nero and nodded twice while huffing. It was obvious that neither of the two Verts left the childlike goddess a good impression.

"Piishe… it's not nice to dislike a fellow goddess," Nero patted the yellow goddess before turning to the two Verts. "You two too. Be a little more gentle… actually, Vert… I don't see how you can't be gentle to me and Piishe with how you're treating Blanc and her younger sisters."

"What?" V Vert looked at her counterpart.

"Well, it's true… I've been seeing Blanc whenever I got bored of playing MMO…" Vert replied. "To tell you the truth, I might lack a proper younger sister, but my fellow goddesses are like younger sisters to me. Or at least I treat them like one."

"You like her huh?" Nero asked.

"Well… more familial than love, given how the twins can get out of control once in a while," Vert answered. "I don't mind helping her to take care of the twins if Atlus isn't around. Although sometimes I feel I'm more of a bother to Blanc than an actual help."

"Hey, I appreciate your efforts," Blanc replied from the couch she and her counterpart are reading. "It's more fun dealing with the twins when you're around."

The group's chitchat returned back to the random topics just like it had before the discussion on who Nero was supposed to be helping out. Nero then asked Pururut, Neptune and Nepgear on how their girlfriends changed their life. The two Noires and Uni also heard and joined in.

Neptune said that she was glad that Noire finally pulled enough courage and confessed. Neptune then goes on telling Nero and the others about how she waited and waited for Noire to confess. Neptune also had to resort to dropping subtle hints here and there that she actually returns Noire's affections. Despite that, however, she used her Neptune persona to play hard to get, which greatly stresses Noire. However, she did manage to make sure that Noire yell out her confession while she thought that Neptune had left. Truth to be told, Neptune… Purple Heart, rather… was around the corner hidden from view and shrouded in the shadows. Noire then mentioned that Saturn did try to play Cupid and make sure the two spend some time together… although back then Noire didn't believe that Neptune actually shared her feelings. Neptune later warned Noire that she dislikes the mixed signals (welcoming her for a few moments before pushing away in the next) Noire was sending to her.

Uni spoke up next, saying that it was love at first sight for the black candidate… even way before she realized that Nepgear was the purple candidate Noire talked so highly of. Uni had tried to express her feelings more so that Nepgear could return them. However, the purple candidate seemed to place her own elder sister first and foremost. Nepgear then admitted that she was rather dense when it comes to love. Although the purple candidate did take Uni out for a date on more than a couple of occasions, she was unaware of the reason why Uni was blushing all the way. Nepgear even did some soul searching to try to understand the signals Uni was giving her. Saturn later explained that Uni loved her and wanted to be with her more than as a friend, but Nepgear wasn't sure how to return Uni's feelings and thus she asked the older goddess for a suggestion (not that she can actually ask Neptune, who at this point, had already started going steady with Noire). After that, the two also started going out. Uni had assumed that her older sister won't approve of her going out with Nepgear, so she refrained from telling anyone other than Saturn. The same goes for Nepgear, who was unaware of why Noire had begun to spend time with Neptune more often.

Pururut's case was one that Nero knew all too well. V Noire had been with her ever since before Saturn and Nero arrived in their Gamindustri. V Noire confessed to Pururut after Neptune and Noire told everyone else that they are dating. Although, to Nero, it was more like V Noire just gave Puru all the reason she needs to violate her best friend. Well, not that she cannot help it. V Noire loved Pururut enough not to run away from Pururut's sadist side even after she transforms into Iris Heart. Nero was almost broken by Iris Heart too, who transformed during their first meeting. Unlike Neptune's beloved, this Noire already knew her feelings from before she became a goddess and was just waiting for the right moment to confess. However, with the Seven Sages lurking around, all of her attempts to confess were often interrupted by emergency situations. Pururut, on the other hand, was waiting for Noire to say the three words. Of course, once Noire actually said the three words, something happens at night, with Saturn and Nero seeing that Noire was extremely tired while Pururut seemed to be more awake than usual.

Nero felt left out when everyone started placing wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree. She had no time to prepare presents since she had planned on not going, but since she's a good artist, she volunteered to do a portrait painting for each and every single one of her fellow goddesses and candidates tomorrow.

"Five minutes until Christmas," Neptune stated cheerfully after she glanced at the clock. "No touchie feelie the presents until dinner tomorrow, though."

"Who made that rule up?" Nero asked.

"Well you're on my land, so I make the rules," Neptune folded both of her arms and puffed her nonexistent chest.

Nero noted that she would make a better impression doing that as Purple Heart, although seeing Purple Heart behave like Neptune would be embarrassing. Nero had noticed that Neptune and Purple Heart was the same person at heart, Purple Heart just provides Neptune the necessary means to get what she wanted in a more suave, mature way.

Pururut was hardly different herself. Despite being sweet and lazy, Pururut has a hidden sadistic streak that triggers when something big happens to her friends. As Iris Heart, however, that sadistic streak also extends to her friends. Nero can only wonder what kind of 'rough treatment' V Noire gets all night.

Midnight soon struck and the goddesses bid each other 'Merry Christmas' before they picked one of the seven rooms that were prepared for them at Neptune's Basilicom. The sleeping arrangements were Uni with Nepgear, Noire with Neptune, V Noire with Pururut, the twins, Nero with Piishe, the two Verts and the two Blancs. When asked for the reason why, Vert told Nero that she wanted to discuss something with her counterpart while Blanc wanted to trade stories with her counterpart for a new novel material that might be able to unseat Falcom's autobiography during the next year's awards.

"Hey…" Nero called over to Neptune, Pururut and Uni.

"What's up, Noire's emo cousin?" Neptune asked.

"I'm not emo," Nero protested. She then Nero lifted six packets of pills that she received a few days prior to the Christmas party. While Pururut and Neptune looked at the pills with interest, Uni turned visibly pale. She had recognized those pills and accidentally swallowed one due to her curiosity while she was trapped in the other world. "I suppose you guys know what this is?"

"How did you get those?" Uni asked.

"You know what this is?" Neptune asked.

"Yeah… of course I knew what that is… those are the pills my friends from another world placed in my luggage before I returned here," Uni replied. "My sister swallowed one by accident, thinking it was vitamin supplement before your visit that day."

Neptune now realized what that pill did before and shook her head, citing that it was impossible for her to actually use it, be it on Noire or on herself. Pururut, who put all the clues she needed from Neptune and Uni took two pills for herself, saying that she was going to enjoy her night before entering her room and bidding everyone goodnight. Seeing no other choice, Neptune and Uni picked two for themselves before retreating into their respective room.

After which, everyone returned to their respective rooms to rest for the night. What happens after the doors were shut and the light turned off… is a story for another day.

---

[Planeptune] {25 / 12}

Noire and V Noire looked incredibly tired when they left their room for breakfast. On the other hand, Pururut, Nepgear, Neptune and Uni looked energetic as they greeted everyone else in the kitchen. Uni and Nepgear were cooking breakfast for everyone. Everyone had their share of the scrambled eggs, bacon, meat patty, buns and hash browns.

"These look wonderful," Pururut looked at her portion. It seemed that she and Neptune got double of what everyone else are getting. "I've never had something like this before."

"A recipe from Leanbox," Nepgear explained. "I learned during my own adventure years back."

Since the snowstorm had passed, the group took their time after breakfast to make sure that the way to the basilicom isn't blocked by snow. Neptune, Pururut, the twins and Piishe opted to play snowball war while the others worked to clear up the snow. Getting hit by a stray snowball changed everything for Nero, though. Clearing the snow was soon forgotten and the group started throwing snowballs at each other. Snow was cleared from blocking the basilicom in the process, so Neptune had no complaints.

Afternoon was spent touring the now snow-capped Planeptune. Given that the goddesses from Pururut's dimension didn't manage to get some time to tour around Neptune's dimension, they were really surprised at how Neptune's Planeptune was still the most technologically advanced nation despite her darling's Lastation hogging most of the dimension's shares.

"Yeah. The reason why Planeptune has the lowest shares but the best technology is because Neptune had always been focused on putting others ahead of herself," Noire explained.

"Whenever one of us is in trouble, Planeptune will always be the first to respond to our cry for help," Blanc agreed. "Despite Neptune being such a massive show-off, she does live up to her reputation."

"Why else did you think Saturn was helping all of us?" Vert asked.

"Because Neptune is lazy despite being helpful so she sent Saturn in her place while she slacks off elsewhere," Nero answered. The other three thought for a moment before nodding twice, supporting Nero's statement. That in turn caused Neptune to go, "Nep! That wasn't true!"

"That was partially true…" Noire said while shaking her head. "I recall both Saturn and Nepgear constantly complaining about how you like to escape from anything job-related."

While the group was discussing about how Neptune need to improve her work habits, the same was going on with the other group of goddesses. Pururut was contemplating on teaching Piishe some basic responsibilities as a goddess. The candidates separated from the goddesses while they were chatting away, dragging Nero with them. Nero had remained in Saturn's home ever since the end of their adventure a few years back, so they took Nero on a tour around the city. Being covered in snow prevented the group from going everywhere, but most parts of the city were active despite the holiday mood.

Halfway through the tour, the group stopped at a nearby café to get some warm drink and snacks. Nepgear then called her sister to let them know where they were. It seemed that Neptune brought everyone to a department store and the group from the other dimension was busy checking out for anything that they could bring back home. Then Neptune mentioned something about helping V Blanc and V Noire find the area where Saturn's successor could be found, although currently they aren't sure yet.

It was dinner time when they returned back to the basilicom to have a proper Christmas dinner. In order to finish them quickly, everyone except the twins and Piishe were in the kitchen. Minor mishaps happened here and there, although the cooking went on rather smoothly. After everything was done, they moved the turkey to the oven. While that was going on, Noire went to light up all the candles that the candidates and the Blancs placed around the dining room and living room area. Uni left the kitchen afterwards to help her elder sister with the candles. When the turkey was cooked and cut into appropriate pieces, Blanc then called for the twins and Piishe to help carry the dishes from the kitchen to the dining table.

Ram, Rom and Piishe then helped to carry the finished dishes out of the kitchen and set them on the table. Nero volunteered to help them out because she suspected something. Sure enough, Nero had to slap Piishe's hand away from the food to prevent her from getting started too early. Nero later did that to Neptune, who almost got her hands on some of the dessert that the two Noires made during Christmas Eve. Specifically, it was the caramel pudding that was made especially for Neptune by her beloved. After warning Neptune to keep her hands off the dessert until after dinner was done, the two left the kitchen to join the others.

After all of the food was placed neatly on the table, dinner continued without a hassle. The wine bottles that Vert brought from Leanbox were also distributed. Piishe and the twins also wanted to drink, but both Verts prevented them from doing so because they are too young. Nero offered them some grape flavoured soft-drink that she brought with her to compensate for the wine. Fortunately for the others, they agreed and quickly distributed them among themselves. Piishe's portion was limited by Pururut, though. Nero helped Vert to serve the turkey before tucking in to the portion that she kept for herself. As usual, Neptune more food than anyone else combined with Pururut and Piishe following behind.

After dinner was done, the twins cut a large piece of paper into smaller slips before painting the corner of one slip red while numbering the others. Nero wondered what it will be used for before telling herself that there was no use worrying about it now. She should just enjoy the food and continue looking forward to the event that the candidates had set up the previous day. Uni then gathered everyone around the couch area but asked them to sit on the floor while forming a circle because they were about to play a game.

"What sort of game is this?" Pururut asked.

"Well, allow me to explain. While I was stranded in a world without consoles or games, the villagers enjoy playing this game during huge events," Uni said. "It is played by using sticks equal to the amount of players around. All of the sticks are numbered, except for one, which has its end painted red."

"Whoever that picked the stick with the red end is the 'king' for that turn, so to speak," Nepgear continued for Uni. "The king's orders are absolute."

V Vert smirked when she heard about this. Since the king's orders are absolute, that means Nero had no choice but to sit on V Vert if she gets to become the king.

"But there is the reason why the sticks are numbered," Uni remarked. "You can order someone to do something, but not by their name. Instead, you say a number and whoever that happens to be holding a stick with that number will have to do what the king said."

'This will be difficult…' V Vert thought. If she can only order someone to do something through their numbers, she would no doubt need a lot of luck to do so.

"But since we don't have sticks here, Rom and Ram have prepared some paper slips for us," Uni smiled and placed a small can with rolled paper slips inside. "The paper slips will be taken randomly. I will start by asking 'Who's the king?' after all the paper slips have been taken. After that the previous turn's king will have to say the line. Alright?"

Everyone then took seat on the floor next to the Christmas tree, forming a circle. Since Uni knew the game more than the others, she started first by taking a paper slip from the can before passing it in a clockwise motion until everyone finally took their paper slips.

"So… who's the king?" Uni asked, prompting Neptune to jump upright and exclaim, "Ooh! Me! Me!"

True enough, in between Neptune's fingers was a paper slip with the red marking. Neptune then gave her usual cat-like smile as she eyes the crowd. Nero noted that Neptune wanted to say names, but she recalled the rules and started thinking about her next move.

"Hmm… I really don't know which number I should call…" Neptune looked around before asking her sister. "Nep Jr., the number is one to thirteen, right?"

"Yes. The red slip isn't marked with a number and we have fourteen players," Nepgear smiled.

"Hmm…" Neptune started thinking before she had an idea. "One and thirteen, go play Sticky Kiss!"

One and thirteen just happens to be the twins. Rom was rather uneasy at the thought of having to play that game with her own sister, while Ram motivated herself to just get it over with so that the game could continue. Uni handed them the strawberry coated stick to Ram, who promptly bit the non-coated end and offered the other to her older twin. It took Rom a few seconds to muster the courage to started biting slowly towards Ram. However, since both of them were shivering uncontrollably, the stick snapped right before their lips meet.

"Aww… wasted," Neptune sighed.

"Nep-chan! That's so cruel!" Ram protested, evidently still flustered. "Was that your way to get back at us every time we decided to prank you?"

"Ram… its okay," Rom said as she regained her composure. Her angelic smile, something which had been seen earlier in Blanc, seemed to have returned. "I was having fun."

"Right, now that the first round is over, can we put the paper slips back into the tin can so that we can start the second round?" Uni asked. Since Neptune was the king, she collected all the paper slips and shook the can wildly after sealing it before taking the first slip. After the can was passed around, Neptune asked who held the king, causing Uni to stand up.

"Alright. I'm the king now. Which number should I call?" Uni wondered out loud. "Let's see… how about… number two and number six! Kiss under the mistletoe!"

V Blanc looked around uncomfortably when her number, two, was mentioned by Uni. 'Who is holding on to number six?' she thought. Nero stood up slowly, her bangs covering the fact that her face is completely red right now. At the same time, V Blanc can sense the jealousy radiating from V Vert and got slightly nervous.

"Shall we… go?" Nero asked.

"Yeah… let's not keep the others waiting," V Blanc replied.

The two of them hastily walked towards the mistletoe branch that was placed directly above the door leading to the room they're at. Nero had cupped V Blanc's face with her hands so V Blanc had instinctively forced her eyes shut for the imminent kiss... only for Nero to plant a kiss on her forehead instead. It appears that Nero managed to find a loophole in Uni's orders and manage to save herself and V Blanc from losing their first kiss, although V Blanc doesn't seem to mind losing it to Nero. She had always liked how compassionate Nero can be towards her friends, even if she does have a huge ego. They returned to the group with some people showing disappointment that they didn't get to see a deep kiss, before continuing on with the game.

The game continued with the next round, with Noire being the king and ended up making Pururut to sit on Neptune's lap. Pururut being herself didn't let this chance to go by and enjoyed it while Neptune cannot do anything to retaliate, lest Pururut decides to go Iris on her. Noire could only sigh at her misfortune, given that she had predicted incorrectly.

Nero managed to become the king after Noire. Her choice of numbers caused Vert to feed Piishe candy using mouth to mouth, much to Piishe's discomfort. While Piishe attempts to resist, Pururut gave her a glare that causes the kid to stop struggling and just accept the candy. Vert praised Piishe for her obedience later on, causing Piishe to simply pout why does she had to get that order, from Nero no less.

The next round saw V Blanc trying to get some payback with what happened to her in the second round, although she ended up making Pururut kiss Noire below the mistletoe, leaving V Noire worried about her counterpart's safety. True enough, Pururut did have her way with Noire under the mistletoe although it was nothing special occured. Both Blancs covered the twins' eyes while Nero handled Piishe, who was once again protesting why she wasn't allowed to see. Pururut returned to the group with a smile to resume seating on Neptune's lap while Noire was trying to catch her breath.

"Ehehe, both of you taste the same," Pururut smiled widely as she returned to her previous position.

"Noire, you okay?" Neptune asked.

"I'm… fine… just a bit… dizzy…" Noire replied. "Just what did you drink before you kissed me?"

"Just a cup of the apple juice that Nero spiked while no one was looking," Pururut beamed, causing the others to look at Nero. "Or at least she thought no one was looking."

"Don't look at me! Someone told me it was a good idea!" Nero replied.

"Who told you that?" Blanc asked. She had a feeling that she knew whoever it was that told Nero that. The twins' teacher had said that she once played the 'king's game' with the other makers until nearly everyone gets drunk. "Wait… let me guess. Atlus?"

Nero nodded a few times to confirm Blanc's suspicion.

"Who's Atlus?" V Blanc asked her counterpart.

"She's the twins' teacher," Blanc replied. "She's the one responsible for the twins being this mature. Else, they would be getting on everyone's nerves."

"I heard tales of this Atlus and her 'execution'," Pururut mentioned. Hearing the word 'Execution' caused the twins to start shivering in fear. V Noire was completely nervous when she heard that as well. The consequences would be dire if Iris Heart learned what it was. By the look on their faces, the others from her home dimension seemed to share the same sentiment.

The King's Game continued on, with many unpredictable results. After the games were over, Pururut was still seated on Neptune. Neptune's legs were numb because Pururut didn't allow her to stretch them. Piishe was piggybacking on Nero's shoulder, much to the black haired goddess' displeasure. Rom and Ram had swapped their outfits, courtesy of Vert's orders when she managed to become the king. V Noire ended up wearing her reindeer antlers in addition to her Santa dress while Noire ended up as the Santa Claus, thanks to Nepgear. Blanc was stripped off her coat, which was now being worn by Uni, and had traded her hat for her counterpart's. V Blanc has kiss marks on the forehead, and both cheeks, done by Nero, Ram and Rom on separate occasions. V Vert was extremely tired when Blanc decides to let them play Tennis on Blanc's console against her counterpart. It was V Vert's first time playing on a console that used motion controller, causing her to get tired far more easily than her counterpart. Vert stretches her arm slightly because of the arm-wrestling match ordered by Nepgear between her and V Blanc. Apparently V Blanc toyed around with her for a short while to measure Vert's overall strength before she used everything she could to win the match.

Shortly after the King's Game, Blanc suggested that each of them have a go at Linken's Crossbow Training, yet another game that utilized the motion control. Given that the game involved shooting, it was a foregone conclusion that Uni and Nepgear would be the top two scorers. Noire shows that she was no slouch herself, barely losing to Nepgear by a few hundred points. Neptune followed Noire closely behind. Everyone else, however, was not as skilled. Blanc, Rom, Ram occupied the remaining slots in the upper half of the score sheet (for obvious reasons), followed closely by Vert, Nero and V Noire for top ten. V Blanc's and V Vert's scores aren't too bad either. Pururut and Piishe were unable to score in their own ways.

After the game was over they returned back to the dining table to start on their dessert. Pururut and Neptune did most of the job, causing Noire to comment on why they can be such big eaters when Pururut was barely active. Nero and V Noire knew exactly the reason why, but neither wished to speak up for fear of their own safety. Once again, Rom, Ram and Piishe would have to be content with the fizzy drinks that Nero provided instead of alcohol.

The dessert was taken out of the fridge and the group huddled together once again by the couches with a few candles lit around them as they relax to enjoy the day. Nero was visibly more cheerful than before she came. She was now playing 'Battleship Wars', another non-console game that Uni brought back from the other side and was currently explaining to Piishe how to play it. The candidates were playing their portable consoles and the goddesses are chatting away with their respective counterparts. Neptune seemed to be in heaven while she savoured the caramel pudding that Noire gave her.

"Ahh… Off time like this are the greatest! If only off time are every time," Neptune said as both she and Pururut lied down on the couch they're sharing. Being short had their advantages.

"Fuaaah… Nep-chan's couches are so fluffy. I could fall asleep so easily like this," Pururut giggled after she finished her sentence.

"Those two are so lazy," Noire said as she observed Neptune and Pururut. "Neptune was way worse than this a few years back… I can only thank Celestia for sending someone like Saturn to knock some sense into her."

"Care to tell me more about my senpai?" V Noire asked.

"Oh sure. It's a long story, but according to Nepgear she fell into one of Planeptune's heritage sites. Neptune's friends recovered and treated her injuries. When she did, she helped Nepgear in her efforts to free us from being held captive," Noire started. "Uni told me that Saturn lost all of her memories when Uni first met her. She said something about Saturn acting just like any normal person until they attempted to re-forge her sword using the power from the candidates. Only then, she recalled her true name and powers."

"Sounds harsh," V Noire replied.

"Yeah, it's true. Since the blade itself is the proof that one's a goddess back in my dimension, getting it broken can have a severe impact on your head," Nero joined the conversation while Piishe was unable to decide where she was planning to shoot next. "Of course, it will take an extreme effort to really make it break. It isn't any ordinary weapon after all."

Nero then said the coordinates for her next attack, taking out Piishe's aircraft carrier. The younger goddess can only pout and throws some tantrums at the loss of one of her ships.

"Ah yes. About Saturn… while it is true that our relationship is more like friendly rivals for shares, she was the glue that kept our little coalition going strong despite the fact that we faced the being that was known to herald the end of the world," Blanc smiled when she remembered the time they spent whenever it was Saturn's time of the month to be in Lowee. "Not to mention the amount of time she spent with each of us to keep us all strong. That's what that allows us to develop our technology and fighting skills."

"Senpai really left her mark here, huh?" V Blanc smiled. "Funny. She left a mark in our Gamindustri too."

"Wish she was here to see us now," Nero looked at the corner of the room… before she noticed a familiar shade of lavender there. It was Saturn, the goddess many thought was gone, sitting directly behind the couch that Pururut and Neptune was lying on with her back facing the group. However, it appears that none of the others noticed she was there and she looked transparent. She looked at Nero for a while and smiled before vanishing.

"I wouldn't dare to miss this… keep them safe, Nero. I know you can do it"

'I will. I'm done running.' Nero thought as she returned to the game. Piishe had successfully sunk her patrol boat this time.

After the Christmas party was over, the group once again returned back to their assigned rooms to rest for the day. Pururut pressured Nero into giving her more of the items she obtained last night before ensuring that Neptune and Nepgear did the same.

"This is going to be a looooong night," Neptune groaned.

"Your face early this morning betrays what you say, onee-chan," Nepgear replied shyly. "You clearly were having fun."

"You were the one having the most fun, though. All things considered," Neptune replied before her younger sister turned beet red. Pururut was teasing Nepgear about it as well.

"Goodnight," Nero said before she joined Piishe in her room.

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Review, if you want to. anything that can help this beginner improve is much appreciated. Especially when English isn't my first language.

I know I probably left a lot of things unexplained in this fic, so if you don't mind, just ask me in a PM or on your reviews and I'll get back to you. The only warning I can give is the fact that it contains a lot of spoilers for other fics I have in mind (which is the reason why I excluded the explanation in the first place).