Spoiler Warning: This story contains slight spoilers from Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2. If you have any intention on playing the game in the future, do not proceed if you do not want the ending ruined. If you've seen the ending, or have no intention to play the game, please proceed and enjoy the ride.
Additional Warning: This story is in no way affiliated with my earlier Neptunia 'Resolution' storyline; it instead takes place after the true ending of Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2. For those curious about my first Neptunia project, please go look for Neptunia Mk2: Conquest Ending: Resolution.
"How did I get here?" Uni, the CPU Candidate of Lastation, was standing in the middle of a Planeptunian Plaza, her face flushed a pale pink that clashed brilliantly with her shining ebony tresses. Despite her misgivings, the young goddess was wearing a pale white pilot's cap, a black and white long-sleeved blouse that frilled out towards the end, blue jean shorts, and black and white shoes with circular designs. Clutching a black bag of similar design, the girl was fidgeting as she glanced at her black Leanbox uPhone.
"It's not that I don't want to be here..." She thought to herself. "But what made me agree to a date with Nepgear?" If she had to think back on it, it might have been when Kei made the very surprising suggestion that Uni take a break from her work.
Lastation Basilicom; Three Days Prior
"You're telling me I should take a day off?" Uni spluttered, stunned.
"Yes; I think you should take a...break," Kei Jinguji, the Oracle of Lastation, repeated. A woman of small stature, Kei was what one would commonly refer to as a 'bifauxen', a woman with the charm of a bishōnen. With cropped silver hair, bright aqua eyes, and clothed in a near-formal black suit with gold lining with many buttons and shorts, instead of jeans or pants complete with coattails rode from the base of the coat, with black socks and shoes, the woman was dressed for business.
"Is this in any way related to those cupcakes you bought for us last month?" Uni asked, suspiciously. If she was honest, Kei had been acting rather shiftily in the past month or so, frequently making trips down to Lowee with the vague excuse of official ambassador duties.
"You could say that," Kei replied, as unperturbed as she ever was. "I was speaking with Mina, and she mentioned something referred to as a 'break', where people take time off from work to do things of a personal nature." It wasn't that Kei had never heard of taking a holiday from work; it simply wasn't in her style to shirk work simply for leisure. To Kei, work was her idea of 'fun'.
"You've been doing an exemplary job at your work, Uni," Kei continued. "However, with Noire here to pick up the slack, and the backed up paperwork from her three-year absence having relatively thinned down, I don't believe it would hurt us for you to take one day off to do something you'd like."
"Do something I'd like..." Uni thought to herself, and her mind drifted to the flowing purple hair and innocent smile of Nepgear.
Nepgear had far more free-time than Uni herself had, and when Uni told Nepgear that she had a chance to take a day off from work, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune — with a forceful prod from Neptune — mustered up her own courage to ask Uni out on a date.
Completely flustered, the ruby-eyed girl had agreed, and this was what brought her here — waiting in Planeptune's famous Gold Ring Plaza for her first date, and with Nepgear no less.
"Uni!"
The young goddesses' ears caught the voice of the girl she was waiting on, and her heart felt like it jumped in her chest as she clutched her phone in her hand, turning around to see Nepgear running towards her. The CPU Candidate of Planeptune looked starkly different from how she normally did; as if determined to impress Uni, the girl had tied her bright purple tresses into a ponytail, and she now donned a white dress with a lavender tint, and a dark purple jacket with golden buttons and sequins; in addition, she had a gold-bead purse dangling from her left arm.
Uni's faced flushed again. "She looks so cute!" The ebony-tressed girl gasped.
"Were you waiting long?" Nepgear queried, smiling brightly as she skidded to a stop in front of her date for the day.
"N-No, I just got here," Uni lied through her teeth; she didn't want Nepgear to know she'd actually been standing here for a good hour because she didn't want to be the one that arrived late.
"That's good," Nepgear, as dense as usual, didn't see through Uni's lie, and bought into it hook, line, and sinker. "So...let our date begin!"
"So, this is the Gold Ring Plaza," Uni looked around in amazement. Despite being led by Neptune, who Uni had to admit seemed a few eggs short of a basket, Planeptune was the most technologically developed nation out of the four landmasses, and it showed. Contrasting entirely to the charcoal, "steam-punk" Lastation, the buildings in Planeptune were bubble and spiral buildings made entirely of stainless titanium. Despite being made of metal, the Planeptunian buildings had a very creative way of regulating heat properly.
While the sun gleamed off the reflective metal exterior, the heat created by the solar energy would be transmitted through underlying panels. The solar panels would then dissipate the raw temperatures exceeding comfort level into energy, decreasing the amount of energy expense each building has to use. Doing this also powers the cooling units placed within the structures themselves, powered by the very heat that sought the boil the occupants of said towers of metal alive.
This was the creativity and end result of Planeptunian technology that was the source of inspiration for Noire's creative drive when devising new technologies for her own land.
"C'mon, Uni!" Nepgear slipped her hand into Uni's, complete immune to the girl's amazement, and began to pull her along, despite the protests that escaped Uni's throat.
"N-Nepgear don't pull on me!" The girl tried — albeit half-heartedly — to remove her hand from Nepgear's stronger grip, but to no avail.
"Why? Dates are supposed to hold each other's hands, after all," Nepgear smiled innocent back at Uni as she continued to pull the girl through the plaza, deftly weaving around crowds of people as if they weren't' even there.
"H-Hold h-hands!?" Uni's face flushed deep crimson; to make matters worse, she couldn't deny she enjoyed the feeling of her hand gripped in Nepgear's; it was reassuring, and eventually, she simply let the girl lead her.
The two quickly boarded a moving sidewalk, following the red walkway with green arrows that pointed forward. With even Nepgear having the common courtesy not to run on a moving platform, and Uni unable to fully pry her hand from Nepgear's powerful vicegrip, the two had a moment to simply enjoy the feeling of being hand in hand.
"Nepgear's hand...it feels nice," Uni thought to herself, and reflexively tightened her own grip around Nepgear's hand. Despite the pale skin of Nepgear's hand feeling quite cool, just this simple act caused Uni to feel a strange kind of warmth. Before she could give this any further thought, the two came to a stop in front of the marketplace.
"Where's this?" Uni asked curiously as the two stepped off the sidewalk, and she looked around to see various stands that seemed to be serving various kind of sweets and treats. Taking a deep inhale, Uni could pick up several aromas that clashed together, but after several moments, she could distinguish scents that were familiar to her — okonomiyaki, taiyaki, takoyaki and yakisoba, among others — and she only realised just how hungry she was.
"I thought before we do anything, we could grab a quick snack," The purple-tressed girl replied cheerfully. If there was anything she and Neptune shared, it was a love of snacks; Nepgear was simply more subdued. "Do you want to grab anything?"
Using her nose to make her decision for her, Uni and Nepgear walked through the plaza until a fruity, buttery scent wafted across her nostrils. With her mouth watering, Uni immediately knew what snack she wanted. "I want crêpes!" She gestured towards a crêperie stand close to them.
"So excited," Nepgear giggled, causing Uni to flush slightly. "You have a second stomach for sweets, don't you Uni?"
"S-So what if I do!?" Uni replied indignantly. "All girls have a second stomach just for sweets!"
Giggling, Nepgear led Uni by the hand towards the crêperie, Love Angels, which was being managed by a bishōnen young man with spiky black-tresses wearing wire-rimmed glasses that covered bright blue eyes. With a soft smile, he looked up over his metal counter to notice his new customers, and his eyes flashed to Nepgear with no small hint of recognition. "N-Nepgear-san!" His smile became one of formality, and he stood stiff; this was only fitting, as Nepgear, candidate or not, was still a Goddess, and her more reliable nature meant her presence commanded slightly more respect than Neptune. "What would you like?"
Nepgear took her time looking over the selection, not the slightest bit bothered by the sudden change in the atmosphere with the clerk that Uni caught onto. While she supposed Nepgear was oblivious to it, Uni recognized it; being a Goddess, candidate or otherwise, did produce a strange alienating effect from the humans.
"I'd like a crêpe with chocolate filling," Nepgear decided after a moment's deliberation.
"Of course!" The clerk replied almost instantly, straightening his glasses, which had slipped down the bridge of his nose in his earlier panic. "And what will your date have?"
"D-Date!?" Flushing fluorescent pink, Uni began to wonder how obvious it was that the two were on a date, but didn't press the matter when her eyes caught sight of the list of choices. Without a second's hesitation, she chose, "I'd like a crêpe with vanilla filling and cut strawberries."
Within minutes, the bespectacled man had fully prepared two crêpes for both girls; one with chocolate filling in the center and syrup spread around it, and one with vanilla filling in the center, surrounded by several strawberry slices. "Here you go; please enjoy, Nepgear-san. They're on the house."
"Oh goodness, I can't do that!" Nepgear replied, and insisted on paying the man the full price of 800 credits, despite his misgivings. Under pressure from Nepgear, the man took the money and handed them their crêpes, which each girl took with a smile on their face and proceeded to walk over towards a bench to eat.
"So, you actually pay for your own things?" Uni asked as the two parked themselves on a bench under the shade of a drooping tree. She didn't want to come off sounding the wrong way, she was merely surprised; as a candidate, she was used to the kind of behaviour she'd seen in that clerk, but she always just thought it was natural and went along with it.
"Of course I do," Nepgear replied, surprised that Uni would ask. "Despite the clerk's and cashier's insistence to the contrary, I don't think I shouldn't pay them just because I'm a Goddess. Even Neptune pays for her own things when she goes to buy things like pudding."
"Are my sister and I just an oddity? Uni wondered in amazement. Even on her way to Planeptune, the receptionist hadn't made Uni pay even one credit to board the ship, and she hadn't thought anything of it. She figured, however, that worrying about it now wasn't the best idea, if she truly wanted to enjoy her date with Nepgear.
"All that aside, let's dig into these!" The Goddess Candidate of Lastation quickly changed the subject, and Nepgear followed suit, nodding with a smile.
"Itadakimasu~!" Both girls exclaimed before taking a bite of their own crêpe. Both of the girl's expressions changed to one of pure enjoyment as the unique taste of their preferred treat filled their mouth. The creamy sweet taste of vanilla clashing with strawberries for Uni, and the rich texture and fluffy flavour of milk chocolate lit Nepgear's tastebuds alight.
"Derishious~" Nepgear cried, savouring the flavour of the crêpe. She swallowed, and then, as if spurred on by some crazy inspiration, Nepgear lunged, taking a bite out of Uni's crêpe. "And yours is even better~" She said with a giggle and wink.
"N-N-N-Nepgear!" Uni exclaimed in shock, her face reddening once more. Given how many times she'd blushed in only a few minutes, it was a wonder the girl had blood anywhere else in her body. "Why'd you do that!?"
"I wanted to try some," Nepgear replied with an innocent shrug of the shoulders. "Would you like to try some of mine as well?"
"Try some...an indirect k-k-kiss with Nepgear..." Uni began to get truly flustered at this point, looking around wildly like a small animal looking for an escape from a boxed-in room. With Nepgear staring at her earnestly with bright amethyst orbs, the most Uni could do is gather up her courage and lean in, taking a bite out of the crêpe herself. Letting the taste of chocolate fill her mouth, all Uni could think about was how Nepgear had bitten off this mere moments before, and she knew if her face got any redder, it'd be a tomato. Swallowing, she could only splutter in embarrassment, "Indirect kiss...N-Nepgear..."
That indirect kiss was still on Uni's mind as the two girls wandered through the rest of the Plaza.
Even though it was the most abstract kind, the fact that she shared the taste of a crêpe that Nepgear had tasted with her own lips didn't diminish the significance in the girl's mind. The texture, the sweet flavor, and the fact that it was Nepgear's crêpe that she had eaten off of left the moment vivid in her mind.
"To think Nepgear and I exchanged an indirect kiss," Uni thought with a flushed complexion, her fingertips rubbing her lips tenderly as she walked beside the Goddess of her dreams. She was so lost in thought she didn't notice Nepgear leading her by the hand towards a bright, colourful building; it took the girl a moment to process that the next stop on their date was Planeptune's famous arcade — the Soni-C Arcade: 'Gotta Go Fast'.
"We're going into an arcade?" Uni asked in surprise, and Nepgear simply replied "Of course," before leading the girl into the building. Entering the arcade set the girl's senses on fire; bright flashing colours, the sounds of video games playing, and the chattering of the multitude of children and adults who flocked to the Arcade simply to have fun. Entrance was free — fitting as to even play the games, one required credits — so Nepgear and Uni made their way into the massive crowd, looking for games they could play.
"This is the Planeptune Arcade...?" Uni looked around in awe; she had to admit, it was a tad more lively than the Last Fantasy Arcade in Lastation. Perhaps the attitude of the CPU was reflected in their nation a little more than she thought. As she and Nepgear were forcing their way through a crowd, another duo who looked like they were on a date passed by them — a red-eyed girl with ebony tresses who kept one eye hidden by her bangs, roughly pushing past them with a devilish smile on her face, and a boy with spiky blue tresses and brown eyes who followed her with a look of exasperation.
Feeling slight pity that the girl was giving the boy such a hard time, Uni tightened her grip on Nepgear's hand — socializing wasn't her strong point and seeing so many new people in one area gave her an instinctive drive to avoid them. Nepgear led them towards a rhythm game called Groove Groove Revolt; more commonly appreciated as GGR.
"Let's try this one first, Uni!" Nepgear gestured enthusiastically to the rhythm game, and Uni's heart sank as quickly as a stone in the lake.
"U-Um...I can't dance..." She replied meekly, and this was true. Fighting as elegantly as she did on the battlefield was one thing but Uni seemed to stumble over her own feet when it came to anything involving even a slight gyration of the hips.
"It's nothing that complicated," Nepgear interjected, pulling Uni onto the metal platform, the girl's face beet red in embarrassment but unable to say no to Nepgear. Nepgear herself took a stand on the second metal platform, and pulled up a selection screen for music on the dashboard console. Looking for the selection of songs by their good friend 5pb., Nepgear pulled up one she liked: Kirihirake! Roleplay Star Girl. "Just match your own timing to the arrows you see on screen to keep up with the flow of the music!"
After selecting the appropriate mode for two players, and selecting the Beginner difficulty for Uni's benefit, the music began to play as the game began. Just as Uni suspected, this wasn't her kind of thing; anyone watching this girl struggle to match the timing of the arrows to her own feet wouldn't suspect she'd fought against the Deity of Sin nary a year before. Uni shot furtive glances in Nepgear's direction, and to her surprise and slight envy, Nepgear was moving flawlessly; her timing was perfect and she didn't miss a single cue from the screen; just watching Nepgear move, in honesty, was enough to distract Uni from the game itself.
"...Tsukame yūki e no hito kakera
Tsuyoku hikare omoi no subete o kakete..."
The song continued to play as Uni tried and failed to keep up with Nepgear, her confidence plummeting as quickly as her onscreen-streak was. With her numbers plummeting by the second, and, frustrated with her lack of balance, Uni was tempted to stop entirely, but at the same time, wasn't eager to quit just because she couldn't do it; she'd never been this way before. Uni cast another look at Nepgear's graceful movements, and then at the screen, seeing the onscreen-streak count stay at the top as Nepgear matched the cues.
"...Tsugi kara tsugi no sutēji shinka suru jigen kōryaku ete
Kyōmei suru kizuna..."
Uni's ruby-hued eyes began to follow the movements of Nepgear's feet, watching how precise her timing was, and slowly and surely, the girl began to mimic her date's movements as the song continued to play. Now moving in tandem, the two cast a look at each other, their eyes meeting, and they smiled and giggled before turning their attention back to the screen to finish their dance.
"...Ima mezamete ku fresh! Brave star!"
As the song petered out, the two took their final heated steps on their virtual dance floor, breathing heavily and wiping sweat from their brow.
"That was...a blast..." Uni panted, a weary smile on her face.
"I told you it would be fun..." Nepgear replied with a smile of her own. "Do you want to try it again?"
"Let's try something else, after we catch our breath," Uni suggested.
At Uni's suggestion, the two girls tried various other games in the arcade to pass the time, the first of which was bowling:
"Another gutter ball!?" Uni exclaimed in frustration; something about her and leisure activities simply didn't mix. She was perfect on the battlefield, perfect with paperwork, but she couldn't make a painted wooden ball roll in a straight line to knock over ten pins made out of pine. The fact that she had to hold back her own strength as a Goddess Candidate certainly wasn't helping matters — these arcades were made for normal humans and Nepgear and Uni were anything but.
"Oh goodness, come here," Nepgear sighed with fond exasperation as she walked over behind Uni, leaning in close and grasping the girl's hand. Pulling Uni away from the lane, she whispered, "Here, feel how I move your hand and the ball," Gently, she raised Uni's hand, raising it along the side of her body until her hand was raised higher than her head.
"Now, step forward," Nepgear breathed, and Uni obeyed, slowly stepping forward in tandem with Nepgear, who began to lower the ball as they approached the foul line. As they got closer, the girls bent at the knee, the ball lowering further. With their palms directly underneath the ball, the girls gave it a slight rotation right before release; while slow, the spiraling sphere made its steady progress towards the pins, knocking over several with a loud clunk.
"I...I did it?" Uni blinked in surprise.
"See? Of course, you need to apply a little more force if you want to knock down more than just a few," Nepgear replied.
"Um...Nepgear...you can let go of me now," Uni said pointedly. It wasn't that Uni minded being embraced by Nepgear, not at all; in actuality, she could feel something soft squish into her backside, and knowing it was Nepgear's chest made Uni incredibly flustered.
"Goodness!" Nepgear jumped back, having entirely forgotten she was still directly behind Uni; the two girls smiled, their faces flushed, before their game continued.
The next activity they pursued was Laser Tag:
Uni breathed slowly in and out.
For the strangest reason, unlike the dance challenge she partook, she felt a revitalizing sensation rush through her being. Sure, it was a game, and the simple objective of shooting a light towards the targeted area on their opponents' bodies. But something about it sparked her expertise and love of battle. This was a challenge that brought out her inner warrior once again.
Peeking up from a walled off barrier she could see the entire "battlefield" arranged for the players. It was plain as anyone could see that this arena was multi-floored, intended for large parties of two enemy teams to fight over a large area. Haphazard obstacles such as tires, half-built structures, and many walls with holes or windows made it easy to hide and easy to shoot around. Colored in green and blue, it was a direct contrast to the opposing team wearer's red and purple target "armor" each of them wore. Their little guns resembled simple two-handed pistols, easy to manage and not very heavy; the fact that they were wireless instead of the archaic wired models made it all the more easy to aim and shoot.
The booming music that played within the laser tag arena thrummed through her being, yet it created an ominous silence. The game had started two minutes ago and she had yet to encounter Nepgear. She was starting to grow nervous, her palms already sweating around the holster of her mock weapon.
"N-N-Nepgear?" She whispered out, pointing her gun over the half wall partition.
A flash of light was all she'd see before a squeak of realization was let out of her mouth. The ring of being hit emanated in her earpiece mockingly, the sound of hollow laughter causing her to burn with infuriation from within. Ducking behind the wall, she waited until she was respawned in the next ten seconds, cursing at her inattentiveness.
"Surprise attack success!" A victory holler was heard from Nepgear, standing upon the open second floor, leaning out of a half made house of blue and green plating. She laughed giddily and performed a peace sign down at Uni, eager to rub in her first kill bonus. "take that, Uni!"
Narrowing her eyes, Uni quickly took aim over the wall and fired her laser. Ironically it hit the padding over Nepgear's exposed hand, causing a series of flickering lights to blink across her armor, showing that a hit has been earned. The look of stark realization that her victory cry had earned her a loss of her own, she quickly ducked behind her housing and strung a string of curses inaudible from the distance between her and Uni.
"Got her!" Fist pumped Uni, blankly smiling as she moved around the obstacle-laid course. Seeing that Nepgear was on the top floor, she knew that she already had a distinct advantage. It was time that she would take the fight to her and brave the downward fire. She had five more seconds and she pumped her legs as fast as she could.
"REVENGE IS MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!" Nepgear maniacally shouted as she popped overhead and began firing straight down at Uni, earning a series of cute hoops and yelps as she skipped to and fro to avoid the scatter pray and spray discharges. She continued to fire, the lack of an ammo limit being the perks of such a game, allowing her to unleash proverbial Hell as she kept on her laser-guided chase to Uni's movements. If it wasn't for the fact that she had already moved too close to the nearest rampart, she knew that her attacks would have more effectiveness.
"Give it up, Uni!" Uni heard Nepgear call out to her, even as she rushed up the inclining ramp to get to her friend. Just as she reached the top, she saw another flurry of light discharges, one of which struck her leg and caused her body to flicker, her earpiece mockingly cluing her in on her obvious damage report.
Uni gasped as she checked her surroundings. The benefit of a laser tag arena was that there were as many advantages in the surroundings as disadvantages. While there were many walls and crevices to hide within, there would always be a hole or a window, or as Nepgear revealed the upper floor that can be used against the defenders. But on the other side, there would always be a special trick mechanism placed within the environment, allowing a special attack bonus for anyone to find it.
"You should know by now, Nepgear," Uni began to call out, her armor resuming its normal red color. "that I'm quite a stubborn person when I'm given a challenge to complete!"
"Then let me make you regret that!" Nepgear called right above her, shoving her gun towards Uni's wall pressed head. Just a second before the trigger was pulled, Uni leaped to the side, avoiding the stream of laser fire that was unleashed on the floor. As she tumbled to the side, she felt herself skid over near the edge of the second floor. Gasping, she barely kept herself from being flung off, and causing an unintentional injury to herself.
"Nice dodge," Nepgear commented offhandedly, pointing her gun towards the ground prone Uni, enjoying seeing her quiver to her authoritative position. "that will be the last. You have nowhere to run and that means I can keep unloading for as long as I want!"
As Nepgear boasted, Uni noted a particular revolving disco ball above their heads. It was one of three running across the second floor, shining a number of lights that shimmered the arena with colorful tones that accented the uniquely colored room scheme. With a smile of her own, Uni raised her gun and fired at it.
Nepgear widened her eyes, wondering why Uni fired past her, causing her to halt her own fire. Turning around, she suddenly saw with an agape expression what happened. The formerly silver plated disco ball that shined a number of multi-colors turned a complete red, matching the hue of Uni's laserfire and team color. In a dizzying spin, the disco ball unleashed a sporadic amount of laser fire, simultaneously striking Nepgear's bodily target plating at a near instantaneous level.
A stream of curses escaped Nepgear's mouth as she realized the bonus hits far exceeded any that she landed on Uni's. This meant that the entire arena lit up and began firing off a number of colors, mostly in red and orange colors. This dictated that Uni won the round, and Nepgear had lost, given the low point ceiling they had originally set.
"I-I won?! YAY!" Uni giggled with surprised joy, leaping up into the air and jumping with joy.
"Oh no you don't!" Nepgear growled, causing Uni to meekly halt her victory dance. Pointing at her with a menacing light in her eyes, she raised her gun at her in a demanding manner, "we're going to have a rematch! That was a total fluke and you know it!"
"It wasn't a fluke, Nepgear," Uni pouted her lips as she narrowed her eyes at her, "I found the bonus shot and I took it. It's your fault that you didn't notice it and didn't take advantage of it when I entered the second floor."
"Don't care! Rematch now!" Nepgear shook her gun insistantly.
Uni sighed heavily, hanging her head, muttering under her breath, "You don't take kindly to losing, do you, Nepgear?"
"WHAT WAS THAT?! I'LL MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS!" Nepgear hollered as she unleashed another barrage of lasers as she lunged at her friend with a comically rabid expression upon her face.
After several heated games of Laser Tag, the two girls competed feverishly in the arcades video games; notably, "Dazzle vs Bottlenet", a fighting game published by Bottlenet, a game company working from within Planeptune, featuring characters from the absurdly popular Dazzle Comics franchise, as well as characters from games produced by Bottlenet.
Determined not to clean out their credits entirely, Uni and Nepgear only played a few quick games — including a particularly spirited round with "Arachnid-Man" against "Piscina de la Muerte" — before Nepgear grabbed Uni by the hand and proceeded to lead her through the arcade towards the 'theatre' portion.
"N-Nepgear! Where are you dragging me!?" Uni protested huffily, not appreciating the sudden jerk-and-drag Nepgear was putting her through.
"I shouldn't be showing you this," Nepgear said shiftily, and it became clear from the general look of the area that the 'theatre' portion of the arcade was not yet open to the public. "In fact, Histoire wouldn't be pleased to see us here."
And true to the fact, as they approached the darkened area of the arcade, the currently unreleased theatre section, there was a firmly locked door that lacked any form of key; instead, it appeared to require a different method go unlock using a scanning pad.
"A eugenic scanner," Uni mused, inspecting the touch pad curiously.
"I designed it," replied Nepgear lightly, "though it was Neptune's idea. We only used a eugenic scanner because an isomorphic scanner didn't seem feasible." Placing her hand on the scanner, the device glowed brightly as a thin yellow line moved up and down the square pad.
"Authentication Confirmed," A cool, female voice rang throughout the back of the arcade. "Nepgear. Designation; Purple Sister." As the mechanical woman confirmed Nepgear's identification, the door began to dissolve away, collapsing into blue, translucent blocks before fading entirely, revealing a luminescent hallway.
"C'mon, let's go in!" Nepgear said insistently, and the two ventured into the hallway, Uni with more caution than Nepgear. The door materialized behind them as they did so.
As the two walked through, Uni was quick to notice lasers that flashed from the sides of the walls, the ceiling, the far end of the hallway, and even from behind, scanning the entirety of the girls' bodies.
"Physical body structures successfully analyzed; data incorporated into the Optic Fissure," The same cool, female voice from before sounded through the hallway.
"N-Nepgear, what is this?" Uni whispered nervously; the atmosphere of this hallway was more ominous than anything she'd seen in the arcade before now.
"Currently unreleased Planeptunian technology," Nepgear replied. Unlike Uni, she was perfectly at ease; it was obvious she'd used the system before. "It's a 4D simulation; virtual reality conducted through a complete override of all the basic senses through headgear. I guess you could say it's a revised version of that contraption Blanc released about a decade ago; remember? The really large red headset that gave everyone headaches and backaches?"
"Planeptune was developing something as remarkable as this?" Uni was completely silent as she took this revelation in; and Nepgear trusted her enough to try it with her?
"It's in the final beta stages, and I wanted to give the ride a test run with you, Uni!" With an innocent smile, Nepgear revealed her intentions that made Uni flush that all too familiar crimson.
"Scanners detect a party of two; would you like for the sensory headsets to be linked?"
"
Yes, please!" Nepgear replied as they came to the end of the hallway and two thick headsets fell into each of their hands. Firmly labeled with the familiar 'N' logo of Planeptune and the Nep siblings, this headset was thick, dark black in colour with a purple visor, built to cover both the eyes and ears when attached.
"What's the simulation going to be?" Uni queried, examining the headset in her hands as she followed Nepgear towards a row of seats fit for the cinema.
"Oh, it's a roller-coaster," Nepgear chirped, the two planting themselves into the plush theatre seating.
"So, we're going on a roller-coa—wait, what!?" Uni's head spun frantically towards Nepgear in surprise and panic. It had taking her a moment to completely gauge what the girl had said, and needless to say, she wanted out of this. "I can't handle roller-coasters! All of that spinning...fast movement...no guarantee the vehicle is securely on rails..." Uni began to feel dizzy simply thinking about it.
"If it helps any, this is my first time on a roller-coaster as well," Nepgear replied, gripping Uni's hand to console her. "But I'm not scared; we'll be together, so there's no need to worry!"
"I-It's not like I'd be scared without you!" Uni protested, but no matter how much she denied it, inwardly, she was grateful to Nepgear for joining her on this frightening experiment.
With some trepidation, both girls put on their headsets, blocking out all sound and vision completely. To sate their own fear, the two intertwined the fingers of their left and right hands together, keeping a firm grip on each other.
"Access." The cool female voice declared, and the entire room, to the senses of the two girls, vanished. Momentarily, only they existed in an empty void, but this ceased as they felt themselves suddenly and firmly strapped into a cart. Built precisely for the two of them, Uni turned to see Nepgear sitting next to her, looking nervous.
Instead of the cinema they'd been sitting in previously, the Optic Fissure headset had generated an entire virtual reality theme park. Touching the restraint on the cart, Uni realized everything felt very real; for unreleased technology, the effect was remarkable. From the roller-coaster's idle position, Uni could see concession stands, various theme park rides, Uni could even pick up the faint smell of popcorn and grilled foods, despite the distance between themselves and the concession stands in question. The only thing that seemed missing was the atmosphere; the boisterous crowds and smiling faces of patrons focused on the singular goal of a good time. But to Uni, this felt ideal.
A world where that she and Nepgear had to themselves.
Click. Click. Click.
The ride gave a large lurch, disrupting Uni's thoughts. Without warning, the cart began to drag itself upwards along the track, and Uni and Nepgear's hands tightened around each other, their breath quickening in anticipation and fear.
"I guess it's about to start," Nepgear let out a very nervous laugh. "We're going pretty high, aren't we?"
"Y-Yeah..." Uni nodded, glancing at Nepgear, who looked slightly pale. To be honest, she felt the same way, and neither girl wanted to think about what would happen the moment they reached the top of the track's hill and the decline began.
Click. Click. Click.
The creaking of the cart sounded like the clock ticking down their final hours to live as Uni and Nepgear approached the peak of the serpentine track with some trepidation. The creaking began to sound in later intervals as they reached the peak, and Uni and Nepgear gripped each other's hands tightly.
It was already too late to get off.
"Here we g—"
LURCH.
With nowhere else to go but down, the cart careened down the track, causing Nepgear and Uni to be overwhelmed by the powerful winds and speed at which the machine moved.
"—GWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Uni and Nepgear screamed in unison as butterflies set themselves loose in their stomach; the cart shot along the track, twisting and turning, looping upside down and curving, defying all believably in terms of how the snakelike contraption moved along the track. Winding and dipping, Nepgear and Uni saw something that made them want to drop the ride entirely; a break in the track, with only air connecting them to the other end of the track a few feet away.
"W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-WAIT!" The two girls stuttered in unison as their fear took over. The cart approached the edge and was hurtled into the air, the feeling of being airborne churning their stomachs as the cart soared, propelled by its own forward momentum. Bracing themselves for impact, the cart landed forcefully onto the track, before proceeding to continue until the ride came to a halt.
"Systems indicate ride has come to a halt. Thank you for testing the Optic Fissure."
With the announcement from the female voice, the link between the Fissure headset and the brains of the two CPU candidates ended, bringing them with a jolt back into reality. Nepgear was the first to discard her headset and stand up shakily; Uni followed, coming to her feet with a wobble of the knees.
"I hope you remember this..." The ebony-tressed girl muttered. "Because I am never doing that again."
"Yeah...let's get on out of here..." Nepgear agreed. The two quickly made their way out of the cinema, and proceeded to leave the arcade, heading back out into the bustling plaza of Planeptune.
"Nepgear, I'm feeling a little woozy..." Uni murmured, and she truly did look it; paler in the face than normal. Perhaps it was lingering motion sickness? "Is there a place we can sit down?"
"It is getting late, so I suppose we can take a rest.," Nepgear said thoughtfully, letting Uni lean on her while she tried to think of a place to take her. She considered a café, but didn't want to upset Uni's stomach any further with the smell of coffee. After another moment's careful deliberation, Nepgear finally came up with a place for them to rest up; the Sakura Garden.
"I know a place, so let's go," Slipping her hand into Uni's fail grip, Nepgear led them to another moving sidewalk — Uni clutching her arm to avoid falling over — and the road made a slow turn, leading them towards a location that contrasted with the shockingly futuristic look of Planeptune.
A suburban park, a garden might even be a better term to describe it. As it carved out into the city specifically for Nepgear and Uni to seek refuge there, it was a quaint location to the say the least. Packed tightly within the park was its expanse of blooming sakura trees; growing close enough to one another that the sun was obscured in its entirety, creating a dappling shade that gave the park quite the cool and refreshing air about it.
As was fitting for Planeptune, the trees were actually not the legitimate article, but instead artificial constructs created out ofMaterial Waves, technology created in Planeptune which refers to a tangible construct made out of electromagnetic waves. While this was common knowledge to anyone in Planeptune, denizens of other lands weren't privy to this kind of futuristic technology.
The two stepped off the moving platform, and walked over towards a bench, where they immediately sat. As they entered the park, a slight breeze rustled around them, blowing coolly through the trees. This conflicted well with the warm sunlight peeking through the flowers and branches, creating a perfect temperature for the two girls to relax.
"I wish we didn't have to cut our date short like this..." Uni said apologetically, leaning against Nepgear for relaxation.
"It's fine, Uni," assured Nepgear, who smiled brightly at the girl. "I think, for our first date, we had a lot of fun. I wouldn't trade today for anything else; besides, Neptune and Noire had a rougher first date than we did."
Uni couldn't help but let out a weak chuckle. Noire had actually fainted on the spot when Nepgear's older sister, Neptune, asked her out on a date. Uni had to admit she took it pretty well when Nepgear asked her; all the blood in her body had merely rushed to her face. The two girls looked each other in the eye, and they laughed as they remembered Noire's mishap.
At that moment, as if she simply decided it on a whim, Nepgear slipped a thin finger under Uni's chin, bringing the pale girl's face around to look at Nepgear. Without warning, the girl pressed her lips to Uni, taking the girl by surprise. Uni's face burned red-hot as Nepgear's warm lips pressed gently against her own.
It took several seconds for Uni to realize that Nepgear was kissing her. The very action set Uni's brain was set on fire, her emotions now burning as hot as her face, and the kiss went from something gentle to a little more forceful as Uni reciprocated Nepgear's kiss with one of her own.
When the two broke apart for air, both of the girls had a sheepish look on their faces as if they only now fully processed what had just occurred.
"I love you, Uni," Nepgear replied, still slightly breathless and pink in the face. Despite her sudden action, and the fact that she felt she ought to have told Uni those special three words prior to this moment, she didn't want to miss her chance now.
To Uni, those three words were like a melody; it had been something she'd wanted to hear from Nepgear for the longest time, and the one thing she wanted to say to Nepgear but it always strangled in her throat. Nepgear, her first friend, the girl she could depend on — even when her own foolish pride wouldn't allow her to admit it. She always wanted Nepgear by her side, and had come to a point where she couldn't conceive her own life without Nepgear in it.
"I love you too, Nepgear," Uni replied, her eyes reddening slightly, if only from the joy of this one singular moment. To Uni, this day, and this moment, would be recorded onto her heart and memories forever; it wouldn't be something she would ever forget.
A/N: Whoo boy. This chapter was quite the little doozy. This was one of my first listed projects, but I got so caught up writing The Erased Chronicles that I actually stopped paying attention to my list. I wrote this after about eight straight chapters of The Erased Chronicles, my Dragon Ball Z romance fanfiction, and figured I needed quite the change of pace. It was shocking when this turned out to be a little more difficult than I had anticipated.
This chapter, while fun and unique to write, took quite a bit of time — I actually got stumped during the laser tag portion, and Demod20 had to lend me a helping hand so I could move on with the chapter. In addition to proofreading this thing and giving me some ideas to work with, I have to say thanks for the help with that section man, or I'd still be at the halfway point instead of writing the author's note.
What would Neptunia be without some game reference? I think you all recognized the Gold Ring Plaza, Soni-C Arcade, Last Fantasy Arcade, Optic Fissure, and even the Material Waves, which are a reference straight from Mega Man Star Force, I didn't even change the name. Dazzle vs Bottlenet was a bit of a tricky pun; it's Marvel vs Capcom, and Arachnid Man and Piscina de la Murte are obviously Spider-Man and Deadpool. I also hope everyone found my two Date-A-Live references!
Kirihirake! Roleplay Star Girl is the opening of Re;Birth 2, so I found it fitting.
I really hope everyone enjoyed this little one-shot; also, the image I am using for the thumbnail was done by Planeptune, and you can find it on her DeviantArt account. All credit goes to her, and many thanks for letting me use the image itself.