Hello guys! Time for chapter 3!

So, I decided to work on my two fics alternately. That means, after this chapter, I will work on Memories, and then back here again. My fault for publishing two fics at the same time. Ha ha.

In any case, most of you, or all of you, guessed who 'that person' was correctly. Yes, that was Kurome, but she will be using "Uzume" temporarily, because as we all know, Kurome got her name because Big Nep (And also Nep I think, I don't quite remember) named her that, and she is the original Uzume Tennouboshi. Oops, spoilers for everyone who haven't played VII yet. But eventually in this chapter, I'll have her named as Kurome. And no, she won't have the same exact personality as the Kurome from VII.

Looking back, I now remember why I'm into this kind of genre. The first Nep Fanfic that I've read was titled "Goddess in the Echo" by MidniteBleuCrusader. God I love that fic but it was discontinued :( I wonder what happened to him. 'Twas 3 years ago or so.

So, there's that. I don't have anything to say anymore other than my gratitude to the people who supports my story! You guys are the best :)

Onto the chapter now, enjoy!


"..."

Nepgear slowly opened her eyes as sunlight traversed through her eyes. It was already afternoon, and she found herself leaning on a tree. She wondered what just happened, and remembered the events earlier.

"...Uzume?"

She called a certain person's name, but she got no responses. She also found out that she was already on the surface, alone. Her wounds were gone, and her strength was back, like nothing happened.

She wondered why. Maybe Uzume did this for her?

She didn't know. All she knew was she'd get her answers if they meet again.

Nepgear stood up and started to walk back to Planeptune. She owed Uzume again for saving her life, and now Uzume was about to help her again, unconditionally, though she still wasn't sure if it was true though. She shook her head and fasten her pace. She'd ask Uzume about her true intentions later. She arrived back at the guild and reported the quest. The guild agents were astonished with the results and praised Nepgear. The CPU just gave them a smile as a response, and told them that they should use the reward of the quest for charity. She then excused herself and headed back to the Basilicom.

As she arrived back at the Basilicom, she immediately headed to her office. She found a little girl sitting on a book on her desk, with her eyes closed.

"Histoire...?" Nepgear called.

Histoire's eyes slowly opened. "Ah, Nepgear. You're back." She said as she rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I must've dozed off."

Nepgear swung her head. "No, it's alright. You can take a rest if you feel tired. I know you handled my work while I was gone." Nepgear said as she reassured her oracle.

"Thank you." Histoire said as she floated to the door. "Well then, if you'll excuse me..." She said and exited the office.

Nepgear sat down on her chair as Histoire left. Despite being healed completely, she felt tired all of a sudden. Well, fatigue can't be healed by any healing items, anyway. She then saw the documents placed on top of her desk; all of them were sorted and stamped properly. Histoire was really a good help to Nepgear and if possible, she wouldn't get tired of her antics, as Nepgear knew that she herself could get irrational sometimes.

Like today.

She then closed her eyes and decided to get some rest. She was really lucky to have Histoire on her side.

~o~O~o~

It was peaceful at Gamindustri right now.

Noire sat down at her office, facing the screen of her computer. She seemed to be having a video call with two other persons, as there were two faces appearing on the screen.

"So, how was the investigation going, Vert?" Noire asked.

The girl with blonde hair in the screen, answered, "The outcome wasn't really so worth it, because I lost most of the soldiers I sent in that underground cave." Vert sighed. "But, we procured a result."

"Go on." The other girl in the screen, with brown-colored hair, wearing some sort of cap, said as she was intrigued. There was a caption "Blanc" under her image.

Vert closed her eyes for a moment. "It seems like, there are two Ancient Dragons inhabiting the area. The soldiers I sent managed to defeat one, but they failed to take the other one out, according to the lone survivor of the expedition." She explained.

Noire didn't look like she was pleased with the report. From her perspective, the cave was really dangerous. It was a good move that she hadn't sent any of her soldiers down there. "How did that man survive?"

"He was left outside, when the team encountered an enormous door. He was a scout, and has no combat capabilities." Vert said. "He said that a few moments after the team entered the other side of the door, it immediately closed, trapping them inside. The next thing he heard were screams."

"...So, you don't have an idea what this dragon looks like? Because it wouldn't make sense if that thing was the same as the one they defeated." Blanc said with a vague expression. Despite her face almost showing like she didn't give a damn, she was deeply concerned with the current issue.

Vert swung her head. "Unfortunately, you are correct." Vert said. "I assume it was also the case with you, Blanc?"

Blanc nodded. "I went down there myself, and defeated the first dragon, but I lost my way inside that I didn't find the second one." Blanc said as she clicked her tongue. She was ashamed of herself for getting lost in that dungeon, but really, the place was too cramped that she couldn't move properly.

"We also have that cave here in Lastation. I haven't gone down there myself, but I'm going to assume that it would be the same as your cases." Noire said as she crossed her arms. This was getting problematic, as they can't just send soldiers nor get in there themselves without solid information. It would be a complete suicide. "So, none of us have seen that second dragon, I see."

The three of them sighed in unison. If that would be the case, the three of them would need to explore one cave at a time together, but it would be a little time consuming for them, and still would be a suicide because they have no information.

But, they've got no choice.

"Hey, how about we-" Noire interrupted herself as Blanc intervened.

"Wait up, Noire. I've got a report from the guild." Blanc said. "I'll be right back." She said as she stepped away from her computer.

Noire and Vert wondered what could've happened. Along with that, they also remembered that there wasn't a single quest that involved that cave because they locked the down the area, and mentally slapped themselves for doing that. After a few minutes, Blanc went back in front of her computer.

"Sorry about that." Blanc said.

"So, what's the news, Blanc?" Noire asked. It seemed like she was interested with the report, because it came directly from the guild itself.

Blanc sighed. "You wouldn't believe this. Planeptune also had the same phenomenon." She said.

Neither Noire nor Vert was surprised. "Well, judging that the three of us are experiencing the same problem, it wouldn't be too surprising if Planeptune also do." Vert remarked.

"My sentence is in the past tense, Vert." Blanc said.

Vert narrowed her eyes as she stared at her screen. "What do you mean by that, Blanc?" Vert asked as she didn't really get what Blanc was trying to imply.

But it was different for Noire.

"You don't mean...?" Noire said as she had a shocked look on her face. She was thinking exactly what Blanc had in her hands right now.

Blanc nodded. "Yes. Planeptune had already defeated the second dragon in their dungeon." She said as she crossed her arms. "And what's more, the case was resolved half an hour ago, and a full report containing the dragon's information is included as well."

"We're listening." Vert said.

Blanc then cleared her throat before speaking once more. "The second dragon was no ordinary dragon. According to the report, it was a Catastrophic God of Fire."

"A God of Fire, you say?!" Both Noire and Vert was surprised after hearing that. The God of Fire was no ordinary dragon, as it has greater intelligence compared to other monsters. It was a being that even a CPU could not take out alone.

Or so they thought.

"Guess who did it." Blanc said.

A complete silence veiled the conference as Vert and Noire spared some time to think of an answer. Vert seemed to be empty-handed, but Noire wasn't as she had some clues. She wondered who could've done it, but recalling back what Uni just said to her earlier...

"No way..." Noire said in a low voice as there was only one person in mind who could've done it.

It wasn't even that long when Uni left Planeptune, specifically from that dungeon. There was only one person who was with Uni at that time, and that was...

"Noire, do you know who it was?" Vert asked.

Not really sure if Noire should answer that question, but she still did. "It was Nepgear, right?"

"Correct. It was Nepgear, alone." Blanc said. Vert had this shocked expression after hearing that answer.

Neither of the three could believe that Nepgear alone took down that beast. Well, none of them had encountered something like that. It was just, there were no records of a Catastrophic God of Fire being killed alone were recorded in history. Because most of them, if not all, were taken down by a large army along with their predecessor CPUs. But for Nepgear to take that beast down alone, they had grown anxious about their own capabilities.

"Are Planeptune CPUs... really this strong?" Vert asked worryingly. She asked that because of what happened during the Console War.

Blanc twitched her eyebrow after hearing that question. "Oi, that's not funny, you know."

"I'm not trying to be funny here, Blanc. I'm serious." Vert said as she crossed her arms. "You do know how Neptune alone took the three of us down. And now, Nepgear took out that beast alone. Isn't it going to be a bad news if Nepgear suddenly attacks us?"

Noire slammed her desk lightly. "Vert. Please don't think like that." She said.

"Why are you defending her, Noire?"

Noire sighed. This discussion was getting nowhere. They should be worrying about the underground caves and that beast, but here they were, stuck on discussing about Nepgear. "Just... I know she wouldn't attack us without a reason." Noire said as she leaned on her chair.

"But she had all the reason to attack us." Blanc stated the obvious.

Noire didn't have the words to counter that, as it was completely true. Nepgear really did have all the reason to attack them, and it was because of Neptune. But if she had the plans to attack them, Uni shouldn't have been here anymore.

"..."

She kept her mouth shut and didn't say a word.

"Nepgear aside, what are we going to do with the current problem on our hands?" Vert asked.

Silence.

Vert sighed. "I propose we eliminate the dragons together one by one." She said as she folded her hands. "It would be safer that way."

Noire and Blanc nodded as a response. "As much as I hate it, we don't have a choice." Blanc said and sighed in disappointment.

"Hush it, Blanc, we're not Nepgear. Remember, she was also the one who defeated Arfoire alone." Noire said. "There's no reason to compare yourself to her."

Blanc clicked her tongue. Noire saw right through her thoughts from the other side of the screen. Well, in any case, they've got too many problems on their plate right now, and adding more useless thoughts would not be a great idea. But yeah, Noire might've said it, but deep inside, she still felt insecure about it.

~o~O~o~

I opened my eyes.

Black. Just pitch black. I couldn't see a thing, not even my hands and my feet as I tried to look at them. A void could be used as a word to describe the place I was in. I started to move my legs, despite not being able to see a single thing. I walked... and walked... and walked... not even knowing if I was gaining progress. I just walked... and walked... and walked...

And walked... until a voice echoed.

"Nepgear..."

I stopped on my tracks as I heard that voice. I knew that voice. I knew that! It was the voice that I've not heard for years!

But, why would I hear it here...?

"Nepgear..."

I looked around, but the darkness was hindering my vision. I knew that 'she' was here, and she was near. If only a light would just illuminate this goddess forsaken darkness...!

"...?"

Suddenly, I was gaining vision of my shadow. Though in front of me, it was still pitched black, but my feet had shadows.

The light was coming from behind.

"Nepgear..."

My heart raced. Tears started to escape my eyes as I heard that voice once more. Ah, how long have I been longing to hear her voice again...?

"Nepgear..."

I slowly turned myself around. There, I saw a tall woman with purple hair, tied in twin-braid style, with her sky blue eyes glowing radiantly. She was wearing a dark purple suit, which was no alien to me. I knew who this person was. I knew her. Even when the whole world forgot her, I remembered her.

"Sis..." I said in a low voice.

My sister, Neptune. Ah, how long was it since the last time I saw her? I already forgot, but I couldn't care less. She was here, that was all that matters.

"Sis...!" I started to walk towards her. Neptune just smiled at me, in which I responded with a smile as well.

She turned around and started to walk away. I was confused at first as to why she did that. "Sis...?"

Neptune was gaining distance. I've got to catch up with her! I walked faster and eventually ran towards her, but no matter how fast I was, Neptune was still gaining distance from me and she gradually became out of my reach. Not like she was within my reach in the first place.

"Sis... please! Don't leave me...!"

I can't. It hurt. Why...? Sis...? Why did you leave me alone...? I was scared...! All these years without you... was nothing but torment! But now... I finally got a chance to see you, why would you leave again...?

"Nepgear... you don't need to."

What...?

"Siiiiiisssss-!"

~o~O~o~

"Siiiiiisssss-!"

Nepgear's eyes shot open as she woke up from her dream. Her heart was racing, with her breathing heavier than normal. She was covered in sweat, with her eyes filled with tears.

She then realized that she was in her office, with the lights on, though she didn't remember turning them on. To say that she had dozed off again would be an understatement. It was already around five in the morning when she looked at the clock.

Well, she felt very fatigued yesterday, so she herself wasn't surprised that she suddenly fell asleep.

"It looked like you had a bad dream, Nepgear..." A voice suddenly filled Nepgear's ears.

Nepgear slowly turned to the source of the voice. Her vision was blurry because of the tears, and couldn't identify whose voice was that because she still wasn't fully awake.

"Sis...?" Nepgear said.

The purple CPU heard a chuckle afterwards. She then rubbed her eyes and hit her cheeks a little to wake herself up completely. And that was the time when she realized that she was already in the real world.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not your sister."

Nepgear blinked twice as she stared at the person on her desk. If she was the past Nepgear, she would've blushed from embarrassment.

"Uzume..."

There, a girl with empty, dark blue eyes with a light red hue and long, midnight blue hair, was staring at Nepgear. Her outfit covers most of her body, with combinations of black, pale grey and indigo colors.

Uzume smiled at Nepgear. "Finally awake now?"

"Yes."Nepgear said as she nodded. "By the way, thank you for healing my injuries." She said.

Uzume just waved her hand. "No need to thank me. Can't have you dying right now, or else Planeptune will be on it's end."

For some reason, Nepgear wasn't really surprised to hear that. It was true though. Right now, there was no CPU candidate in Planeptune, and if she were to die, no one would be able to replace her. And candidates don't just come and go.

"By the way, Nepgear. I have a favor to ask of you." Uzume said as she crossed her legs. "This is only between the two of us."

Nepgear tilted her head in confusion. This was the first time that Uzume asked her for favors. "I want you to give me a new name."

"...Excuse me...?"

Uzume sighed. Well, she kind of expected that. Asking someone to give her a new name was definitely weird in many levels. "...Forget it. Haha." Uzume said as she just laughed at herself.

Nepgear didn't really catch Uzume's intentions, but she somewhat found it funny. She'd definitely think of a name for her in the future.

"If you say so..." Nepgear said. "By the way, it's rare for you to come here."

"I just want to check up on you... if you're ready." Uzume said as she jumped down from the desk.

Nepgear didn't quite get what she was implying. She tried to look back at her memories to find the answer, and eventually remembered her deal with her. Though she still asked to make sure she wouldn't get it wrong, again. "What do you mean?"

"Our deal." Uzume said. Nepgear was right. "We'll leave when you're ready."

"Where are we going?"

Uzume swung her head. "You'll know when we get there."

~o~O~o~

Histoire slowly opened her eyes as she woke up from her sleep. She felt refreshed, despite just having a few hours of sleep (She just took a nap a few hours after Nepgear told her to rest, and worked herself again, and slept again). Well, in any case, she didn't really need much sleep at all. She got up and stretched her arms to ease the stiffness of her body from sleep. She then slipped out of her bed (yes, she has a bed) and jumped on her tome. Another day of work was waiting for her.

Histoire exited her room and headed straight to Nepgear's office. As soon as she was nearing her destination, she could hear voices from the room. She could recognize one voice completely, but the other one was somehow... nostalgic to her ears? She was about to knock on the door as she arrived, but it suddenly opened. She then saw two people in the room, one with long, lilac hair and the other with long, midnight blue hair.

"Oh, Histoire. You're awake now. Good Morning." Nepgear greeted as she saw Histoire outside the room. "You caught us on our way out."

"Good Morning, Nepgear." Histoire greeted back. "Where are you off to?"

"Oh, we'll be out for I think days to take care of some business." Nepgear said and folded her hands. "Please take care of things here while I'm gone."

Histoire turned to Nepgear's companion, and received a smile from her. For some reason, she somehow felt a nostalgic feeling as she stared at the said girl. It was like, she had seen her from before, but she couldn't remember when or where.

"It's fine with me..." Histoire said and gave Nepgear a reassuring smile.

"Thank you. We'll be on our way now." Nepgear said as she exited the room with her companion. Histoire was flabbergasted a little. To her, Nepgear seemed to be a little excited, but the reason why was unknown. Histoire didn't really mind it though. In fact, she was a little happy.

But there was one thing that was bothering her.

"Wait." Histoire said as she stopped the two. They then turned back to Histoire with confused looks on their faces. "I... I haven't seen you here before. What's your name?" The question was directed to the girl with midnight blue hair.

The said girl grinned at Histoire. "Oh, yes, I haven't introduced myself yet." She said as she made a 'Tee-hee' pose, which somehow unnerved Nepgear. "The name's Uzume..."

Histoire's eyes widened a little as she heard that name, which was... kind of expected by Uzume.

"Uzume Tennouboshi."

~o~O~o~

Nepgear and Uzume left afterwards, leaving Histoire in Nepgear's office. The book fairy was definitely sure that she had heard that name before, but she could not exactly recall when... or where.

"..."

She tried to dig inside her memories. She could feel a very strong nostalgic feeling by just hearing the name Uzume. So nostalgic, yet painful. She stopped herself from digging deeper by opening her eyes and shutting down her search activity.

"Goddess, this would take me three years to find that memory." Histoire sighed in disappointment. She wanted to recover that memory, in all honesty.

~o~O~o~

Lastation.

Nepgear and Uzume arrived at Lastation not too long ago via airship. The journey took roughly half an hour because of, well, the airship must be filled with passengers first. Common practice, yeah.

"Say, Uzume..." Nepgear called as she stepped out of the airship. "Why are we in Lastation?" She asked and turned to her companion.

Uzume stepped forward and started to walk away, with Nepgear following from behind. "Now, now, no need to rush. You'll see when we get there."

"You being secretive is really suspicious."

Uzume ignored Nepgear's comment and just chuckled. Really, now? With how long they've been together, Nepgear was still feeling suspicious of her.

"It's a surprise, Nepgear." Uzume said.

Nepgear really didn't find that amusing. Well, she couldn't do anything about it, so she just followed Uzume to where she was headed. She'd get her answers later anyway. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at West Wind Valley. Nepgear was about to ask something again but she realized that Uzume wouldn't entertain questions as she just kept on walking.

They arrived at a certain spot, filled with trees and grasses. Uzume's pace slowed as she kept on minding her every step. Nepgear did the same as she followed the dark blue-haired girl. After a short while, Uzume stopped.

"We're here." Uzume said.

Nepgear peeked in front of Uzume and saw a giant hole on the ground. "What is that hole?"

"It's the same as the one you had in Planeptune." Uzume said as she walked towards it. "The same goes for Lowee and Leanbox."

"I didn't know..." Nepgear said and walked beside Uzume. She already knew that they were going inside this place.

Uzume chuckled at Nepgear's comment. It was laughable, really. "Of course, you wouldn't know. You don't give a damn about other nations anyway."

Nepgear popped a nerve after hearing that, but she knew to herself that Uzume was correct, so she didn't have any rebuttal for that. Why would she even care about them?

"Let's go." Uzume said as she jumped down, with Nepgear nodding and following her.

The cave was dark, almost the same as Planeptune had, was what Nepgear had in mind. Though the structure of course was different, because the terrain was different as well. Uzume and Nepgear didn't talk as they made their way to where Uzume was taking themselves. As they got deeper and deeper in the cave, they could hear something. Something like, battle cries.

"Looks like we're not the first ones here." Uzume said without stopping on her tracks.

Nepgear didn't say anything as she just followed Uzume's pace. After a short while, Uzume stopped.

"Uzume?" Nepgear called, but Uzume didn't respond. She then walked beside her, and saw an enormous door in front of them. "This is..."

"It's as you think, Nepgear." Uzume said.

They could hear cries from the other side of the door. Nepgear was sure that there were people inside battling whatever beast was sleeping in that room. Nepgear was about to touch the door, but she was stopped by Uzume as she lifted her right arm in front of Nepgear. Nepgear wondered why Uzume stopped her, until Uzume picked up a stone on the ground, and chucked it towards the door. The moment the stone collided with the door, a wave of electricity ran through its surface, and pulvered the stone completely.

"What's going on?" Nepgear asked.

Uzume snapped her fingers as she observed the door. "It's as you see. A seal is triggered whenever someone enters this room."

"I could've guessed that." Nepgear said. "How are we going to enter?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"Eh?"

The next thing Nepgear knew, the door instantly lit up as it got covered in dark red mist exiting from Uzume's right palm. As the mist disappeared, Uzume walked towards the door and tried to poke it. Nepgear panicked a little and attempted to stop her but as Uzume's finger touched the door, nothing happened.

"Looks like it's clear." Uzume said. "Though we have a slight problem." She said as she turned back to Nepgear.

Nepgear raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this door won't open... unless..."

Nepgear made an 'Ah' expression and transformed to her HDD form. Uzume got a bad feeling about that and stepped away from Nepgear's line of fire, as she was already charging her weapon. She then pulled the trigger, firing a laser towards the door.

"Well, I should've expected this." Uzume said as she stared at the laser beam heading towards the door.

A loud explosion could be heard around the cave as the door got destroyed by Nepgear's weapon. As soon as the smokes and dusts dissipated, a hole was revealed on the door. "Well, do we still have a slight problem?" Nepgear asked as she winked at Uzume.

Uzume just smiled awkwardly as she looked away from Nepgear.

"So, are we going in or what?" Nepgear asked as she rested her weapon on her shoulder.

Uzume swung her head in disagreement. "No, not me. Only you." She said as she took a step back to the shadows and disappeared. "I'll see you later, when everything's clear."

Nepgear didn't understand why Uzume would not accompany her inside. Or maybe just, she didn't want anyone to see her. Well, Nepgear was sure that it was the latter one.

She levitated towards the door and entered the room. As soon as she got near the center of the room, she saw three people in midair plus a dragon staring at her. And surprisingly, she wasn't surprised to see them, including the monster.

"Nepgear?!"

She heard three voices call her name in unison. Three voices that she didn't want to hear. And also, three people that she didn't want to see.

The voices of the CPUs of Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox. Which means, Noire, Blanc, and Vert.

She sighed in disappointment. What a nice timing to meet them.

Nepgear then stuck her weapon on the ground, and leaned on it. "Please don't mind me, continue." She said and waved her hands off.

"What the hell?!" Blanc angrily said as she heard Nepgear's comment. That seriously pissed her off.

But of course, the monster didn't wait for them as it started to charge a breath of fire, in which the three CPUs stayed away from its line of fire, which also was directed at Nepgear.

"Nepgear, get away from there!" Noire shouted as she flew away from the dragon.

But Nepgear didn't move and just sighed. She wanted to get this over with, but it looked like it wouldn't be any sooner if she were to leave this matter to their hands. Before the dragon could fully charge its fire breath, Nepgear pulled her weapon from the ground and fired towards the dragon's mouth in a heartbeat, causing a large explosion right on its face.

'It was effective?!' The three CPUs thought and was surprised as they saw the big explosion. They had been doing everything they can to damage the dragon, but to no avail, yet Nepgear managed to injure it easily. They then turned back to Nepgear, who just stabbed her weapon on the ground, and leaned on it again. That action implied that she was leaving the rest to them.

Without wasting any moment, Vert, Noire, and Blanc delivered a barrage of attacks to the vulnerable dragon simultaneously in all directions and continuously. After a short while of continuous rapid attacks, the dragon was finally subdued, and it vaporized. The three landed on the ground and sighed in relief as their battle had finally come to an end. They then walked towards Nepgear.

Nepgear just had her arms crossed, with her head leaning forward a little, and her eyes closed. From Noire's point of view, Nepgear didn't really want to see them.

"So, uhm... Nepgear..." Vert called nervously. They weren't expecting Nepgear to see them in a place like this, and teaming up again. "Thank-"

"No need to thank me. I was just passing by." Nepgear interrupted Vert before she could finish her sentence. "If you're done here, please leave me alone."

Blanc didn't look so pleased with Nepgear's arrogance. Though that was her impression only, at least. "Why, you-!" Blanc shoved Vert and attempted to grab Nepgear by the neck, but Noire stopped her by pulling her back.

"Okay. We'll leave now." Noire said and dragged the protesting Blanc out of the room, while Vert just followed them.

Nepgear sighed in relief as the three disappeared from her sight. It was hard for her to keep herself from laying a hand on them, and if they didn't leave few moments ago, she might've done something to them. Well, every time she saw them, she would just remember what happened to her sister, and it wasn't something that happiness could be derived from.

"Are you okay, Nepgear?" A voice suddenly filled Nepgear's ears as she was drowned in her thoughts.

Nepgear turned to the source of the voice. "Uzume..." She said as she saw Uzume right beside her. "Uzume...!" She called once more as her tears escaped from her eyes, and attempted to hug Uzume, but she failed as she just passed through her body.

"Ah, I wish I could embrace you, but you know, I have no physical form in this world." Uzume said as she made a weak smile. "We'll start once you're feeling better, Nepgear."

Nepgear swung her head and wiped her tears. She can't afford to be emotional right now. "No, I'm fine. Please do what you need to do."

"Okay then." Uzume said as she stepped in the middle of the room.

She then knelt down and touched the ground. Her hand moved around, seemingly trying to look for something. After a short while, the ground sparked as her hand made contact with something, and a large portal appeared behind her.

"What... is that?" Nepgear asked as she stared at the portal in awe. Though she might've known a thing or two about that thing, she nonetheless asked still.

Uzume offered Nepgear the way. "You'll see when we get to the other side." She said.

Nepgear walked towards the portal without any second thoughts. As soon as she was about the step inside, Uzume turned her head back at the entrance of the room. "Uzume? What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing." She replied and turned back to the portal. "Let's go."

~o~O~o~

"Let me go, Noire! Goddess damn it!"

Noire let go of the hand of the CPU she was holding. "Didn't I tell you before Blanc, that we cannot hurt Nepgear?" Noire asked as she knocked some sense to Blanc.

"But that doesn't mean-"

"She's right, Blanc." Vert said as she tried to calm the enraged goddess. "We still haven't fulfilled Neptune's request; that's the least we could do."

Blanc clicked her tongue. It was Neptune that was holding her back. If Neptune wasn't related to Nepgear in any way, she would've sliced that girl in half already. If she could, that is.

"Blanc aside, I'm curious as to why Nepgear is here." Vert said as she reverted her transformation. "Surely, neither of you believed that she was just passing by, right?"

Noire and Blanc reverted their transformation as well and nodded in agreement. Finally, a serious talk, was what Blanc had in mind. The three of them then turned their attention back to the door which was destroyed by Nepgear earlier.

"Let's check it out." Noire said and sneaked back to the door, followed by Vert and Blanc.

As they got close, they hid to the right side of the door. They then one by one took a peek inside, and they saw Nepgear in the middle of the room, with a person they didn't recognize. She was on her knees, with her hand observing the ground. After a short while, a large portal appeared.

"What the hell is that?" Blanc asked quietly.

Noire narrowed her eyes as she stared at the portal. "I don't know but-" Noire interrupted herself as she saw the unidentified person look at their direction and she immediately pulled Blanc and Vert away from the entrance.

"Wh-" Noire covered the two's mouth before they could let out a voice.

"Ssh! We've been spotted!" Noire said under her breath.

She waited for a few minutes before letting Blanc and Vert go as nobody came to them. Noire took a peek inside the room once more, and was surprised that nobody was inside anymore.

"Where did they go...?" Vert asked as they entered the empty room again.

But that question was left unanswered.

~o~O~o~

Nepgear and Uzume traversed through the portal, and now they were walking into something like a wormhole.

"So, this is why we traveled to Lastation." Nepgear said as she was walking beside Uzume. "That cave is a portal."

Uzume chuckled a little. "Actually, the same goes for Planeptune, Lowee, and Leanbox." She said.

"Then why didn't we use the one in Planeptune? We could've saved a lot of precious time."

"You blew up the room, remember?"

Nepgear didn't have a bullet to refute that. Well, it was true though. She did blow up the room, specifically the ceiling. And now that place was filled with rubble. And also, she reminded herself to better tone the explosions down a little.

Yep, just a little.

"How did you know that these caves were portals?" Nepgear asked. It was weird enough that Uzume knew all of these facts, unless-

Uzume grinned evilly at Nepgear. "I created them."

-she created them. Yeah, that was why.

"You what?!" Nepgear couldn't believe it. So the trouble she had before was caused by this girl! "Did you know how much stuff I went through just to defeat that goddess forsaken monster alone?!"

Uzume guarded herself and lifted her hands. "Wait, wait, those monsters weren't part of my intentions, I swear!" She said. Well, she wasn't lying, though, it was a miscalculation that she brought them, unintentionally. "I just wanted to make an easy way from where we are going and to your world, whichever nation I found myself in."

"Where are we headed anyway?" Nepgear asked.

Uzume lowered her hands. It seemed like, they were nearly there, so she guessed that it would be okay to tell her now as they walked towards the end of this tunnel.

"My home." Uzume said.

Nepgear gazed at Uzume, and knew that she wasn't kidding. There were no hints of joke on her voice, let alone from the look on her face. She was serious. She really was taking Nepgear to her home.

But the question was, why?

After a short while, Nepgear saw a light at the end of the road. As they got near it, the whole place was covered in blinding light and as Nepgear regained her vision, she saw an unbelievable view. The scene in front of her blew all the expectations she had of Uzume having a normal home.

She was speechless.

Floating buildings and boulders, mostly destroyed, voids from a distance, and unidentified lighting in the skies. It was like, how time and space looked like physically.

"I know you are surprised, but I am telling you the truth." Uzume said as she faced Nepgear. "This is my home."

Still, Nepgear didn't manage to say a word. She couldn't believe it, yet she did. The very existence of this world was confusing her.

"Well, technically. But the truth is..." Uzume said as she looked away from Nepgear and turned to the shining light from afar. "This dimension is the heart of my very existence." She then grabbed Nepgear's hand, which surprised the lilac-haired girl that she actually felt Uzume's touch. "This is a proof."

"But... why are you showing me this?" Nepgear asked.

Uzume pointed to the shining light in the sky. No, it wasn't really a shining light. It was a crystal brimming with light. "Because I want the two of us to trust each other."

Nepgear didn't quite understand what Uzume was trying to say as she looked at the crystal. She wasn't sure, but the more she stared at that crystal, the more it looked familiar to her. She wondered where she had seen something like that, but she couldn't recall clearly.

"See that crystal over there? That is the source of my life." Uzume said. "If you destroy that, this dimension will collapse, and I will disappear."

Nepgear was speechless once again. Why in the goodness would Uzume tell her about her weakness?

"I know you still have doubts, but I want you to trust me with this." Uzume said as patted Nepgear's shoulder. "But, the outcome will solely depend on you, Nepgear."

Now that wasn't really reassuring.

Uzume lifted her hand, and in a short moment, dark red mist appeared from her hand and slowly, a sword emerged. The sword which Nepgear was very familiar with, as she held on it once already. The purple sword, which emanates visible aura of curses.

"I'm lending it to you again, you will need it." Uzume said as she handed the sword to Nepgear, in which she accepted it, reluctantly though.

"You never told me the name of this sword, nor where it came from." Nepgear said as she observed the sword. She herself knew that this sword was dangerous, but she wasn't afraid to wield it, since she wasn't using it on herself anyway.

Uzume frowned a little, which confused the purple CPU. She wasn't sure if it was alright to tell her, but Nepgear really wanted to know it, as she was staring at Uzume now with expectant look on her face.

She sighed. "Its name is Gehaburn. I acquired that... well, someone gave it to me when I was in another dimension." Uzume said, followed by a bite on her lips. Nepgear was confused why Uzume did that, but the feeling of wanting to know more was stronger than the reason why Uzume bit her lips. And so, Nepgear didn't say a word and just nodded, waiting for Uzume to talk again.

"That sword was used to defeat the threat in that dimension, the Deity of Sin, Arfoire." Uzume said.

Nepgear made an 'Ah' expression after hearing that. So that was the reason why this sword was very effective when she used it to kill Arfoire. Though she wasn't sure if the Arfoire here was the same as the Deity of Sin from that dimension, nevertheless, they were both Arfoire, technically.

"But of course... it didn't come without a price." Uzume said.

Now, Nepgear wasn't sure if she wanted to hear that, but no voice of protest escaped her lips.

"This weapon... can't be used, unless all other CPUs of one generation is killed by this sword, until there is only one CPU left." Uzume reluctantly said. In all honesty, she didn't think it would be good for Nepgear to know this right now. "This sword was strengthened by the lives of the CPUs it killed."

Nepgear's heart raced as she heard what Uzume just said. One CPU... killed all other CPUs? The sword absorbed the power of the CPUs it killed? That was something she couldn't just believe. Yet for some reason, she found it not too impossible to happen. She then turned her attention towards the sword she was holding. She could feel nothing but ominous aura and curses inside the blade. Nepgear attempted to touch the blade using her other free hand, but she was instantly stopped by Uzume.

"Don't even think about it." Uzume then gripped on Nepgear's arm tightly, almost enough to leave a mark on it. "Okay, we're wasting enough time. Follow me." She said and let go of Nepgear's arm.

Uzume floated away from the ground, with Nepgear following her behind. Nepgear was still thinking about the story Uzume just told her. She wondered who that CPU was who sacrificed the other CPUs to save her world. But it looked like Uzume wouldn't tell her anything even if she asked. They landed at a certain building after flying for a while. Nepgear reverted her transformation before following Uzume to the entrance.

Before Uzume touched the door way in, she turned to Nepgear. "Nepgear." She called.

"What's wrong?" Nepgear asked.

Uzume stared at her in the eyes for a few seconds before answering. "This might be useless, as you may not remember anything later, but all you will see is a delusion."

"What do you mean, delusion?"

"Just as I said." Uzume said. "I know you can do it. It's you, after all."

Nepgear didn't really feel happy to hear that. "What am I going to do exactly?"

"You will have to figure that out on your own."

Now, Nepgear felt like she didn't want to do this anymore. With that vague explanation, how in good Gamindustri would she able to figure out something that she wasn't even aware of? But, if it was all for the sake of that... then there was no reason to hesitate.

Right?

They entered the building. Well, it wasn't really a building. It looked like a castle of sorts. Nepgear could've sworn that she had seen something like this in Planeptune, though she couldn't remember its name. The place didn't look threatening, so their journey inside the castle was safe. After a short while, they entered a certain room.

"Come." Uzume said as she lead Nepgear to the center of the room. "This place should be good."

"Anything special here why you picked this place?" Nepgear inquired.

Uzume smirked. "Nothing really. I just want a spacious room."

Uzume ordered Nepgear to stand on the center of the room. There was some sort of circle drawn on the floor, in which she couldn't identify. She just hoped it wasn't a transmutation circle or something like that.

"Are you ready, Nepgear?" Uzume asked. Nepgear took a deep breath before nodding.

Uzume lifted her arms, and dark red mist escaped from her hand and headed towards the circle on the floor. As soon as it covered the circle completely, the mist headed towards Nepgear's body. Nepgear's vision gradually became darker as the mist was continuously covering her entire body.

She would be lying if she said that she wasn't scared. She turned to Uzume, who was just smiling at her.

'Ah, I almost forgot...' Nepgear smiled as she remembered something. "Uzume." Nepgear called. She gotta say that before she loses her vision.

"What is it?"

"You told me to give you a new name." Nepgear said. She had the perfect name for her in her mind. And all she had to do was say it.

Uzume sighed, but not in disappointment. She was kinda amused with that, though. "I told you to forget about it."

"Kurome." Nepgear said before she was completely covered by the mist. "Kurome Ankokuboshi." She then disappeared from where she was standing.

Uzume sighed. She tried to keep her palm from reaching her face, but she failed miserably and completely face palmed. She couldn't believe Nepgear just gave her such name. Did she even think about that seriously?

"That Nepgear..." She said and sighed.

She can't say that she didn't like that name though.


There, chapter 3 is done!

Honestly, I didn't intend to make this longer. But if I shortened it up to that ending, there would be a lot of holes, so I decided to place it there, and I didn't expect it to go up to 7k+ words.

Now, I know guys that you might be thinking why Kurome's not a baddie. Well, I won't say anything yet, huehuehue. And yep, they are partners-in-crime!

So, if you guys are wondering, the method that Uzu- Kurome just used on Nepgear is, well, those who played VII should already know it. To those who haven't played VII yet, you better play it! IT'S SUCH A GREAT GAME. :)

So, how's the story going so far for you guys? Please do tell me! :D I would very much appreciate it!

Until next time, see ya guys!