Disclaimer: I don't own Hyperdimension Neptunia, it belongs to Idea Factory, Compile Heart, Sega and whomever else works on it.
So I completely screwed up the previous chapter. It's been fixed, but I think that people didn't get the memo. Again, sorry.
In fact, I screwed up so badly that I'm posting a second chapter today. Then it's back to once a week.
After getting back to the Basilicom, Nepgear looked at her office and blinked in mild surprise when she saw her sister doing paperwork. "Jupiter?"
"Ah!" The girl jumped slightly. "Sis, you're back early! I'm almost done and..."
"No, it's fine, thank you for doing my paperwork." Nepgear honestly felt like a failure in a lot of ways, especially around her sister. She wasn't sure how to interact with her, but she always tried to praise the girl and build up her confidence when she did the right things. "If you see Histoire, please inform her that I will be retiring for the day and unless it's an emergency to not bother me."
Jupiter nodded at her. "Um, sis, should I..."
"If you want, you can." Nepgear nodded at her. "Or do whatever, just keep the noise down."
Jupiter nodded and Nepgear left the younger girl alone. "Hey, sis!" She quickly ran out of the room and caught Nepgear as she got down the hallway a bit. "Please, um, do you want to play games tomorrow?"
"...If there's time."
Jupiter sighed as Nepgear walked off. "But you always say that." She said softly, knowing that her sister wouldn't be playing anything with her. It wasn't like she was lonely, her sister was around quite a bit, but at the same time she couldn't say that she was close with her sister. 'Is this normal?' Maybe it was that way with the other CPUs and their sisters as well. 'After all, I guess it's hard to be really close to someone who's going to replace you some day, huh?'
For some reason she didn't feel like finishing the paperwork.
"Oh!" She heard Histoire's voice and she looked up to see the Tome floating towards her. "Jupiter, I heard that Nepgear was back, is she?"
"She said she wanted to go to bed for the rest of the day." Jupiter answered, getting a nod from Histoire. "Um... I know there's still some paperwork to do and sis always told me that you hate unfinished work, but could I..."
Histoire nodded, looking at her with sad eyes. "If you wish to play some games, I won't stop you. I can do some of the paperwork and ease the burden on your poor sister."
Jupiter nodded and ran off to the game room.
Sighing after Jupiter left, Histoire hung her head. "A proper CPU needs to know how to relax... That should have been lesson one for me." Yes, Nepgear had turned into probably the best CPU possible, but Histoire felt the cost was too high. "I'm so sorry, Nepgear, I'm so sorry." She whispered, wishing that she could work up the courage to tell it to Nepgear's face.
(-)
After showering and changing into some pajamas, Nepgear flopped onto her bed and looked at the time. 'Just past noon, first time I've gone to bed this early.' Still, she was tired. Flipping the covers over and burying herself in them, she blinked as she felt a lump next to her. Flipping the covers up, her eyes softened as she saw two plushies, one looked like Neptune in her human form and one looked like Purple Heart. "Onee-chan..." She said softly, her eyes tearing up as she looked at them and she slowly recalled how she got them.
(-)
Ten years ago...
"Oh!" An elderly lady smiled as she saw the newly crowned CPU of Planeptune. It was rather late in the day and she was about to close up her shop, but she wouldn't refuse the Goddess of the nation. "How are you, Lady Nepgear?"
"I'm..." The new CPU shook her head. "I'm doing okay, I suppose. I have a question for you." The elderly lady nodded. "Do you... Do you remember how the previous CPU looked? In either form?"
The elderly lady laughed softly. "Is that all? Of course I do. In fact." She winked at Nepgear and reached under the counter and pulled out a plushie of both Neptune and Purple Heart. "I don't have many of these left."
"How much!?"
"Well, for you..." The lady trailed off, thinking about it. "I'll give them to you for free." Nepgear's eyes widened and the lady gave her a kind smile. "I know she was your sister, and I'm sorry that she's gone."
"How do you..."
"My granddaughter is a staff member at your Basilicom and she talks about work from time to time." The lady smiled kindly as Nepgear took the plushies and gently hugged them. "You should know that the staff loved your sister."
Nepgear's eyes started to tear up and she bowed to the lady. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Dear, just take it easy, okay? I'm sure you'll be a fine CPU one day too, just like your sister."
Nepgear sniffled and nodded at her.
*End flashback*
That was probably the last happy memory she had. Nepgear hugged both plushies to her and rocked back and forth in her bed. "Onee-chan... I wish you were here." She sighed softly before closing her eyes and trying to get some sleep.
(-)
Jupiter smiled softly as she moved around in the 4 Goddesses Online MMO. Her sister had pretty strict travel restrictions in and out of the country, and for good reason, but she never stopped anyone from playing online games with anyone, even if they were from the other nations.
"I'm not going to punish the population for what the rulers of the other nations do. It's not like they're the ones pushing this stupid war."
'Sis...' Jupiter sighed and shook her head. 'No, now's not the time to worry about that, I should just try to enjoy playing.' It had been months since she had last logged in. She wasn't like some people, like that legendary +Green_Heart+ user, that could spend hundreds of hours playing MMOs, but she still enjoyed playing them sometimes.
A ding caught her attention and her eyes widened. "Oh! It's Single Shot!"
"Hey, Twin Swords, haven't seen you for awhile."
Jupiter nodded and typed her reply. "Yeah, sorry, been really busy helping my sister out."
"You too, huh? Anyway, got some spare time, want to go hunting or something?"
"Sure, are the other two going to show up?" Jupiter asked in reply.
Two new dings showed up and Jupiter's eyes lit up as she saw the two she had been asking about had just logged in. "Hey! DS_Lite and +DS_i+!" She typed in, getting their attention.
"Hey! Twin Swords, it's good to see you. *Happy*"
Jupiter giggled, DS_Lite always made her giggle with the way she would actually write out how she was feeling rather than using emojis. "Been too long."
"Yeah! Come on! We should do something fun!" +DS_i+ commented.
Single Shot replied "Want to go on a quick hunt together?"
"Sure!" Jupiter typed in and smilied as DS_Lite and +DS_i+ both responded positively. "I'm a bit underleveled compared to you three though, sorry."
"No worries, there's some item drops that I need to get so I can strengthen my weapons anyway and the monsters aren't too strong." Single Shot replied.
Jupiter nodded. "Alright, let's go."
(-)
In another part of the Basilicom, Histoire floated over to a picture of Nepgear that had been taken just after she had been crowned the CPU of Planeptune. "I screwed up so much."
"Hey! Histoire, can I take some time off? I'm getting kind of stiff sitting here."
"You haven't finished the paperwork for the zoning for the new arcade, have you?"
"But that project won't be ready to go for another nine months. Surely I can..."
"Nepgear, it's important to get it done early. The sooner you get it done, the sooner the project can finish when it starts and the smoother it will be to get done."
"I just wanted to play some games."
"I'm sorry, Nepgear, but there's so much to do. When we finish the work you can take time off and play, okay?"
"...Okay..."
"I should never have said that." Histoire fought the urge to cry as she squeezed her dress and trembled. "I really shouldn't have. I should have let her have a day off."
"Hey, Histoire, I finished the paperwork."
"Good job."
"Um, what's with all these papers?"
"You took so long that this all piled up."
"WHAT?! But I just..."
"Sorry, Nepgear, but you need to get these done too. I've done some, but if I was to do this, it would take me three months by myself."
"Okay, I'll help you."
"Thank you. If we hurry there might be time to play some games later."
"But it never ended, did it?" Histoire sighed, tears running down her cheeks. "It never ended..."
"Histoire, could you bring the next wave of paperwork in?"
"Actually, Nepgear, that was the last you needed to do."
"Really? Wow... It's been so long since I haven't seen papers that needed to be signed."
"Yes, even with all the help you had, it took... Oh dear, it's been over five months already?"
"Oh. But we're caught up now, I can..."
"Nepgear, you know that CPU's first duty is to her citizens."
"But I've been a good CPU, haven't I? I've done all the paperwork without question and it's all done now."
"Yes, but I've checked the share levels, they could be better. You're not bad off, but they could be better. The citizens might not think you care about them. Go do some quests for the citizens then."
"...Okay."
"What in the True Goddess's good Gamindustri was I thinking back then?!" Histoire trembled and clenched her tiny hands into fists. "Nepgear didn't need lessons on being a good CPU. She needed time to cry, time to scream and vent her sorrow. She needed to be able to take time to play games and relax. What did I do? I forced her to work hard and do what I thought a good CPU was like."
She knew that Nepgear didn't hate her over it, Histoire knew that Nepgear understood why she did what she did.
However well intentioned, Histoire knew that her actions drove a wedge between her and her CPU. No matter how hard she tried to fix the damage over the past seven plus years, Nepgear never treated her as anything more than an associate. "I should be thankful that she doesn't flat-out hate and resent me."
(-)
In Lastation...
Noire sat at her desk and leaned back in the chair. "Nepgear, huh? It's been five years since I last saw you." Part of her wanted to go to Planeptune and ask for forgiveness, to apologize and take any punishment that Nepgear could think of. 'Why? Why couldn't we stop fighting back then?'
Noire wished, with all her heart, that she could go back in time, to that fateful day, and stop fighting. "If I hadn't..."
Nothing could change the past, what was done was done.
Not that that gave her any comfort.
*Five years ago*
"Are you sure it's a good idea to head to Planeptune?" Blanc, in her White Heart form, glared at Noire.
"If the information we have is true, we're going to need the CPU of Planeptune's help." Black Heart shot back as they crossed the border in the air. "Look, we'll go through the front door and, YIPE!" She nearly jumped as a powerful laser blast tore through the air in front of her.
"Well..." Green Heart looked down to see a bunch of soldiers and heavily armored tanks, turrets and cannons pointed right at them. "It looks like we aren't exactly welcome here."
"CPUs of Lastation, Lowee and Leanbox, please return to your countries. If you do not return, we will consider this an act of war and fire everything we have while calling for our CPU to come here. This is your only warning."
"What now?" Green Heart asked and watched as Black Heart lowered herself down, holding both hands up in a non-threatening manner.
"Parlay." Black Heart called out as she lowered herself to the ground, though she stayed back several feet to try and keep tensions from exploding. "We are not here to invade, conquer or spy. We wish to speak to the CPU of Planeptune on a matter of grave importance."
"I apologize, CPU Black Heart, but I cannot let any of you three any further in. Please return to your countries."
Black Heart took a deep breath, she knew that they were just doing their jobs. "I apologize as well, but we truly need to talk to your CPU. If we cannot go to her, could you please call her and relay our wishes?"
Black Heart wasn't sure why, but the commander in charge told the others to stand down and made the call himself.
"Lady Lilac Heart will come here personally." The commander said after a minute of talking on the phone. "It should not take her long."
Exactly three minutes later, Lilac Heart appeared in the air and lowered herself to the ground, standing in front of her soldiers, her gunblade in her hand. "What is it that you want, Black Heart?"
"Scouts for Lastation discovered a cave system that runs along the Planeptune and Lastation border." Behind Black Heart, both White and Green Heart were looking at Lilac Heart seriously. "There are signs of Delphinus appearing deep below."
Lilac Heart's eyes widened slightly. "A powerful monster, said to eclipse even a CPU's might."
"Lilac Heart, no, Nep..."
"Please keep this professional, Black Heart." Lilac Heart interrupted her, her eyes not betraying any emotion. "If you wish for my help dealing with this thing, then I shall help you." When the other CPUs looked at her in surprise, she merely raised an eyebrow at them. "A powerful monster such as Delphinus should not run around unchecked. If it were to leave the area it was in, it could cause untold havoc to the world. Lead the way."
"Lady Lilac Heart?" The commander gasped in shock.
"This is something that is beyond any individual CPU to deal with. That being said, until I return, shut the border down and do not let anyone in or out."
"Right."
"Follow us then." Black Heart said as she, White Heart and Green Heart turned and flew off, Lilac Heart following right afterwords.
After a few minutes of flying, White Heart suddenly stopped and turned to face Lilac Heart. "I didn't want to say anything in front of your people, because I'm sure that you wouldn't answer, but now that we're here, can we trust you?"
Lilac Heart took a deep breath. "My personal feelings towards you three aside, this is an enemy that I cannot defeat on my own. Allow me to make my intentions perfectly clear if you do not trust me. I do not care for any of you. If any of you gets injured in the fight against Delphinus, I will not take the time to heal you, I also fully expect that you three will gladly leave me behind if I end up hurt and unable to move, I will also not try to harm you myself so long as this mission is ongoing. Make no mistake, we are only temporary allies, we are not friends, comrades nor full-time allies."
"Tsk..." White Heart growled, but spun and flew towards the cave. "Just keep your end of the bargain up."
"Of course." Lilac Heart nodded and flew after them.
(-)
The battle had been long, hard and Noire could feel her legs giving out as she struggled to stand. Even though she was still in her HDD form, she was struggling to keep it going.
"That... Was pretty tough." Green Heart grinned. It was always nice to get the blood pumping through a great battle.
Lilac Heart said nothing and turned to leave.
"Nepgear, wait!" Black Heart called out and, ignoring how tired her body was, floated over to her. "Please, we need to..."
"Please go home." Lilac Heart looked at her, her blue eyes were hollow and empty. "I have no desire to stay here and exchange pleasantries with you."
"Nepgear, please..." Noire had a hand half-raised towards her. "It's been five years now, I understand why you didn't join the peace treaty with us then, but please join now."
"What did you call that treaty again?" Lilac Heart asked. "The... Friendship pact?" Noire nodded at her. "For me to join that, it would imply that I could be friends with my sister's murderers." She turned and floated out of the caves. "If you three want me to join it, find a way to bring my sister back to life." She stopped and looked up. "Or you three could get yourselves a younger sister and then die shortly after she was born. Then I'll join your friendship pact. Otherwise, no."
Noire sighed as Nepgear flew off. "...Dammit..."
"That stupid brat!" White Heart growled in frustration. She had been against trying to befriend Nepgear after they had ended Purple Heart's life, at least until she had found out they had been manipulated during that fateful battle. There were too many nights that she woke up from a nightmare where either Neptune or Nepgear appeared in front of her asking her to die for them and this didn't help any.
"She has every right to hate us." Green Heart sighed heavily. "Let's give her more time. Anyway, we should leave."
Black Heart sighed and nodded. "Yeah."
*End Flashback.*
After they had returned home, both Blanc and Noire had made an announcement about how the four nations had united for a short period of time to deal with one of the strongest monsters to ever exist and had talked about how there was hope for a united and peaceful Gamindustri.
What neither she nor Blanc had expected was that faith would skyrocket after that announcement, to the point that their younger sisters were born.
To Noire, the instant she saw her younger sister, she had to fight the urge to hug her and never let her go. 'Was that how Neptune felt when she saw Nepgear the first time?' As much as she loved her younger sister, Noire had a hard time looking at her without being crushed under heavy guilt. She couldn't imagine leaving her sister alone forever, forcing her to become Lastation's CPU before she was ready. She couldn't imagine how much sorrow and pain Uni would suffer through if her elder sister was gone forever.
And yet, she had forced Nepgear to go through that when she, Vert and Blanc killed Purple Heart all those years ago.
Noire was glad that she was alone right then and there. Because if anyone saw her right then and there, she would never be able to face anyone ever again.
She crossed her arms on her desk, buried her face into them and started to cry. "Neptune... Nepgear... I'm so sorry."
What? You all thought that Nepgear was the only one suffering?
There will be flashbacks throughout the story.
