6-2-2016, 2:28AM - Okay! Writing this part after finishing Neptune's segment. Again. And once again, because of intentional, but unfortunate planning - Neptune's still on the shorter end of the stick. But! She is now back in the action and her wall-breaking is back to the Tops! She's definitely the high-roller!

Okay, anyway. Focusing on more important stuff - I'll also be uploading Blanc's stuff onto this with another time-stamp marker up here and a dividing line in between Neptune and Blanc, so that chapters aren't kept super short for no reason. Here, we have a small peek into one of the later conflicts coming up, and the best part is I have absolutely no idea how canon that new addition will be! I am a brilliant writer. Regardless, I'm back to having fun with this - writing about this story is really enjoyable outside of Vert's big hiccup. Also, I like the feedback in the reviews. :D The perspectives and ideas are really good to read, especially when they sometimes intersect with my previous plans.

But yeah, if you read this before Blanc's portion gets added, do remember that it'll also extend later tomorrow, most likely, alongside an upload for Vert's next segment, as well. I'm back to having a decent direction of plot thought out for the next few installments! Nep yeah! And by no means is this canon with any particular dimension or timeline in the Neptunia series; it's seriously just a... dimensional dilemma. ;D

6-2-2016, 1:16PM - Alrighty! I decided not to upload this last night without getting through Blanc's POV as well, and have now added it in, too. I'm going to leave the time-stamps and upper notes unchanged because I don't think I need to edit it, really. Regardless; Blanc's part was a lot of explanation, and nothing else, really. It served as a good staple to finally elaborate on the points I've been suggesting through the last few segments, bringing up the new concept that I'll cover at the bottom. :D

I'm still pretty sure this turned out alright, though I might be taking a break to write ahead before posting more, and to continue updating my Nep-Noire one-shots with a few more ideas, since this is all kind of escalating faster than I was actually first anticipating. Though, I guess writing never goes according to plan, so. D':

Oh yeah. I also am still playing with the idea whether Blanc and Vert are going to stay a thing. /gasp

So, I wake up in the morning and I step outside, and I take a deep breath, and get real high—

Okay, so maybe that reference is kind of vague too.

I open my eyes slowly, wincing as my muscles remind me of how crappy I have to feel, but I manage to sit up regardless. Raising my sore arms, I stretch and yawn, blinking twice. What was I doing again? Oh, oh, right, I was supposed to be hanging out with Noire, and then we went to Lowee, and… I flick my eyes over to the bed, staring at the same pale, doll-like face that I remember haunting my dreams as I went to sleep. I shiver, forcing myself to my feet – my body acting like I got pummeled by Zangief—I mean a giant Dogoo – as I move to Noire's side, looking down at her with a deep frown.

"Hey… Noire… it's okay to wake up, now, you know. It's not really a good time… I didn't mean to tell you to take breaks like, right now. I meant… in a more broad sense, you know?" my mouth moves on its own, that unpleasant pang of loneliness surging through me. "You still need to talk to Blanc about the meeting and stuff, and then let me tease you about being lonely without me." My hands are clenched tight, and I can sense the lectures from people about how she needs her rest and I shouldn't try to force her awake, but… "…Noire, c'mon. This isn't fun anymore."

I subconsciously extend a hand, brushing the hair in front of her face away as I have this deep-seated urge to cry a little, but I sigh and shake it away. This isn't like me, at all! I run a finger down her cheek, to her neck, enjoying the silky softness of her skin, but it's just—

"Nnn… stupid… idiot…"

Even if it was quiet and subtle, I see her shift into my touch ever so slightly before wincing in pain, and my eyes widen.

Crap! I didn't mean to make her feel that…! Wait a minute. I feel more normal again. Holy smokes! I also discover myself smiling stupidly, kinda' giddily as I stare at her for however long, a sense of normalcy returning to me. I look around quickly, noticing a couple bots but nothing else really surrounding us, and take a breath. Leaning down, I kiss her cheek softly as I whisper into her ear.

"Hey, Neptune's Heart. I'll be waiting for you to wake up again!"

"Nmm…"

Standing up, I find myself utterly content with my silent declaration. It just felt so right for that moment, that I just really enjoyed it…

I always feel like, some~body's watchin'~ meeee~!

Neptune senses are tingling off the charts! It isn't even those robots, I know it! Where do I feel these ominous eyes from…? I search the ceiling and under the bed, but to no avail, but then notice at the window…

A small girl, probably my height, stares back at me… but not really, I think. Her bluish-red eyes are just… empty, surrounded by a doll-like face and dark blue hair. She's wearing some kinda' black-with-white-lining schoolgirl outfit, I wanna' say, with a big, floppy blue tie. Oh, those are some cool arm-stocking-things! Black with blue stripes… Man, I need to update my fashion terminology and wardrobe sometime. Oh, wait. That's not the point here.

She's just staring at me. Standing there behind the glass, like a kind of stalker. I tilt my head, waving at her instinctively… to which she waves back, grinning this really freaky grin that sends some serious shivers up my spine. She bows, turning to walk out of sight, and I get this sense that if I leave Noire's side, something bad is definitely going to happen, so I opt out of that venture. Like, in the horror flicks where they all split up after seeing the deranged axe murderer. Why did you have to die first, Nep Nepalloran?! Better yet, why at all? You didn't even die in the book.

Jeez, what the Nep's going on in this story? I mean, seriously, I swear I saw Anony—I mean, a he-she in one of the previous parts, and then there was that weird pedo-monster, and an evil Arfoire, and now a girl from a game the creator hasn't played yet! Nep you, man. This was supposed to be a romance!

Urk, right, right. The wall-breaking's not as funny without Noire. I sigh, slumping back in the sofa, staring at her again while running a hand over my other arm. I'm starting to feel a little better, but I'm still like a NEET in the sunlight, which is just utterly terrible. And, I gotta' admit, I don't like the idea of going anywhere while Noire's like this.

Though, if I listen closely enough, there's stuff going on down the hall outside, though I have no idea if it's a good sign or a bad one. People are running, shouting, and doing their usual weird Basilicom stuff, but none of them sound like Blanc or Vert, so I'm not really sure what to think about it. I sigh, shaking my head – taking the time to instinctively check the windows every few seconds again, kind of paranoid now – while staring at one of those weird bots sitting in the corners of the room. It wobbles every now and then, moving around as if stretching its invisible robot arms and legs, flashing a couple colors at the other ones in the room before returning to its usual routine. By sitting patiently, I notice the others do the same weird stuff, and I cock my head. Does Blanc enjoy stuff like this? Is this some weird robot kink that I don't want to know about? What if she and Vert… ew, ew, ew, ew, ew! I shudder, wishing that thought away as quickly as possible, shaking my head vehemently.

I need to stop contemplating the unknown so much.

I wonder if Histy knows what's going on. Maybe we ought to go find the current Arfoire to see if it's just suddenly that she went evil, or if there's really another of her. Hah, I bet that'd really throw Arfoire#1 for a loop! Like, all, hey, what're you doing, me? Oh, you know, being old and evil. Stop that, it's not cool or else Neptune's gonna' have to Nep you, man. Ah, but I have these really stupid, overpowered crystals that break the game! Yeah, but she has a move that does that too!

You don't even need this story – I can tell you guys one with just my own narration! Ten-out-of-ten, worth a bunch of awards!

"N…eptune, you 'tard… Gonna'… kill you…"

"If it wakes you up, I'll just keep smashing all the pots—walls!"

I pause, settling into the actually, truly legitimate silence now, staring at the windows with a bit of anxiety. Just what's actually going on? I draw my legs up to my chest, hugging them as I cover myself with the blanket, looking over at her again.

"Noire, please wake up soon."

Blanc

I've been listening to hustling down the hall for a few minutes, Rom and Ram safely tucked in on one of the sofas in the room, sleeping comfortably. I've been drumming my fingers on my legs unintentionally out of nervous habit – where are they? Should I risk leaving Rom and Ram to check? There's safety in numbers, though, and I'm worried about them, more than anything.

I sigh, shaking my head. According to the agents I had investigating the dimensional pockets, it's worse than I had thought. We can't confirm where they go, but they all come from different dimensions, which means… we have a lot of problems on our hands, really. Apart from new enemies that might stumble in, there's also the possibility of alternate versions of ourselves popping up, which could be catastrophic, depending on their temperaments… My mind flashes to the concept of the original Purple Heart stumbling in, desiring to 'finish business' if she mistakes us for her own counterparts. I shudder.

It's not that I'm afraid, but Purple Heart was always stupidly strong, stronger than even Noire and I. I remember that it took the three of us to knock her out last time, and now that it's just Vert and I… Gah, what a pain in the ass. This is beginning to look more and more problematic as time goes on, which really is just making this mess more of a hassle to clean up.

I'll need Lastation's technological fortitude to handle closing the dimensional pockets. Lowee nor Leanbox, and especially not Planeptune have the ability to screw with crap like this, so I'll have to place my hopes on Noire's progress… when she wakes up.

Well. If she does. I had seen mentions of the anti-crystals in old records in Lowee, though I don't know if that meant they exist in our dimension, or if it's just coincidence. Their effects were supposedly catastrophic, acting as a sort of check-and-balance against any CPU becoming too powerful. It affects those of us with the highest shares the hardest… and can sometimes cause worse than just bodily weakness.

I don't want to share this information with the Candidates. This is too high-stakes already without their emotional fragility getting in our way. I hope Vert returns soon, we need to speak… and stuff. I feel my cheeks redden, and I shake away the concept entirely, picking my head up to watch the door. The footsteps… well, more like clatter, are coming now. Maybe we succeeded? That'd be…

"…What happened to Vert?"

Uni and Nepgear glance at me in horror, looking away. IF frowns, shrugging, while Compa deposits a weak and pale Vert onto one of the couches, setting down her medical bag to rummage through it. Vert's eyes flitter open, rolling onto me as she smiles weakly, extending a hand to me. Instinctively, I rush over to hold it, watching her with mounting fear and anger.

"We… had some problematic run-ins. I got ambushed by a… strange individual with one of those crystals. They're…," she coughs, wincing, as Compa ushers me out of the way, injecting her with a string of needles.

"I know. They're catastrophic to CPUs." All eyes center on me, and I gulp. No use beating around the bush now, especially if we're down to just me, the Candidates, and IF and Compa. "Those crystals affect us worse than the highest dose of toxic poison, especially if we have a substantial amount of shares. My agents returned with a decent amount of information."

She smirks, eying me knowingly. "It seems… you wished to finally level with us?"

"It wasn't that I wished to hide it from you, Vert, and you know it. I had to confirm our current situation and wanted to avoid causing hysteria in our own group." She nods, looking over at IF, who blinks, staring at us with a frown. "You'll also be sharing your findings, too. This problem encompasses more than just our nations now – it can affect all of our Gamindustri."

"What do you mean, exactly? Seems to me that you all are the singular target."

Twitch. "If all four CPUs are defeated, the world can be taken by storm by whatever wants to replace us. In the current case, it might even be one of our warmongering dimensional alter-egos." Her eyes narrow on me, and I feel bewildered expressions fixated on me. "Ugh, what a pain in the ass to have to explain this like this. I had hoped I'd have more time, especially to talk it out with Vert, but I see that we're not able to be picky. Take a seat while I check on Neptune and Noire."

"What do you mean? They're not solving the problem?" I offer her a telling look as I activate my bracelet, to which her eyes fall, now. "Oh, so that's how you knew about those crystals…?"

"Yes. They experienced it first-hand. Noire's comatose while Neptune's not really operating at… Wait a minute." I blink. "Neptune's up."

"…What?!" Nepgear shouts, rushing to my side. Her eyes light up upon seeing her sister and she beams. "Neptune!" She rushes out of the room, and I sigh. Neptune looked... sort of shaken, visibly shaken by something, which... isn't normal for her. I'll need to check in with her after I'm sure Vert's stable, but before I forget...

"Compa, I'll need you to tend to Noire after you ensure Vert will be alright. We need her now more than ever, especially if we are to solve this issue." I settle on the couch, hearing through my bracelet the startled responses of the guards as Nepgear pushes into the room. I press the 'Mute' button on the cameras, and shake my head. "We'll focus on them later. Currently, we have bigger issues. Take a seat, IF, and Vert, will you be able to…?"

"…Yes, I will remain awake to listen. I should… be fine, I believe." Compa turns, nodding in confirmation to me as she holds up a thumb, and I just smile at them.

"Alright, you have my attention, Blanc. What's going on, first?" the guild agent says, hopping onto the couch beside Uni, crossing her arms to sit… in a rather ladylike manner, actually. How strange to think we have any habits in common.

Taking a breath, I collect my thoughts. "Firstly, over the last few weeks since the previously-turned Arfoire had been meddling with that strange business she dabbled in, Lowee has been painfully aware of numerous fluctuations in our landmass that can only be simply described as 'dimensional warping'. I have not wanted to test the theory of entering these discolored rifts to explore this, but the fact of these new massing hostile swarms can only further reinforce our theories. The issue in this lies in the problematic fact that each rift connects to a different dimension, and the pockets can close and re-appear elsewhere. There's a possibility that they may be in the other nations, as well."

IF nods, pursing her lips. "Planeptune has been discovering something along those lines as of late, but we have contained the threats that appear through the distortions, due to their being just monsters traveling through in curiosity. No signs of intelligent life yet, but then again, our agents do not come back after they travel through."

I lower my eyes for a moment in silent apology, but she waves it away callously, motioning for me to continue – Vert's eyes locked on my form to indicate her rapt attention as well. "Furthermore, we are also finding records of these crystals in locked chests that we are only now beginning to break through. The old Goddess seems to have created catalysts – testing them out on prototypes of us, it would seem – that would serve in 'maintaining' a balance between our four nations. However, as you have noticed, I would say it's not 'maintaining' anything, and instead serving as an extreme Achilles Heel to our existence. Though, it would appear that CPU Candidates are not as affected due to their lack of HDD ability, and humans… appear unfazed?"

"Correct. I didn't sense a single thing wrong when first coming through the transport hub today, and I saw that red crystal. I didn't know it was such a problem, or else I would have crushed it." I frown, somewhat skeptical of her answer, but her posture stiffens. "I wouldn't dare try and see any of you guys harm. I don't hate Neptune, and I don't want the other nations to be ruled without you three. Plus, I don't think Compa would let me side against you."

"That's right, Iffy! They're our friends and we need to help them!" The two nods to one another, IF's expression softening in defeat as Compa returns to mixing her medicines for Vert. I inquire about the progress of Vert's treatment, earning an unhappy expression from the nurse. "I don't really know what I'm supposed to be fighting off, Miss Blanc. All I've discovered that help are long-lasting steroids."

"That's better than the lack of anything that we've had before, so thank you," I say, smiling at her. Returning my attention to the guild agent, I pause, thinking further. "Also, as I said before – we may be stumbling across ourselves or enemies of ourselves that we really might not be prepared for. We have to stand united, especially since the Four Nations Meeting is likely to be postponed or end in disaster, which will cause mass civil unrest."

IF nods, flipping open her phone, searching for something. "No news in Planeptune yet, but I've been unable to contact Leanbox or Lastation recently. It's almost as if there's interference or they don't want to communicate with us." She pauses, looking around at Uni, then Vert, and then myself. "I know that it's not exactly the right thing to just write it off, but that's all I can do, at the moment. I'll keep trying to gather information, but…"

"Hey, IF," I interrupt her, causing her to lift her head in surprise. "An idea just came to mind," I say contemplatively, earning a risen eyebrow. "See if you can pinpoint the Arfoire from our dimension. If we can have her brought here, we can at least be positive that we are not going to suffer a second attempt by her… or she might shed light on our current situation with proper advice, since Histoire is presently still incapable of responding to us."

"What's up with her? She's just been in that corner, distantly disconnected."

"Ram moved her there despite orders to leave her be, but Histoire attempted to access old files. I've been considering that this may have been a fault and a mistake that we will regret, especially if her research connected her to other dimensions, but we cannot change what has been done. We will have to move forward regardless."

"Right. What do you intend to do for now?"

I smirk, watching Basilicom staff file into the room. Ah, the spare back-up team finally arrived. "Gentlemen, it's time to fortify this Basilicom into a proper fortress. Ensure we have no holes in our defenses – we must be prepared for a proper siege at any time. Do this for Lowee, and Gamindustri as a whole – as well as establishing a connection channel with the other three nations to raise their alerts and forward information to one another as much as possible. We will prepare for the worst."

"Yes, Lady White Heart! By your command!"

"Excellent. Set forth, and continue running routine inspections on any and all people, including fellow staff. Do not let anyone suspicious through."

"Aye, Lady White Heart!" They dismiss themselves, dividing into small squads as they depart to begin work on different areas. Pressing my fingertips together, I lean forward with a satisfied grin, utterly pleased. IF stares at me in a mixture of slight fear and confusion, to which I glance over at Vert, who wears the same expression I do.

"Lowee may not be the most advanced nation, nor in the most comfortable location… but our citizens are diehard zealots and we have a much larger population than any of the other nations. If it comes down to military preparation… we are the most capable, and we will prove this today. Vert and I had been discussing a need to have measures in place for any plausibility of problems arising, and I am glad that we did."

"Blanc," Vert says with slight pride, and I beam. We might be in a severe predicament, but at least we are still somewhat positive.

"Speaking of which, IF, can you go fetch Nepgear and Neptune? I will have my robots continue to watch over Noire, so Neptune doesn't have to worry so much. Compa will be joining them soon, too, hopefully…?"

"Yes! These tablets are almost done – they should keep those nasty effects away from getting worse even if you stick your face on one!" I chuckle, as does Vert and IF, with Compa beaming. "Would you explain what's wrong with Miss Noire?"

"It's a strange form of prolonged exposure to the crystal, especially with Lastation's shares being much higher than everyone else's. She's in a comatose state, with her body being pale and unresponsive," I say, noticing Uni's deep-seated grimace finally. I raise to my feet, patting her head, much to her and everyone else's surprise. "Hey, you needn't worry so much. Compa will ensure your sister is back to normal in no time at all."

She weakly smiles, shifting her attention to Compa, who nods vigorously. "Miss Noire is amazing! I won't give up until she's back to being 100%!" This seems to brighten the Lastation Candidate's mood slightly, as her posture perks up at her sister's being praised. What a strange sister to have, though at least Uni doesn't molest Noire like Ram attacks Rom.

As we sit, a Basilicom guard approaches with a panicked expression, and I raise an eyebrow. "What seems to be the issue? I had figured we would have at least a few more minutes to prepare for the next predicament…?"

"I-It's bigger than a predicament, Lady White Heart! It's…," he looks at one of his fellow staff, staring at me fearfully as he gulps. "Leanbox has declared hostility against Lowee and Planeptune!"

"…Uh, what did you just say? Run that by me again."

"Leanbox has declared hostility against Lowee and Planeptune, calling off the Four Nations Meeting and demanding Lady Vert back!"

Stormwind Human Peon Voice - Whoa, what?

Anyway! That about does it for this update. I do go through and edit parts of this at later times, I've noticed, and it isn't fully lining up with my Word document that I write this in. Hard to believe without my notes to you all and any of the breaks between characters besides a simple 'XX' that this is up to thirty one pages, with no spacing between lines and in an 11-point font. Just, wow!

Again, I finally mentioned the real meat of the reason behind the title - no one knows exactly what is coming out of those dimensional blips that extend to different dimensions and game releases, and literally, the possibilities of what may happen are infinite. Bum, bum, BUM!

And once again - I'm playing with a lot of ideas that I found intriguing. Also, the whole 'Dark CPU' concept from the Megadimension game really sounds inspiring for some stuff later on here, though I don't think a 30ft giant robot basically is going to mesh in. This might've just blown a couple surprises away, but I wanted to ask if people don't mind me taking some interesting turns with this story.

Moving on though, I hope this was a decent follow-up, and I'll see you guys again soon. :) Going to try to finish up Hyperdev Noire and do some one-shots while working on school stuff this week, and hopefully I'll have some stuff to upload onto this fic too!

Stay patient if you're interested, there'll be more - just needing some time to plan ahead and make sure the next few parts won't suck. :D