"Zzzzz." Leave it to Nepgear to fall asleep just minutes before the group had made it to the destination of a big battle.
One would think that Neptune would be the one to fall asleep during something important, but that didn't seem to be the case right now. Although...strange as it may sound, Neptune didn't actually mind that Nepgear had fallen asleep like she had. If she was being honest, something about seeing the little candidates sleeping face was actually kind of soothing to the purple CPU.
"Ugaaahh... Nep...gear... Please let go..." It also kind of helped that the kid had been squeezing Histy like a little plush doll. It was a very amusing sight, which was exactly what Neptune needed to calm her nerves. "Neptune, please stop watching and do something about this, will you?"
"But she looks so content right now. If I take you away from her, she'd probably be very upset."
"Neptune!"
"Okay, okay. I get it." Finally conceding, Neptune gently grabbed her oracle from her little sister's iron (more like fluffy, but iron sounds cooler) grip and gently placed the fairy on her shoulder.
"Thank you." Histoire said huffily. Most people would probably be rather huffy about being caught in a death grip and having the life hugged out of them. The tiny fairy lets out a content sigh as she slowly began to lose herself in her own thoughts.
Neptune was quick to take notice of the sudden quiet, but she wasn't really sure what to say to Histoire at all. Sure, she was great at making people happy and all, but... She was never really good at figuring out what went on in Histy's head to begin with (Histoire could probably say the same about Neptune). In the end, all Neptune could really do was let out a soft sigh as she continued her flight.
"Neptune?" After what felt like hours of silence, Histoire finally broke it. The sudden mention of her name caught Neptune's interest. "I... I'm sorry I am not able to spend much time with you..." Needless to say, but Neptune really hadn't expected that at all. "I know you must have been very lonely to be by yourself for so long, and I wish I could have been able to be there for you, but..."
"You don't have to say anymore, Histoire. I know how you must feel."
"Even so, I wish I could be there for you more..."
"...Histoire..."
"Hmm... What is it?" The tiny oracle eyed the CPU curiously. She could never read the girl, regardless of which form she was in.
"You're the best mom I could have asked for."
"M-M-Mom?!" The tiny oracle's face lit up in a bright blush. "I am not your mother! And straighten your back while you are flying! ...W-wait, what are you...?" The blonde fairy's eyes widened as the CPU stopped in mid-air, grabbed her in one hand and proceeded to do something that really had not expected. "N-N-Neptune!" The CPU gave the tiny fairy a small peck on her forehead. "I am your oracle! You cannot just-"
"Shh. You'll wake Nep Jr." At the mention of the sleeping Nepgear, Histoire quickly zipped her lips. It might be bad to wake her up when she looked so peaceful in her sister's arms. Still, even though Histoire hid her voice, she couldn't hide the blush on her face, hell, Neptune could practically feel it.
"Hmph." The fairy oracle could do nothing more than cross her arms defiantly. There wasn't much she could do now, but she was definitely going to be giving Neptune a good scolding once they got back home... After making her something to eat, of course. Neptune was definitely going to need something full of nutrients and carbs to account for all the energy she was likely going to be expending today.
-~-~-~- Purple Lovers -~-~-~-
The flight to their destination hadn't lasted long enough. It would never last long enough if Histoire had any say in the matter, but sadly, it didn't really matter what she said with three other CPUs standing in the distance.
"I suppose this is it." Neptune said as she landed on the ground beneath them. The other three CPUs didn't seem to have noticed her yet, not like it really mattered at this point. The purple CPU walked over to a nearby tree and placed her little sister down in front of it, leaving Histoire to watch over her.
The young candidate was still asleep, but that wouldn't really be a problem here. All of the CPU's disputes and battles always took place on Celestia, a land high above Gamindustri and the four nations. As such, it was virtually impossible for a human to make their way up there, unless they were accompanied by a CPU.
"Good luck, Neptune." Histoire's expression was one of worry. Worry for her CPU, or rather, the girl she had raised from the moment she was born. She could deny it all she wanted, but she most certainly loved Neptune like a daughter, so it went without saying that she was very worried for her.
"I'll be alright. Just make sure to watch over Nepgear until I'm done." Purple Heart left Histoire to watch over little Nepgear, walking towards her fellow CPUs. The moment of truth was upon her.
The purple CPU took in a deep breath, an action that seemed to catch the attention of the green-haired CPU with spear in hand. The CPU turned to look at her with the same cocky smirk that Neptune had grown accustomed to seeing every time the four met up.
"How good of you to come, Neptune. I was afraid that you wouldn't show up, since you were too busy last time." The remark was heard by both Black Heart and White Heart, which meant that now Neptune had three sets of eyes staring her down.
"About time you showed up. I was getting tired of waiting for you." White Heart looked eager for a fight – more like she was always eager for a fight – while Black Heart was giving off a more calm and composed demeanor.
"I guess you're not entirely a coward after all." Black Heart stared down the Purple CPU readying her sword for battle. Her expression, as well as the other two CPUs had morphed into one of eagerness, one of a fighter ready to strike down their opponent.
They always wore those same faces to battle. They would always show up feeling so determined to put an end to things, but in the end it always ended the same way. She might not have noticed it before, but maybe now that she had Nepgear around, Neptune could see that. They fought, they tied, and then they would go back to their nations to prepare to fight again the next day. Truthfully, Neptune had had just about enough of that.
"Then this time... I'll make sure to settle this once and for all." The Purple CPU took a quick glance behind her, looking back at the tree she had left Nepgear at. She couldn't see her, since she was on the other side of the tree, hidden from view, but she definitely saw that tiny hand giving her a thumbs up. "It's time to end this." All CPUs present couldn't agree more with that sentiment. They all took a stance, preparing for battle, all save for Neptune, who opted for a more... Interesting approach. "Haaaa... That's much better." She reverted back into her human form.
"...Eh...?"
"...Ah...?"
"...What the hell are you doing?"
That same thought passed through the heads of all CPUs present. However, a certain oracle's train of thought was more along the lines of: "Neptune what in the world are you doing!? Why did you revert to your human form!? Are you out of your mind!? Even for you, that is an exceedingly foolish idea! I swear I am going to lecture you like never before once we get home, young lady! NEPTUNE!" Naturally it came out in the loudest voice she could muster, which most certainly caught the other CPUs off guard.
"Huh...? Histy, I told you to stay back by that tree."
"How could I possibly stay put when you are out here doing something so foolish!?"
If the CPUs had been confused before, they were downright flabbergasted by now. First, Neptune showed up and immediately returned to her human form. Next, Histoire come out of nowhere, starts yelling at Neptune, and was now proceeding to bonk her on the head repeatedly. Of course, since Histoire was the size of a fairy, it wasn't really doing anything noticeable to Neptune whatsoever, unless looking a tad confused counted.
"Honestly, I cannot trust you to do this alone, after all!"
"Excuse me."
"Oh come on, I would have been fine on my own."
"Neptune, Histoire, listen."
"No you would not! Everyone here is expecting you to fight them!"
"Hey!"
"Don't worry about it. All I gotta do is show up, say I don't wanna fight anymore, and be done with it."
"Would you two shut up already!" After both Green Heart and Black Heart tried to jump in, White Heart was fully fed up with listening to them talk. "We didn't come her to watch you two chat! We came her to fight, damn it!"
In response to Blanc's little outburst, Histoire did the smartest thing she could do, that being hiding behind Neptune's shoulder.
"Indeed. I do not know why you brought Histoire, but I do hope you are prepared, Neptune." Green Heart locked eyes with Neptune, but the response she received to her challenge was one nobody had expected.
"I'm not here to fight you." Was Neptune's response. Hearing that, the CPU's expressions went from challenging and confrontational to confused. Had they actually heard that right? "No matter how many times we show up, we've never gotten any closer to finding a winner. I'm getting reaaaaal tired of all this. It's really cutting into my pudding and sweets time."
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
"...You're backing out because you want more time for your stupid pudding?!" Black Heart practically spat out those words. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Was Neptune, her rival CPU, really backing out because she wanted to laze about and eat pudding. "You didn't just say that, right?"
"Are you freaking kidding me!? It sounds to me that you're too afraid to keep fighting because you know you'll lose!" White Heart shouted at the Purple CPU. And yet, despite the harsh words being thrown at her, Neptune's expression remained the same throughout it all. "If you want to pull out then go ahead! We don't need a coward like you here!"
"Neptune, what are you thinking? If you abandon this fight you'd be abandoning your nation. What are you trying to accomplish?" Green Heart finally asked. However, for once Neptune knew exactly what she wanted to say.
"Why are we fighting again?" That was all Neptune needed to ask.
"Why? You're asking Why, after all this time would you be asking that now?!" The looks Neptune received from her fellow CPUs intensified, especially from Black Heart. "We're fighting to decide who gets control over Gamindustri!"
"We all know how it goes. All Goddesses before us have come together and fight to decide who will become the next true Goddess. In order to do that we have to fight. Whoever wins, wins. That's just how it is." Green Heart brought up a good point. Well... Most people would have thought it was a good point, but Neptune was not one of those people.
"No it's not!" Neptune shouted in response, catching her fellow CPUs off guard. In truth, Neptune understood what they were saying, she used to believe the same thing herself. But now that she had something more to protect, not a single day went by where she didn't question that logic. "We're just fighting because we're afraid of what the others will do if we leave them alone. Afraid that we'd be failing our people if we didn't."
"What are you going on about?"
"I know you guys know it, too! With every time we had a stalemate, each of us left feeling disappointed, but now? Now every time you guys leave you don't look angry, you don't look annoyed, you guys just look really bored. Don't think I don't notice these things just 'cuz Histy dropped me on my head when I was born."
"I said I was sorry! (O_O ')"
"That... Explains so much."
"Don't you guys see it? We're not doing this for our people anymore. We're doing it because we think we have to. That we'd be letting a lot of people down if we don't. Because we're scared of what everyone will think of us if we don't. And most of all, because we're all afraid of what everyone else will do if we don't stop them. Well, I'm done with all that! I don't care if you guys still want to keep going, but leave me out of it."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The CPUs fell silent. They couldn't really rebuke that. At some point their fiery determination to come out on top had faded and been replaced with a great sense of boredom and emptiness. They didn't want to admit it, but they were all getting fed up with this stupid "war" they'd been fighting for so many years. It was just a pointless battle that was going nowhere fast. And with each failure, the people all gradually began to lose interest in it as well, beginning to lose faith that it would ever end.
Deep down they all knew it. There was no real meaning to continuing any longer, and even if they did, they wouldn't have much to gain, not anything they would want at least. None of them really cared about control over Gamindustri anymore after such a fruitless, decades-long cold war between CPUs.
"What are you even... Ah, shut up! You're so full of shit!" Leave it to Blanc to be unable to accept the reality of the situation. "I can't stand you and your stupid excuses! You're just a freaking coward and you know it! Do whatever the hell you want, but I'm not leaving until we settle this shit once and for all!" Blanc continued to shout her thoughts as she always did, but this time there was something different. For once, her words felt forced. Her mind knew full well that Neptune was right, but her heart refused to accept it. Still she wasn't the only one having trouble accepting it.
"Calm yourself, Blanc. Losing your temper now isn't helping anything." Vert jumped in, her voice calm as ever. She looked to her fellow CPUs and soon reverted to her own human form, taking everyone aback for a moment at the sudden change. "I understand how you feel, but I would appreciate it if you could restrain yourself, even if only for a few minutes."
"For once, I agree. I don't think I even have it in me to fight you three now." Black Heart added as she too reverted to her human form. Somehow, listening to Neptune's little spheal had drained her of her will to fight. "So tell us, Neptune. What exactly brought about the sudden change of heart?" Noire asked. She may not have understood why Neptune was doing this, but it didn't take three guesses to figure out that she'd been acting oddly the last time she showed up to fight.
"Oh, you know... Stuff." Had anyone been paying attention, somebody might have heard the soft yawn coming from behind a certain tree. However, since everyone was so busy listening to Neptune at the moment, the yawn of the young girl waking up went completely unheard by all.
"Stuff? Is there something you're hiding from us, by any chance?" Noire asked.
"I-It's just stuff."
"What the hell does "stuff" mean?" White Heart yelled impatiently. Being the CPU with the shortest fuse, she was getting really irritated by the Purple CPU's antics. And when Neptune didn't give her an answer, and instead found a sudden fascination with the dirt at her feet, it only served to anger the White CPU even further. "I asked you a freaking question!"
"Look, it's complicated." Neptune responded. In truth, she just wanted to keep Nepgear a secret. Maybe she was just being overly paranoid, but she didn't want to think about what everyone might do if they found out that Planeptune had two Goddesses now. Of course, while Neptune was hopeful that the other CPUs didn't know about her sister yet, Histoire had a much different outlook on the matter.
News tended to travel rather quickly in this day and age, so there was a chance that they already knew about the new CPU Candidate... Unless of course, they'd holed themselves into their Basilicoms and focused on work instead of actually looking at any recent news, but the chances of that were virtually nonexistent.
"Tsk, fine if you don't want to talk, then fine!" Whether or not the other CPUs really did know about Nepgear or not quickly became irrelevant. Having had enough of Neptune's presence, White Heart lifted her axe into the air, getting even more pissed off seeing that Neptune wasn't even flinching at the sight of it. "If you're not gonna fight, then you shouldn't even be here!"
"Stop bullying my sister!" White Heart froze in place as the voice of an unknown guest made itself known. She, along with all of her fellow CPUs watched on in shock as a little girl that looked like a miniature Neptune with longer hair ran up to the Purple CPU's side and grabbed the side of her sweater. "Big sis, are you okay?"
"J-J-Jr.! What are you doing?!" Neptune asked in a panicked tone.
"Sh-She looked like she was bullying you!" Nepgear responded, looking up at her older sister in a teary-eyed state. The sight made something stir within Neptune's chest, not to mention in Histoire's as well. Seeing the girl looking so scared, Neptune looked to Histoire, as if hoping the oracle would know what to do, but no such luck. Apparently Histoire still wasn't used to dealing with Nepgear, which left Neptune to do it herself.
"I-It's alright, Nep Jr. We were just having a bit of an argument is all." Neptune explained, rubbing Nepgear's head all the while in the hopes that it would calm her down. Meanwhile, the other three CPUs stared on, dumbfounded at the sight in front of them.
"It seems that the rumors were true, after all." Vert mumbled just loud enough for everyone else around her to hear, except for a certain purple CPU, who was more preoccupied with calming her baby sister at the moment. "I just wasn't expecting the new Goddess to be so small."
Noire shook her head in response to Vert's remark, as if agreeing with the sentiment. They had indeed heard rumors of a new CPU, but they had found it very strange how Neptune didn't just bring her along the last time they had come together to fight instead of being absent like she had been. But now, looking at the sight that lay before them, it was finally starting to make more sense. "So I guess Neptune has a little sister now... Huh..."
"..." And yet out of all the CPUs, White Heart herself was the only one falling speechless at the sight in front of her. Not so much because she couldn't find the right words to express how she felt about this whole situation, but rather it was because she knew exactly how it made her feel.
Blanc was jealous. She was jealous that Neptune could stand here, completely unfazed by everything around her. She was jealous that Neptune seemed to have been getting stronger ever since the last time she actucally showed up here. But most of all, she was jealous that Neptune of all people had someone to call her family while Blanc herself had nobody.
"You..." Gritting her teeth, CPU White Heart's grip around her axe tightened as she continued to watch the Purple sisters completely ignore her. She had had enough of seeing all of this lovey-dovey family crap for one day. "I told you to beat it, you freaking bitch!"
And in the next instant, everything fell completely silent. Histoire, Vert, and even Noire watched on with wide eyes as time itself had slowed to a crawl. Little Nepgear's expression had gone from one of fear to absolute shock at what was transpiring. All the blood in Blanc's blood...had grown cold under Purple Heart's vicious glare.
The CPU looked down at her hands, only to see that her precious axe had been slashed to bits. But more importantly, she saw a long, shallow cut going across her body, from her shoulder down to her hip. And on top of it all, she could feel the cold steel of Purple Heart's blade making contact with the side of her neck.
Nobody was sure what had happened in that instant. One second it looked as if Blanc was about to swing her axe down at Neptune with Nepgear still in her arms, and yet the next... Blanc is falling to her knees in shock as Purple Heart stared her down with the coldest, most threatening glare anyone had ever seen from her. Even Histoire was completely taken aback by the sudden one-eighty from the very CPU she had been watching over for so many years. Just when she thought she had seen it all, Neptune went and showed that she hadn't seen anything yet.
"Like I said before. I have no intentions of continuing on with this pointless charade. I don't care what the rest of you plan to do from here on out, but leave us out of it." All was silent as Purple Heart spoke in a surprisingly calm, yet cold tone. A fierce determination shining in her eyes. She wasn't even talking very loudly, but in the silence of it all, her voice spoke with an authority and conviction that she may as well have been speaking through a megaphone. "Just know that if you should ever try and attack my...our nation, I will be the first one to greet you. And cut you down."
That short moment that had felt as if it had lasted for an eternity had come to an end as quickly as it had begun. Purple Heart's words still seemed to echo in the wind, even as she reverted back to her human form once more. Everyone stared at her silently with eyes wide, surprised to see the lazy Neptune finally showing her incredible resolve. It was what made her such a formidable foe, after all.
Neptune completely ignored everyone around her, shifting her focus back to little Nepgear, offering the younger purplette a little smile to ease the tension. Nepgear still looked a bit startled, but after a while, the flood gates opened in full and released the flood of tears. "S-S-S... Neptune!"
Everyone watched quietly as the two sisters shared their moment together, offering their silence as a show of respect to them. Histoire on the other hand was finding it a bit hard to stay quiet when she felt so proud of her CPU, and by extension, the little sister that had helped her grow to become such a strong person. In the end, nobody said anything for the longest time, but eventually the silence was broken. However, this time it was not broken by screaming and cursing, but rather by a more calm atmosphere.
The CPUs decided that day that they would allow Neptune to drop out of the Console War, but since it had become such a tiresome event, nobody really wanted to continue. Eventually, a decision was reached to sign a peace treaty between the nations after several meetings and arguments between the four. It had happened very slowly and over time, but eventually things did change for the better, and Neptune was finally able to live in peace as she ruled her nation...
Of course, over time, Nepgear had started taking a liking to spoiling her older sister as she grew and Neptune became even lazier than before, but who cares about semantics? This story sure as hell doesn't. Not like any of that really matters when Neptune had been taken through such a long trip through memory lane, and yet she still didn't have a single clue as to when she had fallen for her own sister.
-~-~-~- Purple Lovers -~-~-~-
"Huh... So all of that was pretty much pointless, then?" Sadly, yes. "...What the Nep, man! I went through all of that only to come up with nothing?! That's not how these stories work! I mean, it did remind me of a lot of stuff I'd forgotten since the, but now I'm no closer to... Wait a minute.."
The purple CPU sat up, as if she had just gone through some sort of epiphany.
"It wasn't pointless!" Neptune declared to the empty room. "That's right. Thinking back on it, I know exactly when it happened. It was a lot like back then on that day, but things were a lot different... Geez, all of this trouble just to figure out something that shoulda been waaaaaay more simple." The CPU let out a content sigh. Looking back, she knew exactly when all of these changes had occured. And now, all she had to do was confront Nepgear about it... Preferably while they were out. And it totally wasn't because she was nervous about it or anything! Nah, that was more Noire's thing that Neptune's after all... Yup, definitely not nervous at all...
What Neptune did not know at the time was that there even more significance to those memories than she thought. That very day that Neptune had put an end to the Console War, a change had begun to occur in Nepgear. The day when her feelings started to change ever so slightly. That little spark eventually led to a crazy spiral that eventually led to... Well, you already know how that song and dance goes.