AN: I feel obligated to warn you that there are copious amounts of NepNowa ahead. When I say copious, I really do mean copious. You have been warned.
The CPUs fell from the air onto the balcony of Planeptune's Basilicom, forming a chaotic pile on the ground. As they struggled to get up and sort themselves out, Neptune remembered the gem in her pocket and grimaced at the thought. She quickly looked down to her pocket and saw that it was no longer glowing, but it instead radiated a faint warmth that almost felt comforting.
Neptune's thoughts were interrupted when Uzume walked over, clutching her stomach, and swiftly snatched the gem from her pocket. "Just what the hell is this, Nepsy?! A 'miniaturized Biblic Tome'?! What does that mean?"
The goddess no longer had any options but to explain—her secret had been revealed. "You remember when you found me unconscious on the ground, right? Well, before then, I had read a suspicious black book that warped me to a really weird room with Magist in it. He talked, and said that this gem would give me the power to change everything bad about my world."
ASJ, who had been listening to their conversation from the balcony door, stepped in with his hands in his pockets as usual. "So, what's the detail you have neglected to mention?" Everyone turned toward him curiously, and he nonchalantly waved to acknowledge their questioning gaze. He continued, "It's obvious that you haven't mentioned every detail. What else is there?"
She looked around at the group and gave a hideous glare completely unlike her usual personality. "He offered it to me, and told me about how much you guys hurt me. I had never realized it before, but now that I do, I had no choice but to take this!"
Noire tried to defuse the situation by adding calm words, "Calm down, Neptune! What are you trying to say?"
Neptune shot her piercing gaze over to Noire. "You know what I mean, Noire! I mean all of those times that you guys push me away without even noticing me! Or all of those times you refuse to acknowledge me just because…just because of who I am!" She heaved a few heavy breaths and slumped onto one of the benches present on the balcony.
Blanc walked over and looked Neptune in the eyes. "If it bothered you that much, why didn't you say something before? We could…"
The girl cut her off. "I didn't 'tell you before' because it wouldn't have changed anything!" Neptune's eyes had a strange green tint, the same color as the lightning that emanated from ASJ's hands when he cast the portal. "Everyone expects me to be the happy-go-lucky, ditzy, never-caring protagonist! If I ever show hurt, it just gets…cast aside…" She lowered her head in dismay and wrapped her hands around the back of her neck. "You guys only care about me because you can laugh at me…if you found someone else to make fun of, it…wouldn't matter if I died right now…"
Everyone was stunned at Neptune's sudden catharsis, and nobody knew what to say in response. Stammering, Noire did what she could, "I-I didn't think it bothered you that m-much, Neptune. I'm really sorry…will you g-give me another chance?"
"Do you actually care? Or are you just saying that so you can keep your CPU class clown around?" The girl was barely choking back tears as she walked over to the balcony. "I've always been a laughingstock among you guys. I took it lying down, and let you all push me aside like it was nothing. But…you have no idea how much it hurts…" Neptune suddenly jumped off the balcony, but after a few seconds of falling, she transformed and flew at breakneck speeds towards the east.
"Neptune!" Nepgear ran over to try and stop her sister, but it was too late—Neptune was far out of earshot. She initiated her transformation, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait, Nepgear. As her sister, your words won't help this issue. I know how you feel, but this is something I have to do." Noire walked towards the edge Neptune had just jumped off of.
Uni looked on in surprise. "Noire? Why you?"
The CPU looked at her sister with fiery determination. "Because I'm the one who hurt her the most." Noire transformed and flew from the balcony in pursuit of Neptune, leaving the rest of the group in dazed silence.
Black Heart was currently flying at mach speeds over the skies of Planeptune and was approaching the nation's border. Despite Neptune's head start of about ten seconds, Lastation's trove of Shares gave its CPU the ability to fly much faster than Planeptune's, meaning that Noire was able to consistently keep her target in her field of vision. Occasionally, she tried to yell out Neptune's name and convince her to stop flying, but her cries fell on deaf ears as the distressed goddess continued to fly. At this, she felt a terrible pang in her heart—had she really been this cruel?
After about a minute of high-speed flight, Purple Heart began to descend in quite an odd place. She seemed to be approaching the grasslands near the coast, although she bore no sentimental connection to the area. Black Heart began to slow her flight, allowing Neptune some space before their awkward conversation ensued. Both goddesses touched down and deactivated their transformations, but Neptune continued to walk for a short stretch before sitting down on the grass and looking at the sky.
From about five meters away, Noire watched this with painful regret. She had no doubt that Neptune noticed her presence, and yet she made no move to even look at her. The Lastation CPU thought remorsefully about what Neptune had said before taking off, and a single tear welled in her eye as she thought of all the things she could have done differently.
"You can come out, Noire. I wanna talk to you, anyways." Neptune's voice had its usual vibrance and energy, but Noire knew this was fake.
Nevertheless, she complied with her request, walking out and taking a seat next to Neptune. An awkward and tense silence passed before the lilac-haired goddess broke the silence as usual, "I'm sorry, Noire."
Noire looked at her with an indescribable mix of emotions. In reality, she should be the one apologizing to Neptune and not the other way around, but for another, did she drag her all the way out here just to apologize?
"No, don't be sorry. I'm the one who should apologize." Noire decided to remain calm and listen to what Neptune had to say—a gesture she rarely extended in the past.
A lead lodged itself in Neptune's hair, but she made no move to extract it. "I just…I didn't know how to react when everyone was on me like that. When I broke down, I did the first thing that came to mind. I never even bothered to hear what you wanted to say." She barely choked back tears as she spoke, but it was uncertain whether she or Noire was hurting more.
"Neptune…I never knew you felt that way about us. About me, in particular. If I had only listened all those other times, things wouldn't be this way." Despite her calm demeanor, Noire was internally yelling at herself for her foolishness—how could she have brought herself to hurt a close friend like this?
"And if I had told you, I doubt things would be better." Neptune smiled, but Noire could not decipher if it was legitimate or forced. "Me being my usual goofy self has lead to a lot of great memories with everyone. Even if it hurt, I wouldn't trade those memories for the world."
There was another tense silence before Noire nervously spoke out, "I'm sorry, Neptune."
The girl in question lowered her head into her arms. "No, it's my fault. If I hadn't been that way, none of this would've happened. If only I had changed, you, Histy, and everyone else wouldn't have had to be so angry and drive me to this point. It…started and ended with me." She looked out towards the rolling waves with a certain wistfulness in her eyes.
"That's not true. It's not true. Don't ever say that again." Noire took a deep breath and looked directly into Neptune's eyes. She no longer bore the green tint. "Magist only said that to you so he could manipulate you and drive us apart. He exploited your weakness to try and…I don't know, but it's not true!"
Neptune was unmoved by this. "You don't have to try so hard, Noire. It's okay if you hate me. It's okay if you n-never want to see me again." Her voice was beginning to crack, and she was on the verge of tears. "It's okay if y-you want to f-f-forget about me. I just…I dunno a-anymore…" Unable to handle any more, Neptune stood up and began to walk away, but Noire easily caught her and held her by the wrist.
"Don't just run away from your problems! The only way things will get better is if we talk, so let's talk!" She dragged Neptune to the ground and sat next to her.
At this point, Neptune had lost all composure. "I…I don't get it. Wh-why do you c-care so much? Why do y-you still want me in your l-life?" She wiped away her tears, but the effect of this was short-lived as she simply wept more.
Noire took a deep breath. "Are you listening to me at all, or are you closing yourself off and wallowing in your sadness?" Neptune continued to cry, so after a moment of silence, Noire opened her arms and leaned closer. "Come here."
Neptune took Noire by surprise by squeezing incredibly tightly. She was shaking, and Noire tried to calm her down by rubbing her shoulder blade, but it was for naught. Neptune's tears splattered on the ground, and the accompanying sobs rang through the air and scared nearby birds into flying away.
"Noire…I don't wanna be alone…" Neptune's plea shook Noire both literally and figuratively. "I just want everyone to happy, Noire…but it hurts…it h-h…" She never managed the last word, or if she did, it was inaudible through her weeping.
"It's okay, Neptune. It's okay to cry." Nevertheless, the raven-haired goddess did what she could to ameliorate the situation. "I'm here. I promise, this will get better."
"H-how do you know…?"
A smile dashed across Noire's face before fading moments after. "I'd be a lousy CPU if I couldn't even support you. Besides, I'm sure everyone else feels the same way I do about this." She thought about how Blanc or Vert would have reacted in this situation, and for some reason, she could only imagine it ending poorly.
Neptune squeezed a little bit tighter. "Are you s-sure?" She was no longer sobbing, but her tears were still falling.
Noire confirmed this without a moment's hesitation. "Absolutely. We're here for you, Neptune. Now and forever."
There was a tense silence as Neptune stopped crying and slowly slumped backwards. She sat cross-legged and looked out towards the sea again before looking back at Noire. "I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now, actually."
"Wh-what is it?" A blush dashed across Noire's cheeks as her mind raced with all of the possibilities.
"I love ya, Noire."
Before Noire could react, Neptune planted her lips directly on hers, dying her face a bright red. The smaller girl had also wrapped her arms around her neck, adding to the tension and uncertainty in Noire's mind as various thoughts raised her attention. Without even thinking, she closed her eyes and turned her head in time with Neptune, slowly feeling her worries melt away in the passionate embrace.
The two broke away for breath, and Neptune spoke first. "Whaddya say we never tell anyone else about this?"
Noire chuckled and flipped back one of her twin-tails. "Deal, but they'll probably figure out anyway."
Neptune reached into her pocket and pulled out the black gem. She tried to crush it in her hand, and remarkably, it shattered into pieces with little effort from her. She then gathered all of the shards and threw them into the water, where the waves washed them out to sea.
"Wanna go for a little walk before heading back?" Neptune's usual energy and smile had returned.
"Sure." Noire looked at Neptune, and quietly chuckled. "You still have that leaf in your hair."
The smaller girl flustered for a moment and plucked out the foreign object before twirling it in her hand by the stem. From there, the two walked in silence along the coast, watching the waves crash into the sandy beach and wash away rocks and small creatures. From where they stood, the grass blew underneath them and faded to the sand, with brown blades on the border. Another leaf blew, this time lodging itself in Noire's hair, causing the two to laugh wholeheartedly.
Eventually, after growing tired of walking, the two sat down in the grass, facing the sea. Noire reaches and found Neptune's hand, clasping it with her own. The setting sun cast its vibrant red and orange rays along the horizon and stretched the two girls' shadows several feet behind them.
"It's so pretty…I could watch this forever." Neptune squeezed Noire's hand and inched closed to her.
"Heh, I think you're only saying that because you don't want to work."
As the wind blew and the setting sun cast its picturesque light along the sky, the two made a silent vow to themselves in unison.