Chapter 10: Azure Assurance
Uni stopped in front of the door, which was the one Neptune said she put Nepgear in, and took a deep breath.
"Alright, this is simple Uni." The CPU Candidate whispered to herself, leaving her hand to rest on the door. "I just have to go in there, get the twins to leave, and tell Nepgear he's an Incomplete CPU." Uni quickly shook her head. "This is stupid…" Grabbing onto the door knob, Uni opened the door and walked inside.
As she expected from Lowee, the room was simple in design. The walls were a creamy light blue color while a creamier white wall ornaments bordered the edges of the walls and ceilings. The room was small, as it was a guest room, but comfortable. There was a bed to the right of door, where Nepgear was currently sitting in. The bed's head post was against the wall, letting the rest of it spread out to the center of the room. There was a drawer to the left of the bed, where Nepgear's clothes were neatly folded at. Across the room from the drawer, there a dresser with a mirror propped against the wall. Rom and Ram were sitting on chairs nearby Nepgear. The chair Ram was on looked similar to the dresser and mirror. Rom was sitting on a comfy plush chair that matched Nepgear's bed.
The twins weren't wearing their coats or hats anymore, revealing their matching gray dresses and white shirts underneath. Nepgear was dressed in a pair of blue pajamas. The Incomplete CPU Candidate's eyelids looked heavy as he tried to keep his head up. Ram pounced onto Nepgear's lap, jolting him awake. Rom raised her hand and a light green light hovered over Nepgear.
Giggling, Uni crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame.
"What are you guys doing?" Ram and Rom lighted up, seeing Uni. Rom slid off her seat and ran over Uni, hugging the girl.
"Uni Onee-chan! You're okay!" Uni froze and awkwardly looked down at the child with sparkling eyes.
"Onee… chan?" Ram pushed herself off of Nepgear, unknowingly shoving her palm against his groin. Ram was blissfully ignorant of Nepgear's wince as she ran over to Uni, hugging her from the other side.
"Yeah! Uni-nee!" Uni's face flushed a pinkish color. Awkwardly patting Rom on the head, Uni attempted to pull herself out of the Lowee sandwich and over to Nepgear.
"H-Hey, uh…" Uni eyes darted to the sides. "V-Vert and Blanc wanted to tell you something." The twins lit up, letting go of the CPU Candidate.
Gasping, Ram grabbed Rom's hand.
"Come on, Rom! Big Sis might have something good!" The twins rushed out of the room.
"I hope it's food~!" Sighing, Uni looked out to see the twins round the corner before closing the door. The Candidate turned around to see Nepgear in a fetal position.
"...You okay?" Nepgear slowly lifted his head.
"Yeah…" Uni headed over the plush chair, sitting down as Nepgear shifted to a comfortable position. Grinning from side to side, Nepgear crossed his legs under the blanket. The Incomplete Candidate began swaying side to side. Uni furrowed her eyebrows.
"What are you doing?" Nepgear shrugged.
"Nothing. I'm just happy." Vert's words echoed within Uni's head. Gulping back her worry, Uni gestured towards Nepgear's stomach.
"So… how's the White Heart injury?" Nepgear patted his belly.
"Much better since Rom and Ram healed me." The Incomplete Candidate winced. "O-Oh goodness, maybe not." Uni bit the inside of her cheek. The Candidate was trying to bring up Nepgear's condition in the softest way she could.
Nepgear bent over, his hair hiding his face.
"Hey Uni?" Uni blinked her eyes. Nepgear was using a tone she wasn't familiar with.
"Y-Yeah?" It wasn't happy. It wasn't apologetic either. It wasn't even the angry tone she heard earlier. This was a tone that Uni knew Nepgear never used.
The young man was trembling.
"...Is something wrong with me?" Uni knew that tone. The Candidate reached out and placed her hand on Nepgear's shoulder. Nepgear began to shiver. The Incomplete Candidate turned to face Uni, there were tears in his eyes.
That tone was fear.
Alarms began to ring in Uni's head, Histoire's words and her experience with Nepgear's rage began to flash through her eyes. As she sat there, Uni could barely see an aura of black smoke surrounding surrounding him. Uni froze as she could see Nepgear's violet eyes slowly turning red.
"...Am I really a CPU?"
"Nepgear!" Uni grabbed Nepgear by the shoulders, startling him.
"You're fine!" The Candidate of Lastation began to shake Planeptune's Candidate. "You're a great CPU Candidate! You work so hard! You built all these cool things!" Uni summoned the N-buster Mk II. "Look at this!" Before shoving it in front of Nepgear's face, Uni made sure the safety was on. "Look! You made this, and it's amazing!" The CPU Candidate glanced to the side. "...I mean, I haven't really used it that much." Uni shook her head. "But still!" Nepgear made a weak smile.
"T-Thanks… but," Nepgear pulled himself off of the bed and reached for his clothes. "I… wanna show you something." Before unbuttoning his shirt, Nepgear paused and smiled bashfully at Uni. "I think you'd want to go…" Blushing, Uni stood up and rushed for the door.
"S-Sorry!"
"Uni." Uni paused right before grabbing the door knob. Turning around, the Candidate saw Nepgear staring at his hands. "Could you tell my sister that we're going to Planeptune for a bit?" Uni nodded. "Thanks, I'll meet you at the Gear-Wing. Blanc came over earlier to tell me it was in the garden behind the Basilicomm." Uni smiled.
"Sure." As Uni left the room, the Candidate stared at the N-Buster in her hand. "...Can I really tell him this?" Uni pressed her head against the door, taking a deep breath. "I better talk to Neptune first."
(ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ)
"Nepgear wants to go back?" Neptune was better when Uni returned. "What does he want back home? He took everything with him." Uni shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't really know. Nepgear said he wanted to show me something." Vert crossed her arms. The CPU had sent the twins and Blanc to get some snacks, where Blanc would tell them about Nepgear on the way home.
"Hmm, is this because we had you tell him his status?" Uni turned away.
"I didn't tell him yet." Everyone looked at the Candidate. "I-I couldn't tell him when he was like that! It was like kicking a dog…" Noire nodded her head.
"It's okay, Uni. I think it'll be fine as long as we don't keep this a secret any further…" Histoire floated up to Uni.
"I'm sorry we had to burden you with this task." Uni shook her head.
"You have your reasons." Looking behind the oracle, Uni could see Nepgear outside and heading towards the gardens. "Oh, I should catch up to Nepgear." The CPUs nodded. "Gotta go!"
Running into the garden, Uni found the Gear-Wing sitting nearby a large bed of flowers. The fighter jet was looking over a large lake. The lake itself was frozen because of Lowee's chilling climate. Walking up to the Gear-Wing, Uni found Nepgear lying on the wing, his arms were tucked behind his head.
The wind blew by, picking up individual flower petals and scattering them to the sky. A petal stuck to Nepgear's cheek. Annoyed, the Incomplete Candidate plucked it off and sat up. The wind began to pick up, carrying Uni's hair and making it scatter. The playful wind also lifted Nepgear's ponytail and sideburns, making them weave in the air. Uni watched as Nepgear slowly closed his eyes.
Taking a second to blink her eyes, Uni climbed onto the wing Nepgear was on. Sidling up to Nepgear, Uni slowly raised her hand up to Nepgear's temple. As Nepgear opened his eyes, Uni flicked him on the head. Startled, Nepgear flopped onto his side.
"Ah, Uni!" Uni smirked.
"What was that heroine looking scene?" Nepgear blinked his eyes quickly.
"...What?" Uni rolled her eyes.
"That sitting in the wind stuff you were doing just now." Nepgear looked around and made a small circle with his mouth.
"Oh. That's…" Nepgear sighed while smiling and went back to lying down. Slowly raising his hands toward the sky, Nepgear's eyes concentrated on the clouds that passed by. "Well, I've always wanted to fly…" Nepgear looked at Uni, seeing her give him a questioning look. "I know, you're going to say I have the Gear-Wing." The young man turned to his jet's cockpit and patted it. "I mean like a CPU, or a bird, flying through the sky." Nepgear rested his hand on the vehicle. "That kind of freedom… must feel amazing." Throwing his lower body up, Nepgear pushed himself to his feet and stretched. "Welp, I think the Gear-Wing should be warmed up." Nepgear turned to Uni, smiling. "Wanna go now?"
Pulling herself to her feet, Uni rolled her shoulders.
"Yeah, I guess."
Nepgear opened the Gear-Wing's cockpit and hopped into the pilot's seat. Climbing into the Gear-Wing, Uni seated herself in the passenger's seat.
"Oh, hey." At her feet, Uni found her bag. "I forgot this was here." Nepgear nodded.
"Yeah, all of our stuff is still in here." Nepgear scratched his cheek. "Although Blanc took all of the weapons, except ours of course." The Incomplete Candidate gestured to the right of Uni. "I think your rifle is over there." Looking to her side, Uni found and retrieved her gun.
"Thanks." Pressing her feet against her bag, Uni made sure her present was still there. Feeling the box, Uni sighed.
"Uni, is there something wrong?" The CPU Candidate shook her head.
"No, I'm alright."
The Gear-Wing rose into the air, pointing in the general direction of Planeptune.
"Okay then, let's go!" Uni and Nepgear blasted off towards the Land of Purple Progress.
(ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ)
The Gear-Wing zoomed through Planeptune's skies, slowing down upon reaching Planeptower. Landing on the tower's helipad, the cockpit opened up and Nepgear jumped out. As Uni climbed out of the cockpit, the young girl made sure to move Nepgear's present into her pocket. Nepgear himself stood over the edge of the helipad, looking down.
"Nepgear?" The Incomplete CPU turned and smiled.
"I just wondering how cool it would be to drop from here and transform…" Uni scratched her head as she hopped off the Gear-Wing.
"So… what are we here for?" Nodding his head, Nepgear headed for the door.
"Well, it's better that I show you first…" Heading down the stairs, Uni followed Nepgear back to the Planeptune CPUs' living quarters. Nepgear stopped in front of his room, holding the door open for her. "Come on in."
Thanking Nepgear, Uni walked into his room. When the CPU Candidate looked around, Uni didn't find anything different about Nepgear's room. The young girl was relieved.
Nepgear closed the door and immediately moved over to the closet. Staring at the three button panel, the Incomplete Candidate's finger hovered over the red button. Uni eyes widened.
"W-Wait, that's the…"
Without a second thought, Nepgear pushed the button. A panel on the floor slid to the side, revealing a hidden compartment. Dropping onto all fours, Nepgear stuck his hand into the compartment.
"Just hold on a second…" Nepgear began to dig around, grinning at Uni. A droplet of sweat rolled down Uni's face.
"Uh…" Uni glanced around. "Shouldn't you be not showing people this?" Nepgear blinked.
"What?" Nepgear raised an eyebrow. "But I want to show you." Uni stared at the floor, fighting back a blush.
"O-O-Okay…" Nepgear lit up.
"Ah! Found it!" Nepgear pulled out an envelope. The envelope was thick and nearly bursting out of it. "Here it is." The young man thrusted the enveloped towards his best friend. "Take a look!"
Uni stared at the envelope.
Then looked at Nepgear.
Then she stared at the envelope one more time.
Narrowing her eyes, Uni stared at Nepgear again.
"Seriously?" Nepgear smiled and slowly nodded.
"Uh-huh." Uni held out her hand and shyly took the envelope. Peeling off the small piece of tape that held the flap down, Uni took out a small stack of folded papers. Gulping down her nervousness, Uni unfolded the papers.
"Huh..?" Uni's eyes left the papers and went to Nepgear. The Incomplete Candidate was tense as he waited for Uni to read them. Nepgear wasn't looking in Uni's direction, staring at his feet.
"These are Chirps…"
Scanning them, Uni shifted through the papers. After looking through, Uni found no pictures. Nothing that would have labeled Nepgear as a pervert, nor give Uni a hint to his preferences.
Every single one of the pages had Chrips on them. They were in black and white in, making it harder for Uni to read them.
"These are all of the ones I could get before Neptune had them taken down, but you should get the general idea…" Nepgear's voice was low and quiet.
"General idea? Why would Neptu-" An idea popped into her head and Uni quickly stared at the Chirps.
"A CPU as a guy? That's sooooo lame!"
"WHAT?! THERE'S NO WAY I'M ACCEPTING THIS! GIRL CPUS ONLY!""NOOOOOOOOooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOo! HoW daRe YOu iNVADe mY gaRDEn Of CPUS. DIE IN A FIRE. ALONE AND BURNED AT THE STAKE!"
Uni pulled herself farther and farther as she continued to read.
"Pssh, this kid probably pretended to be CPU Candidate. He's lying Lady Purple Heart! Don't fall for it!"
"Die."
"You'll never be a CPU Candidate you faker! NEVER!"
Uni's hand began to shake, her fingers crumpling the pages. Glaring, Uni thrusted the pages towards Nepgear.
"What. The. Hell. IS THIS!" Nepgear smiled bashfully.
"These were from when I first made my Chirper account, and I said I was Planeptune's CPU Candidate." Nepgear's smile turned hollow as his eyes narrowed. "It was worse when I went outside." Nepgear turned around, holding onto his elbow. "People would yell at me, curse at me, there was one time where I was kidnapped by some lady." Nepgear let out an empty chuckle. "I didn't even know until I was warned to be careful." Uni's hand dropped to her side.
"That's…" Nepgear looked out the window.
"It got a little better when Neptune stepped in, but it never really went away…" Nepgear lowered his head. "I used to stare at these whenever I got the chance, but I never understood why people would say things like that." Uni could almost see a small black aura around him. "No matter what I did, I can't make people accept me..." Uni felt her gift in her pocket. "Maybe I shouldn't exist in the first place…" Gritting her cheek, Uni grabbed Nepgear by the shoulder and spun him around.
"Nepgear!"
"Wha-" Uni pressed her hand against Nepgear's chest, feeling his heartbeat.
"Nepgear, what is this?" Nepgear stared at Uni's hand.
"...My heart?" Uni nodded.
"And what does it do?" Nepgear had a dumbfounded look on his face.
"It pumps blood throughout our body?" Uni shook the young man.
"It keeps you alive, which means you exist!"
"Uni…"
"Who cares if people don't accept you! Just don't care!" Uni pulled Nepgear into a hug. "They don't know you, we do!" Nepgear tried to struggle, but Uni kept a strong grip. "You're Nepgear, my best friend and rival! Nothing they say or do will change that! Okay?" Uni heard Nepgear hiccup and sniffle.
"Uni… you don't know how much that means to me…" Uni patted the Incomplete Candidate's back.
"Don't you worry, I'll help you get through this. Neptune, IF, Compa, Histoire, everyone will help you." Nepgear tightened his grip on Uni's dress.
"But what if they don't want to?" Uni scoffed.
"Of course they will! If they didn't want to, then why would they stick around you? Why would Neptune try so hard to protect you?" Uni glanced to the side. "Although she was very forceful."
"...Thank you." Uni could hear Nepgear wiping away his tears and sniffling.
"Incomplete CPU or not, we'll find a way!" Nepgear paused.
"Wait what?" Uni froze.
"Oh… crap." Nepgear pulled back, confused.
"Incomplete CPU?" Uni scratched her cheek.
"Well…"
(ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ)
"I'm an Incomplete CPU…" Uni turned away and nodded.
"Yeah. I was going to break it to you earlier," Uni gestured to the Chirps on the floor. "But then all of this happened." Nepgear fell back onto the ground, sighing.
It wasn't a sad sigh.
Nor was it worried.
"It's kinda relieving…" Uni blinked.
"Really?" Nepgear nodded.
"Yeah, at least I know I have somewhere to start." Uni reached into her pocket, grabbing the gift.
"Nepgear, I don't know if this'll help much." Nepgear sat up as Uni handed the gift. "But here." Nepgear stared at the gift.
"Is this… for me?" Uni narrowed her eyes.
"I don't see anyone else here." Nepgear tentatively took the gift. Upon seeing the Incomplete Candidate's wonder and awe, Uni felt a slight blush coming. "W-Well, this is just a reminder to let you know that I'm here. To help you. As…" Uni knew that she could say it now. "...Friend." It wasn't the right time.
Nepgear opened the gift, revealing the gun Uni worked so hard.
"Woah… isn't this the gun I designed that always blew up?" Uni scratched the back of her head.
"I had to change a couple things here and there…" Nepgear inspected everything he could see. "Although it will do everything that you hoped it could do." Suddenly, Uni was beset by a Nepgear glomp.
Ooooh! I love it!" Uni had to use her arms to keep herself from falling. "Oh! Oh! Does this have a name yet?" Still recovering from Nepgear's assault, Uni blinked.
"Uh, no?" Nepgear's smile got wider.
"Oh that means I get to name it!" Pulling himself off of Uni, Nepgear stared at the pistol. "Hmm… what should I name it?" Uni regained her composure and rolled her eyes.
"It's your gun, name whatever you want." Nepgear hummed.
"How about the Uni-Buster?" Uni stood up, throwing her fists down.
"What?! No!" Nepgear blinked, protectively holding the pistol.
"Why not?" Uni could feel the red on her face.
"Because it's embarrassing!" Uni reached for the pistol. "Gimme that!" Nepgear held the Candidate at arm's length.
"Hmm, how about U-Buster?" Uni frowned.
"I know that my name is still in it!" Nepgear laughed as Uni struggled to pull the gun away and somehow erase its new name. Suddenly, Nepgear's phone vibrated.
"Oh, one second." Nepgear placed the gun on his lap and let Uni slide onto the floor. Uni calmed herself down as Nepgear looked at his phone. "Ah." Nepgear showed the screen to Uni. "Sis and Noire are done with whatever they were doing in Lowee, so they want us to pick them up." Uni nodded.
"Okay then." Uni glanced at papers on the ground. "So what do we do about those?" Nepgear grinned.
Picking up the papers, Nepgear mashed them all into a ball.
"I don't need them anymore." Opening a window, Nepgear pulled out his Gear-Buster and tossed the paper ball into the air. Holding down the trigger, Nepgear fired a small blast of energy and incinerated the ball of paper. "I don't need to look at the past." Nepgear closed the window, and turned to Uni. "We should go grab our sisters. Right, Uni?"
Smirking, Uni nodded.
"Yeah."
Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 5 → 6 (Partner)
Uni and Rom's Lily Rank: 7 (Older Sister Figure)
Uni and Ram's Lily Rank: 7 (Older Sister Figure)