Stopping the Conquest Ending

by xxBigPhilxx

I come to Gamindustri in hopes to see a good story with a happy ending. Unfortunately, events played out differently than I hope as it appears that the Bad Ending will be happening. Not on my watch. I'm going to need friends and make allies to prevent the bad ending from happening and save everyone from the tears. Guest appearance by the Youtuber Noble of Lost Pause.

10. Chap 10: Changing Fate

-Disclaimer-

The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses.

Chapter 10: "Changing Fate"

Using her HDD form, Noire flew towards Lastation as fast as she could. She tried to remain focused on the matter at hand being that Planeptune has invaded Lastation to seize its shares, but she couldn't get the thought of what she just discovered in LAN Castle out of her head.

[ Black Heart ]
(Could it all be true? The Nepgear that's there in Lastation now. Is it really a villain wearing Nepgear's face in order to beat us for some sinister gain?)

She thought of the Nepgear she knew vs the Nepgear who returned from LAN Castle after finding the cursed blade with her.

[ Black Heart ]
(I thought Nepgear was a bit off in suggesting that Planeptune takes the other nations Shares.)

(…)

(Maybe it's true. Maybe that isn't the real Nepgear. It would be a very reasonable explanation to Nepgear's slight change in actions. She seemed to be the same Nepgear in personality, but her motives…)

The realism of Nepgear seemed to get through to her. With that in mind, she thought of what could be done if she saw the intentions of this fake Nepgear with her own eyes.

[ Black Heart ]
(If it's true what could be done? Could I stop her there?)

(…)

(If I could reveal it to Uni and Neptune if she isn't in on it. Yes. The three of us could-…)

Before she could finish her thought, she felt a sudden shift from within her. Almost as if a great deal of her strength was dumped out of her body

[ Black Heart ]
"Wha-what?"

A feeling like nausea began to overtake her. Her speed and her altitude began to drop while she was flying. The mere act of flying began to put strain on her. There could only be one explanation for that.

[ Black Heart ]
( … Oh no! It's the Share's!)

Noire Knew that with Planeptune taking the Shares, her power would plummet and their power would grow. At this rate, they would be a great deal more powerful than her when she gets there.

[ Black Heart ]
( I, I have to get back as soon as possible before I lose any more power.)

With that, she flew in the direction of Lastation with what remained of her strength

---

As Noire was heading to Lastation, the fake Nepgear, Neptune, IF and Compa continued to take the Shares of Lastation.

[ IF ]
"Well, here are the Shares from this area."

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"Wow! I, I can feel my power growing as we speak!"

[ Neptune ]
"Yeah, that's what ransacking the Shares of another nation would do to you. But we are still a far cry to being able to beat the Deity of Sin. We should finish up here before we trigger Noire."

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"R-right! We should go to the last area."

Neptune, Compa, and IF walked ahead leaving the fake to think to herself.

[ Fake Nepgear ]
(Hmm. I must admit, I underestimated how much my power would increase as a CPU with Shares alone. But hopefully…)

She grasped the hilt of Malice Blade which was sheathed on her waist.

[ Fake Nepgear ]
(…there will be another way I can boost my power. But for now, I'll bide my time. I can't do anything drastic now. Especially with … "her" trailing us.)

She hurried ahead to catch up with her party. When she was out of the area, the person the fake spoke of came out of hiding.

[ Uni ]
"Oh no. They really are taking all of the Shares. What can I do? Nepgear, did you really have to take it this far."

"…"

"I don't know what to do. … … I wish my sister was here."

[ Black Heart ]
"UNI!"

Uni looked to the sky at the source of the cry where she saw her sister in her HDD form. She came in for a landing, but it wasn't the graceful landing she usually does. She stumbled as she almost dropped out of the sky. She staggered when she touched down and had to brace herself on a building. She immediately reverted back to her human form.

[ Uni ]
"Noire! Where have you-…?"

She took a good look at Noire. Sweat was pouring from Noire's forehead and she was struggling to catch her breath.

[ Uni ]
"N-Noire?"

[ Noire ]
"*Pant pant* I'm fine! *Pant pant* Where are they?"

[ Uni ]
"They… they … they are on the next block over, but…are sure you can-…"

[ Noire ]
"I said I'm fine. *Sigh* Ok let's go."

[ Uni ]
"R-right."

They proceeded to the next block over where the invading party were gathering up the last of Lastation Shares.

[ Compa ]
"If we take any more Shares, Lastations will…"

[ Noire ]
"If you are really worried about that, then perhaps you should stop."

The four turned to Noire and Uni who stepped out before them.

[ Neptune ]
"Noire! Uni!"

[ Uni ]
"Those are Lastation's Shares. Give them back!"

[ IF ]
"I hate to ask, but what if we refuse?"

[ Uni ]
"We are the ones who will be asking the questions."

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"Uni, don't you understand that this is for the good of Gamindustri?"

[ Uni ]
"And what of Lastation? You think we would just condemn our nation?"

[ Neptune ]
"C'mon, Noire, you know we got no beef with you. So…?"

Neptune noticed that Noire wasn't giving her any attention. It seemed Noire's focus was fixed solely on Nepgear.

[ Neptune ]

"N-Noire? Nep to Noire!"

[ Noire ]
"Huh?"

"…"

"Neptune, you really can't be OK with all this, can you?"

[ Neptune ]
"Of course not. But … it's as my lil imouto says. I gotta put the whole world before my opinions."

[ Noire ]
"…"

( Neptune … She like her carefree self now, but I can tell she doesn't want to fight. Could it be she's innocent and doesn't know what's going on?)

"…Regardless of my personal feelings, I am a CPU of Lastation before all else. I will not let my nation fall."

[ Uni ]
"As the CPU candidate of Lastation, it's my duty to fight for my nation. Even to my dying breath."

At that, Uni activated her HDD form.

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"Uni. … If that is your will, then for the preservation of Gamindustri, I must fight you with all my might. Even if you were a friend."

Nepgear activated her HDD form

[ Noire ]
( No hesitation in challenging Uni, her friend, to a duel that could claim one of their lives…)

[ Neptune ]
"Well, we better follow the examples of our sisters huh?"

Neptune activates her HDD form.

[ Noire ]
"Huh? … yeah …. R-right."

Noire activates her HHD form.

---

I flew as fast as the suit would allow me. I couldn't go full speed since I was carrying Plutia who in turn was holding the small mirror that contained the real Nepgear.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Don't run out of juice don't run out of juice DON't RUN OUT OF JUICE!"

I felt the boosters at the bottom of my boots begin to lose thrust. I started a rapid decent to the ground. The best I could do was head to the peak of a hill that was outside the border of Lastation I used what power I had left to ensure that I was able to place Plutia and Nepgear safely on the ground. The moment I touched down, the Shadow Suit deactivated and retreated to the pack form on my back.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Well, that's me out of commission for this fight."

[ Nepgear ]
"What? We got to get down there and stop that fake from hurting our friends."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"You aren't going anywhere near that fake. Who knows what she would do if her secret got out. There's no way you would be able to defend yourself if she singled you out."

[ Plutia ]
"But, what can we do?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"…All we can do is have faith that Noire will be rational down there and not do anything drastic."

"…"

"I know, I had more confidence in that statement when I said it in my head."

[ Plutia ]
"Well, I for one have absolute faaaaaiiiiithe that Noire will not do aaaaaaannnnnnyyyyything reckless."

[ Nepgear ]
"I-I hope so. I don't know what I'd do if someone kills any of my friends while wearing my face."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Well, it's all up to Noire now."

I turn to a tall tree.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Ok, I'll climb this tree and hopefully I can see what's going on. Plutia, you stay down here and make sure nothing happens to Nepgear."

[ Plutia ]
"Ooooookkkkkkk…"

I proceeded to climb to the highest point of the tree.

[ Nepgear ]
"oh, how did things come to this?"

[ Plutia ]
"Well, I for one am happy that the person who beat me wasn't really you and just only looked you. It makes me feel better just imagining all the stuff I am going to do her when I get my hands on her. It almost looks like she is in the very palm of my hands though. Heh … heh heh …hehehehe."

A sinister grin forms on her face.

[ Nepgear ]
"Um, uh Plutia?!"

Against my better judgement, I left Nepgear alone at the bottom of the tree with Plutia while I climbed to the highest branch. I reached into my shirt and pulled out a set of binoculars and focused on the city of Lastation. I could just make out the figures of the CPUs doing battle in their HDD forms.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Please don't do anything brash, Noire."

---

The CPUs and the CPU Candidates did battle. Noire faced off with Neptune and Uni with Nepgear. Noire put up a valiant effort, but she was soon at a disadvantage. Not only was her power falling fast due to her losing her Shares, but she couldn't help but take quick glances at the candidates fighting. Uni obviously gave Nepgear everything she got, but Nepgear was easily keeping her at bay. It wasn't just a difference in power, but Nepgear was easily one step ahead of Nepgear and was able to dodge the shots of her cannons. She was way more calculating, bold, and precise with her fighting than Noire ever knew her to be.

[ Purple Heart ]
"What's wrong. Are you not taking me seriously?"

[ Black Heart ]
"No! I just find it hard to believe that you are willing to send your fellow CPUs and their nations into ruins so casually."

[ Purple Heart ]
"That's not it! It's as Nepgear says. This is bigger than of us. If I don't do this, then the Deity of Sin will destroy everything!"

[ Black Heart ]
(Does she know? Is Neptune really in on this? What if she isn't a part of this? Perhaps this is my chance to tell her.)

[ Black Heart ]
"Listen … Neptune … … there's something that … "

[ Uni ]
"EEK!"

Uni cried out as Nepgear managed to blitz her in between shots. She sent her crashing to the ground. Uni tried to rise to her feet, but ended up passing out and reverting back to her human form. Nepgear landed beside her and reverted back to her human form as well. She paused for a moment, then she began to advance on the knocked out Uni while grasping the Malic Blade at her hip.

[ Black Heart ]
"UNI!"

Neptune decided to capitalize on the distracted Noire and blind-sided her with a flurry of slashes. Sure enough, whatever strength she had left her as she fell back to earth. She landed a few feet away from Uni, causing Nepgear to stop in her tracks. Noire lost strength and transformed back into her human form

[ Purple Heart ]
"It is over."

Seeing as the attention was back on her, the fake Nepgear slowly removed her hand from the Malice Blade. Neptune powered down to her human from, and the fake did the same. Uni and Noire both came to their senses moments later.

[ Neptune ]
"Yay! We won fair and square! Sooooo, can we keep the Shares?"

[ Noire ]
"…"

[ Uni ]
"Don't get the wrong idea. The only reason you won was because you have Lastation's Shares. As a Candidate of Lastation, I must give it my all to get them back."

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"Uni, will you really not yield?"

[ Uni ]
"… Me and Noire would rather fight to our dying breath then let you just walk away with our Shares."

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"I see. Then for the good of all of Gamindustri, then I must meet your challenge."

She one again grasp the Malice Blade at her waist. Noire focused on Nepgear's reaction to all of this. There was absolutely no hesitation to ending the life of Uni, her dearest friend. Something that the real Nepgear would never do without any second thoughts. There was no longer any doubt in Noire's mind. Though she replicated the appearance, personality, and abilities of the real Nepgear to the smallest detail, her ultimate motives are what sets her apart from the real Nepgear. She probably wouldn't have suspected anything out of the ordinary if it wasn't for the secrets she found out prior to this fight. But the question now that came to Noire's mind was "what can I do now?" She knew the fake was a great deal stronger and more skilled than any of the other CPUs present. There was only one thing she could think of that could possibly ensure that all her friends would all walk away today.

[ Noire ]
"ENOUGH!"

All present jumped as Noire shouted to get everyone's attention.

[ Noire ]
"…Uni, stand down!"

Noire took a deep breath as if what she was going to say next was the ultimate form of taboo.

[ Noire ]
"…"

"…"

"The Shares of Lastations are not worth our lives."

[ Everyone else present]
"WHA-WHAT?!"

Neptune, Compa, IF, Uni, and the fake were all shocked speechless at what Noire said.

[ Uni ]
"Noire! What are you saying?"

Neptune, jumped in with an ecstatic expression.

[ Neptune ]
"YES YES! That's right! It's cool if we just take the Shares for now! I mean it's not like we are gonna keep them. Once we defeat the Deity of Sin, we will return all the Shares to the other nations. And once we do, I'll treat you to a date and I will buy you all the pudding you could eat and call you my best friend all day! … but, yeah. It would be just for that one day. You got an image to maintain after all."

A relieved expression formed on the faces of the rest of the invading party, but there was one person who still had a shocked expression on her face.

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"Yo-you really going to let us walk away with all of the Shares?"

[ Noire ]
"…"

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"I see. Well … I guess … I gurss."

There was a pause as she tries to think of what to say, but then a casual innocent smile formed on her face.

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"I guess I can be happy that you are putting yourself before the wellbeing of your nation this time."

[ Uni ]
"Noire!"

[ Noire ]
"I said … STAND DOWN!"

Noire what that was. It was a last attempt to bait Noire in to attacking her and she would appear to kill her is self-defense. Though it left a foul taste in her mouth, Noire knew that her best option right now is to surrender the Shares quietly so everyone could walk away from this confrontation.

[ Noire ]
"Just know, that continuing down this path will come with dire consequences."

She shot the fake Nepgear a threatening stare. First she seemed confused, then she saw her eyes narrowed slightly into a cold and menacing stare for a fraction of a second that only Noire mamaged to pick up on.

[ Neptune ]
"Well, let's go Junior. We have to try to get the Shares from the other nations so we can defeat the Deity of Sin as soon as possible."

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"Wha-? Um … you're right. We need to move on to the other nations."

[ IF ]
"All's well that ends well."

[ Fake Nepgear ]
"Yeah, let us take our leave."

[ Neptune ]
"Noire, I'll see you again and I'll try my best to make up for all this."

[ Noire ]
"…"

At that, the party of Planeptune turned on their heels and headed to the borders of Lastation. The fake trailed a little and when she knew no one was focused on her, she took a moment to think to herself.

[ Fake Nepgear ]
(Damn! I was sure they would fight to the death for their Shares. This will set me back a little if I can't feed the other CPUs to the Malice Blade.)

(…)

(…)

(Perhaps I should check if any of my old connections are still active.)

Noire and Uni watch as the other party left their city. The moment they were out of sight, Uni stomped up to Noire in almost a fit of rage.

[ Uni ]
"Noire! What was that?! How could you just let them take our Shares away without a fight?!"

[ Noire ]
"…"

[ Uni ]
"Is what she said true? Are you really not willing to defend your nation to your dying breath? You're not the CPU I looked up to my whole li-!"

Before Uni could finish her hysterical rant, Noire stepped in front of her, forcefully placed both her hands on Uni's shoulders, and looked her dead in the eyes. Uni immediately went quiet with a shocked look in her face.

[ Noire ]
"…Uni, I need you to listen to me very carefully"

[ Uni ]
"N-Noire?"

[ Noire ]
"I need you to take whatever Shares are left and put them into the military defense of the Nation. You and Kei need to keep the Nation standing and keep its military power intact for as long as possible."

[ Uni ]
"Noire?"

[ Noire ]
"I.. … I need to take care of something. I can't say what it is, but I need to leave for a while."

[ Uni ]
"B-but…"

[ Noire ]
"Uni, I need you to step up and make sure Lastation doesn't fall."

[ Uni ]
"Noire…."

"…"

"…"

"…Ok, I'll look after Lastation while your away."

[ Noire ]
"…Thank you Uni. I knew I could depend on you."

After a long pause, Noire released Uni from her grasp. She turned and was about to leave Lastation.

[ Noire ]
"I swear, I will return as soon as possible."

With those final words, Noire began to jog to the outside of the city. Thus leaving Lastation in the care of Uni and Kei once again.

---

I saw the whole thing transpire through my binoculars. Although I couldn't hear what happened down there, the sight of everyone ok was a relief.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Oh, thank goodness."

I looked away to wipe the sweat from my brow. When I looked again I saw what looked to be a silhouette of a person that looked to be a little too close to the action to be just some random bystander. Before I could focus on her well enough to actually identify the figure, she was already out of sight.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Huh? Hmmm."

I paid no mind to it at the time and I put my binoculars away into my shirt and began to climb back down the tree where I found Plutia talking to Nepgear in the small mirror with a sadistic smile on her face.

[ Plutia ]
"…and scratch your face up, and gouge our your eyes, and strangle you with a rope made from the hair I'd rip of your scalp."

[ Nepgear ]
"EEEKKK! I-I know you just want to do all that to someone who only looks like me, but it's still scary to hear it."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"At ease, Plutia."

[ Plutia ]
"Oh. Hi xxBigPhilxx!"

[ Nepgear ]
"Wha-what happened?! Is everyone alright? Is Uni ok?"

I gave Nepgear a nod.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Don't worry. Everyone's fine."

"…"

"…Including that fake that's causing all this."

A disappointed expression grew in their faces.

[ Plutia ]
"Well as long as our friends are ok, I call this a good day."

[ Nepgear ]
"I guess so, but what do we do now?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Well …. I guess the best thing to do now is…"

Before I could finish, the sound of footsteps approaved us. I went on guard and expected an enemy. But who we found wasn't anyone from Planeptune, it was Noire.

[ Noire ]
"…"

"…you were right. I had to see it with my own eyes. That wasn't the real Nepgear, but truly someone else who wanted to kill me and Uni with the Malice Blade. I may of fell for it and sacrificed myself and Uni for nothing if I didn't have any prior knowledge. But now I know."

[ Plutia ]
"Yay! But, did you tell the others who were down there about the fake?"

Noire shook her head with a regretful look in her eyes.

[ Noire ]
"I…I couldn't do it. She was a great deal more powerful than any of us. I was afraid that if I backed her into a corner like that, then she would have lashed out and killed us all there. I had no choice but to surrender the Shares to her."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"I suppose that was the smartest thing you could of done. She must still try to keep the world convinced that she is the true Nepgear. Which means she can just go around killing the other CPUs at her leisure. Best let her believe that her secret is still strong and thus have that restriction on her."

She gave a faint smile of relief at my statement, then her face went concerned.

[ Noire ]
"However, that still doesn't help the fact that I have to give them a good amount of Lastation shares. If my math is right, my nation's economy will collapse and my nation will fall to ruin within a few weeks. Whatever we are going to do, we need to do it now or Lastation is doomed."

[ Plutia ]
"Weeeeellllll…..what do we do now?"

At Plutia's question, all three of them turned to me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Uh, I guess the best thing you could do is go to the other nations and tell them the truth before the fake gets to them."

[ Noire ]
"Huh? You're not coming with us?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Sorry, but I am not much of a team player when the shit hits the fan. But don't worry. I'll dedicate myself to trying to stop this on my own accord. Besides, you can manage to do what you gotta do if I was out of the picture, right?"

There was a pause. From the three of them.

[ Plutia ]
"Actually, me and Noire are pretty weak and Nepgear is in no position to defend herself. I think the only thing that could protect us now is that fancy suit of yours."

[ Noire ]
"…She does have a point. I saw firsthand that it's pretty effective. It's the best chance we have to defending ourselves."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Grrr…"

I grumbled as I didn't like to be part of a team in a situation like this. But at that moment, a thought popped into my head. Noble and Lily. I haven't heard from them since my confrontation with that fake. Last I heard, they were in Lowee. I couldn't help but worry about them and making sure they were in one piece with everything that's been going on.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"…Alright, how about this. Let's head to Lowee next."

[ Noire ]
"Lowee?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Yeah. I got some fellow members of the syndicate I belong to and I would like to make sure they are ok. I can take you that far at least and help you in letting Blanc know as to what's going on. I'll even find you some muscle to help you on the way there. Once it's all said and done, you can go from there."

[ Noire ]
"…Ok… Sounds like a plan."

[ Plutia ]
"Yay! Let's go see Blanny!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]
"Plutia, do your best to protect Nepgear. And, … … try not to do anything weird to her ok?"

[ Plutia ]
"Ooookkkkkk. I'll tryyyyyyyyy."

[ Nepgear ]
"Um umm."

With that, we gave each other a nod and began the long trek to Lowee. I had high hopes that not only Noble and Lily are fine, but the rest of Gamindustri will be as well.

-Chapter End-

I might be taking a prolonged break from writing for the time being. I would like to focus on doing fan art for this fanfic. Hopefully, the next chapter will be complete in a timely manner.