Chapter 13: Sisters

Oh boy. Not sure about this one. Be prepared for feels, but more importantly…eh, you'll see.

The goddesses were deposited in their home nations, where they fell about one foot from the portal. They were all unharmed, but in Lastation, another issue was brewing.

Noire stood up, dusted herself off, and looked down at Uni. "Uni, you were acting weird back there, and your eyes were tinted green. What's going on here?"

Uni glared, still on the ground. "No matter how hard I try or how well I fight, you never plainly compliment me! It's always 'it was an improvement for you' or 'you did better than last time, but that's not much'! How are you acting as if I'm the one at fault?!"

Noire took a step back, shocked. "Uni…"

Uni was not listening. Her eyes were once again tinted green. "Nepgear is kinder to me than you are! Of course I'd take a power like this if it meant getting recognition from my own sister!"

Noire was recalling all of the times Uni had chosen to spend time with Nepgear as opposed to her. "I'm…"

Uni cut her off, "Sorry? You're sorry? NOW you're sorry? What does that do about all those other times?" She stood up. "Y'know what?! I don't even want you as my sister anymore!" She began to storm off, but Noire stopped her.

"Fine. Because you're not my sister, either."

Uni was shocked. "What?!"

Noire squeezes Uni's arm tightly. "My sister is someone who constantly pushes herself to grow stronger, and who keeps trying to prove me wrong, no matter the odds! She isn't someone who gets power from a Deity to make it easy!" She let go of Uni's wrist. "I've failed you many times before. But doing this? That makes you the real failure."

Uni stared at Noire, the green tint gone from her eyes. After a moment of silence, she stormed out, leaving Noire to stand in place for a while. She looked to the right and saw an old photo of her and Uni, smiling and posing for the camera. She picked it up and ran her hand over the frame, thinking back to before she had failed Uni as a sister. In the Lastation Basilicom, there was silence.

In the Planeptune Basilicom, things were going much better. Neptune removed the book that Magist had given her from her jacket and placed it on her desk. She stared at it intently, eyeing the picture on the front cover with especial contempt. Nepgear stood behind her, silently encouraging her. With a fluid motion, Neptune brought up her sword and sank it through the book. Nepgear ran and hugged her sister, happy that she was able to sever her bond with Magist. Behind them, ASJ emerged from around the corner and silently watched.

"See? Magist was lying! You're the best older sister ever and I love you!" Nepgear placed emphasis on the last two words, and squeezed Neptune very tightly.

Neptune patted her arm, as if she was in a boxing match. "Okay, okay! I can't breathe!" Nepgear released the hug, allowing Neptune to take a few precious breaths. "I get that I'm great, but that's a little much, Nep Jr."

Nepgear giggled innocently. "Sorry, it's just…"

ASJ walked into the room and interrupted, "Sorry to interject, but it seems like…we have a visitor. A certain…Uni." There was a moment of silence. "Given that I've attempted to kill this same Uni, this is incredibly awkward and I shall leave now. Farewell." He fell through the ground, leaving no trace of his being and allowing Uni, who had just walked up the stairs, to take center stage.

Nepgear ran over, eager to spend time with her friend, but stopped short. "Are you here by yourself? Where's Noire?"

Uni winced at hearing her name, but nevertheless mustered the strength to say, "We're not…she's…she had some stuff to do."

Neptune skipped over and happily added, "Is that Uni code for 'Noire has no social skills'?"

She had to take conscious effort not to lose her temper at Neptune's prodding. "No, we…look, we had an argument, alright? It got bad, and I left."

Nepgear was shocked. "Goodness, was it that bad? Normally, you solve these things quickly."

"We…said we weren't sisters anymore."

There was a moment of silence before Neptune began to awkwardly whistle.

Nepgear turned to her sister. "Neptune, now's not the time for that! We have to help…"

Uni put her hand on Nepgear's shoulder. When she turned to face her, she noticed that there was a green tint in her eyes. "No. This is my choice, and if I come to regret it, I have to fix it."

Nepgear looked closely at Uni's eyes for a moment to ensure she wasn't seeing improperly. "Uni…what's with your—"

Uni interrupted. "Nothing. Noire asked the same question."

Neptune looked into her eyes as well. "When you say it like that, we know something's wrong. Why are your eyes all green and weird?"

Uni sighed, her secret revealed. "I…I got a book from Magist that gave me power. I thought…I thought that I could use it to fix my relationship with Noire."

Nepgear looked back at the book Neptune stabbed, and then back to Uni. "But…why would…"

Uni lost her temper. "You don't know what it's like! You don't have to deal with never being accepted or appreciated by your own sister! You don't have to push yourself just to earn a compliment that isn't partly an insult! And…" Her voice cracked a little bit. "You don't have to deal with losing her."

Nepgear stared into Uni's eyes for a moment, and then pulled her into a hug. "You're right. I don't know what you're feeling right now." She squeezed a little tighter. "But I do know that I'm going to help you, even if it means talking to Noire myself."

Uni was shocked at this move. "Why? Why would you do all of that?"

"Because I can't stand to see you hurt like this. Because…it's because I love you, Uni."

Neptune looked at her sister, a proud smile on her face. She quietly mumbled to herself, "Finally…I could hear half of the readers demanding that…"

Uni matched Nepgear's hug and was silent for a few moments. When she finally spoke, it was a whisper: "Thank you…thank you so much…"

The two of them stayed like this for about fifteen seconds before Uni broke off and sat back down. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and swiped through her camera roll before finally settling on a picture. It was a selfie of her and Noire, and strangely enough, it was the same picture that Noire had picked up in the Basilicom. As she stared at it, a smile briefly crossed her face as she reminisced to times passed. Curious, Nepgear sat down next to her and looked over her shoulder.

"That picture…there's a copy of it in the Lastation Basilicom, isn't there?"

She nodded slowly. "Noire sometimes says it's her 'most prized possession'." She scoffed. "Knowing her, she probably picked it up and dramatically broke it."

Nepgear put her arm across Uni's neck. She said in a scolding voice, "Don't say things like that! I'm sure things will get better."

Uni looked into Nepgear's eyes. "How can you be so sure?"

There was a fiery determination visible in her eyes and audible in her words, "I already said why, didn't I? I won't stop until this all gets better."

The two hugged once more, and this time they embraced for about a minute before they heard and saw ASJ crawl back through the ground. They stared at him for a few seconds until he broke the silence.

"What? I just wanted to see if I could help." He looked at Nepgear and Uni in silence for a moment. "But…I suppose you two have already got it worked out already, haven't you? Well, just to let you know, Noire is headed this way right now."

Uni looked at him intently. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Absolutely."

Neptune thought for a moment. "Wait a minute!" She accusatively pointed a finger at him. "How do you know that? Weren't you lingering around here? And, even if you weren't, how would you have gotten to Lastation so fast?"

ASJ threw his hand down and warped behind Neptune. "I can teleport." He playfully poked her in the back of the neck.

She staggered forward. "H-hey! That's a bit of a weak spot! Be careful!"

He put his hands up to show that he was no threat. "My apologies. I meant no harm."

Neptune waved her hand. "Not a problem, as long as you don't go poking me every chance you get."

ASJ was about to say something in response, but they heard crashing footsteps approaching from the stairs. He looked at Uni and pointed in the direction of the sound, and she stood and readied herself. After a few moments, Noire emerged and looked around the room, her eyes finally settling on Uni.

She sighed. "Uni, I…"

Uni squinted. "What do you want?"

Noire was hurt by these words. "I just wanted to apologize. I said some things that—"

Uni rolled her eyes. "'Some' things? 'Some'?! For almost all my life, it's been the same way!"

She had no response that could possibly make her look any better. Neptune crossed her arms and shook her head, and Nepgear simply looked at her, curious as to what she would say next. When it seemed the scenario couldn't get any worse, a portal appeared behind everyone and deposited Uzume and the taller, black-clad Neptune.

"Hey Nepsy, what's going on here? I came by to have some fun, but it looks like you've already got your hands full."

Neptune gestured for her to be quiet. She pulled both her and the taller Neptune into a huddle and began whispering, allowing Noire to continue. ASJ followed suit, not saying anything, but instead staring directly into Noire's eyes and waiting pensively for something to happen.

Noire took a deep breath and began, "Uni, I'm sorry. I've said and done a lot of things that I really regret now. You have no reason to forgive me, but…will you?"

Nepgear and ASJ looked at Uni, eager to hear her response. She stared into her sister's eyes, clearly thinking very carefully about her decision. By now, Uzume and both Neptunes had finished their huddle, so they also stared at her. Even Histoire, sensing the commotion, had emerged to see what was going on, and began to look around the room inquisitively. All of this made it very difficult to focus, as Uni knew what they all wanted her to say, but she was unsure of what her own answer would be.

Uni could barely speak. "I…"

ASJ walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. His voice was quiet and calm, "It's okay if you need to think. We've inadvertently placed you under a lot of stress, and it's only natural that you'd be confused. Everyone, why don't we give them some space? I'm sure they both need it." He fell through the ground, and everyone else retreated to their rooms.

Uni waited for a few moments to ensure that everyone had stopped listening before she began, "What you said just then…was it true?"

Noire nodded slowly. "Of course it's true." She gave a wry chuckle. "I couldn't even bring myself to lie right now."

She let out a heavy sigh. Her eyes were now the usual red with no extraneous colorations. "Then…I'm sorry, too. I caused a lot of trouble all because I wanted recognition or something like that."

Noire pulled her into a hug. "Don't be sorry. I'm the one who should be apologizing. All of this time, I had been pushing you away without even realizing it. I had been hurting you, and I had no idea."

The two hugged tightly for a little while, as the tension began to melt away. A few moments after they embraced, Uni could be heard sniffling as she quietly cried to herself.

"What I said earlier…about you, and not being my sister…I'm…"

Noire patted her on the back. "It's alright. You don't have to say anything; I understand."

They continued their embrace, and in that moment, they were truly sisters.