Disclaimer: I do NOT own HyperDimension Neptunia or any of the characters. I only own my own character, Chris MacDuncan/Sage Heart, and this story.
A/N: Alright, so I'm back. Sorry about delay on this chapter, I was enjoying my week off of school resting, but I guess it's time I have made a new chapter. Also, I've been doing some research about the original versions of the HDN games, and I am really starting to wish Nisa was in the Re;Birth games. She seems like a very awesome character. Alright, time to get back on track, so now we shall get started with the Chapter! I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 13: Dinner, Incident, and Reunions
After picking up the new suit, I went back to the inn. As I walked back towards the inn, I started thinking about Neptune and Noire, wondering how their dress shopping went. I can't picture Neptune, of all people, in a dress, and Noire most likely went as fancy as she could. I'm also thinking about what they will think about my new suit. I honestly hope I look good in it for them. As I arrive at the inn, I hear Neptune's voice talking. She seems to be talking to IF, which means she returned. I knock on the door to the room, just to be safe.
"Who is it?" I hear Compa ask.
"It's me. Is it safe for me to enter?" I shout back. Last thing I need to do is walk in on them changing…
"Oh, come in, Chrissie! It's all clear!" Neptune shouts back, and I open the door. As I enter, I see Noire and Neptune sitting on a bed, Compa in the chair, and IF is standing in the center of the room.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." I say, and they shake their heads.
"No, you're not interrupting anything, Chris. In fact, we were about to start changing to head to the Basilicom." Noire says, and I nod my head.
"I see. I'll go into the other room to change. Afterwards, I'll meet you at the Basilicom." I say, and they nod.
"Okay then, Chris. We will see you there." IF says, and with that I walk into the other room and close the door. I then lay out the suit I purchased and start changing.
About a half hour later, I arrive at the Basilicom. I notice that I am the first of the group to arrive, so I sit down in a chair near the entrance. I look down at the suit I am wearing. It is a light shade of green for the pants and the outer piece of the suit, with an undershirt that is a light blue that matches my hair color, and a red tie. I honestly think I look weird, but I like this look for my suit. My long hair is slicked back and lays flat. I feel nervous as I wait for the group. I honestly hope that Noire and Neptune think it looks good. As I am thinking to myself, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look up and see Neptune standing there with Noire behind her. My jaw drops when I see their dresses. Neptune's simple but pretty light purple dress seems to fit her perfectly, and looks as though it was made specifically for her. Noire's black and blue dress looks prim and elegant, and is a perfect style for her. When Neptune notices my expression, she laughs and looks at Noire.
"Well, I'd say we got the right dresses. His reaction was priceless!" She says, earning a laugh from Noire, who then looks at my outfit.
"While I'm not a huge fan of green, I have to say, the suit is defiantly you. It looks good on you." She says, earning a blush from me.
"T-Thank you. You two look amazing as well. You are both very beautiful." I say, causing them to both blush.
"Well thank you, Chrissie! I'm glad you like the dresses. We actually picked out each other's dress." Neptune says, and I smile.
"Well, you guys did a great job picking out dresses. Now, shall we head to dinner?" I ask, holding out my arms. They both take an arm and nod.
"Yes, let's head over there." Noire says, and we then walk towards the dining room.
As we arrive at the dining room, I see Compa and IF sitting at the table already. The two of them are in their normal outfits, making me feel that the three of us are overdressed. As we walk up to the table, they notice us and wave.
"There you are, Nep-Nep, Arc, Noire!" Compa says. I smile and wave back to them.
"Well, you three sure took your time." IF says, and we shrug in response. I lead the girls to their seats, then head to my own. After I sit down, I noticed that there is already a lot of different foods. I also notice that Neptune is drooling in anticipation. I chuckle at the look on her face. Yvoire walks out towards us as we start to dig into the food. He then asks us how we are enjoying the food.
"It's pretty good, sir. Thank you for inviting us." I say, earning a smile from him.
"I agree with Chrissie! I'm digging this food!" Neptune says.
"I am pleased to hear that. Our chefs are the best in all of Leanbox, so it should be that way." Yvoire says while smiling. Then he looks at me with a more serious face. "But anyways, Mr. Chris, thank you for alerting me to the mistake I was about to make." He says to me, and I smile and nod at him. As I begin to respond, however, I hear the sound of metal hitting a plate. I look back and see that Noire dropped her fork and her hand was twitching, with her other hand on her throat.
"Noire…?" I start, looking worried. She seems to be breathing still, but her actions are scaring me. When she looks at me though, I notice a look of terror in her eyes as she tries to stand, but falls over on the ground. "NOIRE!" I shout as I stand from my seat and rush over to her. She is on the ground and is out cold. I put my hand on her head and notice that she is burning up. IF and Yvoire both rush up behind me, with Neptune and Compa behind them.
"Miss IF, I thought you disposed of the poison!" Yvoire says, and IF nods.
"I did! I threw the vial into a fireplace, then burned the liquid!" She says, and I shake my head.
"That doesn't matter! IF, go find Lady Vert! Maybe she can help us with this!" I say, and she nods and runs off. I lift her upper half up and hold her there, and grab her hand. "… Please hang in there, Noire… Please…" I say, tears forming in my eyes. Neptune has moved to my side and is crying as well. IF soon comes running back with Vert right behind her.
"Yvoire, what happened here?" She asks, and he stands up straight to respond.
"Lady Green Heart, apparently someone managed to poison the food on Lady Noire's plate. I'm not quite sure how it happened." He explains to her, and she nods in understanding.
"I see… Chris, bring her to my room. Neptune, you and your friends can come with us if you wish." She says, a serious look on her face. I nod to her, then pick up Noire off the ground and carry her bridal style to Vert's room, Neptune and the others shortly behind me.
"So, any good news yet, Lady Vert?" I ask, as she is typing away on her keyboard.
"Yes, thanks to the people of Leanbox, there is great news. Apparently a monster in the forest has an item that is needed to make a cure. We will have to slay the monster for it." She explains, and Neptune jumps up.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's goo- hey!" She shouts as I grab her hoodie as she runs past.
"You all will stay here and keep an eye on Noire. I will handle this myself." I say, my voice sounding emotionless.
*Neptune's POV*
"What are you talking about, Chrissie?! We need to work together!" I say, honestly confused as to why he would insist on going on his own. He isn't even looking at me.
"Because Noire is already down, and I don't want to see you or the others get harmed as well." He says in the same emotionless tone.
"Chrissie, you are not the only one who cares about her, remember? We should all be working together to save the ones we care about!" I shout at him, and he finally looks up at me, and I gasp when I notice his eyes are glazed over and his expression as emotionless as his voice was. "W-What happened to you, Chrissie?" I ask him, and he sighs.
"I've already lost everything from my past… I can't lose what I have now, too." He says, rising to his feet. Suddenly, a light flashes and he is replaced with his CPU form, Sage Heart.
"W-What?! He's a CPU?!" Vert shouts in surprise, but everyone ignores her.
"What do you mean by that, Chrissie…?" I ask quietly, and he sighs again.
"Histoire informed me that, because I am now a CPU, I can never return to my own dimension. That means I will never see my friends or my family again. As first, I wasn't going to let it bother me, but now, with what happened to Noire, the full realization of what it means hit me with the force of a meteor. I… I'm scared. Scared of losing any one of you, the friends and loved ones, I have left. So please, remain here where it is safe, and let me handle this." He says, causing us to gasp in surprise. He then proceeds to walk out of the room. After he is gone, I collapse to my knees.
"But… Chrissie… Did you even think about what would happen if we lost you…?" I ask quietly, with no one able to hear me.
*Chris's POV*
As I am flying away from the Basilicom, I notice my wristband glowing. I tap it and a screen pops up. The screen reads "New Activation Skill: Limit Breaker (CPU Timer). Only one Limit Breaker skill can be active at a time." I scroll down to the skill, and notice the old one now says "Limit Breaker (EXP Gain)" I tap the new one, and the description reads "Extends the time limit you can maintain your CPU form indefinitely. However, for every hour after your current time limit, you lose a set amount of Experience levels. Use this skill wisely." I sigh, then read the other one. "Increases the EXP gained by a massive amount. However, it drains the time limit for your CPU form while active in a dungeon. Use wisely." I deactivate the EXP gain one and activate the CPU Timer one. I am level 80 now, so it shouldn't hurt too much. I close the menu and then continue my way to the forest.
A few hours later, I'm arriving at the midpoint of the dungeon. I have killed several monsters already, but there is no sign of the one I am searching for. It is most likely deeper inside the dungeon, but that doesn't mean a guy can't hope to find it easier.
"Well, I guess I should keep pushing forward. Still, I have this uneasy feeling… Like I'm being watched…" I say to myself, but shrug it off and continue my way through the dungeon. After killing a few more monsters, I feel something touch my back and instantly regret not looking into why I felt like I was being watched.
"Turn around slowly, and tell me who you are, and where I am." A voice says. "No way… It can't possibly be…" I think to myself, then turn around and see the person aiming a gun at me.
"…Mike? Is that you?" I ask, causing him to flinch in surprise.
"H-How the hell do you know my name?!" Mike questions, and I laugh for the first time in a while.
"Well, to answer who I am and how I know you, well, just watch." I say, then deactivate my CPU form. After the flash of light it caused clears, his jaw drops in shock.
"No way… Chris?! What are you doing here? Me and Ron were trying to contact you for several weeks now!" He shouts, and I look at him in surprise.
"Several weeks? It's only been about three weeks that I've been here…" I say, and he shrugs.
"Eh, must be a different passage of time here. Speaking of here, where are we?" He asks.
"Well, Mike, we are currently in Gamindustri, more specifically Leanbox, the land ruled by Lady Green Heart." I explain to him, and he sits down on a rock, looking tired.
"You're kidding me… We're inside the game?" He asks, and I shake my head.
"We may be inside the world the game takes place in, but we are not in the game." I say, and he nods.
"Makes sense… So, mind explaining what happened during the time you were here?" Mike asks, and I nod.
"Sure thing, it all began when I was gifted the game…" I then proceed to explain all the events that took place up until now, from the battle on Celestia, to meeting Histoire, to when I swallowed the CPU Memory, and even the fight against Arfoire. I hesitate, then explain what happened in Lastation, from the fight with Black Heart, to me confronting her in her human form that same night, to the trap by Avenir, along with the fight against the robot, and the confessions. Then I explain everything that happened here in Leanbox, from the Overlord worshipers, to stopping Yvoire from poisoning Neptune, to meeting Vert, to Noire getting poisoned, and finally ending where we are now. After hearing my story, Mike puts his hand to his head.
"So, let me get this straight… You swallowed a stone that turned you into a CPU, you not only managed to get Noire to stay with your party, but you, her, and Neptune are now all dating, you stopped Yvoire from poisoning Neptune, but Noire ended up getting poisoned instead, and now you're here, alone." He recaps, and I nod.
"It's… one hell of a tale, I know. But it's the truth." I say, and he nods.
"I believe you. Still, I'm surprised you have two of the goddesses as your girlfriends. Well done, man!" He says, then stands. "So, you're looking for the monster that has the item needed for the cure?" He asks, and I nod.
"Yes, I believe it is deeper in the dungeon." I say, and he smiles.
"Well then, why don't we continue on together? With the two of us, we should be able to get there faster." He suggests, and I nod and smile.
"Alright then, Mike. Good to have you in the party. Let's push forward!" I say, transforming back into Sage Heart, and we both start moving deeper into the dungeon.
A little later, we finally reach the end of the dungeon. We also notice that the monster was, indeed, here at the end.
"Well, let's take care of this, and then we will be able to save Noire!" I say, and Mike nods. He then aims his rifle and fires several three-round bursts into the monster. I charge at it with Rakari out and slash at it a few times, but get knocked away. "Alright, that's it… Now I'm angry! Blazing Retribution!" I shout, my sword transforming into its flame form and igniting, and I charge and slash at it several times before ending with a stab, which causes the monster to go up in flames.
"Did that do it?" Mike asks, and I shrug. Suddenly, the monster charges out and rams into me at full speed, sending me flying. The thing looks nearly unharmed, and my CPU form deactivates when I hit the wall.
"What the…?" I start to question, and then notice my band is flashing. I tap it and notice that my level has lowered all the way to 16. "Oh damn it… Looks like I was too cocky…" I say as the monster starts to charge at me again. I brace myself and hope that I survive.
"I don't think so! Critical Edge!" I hear a voice shout from above, and I watch as the monster is thrown into the air and then slammed into the ground, and it bursts into data as it dies. I fall to the ground, and notice Purple Heart flying towards me, with Mike running behind her, before I pass out.
A/N: Alright, Chapter 13 is late, but complete. So, a lot has happened this chapter. Also, it would seem that Chris's suit is rather… colorful… But anyways, so, somehow Noire was poisoned! Oh no! It seems that was the last straw needed to break Chris after learning he wouldn't ever be able to return to his dimension. However, surprise! Mike has appeared in Gamindustri! I'll put a character description for him on my profile later. Now, there will be more of those Limit Breaker skills appearing later. They are roughly based off of Fire Emblem Awakening's Limit Breaker skill, but each has their own bonuses and drawbacks. This way Chris stays somewhat balanced. When he loses his levels, he loses the stats as well. The skill will drain random amount of levels at a time, so it would seem its description lied to Chris. And as a result, he is now passed out after Neptune saved him. What will happen next time? Only time will tell. Anyways, feel free to leave a review about what you liked and how I could improve the story. I always appreciate suggestions, and may use some of them. Also, feel free to PM me with predictions, ideas, requests, or even just to talk. Finally, shoutout to AIFY Productions for his story 'Hyperdimension Neptunia: A Dimensional Trip'. I absolutely love your story so far, and am looking forward to seeing more from you, so keep up the great work man! Thank you so much for reading, and I will see you all in the next Chapter, which will hopefully be up later this week.