Hello again. A bit late this time, sorry about that.
This one's more of a relaxed chapter. You'll see.
Dragonsayianblue: We'll see what happens with Faust and the others. But not this time! But definitely soon.
The Lowee arc for those four is almost done, after all.
And yes, the other CPUs will be getting much more attention soon. I've set some things up before, and they will come into play. So look forward to that!
This one's also a bit shorter than the others.
So yeah.
Please enjoy!
Chapter 26:
"I'm so tired!"
The person who called this out was Neptune. She plopped herself down on her bed, closing her eyes while lying on her back. She had her pajamas on.
She suddenly opened her eyes and pouted at the roof.
"Hey, you!", started Neptune. "Yeah, you! The person with the face! Yeah, you know who you are.
I'm talking about you.
Yes, you.
As in you, reader.
Yeah."
Neptune crossed her arms as she continued to look up at the roof, taking a slightly smug face.
"Oh, and by the way, you know how it says "Neptune?" This time it's not the big one.
It's me, the smaller Neptune! Been a while, huh?"
She briefly sighed to herself.
"Yeah, yeah, I know that it's been a bit. You've been following those other four, I know. Development and all that good story stuff.
But now, all of a sudden, it's back to me! The main charac- Yeah, you get it."
Neptune put her arms behind her head.
"Can't say I really like not being in the spotlight, but… what can you do? It'll come back soon! I swear it!"
She pointed up to the ceiling and then let her arms fall, resting above her head.
Outside, the sky was dark. Nighttime had come, and the time was after nine.
Neptune heard the door to her room opening, and lifted her head up to look at it.
Nepgear slowly opened the door, smiling as she saw Neptune.
"Hey, sis.", greeted Nepgear, who walked over to Neptune's bed.
Neptune lifted the rest of her body up, planting her hands on her knees.
"Hiya, Nep Jr. What's up?"
Nepgear sat down at the edge of the bed. She, too, had her pajamas on.
"Nothing, really…", said Nepgear.
"Nothing? Not even some breathing or blinking?", asked Neptune.
Nepgear briefly giggled to herself.
"You're so weird and funny, sis.", said Nepgear.
"Thanks. But for real though, what's going on with you and your life?", asked Neptune.
"Nothing… special. I did some training today, along with Uni. We tried out my newest project together."
"And how'd that go for ya?"
"Really well! I made these small devices that float around me. They're shaped like arrowheads, they're so cool… B-But anyway, they can shoot out lasers and collectively send out a forcefield around me.", explained Nepgear.
"Cool, cool."
"Did you do any training today?"
"I did! Kinda…"
"What… do you mean?"
"W-Well, I kinda sorta went to Leanbox to train with Vert. Blanc was there too, and she joined us. But we walked around the city for a bit, I saw this food place, and…"
"Please tell me you didn't forget about training…"
"I didn't! But… after we ate and stuff, I felt so stuffed! So I got tired and stuff…"
Nepgear sighed to herself and shook her head.
"Tomorrow, we're training together!", said Nepgear. "We'll do some quests from the Guild."
"Do I have to?", replied Neptune.
"Yes! We haven't done something like that in a while, so it'd be fun."
Well… She wasn't wrong…
"Then yeah, I'm up for it. Tomorrow it is! We'll slice 'em and dice 'em, and stuff like that. Or, you know, generic fetch quest stuff.", said Neptune.
"Gathering ingredients and making deliveries are still important, sis…", said Nepgear.
"I know, but like, they're so boring!", countered Neptune.
"Yeah, so boring!", said Adult Neptune.
"Exactly! Just like my bigger self…", started Neptune.
Wait… what?!
"What the Nep you came outta nowhere how is this possible huh?!", said the smaller Neptune.
"W-What the goodness?!", shouted Nepgear.
To the left of the bed stood the bigger Neptune. She had just jumped through a portal that had appeared in the wall, which promptly closed.
She spun around and held her arms to the side, smiling warmly at the two people in front of her.
"Hiya! Been a while! Well, not for the readers…", greeted the bigger Neptune. "But for you two, definitely!"
The smaller Neptune and Nepgear both got up and ran to the bigger Neptune, and both of them gave her a hug.
They all separated, with the smaller Neptune talking first.
"What brings you to our humble abode, oh great and powerful big Nep?"
"Good reason, my little Nep! I come here seeking information, as well as the giving of it!", replied big Neptune.
"N-Neptune…", muttered Nepgear.
"Yes?", replied both Neptune's at once.
"Oh… this makes it more complicated…", said Nepgear.
"But come, come, sit down with us!", said small Neptune.
Small Neptune then looked around and walked closer to the bed. There, she sat on the floor, leaning against her bed.
"Oooh, I'm down for that.", said big Neptune.
She followed small Neptune's steps and sat in front of her.
"Goodness…", mumbled Nepgear. She walked over to both Neptunes, and sat next to the smaller one.
"So… What's up?", asked big Neptune.
"I could ask you the same thing!", said small Neptune.
"Not that much has happened on our end…", explained Nepgear. "We've mostly been training, getting stronger, doing quests and helping our nations."
"There was that one thing, Nepgear.", said small Neptune.
"One thing? What sort of vague reference to a past event is that?", asked big Neptune, raising an eyebrow.
Nepgear took a moment before explaining.
"S-So, a few days ago… You know Uni, Rom and Ram?", started Nepgear.
"Yup yup. The other little sisters.", nodded big Neptune.
"We went out questing together here in Planeptune. We went out with the intention of practicing new techniques, and we did, but we also did something else."
"Like what?", asked big Neptune.
"We went to this mysterious old castle in the middle of a lake found to the North of Planeptune. It's name is LAN Castle, and we've been there before when dealing with an issue in the past.
There was this man who gave us a request. He was very suspicious, but we accepted it anyway. He was the one who asked us to go to the castle.
He wanted us to retrieve this ancient sword, so… we did. We entered the castle and had to go to the bottom floor.
When we did, we found a locked door. It was sealed by magic, so… we unsealed it."
"So… breaking and entering?", smiled big Neptune.
"N-Nothing like that! We're not thieves! Goodness…", said Nepgear.
"I kid. Please go on. This is probably important plot stuff. Probably.", said big Neptune.
"Probably.", added small Neptune.
"A-Anyway, we entered the room. It was very creepy, and it was dark…
We walked through it, and we saw the sword implanted in the wall. I pulled it out of the wall.
It was weird… I felt like I was in a trance when I held it in my hands. But I stored it in my inventory, and we went back to the Guild. That's where we would meet the man who gave us the request.
But… He wasn't there when we arrived. We waited for a long time, but he never arrived. So… we all went back to our nations."
"What else, what else?!", asked big Neptune.
"I asked Histoire to investigate the sword, and she found that… well, it's not nice, but this sword gets stronger if it is used to kill a CPU.", said Nepgear.
"What the Nep?!", exclaimed big Neptune. "That's, like, super uncool! Why would something like that even need to be made?"
"We don't know… We still have to find that out, somehow.", said Nepgear.
"Sounds to me like that guy wanted you to have the sword.", said big Neptune. "What'd he look like?"
"Well, he had purple robes and I couldn't see his face. He had a veil over it.
Even his hands were covered with the robes. He had one golden line that stretched around his body, from shoulder to shoulder.
He also spoke very politely.
And that's all we know.", informed Nepgear.
"Sounds to me like he's some cultist or whatever.", said small Neptune "Hey, hey, that's actually something that could happen! Like, a secret cult that wants a single Goddess to rule over Gamindustri. Or something like that."
"That's…", started Nepgear.
"Yup, not a good thought. Let's move on.", said small Neptune. "What's up with my bigger self?"
"Oh, nothing- No, actually, there is stuff happenin' on my end. Not good things.", said big Neptune.
"Oh no…", mumbled Nepgear.
"Like what?", asked small Neptune.
"Imma tell you some good things first. Or do you want to hear the bad things first?", asked big Neptune.
"I think we should get the bad stuff outta the way, then go on to the good stuff.", said small Neptune.
"I agree.", added Nepgear.
"Okay then…", said Neptune. "So Renna and Uzume were kidnapped."
If Neptune was drinking anything, she would've spat it out.
"What in the Nep?! What sort of weird development is this?! What, how?! Why?!", said Neptune.
"P-Please, let her speak, sis.", said Nepgear.
"So Renna was getting something made for Gil, which I'll get to later, and she kinda sorta got involved with this guy. He's part of a gang, his dad's the leader of it apparently, yada yada.
This guy, Faust's his name, wanted what was being made for Gil. He offered plenty of stuff, but Renna refused. He persisted for a few days, and eventually… well, Uzume punched him in the face, another day he tried to grab at Renna, with Gil pulling his sword on Faust.", said big Neptune.
"So things got violent…", said Nepgear.
"Doesn't sound like that cool of a dude.", said small Neptune.
"He's not. So, needless to say, this Faust guy was probably super pissed. The day after the confrontation, Gil woke me up to say that Renna and Uzume had been kidnapped. There was this note that Faust left, so he wanted us to find him.", continued big Neptune.
"And then, and then?", asked small Neptune.
"And then… we went to find them. We asked this blacksmith guy Renna knew well, since he was kinda involved with Faust and his gang before, and he helped us find them. Croire was also a super big help.", said big Neptune.
"So is she a good guy now?", asked small Neptune.
"Seems like it. She has her moments, but she's sticking with hus and helps us out sometimes.", said big Neptune.
"Thank goodness… I'm glad she's not causing any more trouble.", said Nepgear.
"Oh, she still wants to see interesting stuff.
Oh, and by the way, Croire knows about Renna and Gil, too. She was involved with them way back when Tari was still a thing. Don't exactly know how. But it's a thing.", said big Neptune.
"That's interesting. I also wonder how Croire knows them. Croire was with Rei all that time ago, so maybe she had something to do with when Renna and Gil were…", said Nepgear.
"I think that's a good guess, even if I don't know about everything that happened to those two back then.", said big Neptune. "But yeah, myself and Gilly…"
"Gilly?", asked small Neptune.
"Yeah, that's what I call him. And Renny, for Renna. Uzume calls them Gilsy and Rensy, it's cute.", said big Neptune. "But anyway, yeah, Gilly and I went to rescue them. So we warped around the place, found what we were looking for, did some breaking and entering, and eventually got Renna and Uzume back."
"So everything ended up going well… That's great!", said Nepgear.
"A-About that… I mean, we got into a few fights here and there. Most I went through was having my clothes ripped in places and stuff.", said big Neptune.
"Oooh, so like, fanservice and stuff?", asked small Neptune.
"Exactly!"
"But your clothes don't seem to be damaged…", observed Nepgear.
"That's 'cus Gilly fixed them up for me. How'd he do that, I hear you ask?
Well, he has this light power that allows him to sort of turn back time. When I asked him, he gave me this whole explanation of it. But it takes a ton of energy, so he's resting now.", said big Neptune.
"Huh. I'd like to see that.", said small Neptune.
"So yeah. He's a good guy, you know. When my clothes were ripped by these two dudes, he came in and sorted them out.
He did sorta break their bones though. He, uh, can be a little extreme sometimes.
He can also take a hit. He was stabbed in his shoulder, shot in the other one, had some chemicals shot into him, all that stuff.", said big Neptune.
"Figured as much… His sister was the same when we fought before.", added small Neptune.
"And… yeah. We saved Renna and Uzume.
And at the end, he threatened to kill Faust. Yup, back to the extreme thing. But Uzume and I stopped him!", said big Neptune.
"Oh, thank goodness…", said Nepgear. "I-Is that all the bad information?"
"I think so? Hmmm… Yup! So onto the good stuff.
So like, Renna had these two gauntlets made for Gilly. They're super cool, and they're made of the same stuff that their other weapons are made out of. Really old, ancient metal.
We've all gotten much closer. We've found out about each other, spent time with each other, lived together, played games together, fought together…
We relaxed in a hot spring together, which was nice. We also went out questing together when we were still in Lastation. We're in Lowee now, by the way, but we'll be leaving soon. But anyway, something interesting happened on that quest.
We found this floating light thing, Renna touched it, and she collapsed. She hasn't told us about it, but I think that there could be more to it.", said big Neptune.
"T-That's a lot of information…", said Nepgear.
"Yup! Told ya that we've gotten closer! Oh, and also…" said Neptune, reaching down her left leg.
She revealed the strap on her leg which had the holster to her gun. But also something else…
"We all got matching accessories! Like the ones in Uzume's hair! I have mine hear, Renny has one on her necklace, and Gilly has one attached to his pants by a chain. It's all cool and screams "We're a team!" and stuff.", said big Neptune.
"That sounds very nice. I'm glad you've all gotten closer, as friends.", said Nepgear.
"So where are you guys off to next?", asked small Neptune.
"We're heading to Planeptune! The other one. Not sure what exactly we're gonna do there, but it'll be fun! Exploration, bonding, all those shenanigans.", said big Neptune.
"Ooooh, shenanigans!", exclaimed small Neptune.
"Yup, yup. We were planning on exploring the dimension from the get-go, after all.", said big Neptune. She got up from the floor.
"Are you leaving now?", asked Nepgear, somewhat sad.
"Yup. Gotta get back soon. Uzume wants me to help with unpacking everything, and I gotta go check up on Gilly. Although, Renny's probably keeping a close eye on him.
They're really close, I can tell you that.", said big Neptune.
"Aww, Nep. But you just got here! Can't you even stay around for a pudding?", asked small Neptune, who had also gotten to her feet.
"I'd really love to, but I can't. Don't wanna keep 'em waiting for me!", smiled big Neptune.
"At least you were able to visit. You told us plenty of information, too.", said Nepgear, who was now standing.
"I'll try to make it longer next time.", said big Neptune.
They all embraced each other in a hug for a few moments, and then separated. A portal appeared in the same location as it had before, and big Neptune started to walk through it.
"Take care of yourselves!", waved big Neptune.
"See ya!", waved small Neptune.
"Goodbye.", said Nepgear.
With that, the bigger Neptune jumped through the portal, which then closed in on itself.
"Hopefully she does come back for longer next time.", said Nepgear.
"I hope so too. But right now, I'm tired. I think it's time for bed, sis o' mine.", said Neptune.
"Yup. Especially since we will be questing tomorrow.", reminded Nepgear.
"I won't forget it! You can count on that!", said Neptune, pulling a peace sign with her right hand.
"Okay then. I'll turn the light off now.", said Nepgear.
Neptune slumped onto her bed and pulled the blanket over herself.
"Goodnight, sis.", called out Nepgear, before she turned the lights off.
"See ya in the mornin', Nepgear. Goodnight.", said Neptune.
And they went to sleep.
Morning:
It was a sunny day. No clouds were nearby, and the sun was shining brightly.
Neptune and Nepgear were in the living quarters of the Basilicom.
"You all set and ready to go?", asked Neptune.
"Yup! Everything's set. I've already told Histoire that we'll be going, so we can leave right now.", replied Nepgear.
"Alrighty tighty.", said Neptune. "Let's go!"
Neptune and Nepgear walked through onto the platform that shot off from the building. They then transformed, nodded to each other, and shot off into the air.
"What're we doing today, sis?", asked Nepgear.
"We're going to see what extermination quests there are. After that, we'll see.", said Purple Heart.
They continued to fly through the air, and in a few minutes time, both of them were outside of a Guild.
They returned to base form, greeting any civilians that said hello.
"Ahh, it's so nice to see the people recognize me and my amazing deeds!", said Neptune, putting her hands behind her head.
"I-I think you could afford to do more of those things, sis…", said Nepgear.
"I do enough!"
They entered the Guild and walked up to the first employee at the booth.
"Lookin' for some fighting quests! Got any?", asked Neptune.
They spent a few minutes there, talking amongst each other as they sorted out what they would do for the day.
"Now then, Nepgear! Times a wastin'!", said Neptune.
"Right.", nodded Nepgear. "Where to first?"
"Our first location would be…"
Otori Cave:
"Nice transition!", said Neptune, giving a thumbs up.
"Neptune, please be serious.", pleaded Nepgear.
"Right, right, that word. So we got some fairly simple stuff on the agenda. Take out some little cat thingies, and also go up against any rare enemies we find. And that's that!", said Neptune.
"That really is simple. We… are going to do other quests, right?"
"We will be! Got some other stuff to do, but for now, onwards onto this cave! I wonder if we find any diamonds? Did you bring any torches?"
"W-We're gathering materials, too?"
"Nope, just some references. Although, if we do find any rare items, I wouldn't mind gathering them."
"Please can we prioritize the enemies, sis.", said Nepgear. She pulled out her energy blade, holding it to her right side.
"Speaking of which…", said Neptune, who pulled her katana out.
In front of the duo, five small, cat-like creatures appeared. They stood on their back paws, and in their front paws they had metal claws.
They all had blue fur, with dirty white bellies. They all wore orange helmets that resembled knight helmets, except they only covered the top half of the face.
On the back of their heads they had three fin-like protrusions that ran down from the top of their heads. They were also blue, and they flame patterns on the sides of the fins.
"Time to Nep em' up!", said Neptune, who rushed in to fight.
"Let's start this off with a Critical Edge!", exclaimed Neptune.
She singled out an enemy and swiped across it. She then sent it up into the air with a slice, and looked up at it.
She pulled her blade backwards, holding it at her left side.
As the enemy fell to the ground, Neptune dashed forwards at lightning speed, cutting through the enemy, which shattered into crystals.
Nepgear ran forwards, and she initiated her Panzer Blade.
She jumped into the air, slicing at an enemy below her from her right.
She sliced at it three more times, and then spun around, slicing through the enemy for a final time.
"Three left.", said Nepgear.
One of the cats approached Neptune while swinging wildly at her. Neptune had to block the flurry with her sword, meeting the claws with the blade of her sword.
A beam of energy shot through the enemy, and Neptune looked to her left to see Nepgear pointing her sword at where the enemy once was.
"Thanks!", said Neptune, who then rushed past Nepgear.
The two remaining enemies were running towards Neptune, so Neptune thought to meet them partway through.
"Two on one doesn't seem so hard!", said Neptune.
After deftly blocking a sideways swipe from her left, Neptun spun around while kicking the other cat in it's helmet, making it recoil backwards.
The other enemy thrust both of its claws at Neptune, who moved to the left to dodge.
As she did so, she swung her katana upwards, cutting through both arms of the cat.
Neptune followed through by shifting her blade to the left, and then swung her sword downwards.
A diagonal cut from the right shoulder to the left leg of the cat enemy appeared, and it soon disappeared into crystals.
Neptune saw that the last enemy was getting up, and that Nepgear was running towards it.
"Oh no you don't!", exclaimed Neptune, who dashed towards the enemy.
Neptune held her blade to her left side, and as she reached the enemy, she swung upwards and sent the enemy into the air.
She jumped up to meet it and sent a single, horizontal slice through the enemy's abdomen.
When Neptune landed on the ground, she looked at Nepgear with a smile.
"No kill stealing here, missy!", said Neptune.
"D-Does it really matter?"
"Yup! My KD has to keep on improving, you know."
"O-Okay then… Can we keep going?"
"Yessy! Forward, march!"
The duo ventured deeper into the cave.
It was a wide cave, with the rock of it being a very, very dark blue. Throughout the entire space, one could see glowing crystals of assorted shapes, sizes and colours lining the walls, roof, and paths.
"Is this where we choose a crystal to decide the colour of our beam saber?", asked Neptune.
"This isn't set in a galaxy far, far away, sis…"
They kept walking through the cave. There were railings that blocked off the edges of the paths. There were also some bridges and teleporters throughout the cave. The structures were all purple with pinky-bluey lights.
There were a few side paths to travers, but the main path led down into a large, flat area with a short bridge at the opposite end.
But there was another group of cats in the way.
"Nepgear, you take this one.", said Neptune, who promptly sat down with her arms behind her.
Nepgear sighed to herself while brandishing her beam saber, and held it to her right while walking forward.
There were four enemies this time.
Nepgear then charged forward, holding her weapon with both hands.
She ran forwards, spinning around to her right while lifting her sword to uppercut an enemy.
The attack connected, and Nepgear sliced across the enemy twice while in the air, making it disappear.
Upon landing, Nepgear was met with a jumping cat. She held her blade out in front of herself to block an upwards slice, and held that stance for a moment.
Nepgear eventually pushed the enemy off, only to be knocked to her right from another enemy. She had been shoulder charged, and she had fallen over.
Nepgear was sitting down, and looked towards Neptune. Neptune was minding her own business, looking around and pointing at things.
Nepgear narrowed her eyes at this. She did want Neptune's attention, sometimes…
Another test run would be fine, if it got Neptune's attention.
"Neptune, look here!", called out Nepgear.
"What, what? What's happenin'?", said Neptune, looking forward.
Nepgear then summoned three arrowhead shaped devices that floated around her.
She got up from the floor and pointed in front of her.
"Watch this!", exclaimed Nepgear.
The devices floated around Nepgear and then pointed at the three remaining enemies.
The devices then started to fire pinky-purple lasers at the enemies. Two of them were immediately struck by a few shots, disintegrating them.
The last one managed to dodge the lasers, and ran towards Nepgear.
Nepgear held her left arm in front of her, her palm facing the creature while her fingers were outstretched.
The three devices went to work. Together, they formed a triangle in front of Nepgear, and they projected an energy field in the triangle, creating a protective barrier.
Nepgear moved her left hand about, and the devices seemed to follow her movements.
"The tracking works! Yay!", said Nepgear.
The creature was almost upon Nepgear, and has started to roll incredibly fast, moving across the ground.
"I mean, it does resemble a certain blue hedgehog…", muttered Neptune.
Nepgear eyed the creature and then held her left hand out towards the enemy.
The shield moved in front of the enemy. The enemy collided with the energy shield, and pushed against it.
Nepgear strained herself to keep the shield up, forcing her left arm forward.
With a great push, Nepgear managed to throw the enemy away.
Nepgear then moved her left arm forward, and the devices went into action.
Still in shield formation, the devices flew towards the enemy and lowered onto it.
This pinned the cat to the ground, as it could not move away from the energy shield.
Nepgear ran up to it, and with a quick, precise thrust to the head, finished the last enemy.
The shield rose up from the ground and returned to floating around Nepgear, who smiled to herself.
"That was a great success!", said Nepgear, satisfied with the second test run of the day.
She turned to face Neptun, who was now standing on her feet.
"Bravo, Nep Jr., bravo!", clapped Neptune. "Those look like some pretty nifty pieces of machinery."
"They are! I'm still working on them, but I think that they're coming along great! So… you think that they're cool?", said Nepgear.
"Of course I do! Anything you make is bound to be cool, in some way or another. Probably."
"Yay!"
The two of them walked down the main path, crossing the bridge that led to a small, circular area.
There were three cat enemies there.
"Huh, even fewer than before. Guess I'll have a go this time.", said Neptune.
"Okay then.", said Nepgear, who stood back onto the bridge.
Neptune summoned her katana and stepped forward.
"Up we go!", shouted Neptune, who jumped into the air with her sword raised above herself.
The three enemies all looked up at Neptune, bracing themselves.
Neptune then coated her sword with electricity, and fell to the floor.
She brought her sword down, making it strike the rocky surface.
A small explosion of electricity later, and Neptune was left standing with no enemies around her.
"Wow… T-That was really quick…", said Nepgear.
"Kinda anticlimactic. I expected at least one of them to make it. Guess I'm just too strong, huh?", said Neptune, smiling smugly to herself while putting her right hand under her chin.
Nepgear briefly angled her eyebrows upwards, and then returned to her normal expression.
"I think that's all.", said Nepgear.
"So it's time to book it!", said Neptune.
Nepgear nodded, and the duo turned to retrace their steps.
"Wait, wait, wait a minute, there's a big blue thing in the way.", said Neptune, pointing towards her.
In the middle of the large, flat area, a large, circular shape was bobbing up and down.
"It's a large dogoo!", said Nepgear.
"This one even has a crown on it! Hah, it looks so silly.", said Neptune.
"We should probably fight it, right?"
"Right. Here we go!"
Neptune rushed forward, pointing her katana at the giant dogoo.
The dogoo was facing them, and continued to bounce up and down on the spot.
"Hi-yah!", said Neptune, swinging into it.
She cut straight through the monster, making some slime fall from it.
"Guess with this size, a simple cut won't do the trick.", said Neptune.
"Then we'll have to overwhelm it with many!", shouted Nepgear, who had jumped into the air.
She jumped over the huge dogoo, and flipped the handle of her weapon in her hand while she did so, holding the blade backwards instead of forwards.
As Nepgear reached the top of the dogoo, she thrust her sword into the creature. Nepgear then slid down the dogoo, causing a long slice as she lowered to the floor.
She landed on her feet, facing away from the monster, but quickly dashed back towards it. She performed a single slice to the right of the dogoo before flipping her sword around again, and then sliced to the right.
Neptune ran to her right, slicing at the dogoo as she moved around it without stopping her attacks.
She then jumped into the air, and initiated her 32 Bit Megablade. A large blue sword appeared above the dogoo, and plummeted into it.
The two Planeptunian CPUs continued to slice at the creature, jumping around it and attacking all the while.
With a final slice that was charged with electricity, Neptune sent the finishing blow.
The large dogoo dissipated in a flash of light, leaving only crystals in its departure.
"And that settles that! Rare monster, done. Can check that off the list.", said Neptune.
"Yes. But we still have other quests to do, sis."
"I know, I haven't forgotten. But like, I'm really sure that the readers don't want to see us going to dungeon A, kill stuff, go to dungeon B, kill more stuff, and then repeat for, like, five more times. Grinding isn't always fun, ya know?"
"I… guess?"
"Exactly! So, uh, can we kinda do the skip thing now? Please?"
A few hours later, Planeptune City:
"Thanks."
"We still have one more thing to do, sis, so don't forget about that.", said Nepgear.
"I know, I know. Simple delivery thingy. Piece of cake!"
The duo were walking through the bustling streets of Planeptune. The sky was still blue with a few small clouds darting through the sky.
"Ooh, ooh, Nep Jr.! Can you spot any formations in the clouds?", asked Neptune.
Nepgear looked up at the sky, looking around at the few clouds that were present.
"Not really, sis."
They continued to venture through the city.
"Hey, are they…", started Neptune, putting her hands to her eyes as if they were binoculars. "Hey, Nep Jr.! I spot some party members!"
Neptune then started to run forward, with Nepgear following soon after.
"D-Don't run off so suddenly, sis!"
They ran for a few seconds before returning back to a walking pace.
In front of the duo was a three person group who was facing away from them.
In it was IF, Compa, and Rei.
"Hey, Iffy! Compa!", called out Neptune, waving to them heartily.
IF and Compa turned around to see Neptune briskly walking towards them, with Nepgear following.
Rei turned around after a second, and was seemingly surprised by the Planeptune CPUs suddenly approaching them.
"Oh, it's Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge!", called out Compa.
"And what brings you two here, huh? Don't tell me that Nep's actually doing work for once?", asked IF.
Neptune crossed her arms in a dramatic way, looking to IF with a smile.
"I actually am doing work! I'll have you know that I'm on a special delivery!", stated Neptune.
"So you're a glorified errand Goddess?", said IF, sarcastically.
Neptune fell flat onto her stomach.
"Oogh… You're so mean, Iffy.", commented Neptune.
IF smiled and helped Neptune to her feet.
"And how're you, Gear? Been doing all the heavy lifting?", asked IF.
Neptune started to fall over again, but Nepgear ran up behind her and grabbed her, keeping her upright.
"No. Neptune and I have both been contributing a lot today."
"What sort of quests were you doing?", asked Compa.
"Mostly monster slaying quests, although we did gather a few materials that the Guild needed."
Neptune stood up straight from her sister's grasp, lifting a finger while talking.
"I think the running joke about me not being able to work should come to an end! I'm clearly doing a lot!"
"Yeah, maybe when you can do office work.", commented IF.
"H-Hey!", said Neptune.
"She's got a point, sis…", muttered Nepgear.
"Completing paperwork is also important for running the country, Nep-Nep!", added Compa.
"I know… Well what've you done today, huh?!", asked Neptune.
IF smiled at Neptune, holding her left arm out to her side.
"We've just been going around the city with Rei here."
Neptune and Nepgear both looked to Rei.
A brief moment passed by without a word.
"What's up?", greeted Neptune, pointing at Rei with finger guns.
"Hello, Rei. How are you?", greeted Nepgear.
Rei looked between the two CPUs somewhat nervously, but then smiled at them.
"Hello, you two. I'm… I'm doing really well, all things considered.", said Rei, glancing at IF and Compa.
Neptune gave Rei a toothy smile, and Nepgear continued talking.
"So… how has it been to live in this dimension?"
"It's… a big change for sure. But it's really nice.", replied Rei.
"Ri-Ri's been staying with us ever since we brought her here, and she's fit right in!", said Compa.
"Yeah. Let's hope that she doesn't get too popular, though.", said IF.
"Watcha mean by that, Iffy? Scared she'll be more popular than you on the next poll?", asked Neptune.
"As if. I was more popular than you, once upon a time.", replied IF, smugly.
Neptune pouted at IF while Nepgear spoke.
"But… what do you mean by that?"
IF looked at Rei and Compa before answering.
"Thing is, when we were back in the Ultradimension, Rei was being tailed. We walked through Planeptune over there, and for most of the day, people were watching her. And not the good kind of watching."
"Like stalking…", said Nepgear.
"Exactly. I tried approaching one of these people, but they ran away. Couldn't get to them in time.", continued IF.
"What?! I thought you had the highest AGI stat in the game?!", exclaimed Neptune.
IF narrowed her eyes at Neptune before replying.
"I lost them in a crowd. No distinguishable features, either. She was entirely normal looking."
"M-Maybe it's just…", started Nepgear, but couldn't continue.
"Maybe she does have a fanclub! Ri-Ri could be super popular online!", said Compa.
"I-I don't think I am!", said Rei. "I hope not…"
"What could it be…", pondered Nepgear.
"I dunno, but I'll be investigating into it soon.", said IF.
The five people stood in silence for a moment, thinking about all that was just said.
"But enough of that! Do you have to do anything else, Nep-Nep?", asked Compa.
"Yeah. Just gotta do the one delivery I mentioned, then I'm donezo.", replied Neptune.
"Mind if we join you?", asked IF.
"Yeah, sure, whatever floats your boat.", said Neptune, looking to see Nepgear nod in approval.
Compa also nodded, and Rei did too after her.
"Then let's a-go!", said Neptune, raising a fist into the air.
The group of five all walked through the city, and were in a section with many shops and large buildings.
"So wathca think about my nation, huh?", asked Neptune, directed to Rei.
Rei thought about what to say before replying.
"It's… Well, the people are nice. Everything is much more advanced than it is in the other dimension. It looks similar, but there are some slight differences."
"See! It's a good place!", said Neptune.
"M-Maybe a bit low on Shares…", added Rei.
"Working is hard."
"As if you'd know.", added IF.
"What've you done since you got here?", asked Nepgear.
"I've mostly… been with IF and Compa. We would go out sometimes, whether it be going to get something to eat or simply them giving me a tour. It's… enjoyable.", replied Rei.
"Ever thought of training?", asked Neptune.
Rei blinked at Neptune with a dumbfounded expression.
"W-What?!", exclaimed Rei.
"You know. Get stronger. Get goin' on the whole fighting thing? Maybe help us when we need it?", continued Neptune.
"I-I don't know if that's such a good idea!"
"Oh, come on! You've gotten better with that other side of yourself, right?"
"I guess… I've learnt how to not get so… tyrannical.", said Rei.
"Have you gone HDD since we last fought, Rei?", asked Nepgear.
"N-No… I haven't tried to. I don't want to slip back into that mentality."
IF thought on this for a while, raising a hand to her chin.
"You know, we could help you control that.", said IF.
"W-What?!", came Rei.
"We could!", added Compa. "You can practice transforming in front of us, and then you can try to act not-so-big-bad while doing it!"
"Are you sure?", asked Rei, with nervous eyes. "I don't want to be an evil person… again. I don't want to hurt any of you."
"It'll be fine! And if you ever do slip back into that…", started Compa. "...We'll just knock you out!"
Rei looked at Compa with a somewhat worried face.
"She's serious. Compa has her ways.", said IF, with a deadpan voice.
"I-I'm sure you would…", muttered Rei.
"So… you're up for it?", asked IF.
Rei deliberated over the option for a few moments.
"...Do I have to?", asked Rei.
The four others all looked at Rei.
"Yup. You're part of this whole shebackle, so you're gonna help us get to the end of it.", said Neptune. "Hopefully with a good ending, too!"
"Please, Rei. Y-You're very powerful, and… wouldn't you want to be there when we confront them and try to stop them again? Wouldn't you want to help them?", asked Nepgear.
"When you word it that way…", mumbled Rei.
"Yes. I'll do it!", said Rei, with determination. She placed her right hand to her chest, looking down at it with quivering brows.
"I'll help them. No matter what, I'll help them!", continued Rei. "I'll be there when we bring them to our side!"
Neptune raised her hands into the air in celebration, and ran towards Rei, hugging into the nervous woman.
"I'm glad that you've decided to help us, Rei. Maybe we can even train together sometime!", said Nepgear.
"I-I'll have to get used to using weapons again… I haven't for a while… Especially in this form…", said Rei.
"What weapon do you even use in this form?", asked Compa.
"Do you use any melee weapons? We could help you learn how to use one, if you don't.", offered IF.
"I… C-Can we sort this out later?", said Rei.
"Right. We're supposed to have a relaxed day anyway.", said IF.
"So let's follow Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge until they're done, and then we can have the rest of the day off!", said Compa, smiling widely.
Neptune looked over to Nepgear, raising an eyebrow.
"How 'bout it, sis? Sounds like a plan?"
"Yup!"
And so, the group of five continued to venture through the city.
A few hours later, Planeptune Basilicom:
"Phew… Such a long day.", said Neptune, sitting on a couch in front of the TV.
"It was a nice day. We got to do some quests together, we met up with IF, Compa and Rei, and we even convinced Rei to be a part of our plan!", said Nepgear. She sitting next to Neptune.
"Yup. And we had fun while doing it."
"It seems as if you two completed quite a few tasks today.", spoke Histoire, who floated towards the couches. "What's this about Rei joining you?"
"Oh, hiya Histy! We'll catch you up.", said Neptune.
"While we were in the middle of a delivery quest, Neptune and I bumped into IF, Compa and Rei. They joined us as we walked through the city, and we eventually started talking about how Rei should join us in trying to stop Renna and Gil.", explained Nepgear.
"It was my idea!", said Neptune.
"And she eventually agreed. She's going to practice transforming without going…", said Nepgear.
"Crazy.", said Neptune.
"...That. And she's going to start practicing to use weapons again. She seemed determined when she said she'd help.", said Nepgear.
"That sounds wonderful. I'm glad she came to that decision.", said Histoire, looking beyond the TV, at the vast skyline beyond the large windows of the building.
The sky was orange, and clouds were still flowing through the air. The many lights of the buildings were starting to flicker to life, whether people were still at work or at home.
"I assume that you are both done for the day?", asked Histoire, returning her vision to the sisters.
"Uh-huh.", said Neptune, who had started the console up. "Hey, Nepgear, wanna join me?"
"Sure thing!", said Nepgear.
Histoire sighed to herself, letting out a brief giggle afterwards.
"I'm glad that you're both in such high spirits. Not that I expect anything less from you, Neptune.", said Histoire.
"If there's one thing I'm good at, Histy, it's blind positivity! I am the lead character, after all.", said Neptune.
"Of course. I'll be taking my leave, then. I'll see the both of you later.", said Histoire.
"Smell ya later.", said Neptune.
"Bye Histoire.", said Nepgear.
Histoire floated around the room, and eventually decided to go out onto the balcony.
She made her way to the edge of it, slightly above the railing. It overlooked the entire city, providing an astounding view.
HIstoire stayed there, floating, for quite some time. She thought about many things.
She always gave Neptune a hard time, and, well, it was justified. Neptune hardly did any work when the world wasn't in some sort of danger, and even then, paperwork was not something she touched.
But she was getting better… probably. Hopefully. Still not doing any paperwork, but still. Better. She was training more often, going on more quests, and overall being more productive than usual.
And Nepgear. Oh, Nepgear. She always tries her hardest. She helps with paperwork, is much more mature than Neptune, and is certainly making tremendous progress.
But she is easily worried. At least she actually gets worried…
Nepgear still has a way to go, but she'll get there.
Histoire sighed while she stared out to the sky, now even darker than before.
These two sisters certainly are something else.
Histoire smiled to herself, thinking of all that has already happened.
"They'll make it through this. I know they will."
And so, Histoire stayed out on the balcony, watching the sky as it darkened, the clouds as they passed by, and the lights of the city.
The stars of the sky were shining brightly tonight. As was the moon.
Histoire turned around to face the two sisters. The two Planeptune CPUs.
"We'll make it through this."
That's that. How'd you like it?
Feel free to share what you thought of it!
Don't really have that much to say this time.
So… yeah.
Goodbye for now!