Disclaimer: I don't own Neptunia, it belongs to Idea Factory, Compile Heart and Sega.

Chapter 31: Missing History

"It's so dark down here..." Nepgear figured as she walked through the empty halls of LAN Castle alongside Uni, Rom and Ram.

"There was a fight down here too. Looks like there was ASIC activity here, judging by the broken technology and blood around here." Nepgear figured as she examined the area and the damages around here, she proceeded to tap the ground underneath them.

"There's some loose ground here, I think we can find the depths from here. Uni, do you mind?" Nepgear asked her.

"On it." Uni took her rifle and carefully shot a hole into the ground to get further down, making them safely fall deeper into the dungeon.

"I think we've almost reached the deepest part of the castle, she should be around here." Nepgear figured as she and the others reached a empty room in the underground.

"Were you perhaps looking for me?" A voice spoke up, seemingly no one who could have owned it was present. Everyone was surprised except Nepgear, who simply looked around.

"If your name happens to be Uranus, then you're absolutely right." Nepgear asked to the shock of the others.

"Uranus? Isn't that the name of a previous CPU?" Uni asked out loud.

"Yes, she was the one we sought out and asked when we faced the Deity of Sin, giving us great information and advice."

"I'd like to ask you something first, CPU Candidates. You are not originally from this world, am I right in that assumption?" Uranus asked them, seeking an answer.

"You're right, I am the CPU Candidate Nepgear and those are my fellow Candidates Uni, Rom and Ram. I'm from Planeptune just like you, although from a different one." Nepgear responded.

"So why have you come here to my resting place, CPU of another world? What do you seek to gain from this, what do you believe me to know?" Uranus asked them, desiring to know.

"I wanted to ask if you could perhaps offer us a few answers about the state of Gamindustri and a certain cursed blade. Could you tell us anything about either if you know anything?" Nepgear asked of her.

"I certainly can, but let me ask. How do you know about my existence? I've stayed silent for a very long time, never calling the CPU of this world to aid or inform them as they had no chance of survival." Uranus explained.

"You exist in our world too, you called us when we faced the Deity of Sin and for that reason I wanted to ask if you know anything in this world." Nepgear replied.

"I see, well then I have good news for you. The Deity of Sin had ceased to exist in this world a long time ago, she is no longer an entity here. Her existence was ended by the CPU who killed her." Uranus stated.

"She ceased to exist? What do you mean by that? Isn't the Deity not limited by time or death?" Uni asked her.

"It was a being that was kept alive by it's desires and faith of destoying this world. However, it's destructive and chaotic soul has vanished from this world, I've stopped feeling her presence in the world."

"Yet I sense the foul smell of it within this world, she sought to return when the world doomed itself, but her presence had vanished years ago with only a remaining trace that pained me." Uranus explained to them.

"I have a idea as to why that could be. But I have another question, do you know anything about the cursed sword?"

"A cursed blade that can cause prosperity and disaster to any CPU's rule. It had existed during my time aswell, but we were too afraid of it's endless power and potential, refusing to use it we discarded it here in the depths of LAN Castle." Uranus remembered the legends of that sword and it's existence.

"So it existed during your time aswell."

"Indeed, the blade was quite dangerous and thought to be impractical. Me and the other CPUs immediately discarded it and used to wonder if that blade would easen our battle against the Deity of Sin. And I see now that the sword would have doomed us as I have seen the requirements to gain such power." Uranus told them, being well aware of what has happened.

"So you've seen what has happened here, haven't you?" Rom asked.

"Indeed. There are gaps in this world's history and the balance of it is slowling tearing too, my presence is slowly fading from the world as a powerful being is taking control." Uranus declared. "I'm afraid I'm not as knowledgeable as you had hoped for."

"It's alright, I'm not very demanding about this. All I needed was resources and knowledge about the few things that were still covered in mystery, this was very helpful and I thank you for that." Nepgear explained and thanked her.

"Thank you very much for your help." All of them responded before leaving Uranus and heading back to their home.

"I hope you the best of luck for surviving."

Meanwhile...

They had left the depths of LAN Castle already and were on their way to return to Planeptune, seeking to inform the others.

"I still don't get why you wanted to come here, Nepgear. Where was the point in this entire thing?" Ram asked.

"All I needed was the remaining information to piece together most of the story without trouble." Nepgear explained as she was still deep in thoughts, piecing her thoughts together.

"You know something that we don't, right?" Uni figured.

"I do and I'm going to tell everyone once I finished piecing it all together, in the meantime our sisters will finish whatever they're working on and return to Planeptune." Nepgear explained.

"It's only a few minutes until we all meet to plan our confrontation with Kurome."

In the middle of Leanbox...

"Lady Vert, Lady Chika, what shall we do?" Affimojas bowed down before the two and asked for his task.

"You and your loyal subordinate may go and strengthen the equipment of the guild while increasing defensive measures here." Chika commanded them, sending them off to work.

"Yes, Lady Chika!" Steamax responded as the two of them continued their work in Leanbox. After returning here, both of them were given a life sentence of working for free and becoming loyal to the CPU in return for their crimes.

"Those two are quite good friends even here." Vert noticed and pointed out, feeling those two's intense friendship.

"Indeed, Affimojas in fact offered his help and outright broke his friend free back when we operated under Leader." Chika remembered as she previously worked under Kurome.

"It's been so long ever since I have been with you, or at least a version of you in this world." Chika told her as she got closer towards Vert.

"Well, I didn't expect to see a world where you amd the nation are in so much suffering anyway. It's a little more peaceful in Leanbox now, huh?" Vert told her. "Cave and the agents of the guild are doing their best at handling safety and 5pb. keeps raising the mood of the citizen, everyone is trying their best to make it better here."

"They certainly do. To be honest, Leanbox was always not doing that well, especially in contrast to Planeptune or Lastation." Chika explained before her expression grew serious again.

"So now that you are fine, do you mind telling me what happened in the past? " Vert asked her, worrying over Chika. "As your beloved, don't you think it's important for me to know of your problems?"

"You're right, my dear." Chika took a short moment before she started explaining. "Well, in the past I had an unlikely encounter that made me help our enemy in exchange for a way to return the CPU back to life or...at least that's what I hoped for back then."

Long ago, years before the current events...

"I greet you, oracle of Leanbox. It is a pleasure to meet you in person." A mysterious individual appeared in front of her inside the Basilicom, having a form that heavily resembled Vert, but having purple hair and soudning different.

"Who the hell are you? And what gives you the nerve to think that you can take my precious Vert's form?!" Chika yelled at the person.

"You talk greatly for someone who believes themselves to be worth being acknowledged by a CPU. Nonetheless, I possess the power to return your beloved Vert to you and I only demand your aid in exchange." The person talked about.

"What? You do? No, you're lying! As if someone with that power just randomly appeared and offered me that for a mere favor!" Chika enraged and tried to stab the mysterious person, but her spear was easily caught and broken by the person's sheer strength.

"To my master, the dead can easily resurrected just as easily as they can be killed. I offer you this chance only once, if you deny it, then I am not responsible for that loss." They responded, reducing Chika's resistance even further.

"Aswell as that, if you seek my master's help, then you must bring us something appropriate to make use of. Most useful would be a certain unique crystal that you hold in your possession, a leftover from recent battles perhaps?" The person mentioned before they faded away.

"By the way, I think this little bit of knowledge is something to remember aswell.

My name is Leader."

"Is it really possible to resurrect a CPU from the dead? The only way a CPU even gains life is by being born out of the necessity of the citizen, is there an actual way to reanimate one and without side-effects at that?" Chika thought about as she was sitting inside Vert's room and thinking about Leader's offer and statement, she couldn't get it out of her head.

"But there is a chance of it being true, no? Should I take it?" Chika wasn't able of thinking clearly under these circumstances. The constant thought of Vert potentially returning to her, it was too much for herself to bear.

"Gamindustri isn't exactly in a great state either with how Nepgear is opposing that ancient CPU, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if the world just started falling apart!" Chika worried as she also had to take Nepgear's potential loss into her choice.

"It's been so long ever since Vert died. And I still don't feel like Nepgear has any way of saving us anymore, maybe..." Chika continued to think.

"They always say that she would be able to keep Gamindustri safe and yet look at where we ended up. They tell me I don't grow up for accepting Vert's death and yet they can't for once accept that Nepgear isn't a good CPU! I have no other choice from here on out."

"Have you made your choice?" Leader stood before Chika once more, meeting each other again this day.

"Yes. Under the conditions that you return Vert to me aswell as the other CPU that perished, only under these conditions will I join you." Chika demanded.

"Hold on for a moment, I hope you didn't forget about something appropriate to make this deal with us. This will only work if you give us what we desire, you do remember...?"

"Of course, here." Chika pulled out a peculiar red-purple colored crystal from her pockets and offered it to the mysterious individual, holding it out like a jewel.

"Perfect. An Anti-Crystal, exactly like what our master asked for." She walked ahead and tried to take the item.

"Don't get so hasty, I still need some confirmation to your abillities. So go ahead and start showing me that you can resurrect the CPUs, I'm not someone who lets themselves be scammed like a kid." Chika declared.

"Very well." Leader summoned forth what appeared to ber Vert right next to Chika out of thin air.

"Vert!" Chika immediately rushed over and hugged her, but she then immediately stopped.

"Wait, something feels off. Vert...she feels so different than what I am used to, it feels so much more cold and wrong? Did you lie to me?!" Chika backed away and enraged.

"I only ever promised to give you Vert, not to return the one you know. No matter what you hoped for, not being aware of the true nature of someone will get used killed or used by others." Leader explained to her as her face widened and she grew a terrifying smile. Chika tried to escape before she was being grabbed by the neck by the fake Vert.

"What are you going to do with me?" Chika replied.

"My master sees you as fitting to serve our plans, your influence and role will serve us quite well." Leader declared and walked towards her, grabbing her by the face and staring into her eyes.

"All that we will do is a bit of a change on your memories and personality, so that you can properly serve our plan and take my role. My master wants me to do other things instead of forming an army, but I need other people to do that for me." Leader told her and grabbed her by the head, lifting her up.

"Let me go! LET ME GO!" Chika started screaming and rattling before she felt a easing and crippling feeling flow across her body as Leader's eyes pierced into her soul.

"Let your anger and delusion be reborn...in my image."

"Everything after that is hazy to me, I only remember that I felt like someone was draining my energy and that I was recruiting the others who controlled the nations. It's like I was used as a battery to supply someone with energy." Chika returned to the present with her explanation.

"I see, so it was more akin to brainwashing after all."

"Not really, they simply took advantage of my anger and pent-up emotions. If I were that delusional, then I would have probably done something similar to what I do now." Chika explained to her. "I mean, they tampered with my memories, but much of it was still derived from my own thoughts. As an example I was well aware of the existence of AffimaX and the Anti-Crystals, yet I still helped them in the end."

"Speaking of which, were the Anti-Crystals always in your possession?" Vert asked.

"No, but they seemed to have appeared during Nepgear's conflict with the ancient CPU. I remember that she used a machine to drain our shares while using another one to weaken Nepgear, I'd assume that the destruction of both led to the Anti-Crystal being split and broken across Gamindustri. One of such landed in Leanbox and I found it and put away because I didn't know what it was."

"And after she obtained it from you, she started replicating it to the point of it being a literal resource. She's been using it to generate and gain insane advantage against us, without them things would be much more possible." The Anti-Crystals have been quite the obstacle in every instance to the CPUs after all.

"Yeah, but they aren't perfect. The Anti-Crystal is fairly frail and useless when the individual generates enough energy to break it or doesn't even use share energy."

"I am so sorry about having been such trouble for you, Vert! If only, if only I wouldn't have led myself be controlled and moved by my hatred and anger...I, I..." Chika started tearing up, blaming herself for her mistakes.

"It's okay, what matters is that it wasn't your lone fault. You can't carry all the mistakes you've done by yourself." Vert pulled her into her loving embrace, letting her drown her sorrow and sadness.

"Thank you, Vert." Chika responded as she let her tears flow.

"But now that you are aware of your mistakes, try believing in all of us. Even Nepgear." Vert asked of her as Chika continued to stay in her embrace.

"I'll try." Chika responded with a heart-warming smile, giving off a sense of joy.

"Lady Vert and Lady Chika, we have finished our task and armed the citizen with new weapons and equipment aswell as having amplified the defenses!" Affimojas and Steamax stepped forward again and bowed again.

"Ah, right." Chika took a short moment to focus. "Now that you've done that, I'd like you to move the remaining defenses and machines to another nation to strengthen their defenses. Once that's done, return here and wait for the enemies."

"I'm surprised you managed to get these two to work, what did you pay them to mahe them this loyal to you?" Vert asked.

"I offered them some of your merchandise from Leanbox, I thought they wanted money, but as soon as they saw a picture of you fall from my pockets...well they requested more of you as payment instead of anything else." Chika explained.

"...I see, well it is certainly more beneficial than having to pay untold amounts of money. Not to mention, it's good to know that my appearance was enough to bewitch the two." Vert joked a bit.

"Yes, we have sworn loyalty to Lady Chika and by extension Lady Vert aswell! She has provided me and Steamax with all the greatness that a busty blonde possesses, we are truly grateful to have worked for someone like her!" Affimojas declared and bowed down, at least as well as he could in his power armor.

"How pleasant, but I have to go and meet up with the others for the final confrontation. We only had so much time until Histoire finsihed her preparations." Vert told them as she prepared to go.

"Goodbye, my dear Chika." Vert hugged Chika as a way of saying goodbye before she transformed and made her way to Planeptune.

Back in Planeptune...

"Neptune, I'm back!" Nepgear returned to the Basilicom alongside the other CPU Candidates.

"Nepgear, you're back! Where did you go?!" Neptune walked towards her with a worried expression, shaking her sister like crazy.

"I was just out and collecting information for our battle against Kurome, I'm very sorry if I made you really worried, Neptune." Nepgear apologized to her sister.

"It's no problem, I was just worried because of what's been going on recently. Come on now, the others are waiting." Neptune told her as she walked up to Histoire's room and opened the door. Inside, the other CPUs were already talking.

"I had some fun and bonding in Leanbox with Chika, how were all of your short absences in your nation?"

"Don't remind me, I had to employ Anonydeath out of safety reasons. Him and the rat, could you imagine anything worse?" Noire sighed.

"I simply spent some time with Mina to talk about Lowee's state and recovery at the moment, aside from that we will have to inform everyone before we face Kurome. I'm surprised an invasion hasn't started already." Blanc reported to the others.

"Histoire, are you all finished? Nepgear's already back." Neptune informed Histoire while eating a cup of pudding.

"Perfect timing. It's finally finished, the Holy Sword should be capable of matching the Gehaburn." Histoire told them as she levitated the blade out of the forge towards Nepgear who grabbed it and equipped it in an instant.

A powerful shining blue blade that resembled the Gehaburn perfectly with a glowing blue edge and shares embedded into it, making it a insanely powerful blade. It's made of the hardest metals in Gamindustri and was refined with various materials.

"This weapon is capable of enhancing itself even further by using the shares of our world at any moment, so it will come with great power when the situation truly calls for it. Make sure not to exert it for too much." Histoire told Nepgear as she was testing the blade with a few slashes.

"It's perfect, now we have the necessary strength to face her."

"How did you even create a sword that can supposedly match a cursed sword that absorbed all the other CPU?" Blanc asked her.

"It's quite simple, I offered to use the last share crystal we had to reinforce it even further." Nepgear explained as she showed them a part of it that was embedded into the blade's hilt, it glowing brightly inside the hilt.

"This was extremely helpful in reinforcing the blade's capabillities." Histoire explained. "However Nepgear appears to have discovered something about Big Nepgear's past, perhaps something that may help us fill more gaps in the story."

"During your absence something strange had happened, while I was resting, I saw memories of the past and things I wasn't actually there to bear witness." Nepgear explained.

"Really, what did you see? A flashback?" Noire asked.

"Memories of Big Me, her struggling with the advent of Rei and her allies taking control of Gamindustri. I saw her pain and how much she was losing herself under these circumstances." Nepgear told them. "And I bore witness...to her having an encounter with Kurome in the past."

Everyone fell into deep silence when they heard that.

"They...met each other before?"

"Apparently so, she invited Big Nepgear to another dimension where she went through a dark corridor that whispered to her in our voices. Talking bad, expressing disappointment at her, trying to make her despair."

"I remember, Kurome had tried to manipulate people by simply making them grow angered or depressed and taking advantage of that weakness. It takes no brainwashing to do that, sometimes mere words are enough to break someone." Uzume pointed out.

"They went to a dark abyss, a pitch-black sea that was tearing through the walls of that world and convinced Big Nepgear to plunge her hand into it. She slowly felt pain from it, but when Kurome continued to anger her...she broke free and those dark energies vanished into her body."

"Are you implying that she's possessed or something?"

"That was my first thought, but I disproved it when I asked someone special." Nepgear responded.

"Nepgear had asked me earlier if I she could go and ask for help, ask people who have been existant during that time." Histoire added.

"There was someone who helped me, do you remember when we met with one of our previous CPUs during the conflict with ASIC?"

"Yes, her name was Uranus. And she told us about the Arfoire's weakness when we had to face her, what are you getting at?" Noire responded.

"I encountered her to help me fill the gaps and while she didn't have more awareness of it either, her knowledge about other things has greatly helped me to do that by myself." Nepgear explained as she slowly pieced together some of the story.

"The Deity of Sin no longer exists in any form in this world, and judging by the Gehaburn's nature...I think the Deity of Sin got absorbed by it aswell as Rei, since she likely died at one point too. Both of them had been absorbed by the Gehaburn, their powers eternally bound into it's cursed edge."

"So, do you propose that she obtained so much power due to absorbing the souls of the other two beings that almost destroyed our Gamindustri?" Blanc responded.

"I wouldn't exclude it, but it seems quite reasonable in it's own right. But it only suggests to me the Gehaburn's bizarre nature, not even Croire has much knowledge of it after all." Histoire suggested.

"What's important is that Arfoire was still present in some remnant just like her loyalists, so she is still existant in some way. The same could be said for Rei's power, since Kurome had received it in our dimension." Nepgear cleared up first before Uni started another topic.

"Secondly the blade seems to have origins that go deep into Gamindustri, so we need to be careful and see if Big Nepgear can explain once we free her." She recommended as they still needed that information.

"That would be everything that we assembled during the meantime, more wasn't possible." Rom explained.

"It's fine, you all did a great job to get all this." Blanc responded, which cheered Rom up a bit.

"We have to get a move on, remember saving her is our primary objective and Kurome's downfall is second." Uzume mentioned.

"Alright, it's time to move out."

Affimojas and Steamax are here, I don't think anyone wants to see a chapter to see them return.

I'm gonna be honest, I'm somewhat struggling to find the energy to write this story.