Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Sega, Idea Factory and Compile Heart and whomever else worked on it.

Chapter 10

Noire sighed as she got back into Lastation proper. "Urgh, having to run and hide from all the Lastation soldiers was tough." Sure, she could have fought against them and won pretty easily, but they were her people. "I hope Uni's okay." The thought of leaving her sister alone bothered her, but she knew that it was better in the long run. "Besides, if I get captured, I know my sister come and get me."

"Reaaaaalllly?" A drowsy voice spoke up and Noire let out a squeak of surprise as she turned around to see a girl with messy purple hair wearing pajamas and slippers of all things. In her hand was a teddy bear of all things. "Wooow, Noire, it must be nice to have a little sister..." She trailed off, smiling, though her eyes, which were a fairly bright red, seemed rather sad.

"Uh..." Noire blinked a few times in confusion. "Do I know you?"

The girl closed her eyes while her smile increased. "Hmm... Noooo..." She hugged her teddy bear while giggling. "But you know..." She cracked open an eye and Noire found herself frozen in place for some unexplained reason. "Leaving your sister behind wasn't very nice."

"There were people trying to capture me." Noire protested as the girl frowned softly. "I didn't want her to get caught too. They weren't after her."

"Ah, okay then." The girl smiled at Noire, who sighed in relief as the pressure she had been feeling dissipated. "That's nice that you care about her."

"O-of course I care about my sister." Noire was flustered as she spoke to this weird girl. "W-wha-what makes you say that?"

"Weeeeell..." The girl smiled at her. "I heard that you... You know? Don't like to give her praise and are awkward." She turned and slowly started to walk away. "But you know..." The girl stopped as she got to a corner a few feet away and turned back to look at Noire, who stared as she felt like she was looking at someone who had ages more experience in life than she did. "Children need encouragement, otherwise they become baaaaad people." After saying that, the girl then walked around the corner, leaving Noire alone.

Noire wondered why the girl said that. "Hey! Wait!" Noire ran to the corner and jerked in surprise as the girl was gone. "I never got her name. And why did she act like she knew me?" Noire suddenly shook her head and found everything to start going blurry and spinning around her as her legs gave out on her and she found herself falling to the ground. The last thing she saw as darkness took her was someone with black hair and a red outfit standing above her.

(-)

Meanwhile in Planeptune...

Neptune smiled as she walked through the Cherry Blossom Field even as she idly smacked a red dogoo so hard that she swore she heard it going "dogoo's blasting off again" as it flew over the horizon. She didn't care about that, she was just enjoying such a beautiful place existing.

"Man, how come we didn't have this back in Ultra Dimension? I have to be in Lowee to find anything this pretty back there." Sure, greens and blues were really pretty, but there was something about having green grass, blue skies, pink flower, not to mention the pink flowers flying through the air and giving the allure of a domed blanket.

"Grandma!" Neptune blinked as the scenery in front of her changed and she was back in Lowee during one of the few times that it was relatively warm and the leaves were falling out of the trees. "Lookie!" Her grandson laughed and grabbed some leaves, throwing them into the air.

"Chris! Don't go too far ahead!" IF yelled and sighed, giving Neptune a tired smile. "Sorry, mom, you know how he is."

Neptune gave IF a smile and ruffled the brunette's hair, even as IF shifted and adjusted the baby in her arms. "Iffy, you don't need to apologize for how your kids act." She smiled at the baby in IF's hands. "How have you been?" She gave IF a concerned look. "Been getting enough sleep?"

IF shook her head, her body language showing defeat. "No... How did you and Lady Plutia put up with me, Compa and Peashy? You two love to sleep."

Neptune just giggled. "You were pretty independent and Compa was really easy-going. Peashy needed, still does, lots of attention, so it was easy once you two weren't pooping your diapers all the time."

IF just shook her head. "...I hate how my gut's gotten big."

"It's just pregnancy fat." Neptune waved her concerns off. "You only got home from the hospital a few days ago, it'll go away." She got a silly grin on her face and poked IF in the chest. "But, man, you really got big here, huh? I think you're bigger than Noire now."

"H...Hey!" IF blushed at the poking. "Stop poking my boobs, they're sore and swollen with milk right now." The baby in her arms started to squirm and fuss and IF sighed. "Guess it's time to feed the beast, huh?"

Neptune giggled as they found a bench to sit on so IF could lift her shirt up and put her baby against her breast so it could suckle and feed. "Must feel weird, huh?"

"Yeah." IF nodded and sighed. "Didn't mean to go into labor in Lowee. I know Lady Plutia and Compa wanted to see my baby when she was born."

"Don't worry about it." Neptune waved her off. "At least your husband made it, huh?" She giggled as IF blushed. "You know he doesn't blame you for the broken hand."

"Labor pains suck." IF grumbled.

Neptune blinked and shook her head as the scenery went black and the past faded away as she was drawn back into the present. "Those were good days." She smiled as she looked around. "Well, time to find Iffy and make sure that she didn't try to sneak off with a secret boyfriend or something." She giggled and blushed softly. "Man, walking in on her and her future husband when they were dating was really embarrassing."

At least it convinced IF to make sure that her door was locked before she moved out.

(-)

A bit later...

"Alright!" IF called out as she looked around, her eyes closed as she tried to calm down, "whoever you are, come on out, I know you're out there!"

When no one answered her, she sighed in annoyance. "Sheesh! I could have sworn that someone would pop up saying "ah ha, you caught me, Iffy, want to get some pudding?" or something." IF blinked a few times. "Wait, why would I think about pudding?"

For some reason the thought of pudding gave her a nostalgic feeling that she couldn't explain. "Well, whatever, I still have stuff to do here." She huffed and walked off.

Not long after IF was gone, Neptune popped her head out from behind a bench and giggled as she hit play on her phone's recorder. "Bwhahahahaha! Iffy was talking out loud to herself!" Putting her phone away, Neptune made a mental note to play that the next time she saw Compa. Sure, IF would likely be embarrassed, but having a good laugh at one friend's expense was the best part of friendship. Fighting down a giggle, she walked in the direction that IF had gone, smashing whatever enemies decided that they decided they felt the urge to stop living.

"Haaaa ha ha ha ha!"

Neptune's eyes went white and blank. "Yikes! Who's trying to copy Laharl's laugh and failing at it?" Still, it sounded like it was coming from the direction that IF had gone in. Quickly running forward, Neptune hoped that IF wasn't hurt. Getting over a small hill, Neptune gawked as she saw IF being held by the scruff of her shirt with her feet dangling off the ground by some purple-skinned witch with short hair. "...For some reason, this is really familiar, but I don't know who that is." The face, skin and voice felt familiar, but it was like someone she hadn't seen in ages and couldn't place. Neptune ran towards the two as she wasn't going to let IF get hurt if she could help it.

Just as the person held her arm back to strike IF again, Neptune could see that IF had scratches and injuries on her face, not to mention tatters on her coat and some bleeding on her legs. "LET GO, YOU JERK!" Neptune yelled and did a flying kick, hitting the woman right in middle of her face and sending her flying back while letting go of IF, who fell on her butt hard. "Iffy!" Neptune yelled as she dropped to her knees to fuss over IF. "Aww, Iffy..." Neptune pulled out a white cloth and started dabbing over IF's injuries on her face. "You're hurt."

"Jeez..." IF grimaced at what was happening. "Wait, didn't I leave you back at the guild?"

Neptune smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, Iffy, aww, your cute face is all messed up."

"...Cute?" IF asked, perplexed as Neptune stood up and faced the woman that had been tormenting her until Neptune got involved. "Who are you calling cute like that, Nep?!" IF blinked a few times. "Wait, why did I call you..?"

Before Neptune could respond, the witch had recovered from the foot to the face. "Well, this is interesting, I didn't know the brat had a bratty friend... Wait," her eyes widened and her pupils shrank, "you look like that miserable bitch that trapped me in her notebook!"

"...Do I... Know you?" Neptune asked while scratching her head. "You look familiar, but I can't place you."

The woman smirked and flung her arm back. "I am Arfoire! The one who will send you to the depths of despair!"

Neptune tilted her head in confusion. "Depths of despair? Lady, I've actually been to Hades, you don't get much more depths of despair than that place."

"Wasn't Hades the God of the Underworld though?" IF asked as she stood up and Neptune nodded.

"Yep yep, but there's a place called Hades where they train exploding penguins," Neptune sweat-dropped heavily, "and trust me, when you're lower on the totem pole than THAT, you pretty much hit rock bottom." Both IF and Arfoire had confused expressions on their faces while Neptune slapped her cheeks a few times. "Anyway," she pointed at Arfoire, "I won't let you get away with hurting my cute friend!" She closed her eyes and allowed herself to transform into her HDD. "Hmm, interesting, there are people who remember me." Even if no one did, she still had more than enough personal shares that she could have transformed several more times before she ran out of power.

Still, it was nice that someone remembered her.

"She transformed?!" IF yelped, totally shocked. "But wait," she calmed down a moment later, "this is the first time I've seen this, but it feels so... Nostalgic for some reason."

Purple Heart pulled out a large katana and pointed it at Arfoire. "I won't let you get away with hurting my friend."

Arfoire pulled out a staff with several blades on the end of it. "Even if that brat doesn't remember you?"

Purple Heart narrowed her eyes at that. "Even if she doesn't remember me, I won't let you hurt her."

"Hang on a moment," IF pulled out her katars and held them in front of her as she stood next to Purple Heart, "I don't know why, but something's telling me that if I don't help you out that something bad could happen."

Purple Heart smiled upon hearing that. "Thank you, Iffy. But if your injuries bother you, don't hesitate to pull back, I don't want you being seriously hurt."

"That's fine, even if my body falters, I promised to help make this nation prosperous..." IF blinked as she suddenly wasn't in the present, but rather a memory popped up into her head.

"I don't want you to hurt yourself for me." A young woman's voice was in her head. "If you wish to help make Planeptune a great nation, I have no objections, IF, but I don't want you to get seriously hurt for my sake."

IF just smirked at the woman, for some reason, IF couldn't see the woman's face, just a silhouette of the woman, "even if my body falters, even if the flesh of my skin tears off, I won't stop helping you make this nation the best one possible."

The woman smiled softly, even though IF couldn't see her face, she knew that the woman was smiling at her. "You need not go that far, IF. Merely keeping me focused and working with me is all I ask from you." She stepped forward and extended her hand to IF. "So I ask you, will you help me and my sister make Planeptune great?"

IF took the woman's extended hand and nodded. "Of course I will, Nep, no, Lady Purple Heart."

The woman seemingly leaned in, smiling at IF and reached forward, flicking IF on the forehead. "No need to be so formal. We're friends now." At that moment, when Purple Heart flicked her on the forehead, the shadows around her body disappeared and IF could see Purple Heart's body clear as day.

IF gasped as her mind returned to the present. "Nep! Now I remember!"

"Iffy?" Purple Heart had a confused look on her face as IF found herself trembling. "What's wrong?"

"To think that I could ever forget my best friend's face and name." IF growled and glared at Arfoire. "I'll make you pay for this, you purple hag!"

Purple Heart smiled warmly. "Thank you, Iffy. Let us deal with her, together."

Arfoire started to glow with magical power. "I'll pay you back for what you did to me in Zero Dimension when I was fused with the Dark CPU."

"...That was you?" Purple Heart asked in confusion as she formed a second sword in her left hand. "Let's go, Iffy."

"Dual wielding, Nep?" IF smirked and ran at Arfoire, who swung her staff, sending a wave of energy at IF, who jumped over it, only to gasp as Arfoire had several energy orbs launching at the airborne IF. Suddenly several blades rained down upon the orbs, destroying them and allowing IF to land safely. "Thanks!" IF smiled as her hands started to erupt with fire. "Dark flame of the underworld, come forth! Demon FLAME!"

Arfoire let out a grunt of pain as small explosions erupted around her. "You..." She smirked as she saw that IF's injuries were making the young girl pant hard. "Pathetic FOOL!" She screamed as a ball of black energy formed in her hands. "Taste oblivion and, GAH!" Arfoire screamed as Purple Heart drove a knee into her face. "WHY ARE YOU HITTING ME IN THE FACE?!"

"One, you're wide open," Purple Heart said as she flipped her digital blade up into the air and she caught it by the blade on the way back down, "two, you have a face that just screams "hit me, hit me, does this dress make my butt look big" and finally," Purple Heart narrowed her eyes at Arfoire, "you hurt someone very important to me."

"I didn't realize that you two were so, GAH!" Aroire let out a squawk as Purple Heart threw the digital blade in her hand so fast that it was only because her magic barrier that she wasn't split in half.

"You have a magic barrier for blades but not my foot or knee?" Purple Heart asked, dumbfounded. "Is it one of those automatic defenses that only applies when lethal attacks are detected?" An uncharacteristic grin came to her face. "Shall we test that?"

Arfoire stared in horror as the sky was suddenly filled with digital blades. "What the..?!"

"32-Bit Mega Blade Storm!"

IF watched in horror as hundreds of digital blades came out of the sky and crashed down on Arfoire. "NEP!? What the hell?!"

Purple Heart turned to look at her and for a moment IF was actually terrified as she saw a cold look in Purple Heart's eyes that she wasn't used to seeing. While Purple Heart's eyes were generally more cool than Neptune's eyes were, they were never this cold. She looked at IF for a moment before closing her eyes and letting out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, Iffy." When Purple Heart opened her eyes, IF felt herself sigh in relief. "I was so angry that you got hurt that I lost my temper."

"...That's you losing your temper?" IF asked, gawking at the large dirt and dust cloud behind Purple Heart.

"Yeah, she always did have a temper when someone hurt those she views as family." A new voice popped up and Purple Heart's eyes widened as her face went stark white. Spinning around, Purple Heart gasped in surprise as the dust cloud faded away to reveal a rainbow colored barrier surrounding Arfoire.

"Mah, you got even better since the last time I was awake." The new voice spoke up again, and this time IF and Purple Heart could see who it belonged to. A girl who looked to be about the same height as Neptune in her human form was standing next to Arfoire. She was wearing short boots on her feet, rainbow colored stockings with a large multi-colored short-sleeved shirt that went from her shoulders, which were both exposed, to just over her hips. Her eyes were a mix of pink, green and purple and IF could see that she was either wearing some sort of tank top under her main shirt, since she had straps over her shoulders, or that was a bra. "Been awhile, how ya been?"

"...Stadia..?" Purple Heart stared at the newcomer, her face pale. "Then... That really was Ouya I heard earlier?"

"Bingo." Stadia winked at Purple Heart and held up a finger as a portal formed behind her. "I gotta take granny here with me. Our boss needs us." Her smile faded as she picked Arfoire up and threw the witch over her shoulders. "...You really should have killed me and Ouya instead of just putting us in stasis all those years ago."

"You know I won't do that!" Purple Heart yelled as Stadia walked through the portal and disappeared. "DAMMIT!" Purple Heart yelled in frustration. "If those two are active, then..." She couldn't complete that as she heard a thud and she turned, gasping as she saw IF laying on her face. "Iffy!" She quickly removed IF's coat and pushed up the downed girl's shirt, gasping at the injuries. "I have experience treating my own injuries, but this is too much for me, I..." She trailed off and saw IF's phones. "I hope one of these can call Compa."

Uh oh... That is all. Leave a review.

So, if you're wondering about Nep's level, yes, she is higher than she was in the game, but not so high that she can go "rawr, smash" everything. Arfoire wasn't expecting that, plus if you played VII, you know why Arfoire's power was the way it was in the game.