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Neptunia Guild Files: Fate/book one
A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Section 37: Rider's Early Years
"...Uncle Clyde? I remember seeing that name on that birthday card in your room, mikon..." Tamamo mused with a finger to her chin.
"Before she beat you up for going into her room," Nero pointed out.
"That's what you get for breaking the rules," Rider stated evenly. "Anyway, yeah, when I was about thirteen or so, he came to visit us... Actually, we'd met him before I started getting my growth spurt, but he and his wife had to deal with tragedy... but we'll get to that later. So when he came to visit..."
*Flashback*
The dark purple car pulled up the driveway, Sharon and the twins looking on curiously... A man with dark-purple hair exited, tall and decently built, dressed in a red shirt and blue jeans... the resemblance to their father made it obvious who this was.
"Uncle Clyde!" the twins exclaimed running up to him and hugging his legs.
"Hey there, you two! It's been a while," Clyde smiled as he affectionately rubbed their heads. "You haven't been giving your parents too many headaches, I hope..."
"Of course not," Stheno, the older twin, replied. "We are proper ladies who act with dignity and grace, unlike Miss Beanstalk over here."
Clyde looked upon the remaining sister, who, despite being only thirteen or so, stood almost as tall as himself. "Sharon! Wow, you've really gotten tall, huh?"
"I-I'm sorry!" Sharon reflexively apologized. "It's not like I want to be so tall!"
"What? No, I meant that as a compliment!" Clyde responded. "There's nothing wrong with being tall... heck, your birth mother Sherry was pretty tall herself, so it's no surprise you're following in her footsteps, so to speak..."
"Medusa's mother was a freak, too?!" the younger twin, Euryale, gasped in shock.
"Medusa?" Clyde turned to Euryale. "Why would you call her that?!"
"Because, I'm Stheno, she's Euryale, so it's only natural that the youngest is called Medusa!" Stheno replied smugly. "We called her that last time you visited, remember?"
"Actually, no I don't. Must've missed it," Clyde deadpanned.
"It's not like we try to put snakes in her hair..." Euryale stammered, looking down.
"But I'm still a freak," Sharon lamented. "I'm the youngest sister, yet I tower over the other two..."
"NO, Sharon," Clyde stated forcefully, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You are not a freak. You are a beautiful young lady, no matter what these two say. They're probably just jealous..."
"Jealous? Us?!" Stheno scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous! Euryale and I are the pinnacle of beauty, not Meduseless!"
"Excuse me?!" Clyde suddenly turned on the older twin. "What gives you the right to call your sister a name like that?! You should apologize!"
"Apologize?! To her?!" Stheno gasped. "Why should I?! Mother agrees, we're good little girls, while she's a delinquent!"
"Oh, really? Perhaps I should ask her, then," Clyde said, standing up and turning away, walking toward the house proper.
"P-please don't get me in trouble with Stepmother...!" Sharon cried as she ran after him.
"Relax, Sharon, I'm just going to talk to her," Clyde assured her as he opened the door and headed inside, Sharon following while the twins stayed outside.
In the living room, Clyde found both of Sharon's parents, her father lounging on the couch, while her stepmother was typing away at the computer nearby. "Bernie! Hera!"
"Hey, Clyde!" Sharon's father waved, sitting up a little straighter. "It's been a while, huh? How's the missus?"
"She's doing well," Clyde replied. "Hera, can I have a word?"
"Right to business, huh?" Sharon's stepmother snarked. She had light purple hair like her twin daughters, dressed in a business shirt and black skirt. She promptly stood and turned to face her brother-in-law... "Is Sharon causing trouble again?"
"No, the other two are causing trouble," Clyde kept his voice even.
"How so?" Hera raised an eyebrow.
"They've been calling Sharon derogatory names and harping on her height," Clyde explained.
"Oh, they do that all the time," Bernie waved dismissively. "No big deal."
"I disagree," Clyde stated sternly. "Poor Sharon is a wreck, she's acting like an abused child!"
"Abused?! How absurd," Hera rebuffed him. "Neither I or my husband have laid a hand on her!"
"I'm talking verbal abuse, not physical."
"Oh, so what? A little bullying builds character," the stepmother shook her head. "The real world is a cutthroat business... if she can't handle a few insults, she needs to grow thicker skin!"
"It sounds to me like they're doing this to her all the time. Am I right, Sharon?" Clyde looked over at his niece.
"W-well... yes... I don't like it, but what can I do?" Sharon stammered.
"Don't you think you should tell them to lay off a little?" Clyde turned back to his brother.
"You worry too much, Clyde," Bernie sighed and shook his head. "I mean, she's got a roof over her head, a warm bed to sleep in, and three square meals a day, I don't see the problem here!"
"How about being a little more hands-on with your daughter?" Clyde suggested. "Y'know, I thought after meeting Sherry, you'd start to shape up, but you just relapsed after she passed!"
"Hey, it's not like I wanted that to happen!" Bernie protested. "At least I found her a replacement, it's not like I could raise Sharon on my own!"
"On that one thing, we agree," Clyde ceded. "I'm just saying, it wouldn't kill you to get off your butt once in a while, maybe give your daughter some positive reinforcement!"
"Please, she's a hopeless delinquent!" Hera scoffed. "She runs away and plays with those street kids on the other side of town all the time! They're a bad influence on her!"
"No they're not!" Sharon suddenly shouted forcefully.
"Are you talking back to me, young lady?!" Hera shouted back, causing Sharon to deflate and withdraw into herself.
"Hey, now, what's wrong with her making friends?!" Clyde stepped in front of his niece. "You should be happy, not upset!"
"Not when they're street urchins!" Hera retorted.
"They aren't! They're good people!" Sharon protested again, albeit clinging to her uncle's back this time. "You haven't met them!"
"I don't have to! Anyone from that side of town is bad!" Hera insisted.
"Excuse me, but your husband's first wife was from that side of town too," Clyde cut in.
"Well, that explains why she's such a delinquent, then, doesn't it?!' Hera snorted. Clyde's eyes widened at this-
(CRACK!)
It was too fast for Sharon to see, but the aftermath was apparent as Hera fell on her rear end holding her nose! "HEY! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Bernie cried as he stood up, marching up to his brother angrily.
"Oh, NOW you get up off your lazy ass?" Clyde snapped back. "Didn't you hear her insult Sherry?! You should be upset with her, too!"
"Doesn't give you the right to punch her!" Bernie shouted in Clyde's face.
"Oh, please! You're just afraid if you don't stand up for her," Clyde pointed to Hera, "that she'll leave you and there goes your free meal ticket!"
"How dare you?!" Bernie shouted back.
"Please, stop! Stop fighting!" Sharon wailed desperately, causing the two brothers to look at her for a moment...
"...Look, you think you could do a better job with her?" Bernie challenged.
"Yes, actually, I do," Clyde answered firmly.
"Fine, then!" Bernie raised his hands and backed off. "You can have her for a few days, see if you can handle her!"
"Fine then, I will!"
"Fine!"
Clyde then turned away, grabbing Sharon by the wrist. "C'mon Sharon, we're going..."
"Uh-okay! Um, bye!" Sharon waved awkwardly as she was led off.
"You better bring her back!" Hera yelled, still holding her nose.
Outside, the twins watched as Clyde led their sister to his car. "Where are you taking her?" Euryale asked.
"Just to my house for a few days," Clyde said in a slightly calmer voice.
"Can we come?"
"No you cannot. Come on, get in," Clyde opened the passenger door, Sharon climbing inside. "Remember to buckle your seat belt..."
"Bye, Euryale, Stheno. I'll be back!" Sharon waved before the door was shut.
"You better come back!" Stheno yelled. "It gets boring around here without you, Medusa!"
"Her name is Sharon," Clyde said firmly as he walked over to the driver's side and got in, starting the car and departing...
*End Flashback*
"My word, I can't believe your uncle would punch your stepmother like that!" Nero grunted in disbelief.
"Well, to his credit, he admitted he let his anger get the better of him, and he made me promise never to assault a family member like that," Rider nodded. "So, he took me to his home, where I met my Aunt Chrona for the first time... She's got a little bit of a temper, but Uncle Clyde can usually rein her in... But it was like night and day at their home. Not having my sisters constantly bully me was a godsend, though I had to have the TV on because it was a little too quiet for me... At least Aunt Chrona had interesting books to read, although I had to sleep on the couch..."
"They didn't have a guest room?" Tamamo asked.
"It was a small house... there was another bedroom, but..." Rider heaved a sigh. "Well, it belonged to their daughter, who died of a terminal illness before she turned eleven... Uncle Clyde told me that Aunt Chrona still hadn't fully come to terms with her death, and couldn't bear to clear out that room."
"How sad!" Nero put a hand over her heart.
"What was their daughter's name, mikon?" Tamamo inquired curiously.
"Plutia," Rider replied, causing Saber and Archer's eyes to widen slightly. "I know, that one CPU from the Ultradimension has the same name, but I'm sure it's just a coincidence."
"Gotta be, mikon," Tamamo agreed.
"So what happened after that?" Nero prodded.
"Well, Uncle Clyde took me home after three days, but he made it clear to lazy Dad that he needed to step up or else," Rider stated. "Long story short, I suffered another month, month and a half of hell before he got fed up and sued for custody."
"Did you have to testify in court?" Tamamo asked.
"Yeah... to my credit, I managed to hold myself together, though tears were constantly streaming down my face... I think that's what convinced the judge more than anything else. But once Uncle Clyde and Aunt Chrona were awarded custody, Euryale flipped out, she started wailing and apologizing, and she had to be pulled from the courtroom..."
"I never heard that part!" Saber abruptly spoke up. "What about Stheno?"
"Umm..." Rider's brow furrowed as she tried to recall. "I think she just shook her head and looked sad... but I don't know if it was because I was leaving, or because she lost her favorite bullying target... Anyway, after I moved in with my uncle and aunt, I've never seen them since then, other than the occasional geeting card from Stheno and Euryale... just reinforced Uncle Clyde's resolve that he did the right thing pulling me out of there. The only regret I had was not being able to play with Shirou or Artoria anymore..."
"It was probably for the best," Archer commented. "If I recall correctly, it wasn't too long after that when Morgan went off the deep end..."
"So! Did things improve for you after that?!" Nero quickly jumped in.
"Oh, yeah, definitely," Rider nodded and smiled. "To my surprise, Aunt Chrona had finally agreed to put a larger bed in Plutia's room so I could sleep in there... but I remember telling her that I wasn't a replacement for her daughter, and she said: 'Oh, no, no one could replace my dear Plutia. But I now see this as a second chance... a chance to raise a young girl into a beautiful woman, like I always wanted for her, though I knew it could never be...'"
"That's... oh, so beautiful!" Nero gasped, tears of joy starting to roll down her cheeks. Tamamo promptly handed her a handkerchief, the blonde swiftly taking it and blowing her nose.
"So... when did you meet these two again, mikon?" Tamamo indicated Archer and Saber.
Rider laughed at that. "Well, that's a really interesting story... remember how I said Shirou saved my life one time? Well..."
*To be continued...*
Next time, we get a glimpse of Shirou in his early 'hero of justice' days! Don't miss it! ;)
(P.S. If you're wondering about the connection to Plutia, check out Episode 8 of 'The Misadventures of Hyperdimension Peashy'.)
