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

Urgh, this took me days to get going, my muse was just not cooperating. Finally got her to cooperate with me.

Chapter 64

"Well?" Artina asked, giving Histoire a smile as she sat partially on Histoire's desk. "I do hate waiting if I can just collect and go."

"Sadly, you'll have to wait." Histoire told her with narrowed eyes. "While I can easily ensure that you get the money, transferring Shares is something only the Goddesses can do and none of them are around." She sighed as she saw Artina still sitting on her desk. "Could you kindly remove your rotund posterior from my desk?"

Slipping off of the desk, Artina closed her eyes while a confused frown came to her face. "Huh, that's odd, they should have known that I was coming this week." She looked over her shoulder at one Angel that was behind her. "Is there some sort of event going on in the under-cities?"

"As far as our intel goes, the Mole Sluts," the Angel said, causing Histoire to twitch in anger, "should be around."

"They were called away on an important mission." Histoire told them. "Would you kindly leave?" The longer they were there the harder it was for her not to activate the security measures to remove them by force. Even if such a thing would be bad for all of them in the long run, it would make her feel better at least.

"Or what?" One of the Angels asked.

"Now, now," Artina smiled as she held a hand up, "we did come early and, sadly," she shook her head, "I am busy and I won't be able to stick around to wait this time."

"...So no payment this time?" Histoire asked and Artina laughed.

"Oh, you're so funny, little fairy." Artina giggled. "As if I'd go without collecting some payment." Still smiling, she held out a tablet and Histoire sighed as she saw the transfer payment was all set up, it just needed her authorization for the funds. "Well?"

"Fine..." Histoire grumbled as she pressed the button, authorizing the transfer of funds.

"See?" Artina smiled as the transfer was complete. "It's always so nice when things go smoothly."

"Only crippling us financially for the next two years." Histoire muttered in annoyance, which increased as Artina's smile increased.

"Sadly, you still owe me the Share payment." Artina sighed. "It is, as you said, impossible for you to transfer Shares to us and taking them by force requires more than what I have on me at the moment."

"Isn't there a CPU that's alive that's not active? Can't she do it?" One of the Angels asked.

"Well, if you want to risk Rei regaining her HDD." Histoire shrugged even as Artina started to sweat. "I seem to recall that when you tried that when the other CPUs were... How did you put it again, Angel of Avarace? Being turned into Mole Sluts, I believe is how you described their brainwashing, you tried to have Rei shift the Shares that the CPUs owed at the time to you and..."

"Stop talking." Artina growled at Histoire, narrowing her eyes. "You know what? I was feeling pretty generous, but since you reminded me of THAT time, I'm going to leave this group behind to watch Gamindustri until your Goddesses come back." She chuckled even as Histoire glared at her. "Of course, if they take too long to pay what they owe, I won't hesitate to forcibly drain Gamindustri of all but the bare minimum amount of Shares it needs to survive. Sounds fun, right?" Smiling and giggling, she waved at Histoire. "Well, you have fun. As for all of you, if the CPUs aren't back in three days, do what you need to do to get them to show up, okay?"

"Yes, boss lady." They nodded as Artina disappeared in a flash of light.

Histoire glowered at the Angels as they left the office. "Some days I wonder if it would have been better to just let the invaders have the planet."

At least the alien invaders were honest about their intentions.

(-)

Back in the Hyper Dimension...

"Plutia..."

"Hmm?" Plutia, who was lounging on a chair on the roof of the Basilicom, sleepily looked up to see Vert walking out to see her. "Hello, Vert." It had been hours since their little miniature tournament. While Plutia had decided to slip out and enjoy the fresh air and take a nap, she was surprised to see Vert coming out instead of continuing to play.

Vert smiled and put a lounge chair down next to Plutia's chair and laid down on it. "I heard you got your HDD back."

"Peashy?"

"Peashy." Vert reaffirmed for her. "What will you do?" Plutia had a confused look on her face as Vert shifted so she was laying on her side to look at Plutia. "If Neptune decides to come back with us, I'm sure I know what you plan on doing." Vert sighed softly. "I wish I had someone who could take over Leanbox for me some days. I'd be enjoying a long retirement if that happened. Maybe I'd even have some solo time with Blanc."

"Not me?" Plutia asked, pouting and Vert laughed softly.

"Well, I might, but I'm not sure if I want to be tied up and have wax dripping down my body again."

Plutia nodded in understanding. "Well, I'll make sure to wipe it off before falling asleep the next time." She giggled as Vert gave her a raised eyebrow. "You know you liked it."

"It's being completely helpless when you dominate me that I enjoy, not the hot wax dripping over my body... Or the whipping... Or the turkey baster."

Plutia sweat-dropped heavily. "That was messssssy..."

"Indeed." Vert nodded as she rolled onto her back and looked up at the sky. "But I'm not here to talk about that stuff. I'm more curious about what you'll do if Neptune doesn't come back with us. Maybe Peashy runs Planeptune, maybe she doesn't. What would you do?"

"...Why bother asking?" Plutia asked, a dark look on her face.

Vert looked at Plutia silently for several moments before finally answering. "Because Planeptune needs a Goddess to ensure it survives. Despite everything, I know that you don't want the people to suffer any more than they already have."

"...They reject me for Neppy, Vert." Plutia shook her head. "I... I don't feel like I'm the CPU anymore." She sat up and Vert saw how worn out Plutia looked. "...I don't want to be a CPU anymore. I want my family, I..." Tears formed in her eyes and they fell out and streamed down her face. "I..."

The next thing she knew, Vert was hugging Plutia into her chest. "I know, Plutia." Vert whispered as she rubbed the shorter girl's back. "I know. There are so many times that I wanted to quit being a CPU." She closed her eyes and trembled. "I know that Noire and Blanc felt the same way."

"I never wanted to be a CPU, it was an accident." Plutia pointed out.

"Blanc became one by accident as well." Vert countered and she bit her lip as Plutia sighed. "I doubt that your nation could survive without a CPU for an extended period of time. Ouya and Stadia can't become the CPU of Planeptune, Peashy probably won't want it..."

"Neppy's the one the people worship." Plutia pointed out. "She should have to stay the CPU unless she wants to risk turning more people into CPUs."

Vert sighed at the look on Plutia's face. Part of her wondered if Plutia's resentment towards Neptune was because the people of Planeptune preferred Neptune to Plutia and had, over time, eventually worshiped Purple Heart exclusively and the only reason that Plutia and Peashy had Shares was simply because they were CPUs of Planeptune. "Well, either way, I just want you to think about things." She gave Plutia a gentle smile. "There's nothing definitive yet."

Plutia nodded and blinked as a new person walked onto the roof. "IF?"

The brown haired girl had a disgruntled look on her face as she walked over to Plutia and Vert. "Seriously, why did they keep Compa and myself in the dark about what happened until now?" She muttered before blinking as she got close to Vert and Plutia. "...Seeing a Vert with short hair is so unusual."

"It's easier to maintain." Vert smiled at IF as she fluffed her hair. "Besides, I assume that you've been told about how things were after Ouya and Stadia were sealed away?" IF nodded and Vert sighed softly as her mind traveled back in time. "Well... As for me..." She sighed as everything around her got dark while she thought about that time.

*Flash*

Standing in front of a mirror, Vert stared at her reflection as her hair was sticking out at all angles, her eyes were red and sunken in, there were tear streaks down her cheeks. "...You failed everyone... You..." Letting out a scream, she grabbed a pair of scissors that were on the sink and smashed them against the mirror, shattering it and cutting her right hand up, even as fresh tears fell from her eyes. "You failed them. You failed..." She trailed off as hair flickered in front of her eyes. Letting out a scream, she grabbed her hair and gave it a pull. "GET OFF OF ME!" She screamed and with several powerful cuts caused her long, blonde locks that she had kept for nearly eight hundred years to fall to the floor.

Vert found herself unable to keep standing as she sank to her knees before curling into a ball and sobbing again.

She would be found more than a couple of hours later by her staff, who cleaned her up and fixed her hair and hand.

*End Flashback*

"It... Was not a fun time after those cultists screwed everything up." Vert told them. IF stared and Plutia nodded as she knew about this already. "On top of that, that stupid Angel bitch comes demanding her payments while we're trying to recover from what happened."

"...You all really loved those two, huh?" IF asked and both Vert and Plutia nodded. "Um, hold on." She walked over to the wall of the Basilicom and grabbed a chair before walking back and sitting down on it near them. "So, want to talk more about it? I'm kind of curious about your experiences with them."

Vert laughed and smiled. "They were good girls. We had fun with all sorts of stuff. They took after Neptune in terms of pranking people. One time they came over early and when I woke up, they hit me in the face and on my breasts with a pie."

"...A pie?" IF asked, sweat-dropping. "...I hope it wasn't exploding or something."

"Or something." Vert muttered. "The little brats put itching powder in it when they made the thing, so I was itching all over where it touched."

"...I bet people liked it when you scratched your boobs." IF muttered and Vert laughed.

"I didn't leave my room that day." Vert gave IF a smirk. "I don't care if people see me naked, but scratching my breasts in public isn't something that I would do."

"So you all have some sense of shame then?" IF asked, getting a laugh from Vert and Plutia. "...What did I say?"

"There's nothing about the body to be ashamed about." Plutia smiled at IF. "Clothing just keeps us warm, doesn't distract people and provides defense."

"Indeed," Vert nodded, "at our age it's just as comfortable to walk around naked as it is to walk around with clothes on." She smiled even as IF blushed. "You're young yet, so don't worry about it. I imagine that the me of this world is probably still shy enough to not want to be seen naked, even if she wears skimpy outfits."

IF laughed nervously as she sat there and talked to Plutia and Vert. As she listened, it became increasingly clear that there was one thing that IF couldn't help but notice.

The smiles on their faces as they talked about the past and joked about things that happened in the past. There was a connection that the two had that was unmistakable. In a way, IF was reminded of Nepgear and Neptune and their connection.

'They're family.' IF realized as she sat there. 'They're a family that was forged through the struggles they suffered through.'

IF felt envious of them. While she wouldn't want to go through the same level of suffering that they had gone through, that same suffering caused the two of them to become close.

'...How much did Nep hurt Miss Plutia with her actions then?' IF asked herself.

(-)

Rom smiled as she snuggled against Blanc, the two were playing a game where blocks fell and they were trying to get their sides cleared off before the other side did first. "Um, Blanc..."

"What is it, Rom?" Blanc asked as she and Rom leaned back on the couch while Ram laid on her belly on the floor.

"Last night, I saw a scar on your belly," Rom had a concerned look on her face. "What happened?"

"A scar?" Blanc blinked a few times before her eyes widened. "Oh!" She paused the game and shifted so she could sit up before pulling her shirt up, revealing a faded white line with a thin line on it above her belly button. "This one?" Rom nodded while Ram looked up at her. "That's just the cut that the doctors had to make to get my babies out of me."

"Huh?!" Both Rom and Ram, the latter of whom was on her knees and spinning around to fully face Blanc, yelled in surprise as they stared at her in shock.

Blanc smiled at them and reached out to rub the tops of their heads. "My body's rather small, it's actually pretty hard for me to give birth to a child normally, most of my children had to be pulled out of me. The easiest way to do that is to cut open my belly and pull the babies out that way."

"Did it hurt?" Ram asked and Blanc shook her head. "But they cut you open."

"I was on some really strong painkillers." Blanc answered her. "I felt the doctor's arm reaching in and pulling my children out, it's really weird. Afterwords, they put me back together and..." Blanc chuckled softly. "I was so sore the next week that even getting up to use the bathroom was a pain."

Ram frowned and tilted her head. "But why would you do it more than once if you have to be cut open?"

Blanc smiled at her gently. "...Because, despite everything, I think it was worth it. Bringing a new life into the world is just a wonderous feeling. Holding your child... Or children with the case of my twins... There's a feeling of happiness that makes you realize it was all worth it."

Ram found her cheeks turning pink as she saw the look of pure joy on Blanc's face. "...Rom!" Both Rom and Blanc jumped in surprise before Ram grabbed Rom's hand and pulled her to the door. "Come on! We should go make babies too!"

"EH?!" Both Blanc and Rom yelled. Blanc blinked a few moments as she tried to figure out what just happened before everything hit her at once.

"No!" Blanc jumped up and ran after them. "You got the wrong idea! You shouldn't do this until your body is ready to handle it!" She yelled down the hallway while running after them.

The staff members who saw Rom and Ram running through the Basilicom and saw the other Blanc chasing them wondered what was going on.

"You're both too young to handle getting pregnant!"

Immediately everyone turned away from the scene and pretended it wasn't happening. After all, there was no way that happened and it had to be a hallucination caused by one of Nepgear's experiments going awry again.

Ram! No! You don't want to see your sister's reaction to it!