Prologue

"Finally, I wish to thank my loyal citizens throughout all of Planeptune for making this one-hundred-year anniversary of the defeat of the Deity of Sin and the unification of Gamindustri possible! Through your vigilance and faith in me we have prevented a resurgence in ASIC activity and helped create the Planeptune of today!"

Lilac Heart gave one last wave goodbye to her countless citizens, the lucky few watching from below the Basilicom platform she had stood on, while the rest enthusiastically watched from their various televisions and streaming devices. As she strode back inside the Basilicom she heard the whistling of fireworks beginning to launch en-masse from various parts of the Basilicom itself as well as from the legions of hidden Nepgeardam floating in the night sky.

With the doors fully closed, Nepgear released both her HDD form and the cheerful, confident facade she had worn for the speech and sighed in relief. She hated this part of the weeklong holiday the most While while her visit to the various memorials of each CPU beforehand always reopened old wounds, she appreciated the somberness and the fact she could at least express her sorrow publicly to the citizens of Gamindustri. Though of course, no one would ever know of how the CPUs actually died beyond the official story that they had died fighting Arfoire.

Celebrating the annexation of the other three nations Gamindustri into Planeptune and her "victory" over Arfoire on the other hand, felt wrong in the worst of ways, both due to the cost of it all and how said victory hardly felt like one. No matter what Histoire and the other Oracles told her, she remembered the final words of Arfoire as if it were only yesterday that she had struck down the foul monster. She knew the Deity of Sin was still out there, waiting for the citizens of Gamindustri to falter in their faith so she could weave her spell of lies over them and attempt to destroy the world once again.

But at least the holiday was nearly finished, and after she checked in with the Oracles to see how the festivities in former Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox were progressing and how the Share growth compared to previous festivals she could finally get some rest. Speaking of the Oracles, usually Histoire was here to greet her and get the call with the other Oracles started, where was-.

Interrupting whatever train of thought she may have had, Nepgear stopped cold as she felt something through her link to the Sharicite. While she normally felt a surge in shares after she gave her speech every year, whatever this was, was no mere boost of her citizens faith in her. Could something have happened to the Sharicite? Some sort of attack by a resurgent ASIC? Worse case scenarios raced through her mind as she transformed back into HDD, summoning Gehaburn into her hands before she flew to confront whatever disturbed the heart of the Basilicom.

As the door to the cavernous chamber that held Planeptune's Sharicite opened Nepgear flew inside, her hands clenched around Gehaburn's hilt in anticipation. Only, instead of intruders, there was Histoire who was speaking with a young girl with purplish hair, which was done up into two buns except for the long bangs that framed her face which looked oddly similar to Nepgear's own. Whoever she was, she was currently looking at Nepgear with a mixture of confusion and fright, her eyes occasionally glancing towards the ominously glowing Cursed Sword with understandable trepidation.

The scene in front of Nepgear evoked an old memory, precisely her very first memory but with Nepgear in the position of - No this couldn't be, it was impossible. Whatever energies she had wielded through Gehaburn had prevented this event from occurring, she and the Oracles had discussed it multiple times and each time came to the same agreement that Nepgear could never have a -

"Nepgear could please put the sword away and introduce yourself to properly to your new sister." Histoire said, looking more than a bit exasperated that this was how the two sisters would meet each other for the first time.

Sheepishly looking at her older sister, the rattled CPU Candidate finally spoke up. "H-hello there, my name is Solia, and uh, it's nice to meet you big sister! I'm sorry for surprising you like this."

Slowly floating downwards, Nepgear released her HDD transformation, Gehaburn disappearing along with it. What now stood before the newborn CPU Candidate was not the intimidating True Goddess of Gamindustri, but a rather tired looking, long haired girl wearing a white and purple sailor outfit, with a worn parka hanging from the back like a cape. She hesitantly put her free hand on Solia's shoulder before a small smile crossed her face.

"As far as surprises go, I would say this is a good one little sister."

Watching the exchange, Histoire let out a sigh of relief. While she knew the introduction would most likely go well, she still had worried it may not have gone so smoothly, mainly due to Nepgear's near omnipresent paranoid. She just hoped that having a sister would influence Nepgear positively while the CPU's… quirks didn't rub off on the new Candidate.

Chapter One

As the thick tree line began to finally open up, excitement and trepidation coursed through me. On one hand, big sis would probably be more than a bit mad about this little excursion and everything that lead up to it, but on the other, this was supposed to be the true grave of Purple Heart, or as big sis and Histoire called her, Neptune. For someone like myself who was fascinated by the history of Gamindustri before my big sister ascended to being the True Goddess of Gamindustri, this was hallowed ground, hel-heck, this would be hallowed ground to the common citizenry, if they knew about its existence of course.

Although the CPUs themselves never left any bodies after dying, thus making their final resting place technically be the former Gamindustri Graveyard, where they all died to the last fighting the Deity of Sin. But Nepgear and the Oracles had some mementos from the CPUs buried at spots in their former nations, so they could rest among their former citizens. The graves in East, West, and South Planeptune that were in the cities and open to the public were all the actual burial sites, yet some digging on my end showed the grave for Purple Heart in Planeptune proper wasn't the real burial site.

I could understand if my big sister had simply kept all the artifacts and mementos for herself, she did wear Neptune's old parka around after all, but some things were just not in the Basillicom like the katana Neptune wielded. Combine this with my big sister's mysterious disappearances to this part of CPU Grove during Unification Week when she thought I was asleep, Histoire offhandedly mentioning to me that Neptune had taken my sister there back when she was just a CPU Candidate like myself, and the pieces had come together. All it had taken was a little snooping into the Nepgeardam Network, the machine hivemind that linked all my big sister's mechanized servants and logged everything they did, to see that there were orders to build something out here in the depths at around the same time the other burial sites were built.

Finally, the forest opened into a shady clearing, sunlight peeking through the gaps of the thick branches above, illuminating the centerpiece of it all, the tombstone itself. Whereas the "official" tomb of Purple Heart was a massive statue of the former CPU in all her glory, all that stood here to mark her burial site was a simple tomb stone in the shape of the D-Pad clip like the one my sister wore herself. The forest surrounding me stood in place for the carefully manicured and well-kept memorial parks that surrounded the tombs of all the CPUs, both having the same peaceful air about them. On the tomb stone itself it simply read:

Neptune

Beloved, Goddess, Big Sister and Inspiration

You will Always be Remembered

I kneeled down, my fingers brushing over the engraved letters in both reverence and respect all my initial excitement for locating it having drained away due to the gravity of the location. Despite the tombstone itself being over one hundred years old it looked as if it had been placed here yesterday it was so carefully and lovingly maintained. Although the memorials that were open to the public were by no means disrespectful, each one having its own unique style dedicated to the CPUs and Candidates buried there, this felt more… personal. Yes… that was it. It didn't need to impress and inform the citizens of the deeds and sacrifices of goddesses they only heard about in history lessons and during Unification Week. I was probably the first person to visit this place that didn't know Neptune in some capacity given the only others who would have visited would be my big sister, Histoire, and maybe some of Nepgear's human friends back when they were still alive.

The peaceful silence and my own train of thought was broken by the distant but increasingly close sound of carefree footsteps crackling leaves and… voices?

"Crostie where did you take us?!"

"Hey, if you want me to stop messing up your coordinates if let me out once in a while!"

"And if you didn't cause problems I would think about it. Besides, I am sure I can grab some pretty cool looking bugs from this place at least! Other than this trail it does look pretty wild so I am sure I can grab some rare specimens. Besides, I'm probably the protagonist of some sort of spin off at this point so I am sure there is some totally plot important reason for being here."

"Ughhh, you sure can turn anything into a positive, can't you?"

Shi-shoot this was bad. The entire CPU Grove was off limits to anyone but my big sister, myself, and Histoire, and this spot even more so! Citizens were not supposed to know the CPUs had human names or forms and this could raise questions, and oh man oh man if big sis found I was snooping behind her back I was so grounded!

I reached and pulled on my connection to the Sharicite, transforming into my HDD and launched myself towards the closing sound of the horribly lost bug catcher that had somehow managed to get herself lost into the heart of one of the most heavily patrolled parts of Gamindustri! Although the thick branches prevented me from spotting her by air, she certainly wasn't hard to find given she had continued to talk to that friend of hers on whatever mobile device she was using (she could have at least kept it not on speaker!) and thankfully I managed to spot her before she stumbled upon the gravesite.

Alright, it was time to put on the ole Goddess act and channel all those super boring lessons on "Goddess Professionalism." Kei and my big sis gave to me.

"Greetings citizen! I do hope you realize you are trespassing on land that only Lilac Heart and myself can enter, correct? This is a rather serious crime you are committing."

As I began descending, only stopping until I was hovering a foot off the ground, she whipped her head towards the sound of my voice, allowing me to get a better look and… she looked kind of like Nepgear. While the purple hair and D-Pad Style clips were one thing, both were very popular in Planeptune, if I didn't know any better, I would say she was some sort of long-lost sister!

"Oh, is this really restricted? I am so sorry about that but I kind of just, got lost here. You sure I can't stay here, I am sure you won't mind me just taking a few insects for my collection, you can even watch to make sure I don't do anything dastardly?"

Man, this one was really brave, stupid, or both. Even if I wasn't as imposing as my big sis, most people would be pissi-peeing themselves in this sort of situation. "You may not stay here citizen, however since I understand this was a mistake, I won't put this on your record. I understand that humans are fallible after all and wouldn't want to punish you for a simple mistake like that."

To the public, I was the friendlier but still aloof Lilac Sister compared to the cool and intimidating older sister Lilac Heart, and its not like I didn't mind acting that way. I always felt that my big sister was a bit harsh at times when it came to punishment of citizens who broke the law. Besides, on a slightly more self-serving note, me not logging it means big sis wouldn't find out and thus I won't get grounded or get into a very awkward conversation about why I was at her sister's grave. Anything involving the days of yore was always a bit of a touchy subject for her.

"Aww thanks but actually I'm-"

I cut whatever she was going to say off. Just because I was playing nice CPU I couldn't have her lollygag and stick around after all! "Let me just scan your ID Chip and I can fly you to the edge of here and make sure you don't get into any trouble."

I raise my arm up with but a thought the Smart-Gear on my wrist begun to scan her. The handy device was near ubiquitous among Gamindustri, though given I was the CPU Candidate mine was unique compared to what most people people received, and that was before the alterations I had made to it.

"As I was trying to say before, I-"

Why wasn't anything coming up? Every citizen in Gamindustri had an ID Chip put in them from birth! It allowed them make purchases without the need for outdated physical credits, allowed doctors to quickly access medical records, authorities to track down missing persons and more.

Unless… I chilled at the mere thought. Was this girl… part of ASIC? Big sis always emphasized the need to be watchful for their return, but I never thought they would actually make a comeback. What nefarious misdeeds could this fiend have been planning on doing to Purple Heart's grave?

My tone now pure ice, I cut off whatever lie she was trying to pawn off on me. "Miss, I am going to have to take you to the Basilicom for questioning about your lack of ID and any potential ASIC activities you may be engaged in. Please do not resist or I will apply lethal force."

Her eyes widened as she now must have realized I caught on to her tricks. "This is all a big understanding miss scary CPU girl, I don't have any idea what ASIC is and-"

She leapt back as I lunged forward, pulling some sort of notepad off her belt in the process. "Crostie its time to beam on back home, don't you think?!"

"No need to tell me, you can use my powers so go will ya!"

And with that a fu-freaking portal opened right in front of the ASIC agent. It had to be that notepad she was wielding! No way was she going to get away from me! I summoned one of my gun-blades and fired a beam of bright hot plasma and-

"My Nepnote, oh this is baaad!"

Direct hit! And big sis said all those video games didn't improve my – ohhh she was right, this WAS bad. Unfortunately, my crack shot at her portal making notebook (how did that even work?!) didn't close it, and the tear in reality was only getting BIGGER by the second! All thoughts of grabbing the prisoner were now forgotten as I was now focused on NOT being pulled into the out of control portal. I gritted my teeth as I used as much power as I could to try and fly away! I had never channeled so much Share energy in my life but despite all that I could see the portal as it grew ever closer.

After what seemed like eternity, something gave, specifically my HDD and I felt the transformation snap, my body reverting into my human form. I was only briefly aware of the whipping winds and sensation of falling before the strain of being forcibly broken out of HDD caught up to me, and everything faded into blissful unconsciousness.

AN: So this is my first fanfic that isn't just some oneshot posted in an ideas thread so feedback would be MASSIVELY appreciated. I have always loved Hyperdimension Neptunia with Nepgear having been my favorite character. I know the Conquest route has gotten a decent glut of fanfiction, given it was so open to interpretation, but most if not all of these have Nepgear going full evil or Gehaburn pulling a Frostmourne rather than simply being a tragic character, and while everyone's interpretation is valid, doesn't scratch that itch for me. The only fanfic where Nepgear didn't receive such a treatment wasn't even a Conquest fanfic.

Now there always was going to be a little sister for Nepgear, and originally the fic was to have followed Solia and Nepgear, but I couldn't really parse out a coherent plot beyond them getting to know each-other and some various disconnected scenes which could serve just as easily as flashbacks. Now on the subject of Solia herself, her design is based off Ile Heart , whilst her name references both a celestial body (the Sun) like other Planeptune CPUs and the fact that Planeptune is the sole nation and that in her world, she is the sole CPU candidate.