Tune 1: Rendezvous
It was a warm, spring morning and the sun shone brightly up above in the sky. Sunlight glimmered and reflected off of a large golden tower which had two ladies sleeping on the very top of it. Birds occasionally landed on the edge of a tower and stared curiously at the first sleeping lady before moving on with their lives.
The first lady wore a large oversized white parka dress with purple outlines and small wire plug-like ends at the ends of her dress strings that hid under her hood similarly to a hoodie. She wore blue and white striped stockings and dirty purple shoes. She had short light purple hair that was spiky on the underside along with two white D-pad hair pins. She shuffled a bit more, before groaning and shielding her eyes from the sunlight above her.
"Geez…" The lady said. "Ugh, the sun? Wait… was that all a dream?"
The lady slowly sat up from the bed and looked to her right to see the second lady in a similar white bed. Her hair was similar to the first lady, in which it was light purple except it was longer and smoother. She also only wore one white D-pad as opposed to two.
The first lady groaned as she slowly got up and shook the second lady's sailor uniform she wore, waking her up.
"Get up junior… aren't ya fully charged yet?" The lady asked.
"Mmh… when was the last time we ate Neptune?" The second lady asked. "Where's… Where's Uzume? The sun?"
"I dunno girl, it wasn't all a dream right?" Neptune asked.
"No, no I don't think so. At least… at least it all felt real… wasn't it almost winter when we left? Why is it so warm?"
Neptune stared down at the second lady for a while before walking back and crawling back into her own bed.
"Neptuuuuune, where are we?" The lady asked.
"I dunno Nepgear but I'm going back to sleep."
"To sleep? How long have we been asleep? What date is it? What time is it?" Nepgear asked.
"Bah, Histy will fill us in later."
Nepgear slowly sat up straight with her eyes barely opening as she blinked and looked around. She stared at the golden floor, then looked at a large golden throne. A pink crystal shone on top of the throne and Nepgear blinked at it for a moment, processing what she's seeing.
"That's a uhm… really really big share crystal." Nepgear said.
"Mmh, that makes it a big reason to stay here!" Neptune replied. "I can feel it's warmth from here, it's niiiiice."
"Neptune… you're not going back to sleep are you?"
Neptune sat up straight and stared at Nepgear.
"Well I would have if you didn't ask so many dang questions!" Neptune exclaimed.
"Ehehe, sorry Neptune." Nepgear apologized.
"Well whatever Junior, I'm hungry anyway. Hey look, Planeptune is right there! All uh… broken?"
"Hmm?"
Neptune and Nepgear looked far out from the tower at a large city in the distance. There were steel beams and tall cranes erected to appear as though tall skyscrapers were under construction. Most of the buildings they saw from the distance they had were white with purple outlines.
"Was that… hm…"
"Okay, we're asking Histy quick. It's time for the exposition dump! Follow me junior!"
Neptune hopped onto the slightly elevated ledge of the tall golden tower and leaped off. Nepgear sighed as she looked down the tower and stared at Neptune falling down.
"I guess I'll transform too." Nepgear said to herself.
She unclipped a small pouch strapped to her thigh and reached inside. Her fingers moved around inside the pouch until she pulled them out and stared at the dust on her finger tips.
"Hmm. I guess I'll have to walk down normally." Nepgear said to herself. "Oh! Maybe Neptune will carry me there… no, she wouldn't be willing to do that kind of work, even for me…"
Nepgear sighed again and she looked around the tower. She saw golden stairs leading down and into the tower so she took them and looked around inside.
The inside of the tower appeared to be large, wide, and vast with the surrounding background having a starry night-like appearance giving the potential illusion of being in outer space. Nepgear marvelled at the stars as she hopped down colorful flat platforms that hovered in the air. She walked along a longer platform that led to more leading down as if replacing actual stairs.
"Wow! This place is beautiful!" Nepgear exclaimed. "It's so… colorful! And- well, the flooring is all colorful but the- the wallpaper is an artistic masterpiece! Who made such an incredibly realistic design? It's almost like- like wearing a VR headset! Oh, I bet Uni would love this place!"
Nepgear happily continued hopping down platform after platform. She smiled for a while, but after a long period of time she began taking deep breaths and slower walks.
"Phew, how tall is this tower?" Nepgear asked herself. "Must be… must be quite a few stories high. How was this tower made anyway? Why was this made? Are we even in our own dimension?"
Nepgear shrugged a little bit as she hopped off another platform.
"I'm sure Histoire will teach us everything we have to know." Nepgear told herself.
She continued to stare at the nebulas and the large clouds of space dust all over the walls until she looked ahead while standing on a long platform. Far in front of her were two large golden doors which were around three times her height. She looked up at the top of them, then looked down at the edge of the platform to see the same stars she saw on the walls.
"What was the word? Trippy… yeah, trippy." Nepgear said to herself.
She walked over to the large golden doors and pushed on one of them. She took a deep breath and she continued to push as hard as she could until small amounts of sunlight poured into the tower. As she continued to push the door open, she heard the sound of shouting from the other side. Nepgear pushed the door open wide enough for her to slide through and she walked outside.
She saw Neptune on the floor rubbing staring up at another short girl with a long sleeved blue jacket and black undershirt. She wore a hair tie that looked similar to a leaf and her hair was tied in a small thin ponytail.
"Where did you even come from anyway?! Who even are you?" The girl asked while slowly turning her head to Nepgear. "Now there's two of them?! This is getting out of hand…"
"IF?" Nepgear asked.
"And you know me too. Of course, why wouldn't you?"
"Hey Junior! Glad you could make it. I may or may not have landed on Iffy here cause my transformation didn't work. I think our impact caused her to get amnesia." Neptune said.
"I didn't get anything from your stupid body smashing into my head!" The girl exclaimed.
"Please- please calm down IF!" Nepgear exclaimed. "We're uhm… I'm sorry for Neptune."
"Yeah Iffy, what's the worst that could have happened? Brain damage? Death?" Neptune asked.
The girl sighed as she pulled her sleeve to expose her watch. She tapped on some buttons, then picked up two tin cans off the ground and scanned them with her watch causing them to disappear into pixels and particles. Nepgear heard the sound of the door slowly moving and closing behind her, but she didn't mind it.
"At least you have enough sense to apologize even if you weren't the one responsible." The girl mumbled to herself. "I'm IF by the way. But it sounds like you two already know that somehow."
"I'm Neptune!" Neptune announced. "If you really don't remember us… maybe we are still in that old dimension."
"Maybe… *ahem* I'm Nepgear." Nepgear said. "Uhm, this may be a weird, out of the blue, question but, do you know a Histoire?"
"Lady Histoire? Yeah she works at the Basilicom. Why?"
"Ah, perfect!" Nepgear said. "Please take us to her!"
"I dunno, you two girls are a little suspicious. Where did you two come from?" IF asked.
"Space! We're aliens, and we're here to latch onto your face and make weird disgusting babies from your insides!" Neptune announced.
"Oh goodness… we're uhm, we know Histoire. Well, at least she might know uh, our Histoire… look uhm, IF, it will be a lot easier if you take us to Histoire. Then we could explain it to you together."
"Hmm… how about this?" IF asked. "I'll take you to the Basilicom, but neither of you will enter until I talk to Histoire myself. Then you'll get to talk to her if she approves, deal?"
"What?! That's bogus, now I need permission to even enter my own home?!" Neptune exclaimed. "What is this?! I want a reroll, at least- mmmhmhmmhm!"
"That's- that would be really nice of you IF, thank you!" Nepgear said while covering Neptune's mouth.
"Alright, let me do one thing first." IF said.
IF walked by Nepgear, then held onto the handles of the large golden doors. Nepgear released Neptune who took a deep breath and they watched IF. She pulled on them, but wasn't able to open them. She took a deep breath before pulling even harder before releasing her grip and taking a breather.
"Geez… I think it's locked…" IF said.
"Why, did you need something inside?" Nepgear asked.
"Not really, but some guy was willing to pay a lot to have someone find out what's inside. You two didn't see anything, did you?"
"Nothing really, except a really big share crystal at the top."
"A share crystal? That could be valuable."
"Can confirm, nothing's on the outside either!" Neptune exclaimed.
"Hmm, it would be nice to be able to get that crystal up there." IF said while Nepgear attempted to open the door.
"That's… very odd. It wasn't too hard opening the door from the inside." Nepgear commented.
"That's fine, We'll just climb up to the top and grab it that way!" Neptune said.
"And have you fall on me again?! Hell no!" IF said. "Forget it. I'll just come back later and try something else. I'll bring you to Histoire first."
"Righty-ho Iffy! Let's get this show on the road!" Neptune exclaimed.
Neptune excitedly ran forward down a dirt path and Nepgear followed closely behind. IF looked at the tower over her shoulder for a bit before following them. She looked around at the trees that surrounded the dirt path, then at the bright blue sky.
"Aw yeah, this is just like old times!" Neptune exclaimed. "Now all we need to do is find good ol' Compa and we're set for the entire game!"
"We'd get through all this faster if we could get the other goddesses… uhm, hey Neptune, do you think this is actually our dimension… maybe?"
"Hmm, I dunno! I'd rather not think too much about it for now until we get to Histy."
"If you don't mind me asking," IF started. "Why were you two at the top of the tower? Also, why didn't either of you bother taking the crystal down?"
"I uhm… it looked important so I didn't want to touch it." Nepgear said.
"I just kinda jumped cause I love flying." Neptune replied.
"Okay… flying? You can fly?"
"Yeah, I can transform into a goddess with wings! It's great for nerdy fighting stuff and travelling places really fast!"
"Oh, okay, then why didn't you transform before crashing on me you idiot?!"
"Gah! I told you already it didn't work! Something's wrong, Histy! Histy will tell you all about it!"
"Histoire this, Histoire that, if Histoire doesn't know jack about either of you you're both in a lot of trouble!"
"Geez, why is Iffy so mean in this dimension?" Neptune whispered to Nepgear.
"Maybe it's because you landed on her." Nepgear replied.
"Who's side are you on, it was an accident!"
Nepgear sighed and IF rolled her eyes. Neptune smiled nervously at IF as they continued to walk towards Planeptune. They reached the white and purple walls and saw a tall holographic wall covering the circular gate entrance. IF took out a card from her pocket and had it scanned on a panel attached to the wall.
"Welcome back IF." A robotic voice said as the gates opened.
"Neato, but what are these gates for?" Neptune asked.
"You don't know? Really? It should be obvious. It's to keep most ground monsters from getting inside." IF said.
"Really? Isn't that what a goddess is for?" Neptune asked.
"Goddess? Goddesses don't exist."
Neptune and Nepgear blinked at IF, then looked at each other.
"Goddesses don't exist huh?" Neptune asked with her hands on her hips.
"Do you have like, a main protector maybe?" Nepgear asked. "Government leader kind of… I guess?"
"Well, we do have someone like that. She's kind of… how do I say this? She's young." IF said.
"Young huh? How bout me? I'll replace her!" Neptune said.
Nepgear tapped Neptune's forehead with her finger.
"Eck." Neptune said.
"So you don't have a protective barrier…" Nepgear said.
"If you're talking about something that makes it so no monsters get in, no." IF said. "Maybe Lastation has a machine that can do that, or Lowee has some sort of super high level spell, but nothing from us."
"It… it must be a bit difficult making sure the monsters don't damage anything."
"Well, yeah. Clearly." IF said gesturing towards the large, damaged skyscrapers.
"Let's talk about something nicer, how's Compa?" Neptune asked.
"You know Compa too… alright, I'm taking you to Histoire right now. Chop chop, move it!"
IF pushed the two of them forward down the streets of Planeptune. They walked past many colorful shops, buildings, high tech cars, and a street which appeared to be purely black. IF continued to rush them by roads, stop signs, and people until they reached a large metal skeleton of a building which was triangular shaped and very tall. Cranes were stationed around it and large boxes were on top of the platform the skeleton was on.
"Doesn't this place… look like where the Basilicom was or should be?" Nepgear asked.
"It's a big triangle if that's what you're asking." Neptune replied.
"You two know very specific information." IF said.
"Oh uhm, sorry. Don't mind us." Nepgear replied.
IF sighed and they continued down the sidewalk. They arrived at a small, triangular church-like building with decorative walls and two tall pillars which shaped into cones at the top and were placed near the doors.
"Wait outside here." IF said. "I'll talk to Histoire about you two. Nepgear and Nepte- Neptoo- Nep-"
"Just call me Nep and call her Gear, she'll know what'cha talkin about." Neptune said.
"Nep and Gear. Right, okay."
IF stared at them for a bit before entering the building.
"This is the old Basilicom." Nepgear commented. "Hmm, maybe in this dimension goddesses never existed."
"What's the point of a Basilicom then?" Neptune asked. "Weren't they made for us specifically?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I'm sure Histoire will know though. I- I have faith."
"Welp, we got some time to spare so let's go find some food!" Neptune said while running off.
"Wait! Neptune! IF said to wait here!"
Nepgear quickly threw her small thigh pouch onto a bench and ran after Neptune. They ran down the streets and Neptune excitedly stopped in front of a restaurant.
"Ey Junior! Ya got any spare credits on ya?" Neptune asked.
"Neptune, Histoire will feed us. Let's just get back to the Basilicom before IF gets mad. I placed my uhm, my pocket back there just in case-"
"Waaait, you see that guy over there?"
"Hmm?"
Nepgear followed Neptune's line of sight and saw a large rodent with a sign levitating beside a cart full of disc containers. He had a red and yellow broken heart on his chest, two small red wings, and another black broken heart at the end of his tail.
"Yo it's that rat guy!" Neptune exclaimed.
"Not so loud Neptune!" Nepgear said. "People are gonna think we're weird…"
The rodent turned and looked at the two of them and raised one of his eyebrows.
"Hmm, do I know these two chu?" The rodent asked himself.
"Warechu! Yo Warechu! How's the illegal business goin?" Neptune asked.
"What did I just say?!" Nepgear asked.
"Yikes! These two must be from the guild, I gotta get outta here!"
Warechu dashed away pulling his cart full of discs behind him. Neptune ran after him and Nepgear sighed as she followed closely behind.
"Hohoho, you ain't gettin away this time!" Neptune announced. "I may not be the goddess right now, but I'm gonna catch criminals like you anyway!"
"Get- get away from me! I'm just trying to make a living, chu!" Warechu responded.
"This- this isn't worth our time right now Neptune!" Nepgear exclaimed.
They continued to run down the sidewalk as Warechu abandoned his cart in favor of speed. Nepgear slowed down to look at it for a moment, however Neptune continued to run after him. Warechu then frantically tapped on his watch and spoke into it.
"Yo, you gotta help me chu! I'm being chased by these weirdos who are probably hired to get me!" Warechu yelled.
"I'm a bit busy here, rat!" A rough woman's voice responded. "Call the police or something."
"No- no you don't understand… listen, I know we had our differences in the past but help a rodent out chu!"
"Are we even remotely close to each other? Where are you?"
"You still at that old house of hags?"
"The hell did you just call this place?!"
"I'll be right there, chu."
"Wait a minute, who's chasing you?! What are they carrying-"
Warechu turned off his watch and peeked over his shoulder to see Neptune continue to pursue him. He leaned forward more and proceeded to hover faster down streets and making sharp turns.
"Man, if only I had my goddess form catching these guys would be so much easier…" Neptune said to herself. "Uuuggh! One, two, one, two."
Neptune continued to follow Warechu until they arrived at an old, tall, brick building. There a woman stood up from the stairs that led to the entrance carrying a wooden baseball bat. The woman wore a large grey hoodie with the hood down showing her green hair. Along with her gray hoodie was a pair of matching grey sweatpants and black boots that paired with her black gloves.
"Alright, what kind of damn- hold on a minute." The woman said.
"Whoa, Underling! Yo, haven't seen you in a while!" Neptune stated.
"Right, you never bothered remembering my real name."
"Help me out chu!" Warechu exclaimed.
"Would you calm down for a moment?!" The woman asked. "Alright, goddess. You want to put this rat behind bars? Come here and take him."
"Wow, you've grown up quite a bit since we last met. No matter, I'll still kick your tutorial boss butt!" Neptune announced.
"Hah, you can't even transform right now can you?"
"Won't need to waste precious points for you! I'll beat you up with me and my weapon that I… don't have. Uhm, whoops. Uh, can we possibly postpone this fight until-"
The woman rushed towards Neptune with both her arms holding the bat over her shoulder. Neptune ducked and dashed backwards but the woman didn't swing and instead jumped forward along with Neptune and kicked Neptune in the leg. The woman then proceeded to drop the bat with one arm onto Neptune who blocked the blow with both arms.
With her other arm, the woman grabbed Neptune by the wrist and pulled her closer to slam her forehead onto Neptune's.
"Agh! A-"
The woman then proceeded to kick Neptune in the side knocking her into a bush to their right.
"Hahahaha!" The woman exclaimed. "How does it feel to be human like the rest of us?!"
Neptune groaned as she slowly pushed herself out of the bush and onto her feet. The woman held her bat tightly and smiled, but then a yellow laser struck the ground creating a burnt line between her and Neptune.
A lady wearing a golden yellow skirt with a red dress underneath it. She also wore red gloves and boots which had golden cone-shaped cuffs. She wore a small white hat and a black mask with white eye holes and a big smile as she pointed at the woman.
"Never fear citizens, for Presto Mask has arrived!" The lady announced.
"Ugh." The woman groaned.
From a nearby alleyway, a teenager with a large red cape that covered her entire body ran towards the lady and stood by her. She wore a similar mask as the lady and she smiled at the woman.
"And her trusty sidekick is here too, Presto Kid." The teenager announced.
The woman groaned again as the lady tapped on her watch and summoned a large mechanical, yellow and white bazooka and aimed it at the woman.
"Surrender now villain!" The lady announced. "Or else-"
The woman looked at the two of them with a tired expression, then dropped her bat and raised her hands up.
"I surrender." The woman said.
"Wow, really? That was ridiculously easy." The teenager said.
"Well looks like our reputation is really benefiting our cause Presto… Kid…"
The lady looked past the woman to see Warechu quietly hovering away.
"Presto Kid, don't let that monster get away!" The lady yelled.
"Crap!" Warechu exclaimed.
"On it!" The teenager replied.
Warechu flew away quickly as the teenager rushed after him. The lady smiled as she unsummoned her bazooka and pulled the woman's wrists behind her back to handcuff them. Then, she walked over to Neptune who held her side and offered her hand.
"Would you like some help, dear citizen?" The lady asked.
"Oh, yes please!" Neptune said happily accepting the lady's hand. "Presto Mask was it? You really saved my bacon there!"
"Always glad to help!"
"Neptune!" Nepgear's voice exclaimed.
They all turned their attention to see Nepgear running over to them. Nepgear took a deep breath as she dusted Neptune.
"Oh my goodness, you've gotten into a fight?!" Nepgear asked. "We- we don't even have any weapons yet!"
"Chillax Nepgear, I don't even have to chase after criminals anymore! Meet Presto Mask, Planeptune's superhero!" Neptune said.
Nepgear looked at the lady who posed heroically with a large goofy smile on her face. Nepgear then turned to the cuffed woman who rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Underling!" Nepgear exclaimed. "Did you do this to Neptune?!"
"For crying out loud, my name is Linda!" Underling said. "And yeah, I beat the hell out of your sister. What are you going to do about it?"
Linda smirked as Nepgear glared in response.
"*Ahem* well citizens, for my charitable rescue, I'd say that a nice fee of 1000 credits should be good enough."
"1000?! We- uhm, ehe, we don't have… wait, since when did superheroes charge for their rescues?" Nepgear asked.
"If you're good at something, never do it for free ya know?" The lady said.
"Didn't… didn't a villain say that quote?"
The lady extended her hand out in an accepting gesture. Neptune and Nepgear stared at it, then looked at each other nervously.
"Ehehe, how about we uhm, pay you later? Is that okay? Can we meet somewhere at some other time?" Nepgear asked.
"Hell no I ain't paying for nothing, I know my rights!" Neptune demanded.
"You won't pay? Well, then maybe-"
The lady turned around and saw the teenager coming back carrying Warechu on her shoulder. She smiled at the lady and offered her Warechu as if she was handling a teddy bear.
"Great work Presto Kid!" The lady exclaimed.
"Honestly, I did nothing. He just kinda ran down an alleyway and a nice cute lady handed him over to me. Maybe she beat him up or something? I dunno I was too far away to see anything happen." The teenager explained.
"Ah, well good work anyway."
"I also called Lady Histoire. She'll be here soon."
"Wait… what?"
"Hey! Nep!" IF's voice yelled.
"Iffy! Thank goodness you're here girl!" Neptune exclaimed. "I was afraid I was gonna have ta pay taxes or something."
IF walked over to them and tossed Nepgear her pouch back.
"Taxes? Oh. B-Sha, what did we say about charging the people you save?" IF asked.
"Wha- B-Sha?! Who's that?! I'm Presto Mask!" The lady said.
A very small blonde fairy that sat on top of a book hovered from behind IF and stared at Neptune and Nepgear. Her dress was dark blue and she wore a small white hat in between her twintails.
"Neptune… so it's true, you've finally woken up." The fairy said.
"Histy! You remember us?!" Neptune asked.
"Oh I'm so happy!" Nepgear said. "Histoire, what happened? Why did IF forget about us? Is this another dimension?"
"Wait, you're kidding me." IF said.
"Please, this is a… a truly wonderful reunion. I'm… I'm certain that you two have many many questions, however…"
Histoire took a deep breath. She sat up straight and looked directly at Neptune's smiling face.
"*Ahem* We will discuss more in the Basilicom. Everything will be explained in due time. Please everyone, follow me." Histoire said.
"Righty-ho! Lead the way Histy!" Neptune exclaimed.
"Aye, we'll be right behind you." Nepgear said.
"Does… does that mean I'm not getting paid?" B-Sha asked. "Aw, ammo is expensive you know."
"The Basilicom is already funding your weapons, why do you need more?" IF asked. "Eugh, forget it. Just bring Underling along with you."
"You really like calling me that huh?" Linda asked.
B-Sha walked behind Linda who followed Histoire, Neptune, and Nepgear towards the Basilicom. IF began to follow, then stopped and looked back at the teenager.
"Em, hey kid. Thanks for uh, your work today. You can go home for now." IF said.
"Aw really?" The teenager asked. "Alright. Same time same place Presto Mask?"
B-Sha turned around and gave the teenager a thumbs up.
"You got it!" B-Sha exclaimed.
The teenager grinned and ran down the street. IF sighed, then followed B-Sha towards the Basilicom. Once the group reached the Basilicom, they entered inside. The place was fairly small with two rows of pillars down the floor in front of them and a large round table. Doors could be seen on the walls around them along with numerous large windows.
At the table was a tall lady in a black business suit with blue outlines on them. She was flipping through documents, then looked up and readjusted her glasses quickly.
"Hell- hello!" The lady said quickly. "Wel- welcome back Histoire! And- and everyone else, uhm, hi."
"Yo yo yo! What's poppin?" Neptune asked.
"Good afternoon… wait, is it the afternoon? What time is it Histoire?" Nepgear asked.
"About 11:00 am Nepgear." Histoire replied.
"Oh, good morning then!"
"Good- good morning!" The lady replied.
"Neptune, Nepgear, this is Rei. She's an old acquaintance of mine and was helping me run the Basilicom in your absence." Histoire said.
"Oh really? Well, if ya got this nice old lady helping you out then I guess that means you don't need-"
"You will not be allowed to slack off simply because someone was doing your work for you. In fact, you will have to work multiple times as hard to catch up with all the lost time."
"Darn it." Neptune said with disappointment.
"Uhm, how long have we been out?" Nepgear asked.
"It's been around 6 years since you've first disappeared." Histoire said.
"Wow, 6 years huh?" Neptune asked. "Man, how did I sleep for that long- wait, why didn't you wake us up?! Do you really hate me that much?"
"Of course not Neptune. Once you and the rest of the goddesses returned to us, we immediately searched for the largest source of concentrated shares we could find."
"And that's where I come in!" B-Sha's voice announced.
The group looked behind a pillar and saw B-Sha posing with her hands on her hips.
"As Planeptune's designated Gold Third, I personally took the two of you up to my tower and gave you permission to rest near the share crystal! No need to thank me, just 100 credits for every hour you spent up there."
"*Ahem* I'm certain you three are already acquainted, however this is B-Sha. As she has stated, she is Planeptune's Gold Third." Histoire said. "Who and what the Gold Third are will be explained later. What is important is that yes, she allowed us to use the tower to heal the two of you."
"So, what does this have to do with you hating me?" Neptune asked.
"I do not hate you Neptune!" Histoire stated firmly. "Simply put: for an unknown reason and from an unknown cause, all of Planeptune had forgotten that either of you existed. Within the span of the first year, nobody remembered either of you except B-Sha, Linda, and I. Speaking of, IF. You may free Linda now."
"Really? Alright…"
IF unlocked Linda's handcuffs and she stretched and spun her wrists around.
"Wait- wait, you're simply letting her go?" Nepgear asked.
"Why, is something the matter?" Histoire asked.
"She beat up Neptune!" B-Sha exclaimed. "I= I mean, I think she did. Con-considering her uh, how she's all bruised up ya know?"
"Oh dear. That's… expected. Linda, have we not already spoken about this?"
"Oh cry me a river, it was 15 long years of pent up revenge! You're lucky I even thought about you before I bashed her brains in."
"Geez, I know we've had our differences in the past Underling but aren't we cool now?" Neptune asked.
"Mmph, I'll stay on your side until Kurome is dead and only for that long."
"Working beside Underling…" Nepgear whispered to herself.
IF leaned her head over to Rei who leaned down to match IF.
"You understand any of this?" IF asked.
"I… I've learned that it's best to simply sit and listen." Rei replied.
"That's like, the only thing you're good for!" Neptune exclaimed. "Wait… wait I'm not supposed to know about you yet. Uh, can I have another read at the script?"
"Speaking of, how do you not know about Neptune?" Linda asked. "You're more of a goddess then I am."
"We- well, uhm, I- I'm a reincarnation I'm- I'm not actually the old Rei ehehehe… that's- that's what we're talking about right?" Rei asked.
"Oh dear… so much to explain, it's like teaching you math again…" Histoire said to herself. "Perhaps it would be best if we all sit around the table and ask our questions slowly."
"Good idea, where's Compa by the way?" Neptune asked. "We can't start this party without her!"
"She's back home taking care of the kids." IF replied.
"KIDS?!" Neptune and Nepgear asked.
"Another thing to explain…" Histoire said to herself.
"Wait, kids as in you mean the miniature versions of yourself?" Nepgear asked.
"Yeah… how did you know?" IF asked.
"Oh yeah, they left through the portal first before us!" Neptune exclaimed. "Along with the dogoos, and the baby bugs. How are those little guys doing anyway?"
"Could we simply all sit down first?!" Histoire asked. "I shall tell you all the story from beginning till the end then! If you so desperately want to see Compa again, IF may call her. But be aware that neither her, nor the children will recognize or remember you."
"Daw that stinks." Neptune said. "Fine, whatever."
The group sat down around the large round table while IF made a call. Linda threw Warechu onto the table who groaned and rolled over.
"I'll be right back, gonna go pick her up." IF said.
"That is fine." Histoire said.
"He's been uhm, really quiet hasn't- hasn't he?" Rei asked.
"No clue what's happened to him, nor do I care." Linda replied.
"Is it just me or is Underling harsher than normal?" Neptune whispered.
"People mature and grow up, Neptune. Not everyone is a goddess." Nepgear replied.
The doors opened again and IF walked inside along with long peachish-blonde hair woman with a cotton white sweater and a small waist pouch with a large C on it over her short red flannel skirt.
Beside both of them were children that had the same appearance as IF and the woman beside her. They also wore outfits nearly identical to their older counterparts.
"Hi Histy! I'm here!" The woman said.
"Welcome back Compa-"
"Hey Compa!" Neptune greeted cheerfully. "Hey kids!"
The child that looked similar to Compa hid behind her while the child similar to IF glared at Neptune.
"Uhm, hello! What's your name?" Compa asked.
"Daw… she really forgot about me…" Neptune said while turning around with her head down.
IF rolled her eyes while Compa blinked and looked around.
"Did I say something wrong?" Compa asked. "Do I know her?"
"No Compa, but apparently we did." IF said.
"Hmm? I've never met someone that looked like her before. Ehe, but she does seem like someone I'd be friends with."
"Histoire will explain."
The four of them sat down at the table as well. Histoire hovered over to the center of the table and took a deep breath.
"Now that all of those who need to hear this are here, I shall begin." Histoire said. "I would appreciate it if all questions are left till after the story. I will also shorten it as much as possible in an attempt to have Neptune understand what is happening."
"Wow." Neptune said. "And you said you didn't hate me."
"Alright." Histoire started with a sigh. "Neptune and Nepgear had disappeared. After their disappearance, Planeptune's new goddess was born. One by one, Gamindustri's goddesses began to disappear as well and-"
"Wait, new goddess?! Who is she, and where do I-"
Nepgear covered Neptune's mouth and nodded at Histoire.
"And eventually Planeptune's new goddess, Iris Heart, returned to Planeptune. With the joined forces of Linda and Planeptune's old royal guard Ambience, we were able to calm down the new goddess. Afterwards, a portal opened in the center of Planeptune which caused monsters to invade."
"Sometimes I wish I kept those powers." Linda whispered to herself.
"With the joined forces of all the heroes of Gamindustri, along with Iris Heart, we were able to retrieve all of the goddesses from inside the portal and they all were returned to their nations. Including Rei, who was found inside the portal."
Rei nervously held herself and stared at Histoire.
"Almost immediately after the goddesses returned, golden towers rose from the ground almost as if it was a response to such events. Brave people, such as B-Sha, scaled the towers and retrieved powers that are estimated to be able to rival that of goddesses."
"Hehe, that's me." B-Sha said.
"As stated earlier, over time the people began to forget the goddesses leaving only a few to remember them. Most notably, the Oracles. At least, the Oracles who remain from what I know."
"The Oracles that remain?" Nepgear whispered to herself.
"Now then, any questions?" Histoire asked.
"Oh! I'd- I'd like to give uhm, give credit to where it's due first." Rei said. "Aha, uhm, I- I have a colleague who uhm, they actually saved Linda and- and I from that strange other dimension. They uhm, I- I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them."
"Of course, Anonydeath was kind enough to lend a hand where it was needed." Histoire said.
"Tch." Linda scoffed to herself.
"Uhm, I have a question." Neptune said. "So like, all the other girls disappeared? Like, all the other goddesses?"
"That is right Neptune." Histoire said.
"It… it was my fault, I'm- I'm really sorry." Rei said.
"Okay… but we all ended up in the same place? Huh, weird. I do remember being knocked out though, I guess whoever knocked me out dragged me to that weird portal place."
"That- that was also me…" Rei said.
Neptune slammed the table and pointed at Rei.
"I KNEW IT!" Neptune exclaimed. "I knew I recognized you somewhere! Daw, that hair! That voice! Who else would it have been?!"
"AAAH! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Rei replied.
"Nep- Neptune, this is no time for a fight!" Nepgear said while pulling Neptune back down to her seat.
"I know! Now where did I leave my swords…"
"Revenge could wait later. Both you Neptune, and you Linda." Histoire said.
"Whatever." Linda replied.
"For now, Rei is willing to help us take on Kurome. Our new enemy."
"Ah, right. Kurome." Nepgear said. "Uzume told me about her. I… don't know much about her honestly. Speaking of, where is Uzume?"
"Uzume, Lady Orange Heart." Histoire started. "We were unable to retrieve her while the portal was still open. I can only hope she is still alright."
"Bah, Uzume's been living in that world place for a really long time she can wait a little bit." Neptune said.
"We should still try to go back and get her as fast as possible." Nepgear said.
Linda elbowed Rei who turned and looked at her.
"Remind me again why the bot couldn't get her too." Linda said.
"Oh uhm, Anny said they couldn't find her. For some reason. It's uhm, it's- it's strange. Their scans never failed them before…"
"Anny?"
"Anony- Anonydeath! Anonydeath! That's- that's what I meant to say! Ahaha! Aha, ah…"
IF and Compa looked at each other, then turned to the children who shrugged in response.
"Histoire, all of this seems like a huge historical event. Why don't we remember any of it?" IF asked.
"I am not sure IF." Histoire said. "It's as if… as if it was simply cut and removed from everyone's memories. In fact, all of the goddesses seemed to have been removed from memory."
"So like a Mandela effect?" IF asked.
"In a certain way I suppose." Histoire replied. "Of course, such an extreme effect has never happened before and usually a memory replaces the old one, but… I suppose it could be seen in that way."
Nepgear stared at Histoire, then looked around at the colorful pillar around them and turned her attention back to Histoire.
"Uhm, if I may Histoire, you mentioned Ambi… ence… she and the new goddess played an important part in this, yes?" Nepgear asked. "Where are they? More specifically, where is Ambience?"
"Ambience… she was also unfortunate enough that she was unable to escape out of the portal in time. Whether she has fallen in battle or is alive right now is currently unknown."
"Oh… so Ambi is… gone." Nepgear said.
"Dah, Ambi ain't dead, no way!" Neptune said. "She was trapped in there right? That's where Uzume is! And I betcha they're both protecting each other and finding a way out right now. Listen, it's simple logic. She fought and calmed down this new goddess or whatever, right Underling?"
"Yeah, but I didn't see the fight. I was unconscious." Linda said.
"As useless as ever… but anyway, that means she's got to be pretty strong now right? I gave her my watch, she's got access to like top tier level gear! She'll be fiiiine!"
"She has grown stronger since you have last met her, yes." Histoire said while nodding. "Ah, she also returned the watch you gave her."
"Well, that's fine. But anyway, the point is there's a really high chance she's alive right now." Neptune said. "So let's have faith that she's all good with Uzume alright?"
"Al- alright." Nepgear said with a small smile.
"Perfect! Now, what else is there to talk about?"
"I think we've talked enough." Histoire said. "Tomorrow, we can meet with the new goddess. I also know some people that will be able to help, a message will be sent to said people. In the meantime, feel free to rest, or accept some quests from the guild."
"Understood Histoire." Nepgear replied.
"Then the meeting is finished." Histoire said with a smile.
IF rose from her seat and tapped Compa with the back of her hand. She pulled her and the children away into a door.
"Can- can we talk more Histoire?" Nepgear asked.
"Of course Nepgear. Right this way."
Neptune saw Histoire and Nepgear slowly start to walk away. She saw Linda and Rei continue to chat at the round table, then saw B-Sha holding a black mask behind her back and sneaking out towards the exit. She sighed, then rushed towards Histoire.
"Histoire!" Neptune called out.
"Yes Neptune?" Histoire asked while turning around.
Neptune took a deep breath, then smiled and stared at Histoire.
"Oh nothing, nothing! Just glad to finally be back home." Neptune said.
"I'm glad you're finally home too Neptune." Histoire replied while smiling.