So hi…. Um, First off I just want to say i'm sorry. It's been awhile since I've written or updated anything that I've put on this site, and I'm genuinely sorry that it has been so long. Life has been giving me a hard hand lately, and when I came back to my works, I've found I wasn't happy with a majority of what I've put into the Neptunia fandom. So yeah, here we are.
To put it bluntly, I've rewritten what I've written for the most part. There isn't a lot different with some of the parts, and there is a lot different with other parts. It's been an experience trying to fight my back into writing in the first place, so I hope this is at least enjoyable as far as those who actually read this are concerned. I'm at least mostly happy with this, so I hope you all are as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia, or any of its sequels or spin offs As such, all rights go to Idea Factory, and Compile heart for all the Cannon characters and information given within their games. Please support the official release of the source material
Lightning flashed across the sky, the noise echoing across the ruined landscape. Echoes of the battle taking place upon its charred ground. Trees uprooted and destroyed, little more the splinters remaining. Dirt and rock, ripped from the ground in a way that left large craters upon the ground, and fires raging upon plant life, refusing to be put out no matter what. It was like an apocalypse had ravaged the land, destroying anything that was in the way of its war path, and even more that wasn't.
The desolation, caused by one being, a woman, whom four others were fighting against. From a distance it could only be seen that all but 1 of the figures were wearing cloaks, but it was 4 on 1 with one of the cloak wearers being the one the other four fought. Despite the uneven numbering, however, the person fighting alone was winning, if the fact that the one not cloaked was suddenly, and violently, sent flying, a spear being held in the hand of the attacker. The force of the blow sent the only non-cloaked being, a woman based solely on shape, into the ground. Dirt, rock, and gravel were sent in every direction due to the force, before she came to a stop several meters away from the fighting.
A flash of bright light quickly caused the woman to shrink, being replaced with a girl no older than 15. Shaggy red hair clung to her scalp, and skin due to the grime and sweat that covered her. A simple pair of shorts, a grey T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers, gun-metal grey in color was what she had, all torn and damaged with the fighting, and now covered in dirt. The pain from said attack was obvious, her whole body wrecked with spasming muscles, but she held consciousness if only to try and move, one bright green eye open, the other closed
"Grimm!" One of the figures, a woman as well by her tone, spoke with concern in her voice. With a single touch, and a curse, said woman shook her head at the other two that were on her side. "Damn it, she doesn't look like she's registering us at the moment."
Snapping her fingers in front of Grimm did nothing, as the girls eyes started to lose what little focus there was. It didn't take even a minute after that for eyes to roll backwards and unconsciousness to set it, a panicked noise leaving the one checking her. A hand grabbed the girls shoulder, shaking her, trying to wake her up, something to get her back up, but nothing worked. The cloaked woman barely had enough time to look behind her, seeing the one they were fighting, almost to her. A flash of steel, the splash of red flew through the air, the tip of a spear gleaming in the light.
"NO!" Grimm's voice range through her room, her eyes wide with fear and shock, her breathing short and uneven, due to the nightmare she experienced. The shock lasted only a second more, before she realized where she was. Replacing the shock, was a sort of tired acceptance, even as she clenched her hands into the dirty blanket she was using.
Looking around the room did little to help her mood considering the fact that it was a ruined mess. One of the walls had so many cracks in it that she was surprised it was even standing still. The windows were in even worse shape if anyone bothered to look at them. Jagged shards clung to the frame, doing their best to stay, but long since having been shattered.
Letting one more tired sigh leave her, the girl rubbed at her eyes. The exhausted expression didn't disappear, but she was at least a little more awake now than she was before. Grabbing the grey newsboy cap next to her, she dusted it off, before planting it onto her head. The dusty cap giving her a small sense of calm, despite the nightmare not to long ago.
Melody of a forgotten world.
Desperation. The drive to do whatever a person can to survive. A powerful force, one that has caused many people to do things they would otherwise not. It was something many would not understand, not unless they were put into a situation where it was life or desperation to save a life, or your own. Grimm knew this feeling intimately, being one of only two beings left in the world aside from monsters. It was an unpleasant feeling, but it was something she got used to.
Despite this though, somehow Grimm still had a sliver of hope. Hope that something would change, hopefully in a way that would have her do something other then fight. But the weight of those she couldn't save still pressed down on her. It wasn't a comforting feeling, but she pressed through with the help of the Oracle that was with her. Despite the pain, and desperation of the world as it was, Rosa,, the oracle in question, managed to keep her sane.
She'd freely admit as well that said Oracle was the only reason she hadn't died yet. Whatever it was that Rosa did, she didn't know, but here she was. How they were going to survive from here though, that was a different beast altogether. Monsters kept spawning no matter how many she killed, and she could never pinpoint the location either. Ancient dragons guarded the area that she thought they spawned, in a zealot-esque fashion, and where one fell, 3 more would appear in its place.
A hopeless battle if there ever was one.
It was disheartening, knowing that her efforts whatever it was she did, had little to no effect. Her people, the one she had life because of, were gone as well. The faint wisps of faith being all that remained. A reminder, that even in death, her people still believed in her. Grimm wasn't sure how to feel about that either. It was both heartwarming, and heartbreaking, to know that her people's faith persisted even years after humanity's downfall.
Still that didn't change the fact that she ended up getting into another fight. Despite the exhaustion, she pressed forwards, her mind refusing to let her body rest. She had someone to fight to get back to after all.
The beast had tried to ambush her while she was searching through the ruins of the town, most likely thinking of her as easy prey. She was pale, and looked weak due to a lack of shares, so that was part of it, she supposed. The other part was just something about monsters going after girls more often than they ever did the other gender. It confused her more than she'd admit to anyone but Rosa, especially since monsters never took anyone alive.
Running a hand through her shaggy, grey hair, Grimm leaned to the side to dodge yet another swipe from the Fenrir that was trying to kill her. Shifting to the side once more, the girl quickly punched upwards, getting the beast in the chin. The force of the hit sent it flying backwards a bit, a yelp leaving it. Despite this though, the beast had little to show that it had taken much damage. The fact that it got up a second later only proves this fact to the redhead.
She wished she had a weapon right about now as well.
"Would you just die already?!" Grimm's tone was filled with anger, her temper getting the better of her, despite the many warnings that Rosa had given to try and hold her temper back.
Getting into a boxing stance, she managed to shift to the side just right to dodge yet another attack from the beast. Reacting fast enough, a foot collided with its stomach, sending it into the ground not too far from her. It quickly got back up, a roar just barely leaving its maw, before a foot collided with its face, sending it flying backwards into a partially broken wall. The force of the kick, surprisingly enough, was enough to send the beast through it. Shelving the surprise for the time being, the CPU raised her fists again as she heard the sound of rubble moving.
The fenrir, with a pained growl, stared straight at the girl, her green eyes narrowing in wariness in return. The two stared at each other for a few more moments, before the fenrir let out a loud howl, towards the sky, and slowly started to walk away. Confusion radiated from the redhead, her eyes boring into the creature as it left. She had fought Fenrir's before, but this was the first time one had willingly walked away from a fight like that.
Keeping an eye out in case it was a trap of some sort, the girl was both relieved, and disappointed at the fact that it was as it seemed. Despite this she continued on her way, quickly snatching up a bag from the ground in the process, and opening it with a sigh of relief. The bag contained cans of food, a good amount of them as well, and Grimm was just glad that the bag hadn't been touched. A slight grimace made its way onto her face when she saw that a few of the bags were of Canned Eggplant, but it was a relief that there were other things.
Swinging the bag onto her back quickly, the grey haired girl started the trek back home, half convinced that she was being watched as she left. This was shown with her looking around suddenly as she made her way back, green eyes narrowed at the rubble that surrounded her. Scanning the area once again, while also spotting another store's ruins, Grimm made a mental note to try and come back this way to search the store for supplies.
It was about a minute after Grimm had left that one of the few remaining walls was broken, a tall figure in a brown cloak colliding through it, a feminine grunt of pain coming from her. Beyond said wall was another cloaked figure, a chuckle leaving them to show that their gender was, in fact, male in this case.
"Now now~. There's no reason to be so hostile you know~!" The male spoke, his tittering voice causing the woman to tense up, even as she slowly got up, the impact to the wall not dealing any significant damage "All I want is entertainment you must know~. I could even help you if you wished~!"
A growl of frustration left the cloaked woman, a pale hand leaving the cloak with a finger pointed towards the male "I know your type. You'll help if I ask alright, but you'll also bring something to the world you send me that'll probably destroy it in the process!"
"Ah ah ah, that's not how the game works you know~." The male spoke up once more with an amused giggle of a sort "But of course, who ever said you had a choice in the matter~?"
The cloaked woman seemed to panic at those words long enough, to try and grab a weapon from her inventory, but before she could the Male swept his hand to the side, the gloved digits seemingly having a light coming from them, before a flash of light engulfed the woman, a single strand of red hair floating down to the ground in the aftermath.
Giving a giggle at the sight, the cloaked figure started to walk in the direction that Grimm had gone "Oh my, what fun will I have when they both arrive~? Oh I can't wait~!"
Melody of a forgotten world
Getting back to the basilicom was a lot easier than leaving and trying to find things. Considering how large it was, and the fact that it was a tower, it wasn't a surprise, but even still Grimm would admit she was exhausted. Whether it was just because of the work, the lack of shares, or even just with this whole situation, she was tired. Still, she kept going as Rosa still needed her, and she wasn't going to abandon the person who practically raised her. They only had each other after all.
Grimm and Rosa both agreed to use the Basilicom as their base of operations for multiple reasons really. Some of those reasons were null and void, but others were still useful. One example was how the building was almost like a maze. It was originally built like that to make it harder for enemy forces to navigate in the event of an invasion, but now, it was good for keeping monsters from finding them. Another was that, while lacking a fair amount of power, some of the defenses were still active. That was a blessing since Rosa couldn't fight, and with monsters constantly around, it was needed.
She just wished that someone would have made it besides just them.
Forcing her eyes shut, the CPU quickly forced those thoughts down, and trudged onward, her need to get the food to the Oracle more pressing than getting lost in thought. Shifting the bag a bit more on her back, Grimm's eyes gazed over towards the sunset, a few trees covering it just enough to leave a part of the sun covered. The sight was one that still surprised her, considering the fact that nature as a whole had largely been untouched when it came to the destruction of the world and its people.
Letting out a slight smile at the fact that something so beautiful was still possible in this world. She was certain that Rosa would try and get her to keep her priorities straight considering she had food on her, but she couldn't help it really. Art in any form was something that she had a passion for, and it was something she would never take for granted. A sight like this was part of the reason she was so interested in art in the first place. That, and for finding nice places to sleep.
Don't tell Rosa that last part though.
Taking her mind off of the sight in front of her for the time being, Grimm continued her mind heading towards the hope that Rosa wasn't trying to cook again. The Tome was smarter than any living being had any right to be, but she was a terrible cook. It baffled the CPU that someone so smart could screw up something that, to her, was so simple, but it happened. The tome had actually managed to Burn water, something that Grimm thought was impossible.
Ignoring that thought for the time being, Grimm continued forward with her mind focused. Actually focusing leads to her getting up the stairs faster than she realized, and almost right away she smelt the air. The smell of something burning caused a disgusted look to appear on the CPU's face, even as she ran towards the kitchen. Her fears were warranted evidently, something that she was trying to give the Tome the benefit of the doubt, but it seems it was for naught.
She just hoped that Rosa would be fine when she declined the food.
Quickening her pace to the point of practically running, the CPU burst through the door and nearly jumped at the stove to shut it off. When she heard the click of the stove top turning off, a sigh of relief left her, before it quickly turned to disgust again. The pot that the 'food' was in was blackened and charred. The metal twisted and melted slightly to the point that it wasn't going to be usable again. In short, it was pretty much exactly what she had expected.
"Grimm! Thank the goddess your back! I was starting to get worried you know? Still, did you have to shut down my cooking so fast? I was sure I had it this time!" A slightly high pitched voice spoke up, causing Grimm to look towards the owner
Rosa, the owner of the voice, was pouting at the moment, really only causing herself to look even more cute considering the fact that she was barely 2 feet tall, and floating on a book for that matter. She had dark blue hair as well, the same color her eyes were for that matter, with slightly pale skin. She would have looked adorable all around, if not for the fact that she, not only didn't have anything but a brown robe of a sort on, as well as a bunch of dirt on her.
A stray thought left Grimm at the fact that neither of them had any way of hygiene for years, before snapping back into place, her voice taking a tired drone to it "I'd rather we didn't have our place to sleep go down in fireball Rosa. I know I've asked you to leave cooking to me before..."
The Oracle, instead of flinching back, or getting angry, instead only puffed up her cheeks even more towards the rough spoken girl "Well I still have a right to learn how to cook!"
"I've offered to teach you how to cook a bunch of times before you know." Was the tired response that Grimm gave, her eyes seeming to close slightly in tiredness "Not like i'll laugh at you not knowing how..."
Rosa's expression took an exasperated edge, her voice being a bit dry as she spoke "You only offered so you wouldn't have to do as much. Still, I wish that I could do more to help, with you scavenging every day for food."
"Hey, who's the one who's been keeping me from dying again?" Grimm spoke her voice having an edge to it that sounded exasperated now "It's thanks to you that I even have the energy to fight in the first place you know..."
A giggle left the Oracle at the girl's response, the fairy seeming to be ready to say something, only to cut herself off as both she, and Grimm, tensed up. Rosa quickly flew behind the CPU due to the fact that she couldn't protect herself, while Grimm, in turn, quickly got into a boxing stance. The two stayed as they were, but only tensed more when a laugh echoed through the area, causing the two to try and figure out where it was coming from.
"Oh! So you two sensed me did you? That just makes this more interesting!" The voice, carrying a tone that was neither male nor female said with jubilation "Yes, oh yes! This will be far more interesting than I had ever given credit!"
A growl left Grimm at the tone the being gave, her normally tired look replaced in an instance due to the threat "Why don't you come out here and face me, if you find us so interesting as you put it."
"Tsk tsk, that's not how the game works." The voice spoke, actually saying 'Tsk' instead of making the noise as well, "You see, I'm going to give both of you a chance to make something of your life instead of just leaving you to rot in a dead world! Oh, but you Goddess need put do one thing! Entertain me."
A shiver went down Grimm's spine at the fact the being knew that she was a goddess, as well as the tone. Before she could react or say anything, however, the being disappeared. The second it did, the sound of glass breaking reached both her ears, causing her to turn towards the windows, seeing the shattered pieces flying outside the window, straight towards what looked like a tornado coming straight towards them. Letting out a quick "I'm sorry" To Rosa, before, she shut the Oracle inside of her book, ignoring the indignant sound.
Grimm had just enough time to look out the windows of the 'kitchen' to see the Tornado had gotten much closer. She let out a resigned sigh, even as she hoped that, at the very least, Rosa would survive.
Melody of a lost world.
Desserts were always considered to be things that, under most circumstances, even the most brave, and prepared, would never venture into. It was for this reason that most people would have been extremely surprised when a head of red hair popped out of the sand with a loud gasp, quickly followed by loud coughing, the girl that popped out of the sand clutching at a book like her life depended on it. Eventually the girl shook the sand off of her, pulling a newsboy cap out of the sand, and shaking any off of it as well, quickly putting it on her head.
Taking a look around, Grimm could tell right away that wherever she was, there wasn't any civilization, ruin or otherwise, anywhere nearby. It was also at this point that the goddess was glad that she hadn't taken her backpack off, so there were at least some provisions. A second later, however, she quickly searched through the backpack to grab Rosa's tome, opening it, already mid wince at the expected yelling. What she got instead was a hug. Her shoulder started to be a bit wet due to the fact the fairy started to cry.
The shock from the hug was enough to leave the girl frozen for a second, before she hugged the fairy back with tears in her eyes as well. The silent tears ran down both of their faces despite not knowing where exactly they were, the emotions of actually surviving was enough to make the two cry as a result. Grimm wasn't sure how long the two ended up staying there just holding each other as reassurance that they were still there, but when they separated Grimm's eyes immediately scanned the area around them.
As was obvious from all of the sand, the two were in a desert, but the fact was they had no idea exactly where they were aside from that. She continued to search for something, anything that she could see around them, with nothing to show for it, she sighed and turned to the Oracle, who was looking around as well. The goddess knew that Rosa had better eyes, and that was part of the reason that she wasn't worried when the fairy looked like she spotted something in the distance.
"See anything...?" Grimm asked after a second of the fairy just staring off into space, getting her to jump slightly in the process.
Rosa looked like she wanted to yell something at the girl in response to the slight scare, but instead she just nodded "It looks like a bunch of buildings made out of sand. I do not know what else that could mean, but at the very least it is shelter from the elements."
Getting a nod in response, the redhead made her way to her feet, the sand causing her to stumble slightly, but otherwise nothing to worry about. With a destination in sight, however, the two started to make their way towards the buildings that Rosa saw. Grimm did see them after a good hundred feet, but that still didn't mean that she wasn't going to worry about them being a mirage. The words of the man that had sent them here in the first place still rang in her ears, though, and that's where her thoughts laid.
She wasn't completely sure what the man meant by a new life, but the 'Entertain me' part was obvious enough. A part of the CPU wanted to find the asshole and beat the shit out of him, but now wasn't the time to be entertaining such thoughts. Finding a place to survive was more important for the time being. She would find one eventually, that was for certain, but when was going to be the hard part. Surviving another day was probably the priority at the moment.
What felt like an hour had passed for the two as they continued to trudge onward towards the buildings, the objects getting bigger the closer they got, reassuring them that it wasn't a mirage. The only other problem though was the fact that they were certain they felt someone watching them. That shouldn't be possible since Grimm had searched for a long long time to try and find someone still alive, but each search ended in failure. The girl really just hoped that it wasn't a monster that she had seen.
Snapping her gaze up in a split second Grimm grabbed Rosa, who squealed in surprise, and dived to the side just as a loud crack went off, and the sand where they were standing a second before exploded, showing them in grains of sand. Narrowing her green eyes up towards the building she saw the glint of light reflecting off of something, before a voice spoke up "Hold strangers!"
Grimm tensed up quickly as the sound around them shifted revealing several people surrounding the two, guns pointed at them. Even as this happened another person, this one a woman wearing sand colored Camouflage clothing, started to walk towards them. The only thing on her person was a pistol that was attached to her hip, barely visible under the sand colored cloak she wore, but Grimm knew right away that she was probably the most dangerous person here at the moment. Everything about the woman was hidden, except for her eyes, something that led a shiver to travel down Grimm's spine.
The woman looked towards the two, red eyes blazing with something that Grimm wasn't sure off, before her eyes landed on Rosa and they widened slightly that most wouldn't notice. Taking her eyes off the Oracle, the woman spoke "Now, what could a little girl like you be doing with a Tome? Especially since Planeptune was the only one to have ever been known to have a Tome?"
Grimm tensed up even more at being called a little girl, but Rosa sent her a significant look, before turning towards the woman, "You have us at gunpoint with a sniper pointed at us as of this moment. I would assume that the first shot was a warning as the bullets would have hit the sand below us and not us directly. It would seem that we would have no choice but to answer anyway, correct?"
"I'm not surprised that a Tome figured out all the details so quickly." The woman spoke with an even tone, before speaking once again "But that still does not answer the question that I had just given. Why do you approach the place the Banished call home?"
Rosa's brow furrowed at the word, but for the time being she decided to ignore it, instead saying "We had little choice in the matter, I assure you. Even we do not know exactly all that led to us being here. The reason we came here however is due to the fact that it seems to be the only shelter within hundreds of miles. To put it simply, we are lost, and we have no idea where to go."
"I've never known anyone that would willingly go into the Forgotten lands, so you may be telling the truth Tome, but that does not explain the girl with you." The woman spoke with a hard tone, red eyes looking towards Noel with suspicion, and something else "How does she fit into this picture."
Looking towards the small goddess, Rosa silently asked her what to do. Scanning the area around them one more time, seeing all of the people pointing guns at them, a sigh left the grey haired girl. It wasn't what she wanted, but she knew that she was going to have to. A nod left her after a second, and the Tome turned back once again to the woman who seemed to be in charge.
"The 'girl' with me, as you put it, is not simply a little girl." Rosa spoke with a soft tone that carried weight "Whether you believe me or not right away, the facts remain. Grimm, the girl as you call her, is a goddess, one without a nation to defend, or people to protect."
A pressure seemed to fall upon the people around them for a second as the words reached their brains. Seconds passed before what sounded like hundreds of clicking noises sounded out, every single gun being pointed straight towards Grimm, who's eyes widened in shock, surprise, and fear. The Woman's eyes narrowed slightly, but instead of taking her own pistol out, the woman spoke "Hold your Fire!"
Walking a bit closer, the woman's red eyes gleamed with something that Grimm wasn't sure about, Confusion, and hope being prominent, even as she stood in front of Grimm. Looking her up and down, the woman spoke up, even as another click sounded out "Where the hell did you come from, because there's no way in hell a CPU would have been born from this unholy wreck of a nation."
Chirper event detected! ?:
The impact with the tree was what woke her up. She could still feel the Chips of wood as she crashed into it sticking into the back of her cloak But despite that, she could feel the hostility aimed at her, so she ended up having to dodge to the side, even as something exploded next to her. Looking up towards what caused it led to her finding some sort of mechanical monster standing in front of her. It looked almost like a suit of armor if she was honest.
This time she managed to reach into her inventory before anything happened, a scythe appearing in her hands a second later. Spinning the glade in her hands once, she swung quickly, slicing into the monster, and appearing on the other side of it. The monster exploded a second later, causing her to let out a snort of disappointment "Must have been a low level."
Cracking her neck the cloaked woman started to walk through the forest, no real destination in mind if she was honest, but a goal in her mind still.
And here we are with the end of Chapter 1 for of the rewrite. Well, I hope this goes well all things considered, but I guess we'll see after I post this. Please review if you would, it lets me know what I can do better.