Chapter 16: First Steps
Uni sighed satisfyingly, her heart radiating with joy. Couple that with the warm rays from the sun, and a recipe for a perfect day had formed in her mind. "Oh wow, it sure is busy today. I guess that's what to expect on a weekend."
The one to respond to her responded in incoherent gibberish. However, their overall tones conveyed happiness that they were there.
Uni gazed at her niece, perfectly fastened in her stroller. The little pink-haired CPU wore a white shirt with a dogoo on it, her shorts were checkered with pink and red squares forming the patterns, and she wore a purple fisherman's hat.
Uni laughed at her niece's actions, who tried shoving the hat downward on her head, squishing her soft pink hair. "Is the sun to rough?"
The pink-haired CPU had gain sufficient knowledge in her time observing those around her, and she could connect all the context as to what the black-haired girl had said. She then responded with an overenthusiastic nod.
"Okay —but if I see any red on your face that isn't your adorable Lastation red eyes, then you're getting the UV lotion," declared the gun expert, while holding up a cream.
"Y-yeah!" Responded the toddler. It wasn't that she fully understood Uni, but rather, she liked saying that word as it appeared to be a good responder.
Uni, overcome with joy, rocked her entire body from her knees, hips, and shoulders like a dancing snake. "You're so precious! I often wonder if that's Noire or Neptune's side that you're channeling when you childishly agree like that. Hmm, maybe Neptune's. Us CPUs never got the chance to be babies but if Noire had been one, then I could see her being the kind to never respond to people's questions—don't tell her I said that," replied Uni.
Euri giggled again at how funny the pig-tailed CPU was acting. Their distance from each other had reduced during Uni's spasming joy. Taking advantage of this moment, the toddler then shook her sippy cup until juice came out.
"Whoa! I know it's not that hot. Please, none of that or else my hair will get all sticky."
"O… ki…" said Euri with a smile and innocently began to drink her juice.
"Hmm, sounded like you were saying 'Okay', that's perfect." Uni grabbed the handle of the stroller and faced the direction of their current destination. "Euri, I present to you… NepNep World!"
The purple hat-wearing toddler directed her eyes at the big colorful sign above her, cooing adorably with awe. The large entity before her was an amusement park, filled with buzzing people all around. The sounds of screams filled the air when the nearest roller coaster zoomed near the boundaries of the park.
Unknown to Uni, Euri quickly shriveled up inside her stroller when she saw the scary metal-like snake that her perception had overwritten to that of a rollercoaster.
Uni reached into her pocket and felt three tickets. For a brief second, her face saddened. Afterward, she showed the ticket lady only two when the time had come. The ticket lady took the tickets and presented them with two wrist bands. "Have a Nepping time at NepNep world," said the lady.
"Thanks," said Uni.
Euri made her standard cheerful baby giggles as her aunt placed the band around her small wrist.
"We're all set to enjoy ourselves." While her words expressed positive energy, Uni's face still showed a visible reflection of sadness. She then shook her head to pull herself out of that state of mind. "What am I saying—we're going to have a fun time! I just hope that Noire and Neptune don't find out."
Before their wonderful day started, Uni remembered what her sister had said when they were still in West Nepstation's Basilicom.
(Flashback)
Noire scrambled around her joint office that she shared with her wife. A flustered expression shined on her face like the small amount of sweat she had produced on her forehead.
Uni rested on one of the visitor's sofas with Euri on her lap. "Man, I don't blame her for being so frantic right now, I'll be too if I had to deliver our console's software update presentation at the last minute," she said to her niece.
Neptune, who was also in the room, overheard Uni talking to Euri. "Ha! That's no skin off our noses. We can recite the update notes in our sleep. In fact, a few nights ago Noire wouldn't stop mumbling the updates in her sleep while having a smile on her face and saying, 'take that Blanc and Vert,'" boasted Neptune.
"Quiet you! I already told you that you dreamt that up. Regardless, of course, we can—we wrote the damn notes! Ekk! Crap—I mean…. Dang it!" Shouted Noire. She lowered her head and focused on stacking the necessary papers into a briefcase.
"Chill, Nowa. Uni covered Euri's ears after she heard the first bad word," said Neptune.
"Y-yeah, don't worry," said Uni with a sweat drop on her face.
Euri had a bothered expression on her face as all the sound had been silent when her ears got covered. She then aggressively shook her head to try and knock off Uni's hands.
Noire sighed. "Thanks for that. Like Neptune said, us delivering it isn't a problem—it wasn't the original idea, but when our representative suddenly got food poisoning, they have no one else to deliver the presentation that knows it like the back of their hand. What drives me up the wall is that they let us know at the last minute that we had to deliver it."
"Well, the rep guy is a resident from East Nepstation also once known as Lastation, so can you blame him for being too stubborn and trying to power through the pain?" Replied Neptune.
Noire gave Neptune the look. The look that perfectly encapsulated the fact that Noire was not having any of Neptune's logic.
Neptune cautiously laughed to herself, hoping to break the choking atmosphere that her wife had created by her look. Neptune's phone then alerted her of an incoming message that she glanced at with wide eyes. "Umm… Noire, Histy's asking us for our ETA! She says that the live coverage floor is growing impatient with the delay."
"Ghha! Really?! Tell her will be there in ten—grr, why did It have to be across this part of Nepstation?! Uni. Her snacks are in the fridge, diapers are in my diaper bag, obviously. And there's cauliflower cheese with cooked pasta pieces in the fridge for her lunch. Who knows what time we'll be getting back? But, that's all the major things to go over."
"Yeah… since we'll be at the expo, we will probably have to shake hands and get our pictures taken. Hmm, remember when Planeptune's software updates were so simple?" Grumbled Neptune. She was then caught off guard by her wife going HDD.
Euri, as a side detail, happily clapped her hands when she saw her papa turn her hair all white like a magic trick.
Back to Black Heart, she lightly yanked on Neptune's hoodie to pull her forward. "Quit your pouting. You knew that once the Nepstation V became a console that no longer needed generational hardware successors, and sustained on updates for everything from graphics, processing improvements, fan performance, and interface improvements—stuff like that! That we would need to work twice if not thrice the amount of effort to 'wow' the people. This software update in particular is on par with that of a new version of a current console with a noticeable bump in all areas of the console. You can call it… Nepstation V. 2, or maybe Nepstation V Slim… hmm, that has a nice ring to it?"
"Yikes, Blacky Heart, tone it down. Not everything has to have a slim version," said Neptune who didn't even want to entertain the question that a software update could be considered 'slim'.
"We're off!" Shouted Black Heart with fire in her eyes with the cries of Neptune following her.
"Eh… she didn't even give Neptune a chance to transform before jumping out of the balcony," said Uni once they were alone. "Oh well, I think they'll be fine, right?"
"Yeah…" replied Euri as that word had become her boiler-plate response to questions.
"Hmm, it does feel nice to see Noire embracing the overall benefits of the console these days. Mama Neptune's console's specs are a fragment of the future with how it can evolve its hardware with the changing times. At this point, should they even keep calling it software updates? I mean… this one's even going to expand the console's physical mass for better heat circulation—how crazy is that? Just goes to show that Neptune has always been sleeping on the cutting edge of technology, that's pretty much the reason her nation had been able to self-sustain itself without much input from her in the past. Pfft, they got nothing to worry about, If I remember correctly, a higher frame rate for games was also on the list. That's all they need to secure a successful expo," said Uni while she still maintained a skeptical look on her face, wondering if her niece did understand everything she was saying. "Anyway, why don't we skip on that cauliflower cheese and have ourselves a better meal at an equally better place?"
That question made Euri tilt her head in confusion as to what the candidate CPU had in mind.
(End Flashback)
"So, let see… what kind of things can we do?" Uni had a map of the amusement park as it had been a while since she had last been there. A wonderful memory invaded her mind related to the day when Nepgear had taken her for their surprise date. It was fresh in her mind as if it were yesterday when they enjoyed food and rides together. The purple necklace that her wife had given her back then hung around her neck, perfectly keeping her memories fresh.
"O... O…h… papa!" Cried Euri.
"Whaa!?" Uni dropped the map in a mad scramble, trying to find out where Noire was. "W-where did you see her?!"
"Mama!" Cried Euri, once again but with slight hesitation. The toddler CPU now looked confused while she continued to make attention to what she was pointing. "Mama? Papa?" She tilted her head that caused her purple hat to tilt, blocking one of her eyes.
Uni followed the direction her niece was looking at, and immediately knew why she looked confused. What stood just a few meters away wasn't Noire or Neptune, but two mascots that were dressed as the CPU protectors of Nepstation, with the inclusion of bobble sized heads. "Oh jeez, what a relief. Well, they do call it NepNep World. Huh, it's kinda cute that they added my sister as a mascot—not that she would be keen on that."
Euri continued her cries of confusion. What stood before her was a sight that her little brain could not fathom. The more she looked at the wacky duo that imitated her parents, the more she fussed in her stroller.
"Hey… there's nothing to be afraid of. I kinda understand why you might feel that way, though. Is it their large heads that scare you?" Uni did hand gestures, like a mime, that were centered around her head to give the toddler a visual representation of what she was saying.
"Y-yeah…" softly said the CPU toddler.
Uni's heart jumped out of her chest when she saw Euri hug her sippy cup as if it were the only thing to protect her. "Come on, stop that. You're my sister's daughter and Noire is afraid of nothing. Although, you are Neptune's daughter too, so I can't really tell what is negated or evened out. But… we can fix that," she happily pointed at her confused niece. Uni then waved, catching the two mascots' attention.
The Noire and Neptune mascots looked toward Uni, and they immediately ran up to her. It wasn't every day that Lady Uni would focus her attention on two background characters. They approached her, silent and emoting all their feelings.
The Noire mascot placed a hand on her hip and used her other hand to imitate a lecturing emote at Uni. The Neptune mascot cartoonishly shook her head at her companion, emoting that she shouldn't give Uni a hard time.
"Wow, you two sure have done your homework. I almost feel disappointed in myself for letting her down… almost," replied Uni to the Neptune mascot. Both Uni and the Neptune mascot immediately laughed heartily, of course, no sounds of laughter resonated from the Neptune mascot, rather, she emoted overly joyfulness with a bellowing laugh body expression.
The Noire mascot gave her companion a semblance of a glare, but it was hard to notice due to them having permanent smiles on their large heads. The way this was received was how she had her arms folded, perfectly emoting her mood.
The Neptune mascot acted fearfully, her emote translating a 'cowering in fear' stance. She changed her body language within the next second and landed an air kiss at the Noire mascot.
The Noire mascot turned her head away to ignore the lovely gesture her companion sent her way, however, as it was part of her character, she pretended to grab the metaphorical kiss from the air and stuff it in her pocket—all the while maintaining her tsundere nature.
"Hehe… she would do that," softly spoke Uni to her niece.
While Uni was having a great time interacting with the mascots of NepNep world, her niece had pushed herself as far as her stroller seat would allow her, all the while, having a held breath of fright.
"Hey, I don't suppose you two wouldn't know how to make a baby less fearful of you two?" She said with a hand on the back of her neck.
The Neptune mascot emoted a 'thinking hard' stance about that question. She then acted as if a lightbulb had manifested above her head.
Just like the actual Neptune, she had the same style of hoodie dress that allowed her to reach into one of her circular pockets and pull out a lollipop.
Euri ceased her wailing and gazed upon the lollipop with stars in her eyes.
"Pfft, candy… should have seen that coming," replied Uni with a tired smile. It did sufficiently do its job in getting the toddler to accept the two mascots.
"Thanks so much. Say… would it be alright if I had a picture taken of Euri with both of you?"
The two mascots gave each other a rapid glance before both nodding their comically large heads.
"Great, just hold her like this and I'll take the picture," said Uni.
Throughout the next minute, both mascots held a content Euri, who her only focus was the candy between her lips.
Uni took the picture that made her giddy with excitement at how hilarious it looked for Euri to be held by two cartoonish versions of her parents. "Thanks so much," she said as she waved at them.
She sighed fondly at the memory she had created with her niece when she viewed the picture again. "Hmm, I better make sure that this photo never lands toward Noire or Neptune. I doubt you'll say anything," she said, looking at Euri continuing to lick the lollipop.
"Step right up! And see if you got what it takes to be a one-shot-wonder!"
"Huh?" A challenging voice filled the black-haired girl with curiosity, to her left, an attractive game stand among other stands resided to the right of her. "Purple Invaders?" She said while reading the neon purple sign that had a retro vibe to it.
The game owner, who was a black-haired woman with blue eyes, dressed in a purple dress shirt, a red and white striped vest, and a brown straw hat, gestured Uni to approach her.
Uni feeling like she was being challenged, pushed the stroller with her toward the stand.
"My, my, my, if it isn't Lady Uni—and is that Lady Europa? Now she's a face that's rare to see these days," She said with a lift of her hat to get a good look at the pink-haired CPU.
The little CPU enjoyed the casual action of the woman and playfully lifted her purple fisherman's hat as a response.
"Yeah, that's us. Pretty cool that you managed to pronounce her name properly. Usually, my sister and Neptune don't mind everyone calling her Euri."
"That's understandable. I wouldn't doubt that once she gets older, she might be a little sour about her full name being that of some cold moon. Of course, I'm kind of a bookworm for even knowing about the origin of that name."
"Not at all. Most people don't have their heads in the stars and would rather worry about games and other things that are here on the ground. Her name might be off, but it is unique just like mine," laughed the CPU candidate from her small missable pun that she did with the word 'unique'.
"That it is. So, why don't you try your still hand on this here game? Maybe you might win something," said the woman with a friendly side smirk.
Uni would not flatly say that the woman's words got her heated, but she also wasn't going to back down since it had a teasing tone to it. "You cut to the chase pretty quick. Hmm, might win something? Pfft, let's not play around that my aim is like some third-rate mob goon that couldn't shoot a still statue. I could shoot anything you could throw at me. However, all these 'kiddy' toys don't interest me." As soon as she said that, she heard restless cries from her niece.
Euri had her arms stretched outward, looking at a stuffed bluebird plushie that hanged on the prize wall behind the woman.
"Hmph, it looks like the little future lady has her voracious red eyes trained on my little pal over here," she said with a kind smile to the toddler, but a sly one to the candidate.
Uni bit her lip in agitation, feeling like she was being played all along. "Fine. I can read the air just fine. If my niece wants that stuffed birdy, and if the only means to get it would be to play your game, then count me in." She handed the woman the requested money to play the game, and in turn, she received a plastic toy gun with a foam dart sticking out of it.
"Now, all you need to do it hit the targets," she said casually.
"W-what—what targets? All I see behind you is some shoddy platform with a purple skyline and building outlines."
The woman playfully chuckled and pressed a button next to her. "Okay, boys—we got ourselves a crack shot here. Try not to hold back." The button she pressed had made the purple skyline flash with attached sidelights that emulated lightning flashes. A recorded sound of thunderstorms sounded from a nearby device. The foundation of this set piece had a concrete floor that then started to split down the middle. From that split, a platform elevated from underneath the divided platform that housed seven eggplant creatures.
"Kyaa! Why do you have wild Eggplanters in your game stand?!" Shouted Uni.
"Huh? I thought it would be apparent with the whole, 'Purple Invaders' title above us. I did have a sign here somewhere, but it looks like the wind or some delinquent took it away," she said with no real concern. "By the way…" she said with one eye opened and her arms folded. "…these guys are no longer 'wild' as you put it. They are my associates that use their evasive talents to get paid. Why merely be wild and live out there with all the other top predators when you can use your skills to make a living?"
"So… they work for you?" Asked Uni. She watched the eggplant creatures stand proudly, waiting for their boss's orders, and some of them were even comically flexing and running in place.
"Yep, found them one after another during my travels. Mostly after guild hunters or bandits got done taking out whole groups of them. I won't lie, it made me feel sad that these harmless creatures were getting life's short end of the stick. However, there was always that one who had their instincts finely honed to evade attacks thrown at them. I could always find that lone survivor with the help of the other Eggplanters. From there, I individually offered them a new role to play their lives differently."
Uni could tell that the Eggplanters looked happy with their current living.
"What a touching story," she said flatly. "Won't work on Neptune who has a personal distaste for all things eggplant related," remarked Uni.
"You got me there. Although, I'm a freelance entertainer and this amusement park job is what's paying well currently. Plus, the owners of NepNep world don't mind my pals—as long as they don't cause any trouble. And it does fit NepNep world's theme, all things considered."
"Okay, enough talking. I won't tell Neptune about this at all. Most likely, she'll probably enjoy shooting these things all day to vent out her dislikes toward anything shaped like an eggplant."
"If she can hit them that is. Besides, if she's worried about eggplant shaped things, then she should give her shoes a hard look," stated the woman with confidence and amusement blended.
Uni ignored her words and aimed her toy gun at one of the Eggplanters that was flexing. Her first shot blasted out of her barrel, knowing full well that her shot would land.
The flexing Eggplanter then dodged by throwing its back backward.
"Huh?" Stupefied shock painted her face, and she frustratingly aimed her gun again. The next six shots were the same, always missing the Eggplanters by a mere inch.
"And that's game. Sorry, Lady Uni, better luck next time," she said with a kind smile and a tip of her hat.
Uni lowered her gun, shame oozing all around her very being. Her shame was then made more unbearable as her niece started to whimper from disappointment.
The CPU candidate's hand trembled, and then she slammed the counter with money spread out.
"Oh…" replied the woman when she noticed the money.
"Another… I want another round!" Blurted Uni with fire in her eyes.
"Now we're talking." The stand owner reloaded the gun for her, along with a casual twirl, and handed it back with a playful presentation.
Uni aimed the gun and took in a deep breath before letting it out. Following in conjunction with her next set of breaths, her shots responded between them. The first two missed the Eggplanters who scrambled around the small enclosed space like wild dogoos. This was all calculated from the first shot that rang true.
The third shot was missed but it was a shot that she intended to miss. Due to that, one of the Eggplanters at the far left jumped toward the right, with two of its friends already occupying that space.
"There!" Uni fired her fourth shot that she once again missed by shooting it above their heads.
This caused the Eggplanters to flinch and stare at her with confusion.
"Now to get serious!" She rapidly fired her last three foam bullets at them in a sideways formation, cutting off the left, right, and center, where the three clumped up Eggplanters were located.
They tried to dodge, and it almost ended exactly as she expected it, with the left and right Eggplanters getting hit. The middle one was able to evade the incoming projectile by sheer luck and only because it had seen the Eggplanter to its left getting hit.
"That's the end of that. I'll be taking my bluebird now," declared Uni with a proud smile.
The stand owner looked at her Eggplanters that had lifted themselves from the ground. Two out of the seven had a foam dart sticking out of their bellies, the suction making a noticeable sound when they pulled them out.
"Well played," said the stand owner. "We had you pinned to be highly skilled from the start. However, it looks like you used our seriousness to fool us. Damn, my Eggplanters were focused to accept every skilled shot out of you, only to be deceived by lackluster shots that lured them into a false sense of security as well as a disadvantaged position."
"I admit that purposely missing shots are sacrilege to any skilled weapons expert—such as myself. Although, if it's for my niece, I'll gladly bite the bullet for her."
"I like that. My faith shares go out to you, Lady Uni. As the rules of the game goes, one blue birdy for the little pink-haired devil." She presented Euri with the object of her affection.
The glow in the eyes of the pink-haired toddler exploded upon touching the softness of the bluebird plushie.
Both Uni and the stand owner's hearts melted by the marvelous joy of happiness from the toddler.
"You know, I would have given her the toy regardless of the outcome… probably," she said with a chuckle.
"Hmph, no thanks. You can keep your charity. The day I let that happened, I'll be a failure of an aunt in the eyes of her."
"That's why I said probably," responded the woman with a laugh.
Their next destination within the amusement park was a Ferris wheel that Uni had set her sights on. They did their elongated time in the crowded lines until they were firmly seated inside one of the pods of the Ferris wheel.
"Wow! Look Euri, you can see all of this side of Nepstation from up here." Uni pulled herself out of her dumbstruck gaze to notice that her niece had not been looking through the window with her.
Euri had lowered herself so close to the seat, appearing to melt into it if she desired. A trembling shiver reflected her actions, and she silently cried while avoiding the scenery that her aunt had encouraged her to gaze upon.
"What's the matter, Euri? D-do you have a stomachache or maybe something else is hurting you?"
The toddler continued to whimper, and her whimpers increased when she heard metal from the Ferris wheel screeching.
"What the…? Looks like the ride stopped all of a sudden," said Uni.
"Ah! Ah! No… up." Euri pleaded to her aunt.
All the info to the despair that her niece was enduring assaulted the black-haired girl like a rushing wave. "You're afraid of heights… oh crap! Us being stuck at the very top doesn't help the situation either. I'm so sorry!"
Everything was set in motion, and nothing else short of Uni busting the doors of the pod open would end the experience quicker. She did entertain the idea but figured that she didn't want to cause damage and unnecessary fright to the others riding with them. "Euri, I know that this is scary for you, but you need to endure. These things happen with rides like these, and they'll get it going soon. What's done is done, and all we can do is see this through."
For a toddler that didn't know that much about what her aunt was saying, she could piece her sorrowful expression with the complacent nature that said her aunt wasn't going to take any action. Her response to this was an enhanced cry that even made the glass in the pod vibrate—or maybe it was the candidate's imagination.
The CPU candidate awkwardly and hesitantly rubbed her niece's back to quell her cries. "I'm not really good when it comes to full-blown cries like these. Hmm, what would Neptune or Noire do?" An image of pudding manifested in her mind; however, she didn't have that foresight to pack something like that. Her second idea was related to her sister but grasping the concept of the proper way to calm the toddler failed to register in her mind. "Let's see, let's see… Noire would use something that Euri is familiar with to catch her attention…"
A lightbulb flashed above her head when she spotted the bluebird plushie that had been discarded about a foot away from the wailing toddler. "Euri, check out…um… Mr. Bluewing. He's not afraid of any heights, so you shouldn't be either."
Euri's cries had subsided slightly, probably because of the playful name her aunt had given her plushie, but It was still not enough to fully dissolve her displeasure of the situation. She continued to whimper softly, charging up another storm of cries.
"Maybe that sounded ruder rather than helpful. How about this…" She cleared her throat and moved the plushie in front of her so that Euri's point of view would only see the plushie. In a deeper and funny voice, she began to speak. "Hey, there! Mr. Bluewing can understand your fear of heights. When I was little, my… umm… birdy mom pushed me off the nest, in the hopes that I would fly. You might think that was cruel, but it wasn't. She was showing me, tough love and I would have never been able to fly on my own. You might be scared right now, being so high up, but this fear will pass and in time, you will kick yourself from ever being scared of something like flying or even being up in the air. See this moment as a stepping stone toward that day. All you have to do is endure this ride and acknowledge the scenery outside."
Uni, while still in her Mr. Bluewing persona, pointed her wing at the window that made Euri hesitantly follow the signal.
For Euri, while her fears were not negated, she grew light-hearted by the charming actions of her friendly plushie. This half and half battle of shutting her eyes from the world or following Mr. Bluewing's guidance could have gone either way. It was only because of some transient instinct or gut feeling that she chose to agree with Mr. Bluewing.
Her red eyes observed the vast landscape that assaulted her perception of the world. It looked like the world was stretching endlessly before her that made her skip a beat. Looking down proved to be a fatal reaction as she perceived the ground to be an ever-growing bottomless chasm.
The blue wing of Mr. Bluewing compassionately rested on her little shoulder when it was apparent that Euri was going to look away. "Both your mommies never back down from a challenging fear. That's why they love each other and have you. That's why that bravery is also inside you—you're a Nep and a Noire after all."
Euri didn't understand where Mr. Bluewing was getting at. Her fear didn't dissolve by those inspirational words, but more like they were better managed. In the end, she snatched Mr. Bluewing from Uni's hands and hugged him tightly while she felt compelled to endure looking at the scenery of Nepstation. Something inside her told her that she would lose if she looked away, perhaps it was stubbornness, pride, or maybe an innate feeling to not disappoint Mr. Bluewing. Whatever it was, she continued to look at the scenery until the Ferris wheel started to move again.
"I'm so proud of you, Euri," stated Uni when they were back on the ground.
The CPU toddler did nothing more than hug Mr. Bluewing and be happy at the fact that she was back on firm ground.
Sometime later, they were both sitting next to an outside restaurant table. Uni's stomach had been rumbling as lunchtime had been a few hours ago with them unintentionally skipping it. "Eat up. I did promise you something better than cauliflower cheese with pasta pieces—not that Noire couldn't have made that meal delicious."
Euri wolfed down cheese fries on a plate that rested on her stroller food platform.
"Whoa. Take it easy there. Jeez, you're Neptune's daughter, no doubt about that. Just goes to show that not even my sister's manners can overwrite Neptune's foodie appetite," said Uni with a smile. Her being unable to restrain her niece was a foregone conclusion in her eyes that she accepted, as she ordered another set of cheese fries for them to share, along with a funnel cake.
After their well-deserved respite, the next ride was already locked in for Uni, that being a teacup ride with her niece, which was for the best due to prior experience.
Before they had entered the attraction, Uni had pulled out the baby harness from the bottom pouch of the stroller. It was this way, that Euri could have enjoyed the experience of the ride to the fullest without being scared. It also helped that the speed of the teacup that they were in didn't make any fancy high-speed twirls, coupled with the already moving overall ride.
They then emerged from the teacup seat a few minutes later, their sense of balance somewhat compromised as they were leaning side to side as Uni walked back to the stroller. "Whoa… it's a good thing we waited for our food to digest before doing that."
Euri responded with outrageous joy, her small hands, and legs expressing her unyielding joy.
Uni then reached a bench, and she threw her head back to take in a breather. "What a day. I'm so happy that you and I are sharing this epic day. Although… it would have been even more epic… if she was here, too." Uni's eyes lowered, sadness taking over those vibrant red eyes of hers. She then heard what she could only describe as 'confused baby noises' from the small toddler.
While Uni, could not come close to truly understand what her niece was trying to communicate, it didn't stop her from filling in the details with her active imagination. "What's that Euri? You're wondering why I'm so sad?" Uni paused, wondering if this form of rationalizing would constructively benefit her inner turmoil.
Euri responded with more baby gibberish that unintentionally solidified Uni's conclusion.
"Well… the thing is, auntie Nepgear didn't want to come to NepNep World. Even after I told her that I wanted to snag you away from your parents to spend a secret day here, she would rather go to that 'Gear' convention she was so hyped up for these last two weeks. I'm sure that it's not called that, but I didn't pay attention to that. I know that it has to do with robots, at least." Uni then heard more gibberish from her niece.
"Why didn't I go with her?" Uni looked angered by this question. Of course, there was no one to get angry with except herself, considering she was projecting these questions through her niece. "Hmph, maybe because I already reserved this day and these tickets in advance. I worked my pigtails off to get this day free, but she didn't see it that way. She didn't see that I wanted all three of us to get together like a family," quietly mumbled Uni at the end. A deeper scar in her heart that she couldn't help inflicting on herself, was the fact that she also refused to come back to the place they had their amazing surprise date. "If I'm not able to have both of you, then maybe I don't deserve you both," she said sadly.
"U… Ui… N…"
"Huh?!" Pulled out of her depressed state, she witnessed her niece trying to speak to her, face struggling and all. She wholeheartedly smiled at the cherished effort her niece gave her. "I get it. You're calling my name, how sweet. Ugh… if only I could understand, you pink beautiful mini Noire!" She sighed helplessly, making a scene that made a few turn their heads. Her red eyes connected with the little one's red eyes. "You don't have to say anything. We're family and that shared expression of sadness because of my sadness is all I need to understand what you have to say. Yeah, so what? I'm here and you're here, so let's continue our fun day."
A good distance away from them, a large crowd, congregated around the two mascots from earlier. "What's all the commotion over there?" The two CPUs got in closer, just enough to hear a girl talking to another.
"Look at this. Today's the opening of NepNep world's dance zone at the east end of the amusement park."
"Ohh! I heard good things about it, mostly that they're going to be giving out awesome prizes for participating," replied the other girl.
"Hmm…" Curiosity got the better of Uni, and in the end, she made her way toward the dance zone that had everyone talking.
They had soon arrived at the dance zone that was an in-door place with air conditioning, restrooms, and even a food area. "Wow!" Replied Uni in awe. Everything around them was dark, except for the food area having proper lighting. The compensation for the lack of light in the place was neon lights, turning the atmosphere around them into something akin to 'glow in the dark' theme. "Well, at least this gives us a chance to get some proper cooling, so this trip wasn't for nothing," replied Uni who had wiped the sweat from the outside heat.
Euri cheered at the air conditioning that hugged her all over and cooled her down.
A girl with brown hair and glasses walked toward Uni with a smile on her face. "Oh, my goddess—you're lady Uni! And Lady Euri, too! Welcome to Nep's Tunes! The dance zone to end all dance zones. Here, you can waltz, tango, jazz, tap, hop, and skip until your heart's content. We also have prizes to award the efforts of those who participate in our numerous tournaments that are scheduled for the ongoing month."
Uni was handed a pamphlet that had a long list of tournament names. "Jeez, you guys sure know how to plan. Then again, I would hate for a place to be open without having a roadmap for their future activities."
"Totally. We have tons of events scheduled for people of all skill levels and tastes. In fact, today's event is a free-for-all to celebrate Nep's Tunes grand opening. What do you say, can I put you on the list for participants?"
Uni recoiled with a blush on her face. "Umm, I'm not really a dancer per se. I was just curious about seeing this place, that's all," she said nervously.
"Oh, that's too bad. If you do change your mind, our prizes range from small knickknacks to a Nepstation console."
"Not a lot of incentive there for me," chuckled Uni.
"Ah, of course. I bet the little one has her own console just waiting for her to get older to use. While that's our top prize, we do have tiers of prizes below that, and a gun cleaning kit is among that list."
"What?! Why is a family-friendly amusement park giving out a gun cleaning kit?" Barked Uni with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, I'm just a worker here and don't know the inner workings of our prizes. NepNep World does get a lot of sponsors thanks to the Basilicom's connections."
"Hmm." Uni glanced at the prize booth that filled the walls with all the prizes one could get. Prizes like backpacks, plushies, toys, home appliances, electronics, and clothing were displayed there. She could even see the console and gun cleaning kit among them. A third prize then grabbed her attention, which was a two-foot-long robot model from a television show she had trouble remembering.
"If it peaks my interests, then I might be up to it later," she said with a sideways glance, not giving the worker any clues to her real interests.
The girl politely bowed her head and walked away to entice other guests.
When they were alone, Uni crouched down to her niece. "Hey, see that big hunk of plastic on that wall? You think auntie Nepgear would like that?"
Euri glanced at the tall and highly detailed robot, standing proudly on its connected platform. All she gave to her aunt's response was her hands joyously clapping together.
"It's good to hear your input. However, should I even bother trying to get that robot, especially after she ditched us for that 'gear' convention? Hmm, I guess I can't fault her for that since she had been waiting a long time for her event. Maybe I should just get the gun cleaning kit for myself and call it a day. B-but… that would mean I would have to dance—regardless of what I want, I'll need to dance in the end!" She made a cringed face when she pictured dancing in front of so many random citizens that would make her face blush.
"Okay, everyone! Last call for participants. If you're interested, don't be shy and come join us at the dance squares."
"Huh?" Uni and Euri were given a good view of the area where all the dancing would be orchestrated. A good distance from them, two square platforms laid spread on the ground and connected to a large television monitor. In the home screen of the monitor, there were various songs to choose from. The platforms had bright tiles that indicated where a user would be tapping their feet at to register to the beat of the music on the screen.
What caught both Euri and Uni's attention, and especially Euri, was the multi-colored light show from four pillars that were stationed in each corner of the overall perimeter.
"Euri? You seem to be energetic. Could you perhaps want to also dance?"
"Y-Yeah!" From her observation from her aunt talking while she looked at the platform and to the jubilant nature the pink-haired girl exuded, she had spontaneously uttered her agreement with the only word she knew for a certainty would move her toward her desire goal.
Uni unable to fight against the wishes of her niece, swallowed her pride and embarrassment.
A short while later, Uni and her niece were melded into the crowd, as they both waited for the event to start.
Music all around them soon filled the air and the light show from the pillars intensified in the response of the first set of people taking the stage. The first was a couple that confidently took the stage platforms and wasted no time in dazzling all the people with their wild and eccentric moves. They moved like professionals, their every step having excitement and gracefulness that would touch the passion of even the unemotional variety.
All this made Uni swallow dryly in nervousness. However, the opposite was translated to Euri, who had her bright red eyes widened. For her, this display of art and amazement was on the level of fantastical stories her mama would tell with makeshift puppets to delineate the storytelling.
"Shoot… so much for taking first place," cynically uttered Uni.
The next one to take the stage was a lone man. With one tap of the music screen, a sluggish song filled with power erased the graceful energy that the earlier couple had produced. The man's choice of dancing wasn't graceful in the slightest. All his moves were slow and hard, as his feet stomp to the beat of the equally slow music.
Uni wished she could ultimately grimace at his brutish dance philosophy from the man, however, his dance held a beauty of its own. Like music created from industrial equipment that was never supposed to resonate any melodious sounds compared to properly crafted instruments. His stomps were rhythmic and catchy that anyone could respect the power that was in no way intended to be graceful. The flow of the music only heightened the energy of the stomps.
Even Euri, who by reason and nature should have been terrified by the loud stomps, instead cheered, ultimately comprehending the powerful brutish nature of the stomps.
Everyone else seemed content with the unique display of dancing that earned the man numerous claps from the guests.
Once the man had exited the platform, the girl from earlier jumped into the center with a microphone. "Wow! Talk about starting strong. On behalf of Nep's tunes and NepNep World, I would like to say thank you for you all making our first day a grand slam, and thank you for the talented dancers who have clearly come to win it big! I hope all of you have more energy to give—or maybe I should say share energy because our next entry is our Lady Uni with our adorable future CPU!"
A roar of surprise and applause resonated from everyone that caught Uni off guard. She could do nothing more but wave back from the total shyness she had accumulated.
"Hey, is Lady Euri going to be dancing, too?!" Shouted someone from the crowd.
"Huh, s-she's a little too young for that. I'm pretty sure she hasn't even learned how to walk yet. Then again, it has been a while since we got a good look at her," replied someone else within the crowd.
"But she looks so ready to try it. Just look at how excited and untamed she looks," replied someone else.
Uni turned her head to look at her niece. The people's comments held value as the pink-haired girl looked ready to blast out of her seat, all the while staring at the colorful lights and music screen in front of her. "Hey, maybe I should be the adult here and say that this is a bad idea. You don't even know how to walk yet," said the black-haired girl with reservations to her claims.
"Yeah!"
"Huh? Wait, is that a yes to dance or a no?" Asked Uni with white eyes and dark outlines.
Her answer was definitively answered when Euri started to beat on her safety buckle that kept her in her seat.
"Hmmm, this could be too dangerous…" uttered Uni.
"Nonsense. You can choose a steady song and dance with her to make sure she doesn't trip or fall on her bottom," replied the announcer girl from earlier, who had been a bit too close to hear Uni's private mumblings.
Uni was taken aback from the lack of privateness, but she allowed herself to ignore it for she had other more pressing matters. Her competitive thoughts then wormed their way into her mind. Technically, she would never be able to take home any top tier prize on her dancing skills alone. However, she could secure the win through cuteness, then she couldn't fathom a possibility where she would lose. Who wouldn't want to see the CPU baby of Nepstation dance with her aunt? She told herself that.
The music soon started to play. The type of music was funky and upbeat with a slow pace that would encourage even the novice of dancers to partake in. The whole crowd's roars slowly increased with each second due to the result of Uni picking up her niece from the stroller.
The pink-haired toddler had already started her groove, her kicks, and swings moving through the air with the beat of the music. Her face then sharply changed for a split second, feeling the weight of her own body vertically straightened once she touched the ground. This bodily memory reminded her when she pushed herself off the ground that one time, she saw a beautiful bird on the balcony. With the memory, a small amount of fear resonated within her from feeling unsupported properly between her and the ground.
"Don't worry, as if I would let you fall. All you need to worry about is showing these people how the future CPU can dance," replied the candidate.
The small toddler felt elated by the warm presence from her aunt, feeling like she was in a protective cocoon where no physical harm could reach her. Regardless, a mild discomfort ran through her small legs, since standing on her own weight was still a rare experience for her. It soon went away and a feeling of partaking in what her parents and everyone else did daily resonated within her.
Uni took the lead, her hips swinging to the beat. She used her hands to grip her niece's wrists, like a puppeteer controlling the strings on a doll. With every move Uni did, Euri would mimic the same motion with her face never showing discomfort.
The whole crowd could be heard gasping from this rare sight in front of them. Most of them had pulled out their phones and started to record the memorable bonding moment between aunt and niece.
"Yeah! Groove on, Euri!" Responded a far-off distant voice from the crowd around them.
"Euri! Euri! Euri!" The fawning chants from the people filled the air with joy and wonder, but unaware to all, they were producing an increasing amount of share energy—all directed to their little future CPU.
"You're getting the hang of it, Euri! I'm so proud of you," cried Uni, attempting to get her words across from the sea of thunderous cheers. Her niece gave her a bright smile that made Uni do a double-take. Not because the smile looked off, but because she was brightly smiling in the literal sense.
All noise in the air snuffed itself out of existence, and only the swelling radiance of light filled the dance zone.
The light was too much, completely blinding in its volume. Everyone, including Uni, covered their eyes for two seconds. When the light had finally extinguished, only the sounds of happy feet filled the air.
"N-no way…" Came the dead silent look from Uni that everyone else shared.
What stood before Uni was no longer a toddler of a year and a half old. Instead, a child of three years of age happily jumping and dancing on her own will alone, without any concern for the looks that everyone gave her.
"E-Euri?" Stammered Uni.
"Auntie. Auntie! Auntie Uni… dance more—dance more!" Giggled the older Euri. She then started to move her small legs that now harbored both power and knowledge of how to operate them from her watching everyone else. "Yay! Go fast!" Her legs took her around the area of the dance square she was in, her speed and energy never slowing down. The only expression on her face was happiness as she reveled in her new abilities that both felt new and old at the same time.
The sudden shellshock effect took some time to ware off from the people but eventually, they reignited with cheers.
"LOOK AT THAT GIRL GO!" Shouted a girl from the crowd.
"Lady Neptune might have a new challenger to see who has the most energy," laughed another.
Upon hearing Neptune's name, Noire's face also entered Uni's mind. "C-crap, they're going to kill me for this!" She dramatically wailed against the deafening cheers from the others.
Sometime later- Basilicom
Euri, now physically three years of age, sat on the couch in the living room of the Basilicom. In her hands, she held Mr. Bluewing with a firm grip. Her clothes that she wore had been changed courtesy of Uni, who shortly after the toddler's transformation, noticed that her shirt was too short, and her legs were longer. She now wore a Nepnep world giftshop shirt, jean shorts, and some sandals that Uni had bought.
Euri hadn't felt disturbed about this sudden spike in growth at all if only that was true for her parents that stood before her.
"How could this have happened? We were so careful about everything!" Noire dramatically pulled on her twin tails, her frustration on par with her crazed eyes.
Neptune sat down on the couch, with her eyes never leaving her daughter. "Gosh, a lot can change when you look away, huh? Euri, how do you feel?"
The daughter stopped marveling at her plushie, and deep comprehension of those words reached her. "Good, mommy."
This caused both parents to flinch at their daughter's response.
Neptune recoiled both with shock and heart-warming emotions in her heart. "Ah, neppers, to think that dealing with another growth wasn't going to be soon. Uni, you really have done a big oof with this one. We had our reason for not letting her be the center of attention." She directed her eyes at the last spot that she saw Uni, which was near the balcony doors, only to see that she wasn't there. "What the—where did she go?!"
"I'm over here." Uni was stationed on a chair facing the corner wall with her head down.
"Yikes, Noire, did you tell her to go to the corner? I know she did a big oof but that's cold big sister actions right there."
Noire, who had been overcome with emotion from her daughter's change, stared at her wife cluelessly. "Huh? I didn't tell her to go to the corner, Neptune!"
"No, she didn't. I deserve this as my punishment. I went behind both of you and took Euri out. It's because of me that she grew up again," she said grimly with her head down.
Neptune hit Noire's elbow to catch her attention. No words were needed as Noire could mentally tell what her wife wanted her to say.
Noire sighed, swallowing her exasperated state. "Uni… it's not your fault…"
"—she's right, it's actually these two's fault." From the hallway, Croire and Histoire emerged. Croire looked smug as she stared at the CPU parents.
"Excuse me!?" Shouted Noire.
"Why tell your sister an empty feel-good response when you can tell her that the real ones that should be putting themselves in the corner, are you both?" This time, disappointment painted the face of the rude fairy.
"Now what does that mean?" Asked Neptune with her arms folded.
"I had to be brought up to speed about the current events going on here by Histoire, and I got to say, I'm so appalled by both of you that I might be somewhat proud. Your oracle told me how both of you have been keeping Euri's presence on the down low, hoping that it might slow down the progression of your daughter's age. Nah, bad parenting there," mocked the tan fairy.
Noire stomped forward, her gaze similar to that of ten heat lamps. "Bad Parenting? Is it bad that we don't want our daughter to grow up too fast? Maybe we want to cherish the moments that we can have with her while she's still young?"
"That's not your choice to make—it's never been a choice to any CPU parent out there in all dimensions. The choice falls to the people and your daughter. You insanely starved the general public of allowing them to witness their future CPU go about her days, that when they were finally allowed to view her during a positive moment, all their faith burst out like water in a dam. You should already know what people do when they finally get to eat after so long, right? They chow down without restraint. That's what happened here—they poured all their faith out… without restraint. Of course, this should be said as well that a CPU kid needs to be ready for their growth spurt. This either tells me that her 'exp gauge' is either short or those people really did shoot tons of share energy at her."
"Shut up! Don't say it so dirty," barked the black-haired CPU.
"I just call it as I see it. I'm left curious about the little runt whether she is a prodigy or not. I mean, she went a good period without cellular growth around her first explosion, but maybe you two did cause all the build-up that resulted in making her progression faster, and she isn't a prodigy at all."
Uni removed herself from the wall and looked at the fairy. "So, if we shelter her, she'll only be more likely to grow up faster?"
"That's a simpler way to look at it. It's all about not starving the people from putting their faith in her because when they do get the chance, they will excessively make up for the lost time. Just look at me, when the Neptune that I know fails to provide my three meals a day, I can't guarantee that her wife's take-out dinner won't vanish along with mine."
She didn't know why, but Noire made a murderous face at the fairy in response to her counterpart that was absent to this conversation.
Histoire floated forward between all the others that were in the room. "I brought her because I did have concerns that bordered on theories from how you both were handling Euri's public presence. I don't think that keeping her away from the minds of the people would have been a good idea going forward into the future. I hate to bring this up but just look at all the buzz she's garnering online." Noire, Uni, and Neptune's faces sunk with shock from the various pages that Histoire flipped through her phone. "Everyone, places like Nepbook, Neppit, N-Chan, and even GI Informer are talking about Uni and Euri's eternal moment of fame."
Croire whistled sarcastically, already knowing the impact of the news coverage. "To think that all it took for them to get fired up was watching two dancing goofs."
Uni comically lowered her head, her hair covering her eyes. For Noire, one could tell her twin tails lowered from their position on her head.
"Hmm, we didn't mean to push the opposite of what we wanted. Noire! You know what we have to do," she urgently gripped her wife's arm.
Noire's face turned into a pout with a sour expression. "I guess my hands are tied. Fine, maybe we should fold and let events run their natural course. I just hope that this traction doesn't continue with a rampant pace that could cause another growth spurt," she said sorrowfully. She then felt her skirt being tugged on from below. When she looked down, she saw her three-year-old daughter looking at her with her adorable red eyes that spoke their own words.
"Papa, I want eat," softly pouted Euri.
"Eat?!" Noire's heart had skipped about twice within a second. Her daughter's first coherent response—albeit, a bit choppy—had filled her ears with joy. That wasn't the full extent of things as the mere pose of her daughter standing strongly on her own and looking at her with confident eyes pushed her to her breaking point. "Whaa! So cute! My little girl, how about we finish up the cauliflower cheese and pasta pieces then?"
Euri disobediently shook her head, making a face. "I want fries."
"Fries? I see you been spoiling her, Uni?" Laughed Neptune happily from also witnessing her daughter's backtalk.
"I see. If you want fries then you need to earn that first. How about picking up your toys from your room?" Challenged Noire. Her levels of surprise far exceeded what she imagined when Euri nodded at her and took off to her room.
"Look at her go!" Excitedly jumped Neptune.
Noire better managed her visible excitement, but she was still in the same mindset as her wife. Both of them bolted after their daughter, not wanting to miss out on a grand scene before them. A worthwhile scene indeed, as Euri actively ran around her room, picking up all the toys she had thrown the night prior when she and Neptune had been playing.
"Neptune… do we have no other choice than to let the people see our daughter?" Worriedly whispered Noire.
"It really does look that way. It seems we have two outcomes, we either keep her inside until eventually, she'll need to go outside—causing an explosion from all the pent up shares from the people directly hitting her or we can normalize her daily encounters to the point that Euri being outside isn't a press-stopping moment. That last one seems to be our safest bet. If we had kept her detached from the people longer, who knows how much she would have grown. At least she's still bite-size right now."
Noire sighed depressingly. "I'll choose the last choice then."
"Hey, look at the bright side, she looks like she can hold her own against a fork and spoon. We can even take her out without the need of the stroller, and I see a wardrobe overhaul incoming," smiled Neptune.
"Wardrobe? I guess this isn't too bad then," said Noire, who looked excited about getting Euri new outfits.
"I knew that would cheer you up, Nowa. If me taking photos in the past didn't hold any value, then now would be a different story. Maybe we should also take video of her too," suggested the purple-haired girl.
"You don't need to tell me twice. I'll get the camcorder and you fish out that camera of yours."
Neptune happily saluted in response to the almost 'army' style tone her wife had used. They both went opposite directions, fully planning to record every precious moment that they could get their hands on.
To be honest, I don't have much to say at the current moment but still felt that I should put up some notes at the end. I hope that everyone is doing okay during these tensed times. My next chapter will be out at the end of this month and depending on how things go, I might be able to post it earlier. Thanks for reading!