Wooah bettya didn't expect to see me back so soon! What, like 3 days after I posted the last one? Incredible! Also, hey! 20 chapters, and damn near 100k words, pretty cool right! Truth be told, I'm really happy with how a lot of these have turned out, and it blows my mind that there are actual living human beings that enjoy my nonsense. I'm nowhere close to out of ideas, so make sure you keep tuned! As for this chapter? Sorry, this idea was just so damn interesting to me I had to write it down as soon as it came to me. This one for sure is a major tone shift from some of the other shots I've written, so I understand if you don't like this one. But what's fluff without a little tragedy now and again, right? Anyway, I do hope you enjoy this little interesting shot I brainstormed and let me know what you think!
-marketvalueneps
Synopsis- Uni finally has gotten everything she ever wanted and more, yet something just feels a little off, and she begins to ask herself, "what is the price of true happiness?"
"The funny thing about achieving everything you ever wanted. Sometimes you find out that it was really something else all along you wanted. Sometimes you are left with such a bittersweet feeling, the achievement itself is forgotten. What you had to do to achieve it far overshadows what it actually is you achieved."
Uni wasn't even sure she remembered who told her that, it probably was some extra, without even so much as a portrait. A nameless NPC among the hordes of nameless NPCs she interacted with on a daily basis, she wasn't even sure why the words stuck with her. Yet, every so often, she found herself remembering the words.
That feeling was not at all accurate to her current situation. I mean, how could it? Afterall. At the moment…
"Alright, I'll talk to you later, Nepgear, I have to get back to Lastation." Uni spoke, as she walked down the streets of Planeptune, hand in hand with her girlfriend,
"Awww can't you stay for longer?" Nepgear pleaded, giving her best pouty face, in an attempt to get the easily embarrassed girl beside her to stay for longer. Ever since they had gotten together a few months ago, Uni couldn't help but notice that Nepgear was far clingier than she had initially thought. Although, perhaps, she should have known. Early in her life, Nepgear was nearly impossible to separate from Neptune's side, so perhaps her clinginess was just that part of her making itself known? It's not as though Uni minded…
"You know I told Noire I would handle some documents by tomorrow, come on, it's not like I'll get teleported to another dimension you know?" Uni laughed as she assuaged her girlfriend's seemingly needless worries. If Uni had been paying enough attention, for just a single moment, she would have seen a twinge in the lilac haired girl's eyes. A single flash of some type of desperation. A single flash in the pan, before her bright energy quickly bore forward again.
"Oh… Ok. Well, you can't keep Noire waiting, can you? I've sure seen how she can get when sis holds her up" Nepgear laughed, as she grabbed both of Uni's hands, looking her in the eyes, as she brightly smiled, "I had a great time, Uni." The raw brightness exhibited by the candidate might have blinded a lesser person, and even if she had been dating her for months at this point, Uni was not immune to the girl's raw cuteness, and she seriously doubted she ever would. It was an impossible task. Feeling herself getting flustered yet again, Uni stumbled out her response,
"W-well, o-of course! It's me after all, right?" She laughed, hearing Nepgear chuckle at her comment, before kissing her lightly on the lips,
"Have a safe flight home, and don't forget to call me when you get back!" Nepgear more or less ordered, and Uni couldn't help but chuckle. That was another thing she hadn't necessarily expected from her girlfriend, she was strangely protective of her. Uni had noticed she seemed to be protective of everyone around her, but especially of her girlfriend. It was cute.
"Ok ok" Uni put her hands up, as she waved, before stepping back, transforming into Black Sister, as she made her way back home.
Left alone on the streets of Planeptune, Nepgear took her time, walking the streets, relishing in the pleasant organization and success of her nation. Walking through one of the secluded parks located in the capital city, she eventually found herself alone. Looking around, confirming she was alone, she soon propped herself on one of the nearby trees, taking deep breaths, she gripped her face, as she felt a memory sting her conscious, with a scowl, she spoke,
"I- I- I'm not her anymore…" She grumbled in frustration, "I'm… I'm Nepgear now" She confirmed to herself, as she tried her best to shake the memory from her system. The painful clipping of her life no longer was necessary, she had started over. She didn't need those memories anymore.
Taking a few more deep breaths, her smile soon formed on her lips again. Walking out of the park, she made her way back to her home, where she would be greeted by her favorite sister she had ever met.
As Uni tore across the continent, a content smile on her features, the memories of the night she had spent with her favorite girl in the whole world, she couldn't help but think about how happy she was. This was everything she had ever dreamed of and more. For as long as she could remember, maybe even since the very first time she met her all the way in Lastation's guild hall that fateful day, she had dreamed that this would be her life.
She couldn't even remember just how many times she had daydreamed about Nepgear bursting into her room and declaring her undying love for her. It was really embarrassing thinking back on it, even if that was essentially how it went down…
That day. It would forever be etched into the memories of Uni's heart. No matter what. The tears of joy she had shed would always serve as a reminder of what that moment had meant to her.
The thoughts in Uni's mind served enough to make what would have ordinarily been a mindless flight feel as though it had been no time at all. Landing on the balcony of the building she had always called home, she stretched her muscles as she transformed back into her human form. Making her way into the building, she waved as she saw her sister walking back to the office, a fresh cup of tea in her hands,
"Hello, Noire, I'm back" She amicably greeted, speeding up to join her as she prepared herself for work, despite the now late hour, the pair of sisters had no intention of slowing down.
"Why, hello, Uni, did you enjoy yourself?" Noire made small talk, as she took a sip from her drink. It was odd to her, and she found it hard to believe some days, that her own younger sister had seemingly found love. Not only because never before could she have envisioned it, but also because; she had done it before Noire herself! (Not that it bothered her)
"Mhmm! Nepgear showed me this restaurant, and then we went shopping and took a walk around Planeptune City!" Uni eagerly recanted her night to her sister, who could only softly smile at the excited look of pure joy on her sister's face. Even if somewhere, she felt a little jealous that it wasn't her that made her sister look like that, she considered, Nepgear was a perfectly fine person, whom she held in high regard.
As Uni spoke, she seemingly had an epiphany as a look of remembrance sprang on her face, withdrawing her phone, she soon excused herself, "Nepgear made me promise I'd call her when I got back, I'll be back in a sec, k?" She said, as she looked to Noire, who only rolled her eyes,
"Since when is Nepgear so clingy?" She asked, more or less rhetorically, before opening the door to the office, sitting down at her desk, and taking another sip of her drink as she got to work for the night.
Outside the office, Uni quickly dialed the familiar digits, hearing the call ring for only a few moments before she heard an answer,
"Uni?" Nepegar spoke, and Uni slightly chuckled,
"Yea. Who else?"
"Everything go ok?" Nepgear asked, a little more nervously than Uni thought was necessary.
"Of course, it's just a simple flight, I mean, what can go wrong?" She asked, before hearing a sort of silence on the other end of the line,
"I can't afford to lose you again, '' Nepgear responded almost robotically, her tone flat. Uni raise her eyebrow at the odd inflection, and for a moment she was puzzled before she asked,
"Again? What do you mean?" Almost immediately she heard a gasp on the other end, followed by the voice of her girlfriend,
"Nothing" She quickly responded, in a seeming panic, before quickly adding, "Make sure you keep yourself safe. I need to go." She spoke, before quickly hanging up the line. Uni could only stare in confusion for a few moments, before heading into the office to join Noire.
Back in Planeptune. Nepgear could only grip her face once more, a scowl on her face, "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Nepgear never lost Uni. And that means I never did" taking a deep breath, she stabilized herself. Before standing up, walking down the hall, to join Neptune for the night. The two quickly fell into a comfortable rest, as the workaholics from Lastation worked all through the night.
Sometime during the night, as she stirred in her bed, Nepgear could see something playing in her mind's eye, a memory playing back, her dreaming mind showing it to her once more.
"Why are you doing this!?" The desperate voice would call out to her, the wound in her abdomen pulsating, blood pouring from the stinging wound.
"..." And yet, Nepgear had no reaction. No justification. Nothing in her could reason with what she was doing. In another life, she would certainly consider her actions wrong. Yet. As the life in front of her dripped away, she felt somewhere in her mind, joy. An emotion she had long since abandoned. It was hers again. Everything would be her's again.
Shooting up in her bed. Nepgear felt herself hyperventilating as the nightmare once more plagued her sleep.
"..." She spent the next moments catching her breath, before getting out of her bed, and making her way down the hall towards the office. There was next to no chance of her actually being able to fall asleep again, even if she had long since grown used to the nightmares that plagued her sleep. If she couldn't sleep anyway, she might as well reduce the workload on Neptune, right? Hell, this was a cakewalk compared to what she was used to…
Uni found it funny how the days would bleed into weeks, bleed into months. Yet. It was as though every day was the best day of her life. Every day made her excited to get out of bed. Every day she expected to wake up in her bed, to find out it had all been a dream. Yet as the months passed, it finally started to settle into her mind, this was real. Everything was real. She had made it. Even the paperwork didn't seem so bad anymore.
Everyday. She couldn't help but smile throughout the whole day. And the time she spent with Nepgear was almost intoxicating.
And so, as the pair calmly sat in Uni's room, doing nothing of importance, even then did Uni feel the almost addicting sense of happiness in her life. As she talked with the linchpin to it all, the joy of her life, the two simply relaxed as they recanted their tales.
"Say, Nepgear, who do you think was your favorite baddie we've beaten over the years?" Uni asked calmly as she leaned her head on Nepgear's shoulder, Nepgear seemed to ponder it, before eventually yielding,
"Hmm… Can't say I can remember. What about you, Uni?" She asked, almost absentmindedly,
"Hmmm… I gotta say, when you used the share blade to stick it to that magic bitch, that has to be my favorite!" Uni enthusiastically responded, before hearing Nepgear speak up again,
"The what?" She asked, not realizing the words she spoke,
"The share blade?" Uni asked, almost confused, surely there was no way Nepgear had forgotten, "You know, you shattered that shitty cursed blade, and we made it into the share blade? Good thing you shattered it too… who knows what sis planned on doing" After her words left her mouth, Uni felt every muscle in Nepgear's body stiffen, looking over in worry, Uni soon felt horror overtake her features, as she saw the look on Nepgear's face, "Nepgear!?" She asked, but Nepgear simply grabbed her face,
"I- I- I- I-" She robotically repeated, a look of disgust on her face, before she soon smacked herself, ignoring the yell of fear that escaped her girlfriend's lips, "Stupid. Stupid. STUPID!" She yelled, before shaking her head fiercely, "Nepgear shattered the sword!" She yelled, before eventually feeling Uni shake her with all her power,
"Nepgear!" She yelled desperately; the look of fear was clearly evident on her face. "Nepgear! What are you doing!" She practically screamed, and Nepgear could only look on in fearful realization of what she had done.
"Uni…" She practically whispered as Uni wrapped herself as tightly around her as she could,
"Nepgear… please never do that again." She spoke with the voice of a true goddess into Nepgear's ear. Who felt an overwhelming sense of disgust destroy her body. With tears flooding her eyes, she shoved Uni off of her. The facade of her life crumbling around her, for a moment, she felt like she had become herself again. With it, the unyielding shame, guilt, and disgust that came with it.
"W-hat…" Uni looked up at the practically bawling goddess, completely unable to comprehend what was happening in front of her.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Nepgear crumbled to her knees as she repeated the words, slowly, Uni crawled her way over to the broken girl, gingerly she reached her hand out, only to feel it slapped away. "No."
"Why?"
"I'm… I'm… I'm not who you think I am" Nepgear eventually explained, and Uni felt her heart drop. The color drained from her face. What on earth did that even mean? Unable to find any words, she simply waited for her to continue. "I'm not the Nepgear you know… or knew."
"What?" Uni looked up with blank eyes,
"I…" Nepgear didn't know how she could possibly explain what she had done, instead electing instead to simply let the object speak for itself, as she summoned it from her inventory,
Uni felt a chill run down her very core, unlike anything she had ever experienced in her entire life as she saw Nepgear now holding her beam saber. An unmistakable red and purple hue outlined the unmistakable weapon.
"No way… you shattered that…" No cell in her body wanted to accept what she saw in front of her.
"She did," Nepgear gravely explained, before Uni felt the realization accumulate in her mind.
"You" Uni felt a horror like no other overwhelm her, she had faced monsters, and destructive power beyond the imagination. And yet, she felt herself overwhelmed, as she took off towards the nearest waste bin, depositing whatever it was she had eaten that day into it. Looking back in abject horror, she saw Nepgear slowly making her way towards her. If she could have screamed, Uni surely would have. Yet, she found herself only able to slowly back herself away,
"S-stay away from me…"
This… this monster. She…
"You don't understand…" Nepegar pleaded,
"I don't!? Then tell me, what happened! Where is my Nepgear!" Uni screamed with all her might.
"..." Nepgear had no response.
"That's right! You killed her! Didn't you! You're from another dimension, aren't you! You killed her… and… and took her place, you monster!" Uni could feel herself hyperventilating as she put together all the pieces to the puzzle. As she looked at the thing on the other side of the room, she could see a shadow over her eye, eventually seeing the teardrops that fell off her face,
"...why'd you have to go and figure everything out?" She silently said. Once more crumbling to her knees, her body racked with sobs.
"How long" Uni eventually asked, and Nepgear was silent, before Uni spoke again, "I said how long!" She asked, voice much louder,
"The day I went over and confessed to you." She explained, and Uni could feel her whole world collapse around her. The whole time. All her happiness. Her perfect world.
"How…" Uni couldn't even see anymore, the whole world around her blurred,
"Uni…" Nepgear slowly crawled towards her. Eventually slowly reaching out to her. Only to feel her hand firmly slapped away,
"Don't you fucking dare!" Uni threatened, her words as icy as she could make them.
"I did it all for you…" Nepgear painfully spoke, and Uni could only glare at her,
"Don't give me that shit! You killed her!" She scooted away,
"I… couldn't bear to live without you anymore…" Nepgear scooted closer, only to receive another glare from Uni, who soon withdrew her handgun, pointing it at the woman,
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't shoot you. She meant everything to me!" Uni yelled, and Nepgear felt something rile up in her.
Back in her own dimension. Once she had finally grasped how to understand, view, and travel to other dimensions, Nepgear soon took an interest in the Hyperdimension. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. It was everything her world wasn't. There was only one thing wrong with it…
"Well, you didn't mean anything to her!" Nepgear screamed, before feeling a bullet pierce her shoulder, with a grunt, as she fell to the floor, blood soon pooling around her, still, she looked up fiercely, "That was the only thing wrong with this dimension! She didn't understand how perfect you are!" She yelled, and despite wanting to pull the trigger again, Uni felt her hand shaking.
"Don't talk about her like that..." Uni shakily spoke, something about the way this Nepgear spoke... it simultaneously made her want to vomit, all while she couldn't help but think about her life for the past months.
"I can't live without you, Uni! I thought I could just live on, watching this dimension, thinking it was good enough there was a me out there that got a chance at a good ending! But her!? She couldn't understand how perfect you are! You meant nothing to her!" Nepgear screamed at the top of her lungs, every word she spoke carrying more weight than the next,
"...shut up"
"Can't you see, Uni! She never loved you! Not like I do! She never would have!"
"You don't know that... shut up" Uni spoke, but somewhere in her mind she knew it was the truth. All the time she had spent trying to get Nepgear, her Nepgear's attention. It never worked. She could feel it. She knew it. She didn't love her. She could feel her mind slipping.
"Would she ever tell you that! Would she ever tell you how much she loves you!? Like I do!" Nepgear's eyes conveyed the raw passion behind every word she spoke, the desire. Her words cut through every shred left in Uni's mind.
"Shut up" Uni's hands shook more and more, everything about this felt wrong.
"Would she ever give you the whole world!? Would she! NO!" She yelled fiercely, as she grabbed Uni by both of her shoulders, staring into her very soul, "Uni! Please!" Nepgear pleaded.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Uni yelled as the gun fell out of her hands, falling to the ground, followed by the adolescent, as she felt the tears of her own crash down her face. Seeing this, Nepgear immediately wrapped herself around her, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as she grabbed her as close to her as she could, Uni, no longer having the strength to push her away simply cried, as her tired brain tried to put all the pieces together. "...get away from me," she said, with almost nothing behind it. Her mind as tired as her body, unable to resist the girl in front of her anymore.
"I can be the perfect Nepgear. I can be the Nepgear you always wanted. The one that loves you. I can't live without you again. I'll be whatever you want. I'll tell you I love you every day. She would never have done that for you." Nepgear softly spoke into Uni's ear. The blood from her wound soaking Uni's black dress.
"What about Nepgear…?" Uni asked, absentmindedly, but as she looked forward. There was Nepgear. Right in front of her.
"I'm Nepgear" She spoke with a fierce determination. As she pressed her lips once more unto Uni's, who could only feel her eyes glaze over. As Nepgear pulled her lips away, taking Uni into her arms, she quietly whispered in her ear, as she shakily walked her to her bed, almost like a waltz, a trail of blood forming behind her. Their dance of blood a mysterious ballad to Uni's heart.
"I'm Nepgear" She reassured her. And again, as Uni looked back at her. There was Nepgear.
"Nep… gear…" Uni dazedly repeated. Was this ok? Really… she hadn't even been able to tell the difference. It had been perfect. Flawless. The perfect Nepgear. And she was hers. And really, what really was the harm if the Nepgear multiverse counter went down by one? If one poor unfortunate Nepgear met an early fate. Weren't there infinite dimensions anyway? Infinite Nepgears, living infinite lives. Infinite Uni's desperately trying to get their attention. What was the harm if Uni kept this one to herself? Didn't that make her a winner? There were infinite Nepgear's.
What was the harm if one went missing anyway?
Ooooo spooky, right? I do hope at least one person enjoys this any way lol. Anyway, time to get to the reviews for last time,
Gigarot- And that's what we all love so much about Ram, right? I did think it was nice to have Uni take the lead for once, even if it was do to the circumstances, and yes, I love lil tsuny Ram. People often forget just how tsuny she can get (especially in RB2) and I think that last little segement was a great way to end it.
end5- why, thank you as always.
Tony Anderson- I think it was nice too, nothing wrong with nice wholesome fluff.
