Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Sega, Idea Factory and Compile Heart and whomever else worked on it.

Phew! Okay, this was something else to write.

Chapter 20

"Nep Nep..." Compa began, unsure of what to say as she looked at her friend looking troubled.

"You need to let us know what's going on." IF said, her arms crossed and Neptune nodded.

"I know, just..." Neptune blinked a couple of times and her face turned red. "Where's the ninja?" She looked around and sweat-dropped as she realized he was missing. "Well, I'm thankful he helped you, I hope he likes what he took."

IF and Compa both looked at each other in confusion.

(-)

As Steamax raced back to the airship, he looked at the Console in his hands and nodded, thankful that he had gotten it from Neptune without her noticing. "I wonder what it's going to be... Hmm?" He realized that he was holding something else in his hand. "What is.. GUCK?! W-wh-w-what?! WH-WHY-WHY A-A-A-AM I-I-I-I-I HOLDING LADY NEPTUNE'S PANTIES?!"

(-)

"Well, I need to go back to the Basilicom." Neptune just laughed as she turned to walk but was stopped as she saw someone she didn't expect to see. "Woah! Histy! What are you doing here?"

"Considering that there was a fight of three CPUs in the city, I wanted to survey the damage myself." Histoire told her and looked around, sighing in relief. "Far less than I had feared."

"So what should we do with this rat?" IF asked as she poked Warechu with her katar. "Should we skin him alive?"

"CHU?!" Warechu's eyes went white and blank. "Compa! Save me!" When Compa didn't say anything, Warechu trembled. "C-Compa?"

"I'm sorry, Mister Mouse." Compa looked at him apologetically, "but I can't cover for you anymore, you haven't changed who you are and you did so much damage to everything."

Neptune sighed as Warechu let out a scream of fear. "IF, stop it." What was so surprising, beyond Neptune not using her nickname for IF, was how she sounded like she did as Purple Heart. "I'm in no mood for idle threats."

"But he..." IF began and Neptune shook her head. "Nep! Are you going to..."

"I agree with Neptune for this one," Histoire said as she floated near Neptune, "perhaps Warechu would be willing to tell us about the group he was part of?"

"I'm no stool pidgeon!" Warechu said with a huff.

"Huh, too bad." Neptune said and looked at Histoire, who looked at her with a neutral expression. "I guess that we have a new toilet cleaner for the Basilicom then."

"...What?" Warechu asked, his eyes wide as he shuddered. "B-But I don't like cleaning toilets or pipes or..."

"Or we could make you pay for all the damages to Planeptune while you rot in a hole in the ground." Histoire said and Warechu turned stark white.

"Y...You know... Maybe talking isn't a b-bad idea..." Warechu trembled.

"Hmm, nope, toilet cleaning with you." Neptune declared and Warechu let out a cry of despair.

"PLEASE!" Warechu suddenly wrenched himself free of IF's grasp and grabbed Neptune's hoodie, looking at her pleadingly. "I-I'll do anything!"

"Well... Okay." Neptune smiled at him. "Let's go back to the Basilicom then." Warechu nodded and let go of Neptune, who looked at Histoire. "Shall we?"

"Yes." Histoire nodded, glad that Neptune had taken care of the situation rather admirably. 'She really has changed, I'm...' Her thoughts trailed off as a gust of wind cut through the town and Neptune's hooded parka fluttered up, revealing the bottom of Neptune's bare butt. "...Neptune, where did your... Underwear go?"

"The ninja that we were chasing down is a big panty thief." Neptune said as she walked forward without stopping. "I need to get some new underwear on, it's drafty!"

(-)

A few minutes later...

After getting new underwear on, Neptune was pacing back and forth while Histoire, Compa, B-Sha and Dengekiko watched her. "so, the start of everything? The twists? The..." Neptune stopped muttering as IF walked into the room, sighing. "Iffy?"

"The rat's being interrogated right now." IF said as she walked over to where Compa was sitting on the couch and sat down. "Alright, Nep, what's going on here? Those two... Called you mother."

"Because I am their mother." Neptune answered while standing there.

"Can you explain a bit more?" Histoire asked. "Are they your adopted children or..?" Neptune shook her head. "I see..."

Dengekiko's eyes were starting to swirl as the implications were starting to hit her. 'Wow, Lady Neptune's daughters are attacking Planeptune?! This is insane!'

"Nep Nep..." B-Sha looked confused. "I don't know what's going on, you're being kind of vague and..."

IF sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Don't tell me that you had a lover and popped a couple of kids out while you were gone."

"I never got pregnant from that." Neptune muttered. The very air itself seemed to go still as the others all went stiff while gawking at Neptune. "It's... Complicated."

"Then, would you kindly uncomplicate it?" Histoire asked. "Neptune, please, you need to let us know what's going on."

Neptune sighed. "Sorry, my mind is all jumbled up." She reached behind her and pulled out a chair before sitting on it. "Alright, Gray and Rainbow Heart are my children and are related to me by blood. If you do a test, you'll see that we're related." The others nodded, following along. "What makes it complicated was that they weren't born like normal girls."

"What do you mean?" Compa asked kindly.

Neptune bit her lip softly before nodding. "Okay, for those who don't know, I was sealed in another dimension for a thousand years while only three years passed here." Histoire, Compa and IF all nodded while B-Sha and Dengekiko stared in shock. "Well, over a thousand years before I arrived in that world, there was a group of people that ruled over that Gamindustri called the Mole People. A big reason why the world over there was bad was because they screwed things up. The first CPU of that world, the CPU of Tari, defeated the Mole People and created her nation. Well, they didn't like it and kept a grudge, waiting for the right time to take over Gamindustri again. They got their hands on the DNA of all the CPUs in the world and worked on creating babies with it."

"Test tube babies, huh?" IF asked and Neptune nodded. "Okay, so that explains some things, but..."

"Well, they created two babies from each of us CPUs and tested to see if they were capable of becoming CPUs, since CPUs are ascended humans, not pure born Goddesses like they are here." Neptune explained. "But when they tested all the children of the other CPUs, none of them were capable of becoming CPUs themselves and they destroyed the babies." The others gasped in horror. "And the Mole People were really good with genetic engineering and magic and other stuff. So when they created two babies with my DNA, they found that they could become CPUs."

Histoire frowned as something came to her. "Neptune, how could they know if someone could become a CPU or not?"

"The Mole People created the whole CPU Memory stuff because they wanted a weapon that was eternal and loyal to them, but they didn't realize it wouldn't work for them." Neptune shrugged. "Plus the guy who made it apparently had this attitude of giving people exactly what they asked for. You know the guy, the guy who works at the food service who gives people so much salt on their food that it ruins it, but the other person asked for it." The others nodded, understanding what Neptune meant. "Well, the Mole People had to deal with a very angry and crazy Rei who killed and beat them all in the past. When they created Ouya and Stadia, they programmed something into their DNA that makes it impossible for them, so long as they're in HDD, to not go against the CPUs in charge of the world."

"So that's why they fought against you?" Histoire asked and Neptune nodded. "But even when they weren't in HDD..."

Neptune sighed and looked at the floor. "That comes later. The Mole People then built a device to trap all of us CPUs in our HDD forms, but without any power and erased all of our memories because they wanted slaves."

"...Work slaves?" IF asked, hopeful.

"...Slave wives." Neptune clarified, not even bothering to look up. "We were kept as slave wives, with all the "perks"," Neptune put air quotes around the word while the others could only stare at her, "that came with it. We were kept that way for decades. If not for a malfunction in the machine that let Noire regain her memories..."

Before Neptune could say anything more, she found herself being hugged by Compa. "...Compa?"

"That was so horrible." Compa said as she hugged Neptune tightly. "I'm so sorry, Nep Nep."

Neptune smiled and hugged her back. "It was a long time ago, Compa, but thank you." She closed her eyes, enjoying the comforting sensations.

After giving Neptune three minutes to enjoy the hug, Histoire spoke up again. "Neptune," the two let go of their hug and looked at Histoire, "what happened with your daughters after the Mole People were defeated?"

"Well, the process they used to trap us in our HDD forms was reversed and then I used it to trap Ouya and Stadia in their human forms and taught them how to be a CPU and how to relax and enjoy life." Neptune smiled softly. "It was a good time. Really peaceful and we had a lot of fun. It ended after three hundred years though."

"What happened?" Dengekiko asked. "Unless it's not too important?"

"It's important." Neptune said. "I don't remember exactly when they started to appear, but there were cultists saying that humanity had outlived its purpose and stuff. I talked to them to find out what was going on, when they revealed that they were going to return the world to the age of the dinosaurs and have nature rule the world, everyone dismissed them."

"That was a mistake, I take it?" Histoire asked and Neptune nodded.

"Yeah. Turns out that they had access to some sort of time magic or something and were actually lizard-humans. They used the time manipulation and dinosaurs came back to life." Neptune smiled suddenly. "They're popular attractions at the Leanbox nature preserve now though."

"So, what does this have to do with your daughters?" Histoire asked and Neptune sighed.

"The Cultists did something that not only unsealed their HDD states, but also made them side with the Cultists against us." Neptune sighed softly. "And the worst part is, I couldn't put the seal back on to keep them in human form! They begged me to kill them."

"Obviously you didn't." IF commented and paused at the look of pain in Neptune's eyes. "Nep?"

"I can't... I can't do it." Neptune shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "They aren't the only daughters I've had to fight against me, after all. But I can't kill them. They're my little girls."

Neptune looked down as tears fell out of her eyes. "Because..." Images of the two sleeping in their room filled Neptune's eyes as she remembered reading Ouya and Stadia a story to help them sleep after being freed from the Mole People. "They're my family." Images of the two learning to cook with Stadia trying to cook stir fry and getting a pillar of fire by accident flashed through her head, followed by images of her teaching them to swim, to fish, enjoying games and picnics, of enjoying afternoon naps, of the times they were with Peashy at an amusement park and the three laughing and smiling together. "They deserve to be happy. I... I put them in stasis tubes and vowed to find a way to make it so they can live."

"I see, so that's why you asked me..." Histoire trailed off as she realized something important. Looking at Dengekiko, she floated over to the journalist and motioned for the blonde to follow after her while B-Sha, Compa and IF tried to come to grips with what they heard. After getting into another room, Histoire gave Dengekiko a stern look. "I won't stop you from publishing a story, but I ask that you keep any of the more sensitive information out of the paper." When Dengekiko opened her mouth, Histoire's wings started to glow and the blonde gulped. "Do we understand each other?"

"But what should I say about the two CPUs? I wasn't the only one who heard them call Purple Heart their mother."

Histoire closed her eyes and thought about it. "I never said you couldn't say anything, just keep the personal stuff out of the news." She opened her eyes and gave Dengekiko a sharp look. "Specifically that stuff with the Mole People abusing the CPUs."

"I wasn't planning on it." Dengekiko told her. "I run a very tight ship. Don't worry, I'll keep the more personal stuff out while letting people know the truth."

Histoire gave her a skeptical look before nodding. "Very well." Dengekiko nodded and the two went back to the living room where the journalist told the others that she was going to leave.

After Dengekiko left, Neptune sighed and wondered what Ouya and Stadia were doing.

(-)

Unknown space...

"Wow!" A girl with long, light purple hair and who was wearing a black parka dress, stared as she heard the story. "So you're supposed to fight the CPUs in charge, huh? Is that why you hate the tiny version of me?"

"No." Stadia shook her head and turned around, crossing her arms over her chest and sighing. "I hate her because she let us live to suffer."

"Relax," the fourth person in the group spoke up, "you just need to do what I tell you and you'll get what you want."

Ouya bit her lip. "Thank you, Uzume." The blue haired girl nodded and disappeared. "...I don't like her."

"Yeah, well..." Neptune rubbed the back of her head. "She doesn't seem so bad, just lonely and sad." She blinked as Ouya walked up to her. "Yes?"

"...Mommy." Ouya suddenly hugged Neptune, burying her face into the taller girl's chest.

"Wagh!" Neptune gawked and smiled nervously. "Sorry, kiddo, I haven't even dated anyone. The closest I have to a partner like that is Croire."

"Your name's Neptune," Stadia told her and walked over to her, "mother is..." She looked troubled and looked away, "she..."

"You really don't want to fight her, do you?" Neptune asked and Stadia shook her head. "Hey..." Stadia looked at her and Neptune held her left arm out. "If you want a hug, I, OOOF!" She was tackled to the ground by Stadia while Ouya never let go.

"Serves you right, you sentimental idiot." Croire grumbled, but otherwise was quiet. 'The Mole People, huh? I thought Rei killed all of them, guess she missed a couple.' She remembered what happened back then and smirked inside the Nepnote. 'Man, that was fun. Those bastards deserved everything they got too.'

Croire wouldn't complain about the Mole People getting beaten around a second time. "Never did like my creators."

"You say something, Crostie?" Neptune asked Croire as she opened her Nepnote up while Ouya and Stadia continued to hug her.

"I said that I'm getting diabetes." The dark fairy grumbled. "Now let me out! I think my blood sugar's spiking!" She yelled in mock anger.

"Nope!" Neptune giggled while she continued to hug Ouya and Stadia. 'I guess I can be who they want me to be for a little while longer.'

She would have to head to Leanbox tomorrow, but she thought that her other self would appreciate it if she gave comfort to Ouya and Stadia.

(-)

In Leanbox...

"DOOD! Master Neptune's in the news!" Pudding yelled as Vert and Nepgear walked into their hotel room after dealing with some monsters that S-Sha had asked them to deal with. "Oh no! Not those two!"

"Huh?" Nepgear asked as she looked at the television broadcast. "Who are..?" Her eyes went white and blank as the one with the frilly outfit waved at Purple Heart and said something that shocked her. "M-m-m-m-m-m-m-mommy?! AHHHH!"

"Oh dear." Vert gasped as she watched the video footage. "There must be something..."

"I'm an auntie! AHHH! Neptune did lewd things and I never even met my brother in law and never got to talk about things and AHHHH!"

Both Pudding and Vert sighed as Nepgear started to pace back and forth. "Master Nepgear is weird, dood."

"...She wasn't always this bad." Vert answered.

"She had two kids, is one older? Are they twins? They seem to not like their mother and AHHH! Neptune has kids!"

Vert sighed and slapped Nepgear on the back of the head just hard enough to get her attention. "Dear, please stop, when we get things settled down here in Leanbox, we'll go and find out exactly what happend." She then poked Nepgear on the nose. "Which means no freaking out."

"Yes, big sis." Nepgear nodded. 'Neptune has kids and...' "AHHH!"

Both Vert and Pudding just face-palmed.

Well, that was a chapter, lemme know what you think of it.