Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Sega and whomever else worked on it.
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Chapter 99
It was an hour later that found Neptune in a wheelchair being pushed around by Rom and Ram. "Boy, this feels familiar, huh?" Neptune smiled back at them.
"Silly big sis..." Rom smiled and looked over her shoulder where Nepgear was silently following them. "Um, you don't need to follow us."
Nepgear said nothing and smiled as she followed after them.
"HEY!" A voice up ahead had everyone jerking in surprise. "Tiny me!"
"Big me!" Neptune's voice perked up as she saw her bigger self coming into view. "And Darksy?" She tilted her head in confusion. "When did you get here?"
"Right after we called you, Tiny Me." The bigger Neptune smiled. "Why are you in a wheelchair? I know that we Neps like to take things easy, but that's a bit much, don't you think?" She looked at Nepgear and jerked in surprise. "Why is Nepgear dressed up as a maid? I know she's super cute, but... No, wait, on second thought," she giggled, "I kind of like how cute she looks like that."
Nepgear found her cheeks heating up as the bigger Neptune complimented her. It felt... Really nice to have someone honestly complimenting her. 'At least, I hope she's honest about it.'
"Um, big sis, why is there another big sis here?" Ram asked as she looked at the bigger Neptune in confusion, though her voice had a tone of nervous wariness in it that suggested that Ram wouldn't hesitate to unleash violence on this version of her big sister.
"Hee hee," Neptune giggled. "Ram, calm down, this is a me from a world where she was born human."
"Yep yep!" The older-looking Neptune smiled at Ram. "I'm just a bug catcher that has two little sisters who are CPUs."
"Which is hilarious," Neptune smirked at her bigger self, "considering that you're younger than both me and Nep Jr. are." She laughed as her bigger self pouted. "That's okay though, I don't mind being your younger sister."
After all, it was kind of nice to have her bigger self around. As much as Vert tried to be like a big sister to her, Noire and Blanc, it didn't change the fact that she fought against them back in the wars and even if there were no hard feelings between them anymore, none of them really saw her as an elder sister to them. Neptune's bigger self was like a cool big sister to her, but Neptune wondered how much of that was because her bigger self was cool and how much of that was Neptune's own bias in regards to the older-looking girl.
"Anyway, Tiny Me," the bigger Neptune had a concerned look on her face, "what's going on?"
"Well, I ended up fighting an evil version of me, got stabbed in my spine and I can't feel my cute booty or feet anymore, I got turned evil, got knocked around, came back to my senses and had to kill my evil self."
"Well..." The other Neptune blinked a few times while having an otherwise blank expression on her face as she processed the information. "You've been busy, huh?"
Neptune nodded at her. "Uh huh... So if you're here, so is Darksy, huh?" Tapping her chin, she smiled at her bigger self. "So I guess the adventure's over now, huh?"
"Yeah, Histy wants you home right away, young lady." The bigger Neptune winked at her smaller self.
"Aw man!" Neptune's voice was full of mirth as she grinned at her bigger self. "I was just starting to have fun. What with the end of the world and all."
Rom, Ram and Nepgear all watched in confusion as both Neptunes suddenly broke into fits of laughter. They didn't understand what was so funny in this situation. But even if they didn't understand what was so funny, all three of them could still smile.
After all, if Neptune was laughing and smiling, then everything had to be okay.
(-)
Twenty minutes later...
"So that's the plan." Chrome said as she finished up talking to the group.
"So we're going to be running to the other nations with the help of the lesbian book?" Linda asked as she looked at Croire, who was blushing and looking away.
"The idiot let me see the one thing I've wanted to see in my life, I couldn't help but give her a big kiss on the lips." Croire huffed in annoyance.
Compa giggled at the antics. "Well, we should just be thankful that Nep Nep has a big sister who has a book fairy and can get us around with ease, huh?"
"Yep!" The Neptune in the black parka hoodie nodded.
"I think that Lowee and Leanbox will be easy to handle." Chrome said and tapped her chin before looking at Rom, Ram and Peashy. "In fact, this will be a good chance for you three to show that you're CPU material. Filyn, would you be willing to help Peashy out in Leanbox?"
"Of course." She nodded at her sister. "What will you do, Chromey?"
"I feel that Lastation will be the hardest nation of all to work with." She looked at Uni, who was looking somewhat troubled. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Uni shook her head. "Just thinking about some stuff."
Chrome nodded and looked at IF, Gust, Warechu, Compa and Linda. "You know, I've not said it yet, but I'm glad you five came with us on this journey." She smiled at their looks of surprise. "I was told about what you did to help Neptune get shares so she could use her NEXT form back there. Thank you, all of you. I doubt we would be here if not for you."
"Yeah!" Neptune smiled at them. "Thanks so much, Iffy. I know you don't like CPUs so that must have been hard."
IF looked somewhat troubled before she bowed to them. "I want to apologize, Chrome and Nep..." Both of the CPUs looked confused as IF remained with her head down. "I... I treated both of you unfairly for so long. I know you were trying to do your best but I..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Neptune yelled and waved her hands. "First of all, Iffy, you don't need to apologize to me." IF looked up, confused, which was only increased as Neptune smiled at her. "The fact that you helped me when I needed it shows me that you're sorry about what you did, okay? And secondly," Neptune pouted at her, "don't act like that. It's not like you."
"...But I still treated you and Chrome horribly after Leanbox." IF protested her.
"But you still came through when it mattered." Neptune countered, smiling at her. "Besides, Iffy, I don't blame you or any of you, for not liking me or Chrome after you found out we were CPUs."
"Anyway," Chrome spoke up, "we need to go back to the other nations and get them ready to go. I don't think we'd be able to just get them to be ready in an instant. But if we give them some time..."
"Three days." Neptune spoke up and giggled at the looks she got. "Let's give them all three days. That'll be enough time to get what they need together. Right? Clothes, important memories and items and some other stuff."
"Just what can be carried though." Chrome told the others. "Compa, can you, Warechu and Gust go with Peashy and Filyn? IF and Linda, can you go with Rom and Ram?"
They nodded and Croire stretched her arms over her head. "We ready to go?" She snapped her fingers and three purple and black portals opened in the room. "Leanbox," she pointed at the one on the East wall, "Lowee," she pointed at the one on the South side of the room, "and Lastation" she pointed to the to the West side. "Go through them, you'll be dropped off right in front of your Basilicoms. Oh, and don't worry, since this is within the same dimension you'll be right on the ground."
"How will we contact you when we're ready to go?" Uni asked her.
Croire rolled her eyes. "I'll come get you by noon on the third day, okay?"
"Plus the lady that helped us contact the other nations set up the communications so that they can call here." Linda pointed out.
"So, if that's everything," Croire said, "do you want to get going now?"
The group nodded and Peashy, Compa, Filyn, Warechu and Gust went to Leanbox while IF, Linda, Rom and Ram went to Lowee while Uni, Steamax and Chrome went to Lastation. Stopping at the portal, Chrome looked back at Neptune in worry and looked at the bigger Neptune and Nepgear. "You two, please make sure that Neptune is okay." They nodded and Chrome smiled as she walked through the portal after Uni and Steamax.
After everyone was through, Croire shut down the portals and smiled softly. "Man, it's so awesome!" Her eyes sparkled and she looked at Neptune with a giddiness that was almost disturbing. "And here I thought you were a good guy! And you're destroying an entire dimension! If I was as tall as you were, I'd marry you on the spot!"
Neptune gave her an annoyed look. "Try not to cream your underwear, okay, Darksy?"
"Is she always like this?" Histoire, who had been silently observing until then, finally spoke up.
"Nope!" The bigger Neptune spoke up, smiling. "Most of the time, Crostie's whining about being stuck in my Nepnote!"
"Well, we got a few days," Nepgear spoke up while looking shy and demure, "we need to inform the people about the situation."
"Of course." Histoire nodded and Nepgear got behind the wheel chair and pushed Neptune while the other Neptune, Histoire and Croire followed her out of the room.
A soft chuckling filled the room after they were gone. "It's finally time, huh?"
(-)
In Leanbox...
5pb. smiled as she walked around the courtyard in front of the castle. She was certain that Purple Heart had won her fight against all the Voids. That wasn't why she was smiling.
The fact that she had just left a small orgy after getting cleaned up was why she was smiling. It was hard not to smile when she felt so good.
She jumped in surprise when a black and purple portal appeared in front of her. When Peashy, Filyn, a blue haired bunny girl, the mouse that she had helped when he got lost, the mouse's lover all appeared in front of her before the portal closed, 5pb. breathed a sigh of relief. "Welcome back! I take it that everything's good now?"
"Mostly," Compa told 5pb., "we need to talk to miss Chika. We got some bad news."
(-)
In Lowee...
Financier's eyes lit up as she saw Rom and Ram walk into the main Basilicom room with Linda and IF following after them. "Lady Rom! Lady Ram!" She got up from her seat, ran around her desk and hugged the twins. "I was so worried for you two!" She smiled when they hugged her back. "I take it everything's been taken care of?"
"Sadly, no." Linda spoke up and Financier looked confused as she let go of the twins. "There's a big problem."
(-)
In Lastation...
Uni had finished explaining what was going on to Brave, who nodded at her. "I... I know I need to save everyone, but part of me feels like I'm abandoning this nation." She jerked in surprise as a hand touched her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Steamax standing there silently. "Steamax?"
"I think you're more worried that you feel like you're abandoning your sister. Do not worry, Lady Uni. I know for a fact that Lady Noire would do this as well if she thought it would help everyone."
Uni nodded and looked at Chrome, who gave her an encouraging nod. "Alright, the sooner we get this done, the better."
(-)
Everyone suddenly paused as all the screens across the city changed to reveal Uni's face. "Citizens of Lastation. I am the acting CPU of Lastation, the younger sister of Black Void. As you know, I left with CPU Purple Heart to Planeptune not too long ago. I can say, without hesitation, that we were able to deal with the Void of Planeptune." She paused and let that sink in for the people. "However, a problem has arisen. Due to the fact that there are no more Voids in the world, the whole planet will soon start to become unstable. Do not panic, thanks to CPU Purple Heart, none of us have to worry about dying as she revealed that she can save all of us."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion as Uni told them that.
"To that end, we must abandon Lastation. In three days time I will make another announcement. I ask that you get your clothes, important mementos and anything you can carry packed up. Only take what you can carry with you. I am having the Progbots reprogrammed as soon as this message is finished so they can assist people who need it. Members of the Basilicom staff will help direct people in the coming days. I urge all of you to remain calm as CPU Purple Heart has assured me that none of you will be left behind or die. Some of you are probably wondering what happened to her and she is staying in Planeptune to help the people there."
Uni gave everyone a stern look. "I am warning all of you, however, that if there are any of you that decides to riot and harm others, I will not hesitate to lock you in prison and leave you there after everyone else leaves."
After that, the video shut off and everyone was understandably nervous, but that ended with screams with people rushing to get back to their homes.
(-)
"Chian!" Ganache cried out as he entered the diner and sighed as she was okay. "Come, we need to get going."
"Yes." Chian nodded and smiled at her workers. "You're all fired, go home and get your stuff packed up. I'll see you in three days when Lady Uni makes another announcement."
"Yes!" They all yelled and rushed out of the diner to get home.
Chian sighed softly and walked around the counter to give her husband a small kiss on the cheek. "Hey, honey, there's something I wanted to tell you, I was going to keep it a surprise for another week, but..." She grabbed his hand and put it on her belly, smiling as his eyes widened. "Congrats, daddy."
Ganache suddenly grinned and kissed her on the lips while hugging her tightly. He did wish that he had gotten this news sooner, but it was nice to know that he was going to be a father.
He just hoped that everything would work out.
(-)
In Planeptune...
Neptune sighed as she leaned back in her wheel chair. "It's been a few hours, huh?" She had made the announcement to everyone in Planeptune and knew that things were hectic right now, but with MAGES., Mina, RED, B-Sha and Nepgear's help, they had managed to get the populous mostly under control and things were proceeding smoothly. She wanted to call the other nations to make sure that they were okay, but decided that she could wait.
"Hello, Nepsy." Kurome said as she appeared in front of Neptune. There was a smug look on her face that Neptune didn't like. "I knew you could do it." She slowly raised her left hand up to the sky. "Sadly, Nepsy, this is the end." Her face showed true sadness and remorse on it. "I really am sorry, but this is my only chance."
"What are..?" Neptune paused and her face turned pale as the sky turned bright red and a large Fearicite crystal appeared in the sky. "Wh..WHAAA?!"
"All those Fearicite Crystals you destroyed?" Kurome told her, "they simply returned to this... And didn't you find it strange that every time a Void was killed a red beam of energy would shoot straight into the sky, turning the sky red before it went back to normal?" She smirked at Neptune's paling face. "All you did was condense all the power that you went up against, all of their power and souls returned to where they came from."
"But... If that's the case," Neptune began as she trembled as her whole body felt as if it was being pushed into ice water. "The world shouldn't be ending."
Kurome chuckled at her. "Sorry, Nepsy, this isn't what you think. This has been building up for over sixty years now. This crystal won't hold the world together, but it will help me with my plan."
"What's going on?!" Nepgear cried out as she ran outside and saw the red sky, Neptune and Kurome in front of her. "What are you doing?!"
Kurome lowered her hand and several energy limbs shot out of the manifestation of the crystal and grabbed Neptune before she could react, pulling her up into the air as Kurome followed after her. "I wish it didn't have to come to this, Nepsy. But the real reason I spared your life..." A glowing sickle appeared in each of her hands and at the ends of them was a chain. "Was because I need your body to finish my revenge on Gamindustri, Nepsy."
Neptune growled and focused on her Shares. "I won't let you! Access!" She flashed white for a moment before realizing that she didn't change. "Nep-wha?!"
"This is my power condensed, Nepsy." Kurome told her, "and since you're being held by it, I control what you do." As soon as they got high enough into the sky, Neptune watched in horror as Kurome threw her sickles into Neptune's body, both of them stabbing her in the chest. Though there was no blood as the skin wasn't pierced, Neptune gasped in horror as Kurome pulled on the chains and she felt as though she was being ripped apart. "I'm going to remove your soul from your body, Nepsy." Kurome told her as she pulled even as Neptune fought against it. "When I do, I'll insert myself into your body."
Neptune's eyes widened as she realized something horrifying. "n...No! You'd turn all the CPUs in Gamindustri into Voids?!"
"Not just your friends and my other self," Kurome gave her a cool smile. "But your friends from that other dimension as well. And they won't realize that it's not you until it's too late."
"NO!" Neptune cried as she tried to fight against what Kurome was doing but found that her soul was slipping out of her body.
"Goodbye, Nepsy." Kurome whispered as she gave the chains one last hard pull.
To be continued...
Oh, so that's what Kurome's plan was this whole time, huh?
Even near the end, I can't give Neptune a break. It all comes to a head in the next, and final, chapter of Echoes of the Dark.