Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Sega, and whoever else worked on it.
After looking at the reviews and my preview of the previous chapter as a viewer, I'll go back to the old format.
Then without further more….
Chapter 19
(-)
Unknown time, Nepgear's dream world during her sleep.
Nepgear was dreaming of her time in the past, particularly when Nepgear defeats Arfoire the deity of sin with the Gehaburn Sword.
In her dream, Nepgear, wearing her white school uniform, walked around Planeptune Park during her break from work in the afternoon. She needed fresh air after a lot of work being done, especially with her being the sole goddess of Gamindustri. Nepgear looked around her surroundings to see birds chirping, people hanging out together in one of the food and drink stalls, children playing together with cheerful faces, and a few families walking together while they strolled their babies.
Nepgear looked to the blue sky and wondered what would they do if they found out the hidden truth that Nepgear and the other makers kept from them. It didn't take a while for Nepgear to brush off the thought and enjoy the moment.
'No Gear, you need to lay it off and take it easy' Thought Nepgear in her mind.
While Nepgear walked out while waving with a smile at a few people who greeted her, She noticed a single blue stroll that was left alone in the distance.
Nepgear walked towards the lone stroll and checked to see if there was a baby inside. To her expectation, a baby was inside the stroll. The baby looked happy to see Nepgear looking at her with a smile.
"Don't worry, little one. I'll bring you to your parents" Said Nepgear to the baby.
Nepgear then walked over to one of the security outposts near the park's gate whilst strolling the baby gently. Some people even thought that a Goddess had a baby of her own, which was quickly cleared up by Nepgear that it wasn't like that. Nepgear just wanted to bring the baby back to its family.
When Nepgear arrived at the outpost, she saw a woman talking to the guards. She looked desperate as they talked to them. Nepgear thought that she was currently explaining her missing baby.
"Please officer, you have to find my baby! It's the one with a blue color stroll and white-pink sheets and pillows" The adult woman described.
"A-alright, we'll notify the guards and some people in the park about this. Maybe they can lead us to your missing baby. Rest assured ma'am, we'll find the one you're looking for" Said one of the guards.
"That won't be necessary, officer" Nepgear spoke to get their attention.
The Woman was surprised to see the sole Goddess bringing her baby back with the stroll.
"My Baby!" The woman said with a relieved look.
"Here you go, Madam. Try not to lose your baby again" Nepgear said as she gave the baby in the stroll.
"T-thank you so much, Lady Nepgear. I'll do my best to always keep my dear baby by my side. Thank you again!" The woman bowed repeatedly.
"You can stop now. Go on and have fun with your baby" Nepgear said.
The woman nodded and went on her way with her baby. Then, Nepgear turned to the guards near her.
"To keep this from happening, we need to post smaller groups of guards to cover all the parts of the park. And if there's anything unusual, notify the rest of the guards immediately. Got it?" Nepgear ordered the guards.
"Yes, Lady Nepgear. We shall expand our horizons in a few hours" One of the guards said while he saluted Nepgear, with the other guards saluting her as well.
Nepgear nodded and waved goodbye at them before leaving the park. Outside, she exhaled with a glad look that the problem was resolved quickly.
"I've sacrificed my sister and the others for this peace, huh? I hope this goes on for a long time in the future. And to make sure, I have to keep it from any problems that may occur, even if I have to bear this deep scar within me" Nepgear said to herself.
Then, Nepgear went along the streets to go back to the NepTower and continue her work.
Suddenly, the dream time skipped to when everything was falling apart.
After Chika's act of telling the hidden truth to everyone in Gamindustri and her declaration of war on Nepgear, Nepgear relentlessly tried to make things right. But the people had already begun to distrust Nepgear and her actions, which had led to some riots and rebellions.
Nepgear had even resorted to violence towards the people. Of course, it calmed down the riots. But in exchange, Nepgear instilled fear and anxiety in the people.
Even at that troubled time, Nepgear had the chance to take a short break at the park. This was possible because Histoire said that she'll take care of the other work that piled up.
When Nepgear walked along the park, it didn't have that peaceful atmosphere when everything was fine. Fewer people were in the park, and children still played together but when Nepgear was close they distanced themselves from her, people just ignored Nepgear like she wasn't even there.
Nepgear felt down because of this, at least until she saw a single baby stroll not far from her distance.
Nepgear approached the stroll to see a single baby. Sadly, even with Nepgear putting on a smile on the baby, the baby was afraid of Nepgear and cried loudly.
"WAAAHHHHHHHH!" The baby cried out.
"No no no! I'm not going to hurt you" Nepgear panicked a bit, then she figured out that maybe the Baby just needed a warm cuddle to calm down.
Nepgear was about to hold the baby in her arms, but it was thwarted when a Woman quickly took away the stroll and the baby from Nepgear.
"Get away from my baby! You monster!" The woman glared at Nepgear.
"N-no, I was just trying to-. Ow!" Nepgear cut off her words of reasoning when a toy was thrown at her face.
"Go away, Meanie!" A little boy yelled after he threw his toy.
More and more people from all ages gathered to mock and throw things and Nepgear. Since Nepgear was told by Histoire to not resort to violence, the only thing that she could do was only cover herself with her hands. But the physical objects thrown at Nepgear didn't matter, rather it was the words of the people that used to greet Nepgear with warmth. It pains Nepgear deeply that they no longer trust and love her, even more so after the people had forgotten that Nepgear did everything to keep the love and peace going in the past.
"BACKSTABBER!"
"TYRANT!"
"BITCH!"
"MURDERER!"
Those words were repeatedly said by the people from the park, and more similar harsh mocking words came out of their mouths.
"No! I'm not! Just let me fix all of this!" Nepgear desperately said as she ran away with her white school uniform stained from some of the foods thrown at her.
But it was of no use, as the people didn't listen to Nepgear. Saddened, Nepgear flew off from the park with her CPU wings and quickly flew over to the NepTower.
When she landed at the Veranda, Nepgear turned off her CPU form and ran towards her lilac room while holding back her tears.
"Dear, what's the matter?!" Histoire called out when she saw Nepgear running with her head down.
Alas, Nepgear ignored Histoire and went inside her room. Once she was there, Nepgear slumped down to her bed and cried a lot. Her clothes were already cleaned thanks to the CPU form trick, but the pain didn't clean off from her heart.
"Hiks….I just…..wanted everything back….to normal…WWAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Nepgear cried out loud.
Nepgear kept crying until her tears ran out and her throat got tired of crying in despair.
(-)
05:00 AM, Nepgear's Lilac Room.
Nepgear, in her lilac pajamas, woke up from her dream and quickly stood up from the bed. After experiencing her dreams of past events, she felt something was off in her head.
"Ugh….That dream, how am I remembering that event now all of the sudden?" Mumbled Nepgear as she scratched her head.
At that moment, she felt a small trace of a spell around her head. Nepgear followed the spell traces to know where it came from with her hand. It then leads Nepgear to Lei's head. Lei, with her grey pajamas, was currently asleep beside Nepgear. Magic, with her lilac pajamas, was also sleeping beside Lei as well.
"It came from Lei's head? ….Oh, her" Nepgear realized who made her dream of those events when she was sleeping.
Quietly, Nepgear slowly got out of bed and tidied her pajamas. She exhaled some breaths and looked back to see Lei currently cuddling Magic. Nepgear smiled for a short while and then frowned at Lei. But not specifically at Lei, but at Sigma Dimension's Rei Ryghts that was dwelling inside Lei.
"No matter what you will do to me, you will never break me. Because I have my family that I want to protect and cherish with everything I have. I won't let anything stand in my way of peace" Nepgear spoke at Lei's sleeping body, but it was for Rei.
Unbeknownst to Nepgear, Sigma Rei cursed at Nepgear.
"Tch, damn you, miscreant!" Sigma Rei said inside Lei's deep consciousness.
Then, Nepgear exits her room and quietly walks over to the kitchen to make some breakfast for her, Magic, Lei, and also Kurome, and Gehaburn who were snoring loudly in the living room.
"Heh, those four really overdid themselves at 's stunt show," Nepgear said as she was preparing the needed tools and ingredients.
(-)
07:00, Nepgear's lilac room.
Magic slowly opened her eyes looking up to the lilac ceiling. Then she sits on the bed and stretches her arms.
"Ah~, blissful morning. With me sleeping with My Lady~" Magic happily said.
"Wake up, My Lady~. It's morning already~" Magic softly shook the big bump at her right, thinking that it was Nepgear.
But it wasn't Nepgear that woke up beside Magic, it was Lei.
"Yawn~~, morning, Mistress~," Lei said to her left side, also thinking that it was Nepgear.
"Eh?" Magic said.
"Eh?" Lei said.
"EEEHHHHHHHHH?!" Magic and Lei shout at each other.
"W-why are you sleeping in My Lady's room?! Who let you?! Explain yourself!" Magic asked like it was an interrogation.
"S-sorry…I-it was our Mistress that l-lets me sleep here. After Mr. Dolichop's stunt show, I was supposed to s-sleep in the l-living room, but I-I can't sleep in there" Lei answered as she stuttered, while she touched her two index fingers together like a shy person.
"Why….It would have been the perfect moment with only me and My Lady together waking up in the morning….." Magic said as she lay down in the bed again.
"W-well, I couldn't h-handle hearing Miss Kurome and Miss Gehaburn's s-snores….." Lei explained.
"That's your reason?" Magic asked, to which Lei nodded as a reply.
"Well, at least we have something in common. Can't stand any snores" Magic said with a snort.
"Miss Magic c-can't handle snores t-too?" Lei asked.
"Yeah, of course. Imagine trying to enjoy peaceful moments in your bed with those loud snores. You can't, right?" Magic answered.
"Hehe, yes. It breaks my ears instead of calming them d-down. Like putting a loudspeaker close to your ear" Lei added.
"What? Nah. Snores aren't that comparable to those loudspeakers" Magic countered.
"O-oh…" Lei murmured.
"But those two blockheads' snores sure are comparable to it" Magic referred to Kurome and Gehaburn's snores
"Pfft, bahahahahhaha!" Lei laughed at Magic's joke.
"Hehehahahah" Magic laughed together with Lei.
Magic and Lei went on laughing for a bit, but it was soon interrupted by a knock near the room's door. The two turned their heads at the door to see Kurome, in her blue pajamas, and Gehaburn, in her purple pajamas, putting up a poker face and resting their sides on each side of the door.
"You two are having fun with each other, eh. Even if you two are joking about us," Gehaburn said.
"Here I thought that something was wrong when we heard a scream. Turns out that it was just you the two hanging out with each other" Kurome added.
"A-ah, M-miss Gehaburn, and M-miss Kurome. W-we didn't mean to belittle…" Lei stuttered as she panicked.
"Though Burn and Kurome's loud snores do indeed pack a high pitch and frequency" Magic mumbled about their snores.
"We heard that! No way we didn't hear what you mumbled if we're this few feet close," Gehaburn raised one of her eyebrows and crossed her arms.
"Oopsie, My Bad~" Magic whistles after saying that.
"Hah….anyway, Gearsy had finished preparing our breakfast. Get your buttocks off the bed and let's eat together" Kurome told Magic and Lei.
"A-alright, w-we'll be right there" Lei replied.
Kurome then got off from leaning on the door's side and walked off to the dining room. Gehaburn followed suit, though she looked at Magic and Lei one more time and gestured an "I'm keeping an eye on you two" gesture with two fingers pointed at her own eyes, then towards Lei and Magic. After that, she skipped off to the dining room.
Lei and Magic can only giggle at it. Then the two got out of bed and stretch their bodies together.
"Shall we head on over now?" Magic said.
"Mhm, w-we can't keep our mistress waiting, Miss Magic" Lei answered.
"Yeah, oh by the way"
"Hm?" Lei raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"Drop the 'Miss' or 'Mister' thing if you're referring to me, Burn, Kurome, and others. I may be your senior, but that doesn't mean you should be polite all the time" Magic remarked.
"O-okay. But what about our Mistress?" Lei further asked.
"Depends on yourself. Our lady doesn't mind being called with other casual nicknames, as long as it does not offends Our Lady" Magic said.
"M-mkay, Magic!" Lei smiled without any restraints.
The two then head on over to the dining room. Inside, Nepgear, Kurome, and Gehaburn were currently waiting for Magic and Lei so they can start eating their breakfast, which was a cheesy omelet with various types of meat inside it.
"Took ya long enough. I'm starving here, so let's start eating together!" Gehaburn said with her arms up.
"Since everyone's here, let's" Nepgear permitted everyone to eat.
Nepgear, Gehaburn, Kurome, Magic, and Lei all seated up and began to eat their plates with enthusiasm. When they first bite the food, delicious sensations were flowing in their mouth. Mixed with the meaty texture of the meats inside and the smooth omelets, they filled their bellies with satisfaction.
"Mmm, finally. Some good fucking food. This shit's good, Gear!" Gehaburn positively commented after finishing her plate.
"Then I haven't lost my touch. Been a while since I cook all by myself" Nepgear said as she tried to gather the empty plates, but it was interrupted by Magic.
"Let me do it, My Lady. I'll clean these dishes for you" Magic volunteers herself.
"Thanks, Magic. Appreciate it" Thanked Nepgear.
"I-I'll clean the rest of the kitchen for you, G-geary," Lei shyly said as she stood up and walked to the used kitchen.
"Geary? Not bad. Is that what you would like to refer to me as?" Nepgear asked as she looked back to Lei who was cleaning the kitchen with Magic.
"Y-yes. I feel that it's more c-casual to call you that. Plus, Magic said that it was okay" Lei answered.
"So, why are you still calling me 'My Lady', Magic?" Nepgear turned to ask Magic.
"Same reason like Lei. Even though it's formal, It's more casual for me to call you that, My Lady. Is it not to your liking?" Magic said.
"No, suit yourself. Just a bit curious, that's all" Nepgear waved her hand as a sign that she didn't mind being called like that.
Magic nodded after Nepgear said her words, then she continued to clean the dishes with Lei by her side. Both smiled at each other because of how Nepgear was at ease after being nicknamed like that.
"Now then…Hey, you two" Nepgear called out to Kurome and Gehaburn.
But she was ignored and kept on whispering with each other.
"Hehe, those two are like two peas in a pod" Kurome whispered to Gehaburn, referring to Lei and Magic.
"Got that right. Especially after Magic tried to cut Lei's head off yesterday" Gehaburn whispered back.
"From zero to one hundred real quick" Kurome added.
"EHEM YOU TWO!" Nepgear yelled as she bumped her fist at the table.
Kurome and Gehaburn were surprised at Nepgear calling them out like that. Though Nepgear did so because she was ignored by the two.
"What the fuck, Gearsy?! You scared the shit out of us!" Kurome complained.
"What the fuck me? You two are ignoring me the whole time! I've been calling you two this whole time!" Nepgear looked pissed.
"Oh shit! Sorry Gear, our bad!" Gehaburn quickly apologized as she bowed, with Kurome bowing repeatedly at Nepgear.
"Good grief…..You two can stop now. I want to talk to the two of you about something" Nepgear said.
"Oh, what's the gig?" Kurome asked.
Then, Kurome and Gehaburn leaned forward to Nepgear from their seats. With serious faces pit up by the two, they are ready to talk things with Nepgear.
"Right, so. Today, I want this day to be the final preparation day for our 'Cover Assault' operation while also being the day to launch our operation" Nepgear explained to them after leaning close to them.
"Ah yes, that operation! What'cha want us to do?" Gehaburn asked full of willingness.
"For you, you're gonna notify our brethren to prepare their bodies and weapons and explain to them all about the plan," Nepgear said as she pointed to Gehaburn.
"Wait, I'm doing the explanation part? Aww come on, why choose me out of everyone?" Gehaburn said with a grumpy face.
"Don't be like that, Burn. It won't be long, you just have to explain it all with this Nep-Tablet. You got all you need to finish this task" Nepgear said while handing out her purple tablet to Gehaburn.
"Oh sweet! Why didn't you say this from the beginning? My brain was starting to get fried when told me all that" Gehaburn said happily.
"Just teasing ya, hihi" Nepgear chuckled while Gehaburn just pouted at her.
"Then what about me? Do you want me to make a giant bazooka? A nuclear RPG? A giant mecha? Or a mechanized Excalibur? Just give me the order and I'll make it for you, Gearsy" Kurome said with her orange eyes lighting up.
"No, not any of that. I just want you to do a recon mission" Nepgear said blatantly.
"Wait what" Kurome put up a poker face.
"Yeah, a recon mission. You'll search our enemy's home base with Arfoire, Warechu, and the drones that Magic picked up from the basement" Nepgear told Kurome.
"Dang, I feel like I got the short end of the stick here" Kurome slumped down on the table feeling disappointed.
"Sorry, I have other things I need to take care of. It should've been me doing the whole recon, but because something came up, I need you to do it for me. Pretty please?" Nepgear persuaded Kurome with a cute look.
"Hah…fine, I'll do it," Kurome said as she stood up from her seat.
"Glad you want to accept this. The drones and the boat are on standby near Arfoire's black house. Once you're all set, use the dimension travel app that I had installed in your Nep-Watch to transport all of you to the Ultradimension" Nepgear further explained to Kurome.
"Alright, got it. I'll prep myself in Lastation and straightforward to Arfoire" Kurome turned back to exit the room with her hand out to gesture a goodbye sign.
"Wait, Kurome! One more thing"
"Hm?" Kurome turned back before exiting the room after Nepgear called her again.
"...Come back safely..." Said Nepgear with a worried look.
"Relax, Gearsy. It's not like I'm gonna be killed off from this fanfic" Kurome said, breaking the fourth wall a bit.
"Hope so. Just be careful"
After Nepgear said that, Kurome nodded and exited the dining room, and went over to the Portal room leading to Lastation. Though Nepgear asked her to do the recon mission, she can't help but worry for Kurome. Nepgear leaned back on her lilac seat and softly pinched her forehead.
"...Was it the right call to ask Kurome like that?" Nepgear asked herself.
"You're having second thoughts, Gear? Relax, it's only a recon. What could go wrong? Cheer up will ya?" Gehaburn stood up from her seat and pats Nepgear's head to ease her up.
"Yeah. Thanks, Burn" Nepgear thanked Gehaburn.
"Gihi~" Gehaburn giggled.
"Oh, and shouldn't you be doing your work? You're not taking this chance to laze off, do you?" Nepgear leered at Gehaburn, which made Gehaburn laugh nervously.
"Hahaha….Me? Laze off? Nah, it didn't cross my mind one bit. Eh, I'll get to my work now. But before that….."
"Hm? What now?" Nepgear raised an eyebrow at Gehaburn. Then, Gehaburn put up her right arm close to Nepgear.
"Arm bump," Gehaburn said.
"Arm bump? Why now of all times?" Nepgear asked.
"Aww come on, we haven't been doing this for a while. We even forgot to do this after we did that heist" Gehaburn said.
"Heh, fine" Nepgear smiled.
Nepgear and Gehaburn bump their arms together. Then, Gehaburn skipped off from the dining room and began to spread the plan to Judge and the others that were currently training or researching. When Nepgear stood up from her seat, Lei and Magic approached Nepgear.
"Y-you look so cool back there with B-burny" Lei conveyed.
"Eh, it's just our thing, Nothing special about it. Never mind that, because right now we're about to have a session. Just you, me, and Gehaburn later after she's done with her job" Nepgear told Lei.
"But what about me….." Magic said as she looked down.
"Don't be so down, Magic. Just do your daily routine. We'll brief you about our further plans later" Nepgear said as she twirls one of Magic's neon-pink pigtails. It made Magic blush and put her hands on her reddened cheek.
"A-a-alright, My Lady. I-i-if you'll excuse m-m-me" Magic said with more stutters than Lei had ever stuttered before.
Magic, feeling embarrassed in delight, runs away from the dining room and into her room to prepare herself for her usual work routine.
"A-and here I thought I'm the only s-stuttering girl around here. What was that about our session again, Geary?" Lei asked one more time for confirmation.
"As I said, a session for you to enjoy yourself with us by your side" Spoke Nepgear.
"But where?" Lei asked for the location.
"At Planeptune's Park, where we can hang out and feel the breeze of fresh air together," Nepgear answered.
"E-eh, okay" Lei acknowledged.
"Oh, and don't forget to ingest the pill to keep the Rei inside you in control" Nepgear reminded Lei of her medications that were made by Kurome, Trick, and Nynamyrin.
Lei nodded and proceeded to get herself ready for whatever was in store for her. Lei believed that Nepgear would soon tell her the motive because she trusts that Nepgear is doing what she does for the good of her family, which made Lei feel at ease.
The two then took a bath in different baths, changed their clothes to their signature ones, and headed on to the park to play together with some monsters that were playing in the park as well.
(-)
09:00, Ultradimension, Southwest direction, in the middle of the sea.
"This is so boring…."
Kurome, in her black one-button T-shirt and full-on black cloth with some blue decors all over and her usual shoulder veil, was slumping down on the boat while she monitors the drone's view from her purple Nepwatch.
Kurome had already deployed the drone a few minutes ago to the southwest direction of the Ultradimension's map. Particularly towards the V-Shaped Island. Despite being serious about doing her job, Kurome felt bored due to no result whatsoever.
"Are you sure that Gear's hunch was on the spot? I feel like we've been here for ages" Arfoire asked for reassurance while stabilizing her black boat in one spot.
Arfoire was not wearing her full witch clothes this time around, instead, she was wearing black tight jeans, her black witch hat, and a black T-Shirt with a blue word that spelled 'We Sea' in the middle. Arfoire had made the clothes herself yesterday while Nepgear wasn't around.
"You don't believe in Gearsy? Ain't you supposed to trust your 'employees' when it comes to completing their jobs?" Kurome countered.
"What? Of course, I believe in her! It's just that you looked dissatisfied with this whole recon thing" Arfoire said.
"You noticed, eh? Here I thought you were just a naggy granny, Foiresy" Kurome smirked.
"Hooooh? I have you know that I managed my whole farm and market sales before Gear began to work with me. With all the efforts, a thorough look at minor details, and taking care of my employees or associates, I had made loads of money for myself. And-" Arfoire said as her reaction to Kurome's remarks.
"Alright, alright. You don't have to recite your whole biography" Kurome stopped Arfoire before getting too far and return to look at her monitor.
Arfoire sighed and looked around her surroundings while holding the boat's steering wheel. There was nothing but sea in the distance and some small glimpse of continents from afar, which was assumed to be one of the CPU's countries.
Seeing that Warechu was snoring loudly on the front edge of the deck, Arfoire began to spark a conversation with Kurome again. But this time, without having to worsen the mood.
"Kurome, can I ask you something?" Arfoire asked.
"Hmm? Sure why not. A little bit of talk could wash away the boredom. Ask away" Kurome permitted Arfoire as she waved her hand.
"...Why did you stay by Nepgear's side?"
"...What do you mean by that exactly?" Kurome was weirded out by that question because she didn't expect someone to ask that.
"I mean, Gehaburn stayed with Nepgear's side because she's her partner and bears Nepgear's sins with her. Magic and the others obey and help Nepgear because she's their Queen or boss, but exclude Lei since I don't know her yet" Arfoire explained.
"Mhmm, go on" Kurome lets her continue
"But you're different. You are a past goddess that has just broken free from your seal to a new era. You have no attachments whatsoever to everyone in Sigmadimension" Arfoire continued.
"Ahh, so you're asking me that, despite having no attachments, why have I kept on living with Nepgear?" Kurome reaffirms Arfoire's question.
"Yeah, like, pardon me for being rude, but why not go live on in a different dimension and start over? Or join up with your past goddesses comrades" Arfoire said.
"So you're basically asking me to exile myself or kill myself?" Kurome raised one of her eyebrows.
"If you say it like that…..yeah that's rude of me to ask that, sorry. Forget about my question" Arfoire apologized quickly.
"No no, I don't mind. Better yet, it's the perfect time for you to understand me better" Kurome said before she continued to answer.
"The answer is simple. I just wanted to have friends and a home I can peacefully live in again. Having sealed away for a long time makes me feel lonely and desperate for my revenge against the humans. But even then, what will happen to me if I exact my revenge? Should I just die and let the monsters do as they please? If I did, I would've reunited with my past buds. But, I'm scared to die….scared that I would be alone again…I just wanted to feel alive to the fullest" Kurome explained like it was sad, then she took a deep breath before she proceeded again.
Arfoire gulped after hearing Kurome's answer. She understood what she meant because they're similar in a way. They don't want to feel alone in the end.
"You're just like me, not wanting to feel alone anymore," Arfoire said.
"Heh, good thing that we have our Gearsy. At first, I thought that it would only be me, Gearsy, and Burnsy. But now, I'm part of a big family with the others. That's why I will be by Gearsy's side and have a good family time with everyone. Plus, I also want to share Gearsy and Burnsy's burden as well, as their fellow inventor-slash-technician and their secondary rider!" Kurome said with hype while she pointed upwards to the blue sky.
"Hah? Secondary rider?" Arfoire pointed out Kurome's weird remarks.
"Eh, what? Did I say secondary rider? Err I meant by secondary CPU, haha ..." Kurome laughed nervously while scratching her head's back.
"Guess you're weirder than Burn," Arfoire said with a poker face.
"Says the one who makes bland T-shirts" Kurome countered as she smirks.
"This is not bland, this is art!" Arfoire exclaimed after being teased.
Then Kurome laughed and Arfoire sighed at Kurome. In a surprise, the Nep-Tablet that Kurome kept on holding in her left hand was beeping hard. It startled Kurome as the tablet vibrated through her hand.
Arfoire thought that there was something hostile coming at them, so they immediately readied herself to escape the vicinity. Meanwhile, Kurome checked on the tablet to see what was going on.
"What's the problem, Kurome? Something incoming?!" Arfoire asked in haste.
"N-no, it's something else….." Kurome said while looking at the tablet.
"Alright, notify me if something's coming. I'll wake up this rat just in case. Oi, Rat! Wake up!" Arfoire yelled to the sleeping Warechu from her boat's wheel
"What, What, Chu?!" Warechu woke up from his sleep on the boat's deck.
"Be useful right now and keep an eye on the horizon!" Arfoire ordered Warechu.
"You woke me up when there's something bad that would come? Man, just when I got some good dreams, Chu" Warechu complained, but he positioned himself on a deck's edge and keep a lookout.
Back to Kurome, It seems that the drone had alerted Kurome that there was an odd force field that prevented it from continuing its search.
"A force field? There's definitely something weird hidden behind it if the drone can't get inside with its mid-level field breaker" Kurome said herself.
"Let's see if you can block this!" Kurome reprogrammed the drone field breaker gimmick through the Nep-Tablet and upgrade it to a higher level.
Once she pressed 'Enter', the roundish grey drone's one eye lit up even brighter and smoothly went into the force field. When the drone captures what it is currently seeing, Kurome can't help but gasp at the picture that was displayed on the screen.
"W-wha….it ..can't be…." Kurome said.
"What? What is it?" Arfoire curiously asked.
Kurome, before she showed Arfoire the screen, ordered the drone to quickly scan the area and hasten the pictures to be sent to the tablet. After that, Kurome handed out her tablet to Arfoire.
"Is that…..a black Nep-Tower?" Arfoire said, identifying the tower on the screen.
The tablet's screen showed a black Nep-Tower standing tall on the V-shaped island. Its design is one of the same as the Neptower they knew, as seen from its sharp-cone design with a little bit of pointy stuff at the top. The only thing that differs from the original is that it is colored black, twice the size of the original, and it is surrounded by purple and black miasma.
"How come someone didn't notice this tower before? This shouldn't be missed by everyone in Ultra, I mean, it's that big of a tower!" Arfoire asked
"I'd guess it's because of the force field that covers the whole tower. I got some data from my drone that the field has a camouflage system to cover only the black tower and the miasma" Kurome answered while showing the results from the drone.
"No fucking wonder. Wait, what's that on the island?" Arfoire pointed out something on the V-island's picture.
Kurome looked at the screen once more. From the picture, there are several black neptunia-designed generators on some parts of the island.
"Oh those, the drone analyzed that it is the source of the force field. I had already told it to steal its data for our 'Cover Assault'. In a minute it'll be do- oh never mind, the data's in" Kurome said as the full scanning and analyzing of the island had been finished.
"So are we good to go now? I got a bad feeling if we stay too long" Arfoire asked Kurome while she readied herself to start the boat's engine.
"A little bit more, just be ready to step on it when I say so," Kurome told Arfoire while keeping her eyes locked on the Tablet.
Kurome was manually controlling the drone away from the Black Thunderbird's Onslaught. They had recently appeared when the Drone had done its scanning. To reduce the risks of them being chased by these monsters, Kurome lured them away for a while with the drone.
Ultimately, the drone was about to strike the Drone. But it was also part of Kurome's plan for them to catch up.
"Gotcha, you bitches"
Kurome, while wearing a sinister smile, pressed the self-destruct button on the Tablet. The drone then stopped its flight and in a few seconds, it detonated itself, bringing down approximately 1/4 of the Black Thunderbirds flock.
"Nice, Now Foiresy! hit it!" Kurome turned and shouted at Arfoire.
"Hang on to something, It'll get bumpy! You too, Rat!" Arfoire ordered her crew.
"Chu, What?" Warechu was surprised as he looked back.
After having said her words, Arfoire start the boat's engine and drove off from the area way from the V-island.
"Waaaaaaaa!" Warechu yelled as he rolled down.
"I gotchu, Waresy!"
Kurome caught Warechu before he was thrown away from the boat due to the sudden bumpiness. Succeeded in the capture, Kurome lets out a relieved sigh.
"Thanks, chu~" Warechu was thankful at Kurome.
But he also used the chance to smother Kurome's breasts that were covered by the black one-buttoned T-shirt and the black fabric underneath it.
"Ehh, kinda moderate. But it'll do" Warechu commented before he continued to embrace it
"At a time like this? Nngh, How naughty of you~" Kurome said, almost as if she was inviting Warechu in.
Then, something alerted Kurome's CPU senses.
Kurome ignored Warechu and looked back to see half of the Black Thunderbird's flock was coming in fast.
"Shit, They sure are fast! Guess I'll need to properly upgrade this boat later. Fun's time over, Waresy. We got incoming!" Kurome said before dropping Warechu from her hands.
Kurome walked to the back of the boat and called her black Megaphone with some blue color on the grip's edge and the Megaphone's edge.
"Waresy, just like we planned. Get ready to blast 'em all!" Kurome said.
"Oh shit, I got it, chu!" Warechu said before he pulled out his newly made two-barreled shotgun which was invented by Kurome.
Warechu gets beside Kurome and loads his shotgun before the Black Thunderbirds are catching up.
"All set, Chu!" Warechu told Kurome.
"On my mark! One….two….three!"
When the countdown reached three, Kurome and Warechu began to blast away the Black Thunderbirds that were close to the boat. Kurome shouted her Megaphone and powerful sound blasts came out of it, making the monsters take a lot of damage and die in the sea. Meanwhile, for Warechu, he used his shotgun and it spewed out two barrels that let out explosive bits that dealt massive area damage.
They did this for a while whenever the black thunderbirds were closer to them and the boat.
"Take that! And that! And this! And-, shit! I'm out of ammo!" Warechu said after he checked his shotgun's ammo.
"Focus the CME energy inside you and make it into your bullet for the shotgun!" Kurome said to Warechu.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that, chu?!" Warechu protested.
"Uh, never mind! Step back, I got something up my sleeve!" Kurome waved her hand to signal Warechu to get away from the boat's back edge.
Warechu stepped back and stood near Arfoire who was too focused on the sea. Once the coast was clear, Kurome smirked and was about to take out something from her inventory.
"It's only a prototype, but it'll finish the job. Here comes my second Megaphone!"
Kurome took out a Megaphone that was identical to her first Megaphone. Same size, color pattern, and power output. Afterward, she holds out two of her Megaphone in front of the remaining Blak Thunderbirds with both hands and flips both of the Megaphone's switches that unlock its limiters. Kurome turned to Arfoire and Warechu before she was about to unleash a double Megaphone blast.
"Brace yourselves!" Kurome shouted, which Arfoire and Warechu nodded as a reply.
Then, Kurome took a crouched stance and inhaled some air through her nose, and shouted her new skill loudly.
"HYPER DREAM ROARRR!"
As Kurome shouted incredibly loud, her two Megaphones let out an immense blue sound wave that blasted the Black Thunderbird's flocks to smithereens. The sound waves were so loud that they could be heard by the Ultra Leanbox's citizens. The wave had also made some waves that would boost the boat away from the area.
"OH SHIT!" Arfoire kept on holding the wheel because the boat was a bit airborne above the sea.
"UWAAAAA!" Warechu cried for his life while holding onto Arfoire's 'We Sea' T-shirt.
Fortunately, the boat was airborne for a while. Then the waves calmed down and The boat's balance stabilized itself. Arfoire let go of the wheel and sat down on the floor with Warechu.
Kurome slumped down to the floor and looked at both of her Megaphones.
"As expected of my inventions! Very innovative!" Kurome praised herself.
"Innovative? That was fucking dangerous!" Arfoire blurted at Kurome.
"It wasn't that bad, don't be so wimpy," Kurome said.
"Can we go home now, chu? My head is still seeing ducks spinning in front of me ..." Warechu said with his black eyes spinning.
"Yeah, I'll call Gearsy to get us all back home through Burnsy. I need to give all the recon results to Gearsy" Kurome said as she turned on the call app on the Nepwatch to call Gehaburn.
"Hah…this mission wasn't so boring after all" Kurome commented while waiting for the call to get through.
(-)
10:00 AM, Planeptune's G-Farm Park.
Nepgear and Lei were sitting right next to each other on one of the benches that were recently installed for monsters to sit. They were chilling together after walking around the Park and seeing various monster activities. Doggos playing with each by bumping at each other, Vaders were stacking each other like in one of those Tetris games to make some vader tower, the ghosts go on to play hide'n'seek, Tulips walking around the park to make the air smell sweet and fresh, and some Ice golems keeping an eye on the park to make sure everything's okay.
Though it may be different from her past, Nepgear felt the same feeling before everything wasn't fucked up. It was those feelings of peace and happiness, just like what Nepgear wished for.
Lei also feels something similar, a feeling of ease to be precise. It felt like she was living the peaceful moment of her life, even though she was just created yesterday. But even then, she wondered why Nepgear brought her to this place.
"Umm, G-geary. Why did you bring me to this place? Is this the s-session you were talking about?" Lei asked Nepgear who was smiling forward.
"Yes, it is. Did you think of something different?" Nepgear asked back.
"Err, y-yes. I thought that I-it was gonna be like 'Prove your worth by fighting me!' o-or 'Ace this test for you to train your control over Rei!'" Lei portrayed, which made Nepgear chuckle at Lei.
"Hahaha, what am I? Some kind of shonen senior?" Nepgear jokingly said.
"N-no, I didn't mean it l-like that," Lei said.
"I'm kidding, but let me ask you this. What do you feel after walking and looking around the park?" Nepgear turned serious as she asked Lei.
"...H-how should I say this? I-I feel like this is my home sweet home that I-i can go back to and feel welcomed by those who w-waited for me" Lei answered with her own words.
"Hmm, for a stuttering girl, you can make such a fine answer" Nepgear commended.
"W-what do you take me for, Geary? Huuu…. S-so, did I pass?" Lei asked after she whimpered a bit.
"With flying colors" Nepgear confirmed.
"Mmm, though i-it feels kinda underwhelming," Lei said, feeling a bit down.
"Well, if you were expecting something like fighting style, tactics, or spell knowledge, you can get those easily through battles and experience. But to find the purpose for you to fight is something that must be attained differently" Nepgear answered.
"M-my purpose to fight?" Lei was confused at Nepgear's words.
"What I mean is, It's meaningless to fight or protect something if you don't have any purpose or goals to do so. Even if we are all different, we always strive to live and be happy in the moment together" Nepgear said when she looked to the sky, then turned to Lei.
"Do you have any other purpose that you strive for? Other than just serving myself?" Nepgear asked seriously.
"I-I…"
"Boss Lady!"
Nepgear and Lei turned their heads towards Judge who was hovering over their bench while dragging CP8, the Sigma version of Copypaste, with one of his hands.
"What is it, Judge? Can't you see that we are having our girl talk here?" Nepgear told Judge.
"Oops, my bad. Heyya Lei! Hope you're not in your crazy mode" Judge greeted Lei while he waved one of his arms.
"Ah-haha, I hope so too," Lei waved back.
"What are you dragging CP8 like that for? Now he got some dirt on his tracks" Nepgear pointed at CP8's black tank tracks that were dirty.
"I know, but he's too heavy! Heavier than Trick's Ass" Judge said.
From the distance, Leanbox G-Farm, Trick's lab.
"ACHOO! Did I just get infected by Kurome?" Trick wondered while holding two flasks, then shrugged about the sneeze off and went back to his experiment.
Back to the park.
"Anyway, can you fix CP8? He got devastated after we drank some gut-punching beer" Judge told Nepgear.
"You gave CP8 some beers? In the morning? And you gave one of the high-tier ones?" Nepgear said with a poker face.
"I know, my bad. I'll treat him well next time, but can you fix him, Boss Lady?" Judge asked one more time.
"Where's Nyna though?" Nepgear asked about Nynamyrin's whereabouts since Nyna is also an expert on machines like Nepgear.
"I called her a few minutes ago, but she said she was too busy to help me. Something about decorating her room for you" Judge explained.
"Me? Why do I feel like she's Magic 2.0?" Nepgear wondered.
"I guess she got the hots for you, Boss Lady! Kinda similar to Magic" Judge noted out, then Nepgear shrugged it off in response.
"That aside, put CP8 down to the ground. I'll fix him up" Nepgear stood and walked a bit from the bench, then she stopped and looked back to Lei.
"Hm?" Lei noticed that Nepgear was looking at her.
"You don't have to answer right now, Lei. But once you have your answer, you don't need to say it to me. What you do in the future will act as an answer to me. So relax" Nepgear said with a smile before moving forward with Judge to fix CP8.
Lei was left alone on the bench. She looked at Nepgear and Judge fixing CP8 from a distance. Though from Lei's point of view, Judge was not much of a help for Nepgear and instead. Even with that fact, Nepgear didn't mind him at all. More specifically, It looked like Nepgear was happy with them.
Lei smiled and relaxed on the bench to imagine her purpose other than just serving Nepgear.
"What a load of crap!"
Lei was startled at the sudden voice similar to her inside her mind. She touched her head with her right hand for a bit. Lei pondered for a bit, then she remembered that Rei Ryghts is inside her.
"Rei, I-is that you?" Lei asked.
"Yeah, it's me. who else is residing in your body, huh?" Rei said rudely.
"Y-you don't have to be l-like that. But w-what do you mean by 'A load of crap' ?" Lei complained.
"Everything that bitch gear said! Meaningless to fight without purpose she said, yet she had failed to do her duty as a goddess and killed EVERY human in Gamindustri. She had lost her purpose a long time ago!" Rei exclaimed in fury.
"H-hey, why are you so m-mean to her?" Lei said.
"What do you know? You're just a humanoid robot!" Rei mocked.
"G-geary told me about her past. She regrets that she c-can't prevent it from happening. Geary had o-only Burny and herself to rely on" Lei pointed out that Nepgear told her about her past yesterday.
"So you know of it. Then that makes it easier to talk about this. That Gear should've died for the humans" Rei stated.
"...What?" Lei's grey eye pupils were squinted after hearing what Rei had just said.
"You heard me. She should've sacrificed herself for the humans to thrive and new goddesses to gov-"
"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT TO HER?!" Lei got mad and was furious at Rei inside her.
"W-wha?" Rei was shocked.
"Geary had suffered too much! She lost her sister and her fellow sisters, and had to manage the whole Gamindustri by herself! Only to be betrayed by the same humans she wanted to protect! I may have been born yesterday, but I ain't a prick like you! Geary just wanted to live happily!" Lei said in her anger towards Rei without any stutters.
"You dare! I-" Rei was about to lash out at Lei, but Lei continued first.
"Oh yes, I DO dare at you! Where were you when everything was shit back then, huh?! Nowhere! And what did you do when you met her? You didn't try to understand and help Geary, instead, you blame all of it on Geary, just like what the humans did before! Have you no shame, 'Ancient' Goddess?!" Lei roasted Rei with her words, then pants since Lei said a lot.
"..." Rei was stunned to say anything.
"If you don't have anything to say, stay quiet inside me. Or better yet, get the fuck out of me!" Rei said to finish her off.
"...You're lucky that I'm not in my prime. I'll be back. And when I do, I'll show you that I am right"
After those words, Rei was quiet for a while. When Lei didn't hear anything from her, she had assumed that Rei was either quiet down deep in her or had left her body. Lei sighed and was glad that she didn't have to hear her counterpart for a while.
"Phew…..that takes care of her. Now, where's…..!" Lei was surprised by what was in front of her.
Nepgear, Judge, and the already-fixed CP8 stared at Lei in shock. This makes Lei weirded out by their glares.
"W-what's up with y-you guys?" Lei asked, with her usual stutterings.
"Well, you've gone back to your stutters again," Judge said.
"Yeah, that went from zero to a hundred real quick! Then it went back to zero again" CP8 added.
"H-how long have you all b-been staring at me?" Lei asked while trying to hide her embarrassment.
"When we've finished fixing CP8 and then suddenly you were yelling out loud" Nepgear answered.
"Huwaaaaaaa …. Y-you've seen my b-bad side…." Lei sobbed.
"Don't feel so embarrassed about it. You roasted Rei like that for me" Nepgear said to Lei.
"Heck yeah, she did! Lei owned that bitch! Hahaha!" Judge laughed out loud as he boasted about Lei.
"I-i just said what I felt was right," Lei added.
"And I'm thankful for it, Lei," Nepgear said as she put one of her hands on Lei's shoulder.
"Geary…" Lei said, with her arms on her back
Lei grinned ear to ear after hearing Nepgear's thanks. At that moment, Lei had found another purpose to live other than just serving Nepgear. Lei wants to understand Nepgear and the others, she also wants to be happy together like a family.
Even after she found those purposes, Lei kept it inside her. Since, as Nepgear said, actions are already enough.
Then, a loud ring can be heard from Nepgear's Nepwatch. And since it was close to Lei's head, she was startled and jumped away from where she stood and hid behind the bench. When Judge and CP8 saw Lei like that, they laughed at her silly actions while Nepgear step away from them so she could hear the call well.
"Bahahahahhaha! You're scared over a ringing tone?" Judge said while laughing.
"I-it was close to my ear! It sounded like an e-explosion…." Lei argued.
"Haha! It was just a ringtone, no way it can scarREEEEEEEDD! What the fuck, CP8?!" Judge was scared out when CP8 surprised him with a similar ringtone but this time it came from one of his arms that has a built-in song player.
"But you said it couldn't scare you, hehe," CP8 said.
"You big sneaky bastard. But I guess I know how Lei felt" Judge said instead of lashing out at CP8. Lei approached Judge and patted his big black hover part.
"There there, Judge. Even big guys can get sacred too" Lei joked to Judge indirectly.
"Hmph!" Judge huffed.
Then, Nepgear approached Lei, Judge, and CP8 after she ended the call from her Nepwatch. The three wondered about what Nepgear got from the call. CP8 asked first in his utmost curiosity.
"What was that about, Boss lady?" Said CP8
"A necessary info for us from Kurome to commence our operation called 'Cover Assault', CP8. We'll talk about it on our way to the Nep-Tower" Nepgear answered before she walked out of the park, with Lei, Judge, and CP8 following suit.
Nepgear, when she explained the information to the three, knew that today is the day for them to take on the offensive. It is time to strike back against those who disrupt her family's home.
To Be Continued.
(-)
It may be today for her, but for us, it's the next chapter.
Yes, Kurome can dual-wield, and now she uses two Megaphones. Both are the same model, so it shouldn't be hard to imagine.
Also, Sigma Rei Ryghts is a character deep within Lei for now.
(If you don't remember what either Lei Willivena or CP8 look like, re-read chap 18 or just see the Fanfic's poster)
See you!