this chapters a bit shorter than i usually want because i want to time how the next chapters end


"You know, Nepgear, I enjoy being carried by you like this. We should do this more often in our free time," Vert gleefully mentions.

"Vert…" While carrying Leanbox's CPU, Purple Heart and Sister are flying at high speeds towards Lowee with Iris Heart not so far behind.

"Don't be so selfish with Neppy Jr., Vert...surely a more knowledgeable lady like you should already know that," says Iris Heart.

"Um…" Having both of them in the party is never always a great experience for Nepgear.

Purple Heart seems to have tuned out this fluffy conversation. As Lowee reaches in sight, she says out of nowhere, "Now, Plutie, remember what we told you."

"I know, Neppy. Are you really sure you don't want me playing with Blanny?"

"You already saw Rom and Ram; we really don't want to scare them again," Purple Heart brusquely points out.

"People tend to be scared of what they don't know; perhaps they just need a demonstration."

"Uh..." Being the first time she's met this Planeptune's CPU, even Vert is put off by her mannerisms. "Such improper treatment of younger sisters…"

"Here we are. The three are probably already talking to Plutie's Blanc. If I remember correctly, Blanc's room is on this floor." Flying next to the towering Basilicom, the four are hovering up and down trying to decide where to enter.

"Are you sure, Neptune? It might have been somewhere at the bottom," suggests Nepgear.

"I agree with Neppy Jr. Blanny definitely prefers to be at the bottom."

From below all of them, they hear a faint but fierce "You little-!"

"I wonder what's happening there…" Vert says dryly.

(-)

Some time earlier… "Alrighty, here we are!" After the three arrived at the Basilicom, with its staff not paying too much attention other than a "Lady Blanc," they reached the top floor, standing behind a humbly large set of sliding doors decorated with trees.

"Is she fine with us coming in like this?" Blanc asks.

"Yeah, yeah; come on, let's go see her!" She throws open the doors, revealing the CPU with shrine maiden-esque clothes, sitting behind her table and a somewhat thick laptop.

For the first time in a while, Rom and Ram hear a calmly cold yet quiet Blanc speak. "You know, it's a good thing these walls are paper thin, or you two would have felt the wrath of spilt tea. I'm also not going to ask how my staff let you in."

The CPU Candidates ignore the reprimand, too focused on their own Blanc's reaction. Expectedly, they silently grin at Blanc's shock and confusion, complete with her mouth hanging open. "W...what?"

"...What?" The other Blanc is also confused, though it's directed at the awkward silence and Rom and Ram's sister slowly walking towards her.

Just who is this person who looks and sounds exactly like her? "Um...hello..."

"...Hello? Is there something on my face?" She can't help but frown at the overall puzzlement of both Blancs. That is, until she notices Rom's and Ram's looks. "What are you so excited about?" Is this supposed to be a prank? She wouldn't consider herself, er, the other Blanc to be the kind to pull pranks.

"Oh, it's nothing, Blanc," Rom teasingly answers.

"Huh? But I didn't ask anything…" her older sister says, still bewildered by this encounter.

"Sorry." She's trying as hard as she can to hold in her giggles.

Ram is doing the same, though she sneakily pulls out her game console, camera already prepped, And starts recording.

More silence ensues before the amnesiac Blanc speaks up. "Um, maybe we should introduce ourselves…" She hesitates a bit when the other Blanc raises an eyebrow, but continues. "My name is Blanny, ah-!"

Too late to un-say that; the laughter Rom and Ram have been holding explodes out of them to the point of quite literally rolling on the floor.

On the other hand, the Blanc in red is in complete shock, but you wouldn't be able to tell that as she stands there with an unflinching stare whose blankness reflects her thought process on how to react.

For a moment, their laughter is quiet enough for Blanc to frantically try to explain herself. "I-It was an accident! It's hard not to when everyone calls me Blanny!"

Oop, there she said it again. The other Blanc manages to make one reacting statement: "I've never wanted to hear myself say 'Blanny'...wait a minute." In the corner of her eye, she spots Ram accidentally revealing her game console's screen in its camera mode in her laughing fit. Anything involving recording at this moment can't be any good, so just the sight of it snaps her into a more default mood with an arguably more default level of voice. "Hey, what are you doing with that, you little-!" She immediately tries to swipe the handheld out of Ram's hands.

"Eep!" Such a loud and sudden yell and move makes Blanc instinctively recoil behind her sisters.

Ram also jumps backwards as she avoids the irate Blanc's attack and continues to do so as she keeps trying to grab the device. It doesn't take long for the situation to devolve to just one of them chasing the other in circles around Rom and her sister.

"Uh…" The two realize that being in the middle of such an action makes a collision very probable and try to step out of the circle. Naturally, they end up causing the thing they wanted to avoid, and everyone ends up on the floor from a smashing collision. "Ow…!"

Moments later, the four collectively notice the door open, revealing the three visiting CPUs and one more. "Whoa, what did we miss? A lot, apparently," Neptune points out without much thought.

"It looks like we missed out on a lot of fun. Boo…" says Plutia dejectedly.

"Uhm…" Neither Blanc isn't sure if she can explain her excuse for this one.

(-)

It takes a while for everyone to settle down, but the eight goddesses all eventually sit around the low table for a debriefing. "So what Rom and Ram have been deliberately neglecting to tell me…" Ultra Dimension's Blanc glares at the two, who don't seem so fazed by it. "... is that your Blanc lost her memories and somehow became...this?" She's keen enough to not spill her opinion on the situation to everyone.

"Yep! Vert and I think she's back to how she was years ago," adds Neptune.

"Well, I suppose I did say that...but I would like to see more evidence before I can be so sure," interrupts Vert.

"And it's just...a coincidence that there's also a Blanc in this dimension who's exactly like who I was?" The other Blanc asks.

"Eh, methinks it ain't a coincidence that there's also a Noire and a Vert in this dimension with their own countries that we also have, and there's even another me running around! But sure, you can think of it like that. She isn't any sort of creepy clone that's coming to replace you when you're sleeping."

"Whoa, another Neppy? How come you haven't told me about her?" Now that Sadie doesn't have to be involved, Rom and Ram seem more comfortable with letting their sister sit close to her.

"Really? I haven't told you about her? Gosh, silly forgetful me; I'll make sure to let her know you want to know her the next time I see her!"

"Um, guys? We should be focusing on Blanc, er, the Blancs…"

"Oh, thank you for the reminder, Nepgear," says Vert. "So, any questions, you two?"

Both of them definitely feel a lot more clear since they met each other, but the one in red asks with very apparent irritation, "Are you seriously starting to call the other me 'Blanny?'"

"I don't see what's wrong with it…" It's becoming more clear to "Blanny" what the others were trying to say about her past self being "fierce," but seeing herself like that bothers her.

"Yep! Even the writer is calling her Blanny now!" says Neptune.

eh, i dont really feel like constantly saying hd / ud or finding more ways to say blanc rn, and this seems more natural anyways, so why not lmao

"The writer? Who?" Blanny asks.

"Ah, don't sweat it. Anyways, we have this friend who always calls her that, so we figured, hey, why not join in with the nickname, especially now that she won't be...mad…anymore..." Strange how that still makes a Blanc mad, if not more miffed at Neptune's explanation.

"What's the problem? You always let me call you 'Blanny,' Blanny," Plutia points out. "Now that you think about it...if you all are calling your Blanny that, and I'm already calling my Blanny that...what should I do?"

"Hm, that is a pretty serious problem," says Ram with an inquisitive frown.

"How about you call our Blanny 'Blanny Blanc?'"

"Hmm, that's a great idea, Rom! Heh, 'Blanny Blanc…'" They all share a small laugh, oblivious to the simmering pot in the room.

"If any of you say 'Blanny' one more time…" The noise in the room immediately dies down when they notice her signature pose of her fist raised, ready to deck someone.

Everyone else acquiesces to her threat. Well, everyone except Neptune, remarking with a faint smile, "Yep, that's the Blanc we're used to…"

While also staying silent, Blanny is greatly concerned by her threat. When she heard Falcom describe herself as "fierce," she didn't envision this.

Blanc ignores the comment and takes a deep breath to calm herself. "So...I'm assuming you want me to do something like mentoring with…" Of course, she's not completely on board with her other self's nickname. "...her."

"Yep. I figured who's best to re-learn how to be a Blanc than another Blanc!" explains Neptune.

"We were gonna have a picnic somewhere here and were hoping you would come with us!" adds her sister.

"Well…" That does sound like a fair amount of work, having to essentially re-teach a CPU. She furrows her brows in silent consideration.

"I think it will be fun! And we really wanted to see you again," mentions Rom.

Blanny perks up after a few seconds. "Um...I'm sorry that it sounds like a lot of work...but I've been wanting to learn who I was like for as long as I can remember, so please!"

Eventually, she relaxes her expression before deciding, "...Okay. But I'm going mainly for the food." She immediately stands up. "I'm starving. Are we going now?"

"Right now? Um…" Plutia takes a traditional picnic basket out of her inventory. "...sure thing, Blanny!"

"We made sure to bring enough out of the kitchen in Planeptune's Basilicom for everyone," says Vert with a smile barely holding in excitement as she raises two more baskets.

"I think it's only fair that you get to pick the place to eat, Blanc," offers Nepgear.

"I suppose that's fair." She takes an extra moment to think about it. "There should be a nice hill just outside of the city where we can go. It should just be a short walk."

"Sounds pretty neat, Blanc. Let's get to it!" Neptune eagerly leads the day trip group out of the room.

"Yay, lunch time!" Rom and Ram quickly run past her.

"Wait, we don't know where it is!" Blanny tries to stop her sisters, and when she fails to, tries chasing them.

"Hm…" Just this interaction is concerning Blanc.

"Is something wrong?" notices Nepgear.

"...No, it's nothing," lies Blanc. "I need to start running ahead of them, too."

(-)

"My, this truly is the perfect spot for a picnic you've found for us, Blanc." Just outside of the Basilicom, there's a relatively flat field with few smooth hills surrounded by orange trees on three sides, leaving a loose border of autumn leaves, and a small lake on the remaining side. The group of CPUs have settled right in the middle with the barely afternoon sun right above them.

"Thanks. I frequently come here for outdoor reading," responds Blanc as she starts pulling out food from the basket.

Her response catches Blanny's attention, who was also admiring the scenery while eating a simple but delicious sandwich. "Reading…" That's yet another instance of people associating Lowee's CPU with books. "How much do I...you like reading?"

Her counterpart is silently surprised hearing herself ask such a question, but it eventually makes sense to her why she has to explain something so natural to her. "It's one of our main hobbies. I still remember you occasionally visiting to discuss whatever we were reading." When Blanny doesn't seem to react much to that, she asks, "I'm guessing that you currently don't feel that way, do you?"

"I'm...not so sure. I haven't had time to sit down and read a book yet." Didn't she say something like that earlier with Falcom? "So far, my friends have been really helpful in re-introducing stuff to me, but…" She's too afraid to say that it's been distracting her from that.

Blanc doesn't need her to say that explicitly for her to understand her. "Perhaps we should sit down at my Basilicom to read a few pages before you leave, then," she offers with a smile.

"Yeah; a Blanc without books is a real paradox; dunno why I didn't think about that earlier," adds Neptune while chewing.

"I dunno, I figured that now she isn't so invested in all those weird and dumb books, she has more time to play with us! Right, Rom?" says Ram.

"Um…" Rom is more concerned with Blanc, visibly irritated that Ram would just affront her suggestion like that. "...why not both?"

"Indeed, having both would be ideal." Vert also catches on to Blanc's reaction to Ram and tries segueing the conversation somewhere else. "With a blank slate Blanny, though, it's much easier to introduce a lot of new interests to her."

Her comment does spark some curiosity in Blanc which, combined with her observation of Blanny forgetting about reading, prompts her to pull out a small box out of her inventory, which contains a collection of cards with fine art engraved on them. "I know you weren't so keen on these the first time I introduced them to you, but-"

"Whoa, are those trading cards? Blanny would never let us have them!" Ram tries to grab the box out of her hands.

Blanc reacts quickly enough to pull them out of her reach. "No, these are hanafuda cards, you gremlin." While obviously annoyed by Ram's stunt, she directs a more severe frown at her other self for not disapproving of what her younger sister tried to pull.

In fact, Blanny seems rather worried, both at her name-calling, even if it wasn't directed at her, and her glare. "...U-um...I guess I can take a look at these…'hanafuda' cards…" she mutters while extending her hand.

When her frown doesn't completely fade away, Plutia warns, "Blanny...I think you're scaring Blanny Blanc…"

"Yeah; I forgot if we already told you, but compared to before the incident, Blanny is...a lot less emotionally relentless? I think that's how you describe it…" Nepgear definitely feels like they told her the first time.

"Huh?" She has to take a moment to actually study her counterpart's expression. "Oh...sorry. I'm still sort of used to her being…" Embarrassment causes her to to lose her words before she moves on with a pout while handing her cards over. "Just, take a look at them already."

Blanny takes them with unnecessary caution, with the others huddling behind her, particularly with her sisters and Vert being the closest. "Ooh…" The pain-stakingly detailed flower illustrations is indisputably something to admire. "...Did you make these?"

"It was a collaboration with a friend. But I'm glad that you like them now."

"They're kinda neat-looking...but what do you do with them? Do you collect them, or do you play games with them?" Rom asks.

"Both are correct. Not only do they look nice, but you can use them as playing cards for games like Koi-Koi," Blanc humbly explains.

Instead of politely asking "what's Koi-Koi" like she expects, Ram says, "Aw, I was hoping they would be a little bit more like Pocketed Monstrosities cards." She pauses for a moment. "Now that you think about it, old Blanny really hated having any kind of cards around home, even if it's just normal playing cards. She kept complaining about gambling! Every time I kept telling her you don't gamble with trading cards, she just gets super angry anyways."

"Huh…" react both Blancs. What could that be about?

"It's most likely because buying booster packs is in itself a form of gambling, no?" explains Vert. "But that does seem like an irrational hatred...have you tried asking them to buy cards individually? It's much more cost-effective that way for buying cards for a deck."

"She didn't like spending a lot of money for one card…" says Rom, who then comes up with an idea. "Blanny, wanna look at our Pocketed Monstrosities cards when we get home? Maybe you'll like them, too…"

"I'm sure we can, but I would still want to try out reading…"

"Trading cards are a treasure trove of fun, Blanny. If anything, I would like to introduce you to more types of games that we can play together on top of TCGs, like tabletop roleplaying, MMORPGs, BL games…" Such a thought makes Vert flushed.

"Whoa there, slick; I'm gonna need you to slow down the lewd train right now." She shakes her sister's shoulder. "Nep Jr.! Use your sister relationship with Vert to make her stop being horny!"

"Neptune!" Nepgear predictably whines. Thinking over Vert's earlier statement, her mood quickly changes. "Though, thinking about it now, instead of all of those games, I would really like a Blanny who can help me with building stuff!"

"Uh oh, didn't want that to happen," mutters Neptune.

"Aww, I want a Blanny to take naps with me! Then, together, we can make all the plushies in the wooorld!"

None of those suggestions sound very good to Blanc; not in the slightest. Additionally, there's one thing Hyper Dimension's CPUs haven't explained yet: "Oi! Shouldn't we be focused on getting me- her back to normal?!"

"Been there, done that. We certainly tried, and it didn't work." Neptune's quick excuse doesn't placate Blanc.

"We know one person who is most likely the most useful in helping with that, but she's still on her way home," explains Vert.

"Yeah? Who?" Blanc sharply questions further.

"Wait, who?" Blanny asks at a much more docile tone.

"Is it Mina?" asks Ram excitedly.

"Yep; we called her last night to help," says Nepgear.

"Yay! Mina's coming back!" Both of Lowee's Candidates start jumping in joy.

"Who's Mina?" Both Blancs ask with different tones.

"She's like a mom for CPUs!"

"She knows a lot about goddesses; maybe she has a secret technique that restores Blanny's memories," Ram and Rom explain.

"Wait, is that really true?" Blanny instantly quiets down to think about this revelation.

"Maybe, but she's our best hope. But I'm glad that you've come around to help her, Blanc," compliments Nepgear.

"Wha- er, I was just curious about who this Mina character is, that's all!" A hasty excuse that sounds more natural coming from a certain tsundere goddess.

"Really? I think you're suuuper worried that Nep's Blanny isn't like you anymore," suggests Plutia in her usual tone.

"What?!" Blanc jumps up at that accusation. "Who do you think I am to be that conceited?! It shouldn't concern me how someone else lives, even if she was identical to me!"

Plutia is unfazed by her anger nor the others' reactions to her directness. "Is that so...I just didn't like how you were angry at Nep's Blanny earlier, and when someone is mad at someone else, it's usually because they care about them."

"Ooh, psychoanalyst Plutie here working her magic!" commentates Neptune.

Blanc was not expecting her to Plutia, the ditzy air-headed girl, to pick up on that. "'Psychoanalyst' my ass! That's complete BS; I was mad at her because she doesn't look over her goblin of a younger sister!"

The impulsive excuse further offends Blanny. For the first time, she has a spark of anger within her and speaks up in a remarkably loud voice: "Hey, don't say that about Ram!"

It might have not been as irate as her past self could've been, but it's enough to draw everyone's attention. Although a bit inconsiderate, they're more invested in what the other Blanc will say to that rather than saying something themselves, as if they feared messing up a scientific breakthrough they just made.

Blanc is also surprised, if only temporarily due to her need to let out her persisting ire she still has for Plutia. "If you can't even watch over your sisters, then there's not much hope for you as a CPU that has to watch over thousands of people!"

She immediately draws back her bark when she hears that logic, not even questioning it. "Wait, er-"

"Seriously, that's one of the first things you need to know as a leader. Be grateful that you had someone tell you that." Her temper is finally starting to loosen up after that small rant before…

"...Oh! I think I got it!" Psychoanalyst Plutia chirps up with another theory. "I think you're jealous, Blanny!"

Such an inane hypothesis is like a spear piercing through Blanc's sanity, regardless of if it's true or not. "What," is all she can say to that.

"Are you jealous that Neppy's Blanny has a lot of people and things to help her, even when she lost something super important, and you didn't?" explains Plutia slowly.

"That seems like it could be the case, but I don't think this is a very good time and place to mention that, Plutia…" adds Nepgear.

"Huh? What do you mean?" She asks with a slight frown.

Plutia doesn't notice Blanc kneeling down and placing her left hand on her shoulder, looking down as her hat and hair obscures her face. "Plutia."

"Hmm? What is it, Blanny?"

Without responding, she places her right hand under Plutia's other shoulder.

"What are you do-"

"Can you stop making incessant noise from your face for one goddamn second?!" In one fell swoop, Blanc grabs her, stands up, and throws her over herself and into the lake.

As she breathes heavily, basked in her own fury, the others simply sit there. "Well, that just happened," Neptune emptily remarks. Everyone else silently shares the same sentiment.

Everyone else except Blanny, that is. For a moment, she is simply stunned. She feels a little regretful getting angry at Blanc earlier, but that was nothing compared to Blanc's act! And she is supposed to be who she was in the past? She shakes herself out of it, though, when she notices a pillar of light in the lake, followed by a figure rising up from it.

Immediately, everyone but the Blancs start backing off, but they don't get far before Iris Heart is completely out of the water. "My, my, dear Blanny. You already know what bad girls get when they're naughty, yet you still choose to play dirty? And in front of such a lovely group of guests? You must really be asking for it."

It doesn't take more than one word from her for Blanny to understand what everyone else is so scared about. "Um, maybe save the fighting for after we leave, Plutia…?" Nepgear shakily suggests.

"Nonsense. Punishment isn't any good if you wait for anyone. Besides, perhaps your Blanny could learn something from this, heh heh," Iris Heart answers back, brandishing her whip sword.

"Oh, is that how you wanna play?" Already ready for action and still holding on to some anger, she quickly transforms, becoming White Heart. "Nothing like a little friendly spar to pummel your ass into submission!"


have u ever noticed how different blanc sounds in the english dub in recent games from at the beginning of the series?
thats how i envision the difference between the two blancs here: hd blanc is more like the blanc in later games and ud blanc sounds like herself in older games


"Damn it, where is she?"

"Who?"

"Blanny! Do you know where she is?"

"Oh, she's in Ultra Dimension's Lowee with her friends."

"All the way over there...?"

"Is there something urgent going on right now?"

"...No, I guess not."

"I think I heard them say they're going to be there for the whole day, but you're always welcome to stay around until they come back!"

"Thanks. Though...you did say they'll be there all day, did ya?"

"Um...yeah, what about it?"

"...The portal should be somewhere in Planeptune, right?"