Chapter 17: Rom's Day Out
Rom was sitting in her room, in the Lowee Basilicom. She had just gotten up, and was trying to read a new book. Except she couldn't get into it.
The events in Lastation still hung in her mind... What Venus had to say, how she felt like she was being compared to Nepgear. She... she really wanted to understand what exactly they did wrong. It was explained to her, but she wanted to really understand how Venus felt...
...But her sisters basically shut that down.
Ram was dismissive of Venus, and Blanc saw her only as a problem for Planeptune. Rom didn't feel like she got the chance to see things from Venus's perspective. But she could hear the frustration in the new Candidate's voice, and it made Rom feel so bad. She wished that her sisters could see that.
"Hey, Rom," someone spoke up. It was her twin, Ram. "You're up!"
"Hey, Ram," Rom replied shyly. She was usually comfortable around her sisters, but right now, she just wanted to be left alone to her thoughts.
"Yeah, let's go play some games! And then later, when it's brighter out, we should go and make some snow Blancs!"
That sounded very fun, and Rom usually followed her twin's lead. But, she didn't think it was a good time. "S-sorry, Ram, but I don't know about today..."
"Oh, come on, you've been sitting in our room for days now!" Ram complained. "I wanna play with you!"
"Has... it really been days?" Rom hadn't been paying attention to how much time has passed. She went to sleep when asked, and that was about it.
"Yeah! What are you reading that is so interesting? I bet it's boring."
"...Nothing, really. Um, actually, I can't stop thinking about Venus... Don't... don't you think we were a little mean to her?"
Ram scoffed. "Who cares? She's dumb! She's a stupid Candidate that's no fun!"
Rom looked sad for a moment, before she remembered, "but isn't that what we thought of Nepgear?"
"Well, okay, we were wrong about Nepgear, but she's at least still fun to prank. Or just do fun things with! Venus is just stupid."
"But Uni likes Venus," Rom pointed out. "And Uni liked Nepgear, too. And we like Uni. She's our friend!"
"Well... um, Uni's just weird! I don't know why she likes the dumb Venus!"
"I just think we need to give Venus another chance..."
"Ugh, I can't talk to you like this," Ram replied, as she left the room. "Talk to me when you stop worrying about that dumb Venus."
Rom felt bad about what happened, but she felt that she had to defend Venus. She wanted to learn more about Venus, and why everyone made her so upset.
But if that was how Ram felt... maybe she should ask Blanc. Maybe she could get Blanc to try to give Venus another chance. Maybe...
Rom put her book away, and made her to her big sister's office.
Blanc was already awake. Perhaps she's been up all night? It's happened before. She was doing work on her computer. Likely some stuff for Lowee. Or she was writing another of her romance novels. Either made sense to Rom.
"Hey, Blanc," Rom spoke up, trying to get her sister's attention.
Blanc looked up, and sighed softly upon seeing sister. "Yes?"
"I wanted to ask you something...?"
"Go on."
"Can... can you tell me why you don't like miss Venus?"
Blanc stopped and went quiet. Rom could tell she was irritated, but unlike usual, Blanc didn't blow up. She seemed to actually be forming a response, but she also clearly wasn't happy about it.
"Rom, you're a CPU Candidate," Blanc finally answered. "So you know what that means, right? One day, I'll step down, and you, along with your twin sister, will take charge of Lowee. Probably not any time soon, but it will happen."
"Yeah..." The thought made Rom a bit sad, as that meant eventually, Blanc would no longer be around. But like she said, that wouldn't happen for a long time.
"Well, as you probably know as well, this is true for every Candidate. That includes Venus," Blanc as she got up and began to pace. "And here's the real problem, and why she's different from Nepgear. First, Neptune. When it comes to Neptune, she's lazy, annoying, and incompetent. At least until last year, when she got her act together."
Something about that statement bothered Rom. She hadn't really visited Neptune much over the year. Heck, she didn't visit her at all until recently, for group visits. But Neptune... just didn't seem like her usual self. And definitely not in the "got her act together" way. But she just didn't know what was going on with Neptune.
Though she figured it probably had to do with Nepgear's disappearance. After all, everyone got affected by that, even the Lowee sisters.
"...It's a wonder Neptune even did enough to help her nation get by," Blanc continued. "Well, aside from defending it. She's very good at that, I have to admit. But then there was Nepgear. I'm sure you noticed, but Nepgear was the opposite of her older sister. She was competent. She actually worked for her nation, even in her... odd way. I don't know if I'll still be in charge when Neptune steps down, but if I were to have Nepgear as a fellow CPU, then I wouldn't have a problem. Planeptune would have been in good hands with Nepgear."
Blanc stopped and locked eyes with her sister, looking rather stern. "But now... Nepgear is gone. Now, we have Venus. And Venus... I don't know if she's as lazy as her sister, but she's clearly even LESS competent. She can't keep you and Ram's names straight, and she gets my name wrong, too. And everyone else's for that matter. And somehow, she cares so little about chest size, that she can't even seem to notice! Unless it's Vert of course, then she's just afraid! Though, I suppose it serves her right..."
Rom didn't want to comment on that last point. She knew her sister was sensitive about her own chest size, or rather, lack thereof, and pretty much every goddess saw that as an important aspect.
"But the real problem is that she's just not fit to lead. She's going to run Planeptune into the ground when she becomes CPU," Blanc said, continuing on. "I know you might not understand why this affects us, but that's the thing, it will. We might be friends with the other goddesses, but when it comes to the politics of running a nation, being allies is more important than friends. And yes, there is a difference. And I know that I don't want to work with an idiot, and when you're CPU, neither will you."
Rom thought about all that, and then asked, "...maybe... maybe you give her a chance?"
"WHAT!?" Blanc snapped. "What chance could I give her! You heard her! She's happy just as she is, as a moron! She's not willing to improve as a Candidate, much less as a CPU! She's even pushed Histoire back, and you know you can't ignore her lectures."
"I... I don't think that's what she meant..." Rom nearly whispered.
"You'll understand when older!" Blanc replied as she went back to her deck. "But Venus, she was born physically older as a goddess, but doesn't act like it. She's just a worse version of Neptune."
"But Blanc-"
"This conversation is over. Get out," Blanc demanded. And Rom knew she couldn't argue anymore.
The young Candidate left the room, feeling... dissatisfied. And annoyed. She listened to what Venus had to say, just like everyone. She knew she did something wrong, but she didn't understand what. And her sisters were not helping.
In fact, they probably would only make things worse.
Rom made her way to the Basilicom's balcony, and looked out over her nation. It was snowing. It usually snowed in Lowee. But it was also the first light of the day, and it
Despite being a goddess, Rom was still a kid, physically and mentally. Blanc would get mad if she left on her own...
But Rom was done listening to sisters, at least for now. Her sisters were probably going to hurt Venus, at least emotionally, and cast her out, as a potential ally and friend. And Rom couldn't let them decide how to treat Venus for her. She had to find out for herself what was wrong with Venus, and apologize. She needed to take action by herself.
In a flash of blue light, Rom transformed into her HDD form of White Sister. Her hair turned sky blue and grew out, hanging over her right shoulder, and her eyes became pink. Her outfit was a white swimsuit-like bodysuit with pink lines, a black circle on her upper chest, and a rectangular see-through mesh over her belly. She also had long gloves and thigh-high boots of a similar style to her bodysuit.
White Sister spread her light-blue cyber wings and shot into the sky, taking the flight path to Planeptune.
A short time later, in Planeptune...
"So, what are we doing today, Nora?" Venus asked.
It was still early morning in Planeptune. Noire and Neptune had taken Venus out for a few errands. Neptune had also asked IF to tag along.
"I was thinking it's time to upgrade your gear," Neptune told her sister.
"My gear?" Venus repeated. "Like... sis-gear?"
"No no no no!" Noire quickly interjected, hoping Neptune didn't catch Venus's little misunderstanding. "Not a person, we mean your equipment! Your sword and shield, and any kind of armor you might've picked up."
"Oh... that makes more sense!"
Noire sighed. She had to admit, Venus was a great friend, but she could be very frustrating.
"So, I'm guessing we're looking at new swords?" IF said. "What about her shield?"
"Her Loweenium shield is still holding strong," Neptune explained. "Right?"
"Yeah, I've bonked lots of monsters!" Venus replied.
"The use of magic channeling probably helps, but you should still at least give it a check-up," IF replied.
"That's a good idea," Noire stated. "We should do that after we get Venus a new sword. Though, Neptune, do you really need my opinion on this? ...I-I mean, I don't mind hanging out with you and Venus, but I think you could handle a new weapon for her without me."
"You've used shortswords before, right? Since we got Venus's weapon, she used the short sword, so maybe Neptune wants to pick your brain about it."
"...Actually, I haven't thought of that," Neptune admitted.
IF raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you bring her?"
"Well, Noire, I... wanted her help with something else."
Venus tilted her head in curiosity. "What is it?"
"It's a surprise," Neptune replied. "So, you'll have to wait until it's revealed."
"Aw," Venus sounded in disappointment.
"So, can you tell me what you need?" Noire asked. "You can whisper it to me."
Neptune motioned for Noire to lean over, since she was shorter than her. Once Noire did that, Neptune whispered into her ear. Venus just really wanted to hear what her sister was talking about, but couldn't get close enough to listen in.
"Well, it would take me a couple days, maybe a week to make something new," Noire replied quietly, not making it clear what she was referring to. "But I could modify something in maybe half a day, especially if it already looked close to what you were wanting."
"Thanks," Neptune replied. "I just feel that this is something I need to do."
"Why don't we spend an hour looking around, and IF can take Venus to start looking for blades. I'm guessing that's what you were intending?"
Neptune nodded.
"I'll drop Venus off at the shop, and then I'll take her shield for a check-up," IF offered. "I know an armor repair shop that I think handles Lowee gear. Then I'll swing back to help Venus." The brunette turned to the Candidate. "Promise not to break anything while I'm gone."
Venus straightened up, and gave a salute, saying, "I promise not to break any of the cool weapons."
"Good. Whelp, you two have fun," IF said, as she directed Venus to follow her to the weapons shop.
"Wh-wh-what do you mean by that!?" Noire shouted back, as Neptune laughed, grabbed the embarrassed twin-tailed goddess's hand, and pulled her away to a different shop.
"...I did mean anything by that," IF replied. "Crazy tsunderes."
"Soon-dairy," Venus repeated incorrectly.
"Right."
IF and Venus dropped into the weapons shop Venus met all that time ago. Heading in, they met the shopkeeper from the first time Venus got weapons there.
"Hey, if it isn't my favorite Candidate!" the shopkeeper exclaimed. "Ah, and miss IF."
"Hey," IF greeted. "We're here for a new sword for our 'favorite Candidate' here. I hope you don't mind, but I need to quickly run another errand. I'll be back as quick as I can. Neptune and Lady Noire will be here in an hour to help too."
"Lady Noire, eh? That's the Lastation CPU, right?"
IF nodded.
The shopkeeper laughed. "And don't worry about our little lady. I'll get her started."
"Thanks." And IF turned to Venus.
Venus looked up, confused. "What?"
"Your shield?"
"Oh, yeah..." Venus summoned her shield, and handed it to IF. "Please don't hurt it..."
"I... won't," IF replied, a bit confused. Wasn't the point of a shield to take the brunt of enemy blows? Eh, she got the idea.
IF left, and the shopkeeper said, "why don't you start looking around, and I'll head into the back and find and get my extra collection of blades out."
"Okay, and I won't break anything," she repeated, even though that prior conversation didn't involve the shopkeeper.
"Uh, thanks, I suppose," he replied, a bit confused. He certainly didn't want his stock broken, but that would be an unspoken expectation. His nation's new Candidate was certainly... something.
While the shopkeeper went back, Venus was left alone. She... wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't remember a time she was left alone, at least not when she wasn't home, or she was accidentally separated from her friends.
The clueless Candidate was just staring around the shop, as she wasn't sure what to look at. The weapons were certainly cool, but nothing stood out as something she'd use.
Then someone else came in. She was a bit young to be in a shop like this, still just a kid, taking off her light-blue winter coat, where it disappeared into her inventory, leaving her in a gray dress with blue ribbons, white tights, and blue shoes.
It took a moment for Venus to recognize her. ...Sort of.
"Hey, you're one of those mean twins from Lomee!" Venus responded, a bit angry.
"It's Lowee, and... uh, miss Venus, I... want to talk to you," the girl replied.
"Well, I don't know, you, uh... Rim!"
"That's not my name."
"Well, well, was it... Rum?"
"It's Rom. And I think rum is a drink." Rom and Ram had heard it was some kind of pirate drink, and asked if they could get some for pirate games. But Blanc refused, saying it wasn't something kids could drink.
"Whatever. I bet you are just trying to trick me into coming out, so you and your sister can make fun of me for not being a fun person," Venus replied. "And I'm very fun! ...I-I'm pretty sure about that."
"I'm sorry..." Rom replied quietly.
"Hey, what's going on out here?" the shopkeeper called out as he walked back out holding a box. As he put it down, he turned to find Rom talking to Venus. "Kid, you're not supposed to be in here."
"I-I'm sorry mister, I just wanted to ask Venus something," Rom told the man.
"I'm sure lots of kids like you would love the chance to see our goddesses, but this isn't a place for young children. You could get hurt! Please, wait outside."
"Actually, I'm a goddess myself. I'm White Sister Rom."
The shopkeeper blinked. "You mean the Candidate of Lowee. HA! Don't make me laugh. Why would such young Candidates be roaming around Planeptune?"
"She shouldn't be, not alone, as far as I am aware," a new voice spoke up. It was IF, who had just returned. "I thought I saw some strange flashing when I was coming back from the armor shop. Must've just turned back from her HDD form."
"...Wait, are you saying she's not lying?" the shopkeeper replied.
"Yes, she's one of the twin CPU Candidates of Lowee," IF explained. "But as far as I am aware, she and her sister aren't allowed to leave Lowee unsupervised. Together, those two could cause the prank-pocalypse."
"I promise, Ram isn't here! I came by myself," Rom spoke up.
"Really? That's... interesting." IF knew that the twins harder ever split up. And Ram was the dominant twin between the two of them. Hard to imagine that Rom would come by herself. "So, why are you here?"
"I need to talk to Venus," Rom replied.
IF sighed, and turned to Venus. "What do you want to do? You're the one she hurt after all."
"Um... Neptune said that the Lowee goddies... still were mean to me," Venus explained.
"That's not true!" Rom countered. "I mean, Ram and Blanc were, but... I wasn't mean."
"And what did you say?" IF asked.
"Uh-uh-uh... I didn't know what to say..." Rom stuttered.
IF pinched the bridge of her nose. "Rom, you are aware that just standing by and watching bullying happen is no different than participating in it."
"I... I'm sorry..."
Venus took a deep breath, and then finally said, "I don't wanna be treated like another Nepgear."
Rom wanted to ask what that meant, but before she could, IF told her, "you heard her. And I know Blanc will get mad if she finds out you're here on your own. You should go."
"But-" Rom started, but she saw IF's intense stare, and Venus's disapproving look, so she turned and left.
It was quiet for a moment, before the shopkeeper spoke up, "well, that was awkward. Anyways, you wanted to look at some new swords?"
Outside, the Loweean Candidate turned back, looking through the glass doors of the shop. Venus and IF had already shaken off the encounter, and the purplette was digging into the box the shopkeeper brought out. She pulled out a de-active beam sword, and accidentally activated it with the blade pointed in IF's direction, narrowly missing her. Venus gave an apologetic smile, while IF scolded her.
She looked so happy. Not like how she was during the Lastation party. Not after Uni...
Uni! Maybe she could help. At least, Rom was hoping Uni would listen to her. She and Noire were really mad at everyone the last time they saw each other.
But she had to try. Transforming into White Sister, Rom took to the skies again to make her way to Lastation.
Uni was heading out for the day. For more... searching.
She remembered what her sister said, to not let this search get out of control. But she still had to try. Besides, Steamax was still searching on Uni's behalf, but he hadn't contacted her since he went to search in the criminal underworld. She was hoping to get in contact with him, outside of the city, and find out if he had any updates.
Besides, Noire had said that Venus was going to get new weapons today, updating her short sword. And it wasn't like Uni couldn't help, but her knowledge of the blade was not as great as her sister's or even Neptune's. Uni was a gunwoman after all.
Uni stepped outside, and transformed into Black Sister, taking flight over her nation. She was hoping to contact Steamax once she left the city limits.
But just as she was thinking this, she stopped just as she passed the city's edge. What would Venus think of this? Uni's continued search for Nepgear. She did say she'd like to meet Nepgear, but as far as Uni knew, Noire hadn't informed either Planeptune CPU about this. Would Venus care that Uni still wanted to find Nepgear?
...Would she care about Uni's feelings for her missing middle sister?
Black Sister's thoughts were interrupted as she saw a streak of light blue on the skyline. And it was coming right for her.
Black Sister summoned her railgun, and took aim. "Stop! Or I'll shoot!"
As the streak got closer, close enough to make out their true form, a voice shouted out, "wait! It's me!"
Black Sister lowered her gun. She knew who this was. "Rom?"
Indeed, the CPU Candidate, White Sister Rom, stopped before her. "...Hi, Uni."
"What are you doing here? Where's Ram? Or Blanc, for that matter?" then Black Sister scowled. She didn't raise her gun back up, but her grip on it tightened. "Wait, hang on, I'm still mad at you!"
"Miss Uni?" White Sister nervously replied.
"You and your sisters just ignored everything Venus said, and continued to put her down!" Black Sister shouted back. "I realized that it was wrong to treat Venus the way we were, but you just let Blanc go off and call her a pathetic Candidate."
"I didn't... want her to say that."
"Then why didn't you stop her!?"
"I'm... sorry, b-but." White Sister's eyes welled up with tears. "I just want to know what I did wrong. Ram and Blanc, they don't even want to talk about Venus, except for being mean. And it didn't feel right to me!"
"You want to know what you did wrong. Look, I don't get the whole 'Venus isn't as fun as Nepgear thing' you and Ram were going on about. I know Venus is difficult to understand, heck, I'm still trying to figure her out, but she probably has a different definition of fun than you do. But Blanc? You just let her put Venus down. I made that mistake, and I regret it. Don't you!?"
"I... yes, but, I don't know what I did wrong... I just want to know why Venus called us out. What it means to 'be Venus'."
Black Sister groaned. "Seriously, you don't get it." Then she took a hard look at Rom, and realized how she could explain this. "Okay, so you and Ram are identical twins, right?"
"Uh... sort of... but..."
"You have the same face, eyes, hair color, you're both the same height and age," Black Sister stated. "If you were to grow your hair out, and start wearing pink, would you not look exactly like your twin?"
"...Yes."
"Well, what if someone told you and Ram that from this point going forward, you had to start dressing in the exact same clothes, even the same color, that you had to look EXACTLY like each other. And not only that, but you also had to act exactly like each other, share the same interests, hobbies, dislikes. You even have to feel the same. What do you think of that?"
White Sister was silent. That sounded so... so...
"It sounds really hard," White Sister replied. "I don't think I could handle that."
"Well, that's how Venus felt," Black Sister informed her. "She felt like everyone's expectations for her were to be more like Nepgear, or even be exactly like her. Remember, I thought she just trying to replace her! And I was wrong! I was horrible! But I apologized, and I'm trying to make it better!"
The transformed Candidate started to breathe heavily, so she tried to calm down a bit, but was still heated. So she continued, "I'm trying to be Venus's friend, and find out who she really is. But you and your sisters proved that you don't care, and that Venus isn't any better than Nepgear."
"I- I- Ram and Blanc don't like Venus, but I feel bad for her," White Sister admitted. "She looked so upset before, when you shouted at her, and then after she came back... I just... felt awful."
Black Sister took this in, and said, "have you considered apologizing?"
"I try- No, not really. But I tried talking to her before, but she and IF told me to leave. Venus didn't really like me..."
"And can you blame her?"
"...No."
Black Sister sighed. Looks like Steamax was going to have to wait. "Okay, come with me. I'll try to talk to Venus. Noire should be in Planeptune, as well. She and Neptune are the only goddesses Venus doesn't hate, ...besides me, I suppose."
"You're really going to help me?"
"As long as you are willing to apologize. Now, come on." And Black Sister dismissed her railgun, and took off towards Planeptune, the blue-haired Candidate following behind.
As the pair of Candidates approached the limits of Planeptune's capital city, a thought occurred to White Sister. "Uni, are we still friends?"
"...I don't know," Black Sister replied. Honestly, she wasn't sure if they were still that close. Besides the chat they just had, she hadn't confronted the twins directly about Venus. She hadn't even discussed Venus with them at all.
...But now that she thought about it, she hadn't visited Rom and Ram, some of her closest friends, since Nepgear disappeared. She hadn't visited any of her few friends. Or Nepgear's old friends. She was just too focused on...
"D***, Noire was right," Black Sister sounded. "It really did go to my head."
"Miss Uni," White Sister said, as they slowed to a stop. "Are you okay?"
"Listen, I'm going to be blunt, I'm not going to sacrifice my friendship with Venus for you. But at the same, I really wish that I don't have to end our friendship because of that. But if you don't mend things with Venus..."
As Black Sister said this, she sounded really sad. And White Siter noticed, saying, "Are you okay?"
Black Sister sighed. "Rom, did you and Ram... ever miss hanging out with me? Before Venus was born, I mean."
"Um... do you also mean, after Nepgear..."
"Yeah..."
White Sister didn't know how to answer. Sure, there were times she and Ram had asked to go play with Uni, but they were declined. Uni was always busy. But Rom and Ram were always happy to play together. That, and...
"Hello there," a new voice spoke up.
The Black and White Sisters flew back in shock, turning around and summoning their weapons. Only to find a familiar face behind them...
Purple Heart.
"Wha- since when did you get here!?" Black Sister exclaimed.
"Uni, good to see you again," the Planeptune CPU greeted. "I thought you weren't going to come today. And Rom..." the white Candidate shrank back further, clutching her magic staff hard. "Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you. But Venus and IF said they met you at the weapon shop, and they weren't happy to see you. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, there was something I needed help with from Uni's sister. But it seemed like you wanted to tell them something."
White Sister took a shaky breath, and said, "I wanted to apologize. My sisters aren't being fair to Venus, but I felt bad. I just wanted to understand what I did to hurt Venus, and say sorry. Uni was going to help me."
"And is that what you two were just talking about?"
"I already talked to her about that," Black Sister explained. "It's up to your sister after that. No, we were... uh..."
"I asked if we were still friends," White Sister spoke up. "And she asked... if I missed her."
Purple Heart looked back and forth between the two. "Come, join me in the park." And the goddess motioned for the Candidates to follow her.
The Lastation and Lowee little sisters looked at each other, and shrugged. They both silently agreed that following the Planeptune CPU was the best course of action right now.
Purple Heart landed by a table in the Planeptune Park, but didn't transform back into Neptune or sit down. Black and White Sister did the same.
Purple Heart was staring at a statue in the middle of the park, in the distance. And it wasn't hard to recognize what the statue was.
It was a statue of Purple Sister. Nepgear, in HDD.
"I... didn't... know they made a statue of her," Black Sister said in awe.
"...Until now, I've never been here to see it in person," Purple Heart admitted. "Not even when the statue was being commemorated. It was just... too hard."
"So, why come now?"
Purple Heart turned to the Candidates. "You two haven't been close since Nepgear disappeared."
After a quick glance at each other, both Candidates replied solemnly with, "no."
"I understand what must be going through your minds. Distance and time can cause friendships to fade. You're not that close anymore, and you're just trying to come to an understanding about what has changed. But that's not the only thing, is it?"
Again, the Candidates looked at their friend with a bit of confusion, unsure of where this was going.
Purple Heart, however, quickly clarified. "How did you feel when you realized Nepgear wasn't coming back."
Black Sister went still. Of course, she still felt Nepgear was out there, somewhere. She had to find her. But... she had only talked about it with Noire recently. She wasn't sure how to bring it up with the Planeptune CPU. Or if she should...
Actually, it wasn't about that. Not for Uni. It was about Uni's feelings for Nepgear. Surely, Neptune, Nepgear's older sister, deserved to know. But would that change anything now? When Neptune believed Nepgear was gone?
But while Black Sister was lost in thought, White Sister finally said her piece. "I missed her. She was my... OUR best friend. And she was just gone..." the kid Candidate said. "I cried. Ram cried. We both hated that she was gone. ...But I cried longer. It took me weeks to feel better." As she said this, her eyes welled up with tears. "Then... me and Ram just... played. Like we always did... I think Blanc assumes we got over it..."
"But you didn't. You were just burying your feelings," Purple Heart replied, with White Sister nodding. "It's okay. I did the same. I couldn't stop crying for weeks on end. Then I started working, the only thing I find would help me ignore my hurt. I buried my own feelings. To admit to that, that's very mature of you."
So that's why Purple Heart worked so hard now, White Sister thought. Blanc was wrong. It wasn't competence, it was hurt. Just like Venus. That's when the Lower Candidate realized that her sisters bullying Venus would affect everyone worse than if they tried to be nice to her.
Purple Heart approached the Candidates, and laid her hands on their shoulders. "Uni, I know that you've made things up with Venus, and I am grateful for that. It even gave me some clarity. But as for you, Rom, Venus still feels sour about her interaction with you and your sisters."
"I know..." White Sister replied. "And Blanc still thinks Venus is going to ruin everything, when she becomes CPU..."
Purple Heart took a deep breath. "It is true, Venus will take over Planeptune one day. In that regard, she's taken Nepgear's place, and it won't be like what we thought it would be. But you have to understand, Venus is different from Nepgear. Nepgear was kind and genuine, but Venus is more empathetic, and how she was treated by you... it hurt her deeply."
"Empathic?" White Sister repeated. She heard the word before, but didn't know what it meant.
"Someone who connects with other people on an emotional level," Black Sister explained. "Though I haven't thought of Venus that way. No wonder she doesn't like Lowee's CPUs. Her attempts to connect to your sisters were met with negativity."
"And Vert just overwhelmed her," Purple Heart added.
At this point, White Sister full-on cried, as she fell to the ground.
Purple Heart leaned down, and used her finger to lift up the transformed Candidate's chin.
"I'm an awful person, an awful goddess," Rom cried. "Venus is right to hate me."
"Rom, listen, you're not a bad person or goddess. But I want you to understand this, okay?" Purple Heart asked of Rom. "You may be young physically, but as goddesses, that doesn't mean much, as we can be born as any age. Venus was only born two months ago, despite how she looks. And she doesn't have as much experience having friends as you do. And she's not making any because of how she's being treated."
"Okay... but I... I tried to talk to miss Venus, and she... she told me to go away..."
"I see... Well, let me help. I was planning something today, and I think you should come," Purple Heart said. "That will give you the chance to talk to my sister, and I'll make sure she listens, and you listen to what she has to say."
"You'll do that?"
"Yes. When do your sisters expect you back?" Purple Heart inquired.
"...I didn't tell them I came here. I had to do this by myself."
And Purple Heart smiled mischievously. "Well, what Blanc doesn't know won't hurt her. And it's good to know that at least one of the Lowee sisters wants to mend things with us. So they won't mind if you two join me and Venus today."
"Wait, 'you two'?" Black Sister reacted. "Are you about me?"
"Yes, you did say you'd help Rom make things up with Venus, right?" Purple Heart said, "Besides, I think you need this, too. But first, we need you to get both of you more appropriate dresses."
Late into the afternoon, Uni and Rom had found themselves joining in a picnic with Neptune, Venus, and Noire, in the middle of a sunflower field.
Neptune had taken the Candidates to find some sunny day clothes. Rom ended up wearing a light-blue child's sundress with a sunhat and sandals of the same color, and Uni with a dark-blue sleeveless shirt, jean short-shorts, and black sandals.
Noire had made Neptune and Venus's outfits that day, at Neptune's request, by modifying preexisting clothing. Neptune had a beige sunhat, a loose white shirt with straps and a frilly strip of cloth, leaving her shoulders, along with jean short-shorts and white sandals. Venus had on a flowery, light-purple shirt, a short white skirt, purple sandals with flowers on them, and a purple sunhat with another flower on it, her side ponytail held up with a purple ribbon. Noire herself had a black sundress on with black sandals and a white sunhat with blue ribbons.
Neptune and Venus were happily munching away on mini-sandwiches, pudding, and cookies. Apparently, Compa had prepared all of this for Neptune, despite not coming herself. Neptune said that this was something for the goddesses, but didn't explain any further to her guests.
Despite this, the air was a bit tense, as everyone wasn't sure why they were there. Noire was certainly surprised that Uni and Rom were invited. She thought Uni had other plans today, and she wasn't exactly pleased to have Rom around. Rom herself was very nervous, poking at her food, and looking between that and Venus.
Venus herself didn't seem happy to see Rom again, but didn't say anything, as it's what her sister wanted, and her sister wouldn't do bad things to her. Not on purpose, at least. Her discomfort immediately dissipated the moment she began chowing down, though.
Eventually, Uni spoke up. "So, Neptune, this is... pleasant and all, but why did you want us to meet here? Just for an awkward picnic?"
"Mph," Neptune sounded, her mouth full of pudding. She quickly swallowed, and got serious. Not serious-serious, but this wasn't expected of her in her goofy human form. "Sorry, it's just... this is something I felt I needed to do. And I think everyone needs this, too."
"Neptune, you haven't even told me what this is about," Noire replied.
"Hang on, I was about to explain. So... Venus knows this, but I've been having terrible nightmares... ever since Nepgear disappeared."
It was tense before, but now everyone was silent. Even Venus stopped eating, looking a little sad. She may have been the only one who knew about this, but it clearly was a difficult topic for her to handle. She began to shuffle toward her sister, and Neptune held up a hand to stop her.
"It's okay, sis," she told Venus, before continuing. "In these dreams, I'd see Nepgear, berating me for abandoning her. But after Venus came into the picture, she was in the dreams, too... Venus and Nepgear would always be at odds, one way or another. One time, everything seemed pleasant, I was a nice sunflower field... until I saw Nepgear and Venus fighting."
"A sunflower field," Uni noted, considering that's exactly where they were.
"Since the Ball, Venus and I talked it out, and she's been helping me feel better ever since. But just this morning, I realized I needed to find a way to come to terms with what happened. So, I thought... why not recreate the dream. Not the fight, but the pleasantness of the scene. I thought... maybe it could help."
"Is that why you asked for such specific designs for your and Venus's outfit?" Noire asked. "That seems very excessive, and it took me all day to finish them on such short notice."
"I'm sorry, Noire, but I needed to do this as soon as possible. And I thought, perhaps, everyone needed this too."
"You mean that we all need to come to terms with Nepgear's disappearance," Uni said.
Neptune nodded. And at this point, Rom was paying more attention, and she noticed that Noire was looking at her sister worriedly, and Uni was just quiet. Until she said, "Nepgear was my best friend. Actually, no, I thought of her as more than a friend. I... I always wanted to be by her side. I hate that's not the case anymore."
Noire sighed softly, and said, "I didn't see Nepgear much, unless we were visiting, and even then, we didn't really have much one-on-one time. But she was an amazing goddess, and I think we're all the lesser for her not being her. That, and I am glad to see she was such a good friend for Uni, when I had trouble communicating with her. I love you Uni, but I've never been a good sister, and it was nice for you to have a friend to fill the void I left."
"Noire..." Uni replied sadly.
But before Uni could say anything, Venus chimed in, "I'm you're friend too, Uni! But... I wish I could meet Nepgear one day. I don't want to be like her, I just want her to be my sister, like Neptune!" A short and sweet description.
Rom saw the pattern, and figured it was her turn next. She took a deep breath, and said, "Nepgear was my friend. When Blanc got stuck in the Gamindustri Graveyard, it was just me and Ram. And I missed my sister. But then Nepgear came. We were mean to her at first, but Nepgear helped me when I lost my pen..."
"...And does that not sound like something that happened recently," Uni commented, taking advantage of Rom's story.
Rom eye's started flooding with tears, as she turned to Venus, exclaiming, "I'm sorry, Venus! I shouldn't have been so mean to you! I shouldn't have said you weren't as fun as Nepgear, that you should've been like her. I should've told Ram to treat you better, too. Maybe we could've even convinced Blanc that you're not useless. You're just... different, but that's not a bad thing! And I want to be your friend!"
Venus looked at the kid Candidate, and asked, "do mean that, Rem?"
"Rom," Uni corrected, but Venus didn't seem to listen.
"Yes! I'm sorry. I don't want to be another Nepgear. I just want to be your friend!"
The two Candidates embraced each other in a hug. Rom was sobbing really hard now, but Venus let go, grabbed a cookie, and offered it to her.
"Would a cookie make you feel better?" Venus asked. "Cookies always make me feel better!"
"Uh... sure." Rom grabbed the cookie, and slowly nommed on it.
"I don't like it when people feel bad," Venus replied.
"Really... but I deserve-" Rom started, but Uni interrupted.
"We've all said things we regret," she said. "And I think, Venus just wants us to move past the hurt feelings."
"Uh, yeah... I think," Venus replied.
The picnic was a bit more pleasant from then on. Everyone began to tell stories of Nepgear, and all the crazy stuff she used to do, with Venus, having never heard these before, getting more and more interest. The purplette Candidate was very interested in the "magic gear that would make Neptune into a blackhole of cuteness" that Neptune explained, and thought everyone should get a magic gear, to make themselves super cute. Rom countered saying everyone was already cute, causing the Lastation goddesses to blush, while Neptune chuckled and thanked her for the compliment.
Venus also showed off her new sword. It was a high-quality blade with a simple metal guard with a simple purple circle embedded on it, and a purple pommel. Rom commented on how good of a pair they could make, with Venus fighting in front, while Rom supported her with magic. Uni commented that Rom used to do that with Nepgear, and she also assisted with her gun. Though, Venus could handle that better, since she also carried a shield. Melee with defense, magic, and range. The perfect trifecta.
At the end of the day, it was time to go home.
"Well, that was fun!" Neptune exclaimed.
"Do you feel better now?" Noire asked.
"A bit. I'm just glad we could make things up between friends, and help Venus make some new ones!"
"Will you be able to, I don't know, convince your sisters to forgive Venus as well?" Uni asked Rom.
"...I don't know," Rom admitted. "Blanc looks down on Venus, really badly. And Ram stills thinks she's dumb."
Venus looked over sadly. "Will I be able to see you again?"
"I hope so, but Blanc is probably going to be mad, since I left without permission. And Ram is not going to be happy that I left her alone."
"Why don't you keep it on the down low that you were here, for now," Neptune told the Lowee Candidate. "Let me and Noire figure out Blanc, and then we can all talk to Ram together."
"O-okay,"
"It's a shame," Uni said, "I'm actually excited about the idea of how well us Candidates could work as a team. Maybe get Ram to join us, too."
"Perhaps you and Venus can start without her, until Rom can find the time to visit again," Noire offered. "That could at least give Venus a chance to try out her new sword."
"Yeah! I can't wait to fight beasties with it," Venus exclaimed. "And fighting Uni was so fun, so fighting monsters with her could also be fun!"
Uni nervously laughed at that, but Rom was confused. Uni and Venus fought before? Like, in a sparring match? At least, she hoped it was just that. She decided not to ask.
"Miss Venus?" Rom said.
"Yeah?"
"I... really had fun today. I'm really going to miss you." Then Rom turned to Uni, and said, "I'll miss you too, Uni."
"Hey, this isn't goodbye forever," Uni said. "We'll figure things out, and we'll definitely see each other again."
Rom smiled, before turning into White Sister. "I'll see you later."
"Bye, Rom!" Venus called out, as White Sister flew off to return to Lowee.
"Finally, you get her name right," Uni commented.
"Huh?" Venus replied, confused by what Uni was saying.
As White Sister Rom flew away, she finally smiled. She finally figured out who Venus really was. Someone who just wanted people to happy. And she finally understood what Planeptune's goddesses had to deal with.
But most importantly, Rom was happy to have made such a good friend.
Author's Note: So... I need to be honest. I am not the biggest fan of Ram. I don't hate her character, she's fine, but, well... Ram is the bratty, obnoxious type of kid, and I'm just not very fond of that character trope (I don't hate kids in real life, I'm strictly talking characters here). I prefer Rom with her shy and sweet personality.
But here's the thing, Rom and Ram are twins, and that basically makes them a package set. Sure, their gimmick is that they have opposite personalities (nothing new, but it works), which might constitute liking one twin more than the other, but it also doesn't feel right to separate the two.
But there are examples of the twins being separated, like in Re;Birth 2, there is a scenario with both twins where Nepgear helps them individually. First, Nepgear helps Rom hand her pen which she lost in an earlier scuffle, and later on, she helps Ram save Rom after the latter was brainwashed (though, Ram also gets brainwashed at the end). But that's story separation, not separation of their characters, ...if that makes sense.
But despite this, it wasn't really the bias of which twin I like being the reason why I chose to focus on Rom. It just made sense to me that if any of the Lowee goddesses would realize that they weren't treating Venus fairly, it would be Rom. She's the one Lowee CPU that wouldn't let their anger get the better of them. The role the Lowee goddesses have in the story is still limited, but it's important enough that I felt that I needed to put some focus on it. So, a chapter focused on Rom.
But at the end of the day, this chapter proved to let me establish many smaller things, like Venus's sword. Her first sword was high quality, probably because Neptune wanted to make sure Venus would be as safe as possible, but I've never described what it looked like exactly. Well, I needed a reason for Venus to be out and about, but I figured a sword upgrade might be a good excuse, and a chance to establish the look of said sword.
There is also the idea that Venus gives cookies to people who are upset. This is something I've had in mind for way down the line, but you know, I hadn't thought actually introduce that early on. But I recognized a chance to add it here, so I did.
Now, I want to bring up the scene with the sunflower field. I kind of wanted to have Neptune set that up outside of her dreams, as a way to come to terms with Nepgear's disappearance. I did think about adding to the Rom chapter, but I eventually decided against it, but only because I was intending Rom to stalk everyone instead. But I clearly switched back to the original idea when I thought it would be better to have Rom actually try to interact with everyone, so at that point, the sunflower scene could actually work with Rom present. It also led to the statue scene, which by way, I came up with on the spot. Nothing super special went into its concept.
Now a few small things. First, the whole joke about Venus getting the twins' names backward, I didn't think it would work as well when one of the twins wasn't present. So indeed, I went through every other vowel to use for Venus to get Rom's name wrong. And I thought it would be neat for Venus to get it right at the end, but only on accident. And yes, for now, it's going to remain an accident.
Second, Uni did almost admit to Neptune and everyone about her crush on Nepgear, but didn't actually admit it, leaving it vague. But it also wasn't said in a way that would make it hard to read between the lines. We'll just have to see if anyone picked up it. Well, besides Noire, who already knows, and Venus. I think at this point, we all know Venus will never get it when said the way Uni said it.
Finally, the whole "magic gear that would make Neptune into a blackhole of cuteness" thing, if you don't know, that is a reference to something Nepgear actually was trying to make in Action Unleashed. Although, I think it's important to note that Action U doesn't actually take place in the Hyperdimension, so the Nepgear of that dimension, the same one that disappeared in this story, didn't technically make the gear, at least not in canon. But it sounds like something Nepgear would, so... I thought, eh, why not mix it in here.
So, as for the next chapter, I think it's time to end these filler chapters, and get on track to end the A-plot, and start the beginning of the end. I've even set up the beginning of next chapter already in this chapter. Get ready, this isn't going to be a simple three-chapter ending. I can't even say how many chapters this will be. We're in this for the long haul.