Life for Compa was reasonably simple. Planeptune was a quiet state, very rarely were there any serious monster incidents. Her work as a nurse mostly boiled down to helping people with minor illnesses and putting bandages on over-eager kids with skinned knees.

Today however, was the start of all that changing. Not just for Compa, IF and their friends, but for Planeptune as a whole, and perhaps the world.

Compa was working peacefully in her little clinic. It was a warm day, so the fan was on full and the windows were open. Nothing unusual, really. The day had came in slowly, Compa almost succumbed to boredom and fell asleep several times. Out of the blue, however, came the sounds of rushing and yelling outside. Just before she had the chance to investigate, IF burst in the door, drenched in sweat.
"You need to come see this. Now." IF's tone was unusually grim and demanding, a far cry from her usual demeanour. She was like that around other people, but never Compa. She was always delicate with her. Compa nodded in agreement, and quickly followed her girlfriend.

IF was rushing, moving at such a pace that Compa struggled to keep up. Every "What is going on?" and "Where are we going?" was met with silence. With each denial, dread grew in Compa's heart. She knew something wrong was, but not knowing EXACTLY what it was scared her even more.
It took 15 minutes to reach Planeptune Central, but the pace that IF was travelling at meant they had arrived there within 5 minutes. IF looked down, sighed, and pointed to the massive monitor mounted on Planeptune's basilicom.

For a few minutes, nothing.

For a few more minutes, nothing.

Finally, the screen flickered to life. Enveloping the screen was Histoire. She was standing up on a small pedestal, and not her usual tome. Many assumed a technical glitch, as Histoire stared at the ground for 3 minutes without moving. She sighed, signalling to the viewers that it was NOT a technical glitch. 3 minutes more, another sigh. 3 minutes more. Another sigh. 3 minutes further. Was she crying? The crowd was getting worried and agitated. Something was clearly wrong.

3 minutes more.

Histoire lifted her head, revealing her face to the world. All trace of her usual joy and fairy-like good looks were gone, replaced with pale skin, deep bags, and eyes red, clearly from weeping. Her hair was a mess, it was evident it hadn't been treated in days. If it weren't for the fact this was definitely an official broadcast, many would have assumed this was just an imposter.

Histy tried to speak, but it seemed that every time she tried, her words were swallowed by quiet sobs. This went on for 3 minutes. 3 minutes more.

She finally overcame it, blurting out her intended message.

"Nepgear has been killed."

The camera crashed to black. The crowd began murmuring. "How could this happen? CPUs can't die", "Not Nepgear, I loved Nepgear", "This can't be real" were some of the sounds Compa could make out.

3 minutes.

The camera came back, this time static. The crowd fell silent.

3 minutes more. The sight that appeared shook Planeptune, and the world, to it's core.

It was Nepgear, dressed up in funeral wear and lying peacefully on a ceremonial altar.

It was real. Nepgear was gone.

Compa couldn't stand to look at it. She faced away and quickly began sobbing. Her GeGe was gone, forever. Never coming back. She'd never see her cute little face peek around the corner of her door. She'd never babysit her. Never snuggle up with her alongside IF. Never visit her to hear her talk for hours about robots.

Never.

She couldn't handle it. While the crowd was transfixed on the monitor, Compa was on her knees, a broken, weeping mess. IF took off her coat, sweaty as it was, and wrapped it around her. She sat down beside her girlfriend, rubbing her head and patting her back protectively. She'd seen Compa cry before, but never like this. IF lifted Compa to her feet, and quickly escorted her back home. She had no idea what she'd do when they GOT there, but she had to get her far away from a crowd. Somewhere where she could reassure her privately. She hated seeing Compa so upset, the rest of Planeptune didn't need to see her like this either. Not that they would, considering they were too focused on Nepgear.

Nepgear.

IF had completely forgotten about Nepgear.

It hit her too. Sadness. Loneliness. Regret.

She'd basically raised Nepgear when neptune couldn't. Taught her how to fight, make things, look after herself. She even sparked her interest in electronics. Yet for the past 5 years, she'd barely spoken to her, and now she never would.

IF collapsed, Compa going with her. Both of them started crying into one another, making no attempts to hold back their sadness. Thankfully for them, they'd broken down beside a path most usually avoid, so there were no passers-by to witness them.

After what felt like an age, the waterworks had dried up and the two finally managed to (barely) stand up. They made their way back to Compa's clinic, both of them basically carrying one another due to how weakened they felt. They didn't last long when they got in the door. Reaching the couch, both of them collapsed from exhaustion. At the very least, they were comfortable in here.

Whether they were safe or not was another matter entirely.