…

For the first time since writing this fic, I rewatched Opening 2.

Crap crap crap crap CRAP CRAP CRAP! They were already discussing throwing her over!

Thankfully, I think this is still salvageable.

So, without further ado, let me respond to you:

Eyeshield: I think Old English is more than sticking 'e's on the end of every word, good chap. And yeah, it would've but I had another idea in mind but I couldn't execute it so there we are. ... And you are entirely correct. Let's hope she never has the incentive to ask. Anyway, that's very interesting. I actually listened to a song she sang, some Touhou one, and she's got an okay voice. That settles it; the reason I couldn't stand the English voices was because the dialogue was so bloody embarrassing. Anyway, I'm sorry that the chapter was disappointing but Jacob prefers to get the job done rather than have epic fights. That is, he likes epic fights but he just prefers a nice easy job over that.

Saturn56: You'll find out maybe now, in the future, never or in an alternate dimension. Same applies for your question.

Prinny Overlord: No, it wasn't. Then again, when you're setting an ambush, you typically want to disable your target without being spotted and/or harmed. If you set up a mission critical ambush and then blow your cover for the sake of a good brawl, there is something wrong with you. Anyway, let's see if your curiosity is sated.

Hydrocity3: The bombshell was shot out of a railgun after Black Heart was pelted with several sniper rounds of piercing exposition. Anyway, thanks.

Eisenfaust: I'm glad that Jacob comes across as really smart to the audience. Too many people will call a character "smart" but they end up making ridiculously stupid decisions that even I know to avoid. It seems though that Jacob actually does have brains according to the audience so I'm doing this right, apparently.

godofmadness43: Indeed! Prepare to be utterly disappointed!

Zaralann: Thank you.

Red-Drive: Hold onto your seatbelts because I'd hate for you to reach your gun and headshot me after reading this!

crimsonheresy: Damn it man, log in already. Also... NO SPOILERS BE HERE! Shoo! Shoo! P.S: Alright, let's see how it goes...

ghostdominion6: Thank you very much. The characters are really hard to grasp with Neptunia and I'm happy to hear that I'm doing it right. Anyway, let's see how long the no-visible-criticism thing runs!

And, without further ado, let this chapter begin for you!

Chapter 18: Crash

In preparation for Black Heart's story, Neptune lied down on the floor on her stomach and supported her head with her arms. Next to her, Jacob, Nisa and IF sat down, all of them cross-legged but Jacob was leaning forward slightly with his arms crossed, IF also leaning forward slightly but her hands were on her knees and Nisa was leaning back and supporting herself with her arms behind her. Compa sat on the bed next to Black Heart's.

"Ooh, this is gonna be exciting," Neptune said eagerly as she kicked behind her. "Come on Blacky, let's go!"

Black Heart sighed. "Calm down. Now, here's what happened...

It was only maybe two weeks ago when the Console War ended if it wasn't put on hiatus. During the end, Green Heart, White Heart and I decided to focus our strengths on Neptune in order to-

"Whoa, hold your horses!" Neptune interrupted. "You're going way too fast!"

"... Huh?"

"We can't see your flashbacks, see, so you have to be veeeery detailed for us, 'kay?"

"... You have to be kidding me," stated Black Heart, exasperated but not in disbelief.

"Neptune, we're not here for a lunchtime story. We're here to learn about what happened to you," said Jacob.

"Actually," IF spoke up, "I'm interested in knowing how this actually happened as well. We could learn something from it."

Lastation's CPU rolled her eyes. "Fine, have it your way."

As you already know, the battle took place in Celestia. As usual, the fighting-

"What's Celestia look like?"

Jacob sighed. "Neptune, that's not important."

"Exactly," Black Heart concurred, looking a bit annoyed. "It doesn't matter what Celestia looks like. All that matters is that this happened in Celestia."

"W-Well..." Compa started, "if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to hear about what Celestia looks like."

"I feel the same," Nisa agreed. "I have never set foot in the home of the goddesses and I would very much like to know what it was like."

Jacob massaged his forehead. "... Well, it's not like the world's going to end in five minutes. Black Heart, do you mind?"

"Not at all. It's not like I have a bunch of employees back at the Basilicom who await my return or anything like that. Now, let's get back on track…"

Now, the battlefield we were using was a large stone platform that was inscribed with many decals that I can't even begin to describe, surrounded by maybe eight pillars that were also inscribed with many decals that I can't even begin to describe. Also around the area for some reason were floating stone cubes that were also inscribed with many decals that I can't even begin to describe. Don't worry about the decals because they're not even relevant to anything. In any event, Celestia also had a lot of purple glass stained windows, making the entire area look purple. I don't really know why they're like that, considering there's myself, Green Heart and White Heart as well as Purple Heart, but we learned to just go with it.

So the other goddesses and I were in the middle of another fight- it was an on and off thing for us- when Green Heart decided to break us off. I objected, and then White Heart got into an argument with Green Heart-

"What'd you all say, exactly?"

Damn it, Neptune!

"I think I figured out why you were tossed over," Jacob commented at Neptune.

"Nep-Nep, you are beginning to push it a bit," said Compa.

"Damn it Neptune, stop interrupting all the time!" IF shouted.

"What?" Neptune defended herself. "I just wanna know exactly how this goes!"

Black Heart took a very deep breath. "Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to recount, in perfect detail, what happened in the past."

"Ahuh."

"Right down to every single word."

"Hey, it could be important!"

Black Heart massaged her forehead.

"Would you like something to drink, my lady?" Compa offered.

"A glass of water will be nice, thank you. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, the ceasefire..."

So, as I said, we were fighting when Green Heart- she had green hair tied into a ponytail, violet eyes and a white bodysuit that showed everything from the underneath of her breasts to just below her belly button, Neptune- stopped all of a sudden. Also, her weapon was a massive drill that she held perpendicular to her right arm like an extension to it.

"Lady Black Heart?"

Ah, thank you, um...

"My name is Compa, my lady."

Oh, terribly sorry. Thank you very much, Compa. I'm feeling a bit better now. Anyway...

"Neptune, you're getting out of hand," I think Green Heart said in her usual aloof tone of voice. "You two should let this grudge go as well. It's getting rather warm in here." I forgot to call her out on this at the time but the reason she's feeling warm is because she can't go for very long without overheating. Really, she's a massive chicken.

"I'm tired of hearing that nonsense," I said back. "We've been fighting for thousands of generations. Why quit now?"

"Thousands of generations?!" Nisa was shocked.

Yeah. A fight between four girls can go for a really long time. Trust me when I say it was really important.

Anyway, White Heart, the short one with spiky blue hair, red eyes and a white bodysuit that covered all of her body except for her arms and legs, just then stopped attacking Neptune. "… It's not just about Celestia," she said, quietly and angrily as normal. "That's what I heard from the former goddess. I won't let any of you selfish, icy bitches take the title of True Goddess!"

"Whoa, hold on," Jacob interrupted this time. "What's this about a former goddess? And what's the 'True Goddess'?"

... Let me finish. Anyway, as Green Heart considered White Heart... You know what? Their names are Vert and Blanc. Let's save time. Anyway, Vert considered Blanc more of an annoyance than anything so she argued with her. "Hush, now. Where did you learn such raucous manners? You think your demeanour is acceptable as a goddess?"

Now, Blanc has a very short fuse. One thing us goddesses can agree on is that she angers way too easily and is like an immature child. "Shut yer hole!" she shouted. "I can't stand the way you talk all high n' mighty. Get outta here..."

Black Heart took another drink and held the bridge of her nose. "No, I can't repeat that. It's too vulgar."

"What? What'd she say?" Neptune asked, curious.

"Is it important?" Jacob asked, not curious.

"No, not at all. It's just another one of her five year-old moments."

"Then skip that part."

"Aw," Neptune pouted before crossing her arms and resting her head on them. "I can't believe Blacky's too big a chicken to curse."

Black Heart's big glowing red button was pressed. "Wh-What?! I am not a chicken! I can swear whenever I want! Here goes!" She cleared her throat.

"I can't stand the way you talk all high n' mighty. Get outta here, Th-Th… Th-Thunder Tits!"

"… Thunder what?" Jacob was definitely surprised by Blanc's vocabulary.

IF blushed lightly, although she made sure no one noticed.

Compa was blushing like mad, though, and everyone who looked her way would notice.

Black Heart inhaled lightly. "One thing you should know is that Vert is… very well-endowed. This should never be said to her because she will never live it down but she blows both me and Neptune out of the water, even if we're in HDD and she isn't. Blanc, on the other hand, is anything but well-endowed. That's a bit of a sore point for her and I assume it's why she's angry all the time."

"So she's called Thunder Tits because she has shocking huge gazongas?" Neptune inquired.

"Neptune, don't use that language!" Jacob warned.

But it was no use. Neptune giggled. "That's such a good nickname! Hey Jacob, can I call you Spark Tits?"

His vision going from the entire spectrum to just red in an instant, Jacob brought a hammer fist down towards Neptune's back. However, she was quick enough to roll out the way so Jacob just pounded a hard wooden floor.

"OW!" Jacob screamed as he held his pained wrist. "Damn, that hurt!"

"Ha ha!" Neptune rolled back to her original position. "Bet ya didn't see that one comin', did ya?"

"Jake, are you okay?" Compa asked, concerned.

"Yeah…" affirmed Jacob with gritted teeth, "I'll be fine… Just give me a minute or two…"

Black Heart was confused by the entire spectacle. "… Is there something I'm missing?"

"It's nothing!" Jacob quickly said. "Just get on with it…"

"… Okay then."

Surprisingly, Blanc's childish attempt to fluster Vert actually worked for a moment. "Wh-?! Breasts are symbolic for both maturity and fertility. The size of my bust equates my aptitude as a goddess." Then she smirked, so the fluster attempt was nulled and voided. "With that logic, it could be said you and Neptune are the least… fitting."

"What?!" Neptune cried out indignantly. "Oh, that does it! I am so giving Thunder Tits a piece of my mind when I meet her!"

Yeah, show her a thing or two! N-Not that I'm saying you're a good goddess or anything. M-Moving on! As usual, Blanc's massive switch was flipped and she was really mad. "The hell's that? Listen to that crap, talkin' out yer ass. I'll kill you! Die!"

Blanc, when in HDD, used a massive axe in combat. It was heavy and powerful yet she was rather slow with it. That is, she's slow by a goddess' standards. By human standards, she's fairly quick. That didn't help against Vert though, as she's the fastest of all of us, so most of her attacks were dodged. However, Vert did have to parry from time to time and Blanc's powerful attacks were more than enough to break her guard. Nevertheless, Vert's defence was never fully broken, even after Blanc pulled out her much faster gun and opened fire.

I remember this all clearly because… i-it was very embarrassing to call them goddesses as I am. I-It wasn't amusing at all, I swear. "This is nonsense," I said. "We can't afford to waste time berating each other like this. We're nowhere near settling this."

The one to answer me was you, Neptune. "We'll settle this just fine, even if you hadn't brought it up. But the result won't be what you hoped for."

I smirked. "You really are completely different when you've activated HDD. I kinda like it. It makes me want to try even harder!"

Apparently, Vert and Blanc settled their little dispute while I wasn't looking because Vert answered me. "True. It has been eons and we've only come to a stalemate. Surely you're not implying you've been slacking off?"

… Ugh. "That's not what I meant!" I said back. "I wasn't even talking to you. Nevertheless, we've come here for a fight, so let's keep fighting!"

Vert just smiled. "Come now. Isn't this getting a bit sterile? Let's think carefully for a moment. About one another. This is all for the people in the human world below. Settling this matter is also for their sake."

"Seems like Lady Green Heart's got the people at the front of her mind," IF commented.

Hmph. The only reason she's trying for a peaceful solution is because she's lazy. She got bored of the fighting and wanted out. Besides, even if she was being truthful, she's way too idealistic. So I said to her "Your point? You think we can settle it in one day, just like that?"

As it turns out, her point was, and know that she said this with a "winning" smile, "What I mean is, why don't we work together for once?"

Let me tell you now that that was the most mind-bafflingly stupid thing I've ever heard for all my years as Lastation's CPU. Keep in mind that I've hung out with Neptune.

"Hey!"

I made sure Vert knew her idea was idiotic. "Heh, like a happy family? Please, that idea won't solve anything. Competition drives Gamindustri forward!"

Now, like Vert, I didn't hold Blanc in very high regard, given her lacking maturity. However, I will admit I was surprised with her level of judgement when she said "But the way things are now are failing to work as well. Why not erase just one of us?"

Vert, however, was not surprised. "Hmm, sure. That could be the catalyst of change we have been searching for. To make it easier later on, we should rid ourselves of the one we find difficult to fight, not someone we personally despise."

Blanc seemed to agree. "Well, I hate you. I'm the one who'll finish you off, so you're staying for now."

So did I. "The way you lose your composure gets on my nerves. I'd love to teach you discipline with my own hands."

"I don't have anyone in particular but, if I had to choose somebody, I suppose I'd aim to take you down," Vert said to me.

I had no problem with that so I said "Sure, I guess. We don't really have anything in common. Then, who's left?"

Only after I asked that question did the others and I realise the answer.

You, Neptune, were very annoyed. "You can't just decide this without gathering my opinion as well, can you?"

Blanc looked very pleased with the verdict. "Neptune, be honoured. You've chosen to signal the beginning of the end of the Console War."

"Don't be foolish." Defiantly still, you drew your katana and readied your stance. "Well, it doesn't matter. Even against the three of you, Neptune does what you all don't!"

"Lame," commented Jacob.

"Hey, I think that sounds pretty cool!" Neptune argued.

Anyway, "Do as you wish to me. I'll counter your attacks a hundred-fold!" you finished with a confident smirk on her face.

Still, Vert wasn't even paying attention. "There's little point to this if she wakes up and fights us again. Why don't we simply exile her to the world below?"

"So you intended to toss her over anyway," Jacob accused.

… Yes. However, I'm not finished.

Blanc asked "… We ain't gonna kill her?"

Neptune, you said "As blunt as ever. If you could, can you save this discussion for after you win against me?"

Vert ignored you again. "I'm not sure if we can kill her or not," she answered Blanc, despite all four of us having spent eons trying to kill each other. "This is a first for us. The former goddess taught us nothing of this situation."

This only annoyed you more. "Did you just ignore me again?" you asked. "Yeah, yeah you did. You'll regret this!"

Then I answered you. "And so will you! You said we three don't stand a chance against you? Well, we're going all out!"

And that signalled the start of the battle. After it-

"Wait! How'd the battle go?" Neptune asked.

For goodness sake, it was a turn-based fight. Use your imagination. Point is we crushed you with our combined power. At the end of the battle, you were a tired mess who could barely keep herself afloat.

Just for kicks, Blanc smashed you into a pillar with her axe. "What was that you were saying about doing what we all don't, huh? Wanna say that again, bitch?"

"Calm down, now," said Vert. "She's in no position to fight back. Let's just exile her now."

"And then what?" said Blanc.

"You know, there are other words you can use aside from 'said'," Jacob advised.

Don't care. Anyway, Blanc said "And then what? She'll just come back and fight us again, making all this pointless. You said it yourself. I don't know what you think your pansy-ass exile will do but, if one of us is going to become the True Goddess, the other three have to die. There's no way around that."

It was painful but it was the truth. I don't know if Vert thought the same thing because she was still as annoyingly calm as ever but… I think she didn't want to agree with her. "If she is sent to the human world below, we can change this while she struggles to return. This is not about killing, this is about changing the way things are. To have one True Goddess doesn't necessarily mean only one goddess can exist."

Blanc then said "That's bullcrap and you know it! You may be ch-chickenshit but this has to happen! She dies, no matter what!"

Blanc was determined to kill you, Neptune, but she was interrupted when she brought up her axe. I rushed forward to stop her, but… but…

All of a sudden, Black Heart's hand moved over where her heart would be and her eyes shut all of a sudden. She looked as if she was holding in a great pain.

The party was definitely concerned.

"Black Heart, are you okay?" Jacob asked.

Black Heart took another drink of water from her glass and set it down on the floor. "I-I'm fine… It's just… what happened next was not very pleasant at all. No, Neptune, you didn't die. At least… now I know that for sure."

Without a word, Neptune stood up, much to the surprise and confusion of her comrades. Black Heart was also confused as Neptune walked to her with an unusually solemn expression on her face.

The most surprising thing to happen was Neptune wrapping her arms around Black Heart and bringing her in close for a hug.

"Hey, don't be so down in the dumps," Neptune said while resting her head on Black Heart's shoulder. "I'm still bouncing and breathing, alright?"

Slowly, Black Heart's arms wrapped around Neptune.

"... Uh, whatcha doin'?" Neptune asked, slightly confused.

"I'm... sorry..." Black Heart apologised in between her sobs. "I didn't mean to... I didn't want to, but..."

Neptune pulled away and gave the other CPU's shoulders a firm pat. "Tell me later. First, we gotta know what happened." She then sat down next to her. "Now, what happened with Blanc?"

Black Heart seemed to regain her composure. In fact, she seemed to be in higher spirits altogether. "Okay... Well, I was going to stop her, but... I was interrupted. We all were."

"By what?" asked Compa.

Black Heart looked directly at her. "A dragon."

It came from... I have absolutely no idea, to be honest. One moment, I was about to interrupt Blanc. The next... the ground shook. And then the dragon was there. It was huge. And... it had yellow and dark purple scales, layered like petals on a rose. It had blood red horns and claws. It had two wings, both of which were larger than its entire body.

None of us needed to think twice before we got into formation ready to battle it. Turn-based style, mind you, so it was hardly exhilarating. Still... it overwhelmed us. We had the initiative and we unleashed our most powerful attacks but we couldn't stop it. It was far too powerful. I had never before met a foe that could take on three of Gamindustri's goddesses and win so definitely.

I shouted at it "What are you?!"

It looked at me and sneered. "I am the end of this world. Flee now, CPUs, and you will be spared of my fire," it said to me in a very deep voice.

Us CPUs, as you probably expected, did not flee. Even with our hit points so low, we stood up again. Blanc shouted back "Like hell! I'll splatter you all over the floor!"

Vert joined in. "Quite right. We are the guardians of Gamindustri. We vanquish evils greater than you more often than we bathe."

I think the dragon smiled. "Foolish CPUs…" it said before flapping its wings and going into the air. "It matters not. In the end, your heads will be at the heels of Overlord Momus."

"Did you just say Momus?!" Jacob shouted as he stood up quickly.

"But I thought Histoire said that Momus didn't exist!" Nisa cried out.

"… Who is this Histoire?" inquired Black Heart.

"She's…" Jacob started before he stopped himself. "No, I'll tell you later. Tell us what happened with Momus."

"… Very well."

With one mighty flap of its wings, Momus flew straight up into the air. We braced ourselves for whatever attack may come next but we didn't know that it would shoot a massive purple beam directly at the ground in front of us. Not only did it shake us off balance, it destroyed the platform. This was a huge problem because Celestia floats way above Gamindustri.

Fortunately, as we could fly, we saved ourselves from the crumbling floor with ease.

… But Neptune was unconscious.

Black Heart paused. The way she kept herself from looking at any one face of the party did not go unnoticed.

"So Neptune fell because of Momus?" Jacob asked.

"Yes," answered Black Heart even as she kept herself from looking at him. "In the end, we had no choice but to flee to the world below."

"… You're hiding something," Jacob accused.

"What?" Black Heart was shocked by the accusation. "Wh-What would I be hiding? I never tried to catch Neptune or anything!"

"And there we go." Jacob sat back down, content with the pseudo-confession.

Slowly, Black Heart realised the trap she had fallen into. "… Curses."

"You tried to catch me?" Neptune quickly hugged the other CPU again but she did so playfully this time. "Aw, you'd make the bestest friend ever!"

"I- tha- I- eh- ih- uh…" Black Heart seemed to have gone into overdrive with how she kept tripping over her words and her face seemed like it had been sprayed with red paint.

"So why didn't you catch her in the end?" IF inquired.

That question knocked Black Heart out of her flustered state. Neptune could feel the awkwardness and pulled away as well.

"… I tried but Vert stopped me," she answered. "We argued but, ultimately, we agreed that there was nothing we could do. We had to go." The smallest traces of a smile could be seen on her face as she looked back at Neptune. "Neptune… it's good to see that you're okay."

A brief pause made itself present.

"… So that's it?" asked Jacob.

"That's it."

Another brief pause made itself present as the party took this all in. Compa and Neptune even let out small breaths.

"So… Momus apparently exists," Jacob reiterated. "Even though Histoire said he didn't."

"You mention her so much. Who is this Histoire?" inquired Black Heart.

Compa decided to answer. "Do you remember when we told you we were on an important mission to find four Key Fragments to rescue a McGuffin person? Well, Histoire is that McGuffin person. She claims to be 'the world's everything' although we still don't really know what that means."

Jacob threw in his two cents worth. "She was locked up by a witch named Arfoire. Apparently, she has a tome that has everything about the world in it. Except for me, mind you. I'm from another world."

"Wait..." Something just clicked in IF's mind. "If she didn't know about you because you're from another world, does that mean Momus is from another world?"

The implication hit Jacob like a hammer. "... Holy cow, you may be right. Momus is actually a magic dragon alien."

"If I may ask, how exactly are you communicating with this Histoire if she is sealed away?" Noire asked.

"Oh, me, me, me!" Neptune excitedly answered her. "Ya see, Histy uses telepathy to contact me! It went a bit like this…"

I was in a dream, right, and there was darkness everywhere! Well, there were a few clouds or whatever but it was dark and I was glowing.

"Egads!" I screamed. "What infernal being has summoned me to this location?"

Suddenly, I heard a voice from all around me. A kind, gentle, motherly voice! "This being be not infernal, my dearest Neptune!" it said to me. "I, the super lovely but not as lovely as you Histy, have called out to you in your dreams to beg for your assailants!"

How surprising! "Sweet pop tarts and a pencil sharpener! How could I possibly be of help to you?"

And then she answered thusly: "Neptune, I am your mother! Your cruel, wicked father has locked me away! I-"

"Okay Neptune, that's enough," said Jacob as he and IF moved a hand over Neptune's mouth to shut her up.

"Agreed. That's all I needed to know," said Black Heart. "So she's been communicating to you like this throughout your journey?"

"Nah, only here and there," Neptune answered. "I can't really talk to her when she doesn't start talking to me. She helps out by giving us exposition when we need it."

Black Heart nodded. "Ah."

Nisa had another question. "Lady Black Heart, I must ask you about this 'former goddess'. Who is she?"

"Ah, right. You see... Well, this may surprise you but we goddesses were not born. Rather, we were made by the former goddess to manage the four landmasses in her stead. Throughout our... let's just call it our 'infancy', the former goddess taught us how to rule our landmasses and general goddess things."

"Oh, I see." Nisa replied in understanding.

Neptune tilted her head to the side in thought. "I think I remember Histy telling me somethin' like that in my dream..."

It was like-

"Neptune, no. Please," Jacob cut in.

Aw, you're a big poo.

"Excuse me but how did the Console War start?" IF inquired.

Black Heart seemed hesitant to answer that question. "... It was an ideological issue. One day, the four of us came to believe that the landmasses would be better under the rule of just one goddess. Now, we weren't exactly on the best terms before the war but we mostly kept whatever hostility we had under wraps and we at least interacted civilly."

"Hey, what about me?" Neptune leaned towards Lastation's CPU. "I'm as friendly as a bee that drank a love potion! A demon that got hugged by a puppy that got thrown at it by a van driver! Who could hate pretty lil' me?"

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "That actually makes a lot of sense. Neptune is pretty much only hostile to people that deliberately antagonise her."

"Well..." Again, Black Heart found herself pausing to consider her words carefully. "Neptune, the truth is that... out of all of us, you were the least liked." Black Heart regretted saying that after she saw the confusion in Neptune's face but she continued. "You're much better now but, before, you were unbelievably arrogant. I lost count of how many times you kept saying you were better than Vert, Blanc and I. You were boasting constantly and you were also very dismissive of us. It's no wonder Blanc took plenty of glee in thrashing you, especially considering the way you'd brag about your HDD breasts to her."

Jacob was also confused. "Well, if she was that intolerable, why do you consider her such a close friend?"

"Well... That's because, while she was incredibly annoying, she wasn't trying to be. It was sort of something she just did. The truth is that she was trying to get closer to other people but she didn't know how and Vert and Blanc just thought of her as brash and obnoxious."

"They were and still are entirely correct," IF butted in.

"Hey!"

Black Heart continued on. "While she isn't exactly... restrained, she was worse before with her smugness taking precedence over everything else. Regardless, she still tried her best to make friends, even if she went about it entirely the wrong way. She eventually latched onto me and tried to make me her friend, gloating about how much stronger she was than me all the while. Still, I warmed up to her... slightly. I never told or showed her that I considered her a friend mainly due to her ego but I did treasure her."

"But you still tried to kill her," Jacob brought up.

It served as another heavy blow to the CPU's heart. "... That's right. I... didn't want to. Still, Gamindustri was and is still more important. I may not have wanted to kill the other goddesses but, if anyone should lead Gamindustri to a bright, unified future, it's me. That's what I..." A sigh, "... believed."

Although she said this, it was easy to see that she wasn't into it. The party most certainly did and they didn't have anything to say.

"... Well, what about now?" asked Neptune.

"Huh?" Black Heart turned to her purple-haired friend.

"What do you think of me now?"

Black Heart blinked several times. "... Oh! Okay, um... You're definitely much better now. You're a lot more selfless now and..." Here is where she blushed in embarrassment but smiled a bit despite her best attempts to not to, "... never would you have hugged me in such a tender way."

Neptune smiled, although she clearly wasn't happy yet. "So... are ya still gonna try and kill me?"

And Black Heart's warm smile was gone and her blush wiped clean. What used to be a combination of sweetness and embarrassment was now a combination of shock, regret and hesitation.

Neptune's smile began to falter. "Well? You're not, are ya? … Blacky?"

"Blacky" diverted her gaze from Neptune and looked at the floor. Again, an immense aura of sadness could be felt around her. She didn't answer Neptune. She didn't have the strength.

Jacob clapped his hands together, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Well, we've learned that a dragon is terrorising Celestia, the dragon is Overlord Momus and the Console Wars were about who would rule the world." Jacob extended a hand towards the CPU of Lastation. "Thanks again, Black Heart. I think that about covers everything we wanted to know."

Black Heart was mildly surprised at the gesture but she shook his hand regardless. "I'm glad I could help," she responded before taking her hand away.

Jacob looked at the other members of his party. "Now, does anyone have any other questions?"

"I don't," spoke up Nisa as she raised her hand, "but I would like to address the issue of Avenir."

Jacob's eyes widened for a bit before he facepalmed. "Damn it, I can't believe I completely forgot about that."

Black Heart's eyes rolled. "Oh for the love of... Is this another complaint about how they're getting too good? Because I get a lot of those and each time I've answered that there's nothing I can do about a company that's immensely successful. Given the machines they've rolled out over the years, I don't even want to."

"Black Heart, we have reason to believe that Avenir is bribing the Parliament," said Jacob.

Black Heart's exasperation was then taken over by concern. "Wh-What?"

IF stood up, as did Nisa. "Throughout our missions on this landmass, we learned that Avenir and the Parliament are cooperating. As you know, the Parliament works on a system that means it needs majority votes to do something. Avenir, standing for most of Lastation, pretty much has control of these votes and the Parliament can do pretty much whatever they want as long as Avenir controls the votes and supports them."

"This leads to the Tech Expo. Black Heart, is it true that the theme of the Tech Expo is decided only on the year it's being held?" Jacob asked.

"Y-Yes, that's right," Black Heart affirmed.

Jacob crossed his arms. "Well, that's the thing. As you might remember, the Expo was cancelled not too long ago only to be back on again mere days afterward. However, this time around, the Expo is being sponsored by the Parliament rather than the Sanctuary and the new theme was 'weaponry'. Now, this is the weird part. You see, not long ago, we rescued an Avenir employee from a dungeon. Not only did he know about the Expo's reopening before it was even broadcasted on the radio, he claimed that Avenir's entry into the Expo had been worked on for three years, way before the theme was announced."

"Lady Black Heart, Avenir's rigged the Tech Expo with the Parliament!" Compa cried out.

Black Heart did not answer right away as she was thinking about these accusations. "... You're certain that this is the result of corruption?"

"Black Heart, I also thought once upon a time that it was unfair to call Avenir evil just because they were better than everyone else. However, my comrades and I cannot let this go. Unfortunately, we have no power to do anything, but you do." He held his hands in a praying gesture and looked at Black Heart with an unusually pleading face. "Black Heart, for the sake of Lastation, please investigate this and deal with it."

Black Heart looked the slightest bit angry as she closed her eyes.

"Do it for me, pleeeease?" Neptune begged.

"Oh alright, fine!" Black Heart shouted. "Very well Jacob, I will look into this. However, please keep in mind that I do not approve of my employees being accused of corruption."

"Fair enough," answered Jacob.

IF pulled out her phone and began pressing buttons, presumably to start typing notes. "So, we know about the Console War, Momus, Black Heart's ties with Neptune and we've talked about Avenir. Is there anything else we need to talk about?"

Jacob looked at Neptune, who shook her head. Compa looked at Nisa, who also shook her head. Then the two duos looked at each other, stayed that way for a moment and then looked back at IF.

"I guess we're pretty much done here, then," said IF.

"In that case..." Black Heart pushed herself off the bed, "... I best get going."

IF stopped typing on her phone. "Wait, what about your injuries?"

"I can worry about those back at the Basilicom," Black Heart answered. "After the potions Compa gave me, the worst is over. At the very least, I can walk just fine again. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Black Heart made her way to the door, "... I'll be going now."

She opened the door and took one step into the hallway.

"Wait!" shouted Neptune, causing Black Heart to look back. "Sorry about me being so forgetful but could you tell me your name, please?"

"Oh, right." Once again, Neptune had brought happiness to Black Heart. "It's Noire," she responded with a smile.

"Noire? Awesome!" Neptune cheered. "So, you're not still thinking about killing me, right?"

Once again, Neptune managed to rid Black Heart's face of the happiness it acquired moments ago. With artificial conviction, Noire faced away from the party.

"... Noirey...?" Neptune meekly called out.

"Neptune..." Noire began. "Don't misunderstand. I truly do think of you as a friend and I wouldn't trade the time we spent together for anything. However, the many people on Gamindustri mean more than three goddesses. If I am to kill my best friend to bring peace... so be it."

Neptune looked like she was about to cry. "But Noirey..."

"Excuse me, Noire?" Jacob asked for her attention.

Noire didn't look back but a slight movement of her head indicated she was listening. "What is it?"

"If it's not too much trouble, I have some advice for you."

Despite Noire's back facing the party, Jacob was pretty much certain she just rolled her eyes. "And what kind of advice would that be? If it's from a human to a CPU that guards a world he knows nothing about, I'm sure it's incredibly valuable."

Regardless of her sarcasm, the other party members were intrigued with what Jacob had to say.

Jacob took a small breath. "Don't be a tough leader. You're strong enough to be gentle."

For a moment, it felt like time had stopped. At once, all of Noire's negative emotions- exasperation, anger, sorrow and doubt- rolled off of her. She turned around to look at the male. Defining what her look was at that moment was impossible but it was not one of hostility.

"... Hm. That certainly is... unique advice," she responded. "Not that I agree with it. B-But I'll definitely think about it."

Jacob smiled. "That's all I want."

Neptune cheered up as well. "Bye, Noirey! See ya later!"

The black-haired goddess gave one last friendly smile. "Farewell," she said before she descended down the hallway.

IF shut the door. "Well, that's that."

Neptune yawned and rested on the bed she shared with Nisa. "Whoa, that was a doozy. I think I'm gonna nap here..."

Jacob yawned as well. "I think we all deserve a break. It's been a pretty big day and..." After sitting down on his bed, his train of thought seemed to vanish. "... Well, I'm tired."

Compa seemed to be uncertain of something. "So what do we do next?"

"Hm..." IF thought her answer through. "Well, we've done pretty much everything we can about Avenir. Now it's in Bla- I mean, Noire's hands. Also, we're still no closer to finding the Key Fragment. Really... there's nothing left for us to do here."

Jacob looked at her. "You think we could go to another landmass?"

IF got her phone open. "Pretty much. Let me just check which one to go to..."

Nisa sat down on the edge of her bed so as not to agitate Neptune. "So I take it we're not doing anything else for the rest of the day?"

"By all means, if you find a way for us to be productive, let us know." IF waited a couple of seconds for her phone to load the information she needed. "... And Lowee is about three days away. We'll leave then."

Jacob smiled. "Perfect. Three days of relaxation and sleeping for us."

"That's what you think!" shouted Nisa as she opened the window fully and stepped back from it. "I, on the other hand, must continue to protect the citizens of Gamindustri as its heroine of justice!"

From the other side of the room, Nisa dashed at full speed through the open window and slid through it easily. "See you all lateeeer!"

IF closed her phone. "So, who's up for a game of Duty Calls?"

It took a while for Noire to return to her Basilicom. Any other day, she would have flown there. Any other day, she wouldn't have been overpowered, badly injured and just recovering from her wounds. At the very least, she could walk normally towards the gondola that would take her back to her residence on Lastation.

The Moderator saw her at the door and might have looked inquisitive. "Lady Black Heart, may I ask why you are injured?"

"It was a very eventful quest," she answered. "To be honest, I'd rather not go into details."

"It took you a very long time to do that quest, m'lady," he continued.

Noire breathed out through her nose to calm herself down. "Again, I'd rather not go into details. I'd rather see my private doctor."

"He's not here at the moment although I'm sure he's already on his way here before you even called for him. Have a fine day, m'lady," he finished with a half-hearted salute.

The doors were opened to allow the CPU access back inside. However, she hesitated at the door.

The Moderator noticed. "... Is something wrong?"

Again, Noire didn't respond right away. "... It's just been a rather eventful quest. I just... want to rest and think about things."

"I see," responded the Moderator rather indifferently. "By the way, can I have my phone back?"

The CPU froze as a memory she threw away immediately decided to jam itself in the forefront of her mind.

You probably would've guessed that the goddess of Lastation decided to activate her HDD in order to travel to the dungeon that Neptune needed "rescuing" from. Indeed, you'd be correct. With an unholy impatience and a flash of light, Black Heart took flight and zoomed across the air towards her destination.

"Kono seka-"

That was as much as the ringtone could get out before Black Heart threw the phone away in surprise into the yawning cloud-veiled void below.

The Moderator let out a disappointed sigh. "On the bright side, I won't be nagged by texts from my dog to pick up jewels until I get a new phone."

His CPU looked back at him. "... You live in a very interesting household, doorman."

"Indeed I do," he answered, not bothering to correct her on his title as she entered the Basilicom, closing the doors behind her.

Right. So, essentially, the CPUs were fighting so that one of them would become the True Goddess. Now, I don't exactly know what goes up in Celestia but you'd think they'd know how the process works and not hesitate to kill Neptune. After thousands of generations, they're finally figuring something out... and it turns out they don't even know what they're doing. They've been bashing sticks against each other since the dawn of time and they didn't even know what they were supposed to do next. Really good work there, girls. Also, good job on not maturing or getting any smarter after God knows how much time or stopping for one moment to go "Wait a tic..."

By the way, if you could, please avoid any potential spoilers for anyone who hasn't played Hyperdimension Neptunia because I do personally know one of my readers who hasn't. Thank you.

Be sure to stick around for Chapter 19: The Adventure Continues.

*PS: Oh crap, I completely forgot. "Don't be a tough leader. You're strong enough to be gentle" actually comes from Peter Cullen's brother Larry, a veteran of the Vietnam war. The exact wording is "Don't be a tough hero; you are strong enough to be gentle" and this is the advice Larry gave to Peter when the latter auditioned for the role of Optimus Prime for the original Transformers cartoon. I could've sworn I put a disclaimer here somewhere...