Author's Note
Guess who's baaaaaaack~
That's right! It's a me! Shiena! Here with the third book of the Love in Time series! This is a sequel to Love in Time of Heresy! It took a while to write mainly because I lost interest, but I'm back in full force! So I hope you all enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: As you all know! Hyperdimenion Neptunia does not belong to me! This beautiful franchise belongs to Idea Factory and Compile Heart! So no suing!
Gamindustri… a land over which goddesses, otherwise known as CPUs, rule. This large landmass is made up of four nations, each ruled by one of the four CPUs.
CPU White Heart rules over Lowee.
CPU Black Heart rules Lastation.
CPU Green Heart rules over Leanbox.
And lastly…
CPU Purple Heart rules Planeptune.
These CPUs banded together to protect the people of Gamindustri. The scars from Rei Ryghts remain fresh in Gamindustri's history. And as if the people have yet to learn from their mistakes, their faith in the CPUs wavered once more.
When a war ends, another begins. This is the fate of human nature and the life of a CPU. As danger lurks, the goddesses will stand together to fight off a familiar enemy they all knew too well. An enemy they did not want to see again. This was a Love in Time of Reunion…
Planeptune, Gamindustri
Place: Basilicom
Date: March 12, 2021
Time: 3:35 P.M.
"Neptune, I brought snacks!"
The purple-haired girl didn't turn her eyes away from the screen as she voiced, "Oh! Hey, Nep Jr! Just place them on the table and come play with big sis!"
Nepgear nodded and placed the tray of goodies on the wooden table. She sat down on the couch next to the shorter girl and picked up the second controller.
The two sisters are currently taking a break from their work hours, or actually, Nepgear was taking a break from her work hours. Neptune was just lazing around playing games like usual in her office.
"What are we playing?" asked the younger sister.
"A new release from Lastation," answered the older goddess. "Apparently, it's a new game Uni thought of."
"Uni!? Wow! She's doing so well," Nepgear chirped, happy at her friend's success.
Neptune chuckled as she crossed her arms. "Uni sure is following in her big sister's footsteps. All the way to the point of being a tsundere as well."
"Who are you calling a tsundere?!"
The Planeptune sisters turned their heads to the open balcony where Black Sister landed. She glared at the purple-haired sisters with irritation in her green eyes.
"Uni!" Nepgear jumped up and ran over to the Lastation candidate, giving her a hug.
Black Sister returned the embrace and greeted, "Hello, Nepgear." She disengaged her HDD and was back to her human form with her dark pigtails and red eyes.
"What are you doing here?" Nepgear asked as she released the other girl.
Uni swiped the air and a small holographic screen appeared in front of her. She went to her inventory and brought out a small stack of papers. "Big sis had me deliver these to Neptune."
"Woo! I got some mail from my sweetheart!" Neptune leaped off the couch and skipped over to Uni. "Let me see!" She took the stack of papers to see that it was actually documents. "Oh no! These are terrible work papers! Nep Jr, take them from me! I don't want to look at work!"
Uni sighed as she took the papers. "Now I understand why big sis was always lecturing you about work. Ever since our connection with Ultradimension stabilized, you have gotten even lazier."
"Please forgive Neptune. I'll take those." Nepgear took the papers off of Uni and brought them over to Neptune's work desk. "I'll look them over later."
"Cool, so what are guys doing now? Lastation is pretty lax, so I have free time," voiced Uni.
Nepgear's purple eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands together. "Let's go out!"
Uni blushed as she stuttered, "Y-Y-You mean… l-like a d-date…?"
"Yeah! We can even invite Rom and Ram," Nepgear suggested. "I'm sure they would love to come and play with us!"
"Oh…" Uni sighed and looked down, disappointingly. "Yeah… sure, more the merrier…"
"I'll go call them right now!" Nepgear chirped as she ran out of the office to her room.
Neptune looked to where Nepgear left and then she turned to look at the saddened Uni. Neptune shook her head disappointedly at how dense her younger sister was. She walked over to the younger black goddess and patted her shoulder in comfort. "Don't give up little Uni. She'll understand how you feel someday."
Uni turned bright red as she jerked away from the purple CPU. "I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Neptune snickered, "Oh don't be like that, and let your future sister-in-law help you with your blooming love~"
Uni stomped her foot and yelled, "I don't need your help with Nepgear!"
Neptune lifted her eyebrows as she teased, "Oh? Who said anything about Nep Jr?"
Uni's blush reached all the way to the tip of her ears as she opened and closed her mouth like a gulping fish. "I-I-I…"
"I'm back!"
Neptune turned around to greet her sister, "Nep Jr!"
"I'll be back in the evening to finish up the papers."
"Nah! Go hang out with Uni for the rest of the day. I got paper duty!"
Nepgear blinked with surprise. "Really? You sure?" Neptune would never take up work, she had half expected Neptune to waste the day away playing games.
Neptune only grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "You betcha!"
Nepgear beamed, "Okay! Let's go, Uni!"
"Huh? W-Wait, what about Rom and Ram?"
Nepgear grabbed onto Uni's hand and pulled her along as she answered, "We'll meet them at the train station!"
Neptune chuckled as she watched the younger goddesses leave her office. She then turned to her desk and winced at the number of documents on her table. She glanced back at her game that was still open and weighed her options. She can always finish work later… "Game it is!"
Lastation, Gamindustri
Place: Basilicom
Date: March 12, 2020
Time: 4:36 P.M.
"Is that the last of the paperwork, Kei?"
"Yes, Lady Noire."
Noire sighed as she stretched her arms, feeling a pleasant pop on her shoulders. "Finally, a break…"
"Oh! But we still need those documents that Lady Neptune had to sign," Kei remembered.
Noire blinked and realized she had forgotten about them. "Uni should be bringing them back… how long has it been since she left?"
"Approximately, one hour," Kei answered.
"One hour!" Noire sighed, knowing that Neptune must be slacking again. "Alright, I guess I can go grab them as I visit Planeptune and see what's taking her."
"Of course, I shall pass the rest of these finished documents on, have a nice day." Kei gathered the finished documents and bowed before leaving Noire's office.
Noire stood up, feeling quite excited to go see her girlfriend. It's been a while since they last hung out. After taking care of Rei Ryghts they were so preoccupied with rebuilding their nations that they barely had any time to themselves unless it was about work. It took half a year to fully get her nation back running and Neptune a full year. Lowee didn't take as long as her construction had started first.
Remembering the time, Noire couldn't help but scowl. The battle with Rei Ryghts was everlasting, but Noire learned to forgive as the Rei from this dimension has no recollection of the events. At least Neptune put her to work for the damages she has caused.
Noire closed her eyes and touched her chest. She could feel her heart beating, but she could feel something else flowing through her. Regulating her breath, she lowered the floodgates. It took some time and some research, but the black CPU managed to control the flow of Planeptune shares within her. She wanted to shut it off completely because, in a way, she was stealing shares from her girlfriend. Neptune had told her it was fine, that she would work twice as hard, but who was she kidding? Noire was the one who ended up working twice as hard.
Every time she finished work early to make time to see Neptune, the purple goddess would be neck-deep in the paperwork that Noire just ended up helping. Noire had scolded her about procrastinating, but she didn't complain about helping since with Planeptune shares flowing through her, she was basically this land's goddess as well now. Until she cuts off the link from Planeptune sharicite completely.
Noire grumbled, upset at the conduct of her significant other. Over these months, it felt like Neptune was growing a bit distant. They haven't done anything romantic and she may or may not feel like Neptune lost interest.
No! Noire quickly slapped herself on the cheek causing her face to sting. She will not think like that. Neptune has proved to herself over and over that she isn't gonna leave her. Noire would have thought her insecurities had been quelled but looks like they still remained.
"Enough, let's just go visit Neptune." She walked out onto the balcony. Transforming into Black Heart, she quickly took to the skies, on her way to Planeptune.
Planeptune, Gamindustri
Place: Basilicom
Date: March 12, 2020
Time: 4:41 P.M.
Landing on the open balcony of Planeptune's basilicom, Black Heart reverted back to her base form and walked into the building, only to see a desk full of paperwork. She winced from the amount and her eyes wandered around the room until they landed on Neptune who had her eyes trained on the television.
Noire huffed, having her guess right on the mark. She couldn't believe this girl. Stomping over to Neptune's 'relaxing section' or whatever she calls it, Noire grabbed the remote off the couch and clicked the power button.
The screen turned black and Neptune yelled, "Hey!" She turned around to glare at whoever stopped her game and when she did, her eyes lit up as a large smile grew on her face. "Noire! When did you get here?"
"A few minutes ago," Noire answered. "You're slacking off again."
"Ah…" Neptune rubbed the back of her head as she shyly chuckled. "I'm not slacking. I was just taking a break…"
Noire sighed as she walked around and sat down next to the shorter girl. "Whatever. Where's Uni? She should be here…"
"She and Nepgear went to hang out."
"That explains everything. Seeing as you were playing games. You didn't sign any of the papers that I needed you to sign, did you?"
Neptune hesitantly chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. "I'll um… get to it?"
Noire rolled her eyes but smiled either way. "Uni should have been watching."
Neptune groaned, "I don't need to be babysat by your younger sister. She needs to spread her own wings y'know."
Spread her own wings, huh… Noire frowned. She won't be needing me soon…
Neptune noticed the frown and became worried. "Noire? You okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just thinking…"
Neptune moved closer to the black goddess and intertwined their fingers, making Noire blush a bit. "What are you thinking about?"
Noire hesitated but voiced her concerns either way. "It's just… Uni's growing up pretty fast… it feels like she's leaving me."
Neptune smirked, "So what I'm hearing is… you're lonely."
Noire sat up straight and denied, "N-No! I'm not lonely!"
Neptune chuckled, "Don't worry. Even if Uni's growing independent, you're still her older sister. And if you're ever lonely. I'll be here!"
"Oh, you mean like how you keep going to Ultradimension to have fun without me?"
Neptune flinched, "Gwak! It's not like that! And you're always busy with work! I didn't want to bother you!"
"I vaguely remember how you would run off to Ultradimension to escape work and Histoire had to bother me to drag you back to Hyperdimension," she monotoned. "You could have still invited me even if I was busy… You're not the only ones with friends there…"
Neptune held Noire's hand and apologized, "I'm sorry, Noire. I just assumed you would turn me down. I shouldn't do that to you."
Seeing the purple CPU sad made Noire's heart hurt. She sighed and lightly weaved her fingers through her messy hair. "Sorry. It wasn't my intention to come and blame you. I guess…" Noire bit her lower lip, debating whether to say her feelings or not. "I guess I just miss seeing you…"
"But we see each other all the time!" Neptune mentioned.
"I meant not work-related, Neptune."
"Oh…" The shorter goddess furrowed her eyebrows trying to think of the most recent time they hung out together without work involved. "Oh wow… It's been a while since we last did something together without work involved."
"See? I just feel a bit insecure…"
"Insecure?" Neptune gave her a look of confusion. "Why? Did I do something to make you feel insecure?"
"No, you did nothing. That's the problem…" Noire twiddled her fingers together. "We haven't done anything together. We're usually too busy or we're with other people…"
Neptune smirked. "Oooooooh~"
Noire blushed. "Don't get the wrong idea!"
"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm totally not. You just want some steamy alone time with this sexy Nep, am I right?" Neptune fluttered her eyelashes.
The red on Noire's face reached the tip of her ears. "Can you not word it like that?"
"Well, how else you would like me to word it?"
Noire sighed, "I'm being serious, Neptune. I'm a bit worried about our relationship. I just feel like you might have… I don't know… lost a bit of interest…?"
The shorter girl frowned as if she was just insulted. "What? Lost interest?"
Noire didn't meet Neptune's eyes. "I'm probably just scaring myself, but I keep thinking that you might not love me anymore. You never invite me when you have free time and you never visit me like you used to. I thought maybe you didn't want…"
"Ah uh uh!" Neptune silenced Noire's lips with her finger. "First off, you're right. I didn't think to visit you because I was scared to bother you. That was on me. Second, I will never stop loving you, even if I don't see you for years, I will still only love you. And thirdly…" Neptune softened her expression. "I'm sorry." She leaned in close to Noire as she rubbed circles on her hand. "I never meant for you to feel insecure because of my actions."
Noire wrapped her arms around Neptune's waist as she nuzzled into her soft purple hair that smelled like lavender. "No, I'm just paranoid. That's all. It's not your fault. It's me."
"I will never lose interest in you, Noire. I love you too much. I'll try to visit you more and make free time for you. So you need to stop having doubts about me, about us, Worry Heart."
"I know, and I'm sorry for that…" Noire whispered as she basked in the warmth of her girlfriend's body against hers.
Suddenly, Neptune pushed Noire against the couch. The Black CPU yelped and blushed when Neptune straddled her hips. The shorter girl leaned down and pressed her lips against Noire's. Noire closed her eyes and returned the action. When they broke apart, both of them had flushed cheeks.
"I can't hold it back. I haven't touched you in nineteen years."
Noire held up a finger and corrected, "Actually, it's only been a year."
Neptune raised an eyebrow and said, "Eighteen years in Ultra and a year back in Hyper, you can do the math, Sexy Heart. Now, let's get down to business." Neptune lightly ran her fingers down Noire's collarbone to her breasts. "I lust for you, Noire."
The black CPU's heart was beating a mile a minute. She loved it when Neptune dropped her whimsical persona and acted more intensely than she actually was. "W-W-Wait… We're… We're just gonna… do it here? On the couch?"
Neptune blinked. "Yeah… that's what I was planning. Why? Is that a problem?"
"Of course, that's a problem! We can't do it here!" Noire protested. "W-What if someone walks in?!"
Neptune scoffed, "Oh relax, Nepgear and Uni won't be back for a while, so let me enjoy you."
"Th-That's not the problem here! If someone wa-! Ah!" Noire interrupted herself with a moan as Neptune sucked against her neck.
The black goddess couldn't stop her voice as Neptune continued to attack her in more ways than one. Soon, Noire was shed off her clothing and Neptune did whatever she wanted to the Lastation goddess in order to calm her lust.
Planeptune, Gamindustri
Place: Planeptune City
Date: March 12, 2020
Time: 4:41 P.M.
"What are you looking at, Uni?" Nepgear asked, trying to see what was in the sky that caught her best friend's attention.
She squinted her red eyes and hummed, "Hmmm…I thought I saw my sister."
"Noire?"
Uni shook her head as she waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, I was probably seeing things."
"Miss Nepgear!"
Nepgear turned around only to be tackled by a blue blob. "What the goodness?! Rom?!"
Rom immediately backed away. "I-I'm sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you."
Nepgear giggled as she brought Rom back in for an embrace. "Not at all!"
Uni stared at Rom with jealous eyes as she wrapped her arms around Nepgear's waist. She wished it was her that Nepgear was hugging, then again, Nepgear hugged almost everyone.
"I see that envious gaze!"
"Eeek!" Uni shrieked as she turned around while holding her right ear to see Ram giggling. Her face turned red as she angrily shouted, "Ram!"
"Hahaha! You should've seen your face!" Ram laughed as she dropped to the ground, rolling. "It was so funny!"
"S-Shut up! You literally gave me a heart attack…" Uni huffed and controlled her blush.
Nepgear giggled as she released Rom. "Since we're all here. Let's get going!"
"I want ice cream!" Ram announced as she jumped back onto her feet.
"I-I want to visit the library…" Rom voiced.
"Sure! What about you, Uni?" Nepgear sweetly asked.
"Oh, um… I don't really care, but I'd like to visit a gun shop. O-Or a mechanic shop," Uni quickly added knowing Nepgear likes those places.
"A mechanic shop?!" Uni loved how Nepgear's eyes would twinkle like stars. "Oh, we'll definitely go there, Uni!"
The four girls walked around town doing each of the activities that they wanted to do. They visited the library first, but quickly got kicked out because of Ram, and then they went to get ice cream to cheer Rom up. They walked around a nearby park as they ate their ice cream. Once their treat was eaten, Rom and Ram ended up on the swings as the other two candidates sat down on an empty bench.
"Do you remember this place, Uni?" Nepgear suddenly asked as she still had her eyes on the twins who were on the swings.
Uni looked around and pursed her lips. "No, I don't think I've been to this side of the park before."
Nepgear giggled, causing Uni's heart to flutter. "This was the park where we first met."
"This park?"
"Yep."
Uni remembered. When Noire had dragged her to Planeptune to go see Neptune, this was where they met up and where she first met Nepgear. "I still remember how Noire and Neptune argued about who had the cuter sister," chuckled the black candidate.
Nepgear giggled along. "In all honesty, I still think you're cuter."
Uni turned her head away to hide the redness of her cheeks. "D-Don't be modest. I-I think…" Uni took a deep breath to calm her heart and mumbled, "I still think you're… c-cuter…"
It was silent at first and Uni was worried maybe she shouldn't have said that, but then her heart lurched when she felt a soft weight on her left shoulder. She glanced back to see Nepgear laying her head against her and she felt all the blood go up to her head. The light scent of lilac was overpowering all her senses and her mind was slowly turned to mush.
Uni lifted her hand wanting to caress her. No, Uni! She immediately pulled her hand back and looked away. Will it away. Will it away. Will it away! Don't be tempted!
"Miss Nepgear!"
Nepgear sat up straight from the call of her name. "What is it, Rom?"
Rom stepped up to Nepgear and pulled on her hand. "Come play with us!"
"O-Oh ah…" Nepgear glanced at Uni, feeling bad if she left the Lastation candidate alone.
Finally able to get a grip on herself, Uni smiled and nodded. "Go ahead. I'll join later…"
"Okay. Let's go, Rom, I'll push you on the swings."
Uni watched the two girls run over to the swings where Ram was. With Nepgear away, Uni felt like she could finally relax and breathe, yet she was a bit upset at the lack of contact. "Man… I have it bad…" she groaned as she slumped against the bench. Thanks to Nepgear, Uni has become mentally exhausted. So tired… a short nap wouldn't hurt… Uni's eyes fluttered close as she blanked the world out.
"Uni!"
Uni snapped her eyes open only to see how close Nepgear's face was to hers. "Ahh!" Instinctively, Uni thrust her arms out and pushed Nepgear away, causing her to fall on her tush.
"My goodness, I didn't think I would scare you like that."
"I-It's not nice to push," Rom murmured as she hid behind Ram.
Uni's shock was rapidly replaced with guilt as she held out a hand for Nepgear to take. "I'm so sorry, Nepgear. I-I just reacted."
"It's okay, Uni." Nepgear accepted Uni's hand and got up. She dusted off her dress and smiled. "I'm good."
Seeing that Nepgear wasn't injured, Uni relaxed, but now she realized that the park was empty and the sky was bursting with orange. "How long did I nap?"
Ram scoffed, "Nap? More like sleep."
Uni rolled her eyes and rephrased, "My bad. How long did I sleep?"
"Not long…" Nepgear answered.
"Not long? Uni, you slept for two hours," Ram corrected. "And Nepgear was just creepily staring at you as you slept."
Nepgear blushed as she denied, "I-I wasn't creepily staring!"
Ram snickered as she rolled her eyes, "Suuure."
"I-I wasn't! I-I was just making sure she was okay."
Uni had turned away from the group, hoping they didn't notice the redness on her face. Weirdly enough, Uni was okay if Nepgear watched her sleep. Only if it's Nepgear, of course.
"M-Miss Uni? Your face is red… D-Do you have a cold?" Rom asked.
"Huh?" Uni jerked as she looked at Rom to see concerned eyes. "Oh, no, I um… I-I just feel a bit hot, that's all. W-We should get going, Blanc might get angry if we don't return you home."
"We can fly back!" Ram yelled. "Rom and me are great long-distance fliers!"
"Rom and I," Uni corrected.
Nepgear chuckled at how Uni acted like her older sister. "I think it's easier if you two take the train to Leanbox before flying yourselves," Nepgear suggested. "Lowee is on the other side of Gamindustri, furthest away from Planeptune."
"True, we don't want you guys tiring yourselves out," said Uni.
"Fine," Ram grumbled. "Come on, Rom!"
"Do you want us to see you off?" Nepgear asked.
"No! I am a big girl. I can walk myself," claimed Ram. "Right, Rom?"
"Y-Yes, we are… big girls," Rom softly voiced.
"I don't know…" Uni voiced, worried that the twins might get lost or something.
Ram pouted and transformed. Her entire body was covered in swirling light and soon White Sister stood in her place. "I can go on my own!" She summoned her wings and took to the sky.
"Raaaam! Wait!" Rom also activated her HDD and hurriedly followed her sister.
"Should we follow them?" Nepgear asked.
Uni only sighed as she shook her head. "Nah, let them go. As they said, they're big girls."
"If you say so…" Nepgear looked back up at the sky with worry.
"Come on, we should get back to the basilicom," voiced Uni as she began walking down the path.
"But we haven't gone to a mechanic shop yet," Nepgear whined. "I wanted- I mean… You wanted to go, right?"
Uni glanced back to see Nepgear sheepishly smiling. Uni weaved her fingers through her dark hair and huffed. "Yeah, I did, didn't I? Think I still have time to stop by one?"
Nepgear's eye lit up once again as she eagerly nodded. "Of course!"
Planeptune, Gamindustri
Place: Basilicom
Date: March 12, 2020
Time: 6:47 P.M.
"I can't believe that sniper scope cost that much," Uni grumbled as she walked into the elevator and slammed the button to the fifth floor. "He didn't even give us a discount, even though we're CPU candidates."
"I don't think we should be using our titles like that," Nepgear chuckled as she watched the number change.
"That mechanic shop was a ripoff," Uni huffed.
"Well, I'm satisfied. I got a new game!" Nepgear chirped as she held onto the bag. "We can play together!"
The elevator doors open and the two girls exit. They walked down the marble floors, toward Neptune's office. Uni continued to grumble and whine about how she couldn't buy anything she wanted from the expensive shop while Nepgear giggled at how cute Uni's expressions were.
When they made it to the office, Uni scrunched up her eyes when her ears picked up some muffled noises. Nepgear reached for the doorknob, but Uni stopped her.
"Uni? What's the matter?" Nepgear questioned.
Uni didn't answer as she pressed her ear against the wooden doors. She placed a finger to her lips to signal Nepgear to be quiet. Uni focused on listening in, and what she heard made her blush incredibly red.
"N-Neptune! I-I can't anymore! Ah! N-Not there!" Uni was sure that was her sister's voice.
"You're so warm inside, Noire…"
"Oh, Neptune! Ah~"
"How about here~?"
"I'm gonna… I'm gonna co-!"
Uni immediately pulled away as she didn't want to hear anymore. That was definitely her sister and Neptune inside, and they were doing the naughty naughty. Uni was sure of it.
"Uni? What's wrong? What did you hear? Why is your face so red?"
Uni looked at Nepgear and grabbed her hand, pulling them away from Neptune's office. She wanted to get away from the lewdness as fast as possible, so she could calm her own fantasies.
"My goodness, what has gotten into you so suddenly, Uni?"
Uni doesn't want to explain what was going on in Neptune's office, mainly because she doesn't want to ruin Nepgear's innocence. "We're gonna play in your room, Nepgear."
"Why? The office has more space than my room."
"My sister is over," she blurted. "A-And she's having an important meeting with Neptune, right now. S-So we shouldn't bother them."
"Oh! Why didn't you say so." Nepgear increased her pace so it didn't look like Uni was forcibly dragging her away. "Are you gonna stay for dinner?"
Uni controlled her emotions and said, "M-Most likely, and for the rest of the night…"
"Yay! Sleepover!" Nepgear cheered and pulled Uni into a run.
"H-Hey! Don't pull on me!"