Chapter 10: CPU Summit
Purple Heart was feeling stressed. It wasn't just because she was carrying her sister over the ocean... It was because of where she was going, why, and who she was seeing.
She was just happy that her sister helped keep her mind off of it all.
"So all that blue stuff is water!?" Venus exclaimed, as Purple Heart explained the ocean to her.
"Yes, and all of this covers up most of the planet," Purple Heart replied.
"B-but HOW!?"
"I know, it's crazy. Even I have a hard time fathoming just how big the ocean truly is."
"Big sis... who's going to drink all this?"
Purple Heart was a little caught off guard by that question. "Uh... I don't think you do that."
"But you can't just leave water undrunken, right?"
"Well... Once it's in a cup or bottle, then you should drink it, but if someone drinks all of this, then there wouldn't be any more for anyone else to drink."
Venus took a moment to process that response. "Yeah, that makes sense..."
"Besides," Purple Heart continued, hoping to prevent her sister from doing something stupid, "you probably don't want to drink water straight from the ocean. You want to drink water that's been purified."
"Pure... puri- purified?"
"Good job. It's a way of cleaning water. The water in the ocean is... very salty. Too salty."
"Salty? So it's mad? Did someone pee in it?"
"...Yes, uh... someone... peed in it. A lot." Purple Heart winced after saying that. Sure, she wasn't... wrong, but she wouldn't normally say something like that. Well, she would DEFINITELY be caught saying something like that in her human form of Neptune, but not with her HDD personality.
But that was what it was like dealing with Venus. She always seemed to find a way to either leave you flabbergasted, or make you say something stupid. And Purple Heart was positive that Venus wasn't even trying to do that, or even thinking about it.
"Yeah, that really is mean. Don't worry, ocean! I promise I won't pee in you!" Venus called down to the water.
Purple Heart sighed, before looking ahead, and quickly saying, "oh, look, there's the island of Leanbox!"
The large island nation in question was now appearing in view, and quickly approaching.
Venus tilted her head, and said, "do I have to drink water with islands in them?"
"Uh, no, you don't," Purple Heart replied. "though ice is nice, sometimes."
"Woah, that sounded... um... sounded like..."
"...Like it rhymed?"
"Yeah, that!"
Purple Heart chuckled. At least Venus's way of thinking was fun at times, too.
Once they got close enough to see the island itself, Venus was impressed. The nation's main city was much like Planeptune's, as it had the same kind of advancement, but it was green instead of purple, the buildings weren't as tall, and they were a lot more... box-ish. There was even one big building that was a very long box, and was hollow between the top and thinner sides, while the structure itself was still relatively thick).
There were raised roads weaving between the building, with areas of green grass and smaller buildings, like suburban neighborhoods. And the low mountains around the city were covered in grassy plains.
"Woah...!"
Purple Heart chuckled at this. "Vert spent a lot of time making sure her city was up to date with modern times. That big building we're flying over is her Basilicom," she explained as they flew over the big, hollow box building. "But we're meeting Vert at her summer house, just outside the city."
Purple Heart continued to fly over the city, and began to approach a big white mansion surrounded by vast green fields and fountain pools.
As Purple Heart began to descend in front of the massive house, she and her sister found the other three goddesses already waiting for them.
"Ah, Neptune! Venus! Wonderful to see you two again!" Vert exclaimed. "Especially you, Venus."
Purple Heart landed, let go of Venus, and turned back into Neptune, exasperated. She knew exactly what was going on with Vert's focus on Venus. And of course the Leanbox CPU would do that.
But, intentionally or not, Venus had a defense. "Hey, Vert. Are you still weird?"
Vert went still, shocked by the greeting from the Candidate. "...What do you mean?"
"Like, do you still talk about weird stuff?" Venus replied.
Vert sighed. She must've been talking about their first meeting, the last time she saw the new Candidate.
"Also, do you drink water with islands in them?"
"Huh?" Vert exclaimed. To her, that came out of nowhere.
"Uh, Venus," Noire spoke up. "Islands... are too big to fit in glasses of water."
"Oh... wait, but what about all of the water outside." Venus motioned over to the sea, which was visible in the distance.
"...That's too much water for one cup," Noire explained.
"Oh, okay."
Blanc sighed. "Seems that you're still an idiot."
Venus noticed Blanc was there, and huffed in annoyance. Noire glared at the small CPU, and Neptune just looked away, not wanting to meet Blanc's eyes.
"Big sis, why is everyone here?" Venus asked.
Neptune turned to Venus. She was sure her sister didn't mean anything malicious by it, but it didn't sound great. "Well... We having a CPU summit."
"Like... a mountain for goddesses?"
"No!" Blanc interjected. "It's a big important meeting!"
"Blanc... no need to be rude," Noire countered.
Neptune just smiled at her sister. "Yeah... I have to do this... I have to talk to them about stuff. But since I was coming here anyway, I thought this would be a good chance to show you Leanbox. Sorry, I'd love to have a day out with you in this nation, and I'm sure some of these guys love to join, too! But we have to do this first."
"Oh, don't worry!" Vert chimed in. "I've asked a member of the RRoD to show you to this wonderful café, until we are finished!"
"Um... Rod?" Venus asked.
"No, it's the Leanbox Regal Regiment of Defense," Vert explained.
"Th-that's a big name!"
"Yes... that's why we call them the RRoD."
"So, rod."
"Yes... Rod." Vert turned to call someone inside. "Cave, could you come out, please? Your charge is here!"
At this point, a tall redhead walked out. Her hair was pulled into twin shoulder-length pigtails held together with black ribbons and a nurse cap, with her emerald eyes studying the Candidate. She had a revealing white and red outfit, with white gloves and boots.
"Cave, this is Venus," Vert introduced. Turning to Venus, she continued, "Venus, this is a member of... Rod, Cave. She'll show you around Leanbox."
Cave bowed to the Planeptunian Candidate. "Hello, miss Venus. I have been informed that you enjoy... cookies."
Venus got excited about this. "Really, do you have cookies!?"
"No, but I know where to get some."
"Yay! Let's go!" and Venus ran off... not necessarily knowing where to go.
But this didn't bother Cave. She simply followed, quickly outpacing the young goddess, and guiding her into the city.
"Don't worry, Neptune, I made sure to inform Cave about Venus's... quirks," Vert informed the remaining purplette.
"Oh, say it like is!" Blanc angrily called out. "She's an idiot!"
Before anyone could respond, Vert asked Blanc, "so, you didn't bring your sisters?"
Blanc scoffed. "Of course not. This is between the four of us main CPUs. Besides, I don't want you to smother them like you do!"
Noire sighed. "I knew Venus was going to be here, so I wanted to bring Uni, too. But she said that she had business to attend to..."
"It's okay guys," Neptune replied. "We can all hang out with my sister when we're done."
"I'm going home when we're done," Blanc countered.
"Very well, more for us," Vert replied.
Neptune's eye twitched at that... odd statement, and Noire had an exasperated expression on her face.
"Well, why don't we get started," Vert said.
"So, I'm thinking that we should release this game as a multiplatform-" Neptune was explaining, before she was cut off.
"Can we talk about the real reason we're here!?" Blanc exclaimed.
The four goddesses had relocated to a meeting room inside Vert's mansion. Neptune wanted to start with business matters, but it seems they were delving straight into the real issues.
Neptune sighed, and replied, "The robots?"
Everyone nodded.
"As you probably heard, these robots bear my nation's symbol, but there are no official records of their construction," Neptune continued "Meaning, someone is building these in my name, or at least, the name of my nation, and that is fraud. Furthermore, they are endangering my citizens, and their appearances are getting more frequent. And I can't find out where they're coming from."
Vert put her finger to her chin. "Neptune, I understand why you might want to keep this the down-low, you don't want to scare your citizens. But, why haven't we heard more about this from your nation, rumors and such?"
Neptune went silent, but Noire decided to speak up. "There's only been one case, and it seemed to be as a trap. For Venus."
Vert seemed shocked, but also looked eager to to hear more details. But Blanc just leaned back, looking disinterested. And Noire didn't like that, but she didn't want to comment on it right away.
But Noire did want to add to what Neptune was saying. "Twice Venus was attacked. The first time, she was part of a group, which included Neptune. She thought they were targeting her sister, but it was confirmed on the second attempt. Rumors were placed, leading Venus to investigate with IF and Compa. But it was a trap to isolate the Candidate."
"That's not good. Planeptune already lost a CPU Candidate. It would be terrible if they lost another. That could ruin the whole Nation!" Vert replied.
"Exactly."
Blanc sneered. "Why do you care? Planeptune isn't YOUR nation!"
Noire, Vert, and especially Neptune all started at the white CPU in disbelief.
"Because they're our friends," Noire finally said.
"Like you've ever cared about having friends."
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"Girls! Girls!" Vert interjected. "Calm down! First of all, Blanc, Planeptune is our ally, and it would certainly be for the worst to lose it."
"Really, you think-" Blanc tried to interject, but Vert stopped her and continued.
"More importantly, if I'm guessing right, this trap was set through rumors. These were likely monster sightings, so it's possible that regular citizens MAY have been attacked, at least in small ways. Furthermore, an important to recognize here is that we DON'T know who is behind. Much less... their motives. For all we know, this could escalate further in Planeptune. It could extend to our nations, as well." Then Vert went silent for a moment, making sure that everyone was listening clearly. "Think about this. If they want to get rid of Venus... who's to say they won't also go after the other Candidates?"
That shut both Noire and Blanc up. They both cared about their little sisters more than anything. As much as Blanc didn't like Venus, if this meant that Rom and Ram could be next, then... She grew angry at that last thought alone.
Noire was even more concerned. Uni had grown so distant, and was always leaving to go do... something. She didn't know what! And with this revelation, there was a very real chance that... one day, Uni might not come back.
As Vert noticed the chances in demeanor with Noire and Blanc, she turned her attention to Neptune. "So...?"
Neptune was silent for a moment, but then said, "I need help. I... I can't lose another sister."
"Of course," Vert said. "I want to offer the services of my Guild and the RRoD. I, of course, can't devote the entirety of them to you, but you will be able to make use of them in your investigation. Just don't abuse them."
"I was already planning on doing the same," Noire added. "I want to offer my Guild agents and some of the Lastation Defence Force to you."
"Thanks, guys..." Neptune responded.
That's when Vert and Noire turned to Blanc. She had yet to say anything on this matter.
Blanc wasn't happy about it, but finally, she angrily shouted, "Fine! Some of my Guild will help too! As long as I know that MY sisters will be safe!" Then got up. "Is that what you wanted? Good. I'm done here!" And she left the room.
"...So... Meeting adjourned?" Neptune asked.
"It would... seem so," Vert replied.
"What's her problem?" Noire exclaimed. "First, I was told something happened between her and Venus, and now this!?"
"I don't know. Perhaps these different events are related to some issue she has with Planeptune?" Vert shook her head, before her expression changed. "By the way, may I have some time with Venus? You know, to get to know her better?"
This request made both of the other goddesses nervous and concerned. While they were sure Vert was genuine about wanting to make sure that Planeptune would still have a CPU Candidate at the end of the day, they were also certain that she would try to... grab Venus's attention away with her intense sisterly affection.
But... she was right. Venus needed to get to know the other goddess more. And especially after the Loweean CPUs hurt her so bad. ...Whatever they did and said to her.
"Okay... just don't do anything too... anything too lovey-dovey with her!" Neptune told the green CPU.
"Of course not, she'll be fine," Vert said, smiling.
"So, I'm meeting miss Vertical?" Venus asked as they got back.
Cave had to take a moment to understand that nickname, as she never heard it, but quickly understood what it meant.
"Yeah," Neptune said, nervously, "I'm sure you'll have a great time with her."
"Okay... ooh, before I go." Venus pulled out a bag, and got out some food. "They have AMAZING cookies here! And these, uh, scoon things?"
"Scones," Cave corrected.
"Yeah!"
Indeed, Venus had a bunch of cookies and scones. And she was offering some to her sister.
"Oh... thank you." Neptune accepted her gifted treat, while Cave began to lead Venus away.
"See you, sis!" the young Candidate called back, as she left into the halls.
Venus was guided to one of the many bedrooms, Vert's personal room.
"Lady Vert is in here," Cave told the Candidate. "Please be sure to-"
Before the RRoD member could finish, Venus enthusiastically slammed the door open, shouting, "HI!"
This caught the room's one occupant, CPU Vert, by surprise. "My, my, Venus... you sure are excited to see me. Good thing I'm dressed." She got up to greet the young girl properly. "It's good to see you again. Cave, thank you, you are dismissed."
Cave bowed to Vert, and as she left, Venus called back, "Bye! See you again, miss rod lady!"
"So... is there something you wanted to do?" Vert asked.
"Ooh! I don't know!" Venus replied.
"Goodness, you're pretty honest, aren't you. Come, why don't we sit and talk," Vert said, sitting back on her bed, and offering Venus a spot to sit.
As Venus sat down, Vert asked, "so, have you been enjoying your visit here?"
"Yeah!" Venus replied. "There are tasty cookies here!"
"I see... And besides your home nation, what has your favorite place to visit?"
"Well, your city reminds me of home... But Lastation was super cool! I also liked playing in the snow in Lowee... but... I don't like that place!"
"Really, why?"
"Flan and her sisters are mean!"
"You must mean Blanc," Vert replied, solemnly. "I understand that they represent Lowee, but you shouldn't hate a whole nation because of just a few people."
"O-okay..." Venus replied.
"And is your sister, Neptune, treating you well?"
"Yeah... but... I want her to hang out more with me. 'Cause... she works too much!"
"Well... yes. Working is important, but she does work too much, I must admit."
"Nora said that Neptune used to be fun..." Venus said sadly. "I want to see the fun Neptune."
"Yes... Neptune was a... unique individual, a long time ago. But since..." Vert sighed. "I'm sure you don't want to hear about that!"
Venus looked down. "You mean sis-gear."
"Huh...? Oh, you must mean Nepgear."
Venus nodded.
"So, you already know. Yes, since she went missing, Neptune hasn't been the same." Then Vert smiled softly at Venus. "You know, I used to have a close relationship with Nepgear."
"Oh... ...Wait, you were her girlfriend?" Venus asked in shock.
"Oh, heavens no. It's not THAT kind of relationship!" Honestly, based on what I know about her, I'm surprised she even knows what romance is, Vert thought. "We were just very close. Like sisters."
"But... sis-gear is big sis's sister. And my sister!"
"You have to understand, I don't have a sister, like the other goddesses do. So, Nepgear was someone who would always keep me company, allow me to have the sister I always wanted."
"So... she played pretend?"
"Oh, more than that! She was the sister I never had!" Vert exclaimed. "And now I feel ever so lonely."
"...I'm sorry," Venus responded, though she was confused by what was happening.
"Oh, Venus... could you help me out? Could you be my new sister?" Vert pleaded.
"But... Neptune is my big sis..." Venus repeated.
"Can't I be your sister, too?"
Normally, Venus would say something dumb. But for once, she felt right in saying, "sorry, I don't... want another sister."
Vert sighed, but she wasn't done yet. "Well, perhaps, I should persuade you." And she began to push up her breasts.
But Venus being Venus, was oblivious and didn't notice.
"...You still don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" Vert asked. "You're probably thinking that I am being weird again."
"Yeah, you're being weird!" Venus replied.
"Do you know about the woman's most defining feature?"
"Um, we have... de... de-fin... d- d-finer..."
"Okay, do you see my chest?"
Venus nodded.
"And what about yours?"
"Uh..." the Candidate looked down. "Yeah?"
"And what do we have there?"
"...Um, shirts? And I have a cool jacket!"
Vert was dumbfounded. The was no way someone could be this oblivious.
"Maybe... you need... a demonstration!"
"Dem... dema... huh?" Venus asked.
But instead of getting an answer, Vert grabbed Venus, and pushed her in massive breasts.
The purplette could only feel her face stuffed these big, squishy mounds...
...And the feeling of not being able to breathe.
Venus began to push away, and with her strength, easily pushed Vert off and away, knocking onto the back of her bed. The purplette then back off and ran to the door.
"Wait, Venus! What did I do wrong!?" Vert called out, trying to stop Venus.
Venus turned back. "You attacked me! I couldn't breathe!"
"I... I'm sorry. Please, I just want to be a sister to you."
Venus tensed up, as if she realized something. And then her eyes welled up with tears. "I don't want to be your sister!"
And she left, leaving Vert alone in her distress.
Neptune was sitting there, lost in thought.
"Neptune...?" Noire spoke up.
"I bet you Vert's trying to 'convert' her," the purplette replied.
Noire, trying to cheer Neptune up, said, "'con-Vert'?" Huh?"
"You... should leave the jokes to me."
Noire frowned. "But you never joke anymore. You don't ever have FUN! You're not... 'you'."
"Noire... I'm sorry. I just don't feel like it."
Noire got up, a look of resolve in her eyes. "You know what? Next week, you and I are going to have a day out as friends!"
"I don't know-" Neptune started...
...But Noire was insistent. "'I don't know' isn't an option. I'm going to make this happen one way or another."
Before Neptune could reply, Venus ran into the room. "Big sis!" she cried, upset.
"V-Venus?" Neptune responded, as she found herself tackled by her little sister.
"She... she tried to soffa... suffer... suffer-cake me!" Venus cried.
"Huh? Do you mean 'suffocate'? What did she do?"
"Sh-she tried to push me into h-h-her ch-chest," Venus explained while sobbing. "And there w-were these mounds, and I couldn't breathe!"
"Of course... I knew Vert would do something like this," Neptune said. "She was trying to make you her sister, wasn't she?"
"But I don't want to be her sister! I want to be your sister!"
"It's okay..." Neptune pulled Venus into a hug. "Let's not... 'let any more cakes suffer'." Then she turned to the still-present Lastation CPU. "Sorry, Noire, I think it's time we head home."
"Yeah, I understand. See you next week," Noire replied.
"Um, right." Neptune left the mansion, transformed into Purple Heart, and flew off with Venus.
As Noire watched them fly off, she just wondered, Vert, couldn't you just hold back for once? Why is everyone trying to become enemies with Venus?
As they rushed back over the ocean, Purple Heart had a thought. Something she had to know about her sister.
"Venus... I understand if this is a bad time, but... you know can't seem to notice a girl's chest, right?" she asked the young Candidate.
"Uh, everyone has a chest," Venus replied. "And arms, and legs-"
"No. Well, yes, you're right, but that's not what I mean. Girls, as they get older, grow... um, these round, squishy things on their chests. Sometimes people refer to it as the 'chest', but also boobs, or breasts," Purple Heart explained.
"Oh, those! ...Those names are confusing, but I've seen them!"
"You have? It always seems like you can't see them."
"I have, but... it's not a big deal right. All girls have them, so I don't think it's something to think about."
"You don't think about them..." That explained it. She seemed oblivious because she just didn't think about them, and thus didn't pay attention. Which must've somehow led to her being unable to completely notice them. "Well, Vert... really appreciates her big boobs, you know... And she likes to use them to... attract others' attention."
"...I don't care. I just don't want to be suffer-caked. And I don't want to be her sister."
"I promise you that I won't 'suffer-cake' you with my chest," Purple Heart said to comfort her sister. "And you don't need to think about breasts if you don't want to. If it's not something you care about, then it's not a big deal."
Venus, however, was silent.
"Venus, is something else wrong?" Purple Heart asked, concerned.
"...What do you think of me?" she asked. "Like, am I doing things right? Am I a good Candidate?"
"I... where did this question come from? Listen, you are a great Candidate, and a great sister! You are certainly... unique individual, but that's good. You have a different way of looking at things. You're strong, and you're always trying to be better."
Venus, once more, went silent.
Purple Heart sighed. "It's okay. Just think about it. Maybe, whatever is bugging you, the answer will come to you eventually."
"I don't like thinking..." Venus said.
"Just try it, it'll be a while before we get home."
"Okay..."
From there, it was a quiet flight back. And the Purple CPU couldn't have been more worried about how her little sister was feeling.
Author's Note: Okay, to start, I want to make a writer's complaint, even though it's at least 50% my fault, and I'm making a big deal out of nothing. But Venus's and Vert's names are too similar. They both start with "Ve", and writing with these names tripped me up so much!
Anyways, I'm going to be honest, the whole "CPU Summit" thing that I started this chapter with was just a means to set the setting of the chapter. The event with Vert and Venus was the main point of the chapter.
But, yeah, so far, Noire is the only goddess that hasn't caused any trouble with Venus. Even Neptune has a bit of a rift with Venus, though it is imposed on herself, not Venus. Neptune does care for Venus, she just has her own problems causing issues between them.
But I do want to say, as an author, that I feel bad for writing Blanc the way I am. Blanc and Neptune are my favorites of the main four CPUs, but I'm not letting my favorites affect how I write. And honestly, with her anger issues, and with her more intellectual mindset, writing Blanc as a sort of secondary bad guy just made sense to me. I mean, she is not the main villain, nowhere near that, but she's not being good to Venus.
Also, I believe I talked about this in a previous author's note, but now it properly revealed what the whole deal is with Venus's inability to notice a woman's chest. It's just that she doesn't care or pay attention. Honestly, I'd like to think that Venus has a more asexual mindset. Nothing wrong with that, just saying.
Now if you're wondering about the deal with the "summer home", it obvious the large box-like building is the Leanbox Basilicom in the games, but in the anime, Vert's Basilicom is this big white mansion. I think it is supposed to be based on the White House, since Vert represents the X-Box, which is made by the American company, Microsoft, but I just think it's a big ol' house. With that said, I also think it better fits Vert's character, and I decided to work it in by calling it her summer home.
Also, we've now covered every nation! (And Venus's cookie journey continues!) So, what's next, you might wonder? Well, I have a big two-parter planned to finish off the B-plot. Trust me, finishing this story beat is important to Venus's character development. But before that, I have three more chapters planned. In fact, I've already teased the first of them with Noire's insistence on visiting Neptune, which will be the next chapter.
Two of these chapters will focus on character relations, one of which will be important to the conclusion of the B-plot. The third I'm thinking will be pretty short, but I won't know for sure until I write it. But it'll focus more on the mystery of the A-plot. I can't ignore that!
Also, I guess saying the B-plot will be completely concluded isn't true. It's intertwined with the A-plot, after all. But the important parts of the B-plot will be concluded, that's what's important. And this is by no means the end of the story, too.
To finish this, I have something to add to this: I have made an OC Profile for Venus! If you don't know, on my main site, DeviantArt, I make these bios for my OCs, which I call OC Profiles. These are written bios, so they are more detailed than simple image bios, and they include images of character and their gear that I drew myself.
They have a list of traits, then write these three sections, "Creation of the Character", which is basically my author's notes in these stories where I discuss the thought process I had making these, "Personality and Background", talking about their basic character, and finally "Abilities and Equipment", which is self-explanatory. Venus's skills are listed here, as well, including ones that have yet to be revealed in this story.
This is actually the first Profile I've made in a while, as I only make these for my biggest OCs, usually the ones that are main characters to a story I'm writing, since they need more details to flesh them out (so these also help me by acting as a written outline of the character for me). Most of my other OCs do get more fancy images drawn, but yeah, Venus is the first to come out in a while. When I decided to make one for Venus, I decided to release it at the same time as this chapter, as it contains details from this chapter, and now seemed like a good time for this.
You should know that Venus's profile only covers her human form, and her HDD form will be a separate Profile, as I don't want to reveal details to that as of right now. We're still a while out from revealing her HDD form, but it's approaching, I promise you that!
I'd give you a link to Venus's OC Profile, but links don't work on this site. So instead, you can find the OC Profile on DeviantArt, "Venus (New Planeptune Candidate)" by Cobalt-Gemini.