Snyderverse Neptunia Snippets
by Derald Snyder
Snippet 60- Rei's Worst Nightmare
Timeline- Shortly before 'The Mech Suit's Turnabout'.
"Has the jury reached a unanimous verdict?" the judge asked. Rei looked around the courtroom confused, wondering why she was in the defendant's seat instead of behind the defense's bench.
"We have, Your Honor," said the NPC on the holo-screen, surrounded by 11 others. "We the jury hereby find the defendant, Rei Ryghts, guilty as charged."
"Wait, what?!" Rei stood up in shock. She tried to object, but her throat suddenly seemed to close up, denying her speech...
"So be it. I hereby sentence Rei Ryghts to be hurled into the deepest, darkest abyss, from where she will never return!" the judge banged his gavel, a crack suddenly running down his desk and below Rei, suddenly tearing open to reveal pitch blackness below!
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Rei wailed as she plummeted into the darkness, the jury's laughter fading away as she fell... then there was nothing but black around her, seemingly falling forever... and then she stopped, abruptly turning back upright.
"You fool... letting them... judge you like that..."
"What? Wh-who's th-there...?!" Rei gasped, looking around but seeing nothing.
"I'm right here... always have been... inside your heart..."
"Inside... huh?!" Rei's eyes shrank to circles. "I-I d-don't understand at all...!"
"You've denied me for too long... but not anymore!" Something suddenly began to take shape before the bluenette, with long hair and two horns curving upward, clawed hands, and a quite sizable bust... then the entity faded into view completely, causing Rei to gasp in horror... it was her final boss form!
"NO! Wh-what are you d-d-doing here?! Y-you d-don't exist anymore...!" Rei protested.
"Don't exist?! Don't make me laugh, weakling!" HDD Rei laughed. "Whose personality do you take on when intimidating a stubborn witness who won't spill? That's right, ME! I am thou, and thou art I! Two sides of the same coin, maggot!"
"No no no!" Rei cried in denial, trying to back away to no avail. "I d-don't want t-to do that anymore! I'm a b-by-the-book lawyer now! I d-don't want t-to d-destroy everything!"
"HAAA-hahahahaha! Too bad, so sad! You're stuck with me whether you like it or not!" HDD Rei taunted. She suddenly shot forward, the normal Rei screaming-
But then, she saw herself with a large bust, realizing she had become her final boss form. "There, that's better! Now let's wipe out these worms that DARED to condemn us!" Rei felt herself flying up, up, up, back to the courtroom from earlier, the NPC jury now standing with the judge, all of them screaming in terror! "LIGHT OF ABSOLUTION!"
(NO!) Rei thought in terror as the group were annihilated by a pillar of red light! Her HDD form then flew through the roof, emerging into Planeptune City proper, firing balls of red energy at civilians and moving cars, resulting in blood and gore everywhere! (No, stop! Please...!)
"That's right, maggots! Chaos Heart has returned to get her revenge!" She fired a larger ball of energy at a skyscraper, which exploded inside, causing the top half to tip over and crash into other buildings below, causing untold death and devastation! But then two figures flew into view, revealed to be Purple Heart and Purple Sister! "Ah, there's the goddesses who stopped me last time! But your friends aren't here to save you!"
"You've caused enough destruction in my city!" Purple Heart took her stance.
"What Neptune said! We'll stop you no matter wha-" before she could finish her sentence, Nepgear's head was blown apart by a red energy blast! Chaos Heart then summoned her weapon, easily breaking Neptune's sword before running her through! Purple Heart then glowed with red energy coming out of every orifice on her body, before blowing apart in a shower of bones and gore!
(No! NO! NO!) Rei pleaded...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She suddenly shot upright, sweat on her face, panting heavily, a blanket over her legs, wearing a simple sweatsuit. "Wha... huh?!" Looking around, she realized she was in her bedroom, a few stars visible in the pitch-black sky through the window. "Oh... it was j-just a nightmare... Th-thank g-goodness..." She fell back on her pillow, panting heavily... (That's right... Neptune and Nepgear burst into the courtroom during my trial, demanding to testify... it was thanks to them I got a not guilty by insanity verdict...) So why had she suddenly dreamed that?
(Ugh, I think I need to splash water on my face...) So she whipped off her blankets and stood up, making her way to the bathroom and half-stumbling to the sink... (Why does the light switch have to be on this wall, instead of next to the door...?) Feeling around, Rei found said switch and flicked the lights on, her eyes blinking as the adjusted to the sudden light...
But when she looked in the mirror, she saw danger-symbols in her eyes- the same as her HDD form! "AAAAAAHHHHH!" she screamed in horror, falling back and scrambling to the far wall. "No no no! This can't be happening...!" But then she recalled something...
("Rei! Hold your your breath and count to ten! ...There, are you calmer now? You can't let your emotions cloud your better judgement, especially when a client's life is at stake...") So echoed the memory of Bartholomew J. Samson.
Almost subconsciously, Rei followed her boss's advice... (One-thousand-one, one thousand-two...) Once she reached ten, she let her breath out in a slow rush, before slowly pulling herself back up... daring to look at the mirror again, she saw that her eyes had returned to normal, much to her relief. "Oh th-thank g-goodness..." (But what do I do now...?! Wait, first things first...) She walked back up to the sink, turning on the cold water and splashing her face a few times. She grabbed a hand towel and dried her face while shutting the faucet off... once that was done, she went back to her bedroom and turned on the light. It was a small comfort.
(I need to tell Blanc what happened in the morning... but I don't think I can get back to sleep... wait!) Rei gasped as something came to her, striding over to her nightstand and unplugging her phone. (If she's working on another novel, maybe...) She dialed Blanc's number, the CPU having given said number to her boss after her first case defending Neptune...
After two ring tones, there was an answer. "Whoever the hell is calling me at this time of night better have a damn good reason...!" Blanc's voice growled.
"L-Lady Blanc, i-it's Rei Ryghts. I th-think I-I a-almost t-transformed..." There was a sound like a raspy exhale- then the line went dead. "Huh?! Hello? Hello?!" There was a triple tone signifying that the call had dropped, Rei quickly dialing again, but this time the call went to voicemail after a few rings. (What's going on...?! Why did she hang up-)
There was a sudden rapping at the window, causing Rei to jump and yelp in surprise, before turning around- and seeing none other than the HDD form of White Heart floating just outside! "Th-that was fast!" the lawyer exclaimed as she opened said window to let her in.
"What did you expect, when I hear an ex-final boss might start causing a shit-ton of destruction and devastation again?!" White Heart said as she pulled herself into the apartment. Her processor wings wouldn't fit, however, so she dismissed them before shutting the window behind her. "All right, now what the hell caused you to almost transform?"
"I-I had a nightmare..." Rei began. "Where th-the j-judge found me g-guilty and hurled me into th-the abyss... b-but my final b-boss form sh-showed up and merged with me, and then...!" She collapsed onto her knees sobbing at this point, unable to continue.
"Okay, I get the gist of it," White Heart nodded. "So I'm guessing you woke up screaming. What happened next?"
"I-I went t-to the b-bathroom t-to splash water on my f-face... a-and then I saw th-those symbols in my eyes, the same as y-you have right now...! I managed to c-calm myself down, b-but..." She then knee-walked up to the goddess, grabbing her leotard and looking up at her desperately. "P-please help me Lady Blanc! I d-don't want t-to b-become a monster th-that destroys everything again! I beg you...!"
Looking into those frightened eyes with tears streaming down her face, Blanc couldn't help but think of Rom or Ram when either had had a bad nightmare, one hand instinctively moving to pat the bluenette on the head. "All right, all right, calm the hell down! Gimme a second to think here..." Lifting her head up, the CPU closed her eyes as she forced her tired brain into motion... "...Okay, first things first, go get yourself dressed; I'm taking you back to the Basilicom for safety's sake. And when morning comes we're gonna try and call Histoire to see if she can figure out what the hell happened..."
"Really...? Oh, thank you, thank you...!" Rei cried in gratitude as she scrambled off to find some clothes to wear...
*And so, the next morning...*
"Sorry to bug you so early in the morning, Histoire, but this was urgent," Blanc spoke to the image of Planeptune's Oracle on the holo-screen, Rei standing at the CPU's side.
"It's no trouble," Histoire assured her. "Oh, is that Rei Ryghts with you?"
"Y-yes, ma'am," Rei bowed from the waist, her hair still a bit mussed from last night.
"She had a bad nightmare last night, and apparently almost transformed to HDD when she woke up," Blanc summarized. "What I want to know is how the hell can she do that after we beat the other Rei's power out of her, literally?!"
"Oh my. That IS concerning," Histoire nodded. "Unfortunately, it will take three days to retrieve the information I have..."
"Oh, for-" Blanc ducked her head in frustration. "Ugh, fine! Then just go get Neptune! She probably knows more about that Ultradimension than you do anyway!"
"But, she's still sleeping..." Histy sweat-dropped.
"Then tell her that it's a final-boss-level crisis, dammit!" Blanc shot back, a vein pulsing on her forehead. "She doesn't laze about when there's that kind of trouble afoot!"
"V-very well, give me at least three minutes..." the fairy sighed, the holo-screen blipping over to a display that read 'PLEASE STAND BY' with a chibi-Neptune wearing a hard hat, while '8-Bit Battle' began playing. About three and a half minutes later, the display blipped back to FaceTime, now showing a sleepy Neptune in lilac pajamas, still rubbing the sleep out of one eye. "Hullo...?"
"G-good morning, Lady Neptune!" Rei called out.
"Nnnmm... jus' Neptune is fine..." the CPU grunted back, before yawning... then realization dawned. "Oh hey, it's Rei Ryghts! ...how you been?"
"D-doing f-fine, until l-last night..."
"Really? What happen...?" Neptune grunted.
"W-well..." Rei then explained the whole story... "A-and th-then Lady B-Blanc b-brought me b-back here for safety's sake, until we could c-call you t-two to t-try and f-figure out what happened..."
"So you almost transformed because of a nightmare?" Neptune reiterated, looking mostly awake now. "Well, that's totally not good..."
"B-but how did it even happen to begin with?!" Rei shouted. "I sh-shouldn't even have th-that power anymore, right...?!"
"Okay, okay, chill. No point in flipping out here..." Neptune sighed. "I mean, yeah, we beat that dark power from Badsty out of you, but... oh, I know! Maybe it's like when Blanny and the other Rei lost their Shares, but then got some back!"
"Um, what?" Rei sweat-dropped.
"I think you need to start from the beginning, Neptune," Histoire advised.
"Right... well, it's like this. Here in Hyperdimension, we goddesses are born directly from the Shares, but fade away and die if we run out. But in Ultradimension, it's a bit different... over there, human girls become CPUs by using something called a CPU Memory! Though you gotta be compatible or ya turn into a disgusting monster..." She shuddered from the memory of fighting Mr. Badd's adopted daughters. "(ahem) Anyway, the important thing is if a CPU over there loses their Shares, they just become human again, except they don't age anymore still..."
"Wait, so because the Rei standing here was originally human, that means she's more of an Ultradimension-type CPU, unlike us?!" Blanc gasped in comprehension.
"Correctamundo! In other words, thanks to that Badsty, our Rei is now permanently a CPU!" Neptune said with a proud smile.
"EH?! Really...?!" Rei gasped. "B-but... I haven't d-done anything t-to g-gain Shares! S-so why d-did I almost t-transform?!"
"Perhaps it has something to do with your current occupation," Histoire spoke up. "You work as a defense attorney now, correct?"
"Yes, but... wh-what d-does th-that have to d-do with anything?" Rei asked, perplexed.
"Do your clients not put their faith in you to get them cleared of false charges?" Histy pressed.
"Faith?!" Blanc cried. "Holy shit, that explains everything! Rei's been getting Share Energy from her grateful clients that she got off the hook!"
"WHAAAAAAT?!" Rei's eyes shrank to white circles. "Y-you mean I've b-been gathering energy for HDD w-without even realizing it?!"
"That would seem to be the most likely explanation," Histoire nodded. "However, there is nothing to fear. In most cases, transformation to Hard Drive Divinity has to be deliberately invoked by the CPU..."
"That's right! All you gotta to is focus on your transformation, and say 'Access!'" With that, Neptune was engulfed in a pillar of light, which soon dissipated to reveal her HDD form of Purple Heart. "...ahem. Anyway, Histoire is correct. The only times I can recall that transforming was even somewhat involuntary- aside from yourself- is extreme anger like Blanc from the Ultradimension displayed, or a life-threatening circumstance, when Nepgear was cornered by that Underling not long after being rescued from ASIC's captivity by Iffy and Compa."
"Well, I guess it could be useful if you got cornered by the mafia or a vengeful criminal, given your line of work," Blanc suggested to Rei.
"N-no way!" the lawyer shook her head vigorously. "Even IF I had to do th-that, what w-would stop me f-from just d-destroying everything else in the p-process...?!"
"Well, if such a circumstance were ever to arise," Purple Heart began, "I would say to simply try and keep your focus on the immediate threat, and then change back as soon as you're out of danger. Given your attitude in your HDD form, you could try thinking that innocent civilians aren't worth the effort to destroy..."
"B-but how do I ch-change back?" Rei asked next.
"That's simple. Just calm yourself and focus on your human form," Purple Heart replied, before closing her eyes... a flash of light, and she had reverted to Neptune. "See? Easy-peasy! Nothing to it!"
"Yes, but I must stress that you should only think of accessing HDD as a last resort," Histoire said sternly. "And as Neptune said, only for as long as necessary. Hopefully, that will reduce the chances of you losing control of yourself..."
"Right, and don't forget it was that dark power from Badsty, giving you memories of your other self, that likely drove you insane to begin with!" Neptune pointed out. "So now that that's gone, you won't go crazy like before!"
"...W-well, I sure hope y-you're right..." Rei sighed.
"So do I," Blanc concurred. "Thanks, both of you. I feel a little better about this now."
"Me too..." Rei grunted... before suddenly collapsing to the floor!
"Whoa! Rei?!" Blanc gasped as she knelt down beside the bluenette... only to hear a gentle snoring. "Oh, she just fell asleep from exhaustion. Guess I can't blame her..."
"Well, you better call that Bartholomew guy and tell him his protege's not comin' in today," Neptune said. "I'm sure he'll be totally fine with it once you tell him why!"
"Guess that's what I'll do then. Anyway, sayonara," Blanc waved them off.
"Goodbye for now," Histoire nodded, before ending the call.
*A little over one month later...*
Rei, dressed in a lilac hoodie and sunglasses in lieu of her usual outfit, came to a stop in an unoccupied alleyway, panting slightly. Part of her couldn't believe she was about to do this... But she didn't see any other option.
(Several of my clients have put their faith in me in the past, so I should be able to do this... I just hope I don't lose my mind again...) Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus. "The one in the mech suit... that's my enemy. Everyone else is... not worth my time..." Rei clenched her fists and concentrated.
"Access!"
Immediately the alleyway was engulfed in a pillar of light... She felt the power surge through her, her lips splitting into a grin as her HDD personality came to the forefront. Then the light faded, Rei looking down at herself... "Heh, just like I remember! Sorry, Blanc, Histoire, but you can't make an omelet without breaking some damn eggs!"
And so Chaos Heart flew off to engage the berserk mech-suit in battle, before it could cause any more harm...
*Snippet 60- End*