Chapter 22 – Neptune's Secret Regrets
Neptune's POV
"*moan* M…Man, my head. M-My whole body, to be exact. Wh-What the heck happened?"
I woke up from what felt like a really long nap to realize that I was in my room. Laying on my bed as the sun shined in my face.
"Geez…is it morning, already? Why didn't anyone try to wake me up? I usually have Histy nagging me until I…"
*TWITCH*
"Gaaaah! M-My chest! I-It hurts!" I cried in pain as I felt a huge pressure take over my chest. It was hurting really bad…as if my body was burning from the inside.
…
…
…
W-Wait…burning? That sounds like…
It was at that moment the memories of what happened came back to me. And I instantly gained a mix of mainly sadness and anger.
"Oh, yeah…I remember now. My soul is shattered. That could explain the burning right now."
As more of my memories started reappearing, I went over to the mirror and partially unzipped my now light-blue striped white parka dress to reveal the light-blue markings all over my body. And even noticed that my eyes and the center part of my hair were the same color, too.
"And then this…this is the result of me fusing the powers of Scorpio and Sagittarius in a last-ditch effort. Creating the new power called…Aquarius, was it? I'm not familiar with all this Zodiac stuff."
As I kept looking at my reflection, my chest continued to hurt. In fact, it was burning a lot more now than it did before. Which, in my case, could only mean one thing.
"*sigh* Damnit…my soul. It must've dwindled in size even more because of that fight. I pretty much lost control of my anger again. Why else would I have gotten this new power?"
…
"Now that it's on my mind…I wonder how Noire, Blanc, and Vert would react to me losing HDD. It wouldn't be the first time this happened…but…I don't think there's a way to get it back this time. I pretty much lost everything when my soul was shattered. I can't even feel Share Energy anymore."
…
…
…
"*sigh* Then again…it's not like I want it all back, anyway.
Maybe this is my wish finally coming true…to be free from this life that I hated so much…to actually live a normal life like Amitie…
I then continued to stare at my reflection as I came to terms with what this "wish" has done to me.
It's not what I had in mind, but…at least it's something.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Cr-Crap!" I panicked as I quickly zipped up my hoodie. "Y-Yeah?!"
"Neptune? Are you awake?" As soon as I heard her voice, Histy came in and saw me standing in front of the mirror (with my hoodie fully zipped up). "Neptune! Oh, thank goodness you're well!"
"Hey, Histy. Sorry for…you know…worrying you guys again."
"It is fine, Neptune. All that matters is that you are okay."
"Really…?" I then went silent for a bit. "You know, Histy…it's rather weird not having you scold me for sleeping all day. In fact, it's completely abnormal."
"Hmm…I guess that is true. Although, you could say that a lot of things have been rather abnormal lately since the discovery of these Zodiac Stones. Wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah…you could say that."
"In any case, Neptune…the others are all up front. It would be a relief for them if you showed them that you are alright."
"Oh, right. I was out cold for a whole day. Seems to be a trend recently."
"Well, to be fair…sleeping for long periods of time is quite normal of you. If your soul wasn't shattered at the moment, this would have been another normal moment in the life of Planeptune's CPU."
"The life of Planeptune's CPU…" I mumbled to myself. hearing those words was like an emotional stab to the brain. Mainly because of what I told Amitie yesterday…
"To be honest, Amitie…I hate being a CPU."
"…the more I came over to your world…hanging out with you and your friends, lounging around with Melody, and having days where I could just…SOAK IN the sheer peacefulness that world seems to have over my own…the more it made me realize that I want…no, DESIRE a normal life…"
"In fact, you could say that I'm…I'm jealous of you, Amitie."
That last one being the truest of them all.
"Neptune?"
"H-Huh? Oh…right, sorry. Let's go see everyone. I'm sure they'll be happy to see me. Hahahaha…"
I then walked past Histy in a somewhat nervous fit as I made my way up to the front of the Basilicom. My chest still burning and my mind still scrambled with thoughts that…didn't match my normal personality.
Though, I'm pretty sure that's long gone now…
Once we made it to the front, I saw everyone lying around resting. Some were treated for injuries from Compa. And it made me remember just how truly close I was to dying…again.
Man…the amount of times I've had close calls from death in this series is pretty nepping terrifying…
"Hey, guys…how's it going?" I spoke out. Gaining everyone's attention.
"Nep-Nep!" Compa was the first to respond. Highly cheering as she rushed over to hug me.
"O-Ow…OW! H-Hey, Compa…I'm grateful you were worried about me. B-But I'm still sore here."
"O-Oh, right. Sorry, Nep-Nep." Compa said as she had let go of me.
"Glad you're up 'n running again, Nepsy." Uzume said.
"You really had us all worried." Umio added.
"Yeah…sorry about that. It's just…getting used to these new powers of mine isn't all that easy, y'know?"
"That is understandable."
"In any case…you guys seem to be doing better."
"Meh…I guess." Jarne said. "I mean…even though Compa treated all of our injuries, mine weren't all that serious."
"Same for me, really." Resta added. "It was really only you, your sister, Uzume, and IF."
"I see." I then looked around the room to noticed that a few people were missing. "Hey, come to think about it…where is Iffy? And Nepgear and Amitie?"
"Oh, that…they all went with Sagey to help her look for her Zodiac Stone."
"Her…Zodiac Stone?"
"From what Miss Sagey had told us, the Sagittarius Topaz has the power to manipulate where these star-shaped portals can take a traveler." Histy said. "So, it's possible to use them to return Amitie to her world."
"Really?"
"Better yet, we can use the portals to traverse between Primp Town and Planeptune." Resta said. "The dimensional barriers wouldn't matter in that case."
"Seriously? That's pretty freaking badass." Uzume said.
"I've been wondering what Ami's world was like. Can't wait to actually see it for myself." Compa added.
"Yeah…wait…how did these portals appear again?" I asked.
"It's probably due to Arfoire using the Topaz so much." Resta said. "She kept warping around with it and it eventually left rifts across Space-Time. Thus, explaining the portals."
"I see…"
Why would Arfoire be warping around with a Zodiac Stone? Is she after something again?
…
Now that I think about it…she did say something about getting revenge. But not on me this time, shockingly. In fact…one of the people she mentioned was…
"Hey, do you guys know where Rulue went?"
"Miss Rulue went up to the balcony to do some self-training." Compa said. "She seemed pretty okay after I treated her injuries."
"I see. Thanks, Compa. I'll be right back."
"Wait, you're going to talk to Rulue? What for?" Jarne asked.
…
"There's just…some things I need to know." Was I said as I made my way to the balcony to meet with the self-proclaimed Fighting Queen.
She just has to know, right? About Arfoire's past…
I went up to the balcony to find Rulue practicing her fighting skills as Compa said. I'm not sure how she could do such a thing by herself. If I was that passionate about fighting, I would do it with someone else. Or at least with a punching bag.
"Rock Punch!"
"Wind Kick!"
"Iron Fist!"
"Exploding Knee!"
"Queenly Dance!"
She's really going hard right now…makes me wonder even more why she's doing this alone…
"Concentration…"
"Clear the Mind…"
…
"Haaaaaa…"
"Fighting Spirit Shot!"
*BOOM*
…
…
…
"Woah…" I stood there in shock after watching Rulue release a huge ball of energy up in the sky. Exploding once it got high enough. It was so insane…it even had some similarities to a Hadouken.
…
Which now that I think about it…makes perfect sense for someone like Rulue.
"*pant* *pant* Damn…that took a lot of energy. *pant* *sigh* That's what I get for not using Ki energy in years. Not that I had any reason to."
Ki energy? Is that what that was? W-Wait, I'm getting distracted! I need to focus right now!
"Uh…hey, Rulue." I spoke out.
"Huh? Oh…you're Amitie's cousin, aren't you? What was your name? Nepa…Nepee…Nepth…ugh…"
"Neptune."
"Right. Jeez, your name's so freaking hard to pronounce."
"I…get that a lot." I said with a sweatdrop.
"So…did you need something? Cause if it's about the hole in the building a few blocks from here, I wasn't trying to aim for it."
"Hole in the…n-no, Rulue. I just want to talk."
"Talk?"
"Mainly about…something on my mind recently."
"Huh…well, it has been a while since I've had a simple chat with someone. I'll at least hear you out."
"Great. Thanks."
The two of us sat together near the edge of the balcony having a simple conversation. It started out with simple small talk…due to me stalling a bit, honestly. But then I finally gained the courage to bring up what I wanted to talk about.
And the atmosphere instantly became tense.
"You really want to know how Arfoire and I know each other?"
"I saw it as nothing more than a plot twist earlier. But as I laid there pouring blood from my stomach, I overheard Arfoire raging about getting revenge on Melody. And I mean REALLY raging. I don't think she's even been THAT passionate about killing someone. Not even when she absolutely hated me for some unknown reason."
The writers never did explain that part…
"What I'm trying to say is…there has to be a reason why Arfoire got involved in this, right? Aside from eliminating all CPUs and destroying Gamindustri for some reason."
Again, the writers never explained why…
"Well…yeah. There is. And it ties into how we know each other in the past."
Rulue then took a deep long sigh before continuing. And what she said next totally took me by surprise.
"You see…Arfoire didn't normally look like how she is now. Purple skin, damaged hair, dressing like she's in an endless mid-life crisis…originally, she was just your average high school girl."
"W-W-Woah, woah, woah! Hold up! Arfoire…was a HIGH SCHOOL GIRL?!"
"Shocking, huh? I almost didn't recognize her before. That curse Melody placed on her really screwed up her looks."
"A curse? You mean Arfoire looks like that because of a curse?"
"It was back in high school. Back then, Arfoire was just a moody occult girl who rarely liked anyone. One day, Melody dragged her into our clubroom and eventually convinced her to play Puyo Puyo with us. Back then was also the time when Puyo Puyo was starting to become a thing. You could say that I'm one of the people who brought the game into existence."
"Woah…" I said in amazement. "…S-So…how did the creation of Puyo Puyo lead to Arfoire getting that curse?"
"From what I remember…Melody and Arfoire were in the middle of a puyo battle when Melody threw an acid-filled purple puyo at her. Turning her skin purple, destroying most of her hair, and changing her eye color. And when Arfoire tried to fight her because of it, she slipped on that same purple puyo and fell face-first into this dimension mirror we had in there and disappeared from our dimension. Melody then pushed the whole thing as an accident."
"I see…" To be honest, I was slightly pissed that Melody was the reason why we've dealt with Arfoire for all these years. It's like she was literally dumped on us.
I'm going to have a REAL good talk with her next time we see each other…
"We didn't know where she ended up. So, it wasn't like we could've just gone in and rescued her. And so…we eventually forgot about her. And went on with our lives as normal."
Rulue then went silent for a bit.
"Now, that I think about it, I would be mad as hell too if that happened to me. Granted, not "destroy three separate worlds" mad. But…you get the idea."
"Wow…so, that's how it all began."
"Why did you want to know about Arfoire's past? It really had nothing to do with you or this world."
"I know, but…ever since that day when Arfoire came and shattered my soul with the Sagittarius Topaz, I've been thinking to myself "Why? Why me? I'm just a cute and loveable protag. What did I do to deserve this?" I've been secretly in a mild depression rethinking these past events and my entire life choices as a whole. And right now…I'm stumped on whether or not I should continue this whole thing or let my shattered soul consume my sanity whole. Putting an end to it all."
"I-I see…" Rulue then went silent again. "Well…I may not know all the things Arfoire has done in this world…and I honestly have no interest in hearing about it…but you can't let something like this hold you back."
"Why, though? This time, I almost died. In fact, every time I get angry, I slowly get closer and closer to death. And there's nothing I can do to stop it or fix it or…a-anything, really. Life as I know it has changed forever and…and…I-I'm not sure how to handle it." I said as I tried to hold in my tears.
"Hmm…you know…you remind me of this girl I know."
"*sniff* R-Really? S-Someone like me?"
"She herself had gone through a life-changing ordeal when her romantic crush was murdered right in front of her. She went into a depression so severe that she attempted suicide. But luckily, she survived."
"W-Wow…"
"Right now, she's doing the best she can to live on in this second chance at life. And this other girl I know is helping her through it along the way. Seeing you like this just reminded me of her."
"I-I see…"
"Basically, what I'm trying to say is…you got a second chance at life. Do whatever it is that YOU want to do with it. Whether it be…whatever it is you do now or something you always wanted to. Don't let any second thoughts get in your way. Otherwise, you'll be nothing more than a weak spineless coward regretting every decision you make for the rest of your life.
…
And by then…you'll truly want to die."
"W-Wow…" I sat there in complete silence and shock as I took Rulue's words into thought. Whoever this girl is that went through a life-changing ordeal…she must be emotionally strong to try to continue after she got what she truly loved taken away from her.
I don't relate to her on that issue. Like I told Amitie, I hate being a CPU and I desire to get out of it. But at the same time…I was having seconds thought about the idea.
But thanks to this chat with Rulue, I'm not 100% sure of what I want to do. With this extra life I've been given, I need to stop second-guessing myself and actually do the things that I want to do. Otherwise…I'll regret it hard.
And I already have enough things that I regret…
"*sigh* Thanks, Rulue. What you said really helped." I then stood up a more confident smile on my face. "Now I can think clearly of what I want to do. And I won't have any regrets doing it."
"Well…that's nice to hear. Holy crap, I can't believe I got through that. I owe Harmony big for teaching me how to be more caring of others."
More caring of others? Wait, was she just playing along this whole time?
"Man, I feel great! I can't wait to tell Amitie when she gets back."
"Gets back? She went somewhere?" Rulue asked.
"She went to go look for one of the Zodiac Stones. From what I heard, it could get you guys back home to your world."
"Really now? Well, then I hope Amitie pulls through with this. Being in this depressing wasteland is starting to become an eyesore."
"Hey…" I grew slightly insulted.
"There you are, Neptune. Nepgear and the others have return." Histy said as she came up to us.
"Ha! Great timing! Now, we can really this story on a roll! *giggle*"
"Hmm…you seem to be in a better mood than before, Neptune. Did something happen?"
"Oh, nothing~. Just a simple chat, that's all."
"I see…"
"Isn't she normally like this?" Rulue asked.
"Yes, but…*sigh* In any case…let us go see what the group had figured out."
"Okey-dokey, Histy! *giggle*" I cheered. I really was in a better mood than I was when I woke up. I was ready to take on whatever more crazy stuff this story plans to throw at me.
But when we all went back up front to meet up with the group, I was already in for a surprise. Along with the four that left, there were now three new people.
B-Sha, who they ran into while looking for the Topaz.
A girl from Primp named Dalida, who they found sleeping in the middle of the road (which is apparently normal, according to Amitie).
And then the third person…
"Wow…so, you really did change. Gotta say…I enjoy this look on you way more than your old one, cousin. It truly fits you."
"Wh-What? Rivitie?!"
"Yeah…pretty crazy, huh?" Amitie said. "Having both us Rose sisters here in this world and all."
"Woah…I didn't know you had a sister, Amitie." Resta said.
"She looks near identical to you." Compa said. "Are you both twins?"
"Yeah, we're twins…but how we became twins is a really complicated story. Too long to explain right now."
"I see…"
"So, what brings you here, Rivitie? Something important, I suppose?" Histy asked.
"I came looking for Amitie. Not that much surprised that she got herself into trouble yet again. I recently had to save them all."
"Save them? From what?"
"Well…it's a pretty crazy story. Not as much as the one with Amitie and Rivitie, though." Nepgear said as she started retelling what happened once they found the Sagittarius Topaz and one of the portals.
And it was already just as crazy as the stuff before it.
Well…I did say I was ready for whatever…
Author's Note: As Neptune was contemplating on what to do with her soul still shattered, a chat with Rulue (someone you wouldn't expect to be caring of someone other than Satan) made her positive on what she wants to do from here on out.
But then she gets a surprise visit from Rivitie, the other cousin.
So, technically…this section of the story still isn't complete. But at this point, I'm putting this story on a break for a while. I want to put more focus on other stories for now. Mainly Feli's Summer Break. It's about time I finally put that one to rest.
Thanks for reading. Later.
