Nepgear was standing in the same secret hangout spot with a purple-haired girl in front of her.

She found herself in a very familiar scene. One that she dreaded the most.

"Ahh, this is so nostalgic, isn't it? Remember when we played right over there when we were itty-bitty?"

"No, no... please," she muttered to herself, the situation sinking in.

"Oh... I see. I guess you were still really little." Neptune titterd.

"Please, stop."

"Hehehe, boy, it sure is quiet here."

"Don't."

"Well, um... Don't be shocked, okay?"

"Shut. Up." Nepgear's voice was becoming more sharp and loud.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you now. Okay, this is it. I want you to kill me with your sword."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" She covered her ears and began screaming her lungs out.

"Yikes! That was an extreme reaction."

"Why? Why are you tormenting me?"

"I know this is hard and stuff but you gotta finish me off. "

"Make it stop! I beg you." She couldn't handle the torture any longer—to witness her sister being killed by her again.

"You're carrying the sword with you, right?"

"I said shut up! You're not real. None of this is real." Nepgear then saw the curse sword in her hand as she stared at her own reflection for a moment. Without a second thought, she pointed the sword towards herself and plunged it deep into her abdomen, taking the easy way out.


(N)


Nepgear jolted awake with sweat covering her whole body. Her breathing was erratic and she felt her heart hammering against her chest. She quickly glanced around in panic and confusion before her memories began slowly pouring in.

She was back at her lab.

She then quickly ran her hands at her waist and felt no wound or pain.

She let out a deep sigh of relief as she leaned back in her chair, feeling as if her soul had left her body momentarily.

"Ugh, Damn..." She put her arm against her forehead as she tried steadying her breath.

She grabbed the Nep-Note from the table before she headed to the bathroom to wash herself. She turned the tap and filled water in her hands before splashing the cold water on her face. She shook her head as the cold water sent shivers down her body.

"Come on. Pull it together, Nepgear." She stared at herself in the mirror as she leaned her hands on the sink. She suddenly felt her N-Watch vibrates. She took a quick glance; it was from Kei requesting an urgent meeting with her.

She headed to her office and settled in front of her computer before initiating a video chat with the Lastation oracle. After a few moments, a short girl appeared on the screen. The woman was dressed professionally in a black suit and had white hair.

"Ah, you're here, good. Shall we begin with business?"

"Yeah. So, did you manage to find ASIC's base?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Kei picked up a report paper from her desk. "Just a few hours ago, one of the agents reported that they had discovered what appeared to be an old abandoned warehouse that was converted into a base on the far east of Planeptune."

"And my job is to clear the base."

"Correct. I informed them to standby until you arrive. I trust that the two of you are capable of handling the task by yourselves."

"Sure. You can count on the two of us."

"Best of luck. I'm sending you the location right now. Report back to me as soon as you're done."

And with that, the call was over, and the screen went dark. She left the office and came across the flying tome on her way to the balcony.

"Oh, good morning, Histoire."

"Yes, good morning. Heading out already?"

"Yeah, just some business with ASIC Remnants. I won't be long."

"Very well. Be safe out there, Nepgear." The tome nodded as she saw her leave with a hint of worry.

Nepgear went outside before she then transformed and soared into the sky.


(N)


Once she neared her destination, she changed back into her human form and continued on foot when she got close to the meeting spot.

The sound of crushing grass continued with each step she took. She spotted her friend lying on the edge of a cliff as she was scouting the place with a pair of binoculars. She was a former guild agent at Planeptune. Now, she's a professionally trained special agent.

"Hey." Nepgear laid down beside her.

"Hey." The brunette didn't bother looking away from the binoculars. She wore a long black leather jacket and she had a simple black tank top with body armor on top and shorts underneath. She wore black long socks, boots, and gloves. She wore a long belt that had her initials on it. She was strapped with a gun holster and other gadgets on her belt and she also had a knife hidden below her ankle. IF changed her hairstyle as she settled on a half-buzz haircut, with the other side having long hair.

The girl went by the name IF, a beautiful gust of wind that blows through Gamindustri.

They used to come over to the guild to hang out, but now the two have gone their separate ways, with IF and her other friend Compa wanting to focus more on their carriers, but she won't lie if she says she hadn't missed them. They were her friends who stood with her and helped in her journey to save Gamindustri all those years ago.

"So, what are we dealing with right now?"

"So far... it's just some abandoned warehouse that was turned into a base by ASIC remnants, as you already know." IF passed the binoculars over to Nepgear, who began observing the place.

Hmm... there seem to be a couple of guards watching on the rooftop.

"So, what's the plan?" Nepgear put the binoculars aside and turned to her friend. "How are we approaching this?"

"Well..." IF rubbed her chin. "There's only two ways we can do this: one, we wait until nightfall so we can sneak in and catch them off guard."

"Or two... we can attack now in broad daylight. They don't look particularly tough."

"Personally, I'll go with the second option, more of my style but I'll leave that choice to you, Gear."

"Okay, let's see..." Nepgear began pondering carefully for a bit before deciding on their approach.


AUTHOR'S NOTES


So, I've been playing a lot of Neptunia Victory on PS3. I like the jokes in this game; some are hit-and-miss, and the worst offender are the overused Sadie jokes. I find the villains to be more interesting than the heroes. It's a shame they are not fully dubbed in English.

I'm kind of furious about how they turned Nepgear into a mere punching bag and butt of jokes in this game and just overthrow her development in the last game. I'm going to fix here.


Next Chapter: ASIC Remnants

Nepgear once again teams up with her old ally to take down ASIC Remnants and bring their base of operations down.