Chapter 20: Celebration.
Noah POV
*BEEP*BEEP*
"Urgh, really regret leaving my phone on..." I spoke, annoyed at being woken up. "Who's that, honey?" Neptune asked, apparently being woken up as well. "IF's calling." I replied, before answering said call. "Hello?"
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU TWO!?"
...Geez, my ears.
"Me and Neptune took a Nap together, why?" I replied. (Why is she angry-oh, right. I forgot to tell her what me and Neptune planned.) Her anger made sense now. "Because Compa and I have spent all night looking for you two! Seriously, I know you two tend to go off into your own world sometimes, but try and be at least somewhat considerate next time!" IF ranted. (I guess I can understand where she's coming from, I'd be pretty pissed too if I had to spend all night looking for two people...)
"Sorry you two. In my defence though, this was a spur of the moment kind of thing, it won't happen again." I apologised. IF took a while to respond, eventually doing so with a sigh. "...Fine. Just please get yourselves over to White Hearts' throne room, that's where me and Compa are now. I haven't told her the good news yet; I was hoping you'd like to do the honours." The brown-haired girl replied. While I would have loved nothing more than to stay in bed longer, and by extension enjoy being hugged by my lovely girlfriend. I knew that the news of Blade being gone was important.
Even if I found myself caring less and less.
"Unfortunately, my love, it seems we are needed elsewhere." I spoke, getting out of the bed, having to untangle Neptune's body from mine before I could do so. "Aww, do we really have to go?" The purple-haired girl whined, something I found adorable. "Sadly, yes. But-" I started, holding my hand out. "-At least we'll be together, right?" I finished with a smile, taking note of the one I saw forming on Neptune's face.
"Yeeaaah, I guess..." My girlfriend replied, taking my hand as she herself got up. "Well then, ready to go, my dear?" I asked. The both of us had slept in our clothes, so there was no need to dress ourselves. "Indeed, future huzzy!" Neptune spoke. (Huh, now that I think about it. I'm not sure if 'huzzy' is even a word. But eh, I'm not gonna argue.) My girlfriend's tendency to make up words aside, we quickly headed out to meet the others.
Location change: underground bunker-White throne.
"Tch, took you long enough. What, did you 'get lost in each other's eyes along the way?" IF snarked, clearly not pleased that Neptune and I took longer than she expected. "Yeaaaah sorry Iffy, whoops?" Neptune replied, scratching her cheek. In reality we took so long because Neptune wanted to find somewhere that served pudding. "Ah, my apologies sister, it is as you say..." I spoke, going along with Neptune's lie.
"...You're joking, right? I was kidding!" IF shouted, confused. "Well Iffy, Nep-Nep and Zeddy are all lovey-dovey now, so it kind of makes sense, right?" Compa spoke, being supportive. (Ah, right. How am I going to deal with her?) I thought.
...
...
(Wait, is she giving me a thumbs up?)
Huh, I guess she's okay with it.
...doesn't mean I immediately was though...
"I'm sorry, Compa." I spoke, getting raised eyebrows from the rest of the group, something that confused me. I mean, what else could I say, really? "It's okay Zeddy, I understand. Besides, with you being Iffy's big brother now, that makes you my big brother too! That means I can still love you, even if it's not the way I wanted to at first." What the hell kind of response was that? (Heh, still...) I walked over to Compa, and gave her a hug. "PFT! Heh, only you could say something like that in a situation this fucked. Never change, little sister of mine."
Her optimism was truly something to be admired. "Heheh, of course I won't!" said little sister replied. "Okay, this is all well and good, but we shouldn't keep White Heart waiting." IF spoke, giving a mischievous smile afterwards. "Though tell me, did you keep to your word, Zed? Or are Compa and I gonna be aunts soon?" The brown-haired girl teased. Giving a subtle wink to my girlfriend, I responded.
"Ah, well, you see..." I began, faking nervousness, Neptune doing the same. "Yeaah..."
...
"You're kidding, right?...No seriously, you have to be!" IF began, looking seconds away from a mental breakdown. "Erm, you are joking, right Zeddy?" Compa whispered. I discretely nodded, making her breathe a sigh of relief.
"OhmygoddesslittleneptunesrunningarounwhywhyWHYdidthishavetohappen..." IF mumbled out, now clearly losing it.
"Uh, Iffy?"
"Pleasebygreenheartletthembemorelikezednomoreneptunesicanbarelyhandleone..."
Holy shit, she really was losing it.
"Compa?"
"I'm on it!"
The sound of a slap rang out.
"OUCH! WHAT THE HELL COMPA?"
"Zeddy was joking, Iffy."
"Huh...Oh...You saw nothing..."
"Oh no, I soooo did!"
"Shut it Neptune!"
"WHAH! Save me Zeddy!"
"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" A familiar, clearly pissed off, voice spoke. Turning to face said voice, I recognised the speaker as Blanc. Immediately after the Goddess of Lowee spoke, everyone went quiet.
"What? Is that really how you speak to your saviour?" I jokingly replied, quickly blocking a hammer with a blade afterwards. "Shut it fuckboy, you're making a damn scene!" Blanc responded. (Geez, angry much?) I thought, refraining from speaking the words outloud as to avoid making things worse. I batted away her hammer and dispelled my own weapon. "Well, with everything quiet now, do you perhaps want to know how my rematch with Blade went?" I asked.
"Tch, tell me when we get to my room, otherwise everyone will get all noisey." The resident angry muffin replied, gesturing to her sleeping quaters. "Very well then, come on then everyone, as the lady says." I spoke, the group and I doing as the Goddess suggested.
"So then, how'd it go?" Blanc asked, herself and the others sitting on her bed, as I stayed standing up, being the gentleman I was. "As you might put it, I 'kicked his ass'. Though in reality he left partway through once I threatend to snap his neck after he insulted Neptune." I replied. "...Well, if it works, it works, right?" Blanc responded, her and the others looking slightly bewildered, and somewhat disturbed.
"Er, thanks for defending my honour and all future huzzy, but that was a bit much dontcha' think?"
"Yeah that was a bit extreme Zeddy..."
"I'm surprised you didn't actually do it."
Everyone looked at IF strangely. "...What?...Look at his track record!" It took a second, but eventually everyone appeared to reluctantly nod. "I'm not that bad though, am I?" I spoke, the only response I got being silence.
"Well, anyway, your welcome. Now you and your people can go back up to the surface." I huffed. (Fine, be like that then.) I thought sourly. "Yeah, your right. Will you and your group be staying for the announcement and celebration?" Blanc asked. Just like my usual thoughts when they involved the people of Lowee, I found myself not caring in the slightest. (No...why don't I care?) I shook off the slowly creeping dread.
"Duh! Why wouldn't we?" Neptune spoke up, IF and Compa nodding in agreement. Seeing as it was something they wanted, I reluctantly nodded my head. "Well that's good, wouldn't be fair to let the hero leave before I could announce your great deed, huh?" Blanc spoke, giving me a grateful smile. (Huh, maybe it won't be so bad?)
1 hour later
Yeeeaaaah, no. It was shit.
"Liberator Zed! Do you mind telling us how you manged to best the Demon of Lightning? I'm sure it must have been quite the grand battle!" A voice shouted, asking a question I was forced to answer countless times already. Stealing a glance at Blanc, I saw her give me a glaring look that screamed 'you better fucking answer fuckboy, or I'll shove my hammer right up your a-'...I think you get the message.
Mentally sighing, I reluctantly replied. "T'was a grand battle involving the clash of golden flames and azure lightning. The fight was scarcely won, I must admit, but alas the demon was no match for me!" (Fucking kill me...) Thankfully, I was saved by a certain purple-haired girl. Who just so happened to walk up to me the second I finished answering the random person' question. "Woah there, I know you're all curious on how my totally awesome future husband beat up that Made fellow, but ya gotta give him some space!" she shouted.
"Er, I'm pretty sure the demon's name was 'Blade'."
"Hmm...Nah, I'm pretty sure it was 'Made', or something."
...
"Wait did you just call the liberator your 'future husband'?"
...
"Run Zeddy, they're on to us!" My darling girlfriend then did as she said, and ran away. "Wait! Come back! That's top tier news!" The reporter shouted, gazing into the direction Neptune left in. After watching her run off out of sight, the reporter's gaze turned back to me.
"Soooo...You and her, huh?"
"Leave it."
"Understandable, have a nice day!" The reporter then left in a hurry. (Huh, I wonder why? Maybe they were more understanding of other's privacy than I thought?) "No, you scared him off with that nasty glare of yours." Blanc's voice rang out. "I wasn't glaring though, was I?" I replied questioningly. "Yeah. Yeah you were. Look I know you're tired and all, and that you're super protective. But that man was just doing his job." The Goddess of Lowee complained.
"...In my defence, it was completely unintentional..." I replied, causing the brown-haired Goddess to give me a blank look. "Suuureee...Now then, since you've scared away your fans, don't you have a harem to get back to?" She spoke. "No?" I answered with a raised eyebrow. "Sure, IF and Compa are attractive women in their own right, and anyone should consider themselves lucky to have them and all, but my heart belongs to Neptune." In response to my honest reply, Blanc gave a scowl. "Tch, ruin my fun why fricken' don't ya..."
"I'm going to go join my family now..."
"Yeah, you go fuckin' do that."
...and so I walked over to where I saw IF and Compa, both girls standing beside a decorated table, hoping to get away from all the nosey reporters and irritated Goddesses. "Hey IF, Compa, where's Neptune?" I asked, causing them both to point towards the nearby piece of furniture. "Nep-Nep is hiding from all the reporters." Compa replied. "Yeah, apparently she can't handle the attention. The Goddess of Planeptune, everyone..." IF spoke sarcastically.
"It's not that, Iffy." Neptune voiced out, still hiding under the table. "I don't mind reporters, it's just that they were asking about reaaaalllllyyy personal stuff. Like, the fact that me and Zeddy are together is something I want others to know, even if it's just to keep other ladies away. But some of the stuff they were asking for was waaaayy too much!" The purple-haired girl continued. "When we first met, our plans for the future, when exactly I fell in love with him, and a lot of other questions about how Zeddy normally acts and stuff... I don't mind this stuff normally, but they were making things reaally uncomfortable..."
Ignoring the concerned looks that Compa and IF were giving me, I went under the table and wrapped Neptune up in a hug. "There there. Everything's okay my dear, I'm here." Who knew someone like Neptune could be overwhelmed by reporters? (Better go fix this mess then...) "I'll be back in a moment. I'm just going to make sure that those reporters leave you alone for good." I spoke, getting a concerned look from my beloved.
"Er, ya know it ain't thaaaat bad, right? I'll be fine in a second." Neptune replied, obviously concerned that I'd do something extreme "Eh, they were annoying me as well." I spoke, shrugging my shoulders. Leaving my spot from under the table, I gave Compa and IF the gentlest smile I could, hoping to get them to understand I wasn't going to act drastically.
A flash of brilliant light appeared as I snapped my fingers.
"Attention everyone, if you would!" I started, gathering the attention of everyone in the room. "It has come to my attention that a few nosey reporters have been harassing my bride-to be..." I saw a surprising amount of people start to sweat nervously. "I understand that you are curious about your so called 'liberator', but I humbly ask that you allow my beloved some well-deserved privacy..." most of the group nodded, though I could also see a few of them grinding their teeth.
"Most of you, I presume, will take my words to heart, and to those that do, know that I thank you. However..." My gaze was directed to the few. "To those rare few that still see my beloved as a source of information, and by extension, a source of income. Know that I will not allow it. You shall cease your actions, or face dire consequences." I spoke, finishing with a simple; "That is all."
That was the correct thing to do, right?
I mean, to think of harming them, of killing them, merely for being annoying...
(That would obviously too far, right?) I thought. Though still finding myself feeling differently on the matter. (No! It's obviously wrong!) What the hell was happening to me?
"Huh, colour me impressed. You actually handled that quite well." I was interrupted from my thoughts by IF. Who commented on my performance. "Oh my, how could you ever think I would make a mistake for something so simple?" I replied jokingly. "Yeah Iffy, how could you ever think my Zeddy would mess that up? Some sister you are. Ah! But we still love you anyway!" Neptune jokingly spoke, Compa nodding in agreement with the purple-haired girl
...
"Why is everyone picking on me so suddenly?" IF asked, pouting. "Because I'm the favourite?" I replied, causing the brown-haired girl to blink a few times in confusion. It took a few seconds, but my green bow-wearing sister eventually replied. "Dammit..." Deciding to show mercy, I patted the brown-haired girl on the head. "There there, we still love you, dear sister." I ignored her mumbles of 'damn older brothers...'
"I hope you all enjoyed the celebration of our liberation." I heard a familiar voice say, recognising it as Blanc's. "However, as much as I know you'd all enjoy it lasting longer, I'm afraid I must end things here." The brown-haired Goddess spoke, garnering attention and groans from her people. "Hey! Enough whining, we have an entire continent to rebuild!" She finished, not taking any shit from her subjects.
"Er, since I guess we're gonna leave now, do you mind going on without me guys? I have some super-mega-ultra important stuff to do." Neptune spoke suddenly, confusing us all. (Neptune doing important stuff?) "Are you okay Nep-Nep? Did you eat anything funny?" Compa asked, being concerned for the purple-haired Goddesses' health. "I'm fine Compa, just gotta' do some stuff is all." IF looked at Neptune as if she were crazy. I, on the other hand, decided to be the supportive boyfriend I knew I had to be.
"Very well, my dear. Though please do be quick about it, otherwise I will start to miss you." I spoke, Ignoring IF's shout of 'Hah! desperate!' "Okay cool, so, er, see ya!" My future wife spoke, before running off.
...
...
"So how are we-"
"I'm going to stay here. You two can do whatever you wish."
"Do you mind if we help the locals, Iffy?"
"Uh, sure, I guess..."
Then my beloved sisters made their exit, leaving me alone.
Well.
Almost...
(I should be happy that you have managed to confess your feelings. But instead, I find myself disappointed in the fact that you did not take them all as brides.)
...I wish I was alone.
Neptune POV
"Hey, uh, Blanny?" I called out to my fellow Goddess, just as she finished talking to one of her subjects. "What do you want, Neptune?" She replied, sounding slightly annoyed. "Erm, this is gonna sound suuuper random, but do you know anyone who could smith me up an engagement ring?" I asked, causing Blanny to look at me weird. "Er, yeah, why?" she asked. "Well, since me and Zeddy are together, I thought I'd be nice to give him a present. I mean, we're gonna get married eventually, so I guessed an engagement ring wouldn't be too bad a gift."
Blanny had a look on her face that probably meant she was either thinking hard, or she was super constipated. "Well I suppose I can help with that. With my help it shouldn't take too long either, meaning people shouldn't chat shit about me not helping." she spoke, smirking at the end of her sentence. "Okay cool, lead the way then, Blanny!" I shouted.
30 minutes later
Location change: bunker forge.
"Holy pudding, Blanny... Why didn't you tell me It'd be far?" I complained. In my defence, I was not expecting a long walk. "Oh, shut it, at least we're here. Besides, with my help, we can make sure that gift of yours is special." (Say that to my legs!) I thought, though genuinely curious on what she meant. "Waddya' mean 'special'?" I asked, noticing the smug smile on the smol Goddesses' face.
"Well, not to brag or anything, but I am a master of magic. What do you say to making that ring enchanted?" Blanc spoke, puffing out her non-existent chest. "I'd say fix me up, sister!" I shouted enthusiastically, causing Blanny to chuckle. "At ease, 'sister'. We still have to figure out the details of the ring. We can make the ring out of a form of morphing metal, so we won't need to measure for size or anything, but that still leaves the design, as well as things like colour, and if you want some sort of gem imbedded."
(Urgh, boooring.)
1 hour of thinking and explaining later
"Okay, so just checking, you want the base to be silvery-white with circuit board-like lines, and an amethyst imbedded into the top. Do I have that right?" Blanny asked. I nodded. "Yup!" The washboard looked at me with a blank stare and a raised eyebrow. "Aren't white and purple your colours?" I nodded again. "Yup!" Blanny tilted her head. "Why?" I smiled smugly. "Well, ya see here, my flat friend. Zeddy loves me, like a whole fricken' lot. So why wouldn't he love a ring that had my colours?" Blanny blinked, then started laughing.
"I-I never thought I'd ever say this, but you actually have a point. That smitten fuckboy would be friggin' ecstatic." She started, before snapping her fingers. Blinking, I noticed the sudden appearance of a very short man with a huge beard. "This here is Antonio, he's Lowee's best jeweller. He'll make the ring itself, then when he brings it here, I'll show you how to enchant it. After all, I'm sure the ring would be extra special if you did it rather than me." Blanc explained.
(Huh neat...wait, why is she being so nice?) I mean, I knew I was meant to be the trusting and jolly protag, but even I know when something's too good to be true. "Why are you being so nice?" I asked, getting a smirk from the tiny, brown-haired Goddess. "I'm surprised you even noticed that. The old you wouldn't of..." She started ominously. "Anyway, the reason is because I owe a favour to that 'future husband' of yours. The man did just save all our asses, after all."
Huh, okay, that made sense. (Buuuut, just in case.) "He's mine, and you can't have him." Another blank stare. "You can fuckin' keep him! Wait, did you call me flat earlier?" Oh crab baskets, she's onto us! "Uuuuuh, no?" I rapidly shook my head, seeing the growing ball of midget rage close to me. Fortunately, the rage fizzled out. "You get one. But that fuckboy of yours owes me nothing after this, alright?" I nodded my head. (Yes! Thank you Zeddy, you'll be getting extra snuggles later!) I thought, inwardly thanking my totally awesome boyfriend.
"Lady White Heart, Lady Neptune, your ring is-a ready." Ant-somethings' voice rang out. Looking towards the short man, I noticed he had a shiny object in his hands. "Here." The man spoke, holding the ring out to me. "Gee, that was quick, thanks Anton!" I spoke, taking the ring into my own hands. "Actually, Lady Neptune, my name is-" "I know your name, Antsy!" The man gave me a blank stare. (Huh, I've been getting a lotta' those recently...) Before walking off.
"...Anyway, ignoring your usual rudeness, ready to enchant that gift of yours?" Blanny asked. I could only nod enthusiastically. "Yup, show me ya moves!" I ignored the rolling of her eyes. "Anyway, enchanting is pretty simple. Since magic is bullshit and all, all you gotta' do is pour some of your magic energy into it while imagining what properties you want to enchant the ring with." (Huh, that sounds easy, a little too easy... Neat!)
Closing my eyes, I willed my inner energies to go into the object in my hand. "Wait, what are you doing?" (Properties, hmm? Well...) Zeddy once said that I gave him purpose. That sort of thing was something I always wanted him to have. I knew that there would always be moments where I couldn't be with him. So what If I could make it so that a little part of me could?
"Neptune you stupid girl, stop that!" (I love Zeddy. I know that.) I loved his smile, his laugh. His warmth, his voice. I loved how bright his eyes would get when he would look at me. I loved how much affection he showed, and how safe I felt in his arms.
(I love all of him.)
And I knew nothing could ever change that.
3rd person POV
Unbeknownst to Neptune, her actions would reach further than she could have ever imagined. This one action, simply imbuing an object with her essence. Would be something that saved a near infinite number of lives.
How strange was it? That the will of a single Goddess should be the one thing that halted the wrath of destruction incarnate?
Blanc POV
(That stupid girl!) Did she even know what she was doing? "NEPTUNE STOP!" I shouted, finally catching the attention of the Goddess of Planeptune. "Huh? Wazzup' Blanny?" Did she just... "Don't 'wazzup' me! Do you have any idea what you just did!?" The purple-haired girl then looked at the ring in her hands, said ring glowing a faint lilac. "Uh, no?" This fucking girl! "You didn't enchant the damn thing with magic! You enchanted it with your fucking soul!"
It was the single most idiotic thing I had ever seen anyone do. Much less her. (How is she not writhing in pain right now?) She just parted with a fragment of her literal soul! That shit had to hurt. "Oh, er, so that was the pull I felt?" (Pull?) Whatever, that didn't matter. "How are you so calm about this!?" I couldn't help but shout, feeling angrier when the purple-haired girl shrugged her shoulders.
"Eh, because mission accomplished, I guess?" The fuck? "I mean, I wanted to make sure that a part of me could always be with Zeddy. Losing a part of my soul to achieve that is nothing."
...
...
...
"Your fucking insane."
"Gee, thanks."
"No, seriously, there has to be something wrong with you."
"Nah, I'm just a maiden in love is all!"
Pft...
"PFFTHAHAHAHAH, you really have changed, haven't you? The old you was stupid, sure, but never to this extent." faced with such mindboggling tomfuckery, I couldn't help but laugh. "Eh? You remember what I used to be like?" Neptune spoke, sounding excited. "Can you tell me, pretty pleeaaaase!?" Seeing no harm, I decided to humour my fellow Goddess. "Eh, well, you were a lot like how you are now, just a little less stupid. Other than that, I guess I could say you were quite similar to the rest of us?" I replied.
"Huh, waddya' mean by that?" Neptune asked curiously, causing me to flinch. "Er, trust me, you're better off not knowing, besides..." I couldn't help but give a sombre smile. "Those days are behind us. We're better now, much better..."
...
...
"Okaaaay, weird. Anyways, wanna' help me wrap this baby up?" The purple-haired Goddess asked, pointing to the ring she was now holding between her thumb and index finger. Seeing no reason not to, I replied.
"Eh, why the hell not?"
END OF CHAPTER
An: Aannd another chapter done! Fun fact; this was supposed to be the chapter where the party freed Histoire, but I reached 4k words before I could get to that point and just decided 'fuck it'
Hope you all liked the chapter. I tried to put emphasis on the fact that the MC's and Neptune's relationship isn't one-sided, hence the latter half of the chapter.
Feel free to tell me what you think. Was I putting too much emphasis on it?