Hey it's me, True-Blue-Pikachu! Welcome to a story that I adopted a while ago and... don't remember taking down, but I've got a chance to really make it new & improved! Hyperdimension Nepgear: A Savior's Tale! Adopted from Shadicgon.
...We've been down this road before, haven't we?
A long while ago, I took the liberty of adopting this story when no one else seemed to do that. Something in me didn't feel right leaving it alone and to go to waste. I notified the original author a while back that I wanted to adopt this story, and he gave me the go-ahead! All I have to do is let him beta-read what I'm writing and give me some tips and tricks, as well as share ideas between the both of us and how we want to develop this storyline. If he can still make the time and/or wants to do so, that is.
Any references to other media that Neptunia *loves* to make, I'm gonna try and be less obvious about what I talk about. Not because I'm not allowed to say Dragon Ball in a fanfic instead of Dragon Sphere, for example, but because I want to try going along with the naming theme Neptunia has for other media. If you see the actual title, it means I can't think of anything that I liked or felt comfortable with.
Also, apologies for the delay on Super Neptunia Party. I meant that as a side project, but couldn't make the time to get progress done on that. I'll admit to being a little lazy with actually writing stuff, but other than needing to take care of myself, there's no excuse for it. This year, I'm hoping to change my behavior on that and work towards my goals.
Now... for the part you all came here for. Take it away, CPU Nepgear!
It all began that fateful night... the nightmare that changed everything for me and all of Gamindustri.
In my nightmare, I saw myself with the Gehaburn sword and killing all of the other CPUs, short for Console Patron Units, to fuel said sword. When I woke up from that horrible event, I told myself that everything would work out with my plan to save Gamindustri. Thing is, that nightmare gave me a wake-up call, so to speak. No one but my big sister would have agreed to pool everyone's Shares into Planeptune so only me and Neptune could face the Deity of Sin. Desperate for an ending that didn't involve that sword, I woke Neptune up in the middle of the night and sort of drafted her into making our move without anyone knowing.
But while we were moving all the Shares to me and Neptune, we didn't realize that everyone was woken up by the citizens that were in each respective nation, including their Oracles Kei Jinguchi, Mina Nishizawa, and Chika Hakozaki. It was Planeptune vs the world, I know that much. But I didn't care. It was a potential war, or everyone but me will die. After an intense negotiation involving Uni, our own oracle, Histoire, opened the Portal to Gamindustri Graveyard, where the two True Goddesses would confront Arfoire, the Deity of Sin.
This part will become important later on, but there was something different about Neptune the whole way we walked down Gamindustri Graveyard. She had a sorrowful look on her face at one point, and she once told me to scream her name when she started to enjoy the fight. I didn't understand at the time, but something did feel wrong in the air.
Anyway, we made it to the area where the Deity of Sin waited for us. A true goddess, a CPU Candidate, and whatever the Deity of Sin sensed with us. Keeping this part of the fight simple, it was a good thing we went ahead with my plan, or else we'd have been defeated early on. The combination of Neptune's 32 Bit Mega Blade and my Multi Particle Beam Launcher (MPBL) Maximum Shot were what ultimately petrified the Deity of Sin. But it wasn't over yet. Neptune was almost taken over by the Deity of Sin, but she still seemed different. Like my big sister was someone else entirely.
As if that wasn't enough of a problem, for me anyway, the Deity of Sin transformed and revealed her true form. She looked more like a human than a monster, though her head looked like a bunny's. That would've been adorable if she wasn't a World Destroyer. Anyway, I saw first hand how much stronger she had become. I was still sure if I had my sister then we could win. But then... Remember when I said Neptune was acting different the whole time we were walking to the Deity of Sin? Yeah, turns out CPU Neptune died and in her place was CFW Purple Heart.
...Okay, this is where it gets tricky. When Neptune became a True Goddess, she started becoming affected by the malice Arfoire was spreading around the world, and was converted into a CFW by Arfoire accidentally. I've ascended into a True Goddess too, but I wasn't affected by Arfoire's malice because I was still a CPU Candidate... even if I did have the Sword on my person longer than Neptune did on hers. Between Arfoire's Malice and the influence of Gehaburn, Neptune literally died and was replaced by CFW Purple Heart.
I wish I could say the despair ended with Neptune's death... but that would be a tall order. Arfoire and Purple Heart were evenly matched at first, but Purple Heart lost an arm, and it all went south from there. To those who are asking where I am at this point, I'm still on the battlefield, but I'm at a loss for what to do. I'm sitting there, powerless with nothing that I can think of helping me. Just then... I heard a voice. A voice that told me... that she showed me the dream I had about me killing everyone and conquering Gamindustri. And that she wanted to watch me essentially destroy Gamindustri. And as far as I was concerned, her plan worked.
Arfoire ended up defeating CFW Purple Heart, nearly killing her. She told me that despite how weak I was, I was the only one that could defeat Arfoire now. I begged her to take my life instead as I healed her as best I could. I didn't care about anything else, not even my own life. But Purple Heart instead gave me the healing item and killed herself with Gehaburn. Neptune's will to protect me... let's just say that overwrote any plans she might've had to destroy the world in Arfoire's place, if any. At that point, it was up to me to beat the Nep out of Arfoire. And that's exactly what I planned to do!
And sure enough, I was becoming able to keep up with Arfoire now. I was too angry to acknowledge it, but it was during that battle that I became a fully fledged CPU. So you probably thought I would've beaten her by then? Well, to nobody's surprise... I had one more hurdle to jump before reaching the finish line.
Long story short, Gehaburn broke when I got riled up by Arfoire insulting my deceased sister, Neptune. And CFW Purple Heart too while she was at it! And after I was doing so well, too! I had the one weapon that could end Arfoire's life, then all of a sudden she was like "No! None of that! Shame on you!" …Shame on me indeed for thinking I had a chance.
But then... in the recesses of my mind, I had a 'chat' with CFW Purple Heart. She was mad at me for being weak. And considering I lost Gehaburn to the person it was made to kill, she had every right to be. But she helped me... she helped me realize that, even if I did lose Neptune, even if Gehaburn was useless to me... I was still the only one to protect everything that I still had: my friends, and my people. It was time I lived up to the True Goddess title, whether it rightfully belonged to me or not!
I have ascended to greater heights now! I had used my HDD a second time, though I was transformed once already. No... this time, I was in my Next Form! I was the Next Sister! And I...!
...Really needed to change my new name!
I stopped Arfoire's meteoric attack no problem, and though I used up a few of the Shares I borrowed, my next attack, M.P.B.L One Million Percent: Dimensional Shot, obliterated her body in a near instant. Arfoire did try to possess my body after she was defeated just like what happened with Neptune, but I was somehow saved by CFW Purple Heart again. She really is still my big sis.
And with that, I finally saved Gamindustri from the Deity of Sin. Sure, Neptune lost her life to the malice and cursed sword, and I did think that if I let the cursed Sword kill so much as 1 CPU then my whole Journey would've all been for nothing... But no. Nothing was in vain. Gamindustri was truly peaceful for the first time in years.
Phew! This was quite the recap event, I must say. But we all know what you people are here for...
You most likely figured this out already, but my name is Nepgear. And this is my story... as the new CPU of Planeptune!
Hyperdimension Neptunia
Nepgear: A Savior's Tale
Chapter One: Purple Evolution
It had been three years since that fierce battle. I was retrieved from Gamindustri Graveyard while I was unconscious. When I woke up, I told everyone what happened to me, Neptune, and Arfoire. And everyone agreed to give me time to grieve. We made Neptune's funeral and paid our respects. Everyone who attended was saddened greatly from hearing what happened to her. Even Noire had tears forming in her eyes, but she'd never admit to it if you brought it up with her.
Safe to say that I was the most affected by this, as I had locked myself away for two weeks, crying to myself. But once I recovered, I visited Neptune's private grave. We made two burial sites for my big sister, by the way. One for the public to pray for her and the other goddesses. And the second was for the people in her personal life to 'talk' and relish in precious memories we've had with her. During that time, I've gained the mental strength I didn't know I needed. After talking a bit more with Histoire, I made the official announcement that I, Nepgear, would ascend to become the next CPU of Planeptune.
Oh! Speaking of nations, don't worry. I made sure the other 3 Nations had their shares back. I want to truly earn the title of True Goddess. W-Without inciting another Console War, mind you! Uni still confides in me, Blanc still invites me over on occasion, Vert is still my gaming buddy, Rom & Ram still go out of their way to play with me (whether Ram likes me or not). The only one that's changed the most, despite also forgiving me, was Noire. From what I hear from Uni, Noire seems like she's suffering from a... mental issue. Shutting herself away from the world so she could do more work, refusing to come out for anything. Maybe Neptune's death affected her more than we thought?
Anyway, three years had passed, like I said. In that time, I devoted myself to making... realistic upgrades to Planeptune and nudging my citizens in the right direction. Sure, I miss my sister, Neptune. But this world needs its Purple Sist- er, sorry... Lilac Heart, to be at the people's beck and call for new game releases, even the multiplatform ones, improved transportation in case Gamindustri's Fossil Fuel were to finally run out, even for nice strolls out in Planeptune Park.
Right now, I'm on my way to meet a special someone. I was tasked with quelling some sort of Citizens Group, or Goddess Rebellion as Blanc's twin sisters like to call it, and speak with the leader. What do you say we see how that's coming along, shall we?
"Excuse me! Care to join our citizen's group and build a world without CPUs?" A woman called out while waving her pamphlets, but she was ignored by the passersby.
The woman everyone was ignoring had long heather blue hair and blue-green eyes that are accompanied by thin framed glasses. She wears a single hair accessory on the left side of her head which has a triangular shape at the base that is black with white and blue in the center and has a second part on top which is white accompanied with blue lining. Her attire consists of a primarily black business-woman-like suit with a skull right between where her torso ends and her legs start. On her arms she wears what appears to be two white gauntlets with blue lining and black skulls on the end. Her leg wear contains black tights and white knee high boots with black shoe laces and black bottoms with blue lining and skulls on the side.
As the woman waved her arms around to get the people to notice her, she spotted an ordinary dark haired male NPC walking over to her. Then the woman smiled at the opportunity and reached her arm out to him, "Pardon me, sir! I'm making a Citizen's Group, an organization where the humans make a world for themselves without the aid of a CPU. Would you like to join?"
"..." The male passerby ignored her and turned away. But the woman walked in front of him, "O-Oh! But you don't have to answer now." She held out a pamphlet from the stack in her other arm, "At least... at least take one of our pamphlets, please! It contains information on how our lives can be remade for the better by human power and not reliant on the God- AAAGH!"
Already having enough of the woman's persistence, the man shoved her to the ground, causing her large stack of pamphlets to fall out of her arms and scatter in the air. At that point, some of the pamphlets were taken away by a wind current, a few of those even getting caught in the trees in the city, while some fell onto the road adjacent to the sidewalk the woman landed on and got ran over & crushed. The other pamphlets scattered around where the woman landed before she sat back up. The woman saw her pamphlets getting destroyed by mother nature herself and flew into a panic, "No, no, no, NO! I spent all night making over a hundred copies of these things!"
The woman picked up a few pamphlets and saw the damage that was done to them. Dirt, grime, cuts, tears, wrinkles, skid marks, pretty much anything bad that can possibly happen to them. Infuriated, she turned around and screamed at the passerby who shoved her to the ground as he walked away, "I HOPE THE GHOST OF THE DEITY OF SIN HAUNTS YOUR DREAMS, YOU MAGGOT!"
Her screams may have driven away anyone close by, but she didn't care anymore. Her pamphlets are ruined, and any hope of anyone other than herself joining tonight's meeting along with them. She sighed and held her head, "Gaaaaaah... They're all ruined! I can't even financially support my own organization like this! Now what am I going to do?"
"Excuse me. Are you Rei Ryghts?" The woman jumped in fright at hearing her name being called. Rei looked up and saw a young looking woman standing above her. She has long light purple hair with a pair of D-pad hair clips and had violet eyes, kind and full of life. She wears a white, button up sailor uniform with purple designs and a yellow ribbon being held together by the N-emblem. The girl also wears thigh high socks with pink and white stripes and medium sized boots that match her uniform in color scheme. On her right wrist was a white bracelet with the letters PH and A on them that had a purple glow around them, which wasn't too noticeable in broad daylight.
`She looks like...!` Rei thought to herself before she hastily picked up some of her pamphlets before standing up and answering the girl she seemed to recognize, "Y-Yes... What can I do for you?"
"This Citizen's Group of yours. Do you mind telling me about it?" The new girl asked Rei.
Rei looked down, "I can, but I'm afraid nothing can be done for it now." Rei handed the girl one of her ruined pamphlets. When the girl Rei thought looked familiar took the pamphlet and examined it, Rei continued, "It was supposed to contain information on how we humans can better the lives of Gamindustri without the aid of Goddesses. But now it doesn't look like anything can be done for our group... or for me, rather."
The girl caught Rei's change of word choice, "Huh? Why did you say it like that? Do the other members of your group not care about the pamphlets?"
"Actually... I'm the only member of the Citizen's Group." Rei confessed to her, "Though I feel like you wouldn't be entirely wrong with that last statement, miss... Uh...?" Suddenly, Rei's eyes widened as she thought more about who the girl before her could be, "...Wait, wait... You couldn't be...?"
"Oh! Did I not introduce myself? I'm sorry." The girl bowed as she apologized to Rei, "My name's Nepgear, the CPU of Planeptune. It's nice to-"
"T-T-T-THE G-G-GODDESS?!" Rei shrieked in sudden fear. Shortly after, Rei fell backwards with a groan, passing out as she dropped her already ruined pamphlets, "Haaaaaa...!"
"...meet you." Nepgear finished her sentence awkwardly. Hearing a sigh from her head, she looked up, "Hm? What's wrong?"
"I'm just dumbfounded how the mere sight of you is enough to knock her out." A familiar voice said to Nepgear, "And why do you still insist on talking to me out loud in public? Do you want the people to think you've lost your marbles?"
"Arfoire, people already have a pretty good idea about those rage fits you put me through in the past." Nepgear whispered those words as she walked over to Rei and picked her up with one hand on her back and the other under her legs, "It wasn't obvious that you were still around in spirit, but remember when Histoire and I allowed the story of our fight to be retold in the form of a manga?"
"Yeah, I remember. I'm just saying, just because your friends know better doesn't mean any random civilian won't wonder who you're talking to." Arfoire commented. To which Nepgear shyly replied, "A-Are you... sure you're not worrying too much?"
Nepgear didn't hear Arfoire respond back.
`Maybe I touched a nerve just now...?` Nepgear thought to herself as she made her way to her Basilicom, carrying the unconscious Rei Ryghts with her.
After she entered her own Basilicom, Nepgear took the elevator up to the floor she resided on. Nepgear turned around and admired the sights of the nation she was governing. Planeptune, the only home Nepgear ever knew during her time as a CPU Candidate. Back then, it was the land of Purple Progress. Now it was a land of Purple Evolution. Why it wasn't Lilac Evolution was because of the fond memories the people had with their previous CPU, Neptune/Purple Heart. Nepgear thought it would do more harm than good if she tried to force herself in the people's hearts as Neptune's replacement, and that no one wanted that type of Goddess watching over them. Which is why she also kept the nation's name as Planeptune.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Nepgear asked out loud. To which the second voice in Nepgear's head spoke after a yawn, "Sleeping beauty, Planeptune, or your reflection on the glass?"
Nepgear chuckled at that, "Heh heh. Sorry we woke you up, CFW Purple Heart." She leaned back against the glass behind her, "Three years of running Planeptune, and the people have accepted me for who I am. I can hardly believe it... I know things were much simpler when Neptune was around, but I can't give up on my people when they need me... It's all on me now... er, on us, I mean."
Both Arfoire & CFW Purple Heart suddenly asked at the same time, "You only gave up on the Instant Elevator project so you could talk to us without interruptions, didn't you?"
"EH?!" Nepgear suddenly shrieked in sudden embarrassment, "Wh-Why are you bringing that up now?"
"Ha! You were right, Purple. She is easy to tease!" Arfoire said with a laugh. CFW Purple Heart chimed in and said, "If you could see your face right now, Nepgear. Hahaha...!"
"Awwwww..." Nepgear sighed, silently considering muting them both for a while. Then, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, letting Nepgear walk in her 'living room' with Rei in her arms. She called out across the room, "I'm home, Histoire!"
As if on cue, a small fairy-like being floated out of the kitchen area on a gravity defying book. This fairy is Histoire, a fair skinned girl with dull blue eyes and soft blonde hair. Her bangs curl in both directions, with two, longer curled pieces of hair that reach her chest. The rest of her hair is worn up in pigtails held by a white hat with light blue ear pieces. She wears a short, form-fitting light purple dress with a blue and white tie and white cuffs at the ends of her sleeves that resemble long gloves. She is also shown wearing long white socks and shoes. The pieces surrounding her have changed from Neptune & friends unsealing her a long time ago and she has blue and purple wings from her back in four pieces.
"Welcome home, Nepgear." Histoire said happily. Her gaze turned to the unconscious woman in Nepgear's arms, "...I see it didn't go as expected."
"You should've seen how bad it already was when I got there." Nepgear said as she laid Rei on the couch sideways, "But if I play my cards right, we won't have to worry about any Citizen's Group anymore."
"I-If you're certain..." Histoire said with a sweatdrop on the side of her head, "...Oh, and Nepgear? I finished 3 hours worth of paperwork in 3 minutes. The upgrade patches you installed really boosted my performance and reliability. I know I say it a lot, but I am eternally grateful to you for helping me keep up with everything 3x faster, if not more." Histoire said with her head tilted and she smiled cutely, "Anyway, there are still a few pieces left for you, but the bigger stack just needs your signature."
"Thanks for letting me know, Histoire. Better go take care of that." Nepgear said as she walked past her Oracle. She stopped and turned around real quick, "Oh! In the meantime, keep an eye on Rei for me, okay?"
"Will do." Histoire nods as she watched Nepgear walk away, taking the recently developed inner stairs that lead from the living areas of the Basilicom to her office. She let out a small sigh and smiled, "It's reassuring that Nepgear hasn't changed after Neptune's death. Her bright smile, genuine kindness, and peaceful resolution are what gave herself strength that she didn't know she had. But I can't help but notice a certain... growth, to her demeanor these past 3 years. She's still shy, but finding confidence. Excitable, but reliable. Everything Neptune and the previous CPUs were, but still defines herself as her own person. Never change, Nepgear. At least, not for the worse."
Histoire then looks over at the 'sleeping' girl on the couch, "Nepgear even brought this person here without an explanation. Hmmmmm... What could be going on in Nepgear's mind this time...?" She floated near Rei, looking at her... peaceful cute form for a full three minutes while trying to figure out Nepgear's intentions... then she started feeling like she's forgetting something.
"...! Dinner!" Histoire shouted and activated her x3 Boosters with her wings to rush back into the kitchen.
Planeptune Basilicom, 8:00 PM
"Urrrrrgh...!" Rei groaned as she slowly woke up and opened her eyes. She sat up from the couch she laid against and rubbed her head, "Nnnngh... how long was I out?" She looked around the room she was in. It looked like someone's living room, but who's could it be? The last person Rei remembered speaking to was the goddess herself, and she didn't seem like the type of person to kidnap somebody. And considering the fact that her limbs aren't tied up or chained to the couch...
Rei's train of thought was interrupted by the smell of food. She stands up and looks behind the couch and spots a few plates of food on a kitchen table. Rei looked confused for a moment and notes that there seemed to be enough for a family of 3 at the table, both parents and the child. Two bowls of ramen noodles, four pudding cups, a giant plate of curly fries, homemade from the looks of it, and a bowl of cereal. Wait, breakfast for dinner? Rei wondered if people did that before. Still, the mere sight of delicious food made her stomach growl.
"Oooogh..." Rei groaned in hunger, her hands holding her stomach, "I haven't had anything since this morning... and that was the highlight of my day."
"While I do not mind you joining us for dinner, I must ask you to wait until everyone is present."
"Aah!" Rei turned around to the angelic and mature voice coming from... a fairy on a book? Rei's confused gaze was met by a look of concern from the small fairy as the Oracle asks, "Oh, did I startle you? My apologies." Rei stepped back about a foot or two, "Wh-Who are you...?!"
"I am Histoire. I am the tome that records Planeptune's historic achievements." Histoire said to Rei. To which Rei replied with a questioning, yet still shocked look, "H-Huh? But... fairies aren't books..."
"Aba!" Histoire flopped backwards on the book she sat on, causing her book to flip over as Histoire quickly grabbed onto her floating book, dangling off her book as she kicked her legs furiously, "Urrrgh, come on...!"
"L-Let me help!" Rei instinctively rushed to Histoire and lifted the fairy up in her hands before setting her on top of her book again, "There. Better?"
"Yes, thank you." Histoire said as she dusted herself off.
Though Rei felt good helping the fairy/tome the way she did, she had to question herself on why she did what she did. Also, what would happen to the poor woman if she was discovered by-
"Nice reflexes, Ms. Ryghts."
...Oh, crapbaskets.
Nepgear walked up to the pair with a shy smile on her face, "Sorry I'm late, Histoire. Vert invited me to a Dragon Sphere Universe 2 raid event after the new update. Since I had just finished my paperwork, I couldn't say no to playing games with a friend."
"That's fine, Nepgear. I had just finished making dinner for everyone a few minutes ago." Histoire said casually, ignoring the fact that Vert was playing a game other than a 4 Goddesses Online title because it was good to know that Leanbox's CPU was broadening her horizons, as the humans say. Suddenly, she reached out to Rei and held her shoulder, "I was just getting acquainted with our guest."
"Eep!" Rei flinched from the small hand on her shoulder, seemingly locking the woman in place as Rei shook slightly from the mere sight of Nepgear.
"I'm glad you two are getting along. And thanks for looking out for her while I was busy." Nepgear said to Histoire, before she turned her gaze to Rei, "I should also be thanking you for catching Histoire when she tumbled like that."
"You... saw that?" Rei said while still shivering in fear, pretending not to hear the CPU's words earlier. Nepgear nods in response, "Mm-hmm. Oh, I'd still like to talk with you a little more. I never got the chance earlier, and you did seem like you were down in the dumps." Nepgear turned to the table with food on it, "Perhaps we can talk over dinner?"
As if on cue, Rei's stomach growled to show that she was indeed hungry. Rei held her stomach instinctively, "Ohhhhh..."
"Something tells me you need it." Histoire said with a sweatdrop, while Nepgear let out an adorable giggle.
"Itadakimasu!"
Their prayers complete, the 3 women (Yes, Histy is a female) dug into their food. Rei ultimately decided to join the CPU and Oracle for dinner as Nepgear had offered earlier, as she was admittedly too hungry and stressed about what happened earlier today. Though she's been mainly slurping her noodles, not bothering to blow on them sometimes, which resulted in nearly burning her tongue sometimes, but it was the least of Rei's concerns.
No... Rei was more focused on how a small fairy can eat a bowl of cereal like the size difference doesn't matter. Histoire lifts the spoon and takes a bite of the small and colorful loops on the spoon. She carefully yet casually pulls the spoons out and begins chewing. Soon, a voice called out to Rei from across the table, "Never seen a fairy eat cereal before?"
"Ah! Um..." Rei looked at Nepgear as the CPU blew on her noodles. The human stared at the pudding cups on the table as she ate more of the noodles, and even snatched up a few curly fries from the large plate that was shared between the CPU, human, and Oracle at the table.
Histoire glanced at Rei and spoke up, "The pudding is supposed to be desert, but we've got enough to go around, so-"
"W-Why...?"
"Hm?" Nepgear and Histoire glanced at the shivering Rei. Nepgear asked with concern, "Why what? Not a big Pudding girl? My late sister and some of her friends loves these things, so I thought you might-"
Rei interrupts the CPU by slamming her hands on the table while standing up, "WHY ARE THE TWO OF YOU SO NICE AND CAREFREE WITH ME?!"
"Eek!" Nepgear and Histoire looked startled. While Histoire recovered first and slowly ate her cereal while keeping her ears open, Nepgear said to Rei, "Wh-What do you mean? Do the noodles taste bad? You can always blow on them if they're too hot."
"Aaagh, it's not the noodles, Lady CPU! Though I did come close to burning my tongue two minutes ago!" Rei said in her self-hysteria, "No, All I did was wake up in your living room, and you not only sent a book fairy to watch over me instead of watching me yourself, but you were in another room playing video games!"
"Pretty sure you were organizing a Citizen's group before we met." Nepgear pointed out, "Failing miserably, if I may be brutally honest."
"THAT WAS-" Rei began before she turned to Histoire, "Wait, how long was I out?"
"Three hours, fifty-three minutes." Histoire answered. Rei looked back at Nepgear, "ALMOST 4 HOURS AGO! Look, I know this is Planeptune's CPU I'm dealing with! But would it kill you to take your job seriously?!"
"First off, you think not dealing with a special guest right away makes me a lazy bum who doesn't take her job seriously? ...You should've seen my sister." Nepgear said with a sigh. Then she takes one of the pudding cups and opens the lid, "Second, at least CPUs like me have jobs to put off or take seriously, depending on which one we're talking about."
Rei froze up at those words and started shaking slightly, "A-Ah...?"
"Uh- Nepgear...!" Histoire said in an astounded tone. Nepgear, though feeling like she was a little rude, took a bite out of her pudding before she continued, "Rei Ryghts. You've been all alone for practically your whole life. No friends, no children, no known mother or father, not even a good job, if any. You were even fired from your first job after the second week because you constantly made mistakes that a child would make. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that you peaked in high school, if not college. Didn't help that you were the kind of person who can disappear without a trace, and no one would notice."
Nepgear watched as Rei slumped back into her seat at the table, the human looking ashamed at herself for speaking out. Nepgear noticed that and sighed, "Haaa... I'm sorry for coming across as insensitive, but that was some of the basic info I was given by my Oracle."
"It took me two days to recount everything there was to know about you. And I spent another day fact checking everything that I gathered." Histoire interjected. Nepgear nods before she suddenly looks more serious than usual after a few more bites of pudding, "Before then, you want to know what my first thoughts were of your little Citizen's Group?"
"Wh-What...?" Rei asked in slight fear. But the answer she received made her instantly regret asking.
"Remnants of ASIC."
Rei didn't know what about the statement that sent shivers down her spine: What Nepgear and Histoire said just now, the fact that they eerily said it at the same time...
Or the widespread rumors of Nepgear hunting these remnants of ASIC and mercilessly slaughtering them, only to be stopped by the other CPUs from the other nations.
"You're probably recalling the rumors you heard of me over the years. Those are stories for another day, if you're ever interested." Nepgear said as she took a curly fry and ate it up in one bite, chewing and swallowing before she continued, "I'd like to talk more about you."
"H-Haven't you made fun of me enough already?!" Rei asked while still shaken up. Nepgear then stood up from her seat, a surprised yelp came from Rei while Histoire had a look of slight confusion. Nepgear walked over to the other side of the table, where Rei sat.
Rei's eyes widened and she looked terrified for whatever judgment the goddess was about to pass. Then, just as the Oracle lifted her cereal bowl to drink in the milk that remained, and Rei was bracing for her fate...
Nepgear spoke in a confident tone, "I want you to work under me, Rei Ryghts."
"PFFFFFFFFFT!" Histoire spat out the milk from the cereal bowl when she heard Nepgear's words. The Oracle turned to Nepgear to make sure she heard right while letting out a confused and surprised, "What?!"