Nepgear found herself awake in the dead of the night. The young CPU tried to get back to sleep but found herself unable to as she felt her throat was a bit dry.
She let out a sigh and pushed the blanket off before she felt herself shiver as the cold air slapped her body. She then slowly climbed down from her bunk bed. She decided to get a glass of water and maybe a warm milk from the kitchen.
"Hm?" She turned and saw that her sister's bed was empty.
Huh, where did Sis go?
The CPU candidate's mind wondered about it for a bit before she shrugged it off, thinking her sister must have important business to attend to. After all, it's not the first time that her sister snuck out of the bedroom in the middle of the night when she thought that she was sleeping.
She would come back all tired and sweaty. Every time she brings it up, her sister's face becomes slightly pink and she quickly mutters different excuses each time.
Her sister's bed was a total mess as usual and Nepgear couldn't resist and made her bed up.
There, all done.
After Nepgear was finished, she dusted her hands off and nodded to herself. Unlike her sister, Nepgear likes to be very organized. She then slowly made her way through the cold and dark corridors of the Basilicom. Once she reached the kitchen, she grabbed an empty glass from one of the cabinets and filled it with water from the water tab.
After she was done gulping the water, she let out a soft sigh. "Ahhh... much better."
She gently placed the glass into the sink and left the kitchen. On her way back to her bedroom, she noticed that one of the rooms was lit up and heard two faint voices speaking from inside.
Her curiosity got the better of her. She carefully walked towards the door and peeked through the small opening. She saw her sister and Histoire, though they seemed like they were arguing. Neptune was pacing around the room with her hand clenched on her hair as Histoire was speaking.
"I just think that it's better if Nepgear—"
"No. I will not bring my little sister with me on our mission and that's final." Neptune snapped her head back at the small fairy-like girl and hardened her stare.
Huh? Mission? What are they talking about?
She leaned her head closer so she could tune in to their conversation better.
"Neptune, please listen—"
"Histoire. No."
This made the Oracle stop dead in her tracks as the usual laidback girl put her foot down. It wasn't normal for the pudding-loving CPU to also drop her full name like that but the tomb wasn't about to back down just yet. "I apologize but I must insist. You see, Nepgear is strong for a CPU at her age and she was even able to unlock her HDD at such a young age. I believe that she is more than ready to join and your odds of succeeding will be much higher if she tags along."
"Insist all you like but Nepgear isn't coming with us to the Gamindustri Graveyard and that's an order as the the CPU of Planeptune." The purple-haired girl crossed her arms.
"You do not understand." Histoire shook her head as she hovered close to her. "Arfoire... ASIC and the four felons are no joke. We cannot afford to lose this battle. Gamindustri's whole future rests on this. "
"I don't care. My little sister is more important!" Neptune slammed her fist on the table as she breathed through her teeth.
Histoire eyes got slightly wide as she froze. It took a few moments for Neptune to process her outburst. She took a step back and let out a sigh as she rubbed her face with her hand. "I just... can't bear the thought of losing her. She's all I have. She must remain here in case that I—"
"WOAH—!" Nepgear tried to lean her head closer but accidentally slipped as the door flung open and she fell flat on the floor. The two girls jumped and turned to see the CPU candidate lying on the floor.
"Heavens, Nepgear!"
"Nep Jr.! What are you doing here...? H-How long have you been standing there?"
"I-I'm sorry!" Nepgear quickly picked herself up and stared at the floor. "I couldn't sleep so I went to the kitchen to drink some water then I saw the door open and heard you two talking and I didn't mean to eavesdrop but my curiosity got the better of me and l—"
"Woah, slow down there, kiddo." The CPU held her hands up like a master calming his pet. "It's okay."
"Please don't be mad at me!" She instantly bowed her head towards the floor as she clenched her dress.
"Hey, I'm not mad." Neptune shook her head and let out a small smile. "But you shouldn't be up, Nep Jr. It's a bit late, y'know."
Nepgear avoided eye contact and twiddled with thumbs for a while without saying anything.
"Nep Jr.—?"
"Is it true that you're leaving?" Nepgear suddenly asked as she stared at her sister.
Neptune let out a long sigh, as there was no point in hiding it now. "Yes. I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow."
"I wanna come too!"
"Junior... No." She slowly shook her head.
"Why? I wanna help you."
"It's way too dangerous, do you understand?"
"But you said I was strong, right? Please, let me come with you—"
"You're not ready! You're still young and stuff."
Nepgear's body jerked as she felt her sister's hands clench her shoulder in a tight hold. She felt her body begin to quiver as tears began forming in her eyes. "Please, sis... don't leave me."
"Oh, I'm not going to leave you, Junior. Never." Neptune leaned closer and held her tight. "I'll return once I finish my mission. I'll be back before you know it."
"Promise me..." The little CPU wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in her chest as she listened to her big sister's steady heartbeat. "Promise me that you won't leave me and come back."
"I promise." She tightened her hold and gently squeezed her. "Come on, let's head back to our bedroom. It's getting late."
"Okay..." She muttered but didn't let go of her sister's warm embrace just yet.
"You go on ahead." Neptune gave her one last squeeze before she forced herself to untangle from her before she gave her a small smile. "I'll catch up in a moment, okay?"
"Okay, sis." Nepgear slowly nodded before she turned and left the audience chamber room and closed the door behind her on her way out.
Histoire remained silent as she witnessed all of this unfolding from behind.
"I know what you're gonna say, Histy. But my answer is still the same. Nothing you say will change it." Neptune replied while her back was facing the floating tomb girl.
"I understand. I can see that you value your sister above everything, even though it may seem selfish. Sacrificing the one you love for the world is a choice that no one has to go through." Histoire paused as she stared into the distance. "I won't persuade you any longer, but I have something that I must tell you. Something that I haven't disclosed with anyone, not even with any other CPUs that ruled before you."
"Huh?" Neptune turned around. "Sounds... serious. What is it?"
"Before that, I need you to swear to me that you will not tell any of what I tell you, not even Nepgear."
Neptune sucked out a breath and nodded. "I swear that I won't."
Histoire stared deep into her eyes as if she were looking for something. After a while, she nodded. "Very well. You see, I might not have been very truthful and had concealed something unforgivable. For you see, Arfoire was..."
(N)
A day had passed since then.
It was a clear day as the sun shone at the city of Planeptune in the distance. The two CPUs were seen walking outside of Planeptune's border on a path that led to a grassy field. The sound of the river rumbling beside them was calming. The smell of the grass and flowers hit Nepgear's nostrils as she sucked out the clean air through her nose while she walked beside her sister.
For some unknown reason, her sister suddenly agreed to take her on the mission with her when she was so adamant about not letting her come yesterday.
"Are you sure that you packed everything?" Her sister stopped and turned to face her. "Weapons, potions, armors?"
"Yes." Nepgear nodded. "I think so."
"Good. We're going to meet with the other CPUs soon."
"What are the other CPUs like?" Nepgear's heart was racing at the thought of meeting them. She didn't know if she was excited, nervous, afraid, or maybe a mix of all.
"Hmm... let's see. There's Noire, who's a real hard worker and a tsundere at heart." The purple-haired girl let out a chuckle. "Then there's Blanc, who usually likes to keep to herself and stuff her nose through books. And finally, there's Vert. She's reserved and mature. She and I are very good friends due to our love and passion for video games. She might be actually lazier than me, haha."
"A-Ah, I see..."
"Don't worry, kiddo. They're gonna love ya." Neptune gently patted her on the back. "Especially once they see how strong you are."
"Okay... if you say so." Nepgear nodded before she noticed a reddish spot on her sister's cheek that was more visible due to the sun's light. "N-Neptune... your face. What happened to you?"
"H-Huh?" The purple-haired girl placed her hand on her cheek before she let out a forced chuckle. "O-Oh, this. Um, your clumsy sister accidentally slammed her face into a wall since she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking. A-Anyway, this is far enough."
Neptune was engulfed in bright light before she was in her HDD. She stood tall and firm. It was a complete shift from her laid-back attitude to her human form. "Hurry up and transform Nepgear."
"R-Right!" She then transformed into her HDD form as well, although she remained the same, unlike her sister.
"Nepgear, I need you to listen very closely." The purple-haired CPU approached and grasped her shoulder. "We're heading to a dangerous territory that is infested with dangerous monsters. Do you understand that?"
"Y-Yes. I do."
"I need you to listen to every command I give you and stay close to me at all times. Can you do that?"
Nepgear took a deep breath. "Yes."
"Good girl." Purple Heart nodded and let go of her shoulders. "Alright. Let's not make the other CPUs wait any longer."
The two took off in the sky and flew to rendezvous with their peers. After a while, the figures of three women were seen in the distance as they were discussing with themselves before one of them spotted Purple Heart.
"Finally, it's about damn time." The blue-haired CPU crossed her arms and let out a huff. "Took your sweet time coming here."
"I apologize for the delay but I had some—"
"Woah, woah, woah, wait..." The white-haired CPU stepped forward and pointed at the girl behind her. "Who's she?"
Nepgear jumped out of her skin as the lady in the black plug suit pointed at her. She quickly took shelter behind her sister as she felt the eyes of the others bore into her.
"Right, I almost forgot." The CPU then gestured for the girl to step forward and gave her an encouraging push. "Ladies, this is my little sister, Nepgear. She will be accompanying us in our mission."
"My, my... Neptune, you didn't tell us that you had a little sister. She is very cute." The green-haired lady let out a chortle. "Hello there, my dear. My name's Vert."
"Um, h-hi." Nepgear waved her hand.
"Wait, holding on. You're bringing a child to fight on a battlefield." Black Heart stared at her like she had grown another pair of heads before she let out a harsh sneer. "Are you gone in the head?"
"Yeah, I agree with her." White Heart nodded. "Why the hell did you bring her here? She'll only be a dead weight."
Nepgear's heart dropped in her stomach as she heard the harsh words of the two CPUs. Purple Heart then extended her arm in front of her. "I understand that you have your doubts, but I assure you. Nepgear here is strong and very competent."
"If any of you have an issue with it, then I suggest you take it with me." Purple Heart crossed her arms with a stare that immediately silenced the other CPUs.
No one said anything for a while. They know better not to argue with her when she's like this.
"Pssh, whatever." White Heart scoffed and then materialized her axe before she leaned it on her shoulder. "She better not get in my way."
"I'm not with letting children fight in a battle, but if Neptune said that Nepgear can handle herself, then I have no reason to object." Green Heart shrugged.
"Fine. I just hope you know what you're doing, Neptune." Black Heart then turned Nepgear. "Just to let you know, kid. Things are going to be tough, so be prepared."
"I-I know." Nepgear managed to utter. "I'll do my best to assist."
"Okay, so we're all on the same page then?" Purple Heart asked before everyone nodded. "Good. Then let us not waste any more time."
"I agree, we shouldn't dilly-dally any longer. We must focus on the mission." Green Heart took out her weapon spear before the rest followed suit. The five CPUs then took off in the direction of the Gamindustri Graveyard simultaneously, with Nepgear following behind Neptune like a poodle.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Protective and serious Neptune is the best.
She's showing everyone who is boss and protects her little sister. Best sister of the year.
I refuse to believe that MK2 Neptune and Victory Neptune are the same. I'm just going to pretend that that game doesn't exist.
Next Chapter: Old Friends
After nearly escaping death, Nepgear recovers and spends quality time with her two friends.