?
"It's dark...Pitch black..."
A young girl looked around the pitch of blackness she found herself in. She is a bright young girl with purple hair, wearing an oversized white parka, two white clips on opposing sides of her short and a scrunched furrow to show her confusion.
"Where even am I anyway? And why do I look like I've been splashed with fluorescent light?"
She looked around her surroundings and then at herself, seeing her features glowing brightly in the void.
"Did the power go off? No, I'd remember if a power outage went off. Maybe someone cast an End of the World spell? You know, Control-Alt-Delete? No, not that either."
Eventually, the girl became frustrated and started to tap her right foot impatiently.
"Well, whatever. Hello! Is anyone here? Can I walk around? Don't blame me if I started to collect rings floating by the ground..."
Her face then scrunched up as she thought of something disgusting...
"But ewwwwww, who knows what I could step in?" the girl said in a panic "It could be something like, ABC Gum. Ugghhhhhh, should I just wait for more text lines to pop up?"
And so, the girl waited...
And she waited...
And she kept waiting...
...
Until thirteen seconds passed, she eventually lost her patience.
"Geez, I am BO-RED! Who was I supposed to be waiting for, anyway!?"
"Ah! I found someone! Have you been waiting long?"
The girl looked around in surprise. At last, someone else deigned to speak in this featureless void!
"A voice! I totally heard a voice!" the girl then shouted out in the open. "Where are youuuuuuu~? Can you hear meeeeeee~?"
"I hear you loud and clear." the second voice, carrying a mature vibe in her speech, responded. "Thank goodness I managed to find someone here..."
The girl raised an eyebrow at that. Find someone?
"So, um...Ms. Heavenly Voice. Mind telling me where we are, exactly?"
"Oh, well..." the second voice cleared her throat, wherever she is. "this could take three hours to explain..."
Oh, the girl did not like that! Three hours of exposition? No thanks! She'd fall asleep in seven minutes without company or food here!
"Okay, skip that then! Just tell me what do ya want? You came here because of something, right?"
"Very well! I implore you, please lend me your strength!"
And now, the voice is asking for help? This has been a strange encounter, that's for sure.
"Help you? With what, exactly?"
"The worlds are in grave danger! If one does not act, the darkness shall consume all! I implore you, Neptune. Please stop the coming darkness!"
So, the voice is basically asking her to go save the world, er, worlds, right?
"Sounds like the average plot of an RPG to me! Nothing wrong about it, just, never thought we'd touch upon this to begin our story, I guess..."
But one detail bugged the girl...
"Hold up. Neptune?" Is that supposed to be her name?
"Yes. That is your name. Do you not know it?"
The girl shook her head furiously.
"Nuh-uh. Actually, I just woke up, in a way, just a while ago. I dunno a lot about myself, really."
"I see..."
There was only silence for approximately three seconds, before...
"Very well. Since you do not know about yourself, I can tell you."
The girl, Neptune, looked in surprise. Her eyes are practically shining like stars!
"Really!?"
"Yes. Really. But in exchange, you must free me from the clutches of an evil witch."
"Ooooohhhhh, now we're getting into the RPG train ride here!" the girl cheerily said, clapping her hands. "Alright, Ms. Heavenly Voice, you got a deal!"
The voice sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Neptune! Simply knowing that you will help me is a great relief..."
"Sure, but, uhhhhh...One question."
"Yes?"
"How do I get out of here?"
Right. Neptune is still stuck in the empty void of...whatever this is...
"Is there a hidden door around here?" the girl thought aloud, pacing back and forth as she lightly pounded her own head. "Do I need to look up a guide or something? Wait, how I can even do that here? Hrggggggg..."
"Please calm down. I can guide you through and help you get started, but I cannot maintain this link indefinitely."
"Oh" the girl intoned. "So...are you on dial-up or something? Need more quarters for that payphone?"
"No, I-" the second voice groaned. "Anyway, I am trapped in the clutches of an evil witch. If she notices that I am communicating with you, or anyone for that matter, she will cut our link and it will be difficult to re-establish it."
"So, like, if that ever happens..." the girl wondered. "...we can't talk like this anymore?"
"No"
The response was simple and terse.
"Alright-y then!" the girl, apparently named Neptune, cheered, rolling her right arm. "That means we gotta hustle, so lay it on me, Ms. Heavenly Voice! What do I do?"
"Okay, first, try to feel a presence here."
This instruction only confused the girl further.
"Uh, there's only us here, you know."
"Yes, but...hmmmm, how to put this..."
Another three seconds have passed...
"Try feeling with your heart, Neptune."
"My...heart?"
As if on instinct, Neptune closed her eyes and stretched out hand...
"...!"
And she felt something, snapping her eyes open in surprise! Even in this empty void, the girl managed to feel a presence.
"Ms. Heavenly Voice, I feel something!" Neptune shouted in joy. "I definitely felt something!"
"That's great, Neptune! What is it?"
The girl's eyebrows furrowed, trying to get a feel of...whatever she felt.
"It feels like...someone's hurt. No, they're...sinking?"
"Ah! It must be the heart of someone whose lost their world recently..."
"Wow, so their world came crashing down on them, huh?" Neptune said, feeling bad for whoever she felt just now. "I dunno how to deal with heartbreak..."
The heavenly voice groaned again. "No, I mean, literally. Their world must have been consumed by darkness and now their existence is hanging on by a thread. Please, Neptune, connect with that person's heart! It may provide you with a way out of here."
The girl pondered a bit, never letting go of the connection.
"Well, anyplace is better than here." Neptune shrugged. "There's literally nothing around these parts, anyway."
"Good, now reach out to them. Do as you did before."
Neptune focused, feeling the connection getting stronger...
And stronger...
And stronger...
Until a bright light shined in front of her.
"Woah! What's happening!?"
It glew brighter and brighter...
Until it dimmed and faded, leaving no one behind in the empty void...
? ? ? - Dive to the Heart – Station of Purple Progress
Opening her eyes, Neptune surveyed the area.
"Hmmmm...still not much around here"
She looked around and saw nothing but nothingness, but when she looked up, she noticed a light shining down on her.
"Huh, that light wasn't there before..."
She then looked down...
"What the nep!?"
And sees what appears to be a large stained purple glass painting of herself, sleeping in front of a few circles. Seven circles to be exact.
"Okay. This is weird. I don't recall having something commissioned in my image recently..."
"It appears you made it..."
Neptune looked around again. It was the other voice!
"Ooohhh! Ms. Heavenly Voice!" Neptune cheered as she waved her left hand. "Thanks for the advice earlier! Now, we're somewhere else!"
"Indeed. I surmise that this must be some sort of trial you must undertake before your journey can truly begin."
Hearing this got the young girl excited, shown by her light clapping of hands.
"Hoo boy! The obligatory tutorial level! So, what'ya got for me?"
As if to answer her question, three marble pedestals spawned across the area, each holding different weapons.
"Methinks that I should go get my preferred weapon of choice here, right?"
"Yes. Feel free to pick one at your leisure!"
"No need. I know what I want."
With a spring to her step, she hopped onto the pedestal holding a sword.
The Dream Sword
A weapon of incredible power.
Holds raw strength that can defeat any foe.
Is this your choice?
"Absolutely! A hero ALWAYS has a sword to start off. It's RPG Protagonist 101."
Upon her declaration, the sword vanished from her hand.
"Now choose which one to give up."
It seems her trial is not done yet.
"Give up? You mean, I gotta make myself weaker on one stat in exchange for excelling in the other one I chose? Man, this design's so early 2000's."
Hopping down, she walked a bit while she thought of her choice. Eventually, she hopped up to the pedestal containing the staff.
The Dream Staff
A weapon of indistinguishable magic.
Holds spellbinding might of incredible power.
Do you wish to give this up?
"Well, I've never been the most intelligent gal out there..."
"You've never been out of anywhere until recently..."
"Eh, details."
Sensing that her answer is confirmatory, the staff vanished from Neptune in a flash of light.
You have chosen the path of the warrior.
You have surrendered the path of the sage.
Is this your final answer?
"Heck yes, it is!"
With her answer given, the pedestals tumbled and the ground began to shake.
"W-what's happening?" Neptune asked in a panic, signified by her eyes turning in white circles.
"You have cleared your first trial." the heavenly voice responded calmly. "Now you are on your way to the second trial."
"T-This is a rocky way to start your game, don't you think!?"
And yet, the only sounds that could be heard are those of the girl's screams and the dissolution of the glass platform...
Dive to the Heart – Station of Black Regality
"I'M FALLING!"
And fell she did. A great tumble onto the next station, a dark blue one, which contained the image of a girl with black, twin-tailed hair.
"Uhhhh...I wish the person in this image is real. She would've made for a nice landing pillow..."
"Please don't say that about real people, Neptune." the heavenly voice scolded. "Anyway, you are now on your next trial."
Getting up in a single hop, Neptune steels herself for her next trial.
"Alright! Bring it on!"
In a flash, the Dream Sword spawned in her hand!
"Okay, can you do a few swings with that?"
"No problem-o!"
Down slash!
Thrust!
Leap and strike!
"A classic three-hit combo! You like that, Ms. Heavenly Voice?"
"Splendid! Now then..."
Suddenly, a dark...ant-like creature spawned in front of her.
"Oooohhhh! Is this gonna be my enemy from this point forward?"
"Yes. These dark creatures are but small spawns of the darkness. Go and defeat it."
Charging forth, Neptune executed her three-hit combo and defeated the creature with ease.
"Easy peasy!"
"Well done! But be wary. Weak though that creature is, it has a special ability."
"Special ability?"
Another one spawned in front of her, but it was sunken on the ground. It then crept behind her and rose up from the ground!
"...! From behind!"
Looking back, Neptune could only brace herself for impact.
"Owie! It scratched me!"
Feeling a little hurt from the sneak attack, Neptune struck down the creature just as easily as she did the first one.
"That's for scratching the hood, you...weird, ant-thing!" Neptune shouted, shaking her free fist in anger.
"Never underestimate your enemies, Neptune. Each of these creatures carry their own strengths and weaknesses. Adaptability is the key to victory against them."
And then, three of the creatures rose from the ground in front of her.
"Take what you have learned and triumph, for it is the way forward."
"Wise words! Alright, time to nep 'em all up!"
Since this is just a mob battle in a tutorial segment, Neptune easily defeated these trash mobs with ease. A mistake here or there was probably overlooked.
"Good work. Now you cleared the second trial!"
"Cool beans! But wait, if I'm done here, that means..."
Just as she suspected, the platform began to be swallowed in a dark void.
"Why does this have to be the only way forwaaaaaardddddd~?"
Her complaints were muffled as she was swallowed in the dark void.
Dive to the Heart – Station of Green Pastures
"No! Anything but that! Anything but the eggplants!"
Neptune was thrashing around on the ground, as if she had a terrible nightmare. One involving...eggplants of all things...
"Neptune! Please get up!"
The girl's eyes shot wide open upon hearing that familiar voice.
"I'm awake!"
She stood up immediately, snapping awake as she now looked at her surroundings.
This time, the glass painting, this time green, she's standing on is that of a tall, blonde woman in a green dress.
"Okay...so, what's the sitch, Ms. Heavenly Voice?"
"Please, I am Histoire."
"His-to-ire? That your name?"
"Yes. I figured I may as well tell you now before I forget."
"Cool, but I think I may botch the name, so can I call you Histy?"
"Sure. Anyway, you are now at the next trial, Neptune."
The girl got excited.
"Awesome-sauce! So, what do I do?"
"This may come as...out-of-sequence as you would expect, but let's test your other capabilities."
Neptune raised an eyebrow at that.
"Such as?"
A large crate spawned a good few meters from her.
"Try moving that crate, Neptune."
"Okay, but where?"
"Anywhere's fine."
Seeing a crate this large, lifting it with her arms is out of the question. Push it, it is.
"Hrrrrrkkkk!"
She pushed it forwards a few meters forward, then she pulled it a few more meters back.
"Good. Good."
The sound of a flashing light was heard. To Neptune's right, a barrel spawned.
"That barrel looks lighter than this crate."
"Indeed. Do you mind lifting it?"
Without another word, Neptune left the crate and approached the barrel, carrying it over her head with her two hands!
"Ooooohhhh, this thing's kinda light."
"So it is. Now, then..."
"I'mma throw it!"
And threw it she did. Goodbye, crate and barrel. Your purpose in this tutorial has been fulfilled.
"Well, that" Histoire said with surprise. "...takes care of that, then!"
As Neptune grinned at her small victory, she noticed a small red box where the objects were last seen.
"What's that?"
She approached it, and opened it, revealing a glass jar with a green star on it.
"Is this an item?"
"It appears to a Potion, Neptune."
"Items are always important for an RPG Adventure!"
She then pocketed the item. As she did, a flash of light spawned a medium red chest to her right.
The girl's eyes lit up like stars in the night upon the sight. "Oooohhhh, treasure!"
"You seem to know what to do with this one, don't you?"
"Well, duh! I'mma open it!"
Approaching it, she gave the chest two light taps with her sword, which caused it to open, revealing...
"Hey...is this...?"
Neptune picked up the yellow orbs from within the chest.
"Pocket change?"
"It appears so."
"Well, money IS important to buy items and stuff! It's RPG 101."
Keeping the 100 munny in her pocket, another flash of light appeared, spawning a peculiar pink door at the edge of the area.
"A door?"
"This must lead to the next trial. Let's go, Neptune."
Seeing nothing else left in the area, the girl approached the door.
As she did, the door slowly opened. Neptune approached closer as the light shone brighter...
Dive to the Heart – Image of Home
"Okay, where am I now?"
She looked around to see a peculiar town. No, city may be more accurate.
"Histy, are you there? Hello!"
No response.
"Guess I'm all by my lonesome here...Better go look around then..."
She walked around the city. As she crossed the streets, she came across another person.
It was a girl, nearly the same height as her, with short, iris hair, red eyes and wearing a white blouse with bear slippers.
Is she in her pajamas or something?
"Hey there, stranger! Do you know where we are?"
"What are you so afraid of?"
"Huh?"
Neptune looked bewildered. The other person answered her question with another question!
And it doesn't even relate to what she asked earlier!
She must be an NPC!
"What am I afraid of?"
"Growing old? Nah, that's just part of life."
"Being indecisive? I mean, decisions are hard to make at times, but I can just shelve it for later. Besides, acting is better than thinking for me."
"I guess being different than who I am used to. I mean, if you see me not acting like the same old Nep, would you feel weird about it?"
Upon answering the question, the other girl vanished.
"Woah! That...was weird...Am I in some sort of ghost town?"
With nothing else to go on, Neptune continued walking around.
"That giant tower over there looks pretty suspicious, though."
Decided on her destination, the girl sallied forth to the center of the city where the tower stood.
Making a detour around a park, she comes across another person. A little girl wearing a yellow bee jacket and matching yellow hair to boot!
"Another stranger! Though, if my gaming sense is telling me something, you must be another NPC with a life-changing question."
"Hey! What's the thing you want over anything else?"
And there's the question. If it works like the others, then the girl will fade upon answering it.
"What I want most, huh?"
"My belongings? Well, that would matter if I had anything other than the clothes in my back."
"Being the winner? When it comes to games, it's all about having fun, right? Who's top dog or not is a matter of opinion, in my opinion."
So that leaves...
"Meeting and befriending new pals! Games and life are more fun if you can share it with others, you know?"
And just like the first girl, the little girl faded away, her question answered.
"Geez, this is surely one weird way to assess someone, huh? Whoever came up with this must have had a strange therapy session or wanted one like this..."
Nonetheless, Neptune kept moving. She has a tower to get to!
Eventually, as she neared the tower, she came across another girl. This time, she was wearing a white shirt with an orange tie and a dark green skirt and had red hair tied into short twintails. She also had an...oversized watch(?) on her right wrist.
"Another NPC. What question do you have for me, o hot-blooded stranger?"
"What is the one thing you wish for in your whole life?"
"What I wish for, huh?"
"Seeing rare sights? I mean, there are tons of that, depending on the person. Beauty's in the ear of the beholder and all that."
"Being strong? Nah, a bit too straightforward. Besides, it'd be weird to see me with incredibly buff muscles and all that."
"How about broadening my horizons? It ain't just about seeing new things, but learning more about ourselves and the world around us and all that? I'd take that over formal classes any day of the week!"
With her question answered, the other girl vanished, just like the others.
"...?"
Sensing something strange, Neptune approached the tower, seeing a glowing tome in the middle of the entrance.
You are afraid of being different, of becoming someone you are not.
You desired friendship, companionship to share life's bounties with.
You wish to broaden your horizons in order to better learn about yourself and the world around you.
Thus, your journey begins in midday...
"Oh, so I'm the 'go with the flow' kind of gal, huh? Seems...pretty strange, yet insightful..."
Is this your decision?
"Like it wouldn't be anything else!"
Satisfied with the answer, the tome glew brighter and brighter, as the next and final trial began...
Dive to the Heart – Station of White Serenity
Arriving at the next glass painting, colored white, consisting of a short, brown-haired girl wearing a white coat, with a white hat to boot, Neptune took a few steps forward.
Before she could properly assess her situation, several more of the dark creatures from earlier appeared and surrounded her!
"I was wondering if we're gonna get more mob fights! Come and get nepped!"
It was a fierce battle. Between Neptune's aggressive approach and the creatures' wave tactics, neither side gave an inch.
And yet...
"Hiyah!" Slashed one down!
"Hoo!" Struck two with a thrust!
"Take...this!" And a downward swing to the right against three!
...Neptune handled the tiny creatures with ease.
"Phew, that was a bit of a workout, huh?" the girl said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"-eptune! Neptune!"
The girl looked around in surprise as a familiar voice rang in her head.
"Heya, Histy! Where've you been?"
"My apologies." Histoire apologized. "For some reason, I lost the connection between us. Thankfully, I was able to find you, as the link wasn't cut yet..."
"That's cool." Neptune reassured, looking around. "So, what do I got to do now?"
"Hmmmm. It appears you are close to the end of this trial. Once you clear it, you will finally be out in the world."
The girl's face lit with excitement.
"So, we're at the end of this tutorial segment? Awesome! This has got to be one of the more elaborate ones, for sure!"
"Indeed. Now then, do you see the path before you?"
She sees it, alright. The light that moved revealed several smaller steps leading to another Station ahead.
"Yup. Straight to the finish line, then?"
"Yes. Let us see the end of this path!"
Taking a moment to center herself, Neptune jogs through the revealed 'staircase' leading her to the place of the final battle.
Dive to the Heart – Station of Awakening
As she arrives at the bright blue station, which strangely did not depict anyone, but had numerous objects such as rafts, stars and the like painted in small circles on the top center, Neptune approaches closer to the light at the other side.
"Be wary, Neptune. For the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes..."
Wondering what Histy meant by that, Neptune turned around, to see her own shadow growing larger as she neared the light...
And then, it stood!
"Nep-wha!?"
As the giant shadow loomed over the young girl, who was stepping back in awe and fear, she could only think of one thing...
"RUN AWAY!"
She turned around and ran, only to stop herself the moment she remembered one important thing...
These Stations...have no physical exit!
With no way out, the girl made one other choice.
She drew out her sword and readies herself to fight!
The shadow had long changed shape. It was huge, having a giant heart-shaped hole in it's chest, it's hands and feet are stubby and tiny, and it's head has only two yellow eyes and messy hair.
It was a Darkside.
"A giant for a tutorial boss! Bring it on!"
She charged forth as the giant brought it's right hand, filled with dark energy, down to the ground, leaving a pool of darkness around it.
Seeing an opening, Neptune unleashed attack after attack at it. As she does so, the ant-like creatures from earlier spawned across the pool, ready to attack.
But Neptune was not fooled by the same tactic twice! She diverted her swings against the smaller creatures, eliminating them before they could land a meaningful blow against her!
Seeing the giant's arm still stretched out, she got a brilliant idea.
She immediately hopped on it's elbow, then to it's shoulder and launched a strong jump attack on it's head, dealing big damage.
"How's that, giant!?"
But the giant wasn't done yet! It knelt on the ground and protruded it's chest, causing it's heart-shaped hole to produce dark energy!
"Incoming!"
It shot out bolts of dark fire against it's tiny opponent. She responded by running behind the giant's left arm and started hacking it apart!
During her assault, one of the shots nearly got to her, but in her frenzy, she ended up deflecting it against the Darkside, hitting it square on the head.
"Woah! Didn't know I could do that..."
However, it barely felt the hit, and thus continued sending dark bolts at her. Seeing this interaction, Neptune stopped her attack and instead timed her hits with the dark bolts, deflecting each back at it while damaging her source of cover. Eventually, enough hit it that it reeled back!
"Hah! How's that!?" The girl cheered as she hopped back to inspect her work,
However, as if to show the cruelty of fate, Neptune's sword vanished from her hand!
"Oh! Why now!?"
The Darkside, in it's anger, pinned Neptune down in it's dark pool, threatening to drown her in the darkest abyss.
"Ack...I can't...I'm the protagonist of this...story...I haven't even...got to see the outside world yet..."
She weakly reached out her hand...
"Histy...help me..."
"Do not fear, Neptune..."
A bright light appeared before her.
"...For even in the deepest darkness..."
A floating object slowly descended down upon her.
"...The light within you will guide you to your chosen path..."
The object then slowly floated towards the sinking girl, causing her to glow abright.
"...Believe in that light...in yourself...and in those who believe in you..."
In a flash, the Darkside was struck down and a figure stood in the opposite side of the Station.
"...For that belies your true strength...And the truth about yourself, Neptune."
Feeling lightheaded, the figure was surrounded in a bright light and in her place, Neptune fell down, fainting after a hard battle.
The Station then glew as it changed design. From it's previous iteration, it now features a boy with brown spiky hair, wearing a white jacket and red shorts and yellow shoes. In front of him are seven circles, three of which are filled by another boy and two girls, one the boy knew and the other girl being...
Heartdimension Neptunia I: To Kingdom Come
Whooey, we're off to a fine start, huh? This is something that has been bugging on my mind lately, and I wanted to get to get this out of the way. I'll talk a little more about this in the first proper chapter, which should be out around the same time as this one, so I'll see you there!