Hi guys! Time for Chapter 14!

I thank everyone who stuck with me until the very end! You guys are the best :D

So, yeah, this is the last chapter. I'm sad D:

Answering your questions!

To Shadicgon: Hmm, I won't say anything concrete for now, since I have no idea how I would continue Memories. If I get a good idea then I might just, y'know :)

Anyway, enjoy the chappie!

"Alright, I guess this will do."

Inside Lastation's Basilicom, a young girl, technically, could be seen packing up stuff inside her room. The stuff she was compiling were mostly clothes, and others were a mixture of hygiene materials and some gadgets. She was keeping them in three luggage; it seemed like she was off to a long journey.

She sighed afterward. it looked like she was troubled as that sigh of hers was deep.

"Time to go." She said after hitting her cheeks. She then pulled her luggage out of the room and headed to her office. As she arrived there, she knocked twice before going in. "Uni?"

From inside the room, a girl with raven-colored hair was seen working at the desk by the window. Her looks were almost identical to the person who just entered the room, and that was because…

"Oh, sis. Good morning."

Yes, because they were sisters. It was Uni's sister, Noire, who just entered the room.

"You're up early to work. Are you sure you're not pushing yourself too much?" Noire asked in concern. She wasn't really the one to talk, though.

Uni swung her head. "No, I'm fine. I can handle myself."

Noire smiled. "Sure you do. You've been doing more of my work in the past ten years, after all."

Uni blushed as she heard that. It wasn't really every day that Noire praised her, so hearing that from her must've been really a great feeling for Uni.

But of course, that was only because Noire wasn't really in the right shape.

Why?

"Sis… are you going to Planeptune again?" Uni asked.

As Noire heard that, she bit her lip. She knew what Uni was feeling.

Loneliness.

"I'm sorry Uni… but I had to…" Noire said. "And… I might stay there for a while."

Uni swung her head and beamed a smile. "No, I understand. I can't be selfish now, can I?" Despite she was smiling on the outside, it was completely the opposite on the inside. She felt like tearing her heart apart, but she had to be strong. Noire's reason was something Uni had to respect.

"You've grown up now, Uni. I can't believe you were the one always behind my back ten years ago." Noire said as she smiled. "Now you're the one in front of me."

"Sis… that's…" Uni blushed. "Flattering me won't get you anywhere."

Noire started to laugh, and so did Uni. The times they spent together might be tad short due to their circumstances, but their bond was something that will never, ever break.

Their laughter died down after a few moments. Noire took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking. "I guess I don't need to worry about you anymore." She said.

Uni didn't quite get what Noire meant by that.

"I'm turning my sword in."

Uni's eyes widened. "Eh…?"

Noire expected that reaction from Uni. It was a big decision, after all. "It's time for you to take over Lastation, Uni."

"What?! Why, sis?!" Uni slammed the desk and stood up. She really didn't expect Noire to give up her position as the CPU of Lastation.

Noire sighed. "I can't keep this up anymore, Uni. You know that."

"B-But… I'm not ready yet…" Uni embraced herself as she was shaking. That decision was tantamount to her sister leaving Lastation permanently, and Noire could see that Uni was thinking that.

And so, Noire decided to give her courage. Though it was cowardice on her part as it looked like she was running away from her duties, but she was aware of that. It was the only way to set her heart at ease.

"You're more than ready already, Uni. Remember again who was managing things in Lastation in the past ten years?" Noire asked with a smile.

"It was Kei." Uni said as she pouted.

Noire's eyes widened. She didn't expect Kei to be inserted in their discussion, but yeah, she couldn't argue with that. "W-Well, that's true… but this is not about Kei. You know she's just keeping stuff in check so we won't make terrible mistakes."

Uni didn't argue with that. Kei might have done a lot of things, but most decision making and actions were still done by Uni, while Noire was busy doing her personal agendas.

"Besides, you're bound to take over my place anyway." Noire said as she walked towards Uni. She then tapped Uni's shoulder and gave her a smile. "If there's a perfect time for you to do that, now would be that time."

Uni was silent. She really didn't expect that this day would come. She wanted to keep what she had forever; being behind her sister's back and keep on supporting her. But in spite of that, she also knew that she eventually had to take her sister's position.

Uni was a CPU candidate, after all. Being a candidate would only mean that she was in line to be the next CPU.

"I know you can do it, Uni. You're my little sister, after all."

Uni teared up. "You're unfair, sis…"

"I'm sorry… but I can't leave her alone…" Noire said as she averted her eyes away from Uni.

"Is she okay…?" Uni asked worryingly.

Noire swung her head. "No, her condition is getting worse, actually…"

Uni bit her lip. No wonder why Noire was so adamant on leaving her duties to Uni. But with the current situation Noire was in, she wouldn't be able to do a proper job anyway. And that was what made her mind up. Noire was feeling a huge burden on her shoulders, albeit it was just her saying that, but Uni really had no right to object. If Noire felt that she had to take responsibility for her, then all she could do was give her full support. Like she said earlier, she can't be selfish.

"I understand sis; I'm going to do my best!"

"That's the spirit." Noire cracked a smile, and so did Uni. "Just remember Uni, don't face every problem alone. You can ask Blanc, Vert, Kei, and everyone around you for help if you're stuck with something."

Uni nodded.

"And, even when I'm away, don't hesitate to call me for help. I might not always come to your aid, but I at least can remotely provide you help."

That reassured Uni. With everything that had been said, she felt like she can do anything.

"Okay, it's time for me to go." Noire said and headed towards the exit. "Take care, Uni."

Uni waved at Noire before making her exit. "Have a nice trip, sis!"

Noire immediately made her way out of the Basilicom. As she did so, she sighed in relief. It looked like everything went well with Uni.

But that was well expected by her already.

"This was completely unnecessary…" Noire said as she stared at the skies and smiled. "After all, Uni, you have been acting as the CPU of Lastation for years already…"

~o~O~o~

Leanbox – Basilicom.

Inside a certain room in the Basilicom, there were two people having a conversation. It seemed like they weren't having a pleasant discussion, as none of them were smiling, not even a bit.

"So, how's the project going, Vert?"

The person named Vert, who was known as the CPU of Leanbox, took a sip of her tea before answering the question. "Nothing goes as planned, Blanc." She said and sighed in disappointment. "There seems to be a glitch when we're trying to activate the firewall which makes the satellite's image reception go haywire."

The person named Blanc, who was known as the CPU of a neighboring country, Lowee, sighed in disappointment. She didn't say anything as a reply and just drank her tea.

"I, Chika and her team are trying to debug the program, but if we can't find the glitch, we might rewrite the whole code."

Blanc almost spat the tea she was drinking. "Please tell me you're kidding. We've been working on that code for almost half a year now. Kei will get mad at us."

"I'm aware, but you should know that it isn't simple to add a code to a program that was already compiled years ago."

Blanc didn't answer after that. She wasn't really a genius when it comes to programming stuff, but that at least she could understand.

She sighed.

"…Why are we even doing this? It's not like there's a threat anymore anyway…"

Vert stopped drinking her tea and put her teacup down as she heard that. "That mentality is what will bring the world to demise, Blanc." She said in a serious face.

Blanc gulped in nervousness. She didn't know that Vert would take her words too seriously but nonetheless, she knew to herself that it was a mistake to think like that.

"I'm just kidding, sorry."

Vert sighed. "Please don't joke like that, Blanc. You know the tragedy ten years ago and we can't let anything like that happen again."

Blanc clenched her fists. The tragedy ten years ago… it was still fresh in her mind. She would never, ever forget what happened that day. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't. Because of the guilt that they were feeling towards them.

"You're right. We can't let that happen again."

~o~O~o~

Planeptune – Basilicom.

Noire arrived at Planeptune's Basilicom after around an hour of flight. She would've arrived sooner if it wasn't for the luggage she was carrying. The citizens also weren't surprised anymore that the CPU of a neighboring country was in Planeptune. Well, after almost every day that Noire visited this place in the past years, it would be weird if the people were still surprised if she comes here. The people just greeted Noire, in which the Lastation CPU greeted back as a sign of acknowledgement.

Without wasting anymore time, Noire proceeded to enter the Basilicom. She didn't even stop by the reception as the staff assigned in there already recognized her so she just went upstairs. Her destination was Histoire's office… or technically, her office.

AS soon as Noire arrived at her destination, she knocked twice before calling out. "Histoire…?"

"The door is open; you can come in." A voice from inside the room spoke.

Noire entered the room after hearing that response. From the other side of the room, she saw a small girl sitting on a floating tome just above the desk. She was sorting and stamping papers that were stacked beside her, and it seemed like she wasn't going to be done with it any sooner.

"Oh, Noire. Good morning." The girl inside the room greeted.

"Good morning, Histoire." Noire greeted back.

Yes, the small girl inside the room was named Histoire. She was the one managing Planeptune, for now, because of… circumstances.

"I just… uh…" Noire averted her eyes away from Histoire, down to the luggage her.

Histoire just cackled at her. "I already saw that coming, Noire. I already prepared a room for you." She said. "I'll take care of your belongings; you should go to her."

Noire cracked a weak smile as she heard that. "Thank you, Histoire. I'll leave my stuff to your hands." She said and exited the room, leaving her luggage behind.

Histoire flew towards Noire's stuff and landed on tome on top of it. She sighed as she did so and clenched her fists. For some reason, she was frustrated, but not towards Noire.

Towards herself, instead.

"I'm sorry for putting you through this, Noire… I should be the one taking care of her…"

But just outside the room, Noire was still there, leaning on the wall. She heard everything what Histoire just said.

"…It's not your fault, Histoire. It's my decision, and mine alone." Noire whispered to herself and left.

Her destination was the room of a certain girl. As for the identity of that girl and why she seemed to be so important to both Noire and Histoire…

"…"

Noire arrived at her destination. There was something written on a doorplate attached on the door. She knocked twice, but she received no responses.

"…"

And so, she decided to enter the room. As soon as she did so, she was welcomed by several papers and canvasses scattered on the floor. She didn't look so surprised as it she already saw this many times.

Ignoring the stuff on the floor and carefully not stepping on them, she ran her eyes around the room, looking for a certain girl. It didn't take her more than five seconds to find the girl she was looking for.

"…Neptune…"

Yes, the person she was looking for was named Neptune. She was known to be the CPU of Planeptune, who suddenly disappeared twenty years ago, and suddenly reappearing ten years later.

"…"

Right at the moment Noire landed her eyes on Neptune, she was sitting on a stool, with a canvass in front of her. She was drawing something… or someone, and Noire recognized who that was. Noire walked closer towards Neptune while minding her step as she only had a very narrow walkway. She really didn't want to step on the scattered papers as she knew their value.

"…Neptune…?" Noire called once more, but Neptune didn't pay her heed. She just continued to draw on the canvass.

Noire looked at the canvass Neptune was drawing on. She really didn't notice it as she was visiting her every day, but now that she paid closer attention, it finally dawned on her.

Neptune was drawing the same person.

Noire ran her eyes around her. Everywhere she turned her eyes to, there were papers; on the ground, on the ceiling, on the walls; they were everywhere. She couldn't recognize some, but she knew that Neptune drew the same person. Noire could see that Neptune's drawing ability improved as she could see bad, average, and good drawings, but she didn't know if that was a good thing.

Because that was what Neptune was only doing in the past ten years. Every day, Neptune was staying in this room, doing nothing but drawing the same person.

And that hurt Noire the most because the person in Neptune's drawings was…

"…Nepgear."

~o~O~o~

Kurome's Dimension.

In a certain building in the ruined dimension, there was a girl, lying down on the ground unconscious in an empty room. Not completely empty, because she was accompanied by someone.

And that someone was the one who claimed this dimension as her own, Kurome.

The unconscious girl was restlessly moving as she lied down. It seemed like she was in pain, but most importantly, it looked like she was going to wake up. Probably due to the pain she suffered from her wound as there was a bandage wrapped on her waist, or due to whatever she was dreaming unpleasantly.

Kurome noticed the girl's actions and went to her aid. She placed her hand on the girl's forehead, but before she could touch the girl, her eyes shot open.

"…Ah…!" The girl gasped as she woke up.

Kurome immediately retreated her hand. "Woah, are you okay, Uni?"

The girl named Uni was desperately gasping for air. After a few moments, her eyes turned to Kurome. "Ms. Uzume…?"

"You're finally awake, Uni." Kurome said.

Uni tried to sit up, but an intense pain suddenly ran through her waist as she did so. She cringed as her back landed on the ground again.

"Careful. Your wound isn't completely healed yet."

Uni tried to catch her breathing again. She remembered that she got almost killed by her own sister which resulted to this wound. And speaking of remembering…

"Where am I…? And where is sis…?"

"We're in my dimension, and your sister already went back to Lastation." Kurome replied.

What Kurome said just confused Uni as she turned her head towards her. "Went back? What do you mean?"

"Apparently, Nepgear had a thought that Noire was being controlled earlier, so she asked me to bring her here after she knocked her out." Kurome said. "And to my surprise, she was indeed being controlled."

Uni made an "Ah" expression after hearing what Kurome just said. "So that was why she attacked me all of a sudden." She said.

Kurome didn't reply. Truth to be told, she already knew that it was Noire who attacked Uni. It just couldn't be a coincidence.

"So… can I go back to Lastation now?" Uni asked.

"No. Not with your current condition." Kurome immediately replied.

Uni didn't get why Kurome was so worked up. "Why? It's not like it will pose any danger to me…"

"That's what you think, but you don't know what's going on in Lastation right now."

Uni raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's going on in Lastation?"

Kurome realized what she just said. It was her intention to keep Uni from knowing it, but now that she said it, it would be hard to change the subject anymore as this was Lastation, Uni's home, they were talking about.

And so, Kurome had no choice but to disclose the situation to Uni.

"Neptune breached through Lastation's barrier, and Lastation's at war right now with her."

Uni's eyes widened in surprise. "What?! Then that's the more reason I have to go back!" Uni tried to stand up, but then the pain was too much for her to handle. And so she fell down to the ground again. "Ouch…"

"That's the reason why I can't let you go back yet. Not until the situation gets-" Kurome interrupted herself as her eyes widened a little, like something just dawned on her.

"Ms. Uzume…?" Uni was confused with Kurome's sudden pause.

"Forget what I said. I'm taking you back to Lastation." Without further ado, Kurome picked Uni up.

Uni was completely startled as she didn't expect this kind of development. "E-E-Eh?!"

Kurome dashed out of the room, ultimately out of the building and headed to where the portal to Lastation was, while Uni didn't manage to ask what just happened. As soon as they arrived at their destination, Kurome put Uni down on the ground. There was a portal in front of them and it was accessible.

"You go ahead. I have something to do." Without waiting for a reply, Kurome flew away from Uni and headed somewhere else.

Uni didn't understand what really was going on, but all she knew was she could finally go back to Lastation.

~o~O~o~

"…H…Huh…?"

Just a few moments ago, a pillar of light dropped down from the sky, in front of a certain girl. As for the identity of that girl, she was the CPU of Lastation, Noire. Earlier, she was fighting another CPU named Neptune, the CPU of Planeptune. During the fight, a tragedy just happened, when Noire's companion, Nepgear, just stabbed herself with Gehaburn, the sword known to have an ability to slay divine beings. Apparently, after that, Neptune perished as well along with her clones scattered in the city.

Going back to the pillar of light, as it disappeared, someone appeared. To Noire's surprise, she completely recognized who that person was. She completely recognized that person that she couldn't believe herself that it was her.

"Nep…tune…?" Noire couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was sure that 'Neptune' perished earlier, but seeing her again in front of her, she had no idea what was going on anymore.

But the Neptune in front of her was a different one. She wasn't in her HDD form. In other words, she was in her human form. Neptune was wearing her signature white hoodie-like dress with purple striped cuffs, lining, and a purple hood. Noire wasn't sure if the Neptune in front of her was another fake, but her heart wanted to believe that she was different.

As Neptune's feet touched the ground, her eyes opened. The first person she saw was Noire, who was sitting on the ground, covered in wounds.

"Noire…?" Neptune softly called.

As the Lastation CPU heard her call, her tears started to fall down. Her heart recognized that the Neptune in front of her was the real one. The genuine one.

"Nep… Nep…tune…" Noire couldn't hold it anymore and finally cried her heart out.

Neptune panicked. "W-Whoa, hey, what's going on?" She reached out for Noire and held her shoulders. "Please tell me, Noire."

But Noire couldn't muster any courage to speak and just swung her head repeatedly. But Neptune didn't give up; she wanted to what happened.

"Noire, please. I have to know." Neptune said. "I know I'm back here in Gamindustri when I should've been gone already."

As Noire heard that, her cries stopped. She lifted her head up and looked at Neptune straight. After a few moments, she started to cry again and pulled Neptune into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Neptune! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…!"

Neptune was startled. "W-Whoa, hey, calm down."

"I can't! I can't…!" Noire said as she swung her head while hugging Neptune. "We failed you, Neptune…. We failed you…!"

Neptune didn't quite understand what Noire was talking about. "What are you saying…?"

Without replying anything, Noire released Neptune and pointed behind her. Neptune turned her head to where Noire was pointing, and the second she saw her... Neptune's heart stopped beating for a moment.

"Nep…gear…?" Neptune called. Her heart started to race, and she was short on breathing as she crawled towards Nepgear. Noire tried to reach for Neptune, but her body failed to cooperate with her and just watched Neptune crawl away.

"…"

"Nep…gear…?" Neptune called again as she got close to Nepgear. She saw a sword stabbed on her little sister's chest, and she was bathing in a pool of blood; her own blood, specifically.

"Nepgear…? H-Hey…? Wake up…?" Neptune's voice was cracking. She held Nepgear in her arms and touched her cheeks. Her heart raced faster as she felt that Nepgear had gone cold. "Nepgear…? Nepgear…? Nepgear…?"

Noire could just watch at a distance. She didn't know what to do in this situation, as she never, ever expected that 'Neptune' would be back again.

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

Neptune's cries echoed. Her heart was completely destroyed by what she was seeing. Returning to Gamindustri, only to find out that her sister just died; there was nothing worse to feel than that.

As Noire watched Neptune, she heard a voice behind her.

"What is going on…?"

Noire turned back and saw Vert and Blanc walking towards her. Vert was assisting Blanc to walk as her leg was injured, but of course, she was indifferent. Vert's body was also covered in wounds, but nothing fatal.

"Who is…?" Vert was about to ask who was crying but she stopped herself as soon as she saw Neptune, "Is that…?!"

Blanc didn't say anything as she was more than shocked already with what she was seeing.

"Yes… that's Neptune… the real one…" Noire said as she cried. "And Nepgear is gone…"

Vert and Blanc didn't doubt Noire's words. She had known Neptune more than they did; that was why there was no reason not to believe her. Moreover, the fact that Nepgear was gone made them feel more miserable.

"…" Vert and Blanc just averted their eyes away from Neptune. The three of them were feeling the same thing. They had thought that they did their best, but it wasn't enough. After all, they didn't understand a single thing about Neptune… nor Nepgear.

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

Neptune's cries continued. Every time she called her sister's name, a pang of guilt was growing stronger in Noire's, Vert's, and Blanc's chests. For the second time, they had failed Neptune.

They couldn't befriend Nepgear.

They couldn't protect Nepgear.

All they could do was blame themselves for what happened. While it was mostly the fake Neptune's fault, still, it was them who pushed Nepgear to the edge. This tragedy wouldn't have happened if their eyes were just opened ten years ago. Nepgear wouldn't have wished for something she shouldn't have.

If they just realized that one simple solution, this world would've been peaceful, and the four… no, every one of them would've been friends. But because they couldn't trust each other before, it was hard for them to do that. And they regretted it.

As they were loathing with themselves, someone just dropped down from the skies from behind them.

"Sis!"

The three of them turned around to see who just called. Noire knew that it was her who was called since Vert and Blanc didn't have any sisters.

"Uni…!" Noire immediately ran towards her and gave her a hug. Uni was surprised with Noire's actions, but she didn't retaliate. She had no reason to do so, after all.

"Sis… what happened?" Uni asked.

Noire just gave her a tighter hug, but not enough to hurt Uni. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…!"

"Sis… why are you apologizing…?" Uni suddenly became nervous. She never expected this side of Noire, and if she was acting like this; apologizing like this, it could only mean one thing to her. "Also… where's Nepgear…?"

Noire's sobs stopped as she heard that. Vert and Blanc just averted their eyes away from Uni.

"Huh…?" Uni didn't quite understand why did they do that, not until Blanc and Vert stepped aside for Uni to see what was happening behind them.

As Blanc and Vert moved away, Uni saw a girl, who was sitting on the ground, holding another girl. What was more, the sitting girl was in a pool of blood, but Uni knew that it wasn't that girl's blood.

"Is that…?" She interrupted herself as she saw the face of the girl being held from beside the sitting girl's shoulder. Her eyes widened and her heart started to race. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Nepgear's dead.

Apart from seeing Nepgear dead, Uni could also hear someone calling Nepgear's name. She didn't bother looking for it as she knew where that call was coming from. It was coming from the person holding Nepgear's corpse, Neptune.

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

Uni and Neptune shouted Nepgear's name in unison, but neither of them gave two cares about each other. Neptune was embracing Nepgear's body, whilst Uni was trying to break free from Noire's clutches, reaching for Nepgear, but she couldn't as her sister was holding her tightly.

After a few moments of grieving, Nepgear's body started to glow.

"Huh…?! Nepgear…?!" Neptune was startled.

Noire and the others immediately turned to Nepgear as they heard Neptune's sudden change in tone. They were surprised to see Nepgear's glowing body. But of course, it didn't mean anything good to them.

As the glowing continued, Nepgear's body also started to disintegrate from her feet. Neptune noticed this but she didn't know what to do other than call her sister's name.

"Nepgear…?! No…! Don't disappear…! Nepgear…!" Neptune called as she violently shook Nepgear, in hopes that she would wake up. "Nepgear…! Nepgear…!"

Uni was still trying to break free but to no avail. Noire was keeping Uni at bay, not letting her to interrupt the sisters.

Nepgear's body continued to disintegrate, while Neptune kept calling Nepgear's name in hopes that her voice would be heard. Her cries echoed; Noire and the others could totally hear her, but they couldn't do anything to help. They'd just worsen the situation if they interfere.

"Nepgear…!"

"Nepgear…!"

The disintegration of Nepgear's body was reaching her chest, but she still didn't respond to Neptune's calls. Of course, she wouldn't be able to...

"Nepgear…!"

Right after the disintegration passed Nepgear's neck, her eyes opened, and she cracked a smile. Her lips moved for a moment, like she just spoke a few words. Neptune's cries abruptly stopped, and then Nepgear completely disappeared from her arms.

Noire finally let Uni go. The scene that just played in front of them was too much to bear. This tragedy was too much for them.

"Nepgear…" Uni fell down on her knees as she cried. She had no idea what happened, but the fact that Nepgear's dead was enough for her heart to break down. Noire, Blanc, and Vert also had no idea what happened. Neptune came back after Nepgear killed herself, the explanation for that was not known to them. Neither Neptune knew how she got back to the world.

Neptune didn't move. She just stayed at her position. Noire attempted to reach for Neptune, but her body didn't cooperate with her. The guilt that she was feeling was preventing her from getting close to Neptune as if she felt like she didn't have any rights to do so.

With everyone's indecisiveness surrounding the atmosphere, Kurome suddenly appeared in front of Noire and her companions, with her back facing them.

"…Uzume…?!" They were surprised with her sudden appearance. But Kurome didn't pay them heed, as her eyes were glued to the person in front of her, Neptune.

Ignoring their calls, Kurome walked past Neptune. She then turned around and faced Neptune, who was still silent and not doing anything. In front of her was the sword that Nepgear used to kill herself.

"…" Kurome gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Noire noticed her actions, but she didn't understand why Kurome did that.

Without disturbing Neptune, Kurome kneeled down and picked the sword up. She wasn't able to touch it at first, but on her second try, she was able to grab a hold it. After taking the sword back, she walked back to Noire and the others, but she didn't say anything and just went past them.

"Wait…!" Noire stopped Kurome. "What… what are you planning to do with that sword?!"

Kurome stopped, but she didn't turn back to them. "…You don't need to know."

"You…! Despite everything that happened, you only cared for that sword?!" Blanc was enraged. She obviously didn't like Kurome's actions. Nepgear died, but to Blanc's eyes, it seemed like Kurome didn't care one bit.

At the very least, that's what she thought.

"Do you even ca-"

Before Blanc could finish what she was about to say, Kurome disappeared and reappeared in front of her in a flash.

"What do you want me to say, then?"

Blanc froze. Not only because Kurome was very close to her and stared at her eyes, but also because 'the sword' that Kurome took was on her neck.

"Uzume, stop it!" Vert pulled Blanc away from Uzume and held her tightly. Uzume lowered the sword down and turned around again.

"You don't know anything. You have no idea how I am feeling right now." Kurome said as she bit her lip. "So don't say that I never cared for Nepgear. Because I do, more than any of you." After that, she disappeared to thin air.

The atmosphere became heavy again as Kurome disappeared. Not like it was any less heavy before anyway. What Kurome just said to them was the complete truth, aside from the last one that she mentioned since they had no way of confirming it.

But the first one? Truth. They always thought that they knew something, but Kurome saying it with complete certainty really hit them like a truck. Sure, they also had no idea if she was telling the truth, but they also didn't know if she was lying either.

They didn't know what to do next.

Despite that, Neptune realized why she was back in this world. Because of her sister's last words, she knew. And it completely destroyed her heart and mind.

"Welcome back… sis…"

~o~O~o~

"…"

Noire could just stare at the drawings around her. She was impressed by the sheer numbers of it scattered everywhere she turned her eyes to, but yes, she wasn't happy for it. Neptune wasn't in good condition as all she was doing was draw and paint the same person every day, every night that she couldn't even leave her stool.

"Neptune…?" Noire called once more, but Neptune didn't pay her heed. Her focus was completely on to her drawing.

Noire frowned before leaving the room. It seemed like Neptune wouldn't talk to her today again. It had been like that for ten years.

She headed to the kitchen and prepared some breakfast. With Histoire taking care of Planeptune, and Neptune's current behavior, she was sure that Neptune hadn't eaten breakfast yet. After all, she had been doing this for years. She would stay here in Planeptune every day and take care of Neptune, then she would return to Lastation and work on the evening until midnight. Thanks to Uni, there weren't that many work to be done.

AS she arrived in the kitchen, she started to cook immediately. The kitchen was devoid of people so it was free for her to use. She was also free to cook anything from the fridge because, well, she got permission from Histoire, aside from no one other than her cooking them.

After cooking breakfast, she immediately returned to Neptune's room, with the food she just cooked placed on a tray. She saw Neptune still anchored on her drawing, and it didn't look like she was going to step away from it any sooner. Actually, she never stepped away from it, unless Noire herself pulls her away.

"Neptune, breakfast's ready." Noire said as she walked closer to Neptune, but she didn't receive any replies. She then placed the tray on a nearby desk, took the plate of food with her and sat down on the other stool near Neptune, which was a little closer to the canvass.

Noire stared at Neptune's face for a moment. Even though they were almost facing each other, Neptune's gaze never turned to Noire, which made her frown a little. Even for just a bit, Noire wanted Neptune to look at her. Knowing that it may not happen, Noire felt sadness all over her heart.

But still, she wished the day that Neptune would finally move on. Sounds cruel, but it was better than her staying like this. Neptune was destroying herself; she wasn't just aware of it. And Noire would never, ever let that happen.

Not when she finally got Neptune back.

"…"

Sounds indeed evil, but Noire couldn't really do anything about it. Nepgear was dead, and Neptune got revived. She learned from Kurome that Nepgear wished for Neptune's return, and it was granted, but only to lose her own life right before she could see her sister again.

"…Life sure is cruel." Noire mumbled as she sighed.

As Noire said that, Neptune's eyes turned to her for a brief moment, before going back to the canvass. Noire noticed that, but she wasn't sure if she really did. It could be just her mind playing tricks on her, as Neptune never showed any interest in her in the past years.

So she just dropped that thought.

Noire took a spoonful of food and brought it near Neptune's mouth. "Say 'Aah', Neptune. It's breakfast."

Surprisingly, Noire wasn't surprised that Neptune actually opened her mouth. Noire then shoved the food in Neptune's mouth gently and let her savor it. Why wasn't she surprised? Actually, meal time was the only time Neptune was responding to Noire. Well, Noire really couldn't call that as "responding to her", maybe it was just Neptune's instincts kicking in that she was hungry.

Noire unconsciously smiled as she kept on feeding Neptune. At the very least, she felt happy when she was doing that. Maybe it was just her, but she could feel that there was a connection between her and Neptune.

After a feeding her a few times, Neptune stopped opening her mouth even though Noire was giving her food. Noire eventually stopped feeding her as she knew that Neptune was already full, so instead, she took a glass of water and a cup of tea. Noire wasn't surprised anymore when Neptune drank both of it. Plus, her attention was still on her drawing, and not a single mistake was made.

Even though Neptune's condition was really at the worst, Noire never once believed that there was no hope for Neptune. These kind of responses she was getting from Neptune was a proof of that. She believed that one day, Neptune would finally recover, and Noire would see to it.

Whatever it takes.

After Neptune's breakfast, Noire wrapped everything up and brought them back to the kitchen. She washed and dried everything she used for breakfast. After doing so, she headed back to Neptune's room. On the way, she met Histoire, with a few papers stacked on her lap while sitting on her floating tome.

"Ah, hello, Histoire." Noire greeted.

"Hello, Noire." Histoire greeted back with a smile. "How's Neptune?"

Noire frowned a little, but then smiled afterward. "She's doing fine. She ate breakfast already."

Histoire didn't say anything and just eyed Noire for a moment. Despite Noire smiling and saying that Neptune's fine, she knew that it wasn't exactly that. Actually, Neptune situation was anything but fine.

But even so, Histoire cracked a smile. "Is that so? I'm glad to hear that."

"Oh, if you need help with anything, just tell-" Before Noire could finish what she wanted to say, Histoire interrupted her by raising her right hand and swinging her head.

"No, it's fine. You're already giving me so much help by just taking care of Neptune." Histoire said. "I should be the one saying that."

Noire let out a breath and smiled at Histoire. Well, if Histoire said that, Noire really couldn't argue.

"Anyway, I got to go now. I have a conference with Kei, Uni, Vert, and Blanc today about the satellite observatory establishment in the center island, along with the current issue in the satellite's firewall program." Histoire said.

Noire made an 'ah' expression as she heard that. "Oh yeah, I completely forgot that it was today." Noire scratched the back of her head from embarrassment. "I'm sorry that I can't attend a such important matter."

Histoire swung her head. "No, Noire. We completely understand. You don't have to worry about it." She reassured Noire. "Anyway, I got to go for real now."

"Yeah, sorry for taking your time." Noire said. "I'll see you later, Histoire."

Histoire nodded at Noire. "I'll see you too later, Noire."

Histoire then left, with Noire just staring at the direction where Histoire had gone to. After sighing for a bit, she made her way back to Neptune's room. Noire didn't try knocking anymore as she arrived since she wouldn't get any replies anyway. Instead, she just made her way in.

As she got inside, she saw Neptune still on her stool, in front of the canvass she was drawing on. But there was a slight difference: Neptune wasn't drawing anymore, as her arms were lumped down, while her right hand was holding the paint brush.

Noire walked closer to Neptune. This wasn't new to her, actually. As far as Noire knew, Neptune was like this because she was feeling fatigued. Noire didn't know what Neptune was doing before she arrives in the morning, after all, and she could just guess that she was drawing the whole night.

Which indeed was the case, else Neptune would still be drawing.

Noire took the paintbrush from Neptune's hand and put it under the canvass. She pulled Neptune up and carried her to the bath. She knew that Neptune wouldn't bother taking a bath by herself as she was preoccupied with her drawing. Plus, Noire could really smell the oil and paint in the whole room, and that goes the same for Neptune.

Even with everything Noire did, Neptune didn't react a single bit. Not even when Noire undressed her inside the bath. Noire's cheeks were getting warm as she did that, as she also was doing the same to herself.

She had been doing this for years, so why was still she embarrassed like that? Well, it was Neptune, after all.

Noire sat Neptune on a small stool, with her just behind the purplette. She could see Neptune's bare back, and her cheeks were still red. But that wasn't really the time to be embarrassed. She was merely doing this for Neptune to keep her hygiene.

Or was it really?

Noire shook her head and cleared her thoughts. She helped Neptune in showering, rinsing her body and hair; everything that must be done in the bath. As she turned the shower on again to rid Neptune and herself the shampoo and soap, a thought came inside her mind, which suddenly threw her heart into disarray.

'Will Neptune even return to herself…?'

A thought that scared Noire the most. Neptune might be responding to Noire when she was feeding her, but that didn't mean she knew what she was doing. Like, again, it could be just her instincts kicking in.

Noire didn't want that.

She wanted Neptune to return to her former self.

She didn't want to lose her again.

But she couldn't do anything.

And that really pained her. Being so powerless; it hurt her.

Noire grabbed her chest as her breathing was getting heavier. She was afraid and anxious. When she finally realized her feelings towards Neptune, this tragedy happened.

She regretted it.

Everything.

If she just threw her pride away twenty years ago, none of this would've happened.

She completely regretted it.

"Neptune…!"

Noire finally gave in. She brought herself closer to Neptune and hugged her from behind, but even though she did that, Neptune still didn't respond.

And that really, really hurt her.

"Neptune… please… come back…"

~o~O~o~

Kurome's dimension.

A ruined space was the only description could be used for this place. But despite that, there were still a few infrastructures that were in borderline good condition.

But that wasn't really the highlight in this place. Among the ruined buildings, there was one tower that stood still, not really in a good condition, but still sturdy. And inside that tower, Kurome was standing in the middle of a dark room. Well, not exactly in the middle, may just a little bit away from it.

"…"

From the looks of it, she was staring at something at her feet. Despite the room being dark, she could somehow see what was down there. What was more, she was holding a sword, and its tip was stabbed onto the ground.

"Nepgear…"

As she said that, the sword she was holding suddenly disappeared. She kneeled down and touched the object she was staring at with her right hand. It took the shape of a square, and there were carvings on it.

"How ironic…" She said as she ran her fingers on the object. "This time… you wished to bring the dead back… in exchange for your life."

Yes, the carvings on the object was none other than Nepgear's name. She died when they were trying to stop her 'sister' from destroying Lastation and conquering the world… by taking her own life. How ironic indeed, when Nepgear wished for her sister's return and be with her again, she had to pay the price with her life.

In short, the object Kurome was staring at was a tombstone.

Kurome retreated her hand and stared at it for a moment. "So this is how my powers actually work…" She said as she sighed. "If I had known, I wouldn't have granted herwish…"

She sighed once more.

"She wouldn't have died… and I might've saved her instead…"

She was silent for a moment after saying that, but then she started chuckling all of a sudden. Her chuckles eventually became laughter as she stood up from the ground.

"Hahaha… what am I saying…?" She then raised her head and looked at the ceiling. Her tears were already falling down from her eyes, but it seemed like it wasn't the tears caused by excessive laughing. "I have been trying to save her for goddess knows how long, in different dimensions!"

She then snapped her fingers and all of a sudden, the room started to get illuminated by the torches attached on the walls. As all the torches lit up, the room showed an innumerable number of tombstones similar to the one in front of Kurome. All of them had Nepgear's name on it, and they were everywhere; the floor, the ceiling, the walls; as in wherever she turned her eyes to. The only discrepancy was the series of numbers that was under Nepgear's name, which most likely the dimension coordinates of where 'that Nepgear' lived… or died.

"It ain't gonna be that easy…"

Her laughter died down, and she suddenly fell down on the ground with her back, and eyes closed. She didn't particularly care if it hurt her… or she was just feeling numb.

Kurome then opened her eyes. She was met by countless tombstones attached on the ceiling and wondered how many dimension she had visited, how many times she met Nepgear, how many times she tried to save Nepgear, how many times she witnessed her die and how many ways she died.

More importantly, how many times she received the same name "Kurome Ankokuboshi".

She knew it. At first, she didn't, but after travelling to many dimensions having one objective and having the same results, it finally dawned to her.

"Haha…" Kurome forced a laugh, but she knew that she couldn't lie to herself anymore.

She covered her eyes with her right arm and gritted her teeth. Before she met Nepgear, she thought that she had the worst experience in her entire life. But after meeting Nepgear, her views towards her own life completely changed. She realized that she wasn't the one who had the worst.

"Tell me… Nepgear…"

She clenched her fists tightly.

"How can I save you from your fate…?"

Alright.

With this, I officially announce that the fic is finally done! Thanks to everyone who stuck with me for more or less two years!

This is the longest fic that I've ever written in my entire seven years as an author. Whooo I can't believe I spent so much time for this, and it was all worth it. After all, finishing a story feels really great.

But despairwriting? Keks

Anyway, I tried not to be so subtle at the last part to avoid possible spoilers for those who didn't play MegaNep VII yet. Well, that wasn't really necessary since Kurome/Uzume is here sooo, yeah, completely unnecessary.

So, I'm not sure when will be the next fanfic. I originally planned to make a NepxUni fic but I kinda lost my original copy when I switched phones, so yeah, cancelled. I have other ideas in mind but until I can put it in MS Word, they're not gonna get uploaded xD

I still have an unfinished fic, it was on hiatus for god knows how long, so I might finish that first.

A sequel of this? I don't know where to start with that, actually.

Amyway, I'm gonna close this now. Once again, thank you guys for sticking with me until the end! You guys are the best! :)

Until the next story, see you guys!