Chapter Text

Kill me, Nepgear. I don't deserve to die like this

Nepgear had trouble getting some rest on the tram ride to Leanbox. This dimension, apparently labelled "Superdimension" according to Arfoire, was suspended high in the sky. As a result, tram rides were necessary for mortals to traverse nations. Of course, Nepgear was no mortal, but for some reason she'd been unable to transform ever since arriving in Superdimension. She discovered this the hard way; dramatically leaping from a ledge to transform, only to fall and land smack bang on an approaching tram, whilst terrifying the occupants inside. It's not every day a goddess rocks your tram. After clearing up that embarrassment, Nepgear had no option left but to hop in a tram to Leanbox. All things considered, the trams were rather cozy. They were stable, and barely responded to the presence of the wind. The cabin was heated and the chairs were comfortably padded for those that wish to rest.

Nepgear couldn't rest. Every time she shut her eyes, she either relived the deaths of her friends or saw... something lurking in the darkness, staring at her with bright white eyes, almost radiating light. The light from them was almost comforting, but there was an inhuman darkness lurking from within, and all Nepgear could feel was a powerful hatred. The dream was always the same; nothing but blackness and the cold feeling of dread, followed by those eyes gazing at her. She would always wake up before the presence could do anything.

The tram ride was ultimately uneventful. Nepgear gave up on sleeping halfway through the journey and instead browsed this dimension's internet on her N-Gear. She found out quite a bit about the Superdimension during her search; This dimension is unaware of dimensional travel, but monsters are more of a problem. Garbage dumps and landfills don't exist, for obvious reasons. However, there are strong concerns about Lastation's pollution levels compared to the other 3 nations, and some have even complained that it's affecting neighbouring nations. Little else was found that could be useful, however. The only other notable thing was that this dimension has less creepy Nepgear fansites, which set her at ease.

KA-CLUNK

The tram docked itself noisily in the station, and within half a minute the doors had opened. The Leanbox tram station was radically different from Planeptune's; Planeptune's tram station was a cutting edge, shiny station with several facilities and even a book store. Leanbox's was much simpler, with a little cafe opposite the ticket station and a bunch of stalls. The same could be said of Leanbox itself, too. Simple houses, smooth stone roads, muted colours, and an abundance of nature clashed heavily with Planeptune's off-beat design, bright colour scheme, and technological dominance. It was almost peaceful.

Nepgear's walk through Leanbox was almost therapeutic. The path to the Basilicom cut through several parks, a lightly packed forest, and a small village, before finally arriving in the capital. This kind of peaceful, simple scenery was never present in Nepgear's dimension. There was the forest behind Planeptune, but that was that. The rest of the world was either barren, or filled with monsters. Nepgear's daydreams were interrupted by the sight of Leanbox's Basilicom.

It was... small. Not grandiose and skyscraper-esque like the ones in the other nations. Vert's was more akin to a smaller cathedral. The doors were even unguarded. Nepgear ascended the steps and entered the Basilicom and gently opened the door, somewhat afraid of the idea that maybe the Basilicom wasn't even open

Thankfully, a small, unassuming- "IF!?" Nepgear screamed

"Oh, hey Nepgear, what brings you here?" IF said unperturbed. It was as if she hadn't even noticed Nepgear's surprise.

Come on, Nepgear, you're hesitating. Neptune wouldn't have wanted you to hesitate.

Thousands of thoughts flashed through Nepgear's mind. Her head turned light, her sweat cold, and her skin blistering red. She passed out in the main hall, eyes wide open.

Later

Nepgear had passed out completely. Her mind was too blank to even dream, which was a gift at this stage. Nepgear had a new problem, however: She had no idea where she was. She had evidently been taken care of, as she was tucked in gently to a nice bed with a wooden frame. The air conditioning was set so that Nepgear had adequately cooled down, and there was a bottle of water and a little cake beside her bed. She'd arrived at 4pm, and the sun was already setting, so she figured out that she'd been asleep for roughly an hour. Her thinking was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door, which startled the Purple Sister.

"I... uh, come in!" She said, deep in anxiety.

The door opened slowly, and a familiar set of blue eyes peaked around.

Vert is gone. What left do I have to live for? Get it over with

Dread filled Nepgear's mind, but she did not fall this time.

"Why hello Nepgear, you took quite the fall. Are you doing okay? I was worried" Vert's tone backed up her words, as she was clearly speaking from a place of concern.

"I..." Nepgear considered telling Vert the truth. "I'm fine, I just forgot to eat and I walked pretty far, so exhaustion hit me". Nepgear gave a smile, but it was completely forced and quite nervous.

Vert smiled in turn, this one a genuine, warm smile. "That's good. Now, what brings you all the way to Leanbox?"

Nepgear only now realized that failing to tell Vert the truth invalidates the entire reason she came here: To find her way around a new dimension... But Vert doesn't need to know the part about dimensions, does she?

"Well, it dawned on me that I've been couped up in Planeptune since I was born, with only a passing visit to other countries. Since you're always visiting everyone, I assumed you're well traveled... So uh... would you be willing to show me around?"

Vert gave a delighted smile, and clasped her hands together in joy. "Why what a surprise, I've always wanted to get to know the candidates some more! If you're up for it, my wife and I will take you out tomorrow."

"Sure, wait- Your wife?" The Vert of Nepgear's dimension never had a wife. Chika, perhaps?

"Oh, I thought you already met IF" Vert said, quite puzzled. Nepgear had met IF before, yeah, but she had no idea they were married.

"Oh right, my mistake. Sorry!" Nepgear replied, quite sheepish and feeling kind of silly to boot.

"It's no bother. Go for a walk and get some rest, and tomorrow we'll head out, okay?" Vert smiled, patted Nepgear's head, and left the room.

Once Vert's footsteps faded, Nepgear got out of bed, put her shoes on, and left the Basilicom. The backdoor of Vert's Basilicom led to a beautiful lake snuggled in between two huge forests. Nepgear slowly strolled around the lake, gathering her thoughts and occasionally skipping stones into the water. Eventually the moon rose, and spread its light over the lake. Nepgear sat down on a bench, and gazed up at it.

It reminded her of home, and how the moon would cover the city center of Planeptune in such a beautiful light... was this her home now? Was Arfoire right? Was her dimension truly lost? Questions kept running through Nepgear's mind, slowly filling her with a sense of fear and dread. She could only look at the moon as she thought. Nepgear stood up, in the hopes she could look closely at it... she kept looking at the moon even as she walked into the lake.

In her mind, Nepgear was panicking. Screaming, trashing, begging for help. But her body would not obey. It lay dormant as her conscience faded. Soon, panic faded to nothingness.

Nepgear awoke in an empty black void; a familiar black void. Beneath her feet, she could feel stone. All she could do was walk... walk... walk...

Hours seemed to pass, until a familiar presence crept up on her. Nepgear turned around and... eyes. Those familiar white eyes.

This time, they weren't waiting. They were running, and why did you let me die Nepgear