Neptunia: Merc's Involvement

Chapter 44: Final Act - Past Memories

"Please...I'm begging you" He said while bowing. "Just for a moment..."

Everyone was left speechless by what they saw.

Although she wanted to send him and the CPU Candidates to save the CPUs right away, she could tell this was something very important for him.

"...Very well. She's in the fourth room to the left down the hallway...But please try not to disturb her sleep." Said the Oracle after sighing. "And please, make haste. Time is of the essence."

"Thank you..." He said while standing straight again and looking at Histoire.

The young boy then turned around and headed into the hallway, entering Neptune's room where he found her still asleep, lying face up on the bed.

She was no longer wearing bandages, but rather a light purple pajama with a ribbon. This was a good sign, since it meant that her wound had healed up enough for her to stop needing a constant change of bandages.

For a moment after standing right next to her, Alex extended his hand slowly towards Neptune's and was about to touch it, but stopped a few inches away and then lowered his hand. This was followed by him lowering his head slightly and looking down at the floor with a sense of guilt.

"Nghhhhh...pudding..."

"Eh?" He said while raising his head to look at Planeptune's CPU again after suddenly hearing her voice.

"So much pudding...I'm in paradise..." She said with a childish smile while some saliva poured out of the edge of her mouth.

It seemed as though Neptune was sleep-taking, and was having a rather pleasant dream at the moment.

'Seriously, how can she dream so happily with everything that's going on?' Thought the young boy while sweat dropping with his head lowered and his eyes closed before looking at Neptune again. 'Then again...Maybe that's what makes her so strong...'

Alex looked at her in silence for a moment or two before speaking again.

"Say Neptune, do you remember when you asked me why I hate pudding?" He asked softly "The thing is...I don't hate pudding, I actually love it. The reason I don't want to eat it and get so sad when I see one is probably because it makes me think about my mom..."

Alex lowered his head before raising it and looking at himself in a mirror standing over a wooden dresser and recalling his mother as he mentioned him "She was a tall and very bright individual...Just like you, she was very positive and smiled a lot."

After recalling his mother's image, Alex's mind began to wander into the past as his life played back inside his mind.

"Back when I was little, I was a total coward and a weakling that would cry from anything, but because my mom was there, I never cared about being weak or strong. Being around her always made me feel safe."

Alex spoke in a positive tone, reminiscing about his past with his mom.

"Everything was great. She was the best mom a kid could ever ask for. Sadly, it all came to an abrupt end."

Alex now spoke in a darker tone, as he was beginning to recall the truth that he had ran away from and refused to acknowledge.

"One faithful night, my father had killed my mom, right in front of my own eyes. Somehow in my adrenaline filled rage, I had managed to fight and critically injure my father as he ran away after realizing that I would've legitimately killed him. That left me alone with my mom's dying body."

At this point, Alex's voice began to grow hesitant, like he wanted to break down and cry, however he continued on.

"As I held her in my arms, she was barely clinging onto life anymore. She could barely speak and felt cold to the touch. Despite that, she slowly turned to head to face me, and she gave me a reassuring smile before giving me one final hug before she fell limp, fully passing away." He said.