"Hey, Mini-Histy! Are we ready to go live?!"
"Y-Yes, but... Aren't we already if your line is the first one in the story? ( 'ー')"
"Oh wow, they're here early then! Let's go live!"
[BGM START: Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3 OST - Nepstation]
"And welcome to our first in-universe rendition of Nepstation! I'm your beloved host, Neptune~!"
"Before we introduce our co-host for this Chapter, I'd like to make a quick little disclaimer for all of you lovely couch potatos reading on your miniature screens! The "us" in these Nepstation broadcasts have nothing to do with the "us" in the actual story."
"Basically, just think of us as slightly different versions of the characters you know that knows how the story plays out! ... I think. ┐('ー｀)┌"
"Hey, stop using emoticons! Those are exclusively part of my personality trait! I said this to you before! (≧ε≦)" The girl called 'Mini-Histy' announced in cute anger.
"Yeah, I knew that... But the readers who only know of the Honkai series wouldn't know that, so I wanted to try it out again for a second time." Neptune replied, smirking right at the girl behind the camera.
"... I knew it. ( ￣＾￣)"
"Anyway, let's get our Co-Host in for today. Introducing... Mei Raiden!"
"Hello everyone, pleased to be here." Mei stated towards the camera with the same angel-like smile.
"So, Mei... How was me dropping in on you guys like? Pretty wild, huh?"
"Well, I don't have anything different to say than what I did back then-..."
"Wait, am I supposed to know this, since I'm not the same Mei from in there, or...?" Mei asked out loud in a confused state.
"It's okay, just follow the cards! σﾟﾛﾟ)σ" Mini-Histy replied with a caring tone, making sure to hold them up in a clearer way for Mei to see.
"Oh, right. Sorry."
"Don't sweat it, Mei-Bay. You're not used to absolute forth wall destruction yet. Not to worry though, just stick with me and you'll master direct reader interaction in no time flat!"
"I have to admit, it is quite the skill after all this..."
"Anyway, you dropping in like that was quite the surprise... Out of everything I was expecting to do that day, finding you dropping right on top of Kiana was definitely not one of them."
"I can imagine. You were glad to have met me that fateful day, riiiiiiiiight~?"
"Of course, but... Hold on, wouldn't the readers not know what happened after the first chapter since it's not out from the time of this being written? Wouldn't I be spoiling the plot if I were to have elaborated on my answer, as I was originally intending?"
"Ah, riiiiiiiiiiiight... You're getting the hang of this rather quickly! It seems Neptune-Sensei has already taught you a thing or two!" Neptune stated as she smiled towards Mei.
"I suppose you have." Mei replied as she smiled back.
"Anyway, dear readers - I hope you've enjoyed your first little taste of my beloved broadcast. I know we didn't get to go over much today, but hey - it's our first broadcast, expect many more to come!"
"Oh, and do make sure to check out my series if you've only played Honkai Impact!"
"Likewise, please check out our series as well, if you've only played Neptunia."
"Alrighty' then, we'll now return with the actual story. Bye for now!" Neptune concluded as she waved to the camera with Mei.
[BGM END]
St. Freya Dorms
After a bit of walking, and not without a lot of confused stares from the passer-bys towards Neptune, the newly formed Quartet had now arrived at their destination. Only a single door left blocking the path to their dorm room, and Kiana was about to unlock it with her key.
"So, is this where you gal-pals live?" Neptune asks, noting every detail she glanced at mentally.
"Yes. During our studies, this is where we live." Mei replies, a soft smile not going amiss upon her usual mannerisms.
"Wow, it's sorta... Retro? Old-fashioned? I dunno how to put it..."
Bronya slightly squinted at Neptune without her noticing. The other two were a bit thrown off, considering that whilst the corridors weren't exactly anything special for the campus, they were at least way better off on average compared to regular complex corridors. A new visitor would almost seem intrigued at how futuristic it looks.
"Oh, don't worry about that. The corridors aren't where all the cool stuff is, the rooms are!" Kiana contributed with a smile. She truly did have this place to call home.
"Ah, gotcha'! That's actually pretty smart for the interior designers!" Neptune replied, with an instinctive thought running through her synapses.
"So... You guys got any games in there?"
Kiana and Bronya immediately snapped towards Neptune, their interests being peaked almost instantly upon hearing that.
"Subject Neptune is a gamer?" Bronya inquired.
"Oh please, I live and BREATHE games! It's practically what keeps my nation afloat, other than me, of course~." Neptune responded with a confident smile.
Bronya's expressions returned to being neutral, almost as if she was taking note of something.
"Hmph, I wanna see how strong you are. I actually wanted to play a bit before I go off to study. So how about playing a fighting game, you and me?" Kiana challenged with a cocky smile.
"Heh, dream on girl. You're ten years too early to be going up against little ol' me."
A streak of lightning then spread across a pair of two individual irises, bouncing into each other in what can only be described as a beam clash. Both soon-to-be contestants were absolutely fired up.
As they continued to stare at each other competitively, Kiana opened the door and allowed the other three through, allowing Neptune to break away from her intense gaze and instead focused on the surrounding environment.
"Oh wow, now this is more like it!" Neptune announced as she walked across the dorm, checking out each individual room. It was quite spacious, and had a futuristic-like feel to it, to a far greater extent than to what the corridors looked like.
Having had a chance to look around, Neptune spotted everyone sitting on the sofa that was parallel to the only TV in the dorm, a typical gaming set-up awaiting her.
"Does our dorm look good?" Mei asked, beaming a cheerful smile to her as she watched her explore the rooms.
"Oh yeah, quite the impressive gear you guys have, and the place looks good too! Not quite as spiffy tech-wise as my nation, but it's still pretty neat nonetheless!" Neptune replied, beaming a similar smile back.
Bronya is then next to turn her head around in Neptune's direction.
"When Subject Neptune and Kiana Idiotka finish playing, the Bronya would like to ask Neptune some questions."
"Eh? Me? Sure, I guess. I mean, now that I think about it, I've got a bit of explaining to do since I kinda fell outta nowhere on top of your best friend, huh..."
Kiana was the final person to turn their head around, having the game's title screen pop up on the TV. She was incredibly serious about wanting to test Neptune's skill - to the point where it was as if she didn't hear her comment.
"You can bother her with that later, Bratnya. Let's play!"
Soon enough, Neptune made herself comfortable alongside everyone else on the sofa, grabbing a controller that was totally foriegn to her... Not like she hasn't been put in this situation before though - she can work with this.
"Oh, and since I've been wondering about it for a while, I'll even make a bet with you!" Neptune stated, catching the attention of everyone in the room.
"A bet?" Mei asked, wondering what she could possibly ask for.
"Yep. If I win against Kiana, then she owes me the best pudding you guys have around."
"Subject Neptune likes Pudding?" Bronya questioned.
"Almost as much as games. There's no better treat around than some good old caramel milk pudding! Life without it would be so dull!" Neptune advertised, making Kiana's mouth water a bit. She shook herself out of it a few seconds later.
"Okay, and if I win - then you have to do all the chores for us tomorrow. The entire dorm, BTW."
"Alrighty' then, you're on!" Neptune announced, getting ready to dive into a match of the game Kiana picked: "HOMU VS". What made Neptune squint at the screen for a bit was the "© OTTO ENTERTAINMENT" text on the bottom of the screen. She didn't recognise the studio, perhaps it was new?
In fact, she was trying to piece together where she was in the back of her mind, but to no success. The only thing she knew was that she wasn't in Planeptune right now, and it doesn't seem like she was in any of the main cities in the other nations either.
In typical fashion though, she shrugged this off for now, she was really into the art style of the game. Very retro with the pixel art.
Half an hour later...
Kiana couldn't believe what she was seeing. 15 matches were played, half an hour had passed, and the amount of mix-ups Neptune used to get around Kiana's defenses... were immeasurable. A true fighting game prodigy. Kiana knew that she already lost the moment the first match concluded.
Or at least, that's what she would've been thinking - had it not been for how stiff Kiana was, just staring at the results screen with her jaw dropped, not even moving a muscle.
"Hah, as I said - you're ten years too early!"
Mei was almost blown away by the amount of skill Neptune displayed, and even Bronya was slightly wide-eyed. She was that good...?
"Now then, Kiana-chan, get ready to go on for a nice stroll outside. It's pudding time!" Neptune announced with sparkles in her eyes as she celebrated her immense victory.
Bronya was now hard at thought. She still had those questions that she wanted to have answered. Buuuuuuuuuuuut...
"Alright. Let's see how Subject Neptune does against the Bronya."
"B-Bronya?! You're going to battle her?!" Mei asked in shock, still in disbelief that Neptune would house this much skill.
"Of course. The Bronya believes that she has almost complete mastery over this game. The Bronya will not lose."
"Oh? A new challenger has stepped into the dungeon? Heh, bring it on... Maybe I'll get you to buy me some pudding too!"
Bronya glanced over at Neptune without turning her head towards her.
"The chances of that happening are 30%."
"I'm gonna see if I can up that percentage a little."
An hour later...
Their 10th match had now concluded. If Mei was shocked earlier, than the expressions she was showing now made what she was expressing earlier look like a joke.
A tie. 5 games won for both.
"Ah maaaaaaaaaan, I totally had that oneeeee!" Neptune squealed as she lightly (but playfully) banged the controller on the floor.
"You would've, had it not been for me figuring out that you really like to use this one fake-out mix-up when the Bronya is low on health." Bronya replied, looking over to Neptune and reflecting a light smile.
"Good games." Bronya stated, moving her open palm out towards Neptune to shake it - like pro players would do in proper tournaments.
"Hehe, GGs." Neptune replied, mirroring the gesture as they shook hands.
Neptune then sighed as she stood up slowly, looking outside the window to see the sun setting.
"Wow, I don't think we've been here that long... Is it the end of the day already?"
Mei than snapped out of it as much as she could, a lot of amazement and fear still being clearly visible on her face. If she was Noire, Neptune would've totally teased her about this right now.
"Oh, when we first came across you was when we just finished our school day - so for the sunset to be happening at this time is perfectly normal."
Neptune made a slight noise of acknowledgment before Bronya "stood up". Neptune could tell that something wasn't right with the way she did so, as it was almost as if she was being pulled up by something that she couldn't see.
"Subject Neptune."
Neptune made another small noise of acknowledgement as she turned to Bronya with her hands and arms behind her head, as she calmly looked towards the drill-haired girl.
"The Bronya would like to take you to our principal to find out what happened."
"Eh? What happened?"
"Your fall." Mei replied from behind her, getting the hint of what Bronya is trying to accomplish.
"Ahhhhhhh, riiiiight! Alrighty' then, Alloy_Bron, I'm joining your party!"
"Da. Thank you." Bronya replied as she smiled once again at Neptune's phrasing of their predicament like a video game quest.
The two then walked towards the door to exit the dorm room, and as soon as they did so - they almost bumped into the returning Kiana - whom was panting, clearly having ran all the way back here.
"H-H-Hey... I missed it, didn't I?"
"Sorry buckaroo, you missed it all." Neptune replied back and resting her hand on one of Kiana's shoulders, Kiana having a slightly disappointed look on her face that she couldn't see their matches.
As Kiana was about to head into the dorm room, with Bronya and Neptune continuing their journey out, the former stops herself.
"W-Wait... Who won?"
Neptune then turns back to her, giving a soft smile as she remembered her intense but fun matches.
"Oh, we drew. 5-5."
Kiana just stared at her blankly without changing her expressions, posture or even eye movement. She just remained absolutely still for almost half a minute, like like a statue.
"Uhhhh... You okay there, Kiana?" Neptune asked, geniunely concerned for her.
"The Idiotka is probably having a mental breakdown."
Mei then steps out of the door as sees the three girls looking at one another, immediately grasping what's going on.
"I'll just... take her inside." Mei softly smiled as a massive sweat drop formed on her head.
Unknown to the girls was another peeking around a corner, immediately disappearing upon Bronya and Neptune going off on their walk again.
Principal's Corridor
On their journey, Bronya asked Neptune several questions - primarily on how she hadn't heard of the Honkai before, and what she means by things like "my own nation". It soon led to a lot of confusion, especially with Neptune, as she kept providing Bronya with information that contradicted what she knew.
"The Bronya has been meaning to ask... What do you mean by 'having your own nation'? And why did you also call yourself a 'CPU'?"
"Huh? You don't know what a CPU is? ... But how...? Even people that don't believe in us at least know what we are..."
"Then please explain."
"Alrighty' then. So, a CPU is what Histy calls a Console Pa-... Patr--... Something that I can't remember. Basically, we're goddesses that protect our own nations - there's four of em', three of em' owned by my friends, and the fourth would be my own - Planeptune!"
"Goddesses...?"
"Yup, I'm the Goddess of Planeptune - but also, just so you don't forget it, the entire franchise's main character."
"... That concludes it."
"Eh...?"
"Subject Neptune is a long way from home. Or, to be more specific - your world."
That last sentence from that conversation was ringing in Neptune's mind. What did she mean? There's no way that she could've just ended up in a completely different world!
"Or could it..." Neptune says in her head as she continued being lost in her own thoughts.
She recalls back to when she met Rei Ryghts, and how she (in Neptune's words) "sneezed" a dark bluish portal that engulfed her into it. Could that have been how she ended up in a place where nobody knows what a CPU is?
"I should've known! I can't feel any shares whatsoever!" Neptune concludes in her head...
"Subject Neptune."
... as Bronya snaps Neptune back to reality. Or, well, Bronya's reality anyway.
"Huh? Wazzup?"
"We're here."
Neptune then looks at the big golden frame door right in front of her, only just now fully realising where they are.
"Ah, so we are..."
"Are you ready?"
"Heh, I'm ready for your cliché big boobed, somewhat tall, long haired, obvious fanservice principal. Let's do this."
Bronya slightly ignores her description and knocks on the door. Soon enough, they could hear a lot of rustling happening on the other side of the door - it sounds an awful lot like a lot of paper flying about.
"Ah~! Just gimme a second! I'll be right with you!" A cute voice called out from afar through the door, the owner of said voice seemingly being distressed.
...
"Okay, so I'm ready for your cliché big boobed, somewhat tall, long haired, obvious fanservice principal with a cute and subversive gimmick..."
Bronya slightly smiled at Neptune's comment out of how amusing she found it - though it wouldn't take long for her expression to return to its default neutral.
After waiting for a minute or two, the same voice called out again:
"Okay, you may come in!"
As Bronya opened the door as continued to walk forward, Neptune followed right behind her as she marvelled at the mini-library that she was currently laying eyes on. Though, on closer look, those looked a lot more like labelled documents and folders rather than books. It reminded Neptune of her usual paperwork back at Planeptune, and it gave her a few instinctive shivers.
They continued walking until they reached the desk at the far-back, where Neptune laid eyes upon...
"Hold on, there's a white ball thing coming from the side at the back of the desk!" Neptune announced, Bronya just watching the scene unfold with no input.
"That's me, silly! And I can't help it! They bought me a chair that's too small!" The voice announced in a fit of cute anger.
Upon closer inspection, the girl that Neptune was looking at couldn't have been that much older than 12, having white hair (that was tied into a low side ponytail) and blue eyes akin to Kiana, whilst being dressed in what looks like a religious nun outfit.
"Wow, aren't you one of the cutest things I've laid my beaming eyes upon today!"
"Hehe. What do you expect? I am proclaimed to be the World's #1 Cutie."
"Erm, excuse me? I think you've got it wrong, sister. That would be moi."
"You? Heh, sorry - but there can only be one #1!"
The two chuckled before the young girl's expressions became more serious.
"But enough about that, welcome to St. Freya Academy. I am Theresa Apocalypse, the principal."
Neptune almost choked trying to mouth back her name to herself.
"That's a bit of a mouthful, mind if I just call you 'Teri' for short? I think it's cute."
Theresa softly smiles. "Sure."
"But back to business, I've been made aware of your sudden appearance at our Academy. I already know a bit about you thanks to some of our students, but how about you explain what happened, Neptune?"
"Oh, golly dolly. So you already know my name, well..."
Neptune then proceeds to tell them what happene--
"Oh come on, Mr. HeatWave, that's lazy! Tell the readers at home what I actually said to them!"
... *sigh*. Alright. Just wanted to save the readers time, but I guess showing their reactions is also sorta what they're looking for.
"My name is Neptune, and I'm the CPU, or Goddess if you prefer, of a nation called Planeptune. There's four of em' in total, with the other three being owned individually by three friends of mine."
Theresa nods at her, gesturing Neptune to continue as Bronya continues to dart her attention back-and-forth between the two.
"One day, after Histy caught me taking a break, I was sent out to talk with a Anti-CPU group leader called Rei Ryghts, the girl's real shy - funnily enough."
"After trying to reason with her, she gets angry out of nowhere - and a huge dark bluish portal appears behind me and manages to suck me in. Next thing I know, I'm flying through the clouds without a care in the world trying to get Kiana, Mei and Bronya's attention before I landed right on top of Kiana."
Theresa's eyes widened in absolute shock.
"Do not worry, Subject Kiana had her battlesuit on. She has not been harmed."
Theresa sighs a breath of relief before turning her attention back to Neptune.
"So you're-"
"Not from this world, yep. Bronya managed to figure it out like 10 minutes ago before we got here."
"I see."
The young principal then had her fingers cupped around her chin in a thinking position, leading to a brief 10 second silence.
"Can you prove that you're a so-called 'Goddess'?"
"Huh?"
"What I just said. If you can prove that you're what you're claiming to be, then I'll permit you access to the Academy, as well as being able to stay in Bronya's dorm."
"And if I can't?" Neptune asked, geniunely curious as to what Theresa would do to her if she somehow wouldn't be able to prove herself.
Theresa's facial expressions became even more serious than what they were before, almost like she's glaring right at Neptune.
"Then I'll report that there's a Honkai Beast taking the appearance of an unidentifiable human girl in my office."
Neptune gulps, things are getting a bit too dark in this situation... even for her.