Fanfiction[dot]net Review Responses
Welcome back!
Like usual – let's get to the responses, but before I do... Hoooooo boy...
I should've known that bringing up power-scaling would cause most of you to lose your minds and zero in on that lol
Alright, let's go through them all one at a time ^^:
Wkrish57: "Welp...I can't imagine her Battlesuit and change of voice...imagine Himeko's surprise then"
;)
end5: "That was a good story. Goodluck with the rest of it."
Aw, thanks! I'll try my best! 😊
"Power level tips": "In a nutshell I say don't worry about power levels because of the fact Neptune has lvl mechanics. I would say lvl 1 nep would get stomped and lvl max nep just wins. So pick a balanced lvl and you can have the excuse of Neptune lazing about enough that her lvls dropped to that point. If this was after an adventure, neptune would have high lvls allowing for a strong character. Gotta love neptune just existing causing headaches."
I'm kinda throwing Nep's Universal+ feats out of the window for this fic and just making this version of Neptune overall slightly relative to the main Honkai cast members, whilst not taking away that she's the strongest (as she would be when actually scaling her accurately). This fic is mainly just for fun after all lol
Reinhard van Astrea: "This story is up my alley. Keep up the good"
Hehe, glad that I'm able to satisfy you :)
BlitzNeutral69: "Love the chap! Can't wait for more! And god I can't wait to see her transform and see their reaction to said transformation!"
Thanks! And don't you worry, it'll happen eventually ;)
Kurogems1208:
"THAT THING IS MADE OUT OF WOOD!" Kiana, you block rapid-fire machine bullets with a baseball bat (in later chapters)."
As you said, she did it in later chapters. She hasn't tried doing any of that yet :)
"About 'this Neptune in this timeline' being weaker than her canon self: Just a bit to remind you that this is Ultradimension-time Neptune, not Megadimension-time Neptune."
I was trying to say, originally, that the Neptune in this fic is far weaker than she is in the actual canon games (that being Re;Birth 3/Victory Neptune), in order to make the fic more interesting and fair.
"Honkai threats are much more severe than common monsters in Neptunia-verse (I'm not counting the bosses here)."
Not really – considering that even fodder Neptunia monsters like Dogoos can survive multiple hits from the Neptunia cast (whom are absolutely ridiculous power-wise) before going down, whilst common fodder Honkai beasts are around Building level or so.
"Also, Nep can transform into a fighting jet. How are you planning to explain that? Just an idea for your story."
I appreciate the idea – but this is debatable. I've actually argued in the past (and still believe) that she can't do that in-canon. Whilst it's a cool attack animation, there have been way too many instances in the series where Nep could've transformed into a jet to make specific situations easier, but yet doesn't for some reason – and it creates plot holes. The only Nep that has shown being actually capable of transforming into a jet in-canon is Superdimension Neptune (OG PS3/Re;Birth 1 Neptune).
"Let's see if Nep can turn a depressing 'canon' story into another 'cooking' story. Hope you update soon."
We'll see! ;)
Soleilis:
"I say it was interesting fanfic, their interaction between Neptune and Honkai cast was good."
That's good to hear, thank you! :)
"Whot? the hell 11-D? is that somekind power level?"
Whoops! I guess I should've elaborated lol. 11-D means "11-Dimensional" (like how we're physically 3-D), and I was wrong about Herrscher of the End being 11-D, it's actually the Will of the Honkai that's 11-D.
Dragon-XZero:
"Really don't like the VsBattle type logic train though since, I'm going to be full on frank, that stupid site overblows shit WAY too much or assumes that cause you can beat something that has a level of power then clearly you have to be in the same weight class."
That's all fine, but I think it's a bit unfair to generalise power-scaling in that way. Either way, I'll somewhat agree with this on the more popular/mainstream fictions on that wiki. I think that the less popular fictions there, such as Neptunia and Honkai for instance, are perfectly fine.
"I really do like this story and how it's going so far, Nep's personality slots in really well with the girls at this stage of their development, though I do wonder what you have planned once we hit Chapter 9."
You'll just have to find out, won't you? ^^
But either way, thanks! :)
Now, onto the fic!
Chapter 6 – "Who Wants To Be A Millionep?"
It had been a few weeks since Neptune had started regularly attending classes at St. Freya High – and from theory to practicals, it was a rather interesting experience for her.
Sure, some classes felt a bit slower than others at times – but being able to see and learn all the interesting little differences between Gamindustri and this world was enough to keep her awake... Which is far more than what could be said about Kiana, who was often found either zoning out or just flat-out sleeping in the middle of class - much to her dismay when Himeko put her lecturing stick to good use.
Neptune had learnt of all of the different types of known Honkai beasts, how specific battlesuits counter specific types of Honkai Beasts (ranging from MECH suits, BIO suits and PSY suits), the role and importance of Stigmata, all of the known Herrschers and just general history.
As to be expected, Neptune practically demolished any kind of physical exercise imaginable. It was extremely surprising at first to the other students and the lecturers, but they all eventually grew to get used to it – and enjoyed a lot of her theatrics when it came to her attacks.
Nobody could still really come up with any ideas on how she was summoning that wooden katana out of nowhere, but Himeko tried rectifying this by coming up with a cover story – Neptune was merely just "testing prototype equipment straight out of Schicksal's R&D by Principal Theresa's request". A few of the students got a little jealous of this, but most others were satisfied.
General history did drag on a bit at times, but once again, the differences in the two worlds Neptune now knows was enough to maintain her attention.
It was now a few days away from the annual Valkyrie Examinations, and Neptune was feeling quite ready.
One person, on the other hand...
Outside St. Freya High's Main Building
"Hey Kiana, good news." Himeko plainly stated, causing Kiana to look away with a tired expression on her face.
"... It's about the remedials. Isn't it?" Kiana sighed, trying to avoid even the prospect of just thinking about the exams as much as possible.
"Duh. Everyone knows you can't make it to your self-claimed "Rank 1" as you are. Hell, even people from completely separate dimensions are starting to realise this." Himeko replied with a smug expression on her face, causing Kiana to look away and grunt slightly.
"So, that's exactly why I got the real Rank 1 of the class, Fu Hua, to help you prepare." Himeko concluded, awaiting Kiana's predictable reply.
"Ugh... Fuka? I mean, I guess she's sorta okay when you actually see her outside the classroom, but she's so by-the-book that it's BORING when it comes to this kinda stuff! I'm not gonna be able to last that long trying to learn from her!" Kiana pleaded, trying to think of a way out of this.
An idea then hit her, causing her head to rise at a fast speed as her eyes widened in realisation.
"Wait a sec... Can't Nep just help me instead?"
Ordinarily, Kiana's ideas to get out of following through with more reasonable suggestions would've been scoffed at, but to her credit – her question had actual merit here.
A few days ago, the class was given a mock exam to help prepare for this upcoming one – just to ensure that all the necessary material was sinking in at a good rate to ensure as much success as possible.
The rankings ended up being no different than when before Neptune arrived in this dimension. Fu Hua scored first in the rankings, followed by Bronya and Mei shortly after, and with Kiana being dead last due to her refusal to actually pay attention and study the material. Perhaps if she wasn't so lazy, she could've done way better.
That all leaves where Neptune scored in the mock rankings. Surprisingly, she scored third place – behind Bronya, and tied with Mei, which was incredibly baffling and gave Kiana an existential crisis due to knowing that she plays just as much games as her, if not MORE in her free time – and she is barely seen studying, if at all.
When approached about this, Neptune justified her results by saying that she was just able to remember a lot of the stuff that was talked about in class [1], and that she didn't really have any need to study as a result. If she hadn't been playing games and have actually studied the little areas in the material she didn't know of that well, she could've very easily have possibly bumped herself up to Bronya's level, though Fu Hua was almost out of the question with how suspiciously well she aced the exams in almost every single area – which really caught Neptune's eye.
This statement from Neptune, of course, was the bane of Kiana's existence, as she would've LOVED to be able to tackle school in this way whilst actually being able to do well. It was the ultimate dream of any lazy individual who goes to school, but unfortunately, this way just wouldn't work for her whatsoever, as was proven time and time again by her previous results.
"Yeah, Nep scored third in the rankings, and she's actually kinda fun to talk to." Kiana resumed with her reasoning, slightly losing herself deep in thought the more she pondered the possibility.
("Even if some of the so-called "meta" stuff she talks about doesn't really make any sense...") Kiana concluded in her head.
Himeko looked to the side with a slightly nervous look.
"Yeah, about that. I knew Fu Hua wouldn't exactly be the most... enthusiastic choice for you, so I did confront Neptune before I consulted Fu Hua. Unfortunately, Neptune told me that she was going to be busy tonight, so no can-do, I'm afraid."
Kiana's facial expressions immediately transformed into a scowl.
("Yeah. Busy playing games all night! Dammit Nep!")
Himeko then briefly sighs.
"And I know about how you and Bronya at times can get quite... competitive."
"Like I'd ask for Bratnya's help anyway!" Kiana exclaimed, folding her arms and looking away with a "Hmph".
"Then you can't exactly be picky here. Fu Hua is your only option at this point."
"Like hell she is! I know for a fact that Nep is probably going to immediately run home after school, turn our console on, and just play the day away whilst I'm stuck here listening to the walking Honkai Thesaurus!"
Himeko sighs once again.
"Whatever the case, Neptune actually gets good scores, so I'm not exactly as concerned with whatever she wants to do in her free time as much as I am with you. She knew about this situation and she made her choice."
Kiana then had another thought pop into her head, causing her to become wide-eyed again.
"Wait a sec... Why can't YOU help me? Aunt Teri did say you were supposed to be the one helping me, after all!" Kiana exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger towards Himeko – with the receiver of the abrupt point rapidly looking at anywhere else BUT at Kiana.
"Oh, that. I'm gonna be having a booze par- Uhm... I also have quite a few plans for this evening. Sorry."
("Busy drinking the booze you tried to cover up just now! ... Kyaa! What's WRONG with these people?!") Kiana seethed as she hunched over in defeat.
"Greetings, Kiana." Fu Hua stated, causing Kiana to abruptly back away slightly as she recoiled from her sudden appearance.
"Jeez, don't just pop up out of nowhere like that! ... Ugh, hey Fuka."
The aforementioned girl then quickly adjusted her glasses.
"Before we begin, I'd just like to say something."
Kiana was a taken off-guard a little, she still wasn't used to Fu Hua being this... talkative, at least more-so than usual. Sure, she still only really speaks when she needs to, like always, but before Neptune's arrival a few weeks ago, she never knew that the Class Monitor could actually openly talk about stuff other than just work. For Kiana, it felt sort of... relieving.
"Huh, what is it?" Kiana asked with a puzzled look on her face, scratching the back of her head.
"Thank you for the compliment earlier." Fu Hua plainly stated, with Kiana swearing she could've seen her briefly smiling.
"Huh? Oh, no problem- ... Wait, you HEARD that?!" Kiana recoiled once again in shock.
"Valkyries always have to be on-guard as much as possible, so I just happened to overhear what you were saying."
Kiana then made a noise of acknowledgement as she tried calming back down.
"Regardless, that's not what I'm here for. Are you ready to take the upcoming test more seriously?"
"Ugh... Yeah, sure..." Kiana hesitantly said, mentally preparing herself for her mind to experience the torture she's been dreading.
One hour later...
Fu Hua had tried lecturing Kiana about some of the crucial material that Kiana lacked knowledge of with the assistance of a holographic projector, but nothing was really sinking in for the bored Kaslana.
As Fu Hua continued lecturing, Kiana mumbled very quietly on the side.
"Maaaaaaan... Would it kill you to be at least a little more peppy when it comes to work? I wouldn't even care at this point if you had the personality of some sort of... I don't know, a destructive, fun-loving child. Hell, why not add being a Herrscher on top of that, just ANYTHING to make this boring work-mode personality more bearable!"
"What?" Fu Hua asked with a calm, unreadable expression.
"... What?" Kiana replied, legitimately puzzled as she snapped out of her thoughts.
"Were you saying something?"
"Oh, uh... No, I was just mouthing back some of the stuff you were saying to let everything sink in better! ... Uh, yeah, that's it!" Kiana concluded with a bright smile, briefly sighing a little while after for managing to smoothly save herself there.
"I see... Well, regardless, I can tell now that this isn't really that stimulating for you. In that case, how about we switch our study method to something more in-line with your preferences?" Fu Hua questioned, getting Kiana's attention.
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Kiana acknowledged, before zoning out slightly again whilst Fu Hua was setting up a few more holographic projectors, a few of which able to produce solidified holograms akin to the mock combat test a few weeks ago.
("What the hell is hanging around Nep doing to me?! This is like something she would've said!") A baffled Kiana exclaimed in her head before she shifted her attention to what Fu Hua had in store for her.
One day later...
Kiana had undergone various combat simulations and questions that Fu Hua had provided her yesterday. Over time, Fu Hua felt like she was understanding more and more what gets Kiana to learn the most. Mostly through more stimulating and physical means like fighting different types of Honkai and learning which types of battlesuits has a better advantage against them whilst in the middle of a fight, for instance.
Overall, whilst it was clear that Kiana was among one of the best when it came to physical exercises and combat ability – being comparable to Mei and Bronya, though not on the same level as Neptune or Fu Hua herself, her knowledge on the course material was seriously lacking. Since there was only so much that could be covered by reworking the material into a physical exercise, it was decided that they'd call it a day and focus more of Kiana's energy into the material through the library tomorrow.
Knowing how Kiana cannot really handle sitting down reading through material, Fu Hua had decided to go to a certain person for help the previous night...
"I'd like to request that you help me with Kiana tomorrow. Unless we help her now, she's going to get demoted to a D-Rank Valkyrie – and you should know why it's in our best interest to not let that happen – as her friend."
"Yeah, I know... But why me, anyway? To be honest, I don't think it'd be much fun for me to go over stuff I already know..." Neptune stated, feeling incredibly conflicted.
She knows what's at stake, but she never really had to deal with compromises like this before back in Gamindustri. Usually, she could take the easy way out by not bothering with work & just playing instead, and she'd ordinarily be fine thanks to Nepgear or Histy taking over, but she also knows that Kiana wouldn't really be able to pay attention that well due to how Fu Hua is by-the-book at times...
"This is our- your friend, Neptune. It's your personal enjoyment and fun, or Kiana's future. I know you're better than this, so please consider doing the right thing."
Neptune sulked with a tired expression.
"Maaaaan, I know what the right thing is – but how am I going to be able to teach her? I've never really done something like that before aside from just showing Nep Jr. some cool sword techniques I made..."
Fu Hua was hard at thought. Neptune did have a point, if she isn't able to bring the energy she usually has to teaching her, then asking for her help would be pointless. Unless...
"Tell me something, Neptune."
"Hmm?" Neptune playfully muttered, as she looked back up at Fu Hua with a neutral face.
"You like showing off, don't you?"
"Hmph! How rude! I mean... yeah, I do, but still!" Neptune exclaimed with a cute "angry" expression.
"Then why don't you put those theatrics to good use? I'm aware Kiana isn't best suited towards my teaching style, so why don't we use that energy of yours to get her attention?"
Neptune's head then perked up.
"I'm listening..."
St. Freya Library: Corridors
"So, uh... What the hell is going on here?" Kiana asked before she rubbed her eyes, bags being slightly visible underneath them to those who were observant enough.
"I'm aware that me teaching you wouldn't exactly be... the most engaging for you. So I've devised a different method in order to ensure that you'll engage with the material." Fu Hua plainly stated, once again adjusting her glasses with a calm expression. Bronya and Mei followed close behind them.
"Hey, Bratnya – do you know what's going on? And where's Nep?" Kiana squinted at her direction, with Bronya staring back at her with a neutral face – like always.
"If the Idiotka doesn't do well because of this, the Idiotka will have no more excuses."
"... I don't speak riddles, Bratnya." Kiana once again squinted with a 'what the hell?' look on her face. Bronya just simply returned looking back to the front as they all continued walking.
"Subject Idiotka will see what the Bronya means when you enter the classroom."
Kiana then sighs in defeat, looking towards Mei now.
"Mei, do you know what's going on?"
Mei frowned slightly.
"Sorry Kiana, I can't reveal that to you just yet."
"What the heck is up with everybody? And again, where's Nep...?" Kiana thought in her head, mentally sighing in the process.
Soon enough, they reached the closed classroom door – with Fu Hua urging Kiana with a wave of her hand to enter. With one last sigh, she opened it – only to find a completely empty classroom with the projector already up and running.
The current slide stated "Take a seat, Miss Kaslana! Your sensei will be here to Nep you up into fighting shape soon! :)"
Kiana just mindlessly went along with it and sat in the middle of the classroom, with Bronya and Mei sitting on parallel desks. She wasn't exactly in the best state of mind to protest against or even fully comprehend what was going on.
After a minute of waiting, the door was kicked open – and a person dressed in a full-on oversized black suit, accompanied by a white shirt, black tie, an oversized University Graduation Cap, and a fake, comically oversized moustache entered the room. If you looked closely, the person seemed to have lilac hair...
"What... the [CENSORED]?" Kiana simply stated, both amazed and disturbed by what she was seeing. "... Am I still dreaming or something?"
"Good morning, bucko! I've heard stories along the grape vine on how you kinda suck with the course material!" The person stated with a lot of energy, even chuckling at the end. Mei had a nervous smile, Bronya smirked towards Kiana's direction, and Kiana...
"Nep... What the hell are you doing?"
"That's MISS Nep to you, buddy! I'm not gonna let you throw away your awesome potential and miss out on your promise to Teri all because you don't wanna engage with the course material!"
"... Huh?" Kiana stated whilst being highly confused. Though, one thing was for sure – Nep was grabbing her attention.
"So, in order to allow the story to follow the canon storyline somewhat – I'm gonna need you to pay close attention to my lesson, okay~?" Nep winked, with Fu Hua progressing to the next slide with a remote control she had in her hand.
"Wait, YOU'RE actually gonna teach me, Nep?" Kiana asked, with a hint of surprise and relief on her face.
"MISS Nep. Don't you forget it!" Neptune emphasised as she took one of the slideshow pointing sticks and swiped it through the air towards Kiana's face, almost as if she was threatening her with some sort of weapon.
"Oh, yeah, yeah! Sorry!" Kiana caught herself unintentionally saying – having PTSD from all the time Himeko has physically abused her in-class when she tried to catch some shut-eye in her lessons.
"So, uh... What are we gonna be going through, 'Miss' Nep?" Kiana asked with a shocked expression.
"Well, Fu Hua has covered some of the basics, so this time we're gonna be tackling your favourite area – general history!"
Kiana just sat there, blinking, unconsciously letting out a deep sigh, fully aware that it was one of her weakest areas.
[BGM Start: Nepstation Theme – Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory]
Music now started blaring from the large speakers in the room, as Nep spun her way over to the Interactive Whiteboard where the slideshow was being shown. Kiana was utterly baffled by this, if her raised eyebrow wasn't any indication, but one thing's for sure – she's got her attention.
"Alrighty'! It's time to debut the brand-new Millionep Quiz! Every quiz we do will have three questions to them. Get the answers right, and you'll get rewarded for each one! Get all of them wrong, and you'll get na-da! Got it?" Neptune announced, the slideshow in the background automatically showing images related to what Neptune was saying.
Kiana pondered what kind of rewards she might get. Since she could potentially get rewards for every single correct answer, it would obviously be something small.
"However, get every single answer right to the very last quiz, and you'll get... Bronya, drumroll please!"
Bronya continuously kept slapping her desk with an extremely indifferent look on her face to emulate a drumroll, primarily looking at Kiana's face to see the kinds of reactions she would be showing. Predictably, Kiana's was caught extremely off-guard as she looked extremely shocked, which managed to satisfy Bronya. Mei giggled a little bit at all these theatrics for something so mundane. It was admittingly a breath of fresh air. Even Fu Hua even chuckled a little at this, with nobody noticing to her delight.
"One MILLION credits! That's right, my white-haired friend, you'll become a Millionep!"
Everyone's eyeballs, except for Neptune's, jumped right out of their sockets. Even Bronya and Fu Hua weren't able to hide their surprise at Neptune's self-proclaimed "reward of a lifetime" that she revealed to them prior.
"KYAAAAAA! ONE MILLION?! WHA-WHEN-HOW?!" Kiana exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat, already pondering the possibilities. She could get Mei anything she wanted at practically any time, Bronya would be extremely out of luck when it came to getting the next major video game console or any sort of HOMU game first, not to mention the other possibilities that seemed to be nearly endless. She could even get Teri any sort of manga she wanted just to make her happy... And maybe even bribe her to get the old man's location sooner...
"Oh, uh... In my dimension, of course. I'm not exactly the ruler of a nation over here." Neptune said with a concerned smile as she chuckled.
Kiana immediately sat back down and headbutted the desk in disappointment, and the facial expressions of the others also calmed down a bit, though they were still very intrigued at how their economy would translate over to Neptune's, as well as the stuff they could potentially buy.
"Dammit... Wait, no, that's actually still pretty good! That just means I'll be Uber-Rich in your world when we visit!" Kiana stated, having her spirits raised once again.
"You got it! Now, are ya' ready, kiddo?" Neptune winked as she pointed her teaching stick in Kiana's direction.
"You even need to ask?" Kiana smirked, ready to become a so-called "Millionep".
"Alrighty'! First question: Which Herrscher awakened in February, 2000? Choose from either A, B or C! If you need a refresher of the question, it's right here on the slideshow behind me!"
"... Wait, but what are my options-" Kiana muttered before Mei, Bronya and Fu Hua all held up mini-whiteboards with the answer and their corresponding letter.
Mei held up "A – Herrscher of Thunder".
Bronya held up "B – Herrscher of Reason".
Fu Hua held up "C – Herrscher of the Void".
Kiana felt her head pound slightly, quickly reminiscing about something before immediately pointing at Fu Hua's whiteboard, which surprised Kiana as her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Fu Hua narrowed her eyes slightly whilst everybody else seemingly either didn't notice or didn't react to this.
"Correct! I'll reveal your well-earned reward when the show's over!"
Kiana pumped her arm in victory as she was eager to get to the next question. She pondered slightly on her very quick headache, but she was willing to let it slide for now.
"Alrighty', second question... Which Honkai Beast can disable the triggering of a Global Time Fracture QTE? Be careful with what you choose though!"
Mei held up "A – Chariots".
Bronya held up "B – Catapults".
Fu Hua held up "C – Ganesha".
Kiana kept looking at all three boards over and over, but was starting to struggle as she tried racking her brain for the answer, visibly squirming slightly in her seat as she did so.
"I... I don't know... Something isn't right..." Kiana said out loud to herself as she looked once more at all three boards, even trying to study their facial expressions for the answer but failed.
She thought about it for a few more seconds before her lesson from yesterday with Fu Hua clicked.
"Nep, are you sure one of these answers are right...?" Kiana asked with a slightly confused face, scratching the back of her head in the process.
"Miss Nep, dangit! And yeah, of course there's an answer that's right! Think, my dear girl! Think!"
Kiana rested her face into her hands as she tried to think, before something else clicked.
("Wait, there's an answer that's right? What about the ones right here?") Kiana thought in her head.
"Aaaaaaaah... I see now, Nep. Nice try, it's none of them!" Kiana smirked as she crossed her arms, catching the attention of everyone in the room.
...
"Interesting... It seems that the Idiotka has more brain capacity than the Bronya originally perceived." Bronya stated in a thinking pose.
"Wow, Kiana managed to figure it out!" Mei couldn't help but mutter, extremely glad that she was at long last performing well.
Fu Hua merely smiled at this, gladdened that yesterday wasn't a waste of time and that there was at least some hope in Kiana.
"Corrrrrrrrect~! This is actually kinda fun, but let's get you your last question before we wrap this up for your first Millionep Quiz, shall we?" Nep stated with a soft smile.
"Bring it on!" Kiana exclaimed, feeling at the top of her game.
"Final question: Which Honkai Eruption did the 'Second Herrscher Incident' take place?"
Mei held up "A – First".
Bronya held up "B – Second".
Fu Hua held up "C – Third".
Neptune chimed in and held up "D – Sixty-Ninth", as she smirked elsewhere. (*Right at you! ;)*)
Kiana scoffed at Neptune's whiteboard before quickly deciding on B.
[BGM End]
"Congratulations, Miss Kaslana! You've obtained three special items from the dimension of yours truly!"
Kiana immediately got up from her seat and ran behind Neptune's desk, as the latter bent down to grab three items from the desk's drawer.
"Here ya' go! Here's a Goddess Bangle, Angel Wings and Super Panacea!" Neptune advertised as she proudly displayed all three items.
The Goddess Bangle looked like a shiny silver bracelet with a glowing circuit-board pattern engraved into it, with the engraving changing colours slowly every few seconds like RGB lighting. The Angel Wings bottle looked like a typical small medicine bottle with small, metallic wings on top of the lid, and the Super Panacea looked like a large, brown-tinted version of that – except with a stylised "N" logo label wrapped around it. There was no mistaking it, just like the back of Neptune's Parka dress, this was Planeptune's logo.
"Those look pretty nice, Nep! But... Uh, what are they, anyway?" Kiana pondered as the rest of the girls mentally joined her in that question as they got closer to admire the items.
"And how did you get those? If they're from your dimension, then how is it possible that they're here?" Mei questioned.
"Oh, how I got these? Well, you know how I keep summoning my trusty ol' wooden katana from seemingly nowhere?" Neptune asked, as everyone else nodded their heads.
"Well, Gamindustri has this 'Pocket Service' thing in place where every citizen can store their items into a sort of dimensional thingy that you can access and put items in or out of at any time! I figured out a few days ago that I still have access to it and had a few items in there to boot!" Neptune advertised, amazing the girls with this fascinating system, though Fu Hua was very quickly shaken out of this.
"Wait, but you've been using your Wooden Katana for a while now thanks to this system. Why didn't you figure this out sooner?" Fu Hua questioned with the usual serious expression.
"Whoopsies, I guess I've just been doing it on instinct that I haven't really thought much else about it. Welp, now we all know!" Neptune replied as she chuckled in embarrassment whilst scratching the back of her head.
"I really would like to go and see what kind of items you have in your world someday, Neptune." Mei stated, picking up the Angel Wings bottle to admire it some more.
"Hehe, I'll give you all a tour when you all visit. But to get to Kiana's question... This Goddess Bangle has my blessing, and it grants protection from various disasters. On top of that, you get additional physical and magical defence, attack accuracy and luck guaranteed!"
Everyone's attention was focused on the bangle, it was rather fascinating to know that these elements could all just be slapped onto an item like this regardless of material, if Neptune's wooden katana wasn't any prior indication. Gamindustri was starting to sound more and more like a highly attractive place to visit.
"The Angel Wings will re-awaken any knocked out ally, and will even restore 1/3rd of the health of those around you to allow you and your buddies to get right back into the fray!" Neptune advertised once more, again surprising the girls with how revolutionary the items are.
"Wow! Just imagine if everyone in here had a few of these every mission, they would be super useful!" Kiana said in awe, getting a chuckle out of Neptune.
"We're not done yet, though! Because our last item, the Super Panacea, is the recovery item of recovery items! Suffering from any condition like an illness or are about to die? Just drink this and you'll be completely cured, alongside you and all of your nearby friends recovering half of their health! Super sweet deal, right?" Neptune smiled, once again enjoying the girls' bewildered, but impressed reactions.
"No fair! Your dimension is downright broken and OP! Gimme!" Kiana squirmed as she took the two items and immediately put on the bangle, already feeling a little bit of difference as a calming, but weak energy started surging through her.
"Best rewards, ever~!" Kiana announced as she stared at the new bangle for a few seconds, still impressed at how the glowing circuitboard engraving seemed to continuously change colours without the need of any sort of noticeable energy source.
"Subject Neptune's dimension sounds very video game-like. The Bronya wishes to visit Gamindustri someday soon." An intrigued Bronya chimed in, smiling.
"Well, first I'm gonna have to grind out those shares to make it happen. But hey, once Histy gets that portal going, you guys can come with me! Once you girls need to go back, just let Histy recharge a little bit and we can send you guys back!" Neptune announced, raising the spirits of nearly all the girls.
"That would be wonderful, Neptune. But..." Fu Hua suggested with a serious face, immediately destroying the atmosphere.
...
"Are you sure the portal that Histoire will create will even be able to take all of us? The context of the whole plan seems to be primarily geared on taking you home, so we don't know if Histoire is even capable of allowing multiple people at once through her portals."
All of the other girls immediately tense up.
"Wait, what?" Neptune muttered with a hint of realisation and shock on her face.
"Of course Histy will make it work! Even if she can only take one person at a time, then all we need to do is let her take Nep, let her recharge, and then take us all one-by-one!" Kiana replied with a confident and uplifted expression.
"But... we don't know how long it would take for Histoire to regain her energy, Kiana. It could be time that we just cannot spend waiting, especially with the Honkai out there."
"Affirmative. More information is needed in order to discern how we will visit Gamindustri." Bronya muttered.
The whole room was silent for a few seconds.
"Ah, Histy will figure something out. It'll all work out, just you wait and see!" Neptune declared with a weak laugh, though Kiana, Mei and Bronya seemed unconvinced.
As everybody walked out of the classroom, two things were present on the minds of Kiana, Mei and Bronya.
The first was, obviously, the upcoming exams. And the second one was...
The day when Neptune leaves.
Omake: Kiana's Nightmare(...?)
Quick Note: This is merely a quick bonus story that doesn't actually happen in the main story, and is just for fun.
At the end of the day, Kiana decided it was time to hit the bed – let her mind relax and sink in the very fun and engaging Millionep Quiz.
For once, she felt like she was actually learning. Fu Hua and Neptune assimilating her interests into the stuff she refused to study was practically a godsend for her, and was somewhat looking forward to being able to do this more with the both of them.
... Naturally, Nep's was a lot more enticing, but still!
As Kiana tucked herself into her bed, she pulled out her right arm to see the beautiful glowing bangle, the colours slowly shifting between various other ones making her feel sleepier. And, after a few minutes, she finally fell asleep.
...
But what she saw and heard next made her want to wake up immediately.
"Wake up~ !" A voice stated, with a sleepy Kiana picking herself up from the ground to see...
"Huh? Mei, is that you...?" Kiana muttered, only now noticing the pitch-black void and "Mei's" glowing yellow eyes.
'Mei' smugly smiled at her. "Who knows~ ?"
"... You're not Mei, who the hell are you?"
"I'm a ghost of your past... a nightmare you'll never escape from." 'Mei' stated as she faded out into the darkness, almost like a ghost.
As soon as Kiana turned around to find the fake Mei, 'Neptune' stepped out from the darkness.
"... Nep? Why are you here?" Kiana asked, before noticing that 'Neptune' had the same smug grin and yellow eyes that 'Mei' possessed.
"Bwahahaha! She really couldn't see right through me! Did you honestly believe that I was your friend? Just like that, with no strings attached?!"
"... Why the hell are you making Nep say that?! Get out of my head, you monster! You've been invading my dreams long enough!"
"Who's making me say what...? I am Nep, and I'm just saying the honest truth that I'd never say right to your face in the real world."
"You're lying!"
"... Am I? Seriously, why would I, a being from another dimension, waste my time helping you when I have a home I need to get back to?"
Kiana hesitated. Sure, Neptune was her friend now, but she doesn't know for sure if she truly has no ulterior motives...
"Because she's my friend! Would she really need any other reason?!" Kiana declared with an angered expression.
"Your friend, huh? Don't kid yourself, pal. I'm only using you for the Shares you're feeding me, so I can stack it on top of the ones I have back home and make myself even more powerful. You're just a means to an end, and nothing more."
Kiana once again hesitated.
"... That's not true! You're not Nep, and I'm going to prove it!" Kiana announced, pointing a finger right at the fake Neptune.
"... Will you now? Go ahead, amuse me – insect." 'Neptune' smirked, sitting down and crossing her legs in mid-air, with an extremely blatant pompous attitude.
"You're not Nep! If you are, then tell me what your proper name is!" Kiana shouted, reflecting a smirk of her own.
"Hah! How stupid do you think I am that I wouldn't know my own name?! My name is Nept-... No, wait. Neputoon... Hold on, Neptwo-" 'Neptune' muttered to herself as she let go any semblance of her prior attitude and got into a thinking position, her facial expression showing a very puzzled one.
Kiana breathed out a sigh of relief, whilst also placing her hands on her hips as she smugly smiled at her victory.
"Dammit, it's Neptunia... Nepa- No. Neptuun-... ARGH!" The fake Neptune screamed, emanating a bright yellow light, alongside emitting a large gust of wind, which made Kiana shield her eyes. Once she was able to get a look, she could see a reflection of herself – with loose white hair, golden eyes, and a very strange-looking outfit that she has never worn before.
"WHY THE HELL IS THAT INSECT'S NAME SO HARD TO SAY?!" The Herrscher shouted, tightening her fists in anger as she stared at them.
"... You tell me. But anyway, I just proved you aren't Nep. You lose!" Kiana smiled as she pointed a finger towards the bewildered Herrscher, who tried shaking that embarrassing scene out of her mind as she teleported right towards Kiana.
"You will NEVER speak a word of this again, or I will take control of your body now and start killing EVERYONE you love with your own hands. ARE WE CLEAR, INSECT?!" The Herrscher shouted, immediately backing off as she kept grunting in frustration as her face heated up.
"Hmm... I dunno~... Does that include Nep, too?" Kiana sung as she smirked once more.
"Yes, ESPECIALLY that intolerable insect! I will be sure to kill Neptu- Nepta-... DAMMIT! I CAN'T SAY IT!" The Herrscher screamed as she held her head in pain, getting a snarky chuckle out of Kiana, managing to predict this.
...
"... You know what? This is over for tonight. I liked you better when you were actually sleeping. Get out." The Herrscher concluded as she shooed Kiana away, disappearing into the black void that surrounded them.
Kiana just shrugged with the same grin as Kiana's own body faded back into darkness.
Kiana Kaslana was now soundly asleep for the first time in a while, able to enjoy the calmness of unconsciousness until the sun rises again...
Author's Notes
And there we go! Managed to push past a few instances of Writer's Block to get this done, and I even managed to add an omake to boot! My first one, even!
I've got nothing else to really say or put here, so here's a quick explanation of the note I left behind:
[1] – The reason why I placed Neptune's scores so high is because, in actuality, she's actually criminally underrated in terms of intelligence & memory recalling. With her HDD form, Purple Heart, this is much clearer, but even in her base form – she could remember up to 23 or 24 digits of Pi iirc, which was already better than almost every single participant in a survey from NASA meant to deduce how many digits of Pi employees could remember. So even for trivial things like this, she has really good memory – which definitely comes in handy when trying to remember and understand class material, and it also helps that the many differences from Gamindustri kept her interested ^^.
Anyway, any kind of feedback is welcome, whether it's that ever-motivating praise or helpful criticism. So please do let me know what you think!
Until the next chapter. See ya'!