Hyperdimension Neptunia: Jekyll and Hyde (Neptunia x OC)

Chapter 7: Welcome to Lowee

A horse pulled a carriage along the snowy terrain, with a man guiding it from the front.

"I've always wanted to visit Lowee," Nepgear said, gazing out the window at Neptune.

"Yeah, you haven’t exactly kept that a secret," Neptune replied with a grin.

"It’s great that Rom and Ram invited us."

"Yeah, though Blanc really has a stick up her butt. She should probably pull that thing out before she ends up friendless like Noire," Neptune added with a smirk.

"You do realize I can hear you, right? AND I HAVE PLENTY OF FRIENDS, DAMN IT!" Noire snapped from across the carriage. Neptune rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Sorry, forgot you were there. Well, maybe hearing it straight to your face is exactly what you need."
"I don’t need to hear that from a slacker like you! Honestly, I’m starting to regret coming on this trip," Noire muttered, looking away with a sigh.

Uni and Nepgear exchanged glances, then laughed — until Uni suddenly froze.
"Wait… where’s Diego?"

~~~

Meanwhile, deep in the Planeptune's forest, a sword was slicing through the air wildly.

"I can’t believe they just left me. 'Wake up at nine and we’ll leave,' they said. Yeah, right."

A large doggo lunged out of the trees, but Diego was too pissed to be scared. With one swift slash, the beast burst into goo. He watched the slime melt into the grass, then sheathed his swords.

"I needed that," he muttered, glancing around the open field, realizing he had no clue where he was.

"Looks like someone’s lost," a familiar voice called out. Diego looked up.

"Hey, Vert. Guess you could say that. I was supposed to head to Lowee with Neptune, Noire, and their sisters — but they ditched me without saying anything," he sighed.

Vert grabbed his arm gently. "I’ll take you there."

~~~

As Vert flew through the sky carrying Diego, she couldn't help but glance at him and smile. Feeling her stare, Diego looked up.

"What’s up?"

"Oh, nothing. I just remember the last time I carried you — you were screaming like a little girl," she giggled. Diego smiled back.
"Well, I’m still scared. Just… not as much," he admitted, looking forward at the snowy landscape below.

As they flew, he glanced down and spotted Neptune, Noire, and the others walking along the road.

"See you there," he whispered, knowing they wouldn’t hear him.

~~~

They soon landed near the snowy lodge. As they approached the entrance, Diego decided to be polite and opened the door for Vert. Unfortunately, the moment he did, a giant bucket of water tipped over and drenched him from head to toe.

"It worked!" someone cheered.

Looking up, he saw two girls — one with short light brown hair, the other with long light brown hair. Diego stood there soaked, wearing a blank expression as Vert chuckled.

"That’s Rom and Ram. The one with short hair is Rom, and the one with long hair is Ram," Vert explained.

Diego sighed, glaring at the ground. Vert placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don’t be too hard on them. They’re CPU Candidates, after all."

"Fine," Diego muttered.

Rom quietly walked over and handed him a towel. "I’m sorry for that. It was supposed to be a joke," she said softly, her voice making her sound genuinely guilty.
Diego smiled and patted her head. "It’s fine, Rom. You apologized. But you, Ram—" he pointed at her with a mock glare, "—you’re going to hell."

"Nuh-uh! As long as I become a CPU, hell won’t exist!" Ram shot back confidently.
Diego chuckled at her response.

"Rom? Ram? Who’s out there?" a voice called.

Diego looked up and saw another light brown-haired girl wearing a hat and an oversized coat wrapped tightly around her tank top. She stared at him with an annoyed glare.

"Can I help you?" she asked bluntly.

Before Diego could reply, Vert stepped in. "Blanc, this is Diego. He’s here to help me out."

Blanc glanced at Diego with thinly veiled disgust, then turned and walked inside. "Fine. Follow me."