Hyperdimension Neptunia | The Bound Warrior

Ch.28 Conflict Between Brothers

Max's Pov

It has been a few days since the slumber party at Neptune's basilicom, everyone was relaxed and surprisingly stress free. Nepgear has also been over here for the past couple days since her and Uni have been working on improvements on their weapons. In that time, I have been taking it surprisingly easy. My 'Week of No Training' is over, but I hardly stepped in the room since our return. I find myself questioning why, though. Why am I just not in the mood to train at all?

I sigh, staring up at the Lastation guest room ceiling. I fidget about on the bed, unable to bring myself to sleep. My mind keeps wandering through various trains of thought as soon as I close my eyes. 

Eventually, I can't bring myself to lay down anymore and just had to stand up. I start to pace about the room, biting the underside of my nail as I pace. This time I let my mind drift off, and sit on the edge of my bed. As my mind wanders again, I feel as if in some sort of trance as I close my eyes and concentrate on my thoughts. Then, for the briefest of seconds, an image appears. 

Gamindustri.

Except, it wasn't. It was a desolate, barren wasteland instead. My eyes snap open, my breath suddenly gone even though I wasn't holding my breath. What the h*ll was that?!

It was bizarre. It could have been any barren wasteland but one thing in the distance made me know it was gamindustri. In the distance, I was able to see Neptune's basilicom, I swear I could have. 

It took a moment for me to realize my breathing was ragged and short. Why am I panicking? I start to shake the feeling, but that image was burned into my head, forcing itself to stay. I get up and walk out of the guest room, quietly. I look back and forth, scanning to make sure no one was near. I start to walk, as quietly as possible. 

I continue to walk, bringing myself down the halls lastation and to a stairway down. There are the elevators, but they make a racket while moving. Just before I open the doorway down the stairs, a voice calls out from behind.

"Max?" They ask, making me jump and whip around. When I see who it is, I realize that it was Nepgear who found me. She was still in her day clothes, although were dirtied with oil smears and a couple burn marks. She rubs her eyes slightly as she also looks like she was unable to sleep.

"Oh, Nepgear, its just you." I give a breath of relief. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep and decided that I need a walk."

"Y-Yeah, m-mind if I go with you?" Nepgear asks with a slight blush. 

 I give a nod, and turn and descend the stairs, Nepgear close behind me. As we walk down, there was a bit of silence until we reach the outside of the basilicom.

"Where are we heading?" Nepgear asks, waking up a bit more as we walk.

I ponder on whether I should tell her or not, and decide that: If I am going to tell noire about it in the morning, she might tell Uni, who will tell it to Nepgear.

"While pacing in my room, A image appeared in my mind, it was an odd one, and. . . I just want to check it out, because I think I know where to go." I tell her as she has a surprised look. "What?"

"Well, I had something similar pop into my head as well." She explains as we continue throughout Lastation. "It was odd, I couldn't make out what the image was, it was fuzzy. But I recognized it." She states, concentrating.

"Hmm, well as you think of it, we should pick up the pace, I don't want to go all this way to forget it." I tell her as we do pick up our pace from a wandering pace to a jog basically. 

We move past factories and stores and apartments, almost getting a full tour of Lastation as we go through the city. We continue on and on, a some what awkward silence has filled the air. We finally make it to the outskirts of the town, pushing past a district of houses that are all filled. We push past the residential area and farther on as we continue onto a patch of plains that have a few low level monsters scattered about.