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Another loss…as usual…
A robot woman in a blue dress thought.
Her name was Nevrotica, or Nev as she was sometimes called.
She was a smart woman from Merrygo, before Concordia’s continents split.
A talented inventor who could whip up machines, both simple and complex, with ease.
A while ago, she had a rather…grand dream she wanted to accomplish.
Since she was considered very intelligent and smart, she got the dream to show her ideas to all of Concordia.
It seemed like a fun dream. Concordians from all over would come and see what grand ideas her mind could cook up. From inventions to new scientific theories, it seemed fun and possible!
…
Nev was a fool for thinking she could pull something like that off.
While Nev had the ambition for it, she understood she needed to start small.
And what better place than Merrygo’s famous genius competitions? They were held once a season, surely she’d win one.
…right?
…
Oh how dead wrong she was.
Now Nev also thought of another thing, since genius competitions were usually a bit…boring admittedly with their geniuses submissions. Nev thought she had better chances of winning by doing her own thing, trying to add her own flair and spice to inventing. After all, uniquity would’ve at least gotten her some praise.
…she never received a single positive word
Nev would admit, her confidence…dwindled, from all the losses, but she still held out hope.
Because who knew? Maybe she just needed to try harder. Maybe the judges just-noticed some flaws she didn’t, nothing a little triple checking couldn’t fix.
But as Nev was about to leave from the bench she relaxed at…she walked towards her.
That she, was Adaphne.
Nev didn’t know how, or why, but Adaphne always seemed to have struck gold when it came to genius competitions. She never lost.
But something that made Nev a bit weary of Adaphne was how she treated to the geniuses that came close to beating her, but still lost
How Adaphne would always follow them to where they walk off, how she passive aggressively mocked them or condescended them…
It scared Nev
Her confidence in genius competitions was already starting to dwindle, and she didn’t need Adaphne opinion on her to worsen a subtle wound.
But unfortunately, Adaphne being here in the first place meant her stance was going to be said.
Just play it cool…maybe she’ll leave you alone…Nev hoped.
And so, when Adaphne let out a “Oh Tica!~” to Nev, Nev turned around expectedly and anxiously.
“Oh…hello Adaphne” Nev anxiously sputtered out, “Do you…need something?”
Adaphne just…chuckled, this worried Nev.
“Why you silly girl!” Adaphne let out.
Nev blanked out slightly.
Oh no…this-this isn’t actual happening- she thought in utter horror.
“I just wanted to give you some advice! Genius to you of course!” Adaphne said, condescendsion practically leaked from her voice.
Nev had no other option, all she could do was accept to hear.
“And-and that is?…” she sputtered out, she started to feel sick.
“Well, since I’ve noticed you just have to be unique every time…here’s a piece of advice that’ll actually help…”
“Stick to the standard, that way you’ll be smarter”
…
Nev…couldn’t believe what she had heard.
“But that’s just me!” Adaphne just casually remarked afterwards, “Toodles!” She said as she left.
Nev just stayed on the bench she was sitting on…and tears started to form.
How…how could she just-say that?! Nev thought, And why does it sting so much?
And then, any hope and confidence she had left dwindled further when she realized.
Adaphne was right.
Nev tried to be unique, she tried to stand out from other geniuses, she thought it would work…yet it didn’t.
Have?…have I been an idiot all along? Nev thought in shame.
The tears grew more apparent, Nev started to sniffle and quiver.
Then, her confidence shattered entirely, with just one thought.
Adaphne…was right…I was never smart. Nev thought, all she could do, was sob as the “truth” soaked in
Why…why did I even bother with these silly inventions?
Why…why did I have such a stupid dream?
—————————————————————
A very long time after, Nev tried to put almost all of her genius competition days behind her.
But no matter how much she tried, the past just came flying back.
Whenever she would try and invent something per Cervea’s (and by proxy Charma’s) orders, what Adaphne said would come back to haunt her, to come and leave her in tears.
Whenever she studied flowers in her free time and came up with scientific names for them, she remembered getting mocked by a couple of other geniuses after she lost one competition by trying a simple scientific flower study.
Whenever she tried, all the memories of mockery came back.
How she was always the one that got far, but never far enough
The ditzy genius who failed to stand out
The one who always made a fool of herself.
…
They stung, they all stung so badly.
Why? They were ages ago yet they still stung.
Why? Why couldn’t Nev block out her past?
She hated remembering it
All it was was failure after failure after failure. Filled to the brim with mockery and ignorance.
Nev considered making a machine, a machine that could just, make her forgot she ever had a past like this.
…
But who knew? She’d probably mess it up, it was a unique idea after all.
—————————————————————
Nev was atop the third floor of her factory, she was awaiting a guest.
The guest in question was Shun.
Oh Shun, Nev thought, Oh how marvelous he was.
He was the brawn of the Extension Corps, but was still a smart and intelligent person.
Nev…liked talking to him, she found him a joy to be around. She considered him a good speaker and listener, and whatever he had to say was interesting and compelling in Nev’s eyes.
But…what about Nev herself?
Did Shun like talking to her? If so, why?
Nev never told him anything interesting, her rambles of flowers were just dumb science notes she thought of for them, and there’s no way he found what she invented interesting when he can invent his own specialized Battle Plugs.
As she was deep in thought, she noticed a turquoise body approaching. It was him.
Shun had arrived in all his glory.
And he looked…weirdly giddy.
Well, giddy felt wrong to use, he was full on giggling. He had to be happy at the least.
Nev felt like asking, but turns out she didn’t even have to.
“Nev! Nev!” Shun beckoned out to her excitedly, Nev paid him full attention.
“Y-yes?” She replied. As Shun excitedly waddled over to her while having such a joyous smile to his face.
Nev could never have the courage to say it aloud, but Shun looked absolutely adorable when he was smiling. It felt as if his smile could cheer up thousands of people within a second.
But enough thoughts, she needed to hear what Shun was going to say.
As Shun finally stood besides her, casting his gaze down to her slightly, he began.
“Oh Nev!” Shun said excitedly, “You won’t believe what’ll happen when I tell you this!” He claimed.
Oh? Nev thought, He’s…going to tell me a story?…Well, he’s also the same brainiac behind those Battle Plugs he made…maybe he has some writing juices in him as well…
—————————————————————
As Nev listened to his story intently, what she heard was surprising,
Apparently, the Corps had stopped by Shipshape Island to ruin a wedding the island was holding for a royal couple. How they did it was that they followed a plan Shun had to for it, and the Bros fell for it.
The plan was surprisingly simple and effective. Shun simply disguised himself as a traveling merchant and informed the bros of places where they could get a cake and flower crown, and they believed a merchant over their own friends.
Nev was actually surprised to hear about this plan and how the Bros responded to it.
“They…they actually believed you over their own friends?!” She said in disbelief, Shun just laughed
“Haha! Yes they did” he remarked, “The mask couldn’t even fit my full head and they still fell for it! Hah!”
“The bond between brothers is the strongest bond of all!” He said in a mocking voice, “Hah!”
Nev thought it over a bit more.
And honestly? Shun seemed right.
Those brothers had friends they could trust, friends they’ve been relying on for a while, they could’ve easily taken their advice on how to obtain the crown and cake.
Yet they took Shun’s advice, who, from their perspective, would’ve just been a shady travel merchant.
…
Shun was right, it was actually pretty funny.
Funny enough to Nev that she let out a soft giggle.
Now that’s something that hasn’t happened in a while.
“Hehe…” she let out softly.
She was surprised when she did it, she hadn’t giggled ever since…those days.
However, she didn’t expect Shun to take notice.
And he…was didn’t mind it?
“I told ya it was funny!” He exclaimed, “Didn’t expect ya to laugh as well!”
Nev felt a bit flustered, but continued.
“Me-me neither…but-but it is…humorous…”
God, she sounded like an idiot.
But Shun paid no notice to it.
“Ha! Glad ya think the same! I sure fooled them!” He remarked.
Then Nev remembered, they were here for a reason, he was here for a reason.
Charma had it all planned, they’d use the levitators below Castle Cervea to steal back Throwaway and Throwback Island, all to lure the Bros back in an attempt to beat them.
But that wasn’t just it, the Add-Ons also teamed up with the Corps as their way of defeating the Bros.
It was working…less ideally then they wanted, Nev got word that the Bros managed to beat Energia and Ecks.
While Nev could hope that she and Shun were enough for them, would it be enough?
—————————————————————
More time passed, the Bros were here, at the entrance of her factory.
Now Nev had mainly set the mechanisms in her factory as security measures, but she’d be using them to stall the Bros this time. The main point was to have the weakened by the time they reached her and Shun, or more ideally and what Nev wanted, for them to be too tired to even move.
Nev mainly wanted the second idea to happen as idyllic as it sounded. Mainly because of how those Bros thwarted Shun at the Brrring Sea Great Lighthouse.
It sounded horrible from what she heard from Charma. Shun was either tossed and thrown into burning hot lava, or freezing cold water (that unfortunately wasn’t solidified as ice, at least he wouldn’t get hypothermia) by Luigi whenever he tried to take advantage of Pipegunk’s environmental change. It was horrid.
Nev was glad Charma noticed her distress from it and tried to help, Nev would’ve been an anxious wreck about Shun all evening. She likely would’nt have allowed him to even fight the Bros a second time.
Oh Great Conductor, Nev thought, Thank the stars Shun’s not too badly hurt from that fight…
As Nev was consumed in her thoughts, she heard a power surge go off, which was then followed by a heavy door open and close.
“Oh…” Nev remarked, “Their…their on the second floor…”
Shun looked…shocked?
“How can that be?!” He let out, “Your defenses are perfect!”
“I-…what?” Nev was shocked by that last part.
Her security for her factory? Perfect? Oh she could dream only to fail.
But Shun continued
“Yeah! You have all these cool security measures for them yet they trash your work!” He said with full confidence.
Nev was just…speechless, she was trying to process it.
Shun, Shun, someone who could make Battle Plugs with ease, thought her security was cool.
“Oh!…I-I didn’t know you thought they were cool…” Nev responded, her security measures were just more inventions she shouldn’t have made.
“I do!” He continued, “The way you managed to pull these stabilizing machines off is awesome!”
He…he really thinks that? She thought they were just silly ideas.
“Shun I-…I didn’t know you thought my stuff was…cool” Nev let out the best she could.
Why…why does praise just feel so foreign now… Nev sadly thought.
She couldn’t remember the last time any was sent her way.
—————————————————————
Looks like the Bros got here really late, because they were sure taking their sweet time to get to the third floor.
Neither Nev or Shun were paying attention to the screen that showed how far they were, they stopped a while ago.
They were mainly lounging around in silence, Nev wanted to break the ice by talking, but no topic idea came to mind.
Shun, meanwhile, decided to kill time by weightlifting. He was lifting some dumbbells he managed to carry around with him.
Nev had seen him kill time like this before, she had quite the thoughts circling around about it (thoughts that should stay hidden.)
Wow…he’s so strong…he makes those brothers look like plant stems…
He can just carry dumbbells on him like their household objects? He’s so awesome…
A miriad of her thoughts were like these.
Nev meanwhile didn’t exactly know how she would entertain herself while time passed.
Gawking at Shun weightlifting didn’t count, it just didn’t.
As Shun was wrapping up his weightlifting (likely not to overdo himself before the Bros showed up), Nev got an idea to pass the time.
Granted, it was…certainly an idea, but Nev couldn’t exactly go to her lab and cook up an invention or too when they had two meddlesome brothers to face soon.
So as soon as Shun sat down, Nev started her attempt.
“Um…Shun?” Nev squeaked out, God please be able to say this it’s a basic compliment.
Shun paid her his full attention.
Okay, the time is now just- just compliment him.
“Well…I just wanted to say…that your muscles…look…look handsome?”
Finally, she spit it out.
Surprisingly, despite her stuttering, Shun looked flattered.
“Why thank you!” Shun said happily, “But I think there’s something else that's beautiful?”
“Hmm?”
“You”
…
Nev was more than just speechless and taken aback, she didn’t know how to respond.
“Umm!!! Oh-well!!-“ Nev was a blabbering mess, she was barely used to praise, let alone being called beautiful.
“W-well!!!…I wouldn’t really say that…”
“What do you MEAN? You’re the prettiest gal here!”
Nev felt even more flustered, she would definitely be a blushing mess if she could blush.
“O-o-oh….” Nev sputtered out, she felt like she could barely talk. Shun just giggled.
But then, he said something she’d never expect.
“And to top it off, you’re the biggest genius I’ve ever known!”
Genius
Genius
Genius
…Nev couldn’t believe it.
“Shun…you-…you think…I’m a genius?” Nev asked, a feeling reminiscent of absolute horror took over.
Shun didn’t take notice
“Well, yeah! You’ve invented all these cool machines and gizmos! You even had me hooked on that Whirlibloom study you did!” Shun casually said.
…
That feeling of dread Nev had, the feeling of horror, that took hold of her, vanished.
That speech…it…it…
Nev just, looked down at the ground shocked.
“S-shun…” Nev let out.
Then she broke.
“That’s-…that’s-…THAT’S THE NICEST THING ANYONE’S EVER SAID TO ME!!!” Nev screamed out as she started breaking down crying. Shun immediately grew concerned.
“Did-did I say something wrong??” He asked, he didn’t expect this reaction.
Nev tried to regain her composure, but couldn’t do so between the sobs and sniffles.
“W-well-… it’s *sniff* it’s just- *sniff*…I don’t see myself as one…” Nev cried out, she continued bawling.
Shun became confused in the midst of his concern.
“What do you mean?” Shun asked, “You’ve invented such incredible stuff around here!”
“*sniff*…Well…I-I don’t-…I don't have anything official to back it up…” Nev sobbed, “I’ve-I’ve tried out so many genius competitions…ONLY TO FAIL!” She desperately cried out.
Shun silenced himself, he had to think for only a few seconds until what he wanted to say hit him.
“Well I’ll tell you something Nev!” He said “Those competitions were RIGGED!”
“*sniff*…h-huh?” Nev said, some tears drying and swelling. Shun stood firm in his answer.
“Yeah I’ll say it!” He yelled, anger lacing the undertones of his voice, “You’ve invented some SERIOUSLY cool and great stuff and if some ANNOYING judges preferred simple theories to whatever you’ve made, then that’s THEIR FAULT!”
Nev…couldn’t believe what she just heard.
Shun…you’re…you’re too sweet…Nev thought
…
“Oh Shun…*sniff*…you’re too sweet…” Nev said.