Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 59

 “MAGES. cousin?” Nepgear said, surprised to have met a family member of one of her friends so close to Leanbox’s borders. “It’s really nice to meet you 5pb..” Said Nepgear, bowing her head a little. “I hate to ask, but do you mind if me and my sister come inside? My sister is really exhausted and she could really use the rest.”

“I don’t mind, but can I ask you both a question?” 5pb. asked.

“Of course.” Said Nepgear.

“Are your names Neptune and Nepgear?” 5pb. asked.

Nepgear and Neptune’s eyes went wide. “Th-That depends… Are you seeking revenge or something?” Neptune asked, cautiously.

5pb. giggled and shook her head. “It’s nothing like that.” The girl said, reassuring the two girls. “So can I assume you’re both Neptune and Nepgear?” Asked 5pb. as she placed her left hand high on her hip.

Neptune and Nepgear exchanged nervous glances. “Yes we are.” Nepgear said, gesturing towards her sister. “This is Neptune and I’m Nepgear.”

5pb.’s eyes went wide with delight. “Oh man! I can’t believe it! It’s so nice to meet you two!” The girl said, as she stepped aside. “Please come in! We can talk tomorrow morning if you’re up for it.”

“Thanks…” Nepgear said, as she and her sister stepped into the cabin. Nepgear spotted a large table that dominated the middle of the room. Located around the sides of the room were three small beds, a refrigerator and even a table where several computer monitors were located. “This place is nice.” Nepgear said, looking around the room for anything that could be considered dangerous.

“I’m sorry for surprising you.” 5pb. Said. “I promise. I’m not a threat or anything like that. I’m here to help you two. I promise.”

“Thanks!” Nepgear said, still not certain if she could trust 5pb. or not.

5pb. gestured towards the beds. “Please help yourself to a bed. Also you can have anything you want in the refrigerator if you want. I know you two have been on a very long journey.”

“Yes, but… How do you know that?” Asked Nepgear. “I appreciate your kindness, but you have to admit it’s pretty strange that you know so much about us. Especially considering we’ve never met before.”

“True, but the reason I know so much about you is because of Histoire.” Said 5pb..

“Wait… You know Histoire?” Nepgear asked, surprised.

“Not exactly, but I have a friend who does. Please. Get some rest.” 5pb. said, once again gesturing towards the beds.  

“What do you think Neptune?” Nepgear whispered under her breath to her sister.

“Those beds look really inviting.” Neptune said, laughing weakly. “Let’s trust her.”

“Okay…” Nepgear said, sighing deeply.

Neptune and Nepgear took a seat on the edge of different beds. The moment Neptune had removed her shoes the girl had laid back against the bed and closed her eyes and slid her hands behind her head. Soon the girl fell into a deep sleep.

“Your sister must have been really tired.” 5pb. observed.

“Yeah. She’s had a long day.” Said Nepgear. Nepgear folded her hands together in front of her and began fiddling with her fingers. “5pb. you promise to tell us tomorrow how you know us, right?”

5pb. Nodded. “Yes. I promise I’ll tell you both everything.”

“Thanks.” Nepgear said. Nepgear still wasn’t sure if she could trust 5pb. or not, but she was starting to feel tired herself. After removing her shoes, Nepgear laid back against the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep herself.

Nepgear wasn’t sure what it was that woke her up first. The smell of something delicious wafting through the cabin, the bright sun striking her eyes or the sound of someone humming a beautiful melody. Either way, Nepgear opened her eyes and sat up. “Good morning.” She breathed.

“Good morning Nepgear.” Said 5pb.. “I’m getting breakfast ready right now. I hope you’re hungry!”

“Starving.” Said Nepgear, patting her stomach. Nepgear slid her feet into her shoes and stood. Neptune was still sound asleep in bed. “Neptune? Time to wake up.”  

“Morning already?” Neptune breathed, as she blinked her eyes open.

“You know what Nepgear? You’re a great big sister.” Said 5pb..

“Oh no.” Nepgear said, shaking her head. “Neptune is actually my big sister.”

“Really?” 5pb. said, surprised. “Sorry about that. You must seem so much more mature.”

Nepgear giggled. “We get that all the time.”

 Neptune pulled her shoes on before sleepily making her way to the large table located in the middle of the room. “Something smells good!”

“I made breakfast for everyone.” 5pb. said, as she started pouring some oatmeal into three bowls. After placing them down on the table,  5pb. sat out some glasses with juice in it. After that the three girls sat down.

“Thank you for the food.” All three girls said, in unison.

Neptune eagerly dug into her breakfast, while Nepgear took her time to eat her meal. “We both heard you singing last night. You’re really good.” Nepgear said.

“Thanks.” 5pb. said, blushing heavily. “I used to get so embarrassed when people heard me sing, but thanks to my friends I’m better at performing in front of others.”

Nepgear was eager to find out more about 5pb., but she had more pressing questions for her. Nepgear however, decided to wait until everyone was finished eating. After 5pb. collected everyone’s empty bowls and started doing the dishes, Nepgear’s curiosity had reached a breaking point.

“5pb..” Nepgear began. “Please tell us. How do you know us?”

“Oh!” 5pb. said, quickly turning to Nepgear and Neptune. “I almost forgot about that.” To Nepgear’s dismay, 5pb. didn’t start explaining herself. Instead she made her way over to her computer and began pounding information into it. A few moments later, a beautiful blonde girl appeared on both monitors. “Yes? How can I help you?” The girl asked.

“Vert? It’s me. Neptune and Nepgear are with me!” 5pb. said, smiling brightly.

“Oh? Excellent!” Said Vert, folding her hands together in front of her, a small smile appeared on her face.

“Whoa! Look at those!” Neptune said, her eyes fell on Vert’s chest.   

“Neptune!” Nepgear said, her cheeks were bright red.

“Oh I don’t mind getting compliments for my body.” Said Vert, as she cupped her arms underneath her breasts. “I’m so glad that you managed to find 5pb., she’s a dear friend of mine.”

“Were glad too! She’s so nice!” Neptune said, happily.

“So I’m sure you’d love to know how 5pb. and I know you.” Vert began. “Would any of you like to hazard a guess?”

“Ooh! I know.” Neptune said. “I bet Histoire reached out to you in a dream. Right?”

“That’s right.” Said Vert. “She actually reached out to me in a dream. During my dream she asked me to help you and Nepgear activate the Fairy Towers. At first I thought my dream didn’t really mean anything because I’ve never seen or heard of a Fairy Tower before, but after doing a quick search I realized this huge thing located outside my home village is actually a Fairy Tower!”

“Cool!” Neptune said.

“So…” Nepgear began, trying to find the right words to ask her next question. “Why is 5pb. out here meeting us?”

“I can answer that.” 5pb. said. “Vert asked me to meet you two out here and guide you to her village. Though I have to admit, our plan was a little shortsighted. This cabin is hidden pretty well behind all these boulders. I thought you might miss me, so I started singing hoping you might hear me.” Said 5pb., rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.  

“Well it worked out pretty well for us.” Said Nepgear.

“And this welcome is a lot more friendlier than the one we got in Lastation.” Said Neptune.

“Oh dear? What happened in Lastation?” Vert asked, concerned.

“A really mean and lonely bully named Noire attacked us!” Said Neptune. “It was so sad, but we became best buddies.”

“Noire, huh?” Vert began, tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. “It’s strange. I’m missing a lot of memories, but I remember hanging out with a group of girls. I can almost picture them in my head, but at the same time I can’t.”

“Tell me about it.” Neptune said, sighing deeply.

5pb. turned her attention to both Neptune and Nepgear. “So… Are you two ready to get going?” She asked.

“That depends…” Neptune began. “Do you have any pudding here?” She asked.

“Pudding? No. I’m afraid not.” 5pb. said.

“Then were ready to go. Let’s move!” Neptune said, pointing sternly to the door.

“Alright. As soon as I lock up, we’ll get going.” Said 5pb.. “It’ll take us about two hours to reach the Fairy Tower outside Vert’s village.

“Very well. I’m looking forwards to meeting you both.” Said Vert, barely able to contain her excitement.

5pb. turned off her computer and began walking around the cabin closing windows and locking them. Nepgear volunteered to help her, but 5pb. politely refused. “I appreciate it, but I can handle it.”

After all the windows were locked and the girls stepped outside, Neptune, Nepgear and 5pb. headed outside, but not before grabbing a guitar case from underneath her bed. After locking the door to the cabin the girls set out on their journey to Leanbox’s first Fairy Tower.

As Neptune and Nepgear followed close behind 5pb., Neptune couldn’t help, but look at the guitar case 5pb. was carrying. “Uh… 5pb.? Stupid question, but do you play the guitar or do you have a Thompson Submachine Gun hidden in that guitar case?”

“Thompson Submachine Gun? How do you know what those are?” Nepgear asked.

“I played a mafia game at Noire’s.” Said Neptune. “Uni kept bugging me to play it so I finally sat down and gave it a shot. Anyways, you play as this one guy who carries a Thompson Submachine Gun around in a guitar case and every time someone ticks you off you take it out and- BAM! BAM! BAM!” Said Neptune, using her hands to show off what it was like to hold a Thompson Submachine Gun.

5pb. giggled. “I play a guitar.”

“If you play guitar as well as you sing then I bet you’re awesome!” Neptune said.

“I’m okay.” Said 5pb..

The three girls continued their journey to Leanbox. As the minutes slowly ticked by, the boulders that once dotted the land soon vanished. Now the girls were walking through endless fields of grass. A silence fell over the three girls. Not a silence because they didn’t know what to say to each other, but the kind of silence that gave them a chance to appreciate the nature all around them.

The girls could see monsters roaming around the plains, but none of them paid the girls any attention. The sun was shining brightly overhead and a warm breeze blew through the grass.

The girls passed over a small bridge that stood over a beautiful babbling stream. The girls could see Frog-in-the-box and Turtle monsters swimming around in the water, or sunbathing next to the stream.

“This place looks beautiful.” Said Nepgear, interrupting the silence. 5pb. and Neptune nodded, but they didn’t say anything.

Several long moments later 5pb. stopped walking and turned to Neptune and Nepgear. “Alright. Just to let you two know. Were now entering Leanbox! The Fairy Tower is only a few minutes away.”

“Cool! Can’t wait to get started.” Said Neptune. “And by that, I mean buying some more pudding. I’m so close to being out!”

“Don’t worry.” Said 5pb.. “I know a great place to restock on provisions.”

“Sounds good to me. I need to restock on a few things too.” Said Nepgear. “I also need to find a parts store so I can complete my other N-Gear. I need to find a chance to sneak into Leanbox’s Basilicom and continue my search for Histoire.” Nepgear thought to herself.

“Alright. Let’s go!” 5pb. said, turning on her heels.

Neptune and Nepgear followed after 5pb.. A few moments later they both could see a Fairy Tower in the distance. Beyond that was a small, quaint looking village. “There it is!” 5pb. said, pointing straight ahead.

“Yep!” Said Neptune, running ahead of her sister and 5pb.. “Come on everyone! I’ll race you there!”