The following morning Neptune made her way downstairs. The girl was rubbing sleep out of her eyes and she felt groggy. “Morning…” Neptune said, in a weary voice. “Did anyone else have a problem sleeping? I didn’t get my usual twenty-three hours.” Neptune said, as she lowered her hands.
Neptune saw Nepgear, Vert and Marvy sitting at a nearby table. The girls were eating breakfast. Sitting in a table several feet back was the man who hired them. The man was sipping a cup of coffee.
“Good morning.” The man said, sounding annoyed. “I’m so glad you were willing to get up today. You know I didn’t give you those rooms for nothing.”
Neptune stared at the man for a few moments before she waved her hand dismissively at him. After that, she took a seat at the table. “Good morning everyone.” Neptune said. “Did you hear that crank-” Before Neptune could say another word, Nepgear reached across the table and placed a firm hand over her mouth.
“Sister…” Nepgear said, sighing deeply.
“Good morning Neptune.” Said Marvy.
“Yes. Good morning.” Said Vert.
“G-fffh- mor-fiffh.” Neptune said, her mouth still muffled by Nepgear’s hand.
Nepgear moved her hand and sat back down. “Were almost done Neptune. All we need to do is kill a Pollux, Land Whale and a Regulus.” Nepgear said, closing her eyes and folding her hands in front of her.
“Remember to report to me every time you kill a new monster.” The man said, getting to his feet and heading out of the restaurant.
The four girls sat in silence for a few moments before Vert thought of something. “Do we even know that man’s name?” Vert wondered, aloud.
“No names. It’ll make what I have planned for him harder.” Neptune said.
“That’s creepy big sister. Please don’t do anything that can get you thrown in jail.” Said Nepgear.
“What? I was just going to write a strongly worded note and nail it to his-” Before Neptune could finish speaking, Jane appeared and sat down a plate with eggs, bacon and toast on it.
“Here you are. And some orange juice.” Jane said, sitting a glass next to the plate along with some silverware.
“Thanks!” Neptune said, giggling nervously. “You didn’t catch what I was saying, did you?” She asked.
Jane smiled mischievously at Neptune, but didn’t say anything else. “Believe me. I get it.” Jane said, nodding her head several times. “By the way my father’s name is Sam.”
Neptune sighed deeply and shook her head. “That note’s going to be hard to write.” Neptune admitted. After Jane left the table, Neptune began to eat her breakfast. By the time she was finished her sister, Vert and Marvy were ready to leave.
Neptune jumped to her feet and turned to Jane. “We’ll see you soon!” Neptune said.
“Be safe out there!” Jane said, from behind the counter.
Nepgear led the way out of the restaurant and soon they were making their way towards the third monster they needed to kill. Today they were planning on dealing with a monster known as a Pollux.
“So what exactly do we know about Pollux monsters?” Neptune asked.
“Well I heard that it actually looks like another monster, but I don’t have many details.” Vert said, tapping the side of her head as she spoke. “I hope it won’t be too difficult to deal with.”
“The more difficult it is, the more share energy we’ll receive, right?” Asked Neptune.
“Not necessarily.” Said Vert, crossing her arms in front of her chest and turning her eyes skyward. “It happens sometimes. Monsters can be incredibly powerful, but only give you a little EXP.”
“I’ve played games like that.” Said Marvy. “It can be frustrating.”
“Were almost there.” Nepgear’s voice broke the concentration of the other three girls. After making their way to the top of a hill, the girls looked down and spotted the monster.
Pollux was a large robot like monster. It was dark grey in color. Had a large disc on it’s back, a tiny tail and something that looked like a chain and ring located on it’s front. The monster also had a large, bright green tongue poking out of it’s maw. Even though the creature sat on it’s butt, it was still able to move around.
“Whoa… I don’t know why, but I don’t like this guy already.” Neptune said.
“Yeah. It’s creepy.” Said Nepgear. “We should deal with it fast, right?” Said Nepgear, as she summoned her energy sword.
The other three girls summoned their weapons as well. Before the girls could make a move against the Pollux, the creature had turned it’s massive body towards them. It’s eyes locked onto the girls. “I think it sees us.” Neptune said.
The Pollux opened it’s maw wide. Suddenly it’s tongue shot out of it’s mouth, it flew through the air with incredible speed.
“WATCH OUT!” Nepgear cried.
The four girls leapt out of the way as the Pollux monster’s tongue slammed into the ground, sending dirt and debris into the air. Neptune and Nepgear landed gracefully on the ground, while Vert had to roll to her feet. Marvy on the other hand was still high in the air. “Better deal with this thing fast!” Marvy muttered, as she started falling back to the ground.
The Pollux retracted it’s tongue and shot it back at where Marvy was about to land. To the creature’s surprise though, Marvy was faster and swung her katana at the creature’s green tongue.
Marvy’s sword sliced the tongue, but she wasn’t able to cut it off. Instead this caused the Pollux to roar angrily, as it retracted it’s tongue once more.
Marvy landed gracefully on the ground and started running as fast as she could towards the monster. As Marvy ran, she noticed that Nepgear, Neptune and Vert were all charging at the creature as well.
As the girls charged forwards the Pollux launched several more attacks. It shot it’s tongue at Nepgear, who managed to dodge out of the way. When it shot it’s tongue at Vert, the girl managed to block the attack using her spear and slice the tongue before the creature could pull it away.
The Pollux shot it’s tongue out once more, but instead of aiming at any one girl, the creature instead swiped at all of them using a horizontal attack. The girls leapt forwards at this point and swung their weapons, cutting the tongue.
The Pollux roared once more as it retracted it’s tongue. The creature started to move backwards. It’s eyes tried to keep it’s four prey in sight, but it was impossible.
The Pollux suddenly roared in anger as Marvy rushed past the creature slicing it’s side. Before the monster could do anything however, Vert appeared in front of it and stabbed the creature in the head.
Neptune and Nepgear finished the monster off by slamming the tips of their swords into it’s chest. The Pollux roared once more, before it vanished in a bright flash of light. Neptune, Nepgear and Vert landed on the ground. Each girl wore a satisfied smile on their faces.
“Were getting good at this!” Neptune said, proudly.
“Yes. It helps when you don’t charge in by yourself.” Said Vert.
“Boo! You remember the boring stuff. We won! We should celebrate!” Said Neptune, giggling with joy.
“We should save the celebrations for later. We still have two more monsters to fight.” Said Nepgear, as she pulled out her N-Gear and began typing information into it. “All that’s left is the Land Whale and a Regulus. So what should we do?”
“We have to go back to town.” Said Neptune.
“Sis. It might be easier…” Neptune began, but remembered what Sam said. “Oh right. He wants to be informed now.”
“Yeah, but I wonder if he’s taking a nap.” Said Neptune, tapping her lower lip thoughtfully. “Well orders are orders! Let’s go!” Neptune said, a mischievous look appeared on her face.
Nepgear groaned. She could only imagine what her sister was planning.
***
“Were back!” Neptune practically shouted, as she opened the door to the restaurant. Nepgear had her face covered in her hands, Marvy was looking away and Vert wore an embarrassed smile on her face.
Jane looked up from the book she was reading behind the counter. “Please be quiet. Dad’s sleeping.” Jane whispered.
“Oh?” Neptune said. Neptune fought the urge to start speaking loudly. Instead she made her way into the restaurant and took a seat at the counter. “No offense Jane, but this place is always empty. Do other people actually come in here?”
“Neptune…” Nepgear breathed.
A small smile appeared on Jane’s face. “Well. Yeah.” Said Jane, as she closed her book. “As you can see, things are pretty tough around here. This village used to be thriving, but merchants stopped coming, shops closed up and were the only ones left. I hate to say it, but this town might not have that much time left.”
“Were sorry.” Marvy said.
“Yes. Our companion can be quite rude.” Said Vert, throwing a hard look Neptune’s way. “Please forgive her. She’s an idiot.”
“Heard that.” Neptune said, annoyed.
“No. It’s okay.” Said Jane. “No use pretending things are thriving, right?”
The sounds of floorboards creaking could be heard overhead. Moments later Sam walked down the stairs. “I’m trying to sleep up there. Do you have good news, or what?” Sam asked, in his usual gruff manner.
“We killed a Pollux.” Said Neptune.
“Good. So why aren’t you out there killing the last two monsters?” Sam demanded.
Jane took a deep breath, before she slapped the counter with her hands. “Dad? Knock it off!” The girl shouted, turning her eyes angrily towards her father. “Living in this towns hard enough without you making everyone who passes through even more miserable!”
“Okay Jane. Maybe you should try calming down.” Nepgear said, holding up her hands.
“I’m sorry Nepgear, but no.” Jane said, shaking her head. “Dad…” Jane began, trying to find the right words. “I love this village, I really do. After mom died, all we had was this village and this restaurant. When things started drying up, I never even considered leaving. You know why?” Jane asked.
Sam didn’t answer. All he did was stand there looking at his daughter.
“It was because of you. You, this village and the restaurant. Now because of you, I don’t even care about this village or restaurant anymore.” Jane said, shaking her head.
“What are you saying?” Sam asked.
Jane swallowed hard. “I’m saying… I’m not happy anymore dad.”
Sam’s shoulders sagged. A slew of emotions appeared and disappeared on his face. “Okay.” Sam finally said, before turning back towards the stairs. The man didn’t say a word as he climbed back upstairs and headed to his room.
An awkward silence hung in the restaurant. “Should we leave? Or go?” Neptune whispered to Vert.
“Please don’t go.” Jane said, overhearing Neptune’s question. “I’m sorry you four had to hear that.”
“No. It’s okay.” Said Nepgear. “I… uh… my sister can be stupid sometimes.”
“Huh? Hey…” Neptune said, furrowing her brow.
Jane shook her head. “It’s not Neptune’s fault. This is something that’s been coming for a long time.” Jane took a deep breath. “You girls should know something. I own this restaurant. The building is in my name. The reason I’m telling you this, is because you don’t owe me or my father anything. Please… Stay a few more nights if you want. Get rested and forget about the monsters. You have a more important quest to take care of? Right?”
“Well…” Nepgear began.
“No way! No how! No thank you ma’am!” Neptune said, which caught everyone off guard.
“Neptune? You mean you really want to stay and kill the last two monsters?” Said Vert, surprised. “Jane is offering you at least two days of rest and relaxation.”
“Rest and Relaxation are nice, but were two monsters away from finishing up! I don’t want to quit now!” Said Neptune. Neptune looked into Vert’s eyes. “And as a gamer can you really leave things half finished? Don’t you have the urge to beat a game one-hundred percent?”
Vert giggled. “You know me well Neptune.”
“I’m the same way.” Said Marvy.
“Me too, but sis… This doesn’t sound like you.” Said Nepgear.
“Yeah I know, but I want to know why were hunting these monsters. I swear if Sam doesn’t tell us by the end of this thing, I’m going to flick the back of his ears until he spills the beans!” Neptune warned. Neptune’s eyes turned to Jane, who looked taken aback by Neptune’s passion. “Is that okay Jane?”
Jane opened her mouth to say something, but shook her head instead. “Well it’s up to you. You four are still welcome to stay here as long as we can afford to keep this place open.”
Neptune held up a peace sign. “Sounds good!” She said. “Dinner also sounds good.”
Jane giggled. “Alright. I’ll get dinner started.”
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