Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 8

 Several days had passed since Neptune and Nepgear left Planeptune in order to become stronger monster hunters. Since they reached the makeshift camp Purple Heart had set up for them, Neptune and Nepgear had been hunting monsters nearly everyday. Though it hadn’t been without its problems.

Once Purple Heart had left the two Nep’s alone in order to hunt monsters, Neptune turned to Nepgear and sighed deeply.

“What’s wrong big sis?” Nepgear asked.

“This place has everything, but videogames!” Neptune said. “How are we going to live here without any games to play?”

Nepgear sighed deeply. “Sis… Were not here to play videogames. Were here to hunt monsters and get stronger, remember?”

“That’s right Neptune.” Histoire said, from the Fairy Gate. “You really need to start working.”

“Uh No! I need to taste test that pudding. It might be poisonous! Expired! Or worse! It could be sugar-free!” Said Neptune, hugging herself tightly and shivering.

Nepgear’s shoulders sagged. “Neptune…” She whined.

“I’m kidding!” Neptune said, giggling. “Seriously… I’m kidding. I know this is important.”

“That’s right.” Nepgear said, happily.

“So let’s get started and start hunting monsters!” Neptune said, holding up her katana.

Nepgear nodded and with that both Nep’s started hunting the monsters that were located around the Fairy Tower.

As Neptune and Nepgear defeated the monsters, they slowly gained share energy. Every time the girls could increase their stats, they did so.

Neptune focused on her strength, while Nepgear focused on her stamina, defense and health. As the girls changed their stats by five or six points, they started to notice a difference.

“Hey! This sword is starting to feel a lot lighter!” Neptune said, as she raised her strength stats by ten points. “For a second there Histoire, I thought you were lying about raising our stats!”

“How rude! I would never lie!” Histoire said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.

Neptune giggled nervously. “Sorry Histy. I didn’t think you could hear me.”

“Histy?” Histoire repeated the nickname Neptune had just thrust on her. “I like it.”

Neptune and Nepgear both giggled. “Sister?” Nepgear began. “Are you just focusing on your strength?”

“Yeah! I smartly assumed that this quest could be simpler if I can defeat monsters in one hit! Pretty cool, huh?”

“No.” Nepgear said, shaking her head. “You really need to focus on everything. Not just strength! We have no idea how much we can raise our stats, right? Also every time we raise our stats the amount of share energy we need to keep raising it goes up.”

“Huh…” Said Neptune. “See? That’s why you’re the brains of this operation! I wasn’t even thinking about that!”

Nepgear took a deep breath. “Are you sure she’s the only one who can activate all the Fairy Towers? Are you sure the real Histoire didn’t just get Neptune and Purple Heart mixed up?”

Histoire giggled. “I’m sure.”

Several days later Neptune and Nepgear’s stats were even higher than before, but thanks to the cost of share energy they weren’t able to increase their stats as much as they wanted to. “Hey! This is extortion, right?” Neptune asked, when she realized she needed over twenty-thousand shares in order to raise her stats a single time.

“Unfortunately no. Also those numbers are just presented to make it easier for everyone to understand. There’s a lot more to raising your stats than simply pressing a button.” Histoire explained.

“That makes no sense.” Said Neptune, annoyed.

“It actually does.” Said Nepgear. “I mean were both physically stronger thanks to this Fairy Tower, but besides fighting monsters we aren’t really doing anything other than clicking a button. I’m guessing this Fairy Tower has the power to alter our bodies and its using that share energy in order to do it. Though I’m not sure how. I don’t feel different when I raise my stats. I mean I do feel stronger and I can heal you using magic, but other than that I feel nothing.”

“Huh?” Neptune said.

“Neptune…” Nepgear began, trying to come up with the right words. “You know how your arms feel sore as you swing your sword?”

“Yep. Very sore.” Said Neptune.

“Well that’s happening because you’re exercising and gaining muscles. When the Fairy Tower increases your strength, you don’t feel sore do you?” Nepgear asked.

“No. Actually thanks to the Fairy Tower the soreness goes away immediately when I touch it.

“Exactly!” Nepgear said, her eyes were sparkling. “It doesn’t make sense, does it? This Fairy Tower is an amazing piece of technology. That’s why, with Histoire’s permission, I would-”

“No.” Histoire said, dully.

“Please! I’ll put it back exactly the way it was!” Nepgear said, folding her hands together.

“Activating Fairy Tower defenses.” Histoire said.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Neptune said, placing her hands on her sisters shoulders and pulling her away from the Fairy Tower. “We get it Histy! Be a good girl Nepgear! Okay?”

“Aww…” Nepgear said, sadly.

“Anyways. I wish I could explain how this tower works, but I’m not even sure. All I know is that it’s my job to look after it and help adventurers.” Said Histoire.

“Exactly. We respect that.” Neptune said, leading Nepgear away from the tower. “Come on Nepgear, cheer up and hunt some monsters!”

Nepgear did as she was told and continued to hunt monsters along side her sister.

An entire week had passed and Nep’s only managed to raise their stats a few more times. Now all of Nepgear’s stats were up to twenty, with her magic stat only being raised up to nineteen.

Neptune however managed to raise her Strength up to fifty and health up to twenty-five.

“Not bad, huh?” Neptune asked, smiling proudly.

“You should have focused a little more on defense.” Said Nepgear. “Sister… I don’t know if were ever going to get strong enough to deal with the other Fairy Towers. We couldn’t get our stats very high.”

“Fifty is very high!” Neptune said. “I bet I could beat one-hundred dogoo with a single hit!”

“Maybe, but were not going to be fighting dogoo the entire time. The monsters are going to get more and more powerful as we go.”

“Excuse me?” Histoire said. “What Nepgear says is true, but the amount of share energy you collect from defeating monsters will go up as well. The more powerful a monster is, the more share energy you’ll receive from defeating them.”

“That’ll help.” Nepgear said.

“You see little sister? We’ll be fine as long as we stick together!” Neptune said.

Nepgear nodded, but she was still feeling apprehensive. “Alright. So what should we do now? We’ve been here an entire week. Should we head back to Planeptune and give a progress report, or should we head towards the next Fairy Tower?”

“Good question.” Neptune said. “A better question would be. What about videogames?!”

“Nepgear? I’ve sent you a map of Planeptune and marked the locations of each Fairy Tower on it.” Said Histoire.

Just as Histoire finished speaking, Nepgear heard her N-Gear beep. Pulling the device out she saw the map that Histoire had sent her. “Oh cool! This map also shows our location as well! This will help us find the Fairy Tower’s more easily.”

“Cool map. Got any videogames on that thing?” Neptune asked.

“Hey! The next Fairy Tower is only a few miles away from this one. It looks like it’s in a giant forest.” Nepgear said.

“Are you ignoring me? Or is the cute voice of your big sister not reaching your cute little ears?” Neptune asked.

“Thanks Histoire!” Nepgear said, flashing the small girl a giant smile. “Neptune! What do you think? Should we had for the next Fairy Tower or should we head back home?”

“Oh! So now you remember I’m here.” Neptune said, sarcastically. “As for your question. I think we should head for the next Fairy Tower. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can play videogames while enjoying a nice pudding.”

“Okay.” Nepgear said, before looking at the time. “Oh. It’s pretty late. I think we should wait until tomorrow before we head out.”

Neptune took a deep breath. “Sounds good to me. Might not have the games, but we have the pudding!” And with those words, Neptune jogged over to the refrigerator and pulled open the door. “Were almost out of pudding.” She said, grabbing two cups.

“I can’t believe how much you ate.” Nepgear said.

“I had help.” Neptune said, handing one of the pudding cups over to Nepgear.

Nepgear didn’t argue. Instead she took the pudding, pulled off the lid and started eating. “This is pretty good.”

“Top shelf pudding!” Neptune said, eyeing the pudding that was jiggling on her spoon. “Chilled vanilla pudding aged to perfection.“ And with that, she slid it into her mouth and felt the cool pudding slide down her throat.

“It’s pretty cool that you and Purple Heart enjoy pudding so much.” Nepgear said. The young girl was having a hard time not adding the ‘Lady’ part when she mentioned the CPU of Planeptune.

“Yeah, but a lot of people like pudding.” Said Neptune.

After the girls finished eating their puddings, they considered going back out and hunting more monsters. “I actually think it would be best if you two rested for now. It’s true the Fairy Tower can heal you of your exhaustion, but mentally it’s best if you rested like usual.”

“That’s true.” Nepgear said.

“That’s right Nepgear!” Neptune said, suddenly trying to act like a stern older sister. “Now get your butt into bed!”

“Sis…” Nepgear began.

“Now missy!” Neptune ordered.

Nepgear tried to hold back her laughter. “Yes ma’am.” She said.

Both Neptune and Nepgear climbed into a tent. “Goodnight Histy!” They both called out.

“Good night girls.” Histoire said. “Have a pleasant night.”

***
After Neptune and Nepgear woke up the next morning, they gathered the few supplies they could carry. Even though the girls didn’t have to worry about using the medical supplies Purple Heart had left them thanks to the Fairy Tower, they knew they might need it for their journey to the next tower.

“Alright. I think we got everything we could carry.” Said Nepgear, noticing that her sister was now wearing a backpack as well.

“Yeah. It’s been nice Histy, but we’ve got to hit the road.” Said Neptune.

“It’s been a pleasure.” Histoire said, as Nepgear took the USB memory stick from the Fairy Tower. “I should mention something before you two leave. That USB memory stick might activate the Fairy Towers, but they also record our interactions with each other. So the next Histoire you meet will have the same memories that I do.” Said Histoire. “We’ll also share information as each tower is activated.”

“That’s handy.” Said Neptune.

“Yes.” Said Histoire, bowing to Neptune and Nepgear. “Good luck out there girls and don’t hesitate to come back if you need to.”

“Thanks Histy!” Said Neptune, waving to the small girl.

“Bye Histoire!” Nepgear said.

Neptune took a deep breath as she readjusted the straps on her backpack. “What are the chances of getting Purple Heart to travel to every Fairy Tower and setting up a camp for us there?”

“Pretty good I think, but we shouldn’t count on her doing that for us.” Nepgear said.

“Yeah…” Said Neptune, disappointed.

“By the way Neptune… Did you fill that backpack up with pudding?” Asked Nepgear, already knowing the answer to her question.

“Why ask questions you already know the answer to?” Neptune asked. “There wasn’t much left anyways so the rest of this stuff is actually medical supplies.”

“Oh? Well that’s helpful!” Nepgear said.

“Yep! You’re sister isn’t always just thinking about pudding. Just most of the time.” Said Neptune. “Anyways, you said this next Fairy Tower is located a few miles away in a forest?”

“That’s right. The monsters are going to start getting even stronger.” Nepgear warned.

“Great…” Neptune said, sighing deeply. “I have a feeling you’re going to be thankful I packed away so much pudding by the end of this!”