The walk to their next destination seemed as though it would take the longest time to reach it. The sun was shining brightly and the heat was beating down on their heads. The Fairy Tower was located near the boarder of Planeptune. “This walk is going to kill me…” Neptune said, as she poked out her cute little tongue. The girl’s arms were swinging down by her sides lifelessly.
“I know.” Nepgear said, dabbing her forehead with the back of her hand. “This is pretty rough.”
Neptune and Nepgear exchanged glances before they both sighed deeply. “Maybe we should call Planeptune and ask Purple Heart for a plane or something. Maybe a guy with a hand glider can give us a lift?” Neptune offered.
Nepgear thought about this for a moment, before she furrowed her brow and shook her head. “How would that even work big sister?” Nepgear asked.
“I don’t know.” Neptune whined.
“Sister… how would that work?” Nepgear whined back.
Both girls groaned loudly, before Nepgear pulled out her N-Gear and started looking up information on it. “Uh sis… I was half joking about the hang glider.” Said Neptune, concerned that the heat and exhaustion had finally effected Nepgear’s brain.
“I know. I was joking too.” Nepgear said. “I was just looking up something that might help us.”
Nepgear didn’t say anything for a few moments, but soon she was making her way over to Neptune. “Check it out. I think I found something.” Nepgear said, holding her N-Gear out to Neptune.
Neptune read the information. “There’s a small town that has a railroad station? That’s cool, but I’m guessing this railroad doesn’t exactly go all the way to the Fairy Tower, huh?”
“True, but it does run pretty close to it.” Said Nepgear.
“Well it’s better than trying to walk all the way there. Let’s go!” Said Neptune, perking up a bit.
Even though the small town was the girl’s best and fastest way to get to the last Fairy Tower on Planeptune, it still took them awhile to reach it. The girls trudged along until they finally reached the town.
“Thank goodness. I didn’t think we’d ever get here.” Nepgear breathed.
“Yeah. I could go for some cold pudding right now.” Said Neptune.
The small town was made up of dozens of tiny houses, they passed by a few shops and eventually found themselves standing in front of the train station. “Neptune? Why don’t you get us something to drink while I buy our tickets, okay?”
“You got it little sister!” Neptune said, saluting.
It didn’t take Neptune very long to find a vending machine. After sliding her card into the machine, she bough two bottles of tea. Just as Neptune finished making her purchase, the girl her sister cry out.
“Oh no!” Nepgear cried.
Neptune looked down at the bottles of tea, before she sighed deeply. “This can’t be good.” She breathed, before turning to Nepgear and making her way over to her sister. “What’s wrong Nepgear?” She asked, handing one of the bottles over.
“The train isn’t running anymore.” Nepgear said, sadly.
“Why not?” Asked Neptune.
“Sorry, but the person who owns the train refuses to run it anymore.” Said a man, standing on the other side of a large counter. “It’s been like this for a while now.”
Neptune didn’t say anything. Instead she opened her bottle of tea and tipped the liquid into her mouth. After swallowing the sweet tasting tea, she sighed deeply. “Okay Nepgear. I have a brilliant idea.” Neptune began. “We’ll find this conductor and beat them up.”
“We can’t do that Neptune.” Nepgear said.
“Well what can we do?” Neptune asked, sighing deeply. “I’m tired. My feet hurt and this tea just makes me wish we had something to eat. I want to go home and play video games, but I have destiny to complete or something…” Neptune said, as she swayed side-to-side.
Nepgear nodded her head several times. “Well we’ll just have to figure something else out.”
Neptune and Nepgear didn’t say anything for a while, which made the man behind the ticket counter feel awkward. “Um…” He began, clearing his throat. “Maybe… You could talk to her?”
“I wish, but once Nepgear makes up her mind about something-” Neptune began, but the man cut her off.
“No. I mean talk to the person who owns the train. Maybe you can convince her to run the train again.” The man suggested.
“And then beat her up!” Neptune said, perking up a little.
“We’ll talk to her.” Nepgear said, looking hard at her sister. “Where can we find her?”
The man pointed at the railroad track. “If you follow that for about five miles north. You’ll run into a white building that’s sitting really close to the track. You’ll see the old train and where the owner lives. Oh and the owner is also the conductor of the train.” Said the man.
“More walking? Can someone give us a ride?” Neptune asked.
The man shook his head. “Sorry, no one in this town owns a vehicle.”
“Stupid…” Neptune said, in a small voice. “Well… I mean do we have to leave right now? I’m tired!”
Nepgear looked at a clock that was located beside the ticket counter. “You’re right. It’s pretty late. We should get some rest somewhere.” Nepgear suggested.
“There’s a hotel next door.” The man said, gesturing towards the wall on his right side.
“Thanks!” Nepgear said, smiling at the man. “Come on sis. Let’s get a room.”
“Yah!” Neptune cheered.
The hotel the man recommended was incredibly small. There were only five rooms they could choose from, but the Nep’s decided to share one. Nepgear opened the door to their hotel room and peered inside.
The room was small, but it was clean. The room only had one bed, a television and a very small bathroom. “This is nice.” Nepgear said.
Neptune said, sitting on the bed and kicking off her shoes. “Let‘s be honest Nepgear. If this room was half the size, we’d still think it was nice. This bed is going to feel so good!” With those words, Neptune fell back against the bed and closed her eyes. Almost instantly Neptune felt an intense pain in her legs.
“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Neptune winced, as pain ripped through her legs.
Nepgear had sat down and leaned back herself. She too was feeling the pain. “We really need to workout more.” Nepgear said, wincing as the muscles in her legs throbbed.
“Hey Nepgear. Were getting plenty of exercise right now.” Said Neptune.
“That’s true.” Nepgear said, a small smile appeared on her face. Nepgear opened her eyes. “I think we should eat something before we go to sleep. We still have a few more hours of daylight left too.”
“Yeah… Let’s eat.” Neptune said.
Nepgear forced herself up and looked over at Neptune. Neptune looked as though she had already fallen asleep. Nepgear opened her mouth to say something, but quickly changed her mind. “I’ll get us some food Neptune. You relax.” Said Nepgear, as she stood up and headed out of the room.
Nepgear found a restaurant close by and ordered a few meals for herself and Neptune. The restaurant, like the rest of the town, was incredibly small. The restaurant only had about ten tables and only a few people working there. “Just passing through?” Asked the cashier, who was an elderly woman.
“Yeah. How’d you know?” Nepgear asked.
“Small town. I know everyone who lives here.” The old woman said.
“Oh right.” Nepgear said, giggling. “Me and my sister are passing through. Were hoping to get the railroad station back up and running.”
“Really?” The elderly woman said. “So are you buying out the owner, or what?”
“No. Nothing like that.” Said Nepgear. “Were hoping to talk to her tomorrow.”
“I see.” The elderly woman said, before turning suddenly and abruptly walking away.
“Uh…” Nepgear began, but the elderly woman vanished somewhere into the kitchen. Nepgear blinked her eyes several times before her shoulders sagged. “Maybe I offended her somehow?” The girl thought to herself.
“Here you are dear.” Said the elderly woman, placing a bottle down in front of Nepgear.
Nepgear looked down at the bottle in confusion. “Huh? What’s this for?” She asked.
“It’s a favorite drink of the conductor.” The elderly woman explained. “It’s called Doc Tear Popper. If you’re trying to convince her of anything, that drink would go a very long way.”
“Aw! Thank you!” Nepgear said, taking up the bottle in her hands. “How much do I owe you?”
“It’s on the house dear.” The old woman said.
“Thanks!” Nepgear said.
After the cook brought out Nepgear’s order, she headed outside and made her way back to the hotel. Once inside, Nepgear found Neptune was now investigating the television. “What are you looking at sis?” Nepgear asked.
“I’m looking for a video game console! I don’t see one.” Neptune said, sadly. “I’m starting to think I won’t be playing any games on this trip.”
“Sorry.” Nepgear said. “Anyways, I bought us some burgers!”
“Ooh! That’s my little sister for you!” Neptune said, as Nepgear handed her a bag. “What’s that?” She then asked, looking at the bottle of Doc Tear Popper Nepgear held under her arm.
“This lady told me about this drink. She said that the conductor loves it, so we should try giving it to her tomorrow.” Said Nepgear.
“Awesome! Food and sleuthing. Very nice Nepgear!” Neptune said.
Nepgear blushed a little. “I never get tired of your compliments.” Nepgear said.
“Well you deserve them all!” Neptune said, as she opened the bag of burgers Nepgear had purchased for them. “Let’s eat!”
Neptune and Nepgear at their meals. After that, they watched a little television, but they couldn’t keep their minds on whatever they were watching. The girls kept thinking about everything that had happened to them up to that point.
Nepgear also remembered how she nearly lost her sister the other day. Something she never wanted to experience again. “I think I’m going to sleep Nepgear.” Neptune said, as she crawled under the blankets. “Good night.”
Nepgear turned off the television and crawled under the blankets as well. “Good night Neptune.” The girl said. Soon the two had drifted off to sleep.
***
The next morning Neptune and Nepgear awoke early and headed outside. The girls wanted to get some breakfast before they headed to the building where the owner of the train station lived.
After enjoying a plate of pancakes, the two girls found the railroad tracks and started following them north. “I really hope this lady is actually living out here.” Neptune said, taking a deep breath.
“Same here. If she’s not then I suggest we keep following these railroad tracks to the next town. Though it’ll be a long walk.” Nepgear said.
“Now I really hope this lady is living out here.” Neptune said, nervously.
Neptune and Nepgear stopped in mid-step when they felt something strange. At first it felt as though dozens of eyes were watching them. Soon the girls realized that they were right.
Dozens of tiny creatures flooded out of the wilderness and quickly encircled them. Neptune and Nepgear summoned their weapons and stood with their backs pressed against each other.
“Great… More work!” Neptune said.
Nepgear looked out at all the monsters. “Clyde and Ms. Clyde monsters.” Nepgear muttered.
“Well these things aren’t too tough.” Neptune said. “Let’s get em’ little sis!” Neptune said.
Neptune and Nepgear leapt at the monsters and swung their blades wildly. Neptune managed to cut down several Clyde and Ms. Clyde monsters before they could react. Nepgear managed to cut down several herself. Soon the monsters had thinned out a bit, but more of the monsters started pouring out of the wilderness after them.
Nepgear took a nervous breath. “Sis?”
“Yeah?” Neptune said, as she cut down two more Clyde monsters, before turning her eyes towards a small group of Ms. Clyde monsters that were flying towards her.
“I don’t think these things are slowing down. More of them are coming!” Nepgear said.
“Yeah… I noticed that too.” Neptune said.
The ground beneath Neptune and Nepgear’s feet started to tremble. With several loud booms, the Clyde and Ms. Clyde monsters exploded out of the ground and instantly started flying after the two girls.
“What do we do?” Nepgear asked, feeling even more nervous than before.
“Uh… one guess.” Neptune said, and with those words the two girls began running as fast as they could.
