Before Noire and Neptune could start a fire, they heard the sound of a small girl grumbling from nearby. “I think this place is haunted.” Neptune said, as she glanced around the clearing the girls were standing in. “Do you know anything about exercising a spirit? Ew! I just hope it doesn’t possess you Noire and start vomiting thick pea-soup!”
“Neptune. I think that’s Histoire.” Noire said, gesturing towards the Fairy Tower.
The two girls spotted the holographic image of Histoire who looked rather depressed. “Not that I’m important or anything. I would still like to be acknowledged. That’s not selfish is it?” Histoire asked, in a small voice.
Neptune and Noire quickly hurried over to the fairy girl. “Sorry Histoire!” Noire said. “We weren’t ignoring you. That bird. Phoenix monster just surprised us.” Noire said, suddenly remembering the mechanical birds name.
Before Neptune and Noire could feel the same dizziness and headaches from remembering something, they touched the Fairy Tower and healed themselves.
“That’s understandable.” Histoire said, a small smile appeared on her face. “You two did very well getting here. I’ll go ahead and send you data on the next Fairy Tower’s location.” Histoire said.
“Thanks!” Said Noire.
Neptune pulled out the N-Gear that Nepgear had leant her and grabbed the data. “This looks like another national park.” Neptune said, handing the N-Gear over to Noire.
Noire examined the map for a few moments before shaking her head. “Actually this is a small, abandoned town.”
“Really? Creepy.” Neptune said, hugging herself tightly. “Let me guess. It’s filled with zombies or something?”
“No.” Noire said, shaking her head.
“Then does it have a coal mine that’s been burning for hundreds of years and a siren?” Neptune asked.
“No.” Noire said, annoyed.
“Is this town actually abandoned? Are we certain it’s not filled with the ghosts of dead villagers who failed during a ceremony and the only way to deal with them is a magic camera that-” Neptune began, but Noire playfully bumped her shoulder into her friend.
“Stop guessing Neptune.” Noire said, annoyed. “Anyways Histoire. Thanks for the information.”
“Of course.” Histoire said. “Would the two of you like to try and boost your stats?” Histoire asked.
“Sure.” Said Noire.
“Doesn’t hurt I guess.” Said Neptune, as she made her way to the terminal.
“That Phoenix gave us quite a few shares.” Noire observed. “I think I’ll put all of it into my strength.” She said.
“My strength is nearly maxed. I better focus on defense.” Said Neptune. “Otherwise my sister will be crying over me again.”
“Huh?” Noire said, surprised.
“Well…” Neptune began, as she told Noire about their fight in the underground facility beneath the abounded house. “And that’s what happened.” Neptune said, finishing her story.
“Yes. Nepgear was understandably upset.” Histoire said, remembering how Nepgear started crying despite Neptune’s injuries being completely healed.
“Geesh. That kid’s been through a lot.” Noire said.
“Nepgear’s a big toughie though. My near death experience won’t be enough to stop her!” Neptune said.
“Still… You need to take care of yourself for her sake.” Said Noire.
“I agree completely.” Said Histoire.
“Great. I’m being teamed up on.” Said Neptune as an awkward silence fell on the three. The sound of Neptune’s stomach starting to growl broke the awkward silence. “Now I’m hungry.”
“I’ll get the fire started.” Said Noire, as she made her way back to the place she dropped all the firewood from before.
Noire and Neptune decided to make their camp close to the Fairy Tower. “I have a question.” Neptune began, as she took a seat on her sleeping bag. “I noticed monsters don’t really come around the Fairy Tower. MAGES. created a device to drive monsters away from us at night, but I think it was kind of pointless. Is it?” She asked.
“Well yes, but I didn’t have the hear to tell her that.” Histoire said. “The Fairy Tower is incredibly important so it uses an invisible barrier to keep monsters at bay. This barrier uses several methods to keep them at a safe distance.”
“That’s nice. I guess we can both sleep easy tonight.” Said Noire.
“Are you sure you can sleep?” Neptune asked, eyeing Noire. “Isn’t your head still running marathons because of everything that happened in Lastation?”
“I’m fine.” Noire said. “I decided to let that go for now. Besides. I’m really tired right now.”
“I guess even the great Noire is no match for sleepiness.” Neptune said, yawning loudly and stretching her arms over her head. “Well that walk and Phoenix fight didn’t do me any favors either.”
“It’s not just that.” Said Histoire. “The Fairy Tower does have the power to heal the negative effects of not sleeping, but it’s temporary. Noire’s exhaustion has increased.”
“Sounds about right.” Noire said, yawning. “Imagine the hell Linda went through. I feel even more sorry for her now.” Noire ignored her exhaustion and quickly finished building the fire. After that, she sat a pot down on the flames and watched as the soup they made started to boil.
Neptune and Noire grabbed a few bowls and soon were happily enjoying a meal that they had prepared together. “This is nice.” Neptune said, after finishing off her second helping of soup. Neptune stretched out her legs and leaned back against the Fairy Tower. “How are you feeling now Noire?” She asked.
Noire didn’t answer.
“Noire?” Histoire said.
Neptune noticed that Noire was now curled up on top of her sleeping bag. She was sound asleep. “I think we lost her.” Neptune observed. Neptune reached over and touched Noire’s shoulder. “Noire sweetie. You need to get inside your sleeping bag otherwise you’ll catch a cold!”
Noire only took a deep breath in response, but she didn’t open her eyes.
“It’s quite alright Neptune.” Said Histoire. “I can keep you both warm tonight. I promise.”
Neptune couldn’t help, but smile. “Thanks Histoire. I’ll leave that task up to you.” She said. before crawling into her sleeping bag. Neptune didn’t fall asleep like Noire did. Instead she stared up at the night sky and took in the endless sea of stars. “It’s amazing Histoire.”
“What is?” Histoire asked.
“Space.” Neptune said. “The night sky looks so beautiful. I couldn’t help, but admire it a little.”
“I agree. It’s very nice.” Histoire said, turning her eyes towards the sky above as well. “You know Neptune. Sometimes I’m surprised by how deep you really are.”
“Huh? Is that your subtle way of saying I’m stupid?” Neptune asked.
Histoire shook her head. “No. What I’m about to say shouldn’t be taken as an insult. You have a simple way of looking at things. I admire that sometimes.” Said Histoire.
“Yeah. Not insulted at all.” Said Neptune.
“With that said. I never once questioned whether I could count on you or not. Thank you for everything you’ve done so far.” Histoire said. “I hope I never forget to thank you, your sister, Noire or Uni.”
Neptune smiled warmly. “Thanks Histoire. I’m sure everyone’s happy to have you around.” A silence fell over the two girls and soon Neptune’s eyelids started to grow heavy. “Well… The days done with me. Goodnight Histoire. Sleep tight and don’t let computer virus’ bite.”
“Goodnight Neptune.” Histoire said. “Sleep well.”
***
The next morning Noire woke up early. She didn’t remember falling asleep. At some point during the night, she must have woken up and crawled into her sleeping bag. “Good morning Histoire.” Noire said, stretching her hands high over her head.
“Good morning Noire.” Said Histoire. “How did you sleep?”
“Pretty good.” Noire said, as she touched the Fairy Tower to help fix a small pain she felt in her back. Noire then turned her eyes to Neptune who was still fast asleep. “I see that little goofball slept well.” Said Noire.
“Yes. She’s a sound sleeper.” Said Histoire.
Noire stretched her hands high over her head before turning her eyes towards the camp fire, which had gone out hours ago. After that, she looked up at the clearing and gasped. Four large Phoenix monsters could be seen floating around the area. The creatures screeched and flapped their wings.
“Whoa! Neptune! Wake up!” Noire said, grabbing Neptune’s arm and shaking her wildly.
Neptune opened her eyes and sat up. “Morning. Pudding.” She said.
“Never mind that. Look!” Noire said, pointing at the Phoenix’s.
Neptune stared at the Phoenix’s for a moment, before turning her eyes to Noire. “Breakfast?” She asked.
“Workout first. Breakfast later.” Noire said, getting to her feet. Noire summoned her sword and charged towards the first bird monster.
“Noire’s nuts.” Neptune said, dreamily.
Neptune and Noire managed to defeat the Phoenix monsters together, but it did take Histoire some coaxing to finally get Neptune to get up and help her friend out. After that, the two girls made their way back to the Fairy Tower where they used the shares they gathered to increase their stats.
“I think we might need to stick around here for a while and gather more share energy.” Said Noire, excitedly.
“What? What about the other two Fairy Towers?” Neptune asked.
“It’s not like were going to forget about them.” Said Noire. “This is just our chance to get stronger.”
“Yeah…” Neptune said, feeling tired. “So… Breakfast?”
“Fine!” Noire said, annoyed. “I’ll get some more firewood.” And with that, Noire headed into the forest to collect some.
Neptune sighed deeply, a small smile appeared don her lips. “Man… She doesn’t have to go that far to get a stick. She’s got one shoved right up her-”
“It wouldn’t hurt you to work a little harder Neptune.” Histoire said, cutting Neptune off before she could finish speaking.
“Fine.” Neptune said, feeling even more annoyed.
Noire built up another fire. While she did this, even more Phoenix monsters started to float into the clearing. “How many of those things live out here?” Noire asked, feeling excited for more battles.
“Actually. Those are the same four Phoenix’s you already defeated.” Said Histoire.
“Huh?” Neptune and Noire said, at the same time.
“I…” Histoire began. “Did I forget to mention that the Fairy Tower has the power to respawn monsters?”
“Uh yeah!” Noire shouted.
“First time I’m hearing about this.” Said Neptune.
Neptune and Noire were now towering over Histoire. “Well… I apologize for not… mentioning it sooner.” Said Histoire, her cheeks grew bright red and she turned her eyes away from the girls.
“So… Every time we defeat a monster and then touch the Fairy Tower, that monster is respawned close by? So technically we could sit here for days, kill thousands of those birds and not have to worry about them going extinct?” Noire asked.
“That’s correct.” Said Histoire, nodding.
“YES!” Noire cheered, as she threw her hands into the air. “Neptune! Were camping here again tonight!”
“Hold it!” Neptune said. “Even if I agreed to that, we don’t have enough food.”
“Huh? Who cares! We can…” Noire began, but she stopped herself. Noire thought about suggesting they use Histoire to heal themselves of starvation, but remembered the sorry state Linda was in. “You got a point.”
“Don’t count this as a loss.” Histoire said. “As soon as you activate the last remaining Fairy Towers, you’ll be able to teleport back here.”
“That’s right Noire. Perk up buttercup.” Said Neptune.
Noire giggled. “You two got a point. Sorry about that.” Said Noire.
“That’s okay. I knew it was just your bloodlust speaking.” Said Neptune, but she quickly looked away when Noire shot an annoyed look her way. “Anyways lady Noire, let me get breakfast started for us. Okay? Okay!” And with that, Neptune placed the pot of soup of the fire.
After the two girls finished eating their breakfast, they packed everything up. “Well were off Histoire.” Neptune said, grabbing the straps of her backpack. “I guess we’ll see you soon!”
“Yes.” Histoire said.
“We’ll activate the rest of the Fairy Towers in Lastation soon and then we’ll becoming back for you!” Noire said, pointing the tip of her rapier at the Phoenix monsters. “And I swear were going to get even stronger than before!”
“That’s right!” Neptune said. “See? Bloodlust.” Neptune cleared her throat and in a much louder voice said, “come on Noire. I’m sure our baby sisters are missing us.”
“Yeah.” Noire said, turning to Neptune and smiling brightly. “Let’s get going.”
