Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 28

 IF sat up in bed. Stretching her hands high over her head she yawned loudly. “Morning already?” IF muttered, as she threw her blankets off her body and swung her bare feet over the side of the bed. IF groaned loudly. Even though several days had passed since the zombie monsters attacked, the girl was still feeling the effects of her battle.

Getting to her feet, IF quickly changed into her regular clothes. After sliding her socks and boots on, she headed downstairs.

“Morning.” IF said, to Compa.

Compa was standing in front of a coffee machine. “Good morning Iffy.” Compa said, smiling warmly at her friend. “How did you sleep?” She asked.

“I’m good.” IF said, as she started rotating her arm. “My muscles are a bit sore though.”

“Oh no.” Compa said, turning to face IF. A concerned look could be seen on her face. “Do you want me to give you a massage and maybe rub some lotion on your body?” Compa asked.

IF blushed a little and quickly turned her eyes away from Compa. “I appreciate that, but no thanks.” IF kept her eyes off Compa as she made her way to their kitchen table and took a seat. Before IF was even sitting, Compa had set a plate with two pieces of toast and some coffee down. “Thanks Compa.” Said IF.

“You’re welcome Iffy.” Said Compa.

IF took a deep breath before she took up her cup of coffee and slowly sipped the black liquid. “Very nice.” IF Said, closing her eyes and enjoying the atmosphere. IF and Compa had been living with each other for several years as roommates. Even though IF considered herself a loner, she enjoyed Compa’s company very much.

Compa took a seat at the table as well and began drinking her coffee as well. “So Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge are already training, right?” Compa asked. “I’m going to miss them.”

“Yeah, but were going to join them tomorrow morning, remember?” Said IF, taking another sip of her coffee.

“That’s true. I already informed the hospital that I’m taking some time off.” Said Compa.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” IF asked. “You’ve taken a lot of time off before, right? You’re going to get fired.”

“If that happens I’ll just find another hospital to work at.” Said Compa. “I really want to help Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge with their mission and in order to do that we have to get much stronger!”

IF nodded. “That’s a good point.”

“If I didn’t have to work today, we could join them right now, but I promised them I would show up.” Said Compa.

“It’s alright. We still have plenty of time to train along side Nep and Gear.” Said IF.

Once the two girls finished their breakfasts, they got to their feet. IF did the dishes while Compa went upstairs to change into her nurses outfit. After that the two girls headed outside. “Well I’m going to the guild and getting some work.”

“Are you going to Arfoire’s?” Compa asked.

IF shook her head. “No. I want to give her some space.”

“Okay…” Compa said, feeling a little sad.

“Well maybe I’ll stop by her apartment and say hello. Who knows?” Said IF.

Compa smiled brightly. “Thanks Iffy! I’ll see you later!”

“Bye!” IF said, waving goodbye to her friend. After Compa had vanished from sight, IF turned her eyes towards her feet and spotted a small stone lying on the ground. “Great…” She breathed, as she kicked the stone and watched it bounce away.

Even though IF really didn’t want to bother Arfoire, she made her way to the woman’s apartment anyways. Climbing the steps up to her room seemed to take forever, but soon she was standing in front of her door. “Arfoire?” She called out, knocking lightly on the door.

“Well she’s not here.” Arfoire thought, turning to leave. Before Arfoire could take a single step, the door opened and Arfoire stood before her.

“IF. What are you doing here?” Arfoire asked.

A small smile appeared on IF’s face. “Morning Arfoire. I just wanted to see how you were doing.” The girl said, nervously scratching the back of her head. “So… how’s it going?”

Arfoire didn’t’ smile. Instead she took a step to the right. “You can come in if you want.” She said.

IF swallowed hard as she stepped into Arfoire’s apartment. The apartment looked as empty as usual. The kitchen looked completely barren. The walls didn’t have any paintings or pictures despite the fact that IF, Compa and Arfoire had taken several with her. The only piece of furniture that Arfoire owned besides a bed and table, was a television set that was hanging on the wall.

“Um… Compa was worried about you, so she asked me to see how you were doing.” Said IF, turning to face Arfoire.

“Was she? I’m alright.” Arfoire said. “Would you like some coffee?”

“No. I had some already. Better not drink too much.” Said IF. “I… wanted to see how you were doing as well. I appreciate everything you did for us yesterday. You know, coming to our rescue.”

“No.” Arfoire said, shaking her head. “You two did a lot for me already. I owed you.”

“Well if Compa were here, she would say that we didn’t do anything for you to owe us for.” IF said.

Arfoire blushed a little and nodded. “Compa’s a good girl.” She said.

IF suddenly felt awkward. Even though Arfoire wasn’t saying or doing anything, she felt as though she were intruding on her. “Well, I guess I should get going.” Arfoire said. “I just wanted to see how you were doing and thank you for helping us out. I also wanted you to know that were still here for you. If you need anything.”

“Thanks IF. Tell Compa I’m good and I’ll see her again soon.”

“You could tell her-” IF began.

“No.” Arfoire said, shaking her head. “Listen IF.” Arfoire took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. When the woman released her breath, she slowly opened her eyes. “Listen… I don’t know why I feel the way I do. When I look at Purple Heart, for some reason I feel hatred towards her. Same goes for Neptune, but I’m not sure why. I feel like it’s best if I keep my distance from everyone.”

“Yeah.” IF said, her shoulders sagged. “I understand.”

“Thanks IF. I mean it. Thank you for everything, but please give me some time.” Said Arfoire.

IF nodded once more. “Yeah. Take care Arfoire and like I said. If you need anything.” And with those words, IF headed out of Arfoire’s apartment. “Well… Better get to work.” IF thought.

***

Purple Sister gathered all her courage as she stepped into the guild and accepted several jobs. Afterwards, she headed outside where Purple Heart was waiting. “I-I did it!” She said, holding up three pieces of paper. “I didn’t cry or anything!”

Purple Heart smiled warmly at her sister. Making her way over to the girl, she placed her hand firmly on her head. “You did really well! Now, what kind of jobs did you accept?” She asked.

Purple Sister blushed and giggled, before she looked down at the papers she held. “Okay. One is to kill some dogoo, I’m not really happy about killing dogoo, but I thought it was important. The next two are collecting herbs.”

“Two jobs collecting herbs?” Purple Heart asked, furrowing her brow.

“Yes. One is for a hospital and another is for a doctor.” Said Purple Sister.

“Oh okay.” Said Purple Heart. “I thought you might have applied for the same job twice.”

“I didn’t make any silly mistakes either!” Purple Sister said.

Purple Heart giggled as she tousled Purple Sister’s hair. “Alright little sister. You work hard, okay? If you need me for anything, anything, just let me know.”

“I will.” Purple Sister said, nodding.

Purple Sister turned and flew towards the Planeptune’s gate. Once she had left the city she started her first job, hunting dogoo. Purple Sister summoned her sword just as she landed on the ground. After that, she made her way to the first dogoo.

“These things are cute, but I have to do my best.” Purple Sister said, as she raised her sword and brought it down on the dogoo’s head. The dogoo was cut cleanly in two and after a moment the creature vanished. After that, Purple Sister hunted down four more dogoo.

“Purple Sister?” Came a familiar voice.

Purple Sister turned and spotted IF standing a few yards away. IF wore a large smile on her face. “Good to see you again!” She said, waving.

“IF!” Purple Sister said, floating over to her friend. “I missed you! How are you?” She asked.

IF giggled. “I’m good.” She said.

Purple Sister blinked her eyes several times. “Are you sure? You seem kind of upset.” Purple Sister began. “I know I might not be useful, but…” Before Purple Sister could finish speaking, her shoulders started to shake.

“No, no!” IF said, patting Purple Sister on the shoulders. “You’re great! I was actually trying to hide it. How upset I feel.”

“Really?” Said Purple Sister. “You don’t have to hide anything from me. What’s wrong?” She asked.

IF hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell Purple Sister how she was feeling. “The truth is… I have a friend and-” IF told Purple Sister about Arfoire and she didn’t leave anything out. Once she was finished, Purple Sister had crossed her arms in front of her chest and closed her eyes.

“I see.” She said. “I don’t like people hating my sister or my friends, but…” Purple Sister opened her eyes. “I don’t like telling people how they’re supposed to feel either. Everyone’s different.”  

“Yeah.” Said IF.

“And Arfoire’s afraid of hurting someone.” Said Purple Sister.

“She’s afraid?” IF asked.

“Yeah.” Purple Sister said, nodding. “I’m certain of it. When I learnt that I could summon a sword and shoot monsters with it, I became afraid. I was worried that I might end up hurting someone. Like Falcom, or someone else. I wanted to stay away from people, but Falcom made me feel better. She said that it’s my decision if I hurt anyone.”

“That’s a good point.” Said IF.

“That might not be it though.” Said Purple Sister. “She’s also remembering things, right? She remembers that she hates my sister and Neptune, right? She just doesn’t remember why. It might be better if…” Purple Sister quickly clasped her hands over her mouth.

IF giggled. “You were going to say it would be better if she kept her distance, right?” IF asked.

Purple Sister started talking through her hands while nodding her head.

IF couldn’t help, but giggle again. “No you’re right.” Said IF. “I mean I’m remembering things as well and apart of me is worried what those things might be. Right now I love my friends, but it’s kind of scary to think that I might end up hating them simply because I remembered something.”

“Y-yeah.” Purple Sister said, slightly moving her hands away form her mouth.

IF and Purple Sister stood in awkward silence for a few moments, before IF decided to change the subject. “Anyways, I see you took on some jobs from the guild?”

“Yes. I have to kill five dogoo, and collect herbs for two clients.” Purple Sister said.

“Ah.” IF said, nodding. “I’m killing dogoo, dogoo man and a few other monsters.” Said IF, reaching into her pocket and removing a few slips of paper.

“IF? Can I ask you something very serious?” Purple Sister asked, balling her hands into tight fists.

IF swallowed hard. She suddenly felt very nervous. “Of course you can.” She said.

“Well… Why does Planeptune hate dogoo so much?”

IF couldn’t help, but laugh which left Purple Sister confused. “No. We don’t hate dogoo. It’s just that they spawn so quickly and they can cause trouble for the city. That’s all.” IF said, reassuring Purple Sister.

“Oh! I see.” Purple Sister said.

“Anyways, I’ll help you collect those herbs, okay?” Said IF, patting Purple Sister on the arm.

“Thanks IF!” Purple Sister said.

“Nah. It’s the least I could do. Thanks for listening!” Said IF.

***

The following morning IF and Compa got up early. The girls had already told Purple Sister and Purple Heart that they were going to start training with Neptune and Nepgear for a while.

“Please be safe.” Purple Sister said. “I would go with you, but I want to spend time with my big sister.”

“It’s okay.” Compa said, reassuring the girl. “We’ll miss you, but family time is important.”

“That’s right.” Said IF.

IF and Compa ate a quick breakfast. After that IF and Compa grabbed some backpacks and started filling them with supplies. “I’ll bring the pudding.” Compa said.

“Yeah. Neptune might flip out if we forget that.” Said IF.

After the girls had finished packing they headed outside. “So everyone is going to meet us at the gate, right?” Compa asked.

“That’s right.” Said IF. IF turned her eyes back towards their little home. Even though IF knew they wouldn’t be gone for very long, she still wanted to take everything in. “Are you okay Compa? Are you sure you want to leave? If you want to stay here that’s okay.” Said IF.

“No. I want to help everyone including you Iffy.” Said Compa, taking IF’s hand into her own. “Iffy?”

“Yeah?” IF said, blushing a little.

“I love you Iffy.” Said Compa.

IF blushed heavily. “Y-Yeah? Well…” IF stammered. “I love you too!”

“Really?” Compa said, happily. “Thanks!”

IF shook her head. “Stupid! Don’t thank me for saying it! Now come on!” IF said, moving forwards. “Everyone’s waiting for us!”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 27

 “Were going to fight you now?” HachimaJin said, as two large cannons that were floating behind the creatures back aimed themselves at the group of girls and fired. A loud crackling sound erupted from the cannons as two red lasers exploded from out of the weapons.

Neptune and Nepgear leapt out of the way, while Purple Sister placed her sword directly in front of her. A small energy shield appeared between her and the laser beams. “Nice work little sister!” Neptune said, proudly. “Oh! Sorry about that Purple Sister!” Neptune said.

Purple Sister didn’t react at first, instead she held her sword still until the red lasers vanished. Then she turned to Neptune and blushed. “That’s okay. It felt nice to hear.” She said.

Neptune smiled. “Well it kind of felt right.” She said.

Nepgear on the other hand felt a small tinge of jealousy.” My big sister…” She grumbled under her breath.

“That was really impressive?” HachimaJin said, in a feminine voice.

“Not that impressive LOL! Were just getting started!” HachimaJin said in a masculine voice. The creature rushed forwards and attacked using it’s claws. Neptune held up her sword and blocked the attack at first. “Nice one ROTFLMAO!” HachimaJin said, before he suddenly roared in anger.

Neptune yelped as she was lifted off the ground and thrown into the ceiling. Neptune felt pain rip through her body as debris rained down to the floor below. “NEPTUNE!” Nepgear and Purple Sister cried out.

The two girls rushed forwards and swung their weapons. Nepgear managed to cut HachimaJin in the side of the head, while Purple Sister sliced the creatures side. HachimaJin roared in anger and swung it’s claws at the two girls.

Purple Sister blocked the attack effortlessly. With little strength, she managed to push the claw away and stab HachimaJin in the side, causing the monsters entire body to shake with pain.

Nepgear on the other hand leapt over HachimaJin’s attack, avoiding it by mere inches. After that she rushed past the creature and caught Neptune just before she hit the ground. “NEPTUNE!” Nepgear screamed.

“Ouchies!” Neptune said, looking into Nepgear’s eyes. Neptune saw her sister had tears trickling down her bright red cheeks. “It’s okay little sister. Your big sister learnt her lesson last time.” Neptune held up her hand. “HEAL!” And with those words, Neptune’s injuries were healed. “I also increased my strength.”

“Thank goodness.” Nepgear breathed.

“Come on.” Neptune said, sliding out of her sisters arms. “Let’s give HachimaJin a spanking!”

“Like IF apparently spanked you?” Nepgear teased.

“No… Well maybe…” Neptune blushed heavily.

Purple Sister was launching attack after attack. Her sword sliced through HachimaJin. She effortlessly avoided each of it’s attacks, but one attack connected and launched the girl across the room. Purple Sister screamed in pain and rage, but she didn’t lose her head. As she flew through the air, Purple Sister aimed her weapon at HachimaJin and fired several energy round into it’s body. Once Purple Sister had landed, she quickly turned her head towards Neptune and Nepgear and saw that they were alright.

HachimaJin roared in anger and placed a shield between it and Nepgear. “HA! LOL! Try to hit me now!”

“OKAY!” Nepgear and Neptune shouted. Both girls leapt high into the air and brought their swords down fast. Their attacks sliced through the creatures back.

“Were going to lose?” HachimaJin said, in a feminine voice.

“Not yet! No way! LOL!” HachimaJin cackled in a male voice. The creature flew towards the far side of the room, it aimed it’s canons at both Neptune and Purple Sister. “Feeling hungry? Eat some of this!” And with that, HachimaJin fired it’s lasers at the girls. Neptune leapt out of the way, while Purple Sister blocked the attack altogether.

“I’m going to have to learn how to block!” Neptune said, as the laser she avoided started following her. Neptune ran as fast as she could, but the laser was incredibly fast. “Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!” Neptune cried.

Just when Neptune was certain the laser was going to hit her, Nepgear placed herself in front of the laser. The girl held her sword out, but she wasn’t able to block the attack like Purple Sister could.

“AGHH!” Nepgear screamed, as her sword was blasted away and the laser struck the girl in the chest.

“NEPGEAR!” Neptune screamed, as she halted in her tracks.

“We got her?” HachimaJin said, in a feminine voice.

“Yeah! Crispy fried girl! My favorite!” HachimaJin said, in a masculine voice.

Neptune gritted her teeth and roared in rage, but she refused to attack HachimaJin. Instead she ran over to Nepgear. “Are you okay?” She cried, once she was close enough.

“H-Heal.” Nepgear muttered, as her body started to shine brightly.

“HEAL!” Neptune cried, using her own healing magic as well to help.

Nepgear’s wound closed up, but her clothes were still ripped. “Are you okay babe?” Neptune asked, helping Nepgear to her feet.

“Are you two okay?” Purple Sister asked, landing directly in front of them.

“Were okay.” Nepgear said, allowing her sister to help her up. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m really angry right now. These are my best clothes!” Nepgear said, narrowing her eyes at HachimaJin.

“Let’s finish this.” Purple Sister said, as more tears trickled down her bright cheeks. “I’m sick of this thing hurting my friends and I miss my big sister already! Enough is enough!” Purple Sister said, stamping her right foot.

Neptune giggled. “Alright you two ragamuffins! Let’s finish this.”

“But how?” Nepgear asked, as she summoned her backup laser sword. “This thing is too tough.”

“Nope! It’s weak.” Said Neptune. “And this is my super brainy idea!”

Purple Sister and Nepgear listened intently as Neptune explained her plan. “So how does that sound?” Neptune asked.

“It seems simple.” Said Purple Sister.

“Yeah. Let’s do it.” Said Nepgear.

Neptune nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Are you giving up LOL?” HachimaJin asked, from the other side of the room. “If you are, just stand still. I’ll make this quick!” And with those words, HachimaJin fired his lasers once more at the three girls.

Purple Sister leapt off the ground and intercepted the lasers using her barrier. As she flew closer and closer to HachimaJin, Neptune and Nepgear ran behind her. Their eyes were locked onto their respective targets.

HachimaJin increased the power on it’s lasers, but no matter how much power it produced, Purple Sister seemed to be able to block it. “Uh-Oh!” HachimaJin said, in a masculine voice.

“They’re going to attack us?” HachimaJin said, in a feminine voice.

Purple Sister was now so close to HachimaJin that the lasers were no longer hitting her. Purple Sister screamed as she sliced into HachimaJin’s face, meanwhile Neptune and Nepgear had leapt into the air and sliced through the creatures laser canons cutting them cleanly in two.

Once Neptune and Nepgear landed, they leapt several yards backwards. Purple Sister on the other hand flew high into the air and landed upside down on the roof.

HachimaJin’s canons exploded, knocking HachimaJin’s body left and right in the blast. “LOL! OMG that hurt!” HachimaJin cackled.

“We need to get out of here?” HachimaJin said, in a feminine voice.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Nepgear cried, as she stabbed her energy sword into HachimaJin’s body.

“What she said!” Neptune cried, as she too stabbed HachimaJin.

Purple Sister pushed off the ceiling. “And here comes a third one!” She cried, as brought her sword down hard into the creatures back.

“Were going to lose now, aren’t we?” HachimaJin said, in a feminine voice. “After all this time being trapped and were just going to lose? Just like that?”

“Yeah LOL! This is the best!” HachimaJin cackled, and with those words the creature vanished.

***

Purple Heart brought her sword down hard on the barrier. She had been attacking it for several long minutes, but no matter how hard she attacks, she just couldn’t break through. “LET ME IN! NOW!” Purple Heart roared. With a bright flash of light, the barrier had vanished. “I did it!” Purple Heart cried, as she flew back into the Basilicom.

Purple Heart didn’t stop flying until she reached the large room where Neptune, Nepgear and Purple Sister were waiting. “Are you three okay?” She asked.

Purple Sister burst into tears as she ran over to Purple Heart. Her arms were stretched out in front of her and she was wobbling around a bit, but she managed to throw her arms around her sister. “I was so lonely without you!” Purple Sister sobbed.

“I’m sorry Purple Sister.” Purple Heart said, hugging her sister close. “Are you alright? What happened?”

Neptune, Nepgear and Purple Sister told Purple Heart everything that happened. “And that’s it.” Neptune said, smiling brightly.

“You three were amazing! I’m so proud of you!” Purple Heart said.

“Oh!” Nepgear said, suddenly thinking about something. “Where’s Falcom? I haven’t seen her yet!”

“I hope she’s okay.” Said Neptune.

“Don’t worry. She told me that she wanted to train around the Fairy Tower.” Said Purple Sister.

“Oh… That’s a relief.” Said Nepgear.

“Yeah. She’s going to be kicking herself pretty hard when she learns that she missed all the fun.” Said Neptune. “I might give her a kick too.”

“The only thing that matters is that HachimaJin was defeated, but were not exactly in the clear yet.” Nepgear said. “We still have all those zombie monsters to deal with!”

Purple Sister, Purple Heart, Neptune and Nepgear ran as fast as they could out of the Basilicom. MAGES. and Red heard the commotion and followed the girls outside as well. Once there, they saw that the city was relatively quiet.

“Huh? What happened?” Neptune wondered, aloud.

The girls made their way down into the city and soon spotted Falcom. Falcom had her sword out and was surveying the damage. “Falcom? What’s going on?” Neptune asked. Once Neptune was close enough, she gently gave Falcom a kick.

“Hey! What was that for?” Asked Falcom, confused.

“For missing all the fun.” Said Neptune.

“I actually didn’t miss much. When I got here, there were a bunch of DQN zombies. So I defeated them.” Falcom said, holding up her sword. “Oh and I ran into them.” Falcom gestured towards the right.

“IF! Compa!” Neptune called out.

“Hey Nep!” Said IF, as she and Compa made their way over to the girls. “What happened? Where’s HachimaJin?”

“Dead and dead!” Neptune said, clapping her hands together. “How’s everything going with you two? How’s Arfoire?”

“Arfoire’s fine. She helped us out too.” Said Compa.

“Well that’s good.” Purple Heart said. Purple Heart kicked off the ground and flew ten feet into the air. She looked out over her city. “It looks like all the zombie monsters have been dealt with. There’s some damage though, so we’ll have to get to work fixing everything.” Purple Heart landed gracefully on the ground. “I guess were done here.”

“That’s a relief.” Said Nepgear.

“Yeah. I need some cold pudding, a warm video game and my favorite chair.” Neptune said, her shoulders sagged. “I’m tired.”

“Everyone deserves a break. Including you.” Purple Heart said to Purple Sister.

“No. This is my city too.” Purple Sister said. “I’m going to work with you and make everything better.”

Purple Heart couldn’t help, but smile brightly. “Good girl.” She said, giving her little sister a pat on the head.

“You’re a good sister too.” Neptune said, patting Nepgear as well.

“Thanks!” Nepgear said.

***

The following day Neptune and Nepgear were sitting in front of the television. Thanks to Purple Heart and her sister, construction on the city had begun immediately. Not only that, but Planeptune decided to cover all the damages the zombie monsters had caused. “I’m glad everything worked out so well.” Neptune thought, as she controlled her avatar on the screen.

“Yeah. I’m really glad there weren’t any casualties. Those DQN zombies, lizards, zombie dogs and zombie dogoo are powerful. We really got lucky, huh?” Nepgear asked.

“Yeah.” Neptune said, nodding. “Anyways, Nepgear. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?” Asked Nepgear.

Neptune took a deep breath. “Before we head to Lastation next, I think we need to spend some time getting stronger.”

“Do you want to go back to that Fairy Tower with all the dragons?” Nepgear asked.

“Yep!” Neptune said.

“Great!” Nepgear said, placing her controller on the ground. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’ll pack a lunch and we can get going!”

“Huh?” Neptune said, dully. Neptune took Nepgear’s controller and handed it back to her sister. “Were playing games all day today and relaxing. We’ll grind share energy tomorrow.”

“Huh? But sis!” Nepgear began.

“Hey. You want big sister to give you a spanking?” Neptune asked.

Nepgear gasped. She wasn’t sure if her sister was serious or not, but decided not to take any chances. “No big sister. I’ll be good.” Nepgear said, as she turned her attention back to their game.

“Good girl Nepgear.” Neptune said, patting Nepgear on the head. “Good girl.”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 26

 IF and Compa were starting to feel helpless. The only exit in the apartment complex was now blocked off thanks to a hoard of DQN zombies. Every once in a while someone would poke their head out of their apartment, but the girls would urged them to go back inside.

“Iffy… What’ll we do?” Compa asked, the girl was close to tears.

IF gritted her teeth. “I…” She began, slowly shaking her head. “We have an advantage here.” IF said, pointing towards the door using one of her daggers. “Those DQN zombies can only enter this place through those doors. We have it blocked off, so they’ll be bottlenecked coming in. All we have to do is deal with them as they come in.”

“Okay Iffy.” Compa said, fighting back her tears. “I won’t cry until everyone’s safe!” She said.

IF smiled at her friend. “Anyways, let me get this out.” IF sent her daggers away and summoned a pistol. “This should make things simpler.” She said, aiming her pistol at the door of the apartment.

The girls watched as the zombies continued to smack the doors using their hands. They groaned loudly and angrily. “This reminds me of a few battles we’ve been in before. Remember that one time we got trapped in that cabin?”

“Yeah.” IF said, giggling. “Who knew dogoo could be so violent? I didn‘t think we’d ever live that day down.”

“Yeah. And it turns out only one dogoo was keeping us trapped in that cabin.” Said Compa, giggling.

“Yeah, well it was making a lot of noise.” Said IF.

The sound of glass shattering caused the girl’s smiles to vanish. A flew through the glass of the doors, rolled across the ground before coming to a stop directly in front of them. The eyes in the head turned to IF and Compa before it growled angrily.

IF aimed her pistol at the head and fired. Moments later, the owner of the head along with the head itself vanished. “Here we go.” IF breathed, as she began firing her pistol wildly. Each bullet sailed through the broken window connecting with several targets. Each one vanished in mere seconds.

IF was starting to feel better about their situation, but knew it wouldn’t last. More and more DQN zombies had appeared at the door. Their attacks were more vicious and soon the doors had been thrown open.

“Compa! Get back!” IF said, as she continued to fire her pistol. After a few moments she summoned a clip for her gun and reloaded the weapon.

Compa did as she was told and took several steps backwards. “I think were in trouble Iffy!” Compa cried.

“Don’t say that!” IF said, as she continued to fire her weapon. After emptying another clip, IF sent her pistol away and summoned her daggers. “Come on!” She cried, throwing herself at a group of DQN zombies.

IF swung her daggers wildly, the blades sliced through her targets causing them to vanish completely. Unfortunately more and more DQN zombies shuffled into the building, their dead eyes were locked on IF and Compa.

Compa was launching several attacks of her own. Her massive syringe slashed, cut and stabbed the DQN zombies. Her attacks were powerful as well, but they were slow. Compa felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. “I’m not going to cry! I’m not going to cry!” She muttered to herself.

IF was starting to feel helpless as well. Her attacks were effective, but more and more DQN zombies were coming into the building. IF gasped as a head was launched her way, quickly running out of the way she avoided the attack by mere inches, however she ran into another DQN zombie that grabbed her shoulders.

The DQN zombie’s large mouth was inches from her face. It’s hot stinky breath threatened to overwhelm the girl.

IF aimed the tips of her daggers at the creatures stomach, but before she could launch her attacks, several of the DQN zombies had grabbed her arms and held them firmly in their hands. “This is it!” IF cried.

“I’m sorry Iffy!” Compa cried. Compa too had been grabbed by the DQN zombies.

Just when the girls though their lives were over, the zombies started to vanish one after another. It was at that moment, they realized that another girl had appeared to fight along side them.

“Arfoire?” IF said, shocked.

“You two are being so loud!” Arfoire said, annoyed. “How do you expect anyone to get any sleep around here?” She demanded. Arfoire had managed to kill all the DQN zombies that had invaded the apartment complex.

“Thanks Arfy!” Compa said, running up to Arfoire.

“Am I a dog now?” She asked.

“Well you’re stubborn like a mule.” IF said, smirking.

Before anyone could notice Arfoire blushing, the girl had pulled her hat down so her face was hidden behind the brim. “Shut up.” She breathed. “Look. You two don’t have to worry about me or this apartment. I’ll keep it safe. Just make sure you hurry up and fix this mess, okay?”

“Right.” IF said, nodding. “Compa? Do you want to stay here and-”

“NO!” Compa said. “I mean… I want to help Arfoire, but I don’t want you to leave without me.”

“I’m fine Compa.” Arfoire said. “I promise. I’ll be fine. You two help the stupid goddess already.”

Compa wanted to argue, but she knew she couldn’t have it both ways. “Alright. We’ll be back to check on you.”

“Great…” Arfoire said, trying to sound annoyed. “And thanks for helping.”

After IF and Compa said goodbye to Arfoire, they ran outside. “Where should we-” IF began, but stopped speaking when she noticed something strange. A large red barrier had formed over the Basilicom and a figure was flying around it. “What is that?” IF asked, her lower jaw dropped.

“I don’t know, but isn’t that lady Purple Heart?” Compa asked.

IF squinted her eyes at the figure. Sure enough it was lady Purple Heart. “It is. What’s going on here?”

***

Neptune felt a strange change in the air. The moment Purple Heart had left the Basilicom the girls decided to find a place to ride things out, but soon the air changed. Now it felt heavy and the girls felt nervous. “I think something big just broke into the Basilicom.” Neptune muttered. “Seriously. How cool is it that I can tell when a huge monster just appeared in the building?”

“I can feel it too.” MAGES. said.

“Me too. It’s making me nervous for my wifeys and myself…” Said Red, her voice fell off.

“Me too.” Said Purple Sister.

“Same.” Said Nepgear.

The guards in the room looked nervous as well. “We need to find out where this is coming from.” One of them said. “Lady Purple Sister? Please go to your room and lock the doors. Friends of lady Purple Sister? Will you accompany her?”

“No way buddy!” Neptune said, holding up her katana so everyone in the room could see it. “Nep’s got to Nep!”

Nepgear sighed deeply. “I think what my sister is saying is that we need to help fight this monster.”

“Exactly!” Said Neptune.

“I want to help my wifeys as well!” Said Red.

“And I don’t want to hide while everyone else is fighting.” Said Purple Sister.

Neptune giggled. “That’s three against all of you. So we win!” Said Neptune.

Nepgear cleared her throat as she walked over to Neptune. “Neptune? Do you think it’s a good idea for Purple Sister, Red and MAGES. To help us? They might get hurt?” Said Nepgear, concerned.

Neptune shook her head. “I don’t see a problem. I mean, we might not be strong enough to fight HachimaJin either.”

Nepgear’s shoulders sagged. “Oh yeah! Good point.”

“I guess you’re stuck with us.” MAGES. said, overhearing what Nepgear had said.

“No. Not stuck. I was just worried.” Said Nepgear.

“Yes I know. Your ability to worry about others is a charm of yours.” Said MAGES..

“Yeah. It’s one of her best charms! Her ability to make me smile is another, her hugs are another, but her best is her pudding making charms! It’s the best!” Neptune said.

Nepgear’s cheeks were bright red and her eyes were as large as saucers. “Enough big sister! Let’s just hurry up and find HachimaJin!” And with that, Nepgear led the charge through a large set of doors.

Everyone in the room followed after the girls. They stepped into a large hallway and started making their way down it. Once they reached a doorway, Neptune flung it open. The door led into a small room that was completely empty except for a few pieces of furniture.

“This is a meeting room. It’s where attendants conduct business meetings.” One of the guards said.

“Great! Get inside!” Neptune said, gently pushing the guard into the room.

“Excuse me?” The guard said, shocked.

“Yeah. We need you guarding this room just incase.” Neptune said. “Red? MAGES. can you keep them safe?” Asked Neptune.

“Getting rid of us already?” Asked MAGES..

“Nothing like that. I just realized that the guards are going to be at a disadvantage in a fight and they’ll need some protection.” Said Neptune.

“Ma’am. I assure you that were more than capable of fighting these types of monsters.” Said the guard.

“I know, I know, but I would feel better if I knew you were safe.” Said Neptune. “And don’t you worry about Purple Sister. We’ll take good care of her!”

The guard wanted to argue, but Red and MAGES. started pushing them deeper into the room. “Alright big sister of Nep. Be careful and if you need the help of a mad magician, just let me know.”

“Be careful is my middle name!” Neptune said.

“It is?” Asked Purple Sister.

Nepgear shook her head. “No. We don’t have middle or last names.”

Once the door to the conference room was closed, Neptune sighed deeply. “I really hope I didn’t just mess up there.”

“It’s okay sis. You did good.” Said Nepgear, patting Neptune on the shoulder.

“Yeah.” Said Purple Sister, patting Neptune as well. “You did really good. Pat, pat.”

Neptune was bursting with pride now. “Thanks everyone! Now let’s go!”

“Right!” Nepgear and Purple Sister said in unison.

The girls started making their way back down the long hallway. As they walked, they kept their ears and eyes open for any signs of life. The girls could hear the sounds of groaning coming from up ahead, but besides them, the hallway was completely empty. “I wonder how many monsters HachimaJin managed to spawn in here.” Nepgear asked.

“Who knows. One is too many for me.” Said Neptune.

Suddenly a pair of doors ahead of them were kicked in and several large lizard monsters stepped outside. The creatures turned their eyes towards the group of girls. “Oh goodness. I hate these things.” Nepgear said, nervously.

“It’s okay Nepgear. Just stick with me! I’ll keep you safe!” Said Neptune, aiming the tip of her sword at the lizard monsters.

Neptune, Nepgear and Purple Sister rushed forwards. Purple Sister had summoned her sword as well and just as the girls were about to reach the hoard of lizard monsters, she started shooting the creatures dead.

Neptune and Nepgear skidded to a halt. “Whoa!” Neptune cried.

“Did I do something wrong?” Purple Sister asked, lowering her sword.

“Nope! You did great!” Neptune said. “You just surprised us.” Neptune said, lowering her sword. “And I missed my chance to show off.”

“I’m sorry!” Purple Sister said.

“Don’t be.” Nepgear said, waving her hand dismissively. “We just forgot how powerful you are, that’s all.”

“I see.” Said Purple Sister, blushing a little. “I was a little surprised as well, but my big sister told me we should both strength our stats at the Fairy Tower.”

“Yeah. That Purple Heart has a good head on her shoulders.” Said Neptune. “Anyways, let’s get going. I’m sure HachimaJin’s hiding around her somewhere.” Neptune said, as she led the girls into a much larger room. The moment the girls entered the next room, they halted in their tracks.

“They found us?” Said HachimaJin in a feminine voice.

“Yeah!” HachimaJin cackled. “And now we get to kill them LOL!”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 25

 Neptune ran outside and was now standing in the middle of the street. The girl was quickly followed by Nepgear, IF and Compa. The girls watched as dozens and dozens of DQN zombies shuffled their way into the street. They groaned loudly as they moved. “Hey. I think I know where HachimaJin scampered off to.” Said Neptune, smiling. Her smile vanished when the girl realized that no one was laughing.

“DQN zombies? Oh no… That means those lizard monsters are here, right?” Nepgear asked, her hands were shaking by her sides.

“Maybe, but don’t worry Nepgear! I’ll be more careful this time! I promise!” Neptune said, as she summoned her katana.

“Just stay close to me.” Said Nepgear, as she summoned her energy sword.

IF and Compa summoned their weapons as well, but their minds were on something else. “Nep? Gear?” IF began, biting her lower lip nervously. “I’m a little worried about Arfoire.” She began.

“That’s right.” Compa said, concerned.

“It’s cool.” Neptune said, winking at IF and Compa. “Go and make sure she’s okay? Okay?”

“Thanks!” IF said. “Come on Compa!” And with those words, IF rushed towards the DQN zombies as fast as she could, Compa followed close behind her friend. The DQN zombies turned their bodies towards the girls, they grabbed their heads and tossed them at the girls.

IF swung her daggers wildly and managed to knock the heads away. After that the girl flew  through the group of DQN zombies, cutting down all the monsters she flew past. Compa stabbed a few of the remaining DQN zombies, but didn’t spend too much time on them.

Neptune and Nepgear watched until their friends disappeared around the bend. “Alright Nepgear. I think we should head towards the Basilicom.”

“Good idea!” Said Nepgear, as the two girls turned and started running as fast as they could down the long street. As the girls ran, they passed by dozens of people. “PLEASE… GO BACK INSIDE! MONSTERS ARE INVADING!” Nepgear screamed.

“HEY! MONSTERS ARE COMING!” Neptune cried.

The people looked confused, but as monsters started flooding into the streets, the people screamed and ran for the nearest building to hide in. Neptune and Nepgear launched themselves at any of the DQN zombies that launched attacks at people, but the girls knew they wouldn’t be able to defeat all the monsters in time. They knew someone was going to get hurt, or worse.

Neptune managed to kill two DQN zombies that had swarmed around a little girl. “You okay?” Neptune asked, smiling warmly at the girl, who had tears in her eyes. The little girl couldn’t speak. All she could do was nod her head. “Where’s your house?” Neptune then asked.

The little girl pointed towards a nearby building. “Alright!” Neptune said, as she bent down so the little girl could climb onto her back. “All about the Nep-Nep express!” She said.

The little girl climbed onto her back and threw her arms around her neck. After that, Neptune leapt forwards and cut down several DQN zombies that were about to launch their heads at them.

Neptune cheered in triumph, but noticed another zombie several feet away. The creature launched it’s head at her.

Just when Neptune thought she would be hit, Nepgear appeared and struck the head using her energy sword, launching it high into the air. After that Nepgear killed the creature’s body causing the entire monster to disappear.

“Great work Nepgear!” Neptune said, happily.

When Neptune finally reached the little girl’s house, she bent down and waited until the little girl was inside her home. “Thank you!” She said, closing the door behind her.

“Bye bye!” Neptune said, happily.

“Good work Neptune!” Nepgear said, feeling proud of her sister.

“Thanks Nepgear, but we have more DQN zombie butt to kick!” Said Neptune.

***

IF and Compa continued their journey to Arfoire’s house, by mostly staying on the main roads. However, a few times they had to travel down some alleyways in order to avoid huge swaths of DQN zombies.

“This is ridiculous! Where did all these monsters come from?” IF wondered.

“I have no idea Iffy.” Compa said.

The girls finally reached the street that Arfoire lived on. They were surprised and relieved to see that the street was empty of life. “Hurry Compa. Were almost there!” IF said, as she led the charge towards Arfoire’s apartment complex.

The two girls ran through the front doors of the apartment and started climbing the steps as fast as they could. By the time they reached Arfoire’s door, Compa was out of breath. “Arfoire? Are you in there?” IF cried, as she smacked the door with her open hand.

The sounds of footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door. Moments later the door opened an inch and Arfoire peered outside. “IF, Compa. What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Planeptune’s being invaded!” Compa shouted.

IF nodded. “It’s true. There are monsters called DQN zombies that are attacking. We came here to make sure you were alright.”

“I’m fine.” Said Arfoire.

“Uh…” IF began. Arfoire spoke as though she wasn’t concerned that the city was currently being invaded by undead monsters. “You do understand what were saying, right? Actual monsters are attacking the city. People are in trouble.”

“I understand.” Said Arfoire, her tone never changed.

“Do you mind if we come in?” Compa asked.

Arfoire turned her eyes to Compa. “If you two are in trouble, you can hangout here until things settle down, but if not, I’d prefer it if you left.”

“Hey!” IF shouted, angrily. “We came here to make sure you were alright!”

“And you can see that I’m fine. Please… if you’re alright, you should leave.” Arfoire said, as she closed the door and locked it.

IF’s eyes were burning with rage. All she wanted to do was kick down Arfoire’s door and give the woman a piece of her mind, instead she turned angrily towards Compa. “She’s fine. We should leave.” IF said, her hands were shaking with rage.

Compa placed sent her giant syringe away and placed her hands on IF’s shoulders. “Iffy. It’s like you said, remember? We came here to check out Arfoire. She’s alright. Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge are going to need us to help them now.” Compa said, her voice was sweet as honey.

IF’s anger instantly vanished. “Y-you’re right.” She said, blushing a little. “Sorry about that Compa.”

“No. It’s okay.” Compa said, summoning her giant syringe once more. “I love when you’re so passionate! I love you IF!”

“Thanks Compa.” IF said, shocked by how happy she felt. “Alright. We should go.”

IF and Compa made their way back downstairs, but before they could leave the apartment complex, they spotted a giant hoard of DQN zombies making their way towards the doors.

IF and Compa quickly went to work. They grabbed as many items as they could and placed them in front of the doors. After that, they looked for another way out, but all the areas around the apartment complex were blocked by DQN zombies. “This isn’t good!” Compa said, nervously.

“Yeah…” IF said, as the DQN zombies started pounding their fists against the doors. “This place is going to be flooded soon!”

***

Neptune and Nepgear were getting closer and closer to Planeptune’s Basilicom, but thanks to the amount of monsters, the girls were having a hard time keeping people safe. They sliced through dozens of DQN zombies, but more and more of them appeared and launched fresh attacks at the girls.

“Geesh!” Neptune said, as she cut down her sixty-seventh monster. “I’m glad I took your advice and focused some share energy on my stamina. If I hadn’t you’d be carrying me right now.”

“Goodness Neptune. I’m tired and I focused a lot of share energy on my stamina the last time we used a Fairy Tower.” Said Nepgear, as she cut down her fifty-second and fifty-third monster.

Neptune rushed towards another DQN zombie and cut it down, but something silvery caught her attention. Turning quickly Neptune blocked a pair of metallic claws that were aimed at her face. “Hey now! Wait your turn!” Neptune said, as a giant lizard towered over her.

Nepgear’s heart started pounding wildly in her chest. “That’s the same monster that nearly took my sister from me!” Nepgear thought, as she angrily charged at the creature. Before Nepgear could get close enough however, Neptune pushed the monster back and sliced a second lizard monster that launched an attack at her. With a single slice of her sword, Neptune managed to kill the monster before she killed the first one that attacked.

“And that’ll do it!” Neptune said, turning to face Nepgear. “Whoa Nepgear! What’s with the look?” She asked.

“Uh? Nothing!” Nepgear said, shaking her head. “Good job!”

“Thanks!” Neptune said.

Neptune and Nepgear turned back towards the main road, but stopped in their tracks. Hundreds of DQN zombies, lizards, zombie dogs and zombie dogoo were marching down the street.

“I don’t think we can handle all of these…” Nepgear said, her voice shook in her throat.

“Yeah… We might have to…” Neptune began, looking for another way to get to the Basilicom.

A huge ball of fire suddenly slammed into the army of monsters, killing dozens of them at one time. After that, a girl with red hair flew at the creatures and killed several of them with a giant toy hammer.

“I apologize for being late.” MAGES. Said, appearing from a nearby alleyway. “But mad magicians keep their own schedules.”

“Hi!” Red said, as she rushed over to Neptune and Nepgear. “So did my wifeys miss me?” She asked.

“Yes this one.” MAGES. Began. “I met her near a Fairy Tower and she insisted that I was now her ‘wifey’. I protested of course, but she won’t drop the subject.”

“Hi ladies!” Neptune said, happily.

“When did you two arrive at Planeptune?” Nepgear asked, happily.

“I can’t speak for the annoying one, but I’ve been here for two days now.” MAGES. Said.

“Same here.” Said Red. “I found a bunch of new wifeys, but you two are still my favorites!”

“Aw!” Neptune said. “We are pretty amazing, huh? Anyways thanks for the save!”

“Where are you two heading?” Asked MAGES..

“Basilicom.” Said Nepgear. “We need to talk to Purple Heart and Purple Sister.”

“Very well. We shall be your escorts.” MAGES. Said as she turned towards the remaining monsters.

MAGES. And Red ran side-by-side with Neptune and Nepgear following close behind. As they ran the girls were able to cut down more and more of the approaching monsters. MAGES. Used her magic, while Red used her assortment of toy weapons and shield to keep everyone safe.

Thanks to MAGES. And Red the trip to the Basilicom was a lot easier for them. The girls noticed that dozens of Basilicom defense forces were aiming firing energy weapons at the monsters, but there wasn’t enough to make that big of a difference.

The girls ran into the Basilicom before anyone could stop them. “PURPLE…!” Neptune began, but before she could finish speaking, Purple Sister had embraced the girl in a tight hug.

“Are you okay?” Purple Sister asked, the girl was close to tears.

“I’m fine.” Said Neptune, blushing heavily.

“I see you already met one of my wifeys!” Said Red, happily. “I’m glad my wifeys are drawn to each other!”

Purple Sister smiled as she turned her eyes to Red. “I’m glad you’re okay too Red.”

“I’m good as well.” Said MAGES..

Purple Heart was standing on the other side of the room talking to some of her guards. After she finished talking, the goddess made her way over to the group of girls that had gathered in her Basilicom. “I’m glad you two are alright.” Purple Heart said, to Neptune and Nepgear. “I see you brought some friends with you.”

“Yes. MAGES. And Red.” Nepgear said, introducing each of the girls to their lady.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is MAGES.. I’m a mad magician.” MAGES. Said, smiling mischievously.

“Nice to meet you! Do you want to be my wifey?” Asked Red.

Purple Sister smiled a little, before turning her attention to Purple Sister. “Purple Sister? Could you do me a favor and keep an eye on everyone in the Basilicom? I’ll be right back.” She said.

“Of course.” Purple Sister said, a determined look appeared on her face.

“Purple Heart?” Nepgear said, furrowing her brow.

“It’s alright. My people told me that there is a large figure just outside the city. It’s description matches that of HachimaJin. I’m going to fly there and take care of it.” Said Purple Heart.

Before anyone could try to stop Purple Heart, the goddess stepped outside the Basilicom and shot into the air like a bullet.

***

Once Purple Heart was flying high over her city, her eyes fell on the large figure that she had received reports of. “There you are!” Purple Heart said, summoning her sword.

HachimaJin turned it’s eyes towards the goddess. “The goddess going to attack us?” HachimaJin said, in a feminine voice.

“Yeah! It’s going to be epic!” HachimaJin said, in a male voice.

“Were running away?” HachimaJin said.

“Not because were scared!” HachimaJin said.

Purple Heart gasped as a large gateway opened up in front of HachimaJin. In a matter of seconds the creature flew through the gateway and vanished. Her eyes quickly turned to the Basilicom where a large, energy shield appeared around the entire building. “NO!” Purple Heart screamed. “It was a trap…”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 24

 Everyone stood in awkward silence as Arfoire pointed an accusing finger at Neptune and stared daggers at the girl, but she didn’t say another word. Neptune’s lower jaw dropped in awe.

“Hey Nep?” IF said, making her way over to Neptune. “Do you know Arfoire?”

“I… Don’t think so.” Neptune said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and closed her eyes. Neptune tried to remember if she had ever seen Arfoire before, but she drew nothing, but blanks. “I don’t think we’ve ever met before. Normally you start hating people after you meet them.”

Arfoire dropped her arms to her sides and clenched her hands into tight fists. Without saying another word, Arfoire turned on her heels and walked away. IF wanted to run after Arfoire, but she wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do or not.

“I’ll be right back.” Compa said, running after Arfoire.

“That was weird.” Nepgear said.

The sounds of light sobs came from a nearby television. Purple Sister was standing and was looking sorrowful at Neptune. “P-Poor Neptune. Why would anyone say something so horrible?” She asked, as she ran around the table and threw her arms around Neptune. The sudden hug nearly caused Neptune to fall over.

“Whoa there little missy!” Neptune said. “I’m alright! Nothing to get upset over.” Neptune patted Purple Sister on the back, hoping to calm her down.

A few moments later Compa returned to the house, but Arfoire was nowhere to be seen. “Hi. I’m back.” Compa said, in a sad voice.

“Is everyone okay?” Falcom asked.

“Uh…” Compa began, trying to find the right words. Compa looked at Neptune and forced a smile. “I’m sorry about that Nep-Nep. I’m not really sure what happened back there, but Arfoire decided to go home.”

“That’s okay.” Neptune said, who was still hugging Purple Sister.

“Did Arfoire say anything to you?” IF asked.

Compa slowly shook her head. “She just said that she was sorry and she needs to go home.”

“Well…” Nepgear began, clearing her throat. “Let’s not let it get us down. Okay? Let’s celebrate.”

“Yeah.” IF, Compa, Neptune and Falcom said in unison.

“So strong…” Purple Sister said, still hugging Neptune tightly.

***

Arfoire felt incredibly ticked off, but what really bothered her was the fact that she had no idea why she felt so angry. “Why did I do that? Why did I yell at that Nep- stupid little girl like that? Why does her name tick me off so much?” Arfoire wondered to herself, as she made her way to her apartment.

Instead of going into the building and up to her room however. Arfoire stood in front of the door and eyed it angrily. “This isn’t the first time I felt like this.” Arfoire muttered, in a low voice. “Every time I look at Purple Heart, I feel the same way! All I want to do is crush her under my heel, but I don’t know why!”

Arfoire turned and walked away from her apartment building. Instead she made her way to the gate of Planeptune. After summoning her sword she started attacking the dogoo that were bouncing around outside. Her sword sliced and hacked through the gelatinous creatures as though they were made of nothing.

“I hate Neptune! I hate Neptune! I HATE NEPTUNE!” Arfoire screamed, as she continued to cut down the monsters. “But why? Why do I hate her so much?” The girl asked herself.

Arfoire’s screams and sword swings managed to tire her out and soon she was breathing hard, while laying on the ground. As Arfoire breathed, she looked up at the night sky. The dark sky was filled with bright, twinkling stars. “Maybe… I need to figure this out for myself. IF and Compa have been great to me, but I need to distance myself from them until I can figure this stuff out.”

The moment Arfoire made up her mind about this, she heard a low groaning noise. Lifting her head, Arfoire noticed a strange figure walking towards her. The figure held out it’s arms and it groaned loudly.

Getting to her feet, Arfoire eyed the figure angrily. “Were you listening in to what I was saying?” She demanded.

The figure only groaned in response.

“Hey! I asked you a question!” Arfoire said, annoyed.

The figure still didn’t respond. Instead it continued to groan loudly as it got closer and closer to her. Arfoire furrowed her brow in confusion. “Are… You hurt or something?” She asked.

Arfoire gasped when the figure suddenly grabbed its head and threw it as fast as it could at her. Arfoire quickly leapt out of the way. The moment her feet touched the ground she leapt at the creature and swung her sword. With a single slice of her weapon, she managed to kill the monster utterly.

“That was weird.” Arfoire said, sighing deeply. “I’m going home.”  

***

The following morning Nepgear had woken up early like she always did and made her way to Neptune’s room. She wasn’t surprised to see Neptune hiding underneath her blankets, sound asleep. She was surprised to see Compa was sleeping beside her though. “Neptune? Compa” Nepgear began, making her way into the room. “Time to get up.”

Compa groaned loudly, before she opened her eyes and sat up in bed. “Good morning Ge-Ge.” Compa said, before she yawned and stretched her hands high over her head. “Neptune wanted me to sleep with her last night.”

“I get that way sometimes too.” Said Nepgear. “Do you mind waking her up? I’ll get breakfast started.”

“That’s okay.” Compa said, turning to wake Neptune. “IF said she’d do it.”

“Oh? Thanks.” Nepgear said, turning to leave. Nepgear headed into the kitchen where IF was busily cooking breakfast for everyone. “Morning IF.” Nepgear said, making her way to the kitchen table.

“Morning Gear. Is Compa and Nep getting up?” Asked IF.

“Yeah. Compa’s waking Neptune up right now.” Said Nepgear.

IF had finished stirring a few things, before she set down the wooden spoon she was using and turned to Nepgear. “Nepgear? I’m sorry again about yesterday. I wouldn’t have suggested Arfoire meet you two, if I knew she was going to act like that.” IF said, sighing deeply.

“No. It’s okay.” Nepgear said. “Though I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me. I’m just wondering why Arfoire hates my sister so much.”

“She said the same thing.” Said IF.

“What do you mean?” Asked Nepgear.

“Well Arfoire sent me a text and told me that she was sorry about what happened. Said she wished she knew why she hated Neptune so much.” IF had pulled out her cell phone, pressed a few buttons before handing it over to Nepgear. “She also said that she was going to keep her distance for a little while.”

“Oh  no. I’m sorry!” Nepgear said, shocked.

IF shook her head. “It’s her choice.” IF said, shrugging. “To be honest with you. I think it’s for the best. Neptune is… and don’t you dare tell her this… my best friend. I didn’t like how Arfoire snapped at her either. That was completely unacceptable in my book. With that said, I do believe she had a reason for it.”

“Huh? But Neptune and I’ve never met her before.” Said Nepgear, handing IF’s phone back to her.

“I believe you, but remember what you two told us. Our memories are being restored every time you activate a new Fairy Tower. With that said, it’s hard to imagine what kind of relationship Neptune and Arfoire had in the past.” IF said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “What if Arfoire and Neptune were mortal enemies or something?”

“True…” Nepgear said.

IF took a deep breath, before she turned back to the stove. “I should tell you something. You know those symptoms you described? Headaches and feeling dizziness when remembering something?”

“Yeah?” Said Nepgear.

“Everyone all over the city has been reporting it.” Said IF. “Compa told me when she went to the hospital the other day.”

“The hospital?” Nepgear said, concerned.

“She’s a nurse, remember?” Said IF. “She’s been taking the last few weeks off though.”

“Oh right.” Nepgear said.

Compa and Neptune made their way into the kitchen. Both girls looked completely exhausted, but Neptune did wear a small smile on her face. “Morning everyone.”

“Good morning.” Compa said.

“Morning Nep. Compa.” Said IF.

Neptune suddenly staggered forwards, she held her arms up as she walked. She moved around the table and once she was close, she grabbed IF from behind. “Hi IF!” Neptune said, happily.

“Whoa Neptune! I’m cooking here!” IF said, blushing a little.

“You know what IF?” Neptune began.

“What?” IF said, annoyed.

“You’re my best friend too!” Neptune said.

IF’s cheeks grew even redder than before. “Wh-What are you saying! Get off me!” IF said, pushing Neptune away.

“Aw! I love you so much IF!” Neptune said, giggling.

“Get out of here! When I’m cooking this kitchen belongs to me and you’re not allowed in it!” IF said, trying to sound more annoyed than she really was.  

Neptune giggled mischievously, as she took a seat next to Neptune. “Morning Nepgear.” She began, throwing her arms around her sister. “I love you too Nepgear!”

“Thanks Neptune.” Nepgear began, blushing a little. “I love you too.”

“What about me Nep-Nep?” Compa asked, sitting next to Neptune.

Neptune giggled as she hugged Compa close. “You know I love you too Compa!”

IF turned around and whacked her own hand with  the wooden spoon. The sound of the spoon hitting the palm of her hand caused a shiver to run down Neptune’s spine. “Alright Neptune!” IF said, annoyed. “That’s enough of that! If you keep it up I’m going to-”

Neptune grabbed the side of her head as pain ripped through the front of her brain. She also felt incredibly dizzy. So dizzy that she nearly fell out of her chair. “Nep-Nep!” Compa cried, catching her friend before she fell.

“Neptune!” Nepgear cried.

IF sat down the spoon and ran around the table and placed her hands on Neptune’s shoulders. “Are you okay?” She asked.

Neptune took a deep breath. “I’m fine, but I remembered something.” Neptune said, rubbing the place between her eyebrows.

“What did you remember?” Nepgear asked.

“I…” Neptune began, but her cheeks grew bright red. “I think IF spanked me once.”

“HUH!?” IF, Compa and Nepgear all shouted in unison.

Compa and Nepgear turned their eyes to IF. “You know…” Nepgear began. “I can kind of see that happening.”

“Me too Nep-Nep. I don’t believe in spankings, but sometimes you could use one.” Compa said.

“Hey!” Neptune said, annoyed.

IF sighed deeply. “I’m going to finish breakfast now.” She said.

After the girls were served their breakfast, they talked happily with each other. Neptune did feel a little nervous since she remembered that embarrassing memory involving IF. After they finished eating, Nepgear and Compa did the dishes together.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Asked IF.

“Were going to play videogames and eat pudding!” Neptune said, cheerfully.

“Or you could go on a few quests with Compa and I?” Said IF.

“Nah.” Neptune said, waving her hand dismissively.

“Hey Neptune?” IF began, patting her knee. “Want to make a fresh memory?” She asked, smiling evilly.

Neptune’s eyes went wide and she quickly stood up. “Nope! I’m going to be busy looking for a quest.” Said Neptune, as she strolled over to the door. “Nepgear? Why don’t you relax today while I go and find some work?”

“Okay!” Nepgear said, cheerfully.

Neptune opened the door to the house and stepped outside, but her smile faded when she heard a familiar groaning sound. That sound was quickly followed by the sound of a dish breaking.

“Nepgear? Are you alright?” Compa asked.

Neptune poked her head back inside the house and saw Nepgear standing in front of the sink. Her eyes were wide and her hands were shaking. “Neptune… Neptune?” Nepgear cried. “Did you hear that noise?” She asked.

More groaning noises drifted through the air. “What is that?” IF asked, getting to her feet.

Neptune sighed deeply. “That dear IF, is the sound of trouble.”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 23

 Even though Neptune and Nepgear invited everyone over to their house, their friends declined. “You two probably need a little time to settle in Nep.” Said IF, after declining their invitation. “We’ll come over to bother you two tomorrow. Okay?”

“Well… Alright.” Neptune said, sighing deeply.

“We’ll see everyone tomorrow then!” Nepgear said, waving goodbye to her friends. After that, the two Nep’s headed back to their home. As they walked side-by-side, the girls couldn’t help, but look at the surrounding buildings. “It’s weird. We’ve only been away for a week or so, but everything looks different, huh?”

“Yeah. Everything looks a bit shinier than normal. That’s what happens when you risk your life.” Said Neptune.

“Yeah. I guess so.” Said Nepgear.

As the two girls made their way down the long street, they couldn’t help, but remember everything that had taken place over the last week. The close calls they both suffered from. The monsters they killed and the friends they made. “I wonder if MAGES. And Red are in Planeptune now.” Neptune said.

“Good question.” Said Nepgear. “If MAGES. Is anything like me, chances are she’ll be spending a lot of time around the Fairy Tower. As for Red….”

“She’ll probably being trying to find more wifeys, right?” Neptune suggested.

The girls finally reached their home. Nepgear unlocked the door and allowed it to swing open. The girls made their way inside and started turning on the lights. “Weird. This place looks clean and maintained. Think someone broke in and cleaned for us?” Neptune asked.

“Actually I think Compa did it for us. She did volunteer after all.” Said Nepgear.

“True.” Said Neptune. Neptune started laughing as she ran over to her favorite seat. Plopping herself down she grabbed a controller and turned her console on. “Hi old friend! I haven’t played you in a long time!” Neptune said.

Nepgear sighed deeply as she pulled off her backpack and opened it. After removing all the puddings, water and other food and medical supplies that were inside she made her way over to Neptune and seized her backpack. “Thanks sis.” Neptune said, sliding her arms out of her backpacks straps.

“You’re welcome.” Nepgear said, as she sat the backpack down beside hers and started removing items as well. “Huh? Oh! I forgot about this.” Nepgear said.

Neptune turned and saw Nepgear was holding a strange game console in her hands. “Oh right! My new game console!” Neptune leapt to her feet and ran over to where Nepgear was standing. “We need to figure this out while were back and get our game on!”

Nepgear nodded, but she wasn’t sure if they would have enough time to figure anything out. “We have to travel to Lastation after this. A new nation, new people and we’ll have to deal with two goddesses!” Nepgear thought to herself. “I hope we can handle it.”

“Worrying again Nepgear?” Neptune asked.

“Huh? No! I’m not worried!” Nepgear lied.

“I know you better than that!” Neptune said. “Don’t worry. I won’t force you to talk, but I will force you to share a pillow with me tonight.”

Nepgear smiled. “Thanks Neptune.”

“Sure. Let’s play some games now and relax!” Neptune said, leading Nepgear away from the table.

“Right. Hold on.” Nepgear said, as she gently placed the game console down on the table. “Let’s play!”

***

The following day, Neptune and Nepgear fell into their usual routines. Neptune found herself sitting in front of the television playing video games, while Nepgear fiddled with her energy sword at her workbench. “I think I can maximize the output of my sword, but I might need another energy cell to keep it from losing energy.” Nepgear muttered to herself.

“I think I can beat this game before we have to leave, but I also want to figure that new console of mine out.” Neptune muttered.

The two girls didn’t notice a small group of girls were now standing outside their home. “Knock, knock.” Compa said, opening the door a few inches.

“Compa!” Neptune cheered, as she leapt to her feet and ran to the door. Neptune saw Compa smiling brightly at her, behind her was IF, Falcom and even Purple Sister. “How’s it going ladies?” She asked.

“Nep-Nep, Ge-Ge! How are you two? Sorry we didn’t hangout yesterday.” Said Compa.

“Hey Nep! Slacking off already?” IF asked.

“Hello. Thanks for having us.” Said Falcom.

“H-Hello.” Said Purple Sister.

Neptune giggled as her friends made their way into their home. Nepgear on the other hand was completely absorbed in her work and didn’t notice all the people who had just entered.

“I’m glad you’re here Purple Sister, but I’m surprised Purple Heart let you go. If it were me, I’d be glued to your side for a gazillion years!” Neptune said.

Purple Sister blushed a little. “I want to spend time with her, but I also want to see my friends.” She said.

“Also Purple Heart wants to stay glued to her side, but has her duty as a CPU.” Said Falcom. “She thought Purple Sister would be bored following her around.”

“I can see that. All that paper pushing and stuff. Sounds boring to me.” Neptune said.

“Not boring. Fascinating.” Purple Sister said.

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Said Neptune. “By the way Falcom. I wanted to ask. Where are you staying? You know you can park it here if you want! I’ll even share my pudding with you!”

“Thanks Neptune, but lady Purple Heart gave me a room at the Basilicom.” Said Falcom.

As Neptune, Falcom and Purple Sister continued talking. IF and Compa made their way over to Nepgear who was still working on her energy sword. “Ge-Ge…” Compa said, gently into Nepgear’s. “Hi Ge-Ge. How are you?”

“Huh? Good big sister.” Nepgear said, not taking her eyes off her work.

“Gear? Time to go to bed.” IF said.

“I’m not tired.” Said Nepgear.

“Ge-Ge…” Compa began, as she raked her index finger over Nepgear’s cheek. Nepgear shook her head, before turning her eyes towards Compa. “Hi Ge-Ge!” Compa said, smiling brightly.

“Oh! Compa! I’m sorry!” Nepgear said, finally getting up from her workbench. Nepgear gasped when she noticed that it wasn’t just Compa in her home. “Oh goodness! When did you all get here?!”

“We’ve been here for a few hours Nepgear. I can’t believe you didn’t notice us!” IF teased.

“Goodness! Really?” Nepgear said, stunned.

“No… We just arrived.” Said Compa.

“You always get absorbed in your work, huh?” Asked IF.

“Sorry about that.” Nepgear said, blushing a little.

“Don’t be.” Said IF, draping her arm over Nepgear’s shoulders.

Nepgear joined her sister who was still talking with everyone else. The difference between their conversation this time and before, was the fact that they weren’t reporting what happened to Purple Heart. Now the girls could be more casual and laugh along with their friends.

“Neptune! I can’t believe how hurt you got!” Compa said, the girl looked as though she were close to crying.

“Oh Compa. Plug those leaking pipes. If it weren’t for Nepgear, I would have been in serious trouble.” Said Neptune. “I was so proud of my baby sister that day! Though I’m proud of her everyday.”

“It was scary.” Nepgear admitted .

“Sounds terrifying.” Purple Sister said, hugging herself a bit.

“To be honest with you. I’m really worried about that HachimaJin monster you talked about. Where exactly did that thing run off too?” Asked IF.

“Who knows. Maybe it got a good look at me and was like ‘see ya’!” Neptune offered.

“Yeah. I doubt it.” Said IF. “If it saw you Neptune it probably would have mistaken you for an easy meal.”

“Thanks IF. You really know how to lift my spirits.” Said Neptune, slightly annoyed. “Anyways, Nepgear and I will deal with the monster if it shows up. Also Purple Heart said she’ll keep an eye out for it too.”

“Yeah, but… As strong as Purple Heart is, it won’t just be HachimaJin she’ll have to deal with.” Said Nepgear. “Don’t forget that data we found big sister. HachimaJin could create monsters.”

“That’s true.” Said Neptune. “That’s why were all here, right? To help just incase?”

IF placed her hands on her hips. “Would you look at that? Neptune finally acknowledged the rest of us.”

“Of course I acknowledge you IF! While you guys are fighting, I’ll stay here and keep my pudding supply safe.” Said Neptune.

“What pudding supply? Your refrigerator was practically empty, remember?” Said IF.

“What!?” Neptune ran to the refrigerator and pulled the door open. To her horror, only a few pudding packs remained. “Oh my gosh Nepgear! IF is right for once! We need to restock now!”

“We shouldn’t buy too much big sister.” Nepgear said. “Were leaving for Lastation next, remember?”

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Neptune cried. “If I eat those five pudding packs and those other pudding packs I’ll only have seven left!”

Nepgear sighed deeply. “Alright. I’ll go to the store.” Nepgear said, as she headed for the door.

“I’ll go with you.” Said Compa.

“I’ll tag along too.” Said Falcom.

Purple Sister looked from Nepgear, to Neptune. “What should I do?” She wondered aloud.

Nepgear smiled. “It’s okay Purple Sister. You can stay here.”

“But I’m your friend too.” Said Purple Sister.

“Of course were still friends, but you don’t have to choose between me and my sister.” Said Nepgear, reassuring her friend.

Neptune suddenly appeared by Purple Sister’s side and took the girl by the hand. “I have a super fun activity for us Purple Sister. Let’s play games together! I’ve been wanting to since I met you!”

“Oh… Okay.” Purple Sister said, nodding.

“It always comes down to pudding and video games, doesn’t it Neptune?” Asked IF.

“Don’t be a pooper scooper Iffy. You can play with us too!” Neptune said, as she seized IF‘s hand as well.

“I guess I’m staying here then.” IF said to Compa. “I’ll see you in a little bit with you know who?”

“Yep!” Said Compa.

Neptune furrowed her brow. “I know who?”

“Not you.” Said IF. “Me and Compa. We want to introduce to you a friend of ours.”

“Oh right… My replacement.” Said Neptune.

And with that. Nepgear, Compa and Falcom left the house leaving Neptune, IF and Purple Sister behind.

Neptune guided her friends over to her favorite chair. “Purple Sister you can have my favorite chair in the house!”

“Thank you, but I don’t want to take your chair.” Said Purple Sister.

“Oh wow!” IF said, sarcastically. “You should take it Purple Sister. Not everyday Neptune gives up her favorite chair.”

“Really?” Purple Sister said, not noticing how sarcastic IF was being. “Well thank you.” She said, taking a seat.

“Geesh IF! I’m trying to be nice. Just for that you can be player three.” Neptune said, handing IF a controller.

“My bad.” IF said, even more sarcastically than before.

Neptune sighed deeply as she handed a controller over to Purple Sister. “Let’s just start playing.” Said Neptune.

***

Arfoire had done what Compa has asked and was waiting for her friend to arrive at the grocery store. “She said her friend would probably go grocery shopping today… Maybe they aren’t really coming.” Arfoire thought, crossing her arms in front of her chest and was leaning back against the wall behind her. Arfoire had closed her eyes and was listening to the sounds of Planeptune all around her. “I’m sure they wouldn’t lie to me though. After all… We are friends.”

Arfoire continued to wait patiently, but soon started to lose hope. “I should just leave. They don’t really need me around anymore.” Before Arfoire could do anything though, she heard a familiar voice.

“Arfoire! Were here!” Compa said.

Arfoire opened her eyes and saw Compa was being followed by two other girls. Arfoire wasn’t sure why, but something in her brain told her she knew who those girls were. “Compa. Hi.” Arfoire said, pushing off the wall she was leaning against.

“Sorry if I kept you waiting.” Said Compa. “My friend here would like to do some grocery shopping. After that, we’ll head to her place. Okay?”

“That’s fine, but I’ll just wait out here.” Said Arfoire.

“Oh, well…” Compa began.

“It’s okay Compa.” Said Nepgear. “Why don’t you wait with her. I’ll be in and out in a few minutes.”

“Are you sure Ge-Ge?” Compa asked.

“Of course!” Said Nepgear.

“I’ll still go in with you.” Said Falcom, following Nepgear inside.

Arfoire crossed her arms once again in front of her chest and leaned back against the wall behind her. “Compa. I know you said that we were friends, but you don’t have to keep it up anymore. I’m doing a lot better now. I have a job and-”

“No way!” Compa said, harshly.

Compa’s mood change caused Arfoire to open her eyes. “Compa?” She began.

“Were friends no Arfoire. That’s not going to change just because my old friends came back.” Compa said, smiling sweetly at Arfoire. Arfoire seized the brim of her hat and lowered it over her face just so she could hide her blushing cheeks.

Like Nepgear had said, it only took her a few minutes to finish grocery shopping. Nepgear stepped outside with Falcom. Both girls were carrying several bags of groceries. “I’m done.” Nepgear said.

“Goodie. Let’s go back to your place Ge-Ge.” Said Compa.

Arfoire awkwardly followed Compa and her two friends down the long street. After a few moments they stopped in front of a house. Compa opened the door and stepped inside. “Were back and I brought our new friend.”

“Here we go…” Came the voice of Neptune.

Neptune got to her feet and made her way to the door. “Hello!” Neptune said, smiling brightly. “My name is Neptune! It’s nice to-”

“NEPTUNE!?” Arfoire’s voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter.

“Whoa!” IF cried, running to the door. “What’s going on?” She demanded.

Arfoire closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. “I-I don’t know… I don’t know why, but something tells me that I know Neptune! I also know that I hate her more than anything in this world!”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 22

 HachimaJin floated high in the air. The creatures massive body turned until it spotted Neptune and Nepgear standing next to the Fairy Tower. “They released us, right?” It said, with a strangely feminine voice.

“Yeah! They had no idea what they were doing!” Said HachimaJin, now sounding  masculine.

“Should we destroy them now?” HachimaJin asked.

“Nah! We’ll show them a little consideration.” And with those words, HachimaJin vanished from sight.

Neptune’s lower jaw dropped in awe. “That was the freakiest monster we’ve seen so far.” She muttered.

Nepgear turned to Histoire who wore a panicked look on her face. “Histoire? What was that thing? What do you mean we made a terrible mistake?” She asked.

“Yeah! Isn’t this your mistake? Were the victims here.” Said Neptune.

“Not the point Neptune.” Nepgear said, sighing deeply. “Also how did we end up here?”

Histoire took a deep breath. “Please give me a moment to explain everything. First off. The Fairy Towers have the power to teleport it’s users. However, there are certain guidelines one must follow. First off you must activate all the Fairy Towers in that region and you must visit the Fairy Tower you wish to teleport to.”

“That’s neat.” Nepgear said, wishing she could take apart the Fairy Tower even more. “Alright. So what about that mistake you mentioned?”

“That one is a bit more complicated. Tell me Nepgear and Neptune. Have you been remembering things lately? Things you can’t explain?” Asked Histoire.

Neptune and Nepgear nodded. “Yeah. We started remembering things when we activated the Fairy Towers for the first time. We’ve also been feeling headaches and dizziness too.” Nepgear explained.

“I thought so.” Said Histoire. “The reason’s you’ve been remembering so many things lately is simple. Your memories seem to be tied to the Fairy Towers. I’m not entirely sure how or why it ended up like that, but from what information I’ve gathered, it seems as though everyone is suffering from this phenomenon.”

“I see…” Neptune said. “No wait! I don’t see! Why are we getting headaches and stuff? That didn’t happen before!”

“That’s simple.” Said Histoire. “It’s because the Fairy Towers have been healing you as you activate them. That’s why you’re suddenly remembering the names of monsters and events that took place in the past.”

“Weird.” Neptune said. “I suddenly feel dizzy again.”

“That’s not all.” Histoire said, shaking her head. “It seems that the monsters themselves are also tied to the Fairy Towers.”

“Seriously?” Asked Nepgear.

“Yes. I don’t know why, but it seems as though monsters were seals alongside the original Histoire. Every time you activate a new Fairy Tower, a group of monsters are unleashed onto the world.” Said Histoire. “I can only assume that this isn’t happening on Planeptune.”

“This is so weird. How is that even possible?” Asked Nepgear.

“The only way something like this could happen, is if the original Histoire did it.” Said Histoire.

“HUH!?” Neptune and Nepgear shouted at the same time.

“You better start explaining Histoire, or I’m going to turn you into pudding!” Neptune said, pointing at Histoire angrily. “I don’t know how, but I’ll figure it out! Or Nepgear will! Yeah!”

“Wait Neptune!” Nepgear cried, placing her hands on Neptune’s shoulders.  

“Now please calm down!” Histoire said, holding up her hands. “I’m apart of the original Histoire and I know for a fact that she would never use her powers in such a manner. She would only use her powers to restore something that was altered or changed.” The small fairy like girl explained.

“What do you mean?” Nepgear asked.

“The original Histoire does have access to a lot of power, however someone could use their own power to force changes upon the world through her.” Histoire explained. “That’s the only way something like this could have happened.”

“Okay, okay.” Said Neptune. “So where did that Hachimachi thing come from?” She asked.

“HachimaJin.” Histoire corrected her. “Remember when you told me that you felt strange while standing in one of the rooms in the underground facility below that house?” Histoire asked.

“Yeah?” Said Nepgear.

“I believe you were sensing HachimaJin’s presences at the time. HachimaJin is an incredibly powerful monster so it doesn’t surprise me that you’d still be able to sense it even sealed away.” Histoire explained.

Nepgear crossed her arms in front of her chest and thought for a moment. “I guess that makes some kind of sense, but I’m still curious. Why would anyone set it up like this? Why seal away our memories and those monsters like this? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“It makes sense to me!” Said Neptune.

“What do you mean?” Asked Histoire.

“Well if I were a bad guy, I would seal away people’s memories so they forgot stuff. Also I would make it harder to activate more Fairy Towers.” Said Neptune. “Just think about it Nepgear. Before we were fighting dogoo’s. Now were fighting dragons and giant Hachimajerks! Yep! Makes sense to me!”

“What do you think?” Nepgear asked Histoire.

“Yes. Considering everything we know, it does make logical sense.” Said Histoire. “Oh and I should probably mention. While you two were away, I managed to hack into the underground facilities security system. It took some doing, but I managed to locate and tag each monster that was down there. I calculated that the moment you activated the third Fairy Tower, HachimaJin appeared.”

“That settles it.” Said Neptune, slapping her hands together. “So what do we do now?”

Nepgear didn’t answer right away. Instead she turned her eyes towards the sky where HachimaJin had appeared. “I think we need to go back to Planeptune for right now and let Purple Heart know what happened.”

“Ooh! Good idea! I want to see IF, Compa and Purple Sister! I’m sure Falcom’s already at Planeptune living it up!” Said Neptune.

“Yeah.” Nepgear said, smiling. “Histoire? Could you teleport us to the first Fairy Tower we activated?”

“Sure!” Histoire said.

***
Compa took a deep breath and dabbed her forehead with the back of her hand. “This is exhausting.” She breathed. IF was standing several feet away battling a large group of dogoo that had surrounded her.

IF twirled on her heels and lashed out with a flurry of attacks. With a bright flash all the dogoo were killed. “That should do it. Want to take a break?” IF asked, turning to Compa who was already collapsed next to the Fairy Tower. IF couldn’t help, but giggle. “It looks like you’re already taking a break.”

“Sorry Iffy. I’m just so tired.” Compa said, her giant syringe was lying on the ground next to her.

“That’s alright. Monster hunting isn’t really your thing, huh?” IF asked, making her way over to her friend. IF took a seat next to Compa and turned her attention towards the sky. “This place is pretty peaceful, despite all the monsters, huh?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Said Compa.

“I hope you don’t mind doing this with me.” Said IF.

“Of course not Iffy. I love spending time with you.” Said Compa.

IF blushed a little. “Oh yeah?” She said.

“Of course! Also we have to get stronger, remember what Purple Heart told us?” Said Compa.

IF nodded. She did receive a phone call a few days ago from Purple Heart asking her and Compa to start using the Fairy Tower in order to improve their stats. “I actually didn’t think we’d be able to use this thing, but apparently adventurers have been using it for years.”

“Yeah.” Said Compa. Compa smile slowly faded. “I wonder how Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge are doing. I really miss them.”

“Me too. Who knows when we’ll see them again?” Said IF.

A bright flash took Compa and IF by surprise, suddenly Neptune and Nepgear appeared in front of the girls. “Howdy! I’m back!” Neptune said, saluting.

Compa and IF jumped to their feet. “Neppu!” Compa cried, as she threw her arms around Neptune and Nepgear and hugged them tightly.

“Uh-oh! Leaky pipe alert!” Neptune said.

IF fought back her own tears. “Hey Nep! Gear! How long were you planning on keeping us?” IF asked.

“Sorry about that.” Nepgear said, as Compa hugged her even tighter.

“We have some big news to tell everyone.” Said Neptune.

***
Neptune, Nepgear, IF and Compa made their way back to Planeptune and to the Basilicom. Once there they were led to a large room. The room had several couches, a table and a large window that looked out over the city. “This room could use some pudding.” Neptune said, as she took off her backpack and pulled a pudding pack out. “Anyone want to join me?” She asked.

Before Neptune could open her pudding, the door to the room opened and Purple Heart, Purple Sister and Falcom entered the room.

“Neptune! Nepgear!” Purple Sister said, as she moved quickly over to the two girls. “How are you two?” She asked, smiling brightly.

“Great!” Neptune said.

“Were good. How are you?” Nepgear asked.

Compa smiled brightly. “You two look so alike!” She muttered.

“I’m glad you two are alright.” Said Purple Heart. “I heard you have some news for us?”

Neptune and Nepgear relayed all the information they had gathered. After they finished explaining everything, Purple Heart didn’t seem all that surprised. “I see. I’m glad you two are back safe.”

“Uh… No offense Purple Heart.” Neptune began. “But we laid down some heavy stuff, but you’re not having a problem picking it up, are you?”

“No.” Purple Heart said, shaking her head. “Actually I heard much the same from Histoire before. She told me that the original Histoire is the only one who could have removed my sisters memories.”

“What?!” Nepgear said, shocked.

“Yes. I almost dismantled the Fairy Tower after she told me that, but she did tell me that only someone exerting their own power of Histoire could force her to change anything.” Said Purple Heart. “Still. I’m glad you told me about HachimaJin. I’ll inform my patrols about this monster.”

“You’re welcome.” Neptune said, placing her hands behind her head.

“Now that you two are back. What’s the plan?” Asked IF. “I don’t want to sound skeptical, but I’m not sure you two actually need to activate the rest of the Fairy Towers yourselves. It seems like anyone could do it really.”

“True.” Said Nepgear.

“I would love to sit at home. Put up my feet and eat more pudding and play videogames. I’ve earned a five year vacation, but I want to keep going!” Neptune said. The girl’s words took everyone by surprise. “Nepgear. We’ve accomplished a lot so far and I want to see this thing through until the end!”

Nepgear didn’t say anything. Instead she shifted her weight from her left foot, to her right. The girl seemed to be lost for words.

“Of course I won’t force you. If you don’t want to keep going, just let me know. Okay?” Said Purple Heart.

“Yeah! I’m going to leave the decision up to my favorite baby sister!” Neptune said, throwing her arms around Nepgear.

Purple Sister turned her head slightly towards Purple Heart. “Am I your favorite baby sister?” She asked.

Purple Heart giggled. “Of course you are Purple Sister!” She said, hugging her sister as well.

“This is so sweet!” Compa said, close to tears.

“Do you mind if I think about it for a bit?” Nepgear asked.

Neptune nodded. “Of course! I wanted to spend a few days at home anyways. I have so many video games and puddings to catch up on. Oh and I want to show our house off to Falcom and Purple Sister!”

“I’d like to see it.” Said Falcom.

“Me too.” Said Purple sister, raising her right hand.

“Oh and we’d like for you to meet a friend of ours.” Said IF.

“You’re really going to like her!” Said Compa.

Neptune took Nepgear’s hands into her own. “Did you hear that Nepgear? They replaced us since we were gone! How horrible!”

“Oh please. Like we could replace Nepgear with anyone.” Said IF, smirking.

“What about me?” Neptune asked.

“Did you hear me Nep? We could never replace Nepgear.” IF said, turning to leave.

“HEY!” Neptune cried out, annoyed. “What about me!?”