Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 40

 Uni handed Nepgear her extra sword. After that she turned her attention back to the CPU Killer. The robot reminded both girls of some kind of robotic dragon. It had a long body and two large arms. The robot also held a large axe and mace in it’s hands. “This thing looks like it’s going to be tough.” Uni breathed.

“Yeah.” Nepgear said, taking a deep breath. Nepgear recalled her spare energy sword, as she held her second one out in front of her. “How do you want to do this?” Nepgear asked, nervously.

“I’ll back you up from here.” Said Uni. “Just like my sister.”

Nepgear nodded. “Alright.” Said Nepgear, swallowing hard.

Nepgear and Uni had been fighting along side each other for several days now. They’ve taken on quests where they dealt with all kinds of monsters, but even though they’ve done a lot of battling the girl girls could tell this robot was going to be different.

“You ready?” Uni asked, aiming her rifle at the CPU Killer.

“Yeah.” Nepgear said, before she started running forwards. As the girl ran forwards, the CPU Killer readjusted it’s body so it was fully facing Nepgear. At first the CPU Killer just floated in the air, staring down the approaching girl. After a few moments the robot suddenly lunged forwards which caught Nepgear off guard.

Before the robot could launch an attack, a beam of energy struck the robot in the chest causing it to be pushed backwards. “Stay focused Nepgear!” Uni shouted.

“Right!” Nepgear cried, as she continued to run forwards. Once Nepgear was close enough to the CPU Killer, she leapt high into the air and brought her energy sword down hard. Nepgear managed to slice through the robot’s chest, causing the CPU Killer to back up even more.

“TAKE THIS!” Nepgear cried, as she swung her sword three times. The first two swings she managed to cut through the robot, but the CPU Killer managed to parry her next attack using it’s large axe.

Nepgear hung in the air for a few moments, before the giant robot pushed her backwards, sending the girl flying through the air.

As Nepgear flew, Uni aimed her rifle at the few injuries that Nepgear managed to cause and fired at them. The first beam of energy managed to make the hole Nepgear created slightly bigger, but the CPU Killer blocked the other shots using it’s massive axe. “Damn.” Uni cursed, under her breath.

“TAKE THIS!” Nepgear cried once more, as she suddenly appeared above the CPU Killer’s head and struck the robot once more. The robot quickly dodged out of the way and launched it’s tail at Nepgear.

Nepgear held up her hand to block the attack, but she was too slow. The tail smashed into her body and sent her flying backwards once more, but this time Nepgear slammed into the ground and rolled several feet away.

“Nepgear!” Uni cried, in fear.

“I-I’m o-okay…” Nepgear breathed, as she struggled to her feet.

“I should have warned you.” G said, from somewhere overhead. “The CPU Killer has an adaptive combat system. You won’t be able to destroy it by doing the same attacks over and over again.”

“Is that so?” Uni said, annoyed. “Come on Nepgear! Let’s hurry up and destroy this hunk of junk!”

“Right!” Nepgear said, as she held out her hand. “HEAL!” She called out. Nepgear’s body started to glow brightly, but soon that light vanished along side all the wounds that Nepgear had sustained.

Uni aimed her rifle at the CPU Killer once more. “Hey G!” Uni shouted. “You said that this hunk of metal has an adaptive combat system? Well let’s see if it can keep up with this! BRAVE BURST!” Uni shouted.

An enormous beam of energy exploded out of Uni’s rifle. The CPU Killer placed it’s massive axe and mace in front of it’s body. At first it looked as though the CPU Killer’s weapons would be enough to block the attack, but as the beam of energy continued to slam against the robot’s weapons, a large crack appeared in them.

Suddenly with a loud boom, the weapons exploded and soon the beam of energy struck the CPU Killer in the chest. The CPU Killer tried to move out of the way, but it was pointless. Electricity and smoke exploded out of the robot’s body and soon the robot slammed into the ground.

“I can’t believe it.” G muttered, under his breath.

“That’ll do it!” Uni said, smiling proudly.

“Way to go Uni! You’re such a badass!” Said Nepgear, smiling brightly.

Uni giggled. “I don’t hear you talking anymore G. Upset a couple of cute girls managed to wreck your toy?”

“Actually no.” Said G, chuckling. “I was expecting the CPU Killer to be destroyed, but I thought it would last a little longer. No matter.”

“Hold on Uni. I’ll get that door open now.” Said Nepgear, ignoring what G was saying.

“No need. I’ll let you go.” Said G, as the door to the room opened. “I would advise you to leave immediately. I plan on destroying this lab. Can‘t leave any evidence after all.”

“Aw… I wanted to take the robot apart.” Said Neptune, looking longingly at the destroyed robot.

“Wait!” Uni cried. “What about the city above?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on using any explosives. I have other means of getting rid of evidence. Now I suggest you start running.” G said.

Uni narrowed her eyes at the place G’s voice was coming from. She felt furious. Furious that someone would trap her and her friend in a lab, furious that they would be tested on, furious that they could have died. “I don’t know or care who you are G! I’m going to get you for this!” Uni screamed angrily.

Nepgear grabbed Uni by the hand. “Come on Uni! We need to run!” Nepgear said, as she pulled her friend towards the now open door.

Uni and Nepgear ran as fast as they could through the open door, down a long hallway and up a flight of steps. After the girls reached the top of those steps they ran through a door and slammed it closed behind them.

The girls now found themselves back outside. Not only that, but the box Pirachu had taken off with was sitting on a barrel just in front of them. “Were out. Were free!” Nepgear said, sighing a breath of relief.

“Seriously! What the hell!” Uni said, in anger. “That jerk captures us. Attacks us with a giant robot and then lets us go? What’s going on here?”

“I don’t know.” Nepgear said, scratching her chin thoughtfully. “What do you want to do? We need to tell our sisters, but we still need to finish that quest, right?”

Uni took a deep breath. “That’s true. I’ll call our sisters and tell them what happened.” Uni said, as she took up the box that Pirachu stole and handed it over to Nepgear. “Nepgear? Thanks for following after me. I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t do that.”

“What are friends for?” Nepgear said, smiling warmly at her friend.

Uni and Nepgear returned to the café. The girls were surprised that the owner wasn’t upset with them. “I’m just glad you two are okay. Please. None of this stuff is worth chasing a thief down over. If something get’s stolen, just let me know.”

“We will. Sorry.” Uni said, bowing.

“Sorry.” Said Nepgear, bowing as well.

Uni and Nepgear finished their work and headed back home. Once Uni opened the front door, she nearly screamed. Standing on the opposite side of that door was Noire and Neptune. Both girls wore a worried look on their faces.

“UNI!” Noire cried, throwing her arms around her sister and hugging her close to her chest. “What happened! Tell me everything right now!”

Neptune smiled warmly at her sister. “You had a pretty hard day today, huh Nep Jr.?” Neptune asked. “Well come here!” Neptune held out her arms and Nepgear happily slid into them.

After that, Nepgear and Uni took their time telling their sisters everything that happened to them. At the very end the girls story left their sisters completely speechless. “That’s nuts!” Neptune said, finally breaking the silence.

“That doesn’t even cover half of it.” Noire said, angrily. “I don’t’ know who this G person is, but I’m going to squash them!” The girl roared with rage.

“That robot’s name was really weird too. Why call it a CPU Killer?” Asked Neptune. “I mean, does this guy hate the CPU’s or something?”

“No idea.” Nepgear said, shaking her head. “All I know is that he’s planning on building another robot sometime in the future.”

“He might actually have one already built.” Uni suggested.

“That’s true.” Said Nepgear. “I don’t know what we should do. I mean, we have to activate the rest of the Fairy Towers, but we can’t exactly leave G alone either.”

Noire closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “We don’t have to worry about this G person. As much as I would like to stomp him into the ground until nothing’s left and then-”

“Keep it wholesome Noire.” Neptune said.

“And then… give him a stern lecture. We don’t have the right to keep this to ourselves. We need to report this to the Basilicom immediately.” And with that, Noire made her way over to the phone. Noire spoke to someone on the other end for several moments before returning to everyone else. “The Basilicom said they’re sending someone over here to take statements… Hey girls?” Noire began.

“What’s up big sis?” Uni asked, worried that a lecture was coming.

“What would you two like to eat for dinner tonight? We can stay here, or go out if you want.”

Neptune quickly scampered behind Nepgear. “Pudding!” Neptune said, mimicking her sisters voice. “What Nepgear said, pudding!” Neptune said, moving behind Uni and mimicking her voice next.

“I’m asking our sisters who had a really rough day.” Noire said, annoyed.

“Fine…” Neptune said, sighing deeply.

“Oh… I want meat!” Uni said.

“That sounds good.” Said Nepgear. “Thanks Noire.”

Noire smiled at both her sisters. “I just hope the person they send get here-” Before Noire could finish speaking, the sound of someone knocking on their front door interrupted her. “That should be them.” Noire said.

“I got it!” Neptune said, running over to the door and opening it up. To Neptune’s surprise, two girls dressed in black stood in front of her. “Uh Noire? These two look kind of like Purple Heart.”

Noire gasped. “Lady Black Heart and Lady Black Sister!” Noire cried. Noire ran to the door and pushed Neptune aside. “My ladies! Please come in!” Noire said, bowing.

“Thank you.” Lady Black Heart said, stepping into the house. “Please call me Black Heart.”

“Call me Black Sister.” Black Sister said.

Black Heart scanned the room. “So you four must be Noire, Uni, Neptune and Nepgear. Correct?” Black Heart asked.

“Whoa!” Neptune said, who was lying flat on the ground. “You  already know who we are? Are we famous? No autographs without a payment of pudding.”

“Shut up Neptune!” Noire said, under her breath. “Get off the floor too. These two are the leaders of Lastation!”

“You’re not famous.” Black Heart said. “Histoire has been in contact with me through my dreams. She asked us to keep an eye on you four. I told her I was far too busy to baby-sit, but she insisted.”

“I see. That was very kind of her.” Noire said.

Neptune slowly got off the ground. “Noire is all business all the time, but I think Black Heart could totally beat her in the game of business.” Neptune thought. “I better not voice that or else they both might kill me.”

“We both apologize. We should have introduced ourselves much sooner.” Said Black Heart.

“I don’t see why we should have bothered. I have enough to worry about.” Black Sister said. “First I have quests to complete in order to get my sisters approval, which never happens, so I’m always doing quests.”

“We’ll discuss that later at an appropriate time.” Black Heart said, her tone of voice never changed.

“Fine. I’ll make an appointment with your secretary. Sure you can get to me in a few years, right?” Black Sister asked, annoyed.

“Anyways. We heard about an incident that took place in Lastation. Please let us know exactly what happened.” Said Black Heart.

“And make it quick. I’m about to kill some Horsebird monsters and I’m sure this will finally get my sister to love me.” Said Black Sister.

“Okay…” Nepgear said, taken aback by what Black Sister was saying. “Anyways, this all started earlier this morning.” Nepgear began. Nepgear told Black Heart and Black Sister everything that happened to them and didn’t leave anything out. “And that’s everything that happened.”

“The robots are what bothered me.” Noire said. “I was worried that this G person might attempt to attack one of you next.”

“Like a stupid robot could kill my overpowered big sister who doesn’t love me.” Black Sister said. “What kind of citizen would think that badly of their CPU?”

“No.” Noire said, shaking her head. “I didn’t mean-”

“Ignore her.” Black Heart said, cutting Noire off. “I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We’ll start looking into finding this G and Pirachu person. Well rat.”

“Thank you.” Noire said.

Black Heart turned to her sister who looked like she had more to say. “We need to go. Prioritize finding these two individuals, understand?” Black Heart said.

Black Sister grumbled loudly. “If I manage to find them, will you be proud?”

“No.” Black Heart said.

Black Sister grumbled even louder than before. “Fine. I’ll do it anyways.” She said, and with those words the two sisters headed outside.

Neptune rubbed the place between her eyebrows. “That was… Weird… Right?”

“Yeah.” Noire said, nodding with agreement. “It almost felt like an extreme version of us. Huh Uni?”

“Yeah.” Uni said.

“Well let’s think about that later! Time to eat!” Neptune said. “I’m starving for pudding!”

Nepgear giggled. “You’re always hungry for pudding.” She said. “Though after everything we’ve been through, I feel like eating something sweet too.”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 39

 The following day Uni made her way downstairs to get started on breakfast. Uni couldn’t sleep well the previous night, but thanks to her sister, she was finally able to get a little sleep. “I want to show my gratitude to sis and make breakfast for us.” Uni thought, making her way into the kitchen.

“Oh.” Said Uni. To Uni’s dismay, Nepgear was already in the kitchen cooking breakfast fore everyone.

Nepgear turned and smiled warmly at Uni. “Good morning Uni. How did you sleep?”

“Uh… Good.” Said Uni.

Nepgear noticed that Uni wasn’t really that happy. “Uh-oh. Did something happen?” She asked.

Uni shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. I was just hoping to make breakfast for everyone. That’s all.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Nepgear said, folding her hands together. “How about you make breakfast for everyone tomorrow?” She offered.

Uni nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good.”

Nepgear nodded, before turning back to the stove. “Anyways. I was giving it some thought and I think I’m going to lone Neptune my N-Gear.” Nepgear said, as she poked at the eggs she was frying in a pan. “I have a feeling that your sister and mine are probably going to deal with all the Fairy Towers in Lastation.”

“That’s a good idea.” Said Uni, as she made her way to a nearby cabinet. After taking down some plates and grabbing some silverware, Uni carried the items to the table and sat them down.

“Nepgear.” Uni began. “Do you actually mind working with me on quests? You’re not feeling forced into it, are you?”

“No. Not at all.” Nepgear said, shaking her head.

“That’s good.” Said Uni.

Once Nepgear had finished making breakfast for everyone. Neptune and Noire made their way into the kitchen. “Neptune?” Nepgear began. “I wanted to lone you my N-Gear.” Nepgear said, handing the device over to Neptune.

“Thanks Nepgear! I promise I won’t download any games for it. Except any cool ones.” Said Neptune.

Nepgear winced when she heard her sister say that. “Um… Please use it to get updates on the Fairy Towers in Lastation.” Said Nepgear, hoping that her sister wouldn’t download a bunch of apps on it.

“Don’t worry Nepgear. I’ll make sure she doesn’t break it.” Noire said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Huh? I would never break my sisters stuff!” Neptune said. “It’s not my fault if IF accidentally spilt a bunch of pudding in her favorite console, or if Compa used one of her shirts to clean it up.”

“Huh?” Nepgear said, confused.

“Oops. I mean. They might get lazy and do that. It’s not guaranteed.” Said Neptune.

“Hey Neptune? Are you sure you’re the older sister?” Asked Noire. Neptune didn’t answer. Instead she looked away from everyone and started whistling nonchalantly. “Anyways. Neptune and I will go out and get the information on the next Fairy Tower. Depending on how far away it is, will determine when we leave. We’ll also take on some quests as well.”

“Nepgear and I are going to do some quests as well! Right Nepgear?” Uni asked.

Nepgear nodded. “That’s right.” She said, smiling.

“Thanks Nepgear.” Said Noire. “I’m glad I can always depend on you Uni. Also it’s nice to know that I can count on at least one girl who’s name begins with Nep.”

Uni blushed a little. “Of course you can depend on me.”

“You’re welcome.” Said Nepgear.

“Boo!” Said Neptune.

After the girls finished their breakfasts, they headed outside and made their way to the guild where they could all take on quests. “It looks like were going in opposite directions.” Noire said, looking at the quests she held in her hands. “Hunting monsters, gathering herbs.”

“Yeah. Were moving things for someone.” Said Noire, looking at the quest she excepted. “It pays nice at least.”

“Well have fun you three.” Neptune said, looking at the quest paper she held. “Looks like someone wants to test out a new flavor of pudding and-” Neptune began, but Noire cut her off.

“You’re hunting monsters with me.” Noire said, grabbing Neptune’s hand and dragging her awya. “Let’s go!”

“No!” Neptune cried, but she didn’t try to fight back.

Nepgear groaned with embarrassment. “Sis…” She muttered, under her breath.

“Well Nepgear? Ready to get going?” Asked Uni.

Nepgear nodded and followed after Uni. The two girls made their way down the streets of Lastation. As they walked, Nepgear couldn’t help but think about the quest they had taken on. “I’m a little surprised that someone went to the guild to post a quest asking for help to move things. Normally people want help fighting monsters or gathering items.”

“Yeah it’s unusual, but the pay is good.” Said Uni.

The two girls finally reached the café where they  would be moving items for the owner. The café wasn’t very large, but the outside was filled with wooden crates and other types of boxes.

“Hello?” Uni said, stepping up to the café’s front door.

“Hello.” A woman called back. The woman walked around the counter and stood in front of the two girls.

“Hi ma’am. Were from the guild. Were here to help you with your quest.” Said Uni, handing the paper over to the woman.

The woman looked down at the paper and smiled. “Awesome. I was a little worried no one would want to help me.” She said.

“Were happy to help.” Said Uni. “Just tell us where you need everything placed.”

“Will do.” Said the woman.
 
After Uni and Nepgear spoke to the woman for a few moments, they began moving the boxes inside. The boxes weren’t very heavy thanks to the girls high strength stats. “You two are pretty strong. I couldn’t possibly move most of those boxes myself.” The woman began.

“Some of these are pretty heavy.” Said Nepgear, as she carried a wooden crate around the counter and placed it down in front of several cabinets. After that she headed back outside and was about to grab another crate, when she stopped.

At first Nepgear couldn’t understand what she was looking at. A small rodent like creature was holding a box over it’s head and it was staring straight at her.   

“Who are you?” Asked Nepgear.

“Me?” The rodent began. “I’m… Nobody chu!”

“Well what are you doing with that box?” Asked Nepgear.

Uni suddenly walked out of the shop. “Nepgear? Did something-” Uni began, before she spotted the rodent. “Hey!” She snapped, pointing a stern finger at the rodent.

“Oh crap! I gotta go chu!” The rodent said, turning and running away as fast as possible.

“Come back here thief!” Uni cried, as she started chasing after the rodent.

“Uni! Wait!” Nepgear cried, as she started running after Uni.

Uni didn’t stop. Instead she picked up her pace and continued running after the rodent. As she ran, the girl could hear the creature saying something to itself, but she couldn’t hear everything it was saying.

Uni chased the rodent down long alleyways, she leapt over trashcans in her pursuit of the creature. After several long moments of running, the rodent soon found itself staring at a wall blocking its path. “Oh great chu!” The creature said. The rodent turned and saw Uni and Nepgear standing before it. Uni wore an angry look on her face.

“Give that back now!” Uni ordered.

“Sorry chump, but I can’t do that.” The creature said.

“Um… Who are you?” Nepgear asked, standing a few feet away from Uni.

“My name’s Pirachu and I was hired to bring you two here!” Pirachu said.

Uni and Nepgear blinked their eyes several times. “What do you-” Uni began, but before she could finish speaking, the ground beneath their feet gave way and the two girls fell into darkness.

***

When the lights came on. Nepgear and Noire saw where they had landed. The two girls were lying side-by-side on a large cushion that was set up to break their fall. The room they were in wasn’t very big, but the walls, floor and ceiling were made of metal. “Where are we?” Uni asked, sitting up.

“No idea.” Said Nepgear, nervously. “Where did Pirachu go?”

Uni groaned loudly as she glanced up at the ceiling. “Still up there. We fell for a little while, hit a slide and then fell into this room, right? If he fell with us, he’d be in here with us.”

“That’s true.” Said Nepgear, getting to her feet. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Nepgear grabbed Uni’s hand and helped her off the cushion. After that the two girls made their way to a nearby door.

“Can you unlock it?” Uni asked, as she watched Nepgear try to pull the door open.

“No.” Said Nepgear, shaking her head. “If I had my N-Gear I could hack the door open, but…”

“Right.” Said Uni, sighing deeply.

“There’s no reason to hack the door.” Came a voice overhead.

“Who’s there?” Uni demanded.

“My name doesn’t matter, but if you had to call me anything, call me G.” Said the voice.

“G?” Said Uni. “Why are we here?”

“I wanted your help with a little experiment.” Said G. “I hired that rodent to help me lead you two here.”

“What kind of experiment?” Nepgear asked.

“Just a little battle test. You see, I’m developing a powerful robot and I need to see if you two can defeat it.” Said G.

“And if we say no?” Asked Uni.

G chuckled. “Well you can say no, but that’s not going to help you. Once those doors open, my robot will be unleashed. So good luck!”

“Wait!” Nepgear cried out. “Why us?”

G didn’t answer right away and the two girls wondered if he ever would. They stood watching the door for several long moments wondering what was going to happen next. “Sorry about that.” G said, breaking his silence. “I needed to type in a code there. Anyways, the reason I’ve chosen the both of you is simple. I know who you two are. You and your sisters are activating the Fairy Tower’s correct?”

“How did you know?” Nepgear asked .

“Simple. I saw you and your sister activate the first Fairy Tower outside of Lastation. Yesterday I hacked the security cameras in the west part of Lastation and saw your sisters activate the second one. Their abilities are impressive and I’d rather test my robot out on them instead, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Great.” Uni said, rolling her eyes. “It’s nice to know that you consider us sloppy seconds.”

“Not sloppy. I have no doubt this fight will yield some great data.” Said G. “And with that said! Let’s get started!” And with those words, the door to the room opened. Located outside the small room, was a much larger room.

“This is freaky.” Uni said, glancing nervously around the enormous room. “What’s going on Nepgear? I don’t like this at all.”

“I don’t either Uni, but look.” Nepgear said, pointing towards the left side of the room. “There’s a door over there. I think we can get it open if we use our weapons.”

“Alright. Let’s do it.” Uni said, as she summoned her rifle.

Nepgear summoned two energy swords, instead of just one. “Alright, let’s go.” Said Nepgear. The two girls quickly crossed the room and were soon standing in front of the door. “Could you hold this for me?” Nepgear asked, handing one of her energy swords over to Uni.

“Sure.” Uni said, taking the sword. “I was wondering what you were planning. I didn’t think you were the dual wielding type.”

“No. I’m going to try and force the door open by overloading it. I hate using my sword like this, but if it means getting out.” And with that, Nepgear activated her energy sword and cut open the panel located near the door. “Alright. Now I need to…” Nepgear turned her eyes towards the middle of the room. “Oh goodness…”

Uni turned and gasped. Located in the middle of the room was an enormous robot. “Don’t tell me you forgot about the robot.” Said G. “This robot was built for the sole purpose of killing the goddesses. It’s name is CPU Killer.”   

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 38

 “Oh yeah!” Neptune began, suddenly perking up. Neptune smiled brightly as she turned towards Noire. “You said this place was filled with bandits, right? I almost forgot about them!”

“That’s true.” Said Noire.

“No. She’s not a-” Histoire began, but Linda cut her off.

“Why don’t you two shut the hell up.” Linda said, as she pointed at Neptune with her pipe. “You think you can just wander into my territory and do whatever the hell you want? I don’t think so.”

“Your territory?” Noire began, as she placed her left hand on her hip. “The last time I checked this place still belonged to Lastation.”

“Really?” Linda said, giggling. “Did you hear that Pirachu? I guess I was wrong! This place belongs to Lastation.”  Linda giggled even harder. “Yeah, these two are delusional.” Said Linda.

“Pirachu?” Noire muttered, under her breath.

“Do you know who that is?” Asked Neptune, in a low voice.

“No. I also don’t see anyone else here.” Noire said, scanning the area behind Linda. “Anyways. You need to get out of our way, or else.”

Linda’s smile vanished, her eyes narrowed at Noire. “Or else what?” Linda asked, in a voice that threatened to cut Noire down.

Noire aimed the tip of her rapier at Linda. “Or else were going to have to hurt you, though I’d rather not fight a human though.”

“Well… Don’t let that bother you!” Linda screamed, as she rushed towards Noire as fast as she could and once she was close enough, swung her metal pole. Noire parried the first attack and ran quickly to the left as Linda swung her pole again and again. Noire dodged left and right, avoiding each attack by mere inches.

“You little-!” Linda began, as she raised her metal pole high over her head and brought it down hard.

Noire quickly dodged the attack and ran around Linda. “Know it off.” Noire said, as she jumped back several feet.

“Noire! Nep her up already!” Neptune said, as she started punching the air with her free hand.

“No.” Noire said, shaking her head. “Look at her.”

Neptune looked at Linda like Noire asked and noticed exactly what Noire had. Linda was strong, but her movements were slow. Not only that, but Linda was also sweating and breathing hard. “She’s exhausted already?” Neptune said, confused.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you two. Linda arrived her about a month ago. At first she was accompanied by another individual, but I haven’t seen him in a while. As for Linda, she’s been fighting for her life the entire time and hasn’t slept since she arrived.” Said Histoire.

“You’re kidding. That’s impossible.” Noire said. “She’s been here since last month, right?”

“That’s correct.” Said Histoire.

“So you’re tell me that this girl hasn’t slept in thirty-one days?” Asked Noire.

Histoire nodded once more. “Yes. I’ve had to increase the healing effects from the Fairy Tower in order to keep her alive, but the tower was never built to keep people awake for that long of time.”

“That’s nuts dude! I would die if I didn’t get at least sixteen hours of sleep each day!” Neptune said.

“Shut up!” Linda cried, the girl was breathing hard. “I don’t need your pity! I need you-” Linda stopped taking and turned her head towards the left. “What? Alright! I’ll let you take care of them then!” Linda said, giggling evilly.

Noire and Neptune watched as Linda ran to the left side of the room and vanished into the shadows for a moment, before they heard the sound of something heavy being dragged along the floor.

“Uh-oh… Something big is coming!” Neptune cried.

“No. No it’s not.” Histoire said, sighing deeply.

A moment later a cinderblock was pushed into the light. The cinderblock had a face drawn on it in red paint. Moments later Linda appeared standing next to the rock. “I hope you two are ready to die!” Linda said, pointing at Noire. “Get them Pirachu!” Linda cried.

It felt like all the noise had been sucked out of the room at that point. Linda watched the cinderblock with a large smile on her face, while Neptune, Noire and Histoire stood there wondering if anything would actually happen.

“Yeah! You’re doing it Pirachu!” Linda said, as tears welled up in her eyes. “You’re beating them!”

“Um…” Neptune began.

“You can’t talk!” Linda snapped, pointing a stern finger at Neptune. “Pirachu just kicked your head off! So you can’t talk!”

“Oh! Sorry!” Neptune said, surprised.

“Neptune can’t talk? I think I like this Pirachu.” Said Noire, smiling mischievously. Neptune narrowed her eyes at Noire as she groaned under her breath.

“Unfortunately this is what I was trying to warn you about. This place was at one time filled with bandits, but those bandits have long since moved on. Linda has been alone this entire time with no one to talk to. If I could have kept her company I would have. I would have told Linda how to escape, but I was unable to. To make matters worse, thanks to the monsters roaming around here Linda has been unable to get any sleep, her mental faculties have suffered quite a bit.” Said Histoire.

“Why didn’t she just leave?” Asked Neptune.

“If I had to guess. She and this Pirachu probably came in a different way and now that way is unavailable to her.” Said Noire.

“Huh. So what should we do now?” Asked Neptune.

“Let’s take her with us.” Said Noire. “We’ll drop her off at the hospital.” And with those words, Noire made her way over to Linda who was still watching the cinderblock with a goofy smile on her face.

“Be careful Noire!” Neptune cried.

“It’s fine. I’m sure Pirachu killed me already.” Said Noire, as she grabbed Linda’s hand and bent down. Moments later Noire stood with Linda draped over her shoulder. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“Right. Thanks for everything Histoire!” Neptune said.

“It as my pleasure. Please take good care of Linda.” Said Histoire, waving goodbye to the girls.

“Should I bring that thing?” Neptune asked, gesturing towards the cinderblock.

“No. Leave it behind Neptune. I need you to keep us safe until we reach the wall where we came in. Okay?” Said Noire.

“I’m on it!” Neptune said, running ahead of Noire and Linda.

Even though it was tricky, Neptune managed to keep Noire and Linda safe and only had to deal with a few monsters and robots that got in their way. Soon the girls were making their way through Lastation.

“We did it Pirachu. We took out the goddess and now Lastation is ours!” Linda said, dreamily.

“Uh-oh. Looks like she just conquered Lastation.” Said Neptune, fighting back her laughter.

“Yeah. She’s going to need some rest.” Said Noire.

Noire and Neptune managed to get Linda to the hospital. “Take good care of her.” Said Noire, watching as the doctors wheeled Linda through a set of swinging doors. “Well I guess we should head back home.”

“Yep. We did good out there Noire. I was a little worried about you considering you’re not as strong as me, but…” Neptune began.

“Oh please. I was the one who was worried. I thought you’d keel over the moment you realized they weren’t serving any pudding over there.” Said Noire.

Neptune and Noire stared at one another until they both burst into laughter. “Geesh Noire! When did you get a sense of humor?”

“Since I met you.” Said Noire. “Come on. We’ve had a long day so let’s go home.”

“Nice!” Neptune said.

Neptune and Noire walked side-by-side as they made their way back to Noire’s home. As they walked, the girls wondered where the next Fairy Tower would take them. “Oh boy… I just remembered. We didn’t get the information on the next Fairy Tower from Histoire.” Said Neptune. “To be honest. I really don’t want to go back through that factory.”

“It’s alright. I’m sure Histoire shares information between the Fairy Towers. We’ll just ask the one outside of Lastation.” Said Noire, matter-of-factly.

“Good idea! Gee Noire! You’re a super genius.” Said Neptune.

“I know.” Said Noire, smiling proudly.

“But you’re not as smart as my baby sister. She must have gotten all the brains in our family.” Said Neptune, sighing deeply.

“I agree.” Said Noire.

“Hey!” Neptune said, annoyed. “Don’t agree with me when I put myself down! It’s not nice.”

Noire giggled. “Sorry Neptune, but I believe in telling the truth.”

When Neptune and Noire reached the house. Neptune ran to the couch and plopped herself down. “Time to game!” Neptune said, grabbing a controller and turning on the television.

“Neptune…” Noire began.

“Wait.” Neptune said, holding up her hand. “I respect that this is Uni’s console so I asked her first and she gave me permission.”

“I know that, but I was hoping you’d help me clean up around here. If you don’t help me, Nepgear and Uni is going to have to help me.” Said Noire, as she opened a closet door and pulled out a broom. “We shouldn’t always rely on our sisters to take care of us. Sometimes we need to take care of them.”

Neptune groaned loudly. “Noire… I hate when you make sense.” Neptune said, as she begrudgingly got off the couch and headed over to her friend. “Fine, fine. I’ll sweep up in here.”

“Thank you.” Noire said. “I’ll take care of the upstairs. You’ll see. Cleaning will go by pretty fast if we both work together. I’ll make dinner for us when I get done. Alright?”

“Right.” Neptune said, sadly.

After Noire finished speaking, she grabbed another broom and headed upstairs. At first, Neptune thought about doing a sweeping the floors for a few moments, before returning to her game. However, as she started sweeping the floor she started to focus more on that instead.

Neptune slowly made her way around the floor. She moved chairs, moved the table and soon had a smile pile of dirt ready to be swept up into a pan. After that she briskly moved around the living room sweeping around the couch. “This isn’t so bad.” Neptune thought.

The door to the house suddenly opened and Nepgear and Uni appeared. “Big sister?” Nepgear began. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Huh?” Neptune said, confused.

“You’re sweeping! Did something happen?” Nepgear asked.

Uni’s eyes went wide when she realized that Noire wasn’t in the room. “My big sister? Did something happen to her?” Uni asked, as she flew out of the room screaming Noire’s name.

“Whoa! What happened?” Neptune asked, surprised.

“That’s what I need to know! Did something happen to Noire when you both went to activate the Fairy Tower?” Nepgear asked, her eyes were filled with fear.

“Huh? No!” Neptune said, shaking her head. “I mean we ran into some monsters and a crazy girl, but that was it!”

“Crazy girl?” Nepgear asked, furrowing her brow.

A few moments later Noire and Uni walked into the living room. Uni was hugging Noire’s arm tightly to her chest. “N-Neptune you jerk!” Uni sobbed. “I thought my sister was dead!”

“Neptune!” Noire said, angrily. “Just because I asked you to sweep doesn’t give you the right to tell my little sister that I died!”

Neptune didn’t say anything. Instead she groaned loudly before turning her eyes back to the floor where she started sweeping some more. “Actually…” Nepgear began. “I’m at fault here. I was shocked to see my sister sweeping, so I thought something might have happened. I’m sorry.”

“Oh… I see…” Noire said, sighing deeply. Noire patting Uni’s arm as she turned her eyes to Neptune. “It’s so rare to see you clean that your sister naturally thought something horrible must have happened.”

“Sweep, sweep. All I do is sweep.” Neptune said, turning away from the girls.

“Sorry Neptune.” Noire said. “Anyways Nepgear? Can you do me a favor and play some video games with Uni? I’m going to finish sweeping upstairs and get started on dinner. Okay?”

“Sure.” Nepgear said, smiling nervously. “I’m sorry as well.”

“Big sis…” Uni began.

“It’s alright Uni. I had Neptune with me so I was fine.” Said Noire.

“Okay.” Uni said, nodding. Uni reluctantly released her grip on Noire’s arm, before she wandered over to where Nepgear was standing. Uni’s cheeks were bright red with embarrassment. “Neptune? I’m sorry I called you a jerk.”  

Neptune giggled. “Oh don’t worry about it. I’m sure I had it coming.”

***

Later that night Uni found it impossible for her to get any sleep. Even though she didn’t want to admit it, she was worried about her sister for the last couple of days. Even though Noire is the strongest girl she knew, Uni still couldn’t help but worry about her. Today the flood gates finally opened and she released all of those feelings, but she still found it difficult to sleep.

Sitting up in bed, Uni threw her blankets off of her and carefully crossed her room to her door. Uni had to make sure she didn’t accidentally kick or step on Nepgear who was sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor.

Gently opened her door she stepped into the hallway and into her sisters room. Now Uni was standing over her big sister. “Noire?” Uni breathed.

“Hmm?” Noire began, opening her eyes. “What’s wrong Uni?”

“I can’t sleep.” Uni began. “Can I sleep with you?” Noire didn’t say anything. Instead she slid over and pulled back the blankets. Uni smiled brightly as she climbed into her sisters bed. “Thanks big sis.”

“You’re welcome. Get some sleep Uni.” Noire said, before drifting back off to sleep.

“Goodnight big sister.” Uni breathed, before she too fell into a deep relaxing sleep.

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 37

 The following morning Noire and Neptune headed out to find the second Fairy Tower that was located in Lastation. As the girls headed out to leave, Nepgear and Uni met the two at the door. “Big sis. Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you?” Uni asked, a look of concern could be seen in her eyes.

“It’s alright Uni. I trust you to keep doing what we’d always do. Besides, you’re both way more responsible than someone I could mention.” Noire said, turning her eyes towards Neptune who looked half-asleep.

Neptune looked at Noire and smiled. “Aw Noire… You’re not that bad.” She said.

“Anyways. We should be fine. You two be careful yourselves.” Said Noire.

“Right.” Uni said.

“We will.” Said Nepgear, nodding her head several times.

Noire and Neptune waved goodbye to their sisters and turned to leave. As the girls headed towards the place where the Fairy Tower was being kept. As they made their way through the city, the girls watched as the other citizens of Lastation stirred. Some watered flowers outside their homes, others headed into shops, while others sipped tea and watched as people passed by.

“This place sure is nice.” Neptune said. “Kind of reminds me of home.”

“Do you miss it?” Noire asked.

“Well yes and no. I do miss my own bed, but going out on a journey is fun too. I like meeting new people and having fun.” Said Neptune.

“It does sound nice.” Said Noire.

“Oh right. Noire? What about the goddess here? Have you met her?” Asked Neptune.

“The goddess? No.” Said Noire. “Every once in a while you’ll see her or her sister flying overhead, but we’ve never personally talked.”

“I see. What are their names?” Asked Neptune.

“The CPU of Lastation is named Black Heart and her little sister is named Black Sister.” Said Noire.

“Are they nice, or?” Neptune asked.

“Nice or…” Noire began, thinking about Neptune’s question. “I mean they’re great as goddesses. They’re very hard working too. I actually don’t know if they ever rest.” Noire crossed her arms in front of her chest while she glanced down at Neptune.

“What about you? Have you ever met your cities goddesses?” Noire asked.

“I have.” Neptune said. “Purple Heart is great and she was recently reunited with her baby sister Purple Sister!”

“You’ve met them both?” Noire asked, skeptically.

“Yep! Purple Heart actually gave me the USB memory stick herself. Not only that, but we ate pudding together! Turns out Purple Heart and Purple Sister love pudding!” Neptune said, happily.

“Yeah right… I shouldn’t have asked.” Said Noire.

“Hey!” Neptune said, annoyed. “I may run and hide, but I never lie. I wouldn’t lie about meeting the goddesses!”

“Really?” Noire said, dropping her arms to her sides. “Alright. I’ll believe you. Sorry for doubting you Neptune.”

“It’s cool.” Neptune said, giggling. “Now for Neptune’s quiz show. Did you know that there was a Fairy Tower in Lastation?” Asked Neptune.

Noire shook her head. “No, but it doesn’t surprise me.” Said Noire.

“It doesn’t?” Asked Neptune.

“You know that place Nepgear pointed out to us? Well I know that area. It was sealed off from the rest of the city many years ago. That place was abandoned and now the only things that live there are bandits and monsters.” Said Noire.

“Neato! I bet there’s a terrorist group living there that’s trying to stop all of Lastation’s reactors by blowing them up! Right?” Neptune asked.

“Yeah, just like that famous video game, right Neptune?” Noire asked, her voice was filled with sarcasm.

“Wait… That was a game?” Neptune said, surprised. “I thought that was a m-” Neptune winced in pain and grabbed the sides of her head. “Owie! Ow!” The girl breathed.

“What’s wrong?” Noire asked.

“I just had to remember something.” Neptune said, clearing her throat. “Sorry Noire. But I just remembered something about you.”

“Wait… Seriously?” Noire asked.

Neptune waited until the pain and dizziness she felt subsided. “Yeah. I actually remember coming to Lastation with Nepgear. We went to a movie together.” Said Neptune, scratching her chin thoughtfully. “It was a movie based on that game.”

“Really… Wow.” Noire said. “I just remembered that too.”

“Huh? No pain or dizziness? That’s not fair.” Neptune said, as Noire shook her head. “Anyways. Do you remember anyone else coming with us? Cause I can almost feel like we weren’t the only four who went that day.”

Noire thought for a moment. “Now that you mention it. I do feel like we went with four other girls.” Said Noire. “I can’t make them out, but I know those four are really important.”

“Yeah.” Neptune said, grabbing the side of her head and messing up her hair. “This is annoying Noire!” Neptune shouted.

“Don’t yell.” Noire said, glancing around to make sure they hadn’t grabbed anyone’s attention. “But I agree. It’s really frustrating.”

Neptune dropped her hands and sighed deeply. “Oh well. We’ll figure all of this out eventually, I guess. I just hope I don’t remember me owing any money. That would seriously suck.”

“Well I wouldn’t be surprised if you owed everyone some money.” Said Noire, smiling mischievously at Neptune.

“Jeesh! You’re cutting me deep today!” Neptune said, before she giggled. “You act like something good happened. Did something good happen?”

Noire giggled as well. “Oh I don’t know. I just feel like loosening up a bit. You helped me yesterday so I appreciate it.”

“Oh you don’t have to thank me for that. I don’t mind working with you.” Neptune said.

“Huh? No I meant with…” Noire began, but she shook her head. “Never mind. Let’s get going Neptune.”

“Righty-O!” Neptune said, saluting.

A few moments later Neptune and Noire found themselves standing in front of a large, metallic wall. The wall was enormous and it looked like it was made up of thousands of small plates. “Whoa!” Neptune said, surprised. “Noire, they’re not keeping a large monkey or titan behind this thing are they?”

“No, but the monsters here can be pretty tough.” Noire said, her cheeks grew a bit red. “Neptune. I don’t like the fact that you’re stronger than me, but I don’t believe in denying reality either. You’re… stronger… than…”

“I’ll keep you safe!” Neptune said, as she summoned her katana.

“Well… Thanks, but just stick close to me, okay?” Noire said.

“You  got it, but…” Neptune began, turning back towards the massive wall. “How do we get in?”

“Simple.” Noire said. “These plates move.” Noire made her way over to the wall and reached behind the plate. A moment later, several of the plates started to move. “These plates are going to form a door. Once the door is formed, we have about ten seconds to go through.”

“Okay. I mean, it’s not going to close in on us, is it?” Neptune asked, nervously.

“No, but only a handful of people are allowed to use this passageway and were not one of them.” Said Noire.

“Cool. How do you know all this stuff?” Asked Neptune.

“Histoire told me.” Said Noire.

The plates continued to move, but soon they created a doorway. After that both Neptune and Noire ran inside. The entryway into the blocked off part of Lastation didn’t take that long to clear. Once they were on the other side, Neptune and Noire found themselves standing on a cliff overlooking dozens of warehouses and old factories.

“Whoa…” Neptune said, as the plates on the wall behind her started to close up. “So the Fairy Tower is somewhere down there, right?”

“According to your sister, it should be in the middle of those warehouses.” Noire said.

“I know you said you didn’t know about the Fairy Tower here, but-” Neptune began.

“I’ve never been here before. Or at least I don’t remember ever coming here.” Said Noire.

“I see…” Neptune said, sighing deeply.

“What’s wrong?” Noire asked. “Getting tired already?”

“Exhausted, but that’s not my problem. I like to insert the USB memory dealie as soon as possible. I don’t know if you noticed this, but monsters never go around the Fairy Towers’.” Said Neptune.

“That’s a good point.” Said Noire. “Anyways, it is what it is. We just have to go down there and find it. Follow me.”

Neptune followed Noire who led her to the side of the cliff. At first, Neptune thought Noire was about to step off the cliff-face, but soon spotted a set of stairs leading down. The girls walked down the stairs until they reached the ground level. “According to Histoire, all of these factories are connected. So it doesn’t really matter where we enter from.”

“Well that’s convenient. If this Fairy Tower is located in the middle, let’s find a way to the roof and go in from there.” Said Neptune.

“I thought the same thing, but according to Histoire there’s no way up there.” Said Noire.

“Wow Noire. You thought of everything, huh? You’re such a nerd.” Said Neptune.

“And you hardly think of anything. Except pudding and where you plan on taking a nap.” Said Noire.

“Naps are healthy and so is pudding.” Said Neptune.

“Yeah, but they stop being healthy when you overdo them the way you do. You need to remember that-” Noire began.

“Oh gosh… Is she seriously lecturing me?” Neptune thought, annoyed. “I wonder if I can sneak away and…” Before Neptune could finish her thought, a large machine with four spider-like legs appeared behind one of the factories and aimed it’s large cannons at the two girls. “That’s not good.” Neptune muttered.

“Another thing you should keep in mind-” Noire said, as Neptune grabbed her hand. “Hey Neptune! What are you doing?” Neptune pulled Noire through a nearby door just as the large robot fired it’s cannons, missing the two girls by mere inches.

“Just felt like going on a walk.” Neptune said.

Noire’s eyes went wide. “What just shot at us?” Noire asked.

“I don’t know…” Neptune said, shaking her head. “It was blue and silver though.”

“Blue and silver? It fired two cannons? It could be a R4i-SDHC!” Noire offered.

“Well right now it’s a PAIN and it’s coming for us!” Neptune cried, as the large robot creature ran into the factory behind the two girls.

Noire and Neptune kept running as the giant robot continued to fire it’s lasers at them. The girls ducked under the cannon fire and started running around several large machines. The robot tried to follow both of the girls, but stopped when they suddenly split up.

Neptune gritted her teeth as she ran around several large machines, but soon found herself in the back. Just when the girl thought about going back for Noire, Noire suddenly appeared in front of her. “Come on.” She mouthed, as she led Neptune towards a nearby staircase. Neptune didn’t say a word as she followed close behind her friend.

The two girls ran up the staircase as fast as they could and were soon running through a sky bridge that connected the factory the girls entered to another one located several meters away.

Just as the girls reached the middle of the sky bridge, two R4i-SDHC far below appeared and fired their laser cannons at the girls. Neptune leapt forwards and activated her shield, saving Noire from getting blasted.

“Thanks!” Noire cried, as she and Neptune continued running.

“My pleasure!” Neptune said, smiling brightly.

Neptune and Noire finally reached the next factory. The moment they ran into the building, they spotted four orb shaped robots appear in front of them. “Bit Custom robots!” Noire shouted.

Neptune moved her barrier so it was now protecting the girls front. Neptune charged forwards, a determined look was on her face. As the girls got closer, the High Bit  Custom robots started firing lasers at the girls, but thankfully the lasers just bounced off Neptune’s shield.

Once the girls close enough, Noire leapt high into the air, summoned her rapier before swinging it. The girl’s sword sliced through the robots, destroying them utterly.

“Great work buddy!” Neptune called out.

“I know. You too.” Noire said, smiling proudly.

The two girls found a staircase and started running down it to the first floor. After that they turned left and started heading towards a large doorway that led outside. Before the girls could reach the door however, a R4i-SDHC appeared in front of them.

Neptune and Noire launched themselves at the tank. The tank tried to fire it’s lasers, but he girls were faster and easily destroyed it.

Once Neptune and Noire’s feet touched the ground they ran through the doorway and headed left.

“Great. Another one!” Noire shouted, when she noticed a second R4i-SDHC was behind them.

“It’s cool! Keep running!” Neptune cried, as she activated her barrier and blocked the laser’s that the robot fired at them. When the laser beams stopped, Neptune deactivated her barrier and followed Noire around the factory and through a doorway.

Neptune and Noire kept this up for several long minutes. They ran in and out of factories, around machinery, across sky bridges and down dozens of stairs. They even climbed a few ladders as well. As the girls ran, they were attacked by several different types of monsters. The monsters ranged from more R4i-SDHC robots, Poxvader monsters and even Healing Dogoo.

However, the monsters weren’t strong enough to stop the girls and they were able to defeat the creatures while continuing to run.

Soon Neptune and Noire reached the middle factory. To their relief the building was completely empty. “Whew.” Neptune breathed, sweat was trickling down her brow. “That was a workout, huh?”

“It was nothing for… Who am I kidding?” Noire said, doubling over nad placing her hands on her knees. “That was rough. Even for me.”

“That was fun though!” Neptune said.

“Fun? Are you crazy?” Noire said, looking at Neptune who was beaming with excitement. Noire giggled. “You know what? That was fun. We… make a great… team.”

“Huh? What was that?” Neptune teased.

“I said activate the Fairy Tower already!” Noire said, pretending to be annoyed.

“You’re the boss lady.” Neptune said. Neptune and Noire climbed down another flight of stairs and made their way to the Fairy Tower.

“Look at that.” Neptune said.

Noire had noticed it too. A large rock with a crudely drawn face was sitting near the Fairy Tower. Not only that, but the holographic image of Histoire could be seen near the Fairy Tower’s terminal. “Histoire?” Neptune said.

Histoire didn’t answer the girls.

“Huh. Well I guess she’ll start talking once we activate this thing.” Noire said.

Neptune nodded as she pulled out the USB memory stick and plugged it into the USB port of the Fairy Tower. Several minutes later, Histoire started to move. “Oh thank goodness.” Histoire said, taking a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” Noire asked.

“Yes, but someone needs your-” Histoire began.

“HEY!” Came a loud voice.

Neptune and Noire turned quickly and gasped. Standing a few yards away was a girl carrying a large metal pipe in her hands. “Who the hell are you broads?” The voice asked.

“Right back at you!” Neptune shouted, before dropping her voice. “Who are you?”

The girl smirked. “My name’s Linda and I’m going to bash your freaking heads in!”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 36

 Nepgear was starting to get worried. The sun was about to set and her sister and Noire were nowhere to be seen. At first Nepgear ignored this fact and tried to concentrate on something else, but as time slowly ticked by her worry only grew more and more. “Why are you looking so nervous?” Uni asked. Uni was standing in front of the stove preparing everyone’s dinner.

Nepgear didn’t answer. Instead she continued to pace back and forth nervously. “Oh goodness. What will I do if something happened to her?”

“Nothing happened I’m sure.” Uni said, but her words were lost to Nepgear.

After ten more minutes had passed, the front door to the house opened and Neptune and Noire stepped inside. Noire looked perfectly fine, while Nepgear looked completely drained. Her shoulders were sagging and her arms were dangling by her sides. “Were back.” Noire said.

“Welcome home sister. I’m getting dinner ready now.” Uni said, glancing over her shoulder at Noire.

“Neptune!” Nepgear cried, as she rushed over to her sister. “What happened to you? Why do you look so worn out?”

Neptune sighed deeply. “It was terrible Nepgear! Noire worked me so hard! She was merciless!”

“Over exaggerate much?” Noire said, placing her hands high on her hips. “I only made Neptune do a minimum amount of work and this is what happened. She’s incredibly lazy Nepgear. I suspect that you dote on her too much.”

“Huh? Oh no…” Nepgear said, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. “Maybe a little.”

“Anyways…” Noire began, as she stepped around Neptune. “How did it go with you two? Get any work done?”

“Yes.” Nepgear began, but before she could say anything more Uni started talking.

“Yes big sister.” Uni said. “Neptune and I took on a few hunting quests and we got the location to the next Fairy Tower.”

“Good.” Noire said. “I expected no less from either of you.”

Uni’s shoulders sagged a bit. “Right.” Said Uni.

“Oh Nepgear?” Neptune began, as she slowly made her way to the couch. “Please bring me my dinner when it’s ready? And if you could, please give me a foot rub.”

“Sister…” Nepgear breathed.

Neptune plopped herself down on the couch, before she kicked off her shoes and laid down. “This is nice.” She said, closing her eyes. Moments later Neptune had fallen into a deep sleep.

“That girl… I swear.” Noire said, shaking her head in disgust. “Anyways, Nepgear?” Noire began, turning her eyes towards Nepgear. “Tell me about the next Fairy Tower. Where is it located?”

“Oh. It’s actually located on the west side of Lastation. I think it’s inside or surrounded by several warehouses.” Said Nepgear.

“I see…” Noire said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Can you show me?”

Nepgear nodded as she pulled out her N-Gear. After pressing a few buttons, a map of Lastation appeared. Two red X’s could be seen on that map. “I’m assuming those X’s represent the Fairy Tower’s location, correct?” Noire asked.

“That’s right.” Said Nepgear, nodding.

“Good.” Noire made her way over to the couch and looked down at Neptune’s sleeping face. “Neptune and I will make our way there the day after tomorrow. I already promised Chian that we’d do some work for her.”

“Okay.” Nepgear said.

“Neptune?” Noire said, in a small voice. “WAKE UP!”

Neptune yelped loudly and then bolted up right. “What’s happening?!” She cried.

“Dinner’s happening. Get your butt over to the table.” Noire ordered.

“Noire… You’re such a meanie. I worked really hard today you know.” Neptune breathed, but stood anyways and headed over to the table where Uni served them all dinner. Even though Nepgear knew that Neptune was lazy, she couldn’t help, but worry that Noire was pushing her sister too hard. Neptune clapped her hands together before she said, “rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub!”

***

The following morning Noire and Neptune left for the factory they cleared out for Chian the previous day. Noire, like the day before, had a hard time waking Neptune up. “You’re such a workaholic. You need to sober up.” Neptune cried, as she slowly walked beside Noire.

“You’re just lazy. Seriously… how have you survived for so long? It feels like you should have starved to death years ago.” Noire said, annoyed. “What really bugs me about this girl is the fact that she’s stronger than I am.” Thought Noire.

“You’re just mad cause I’m stronger than you are.” Said Neptune.

“WH-WHAT?!” Noire cried, as her cheeks grew bright red. “I didn’t say that out loud did I?”

“Say what out loud?” Neptune asked, her eyes were partially open.

“Nothing.” Noire said, shaking her head. “Listen. You need to shape up now. Not just for your own sake, but for the sake of your sister. All little sisters deserve a big sister they can look up to.”

“Nepgear looks up to me.” Neptune said, giggling.

“Right…” Noire said, sighing deeply.

“What’s bothering you?” Asked Neptune.

Noire shook her head. “Nothing.” Said Noire. “Look. Our job today is simple. We just have to make sure the factory is still cleared of monsters and we have to keep the workers safe. No slacking off today, understand?”

“Gotcha.” Neptune said, dully. “While you’re doing all that, I’ll find a place to keep watch. Maybe a place with a bed and a refrigerator filled with pudding and you’re looking angry, so I’ll stop talking.” Neptune said, after she noticed Noire was getting more and more annoyed.

“Good idea.” Noire said, balling her hands into tight fists.

When the girls finally reached the old factory, the girls headed inside and began looking around for any monsters that might have found a way inside. “I don’t see any monsters. What about you Neptune?” Noire asked, after a few minutes of searching.

“Nope. It’s empty.” Neptune said. “So when is everyone coming?”

“They should be here soon. Let’s go outside and walk around for a bit.” Noire suggested.

Neptune did as she was told and followed after Noire. The two girls slowly made their way around the factory. Noire was surprised that Neptune wasn’t making any jokes, or even talking. Instead she kept quiet and walked beside her. After a few moments of this, Noire started to feel a bit anxious.

“Is something wrong?” Noire asked, breaking their silence.

Neptune shrugged her shoulders. “I was just worried that I might have made you really mad, so I decided I should take this job seriously starting NOW.” Said Neptune.

“Good.” Noire said, taking a deep breath. “But you can talk you know.”

“Really?” Neptune asked, peering into Noire’s eyes. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Uh… I don’t know.” Noire said, shaking her head. “Tell me about your home.”

“Sure.” Neptune said. Neptune thought for a few moments before she started talking about her home. She told Noire about her home, about how she and Nepgear would go on quests together and about her friends IF and Compa.

“So tell me about yourself! Don’t worry about making up any friends, I won’t judge you for not having any.” Neptune said.

“I have friends dammit!” Noire said, as she started walking faster.

“Oh come on Noire! I was just teasing!” Neptune said, as she started to jog in order to keep up with Noire. “If I don’t tease you, your life would be boring!”

“I have enough going on in my life to keep me entertained. I don’t need your help.” Noire said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Yeah, okay. So tell me about your life already! I’m dying to know!” Said Neptune.

Noire suddenly lowed down her pace, before glancing over her shoulder at Neptune. Like usual Neptune wore a large smile on her face. Noire wasn’t sure why, but Neptune’s smile did put her at ease. “Alright. Well like I said before, Uni and I have been living here our entire lives. Or as long as we can remember. We take on several quests everyday, usually we work together, but I figured this was a good opportunity for her to work with someone her own age.”

“You mean so she can stop being so poopy at work?” Neptune said.

Noire suddenly turned on her heels and stared angrily into Neptune’s eyes. “What did you just say?” Even though Noire was speaking softly, her words cut through the air like a razor.

“Whoa!” Neptune cried, holding up her hands in defense. “That was just the impression I was getting from you.”

Noire furrowed her brow in confusion. “What do you mean?” She asked.

“I’m just saying, that you made it seem like she wasn’t very good at work. That’s all. I wasn’t implying anything.” Neptune said, hoping she could quell Noire’s anger. “Was I wrong?”

“Well…” Noire took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I just feel like I need to push Uni to be stronger, that’s all. She’s a great worker.”

“Well shucks Noire! Why don’t you tell her that!” Neptune asked.

“Shut up! I tell her that all the time!” Noire said.

“Really?” Asked Neptune.

“Keep walking Neptune.” Noire said, as she gently pushed Neptune forwards.

“Yeah, yeah.” Said Neptune.

Noire took a deep breath as she followed closely behind Neptune. Even though Noire wanted to get angry at Neptune, apart of her knew that the girl was right. “When was the last time I complimented Uni? She does a great job helping me. I’m not always tearing her down am I?”

When Chian and her crew finally arrived, they got to work on repairing the large holes that were embedded in the sides of the factory. “You two did a great job clearing out the monsters and making it so that they couldn’t get back inside. I appreciate that.” Said Chian.

“My pleasure!” Neptune said, saluting. “Noire here wanted to leave the job half done yesterday, but I told her-” Neptune began.

“I did not!” Noire snapped.

Chian giggled. “You two are already good friends, huh?”

“What gave you that idea?” Noire asked, annoyed.

“Well it’s nice that she has at least one.” Said Neptune. “Though a pity friend isn’t really a friend, is it?”

“Oh please Neptune.” Noire began, a smirk appeared on her lips. “The only one taking pity around here is me.

“Aw! Noire pity’s me!” Said Neptune.

“Actually I was talking about Nepgear.” Uni said, her voice was filled with sarcasm.

“Boo! Noire’s a bully!” Neptune said.

“Let’s just get back to work.” Noire said. “Chian. We’ll keep the monsters away from the factory.”

“Thanks!” Said Chian.

Noire and Neptune kept making their way around the factory. As they walked, they kept their eyes open for any signs of monsters. The sounds of the workers inside the factory was the only sounds they could hear.

Several hours later the noise from the factory stopped and the workers, including Chian, stepped outside. “Hey girls.” Chian said, making her way over to Noire and Neptune. “Were all finished for today. Thanks again for helping us out!”

“You’re welcome!” Said Neptune, happily.

“It was our pleasure.” Said Noire.

“Anyways, I went ahead and transferred the credits I owed you to your account Noire.” Said Chian. “I’ll have more work for you soon.”

“Thanks Chian.” Said Noire.

“So now that were finished. Is it time to head home and surf a couch or something?” Neptune asked.

“No. It’s time to go to the guild and get more work.” Noire said. “But if you want to go home and laze around on the couch, I won’t stop you.”

“Really?” Neptune asked, but realized that Noire was mocking her once again. “Alright, let’s go get some more work.”

Later that evening Noire and Neptune finally made it home. After stepping into the house, Noire noticed that her sister was setting out plates while Neptune busied herself with preparing dinner.

“Welcome home big sis.” Noire said.

“Hello Noire. Hi Neptune.” Nepgear said, turning to face both girls.

“Mom’s home! Someone bring me my slippers!” Neptune ordered.

Noire ignored Neptune’s request and made her way over to her sister. “So Uni… Did you and Nepgear… Get any work done today?” She asked.

Uni nodded. “Yes. We did several hunting quests today and gathered a few other items while we were out of the city.”

“Um… Good work Uni, Nepgear.” Noire began, as she reached forwards and patted Uni on the head. “Uni? I’m sure you did a great job today.”

“Big sis?” Uni began. Noire watched in shock as Uni’s cheeks grew bright red and tears began streaming down her cheeks. “Thank you big sister!” Uni said, as she burst into tears.

Neptune and Nepgear both watched as Uni started to sob uncontrollably. “Uni! Why are you crying like that?” Noire asked, worriedly.

“Aw Noire! You’re such a great big sister!” Neptune said, giggling.

“I agree.” Nepgear said, giggling as well.

Noire sighed deeply. “Shut up you two!”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 35

 Neptune and Noire made their way into the dilapidated factory. The building was incredibly large, but it was also empty except for the monsters that were stalking around. “The inside is still in pretty good shape. These holes though are going to be a problem.” Noire said, as she looked at one of the holes located in the wall. “Even if we manage to kill all the monsters roaming around in here more will just walk back in.”

“I know it’s none of my business but-” Neptune began.

“That’s true.” Noire said, cutting her off.

Neptune grumbled under her breath and narrowed her eyes at the back of Noire’s head. “But, what does Shian want with an old factory like this? Why not just tear it down and build a new one?”

“Well… I’m guessing it’s because it would cost more money to fix this one then to build a new one.” Said Noire. “Anyways, it’s none of our business really. Client gets what client wants.”

“Boo.” Neptune said, annoyed. “So what are we going to do when we kill the monsters? Stay here until someone fixes the holes?”

Noire shook her head. “No need. All we’ll have to do is move some sheet metal over the hole or something. Stop whining and start fighting.”

“Hey I… Wait… Did you mean to rime like that?” Asked Neptune.

“Sure.” Said Noire, as she summoned her rapier. “Come on Neptune. Let’s get to work.”

Neptune sighed deeply as she summoned her katana. “Fine.” She said.

Noire and Neptune ran deeper into the factory. As they ran the girls faced down several different types of monsters. What really surprised Neptune was the fact that not all the monsters were made of flesh and blood. Some were robots.

Neptune spotted a small group of Ruffian Cat monsters and attacked them. She managed to catch two of the creatures off guard, but the other three managed to avoid her attack. “You’re not getting away!” Neptune said, as she leapt at the Ruffian Cat that was closest to her.

Neptune’s katana sliced through the creature, but before she could launch another attack, one of the Ruffian Cat monsters managed to punch her hard in the jaw. “OW!” Neptune cried out.

“Are you okay?” Noire asked. The girl was fighting a monster known as a Strange Person, who was indeed very strange. The creature looked like a human who was floating around in a strange device.

“I’m fine. This little jerk just sucker punched me.” Neptune said, as she cut the Ruffian Cat down. After that she managed to kill the third and final Ruffian Cat.

Neptune smiled proudly, but before she could celebrate several circular shaped High Bit Custom monsters attacked. They shot lasers at the girl, but Neptune managed to block their attacks using her barrier magic.

“This barrier sure comes in handy.” Said Neptune.

“Hold on.” Noire said, as she sliced the monster she was fighting in two. After that, Noire turned to the High Bit Custom monsters and managed to cut them down as well. “Were doing pretty good so far.” Noire said, noticing several more monsters were approaching them.

Neptune and Noire launched themselves at the remaining monsters. They cut down High Bit Custom monsters, more Strange Person, Ruffian Cat and DSTT monsters as well. None of the creatures that lived in the factory could handle the girls overwhelming power.

“There we go.” Noire said, tossing back one of her pigtails with her hands. “Now. Let’s find something to block those holes and…”

Neptune suddenly pushed Noire, causing the girl to fly several yards away. Noire opened her mouth to scream at Neptune, but before she could utter a word two large beams of energy struck the girl, sending her flying backwards. “NEPTUNE!” Noire cried.

Neptune slammed into a wall behind her, before falling into a heap onto the floor. Noire’s eyes were as large as saucers and her hands were shaking by her sides. “N-Neptune… Are you?” She began.

“Ouch…” Neptune muttered, as she slowly got to her feet. Neptune’s chest was smoking where the lasers had struck her. “That was smarts.” She breathed.

Noire finally turned her attention away from Neptune and saw the creature that had hurt her. “Heavy Tank.” Noire breathed.

“I’m okay.” Neptune said, as she held out her hand. “Heal!” Neptune’s body started to shine brightly for a moment before fading. “There we go. I’m going to need some pudding to fully heal though.”

“Come on Neptune. We’ve got to destroy this thing.” Noire said, holding her rapier out in front of her.

“Yeah, yeah.” Neptune said, as she aimed the tip of her katana at the Heavy Tank.

With those words, Neptune began rushing forwards. The moment Neptune started running, the Heavy Tank aimed it’s laser canons at the girl and fired. Neptune held up her right hand and created a barrier.

At first, Neptune was certain she would be able to keep moving, but once the two energy beams struck her barrier, she was forced to stop running. Noire took this opportunity to charge the Heavy Tank herself. However, when Noire had gotten closer to the tank, the giant robot turned and fired at her.

Noire leapt to the right, avoiding both laser beams by mere inches, but the Heavy Tank wasn’t finished. It halted it’s fire and turned it’s large body and continued to fire it’s lasers. “Come on!” Noire thought, as she dodged left and right and tried to get closer and closer to the Heavy Tank.

Just when Noire thought she was going to be able to launch an attack, the Heavy Tank started moving further away from her. “Oh come on!” Noire said, frustrated.

The Heavy Tank drove itself to the other side of the room and started firing it’s lasers once more.

Noire dodged to the left and then the right. “If Uni were here, she would have been able to shoot this thing.” Noire thought, bitterly to herself. Just when Noire was about to call out to Neptune to regroup and go over a strategy together, Neptune appeared behind the Heavy Tank.

Neptune had leapt high into the air and aimed the tip of her katana down at the robot. With a loud boom, Neptune shoved her katana into the robot and began wiggling it around. “Got it!” Neptune called out.

“Keep it up!” Noire shouted, as she rushed at the Heavy Tank.

Once more the Heavy Tank aimed it’s laser cannons at Noire, but before they could fire, Neptune removed her sword and sliced the cannons in two. With a loud explosion, the front part of the Heavy Tank exploded.

“Your mine!” Noire shouted, as she sliced the Heavy Tank’s side using her rapier.

Neptune leapt off the Heavy Tank and both girls started to run away. The Heavy Tank smashed into several walls, causing even more damage to the factory, but soon the thing stopped moving altogether.

“We did it!” Neptune cheered, as the Heavy Tank’s remains vanished.

“Yeah, but… It caused more damage to the factory.” Said Noire, sighing deeply. “Chian’s not going to be happy.”

“Yeah, but… I mean she’s going to have to fix this place up anyways, right? Besides, I bet she’d rather deal with a few cracks then the monsters, right?” Said Neptune.

“Well… You’ve got a good-” Before Noire could finish talking, a large section of the factory suddenly collapsed in on itself. Smoke flooded the building and debris fell from the ceiling. “-Point.” Noire said, her shoulders sagged.

“Oh crackers.” Said Neptune. Neptune noticed that Noire was trembling, her hands were balled into tight fists. “Okay Noire… This is what were going to do.” Neptune began, draping her arm over Noire’s shoulders. “We’ll tell Chian that the building was destroyed like this before we got here. So it’s not our fault, right?”

“Neptune?” Noire began.

“Yep?” Said Neptune, smiling brightly.

“Shut up.” Said Noire, annoyed. “Let’s just block the holes and report in to Chian. Okay?”

“Right.” Neptune said. “But keep in mind what I just said.”

“Shut up Neptune!” Noire snapped.

Noire and Neptune made their way outside and started carrying things over to the factory to plug up the holes. Thanks to Neptune’s stats, she was able to carry incredibly heavy things by herself. Noire on the other hand was only able to carry certain things.

“You know Noire.” Neptune began. “If you want to get stronger, I know a great place you can go. It’s a cave filled with dragons and-”

“I’m fine.” Noire said. When the girls finally covered up all the holes the best they could, they made their way back to Chian’s factory. Before the girls went inside, Noire turned to Neptune. “Listen. Let me do the talking, okay?”

“Okay…” Neptune said, annoyed that Noire wouldn’t listen to her advice.

Noire took a deep breath, before opening the door to the factory and leading the way inside. Noire and Neptune found Chian standing in the same place she was before. “WEre back.” Noire said.

“Welcome back girls. How’d it go?” Chian asked, not looking up from her work.

“We cleared out the factory and found some debris to plug up the holes in the side, so monsters shouldn’t be able to get back in.” Noire began. “But a Heavy Tank caused some more damage. I’m sorry.” Noire said, bowing. Neptune groaned a little, but bowed as well.

“That’s alright.” Said Chian, finally taking her eyes off her work. “You girls did great. Thanks!”

“But Chian.” Noire began.

“Hunting monsters and factory work are two different things.” Chian began. “For instance, I can tell you exactly how that machine over there is going to prepare one of my products.” Chian began, gesturing towards a nearby machine. “But when it comes to monsters. They’re a bit more unpredictable. I don’t blame you if the factory got a bit more destroyed because of them. It’s unavoidable.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling Noire, but she doesn’t listen to me.” Neptune said, giggling.

“Shut up Neptune!” Noire said, under her breath.

Chian couldn’t help, but laugh. “Anyways. I’ll go ahead and transfer the credits I owe you. Do you mind stopping by tomorrow? My boys are going to need some guards, while they do work on the factory.”

“Of course.” Noire said. “Neptune and I will be happy to help.”

“Huh? I was going to take a vacation tomorrow!” Neptune cried.

“No vacations. Work!” Noire said.

“What!? No way! This has to be against some kind of labor practice law!” Neptune cried.

“There aren’t any laws protecting bums.” Said Noire. “Now let’s go Neptune.”

“Where are we going?” Neptune asked.

Noire ignored Neptune’s question and instead led the to the guild where they applied for more jobs. “Were doing even more work? When do we get a pudding break?” Neptune asked.

“No breaks.” Noire said, as she led the two girls out of the city.

Neptune and Noire fought even more monsters, but soon found themselves standing in front of the Fairy Tower. “Hello Histoire.” Noire said, as she began to access one of Fairy Tower’s terminals.

“Hello Noire. Neptune.” Histoire said. “Both of your sisters were here earlier. I sent Nepgear the location of the next Fairy Tower.”

“That’s nice.” Noire said. “Those two certainly know how to work hard, unlike that lazy bum over there.” Noire said, glancing over her shoulder at Neptune who was collapsed onto the ground.

“Lazy bum? I’ve been working my cute little fingers to the bone!” Neptune said. “Listen to this Histoire. Noire caused half a factory to collapse. It was embarrassing.”

“I did not!” Noire snapped, at Neptune. Noire shook her head, before she made her way over to Neptune and pulled the girl to her feet. “Come over here and touch the Fairy Tower.”

“Huh? Why?” Neptune asked.

“Remember? You were shot by that Heavy Tank! You need to make sure you’re completely healed.” Said Noire.

“I am. I healed myself before, remember?” Said Neptune.

“I don’t care. Touch the Fairy Tower!” Said Noire.

Neptune blushed and giggled. “Oh Noire. You’re a dirty girl. Fine, I’ll touch it but I don’t want you to watch.”

Noire’s cheeks were bright red as well and her mouth was agape. “J-Just shut up!” She cried.

Neptune sighed deeply as she made her way over to the Fairy Tower and touched the terminal. Instantly, all the aches and pains she felt before disappeared. “There. I’m at one-hundred and…” Neptune began, but stopped talking when she realized that Noire looked relieved. “I mean I’m at five percent. I need pudding or I’ll die!”

“Nice try Neptune.” Histoire said, sighing deeply.

“Thanks.” Neptune said. “You know… Now that I’m here, I wanted to ask you a question Histoire.”

“Yes?” Histoire said, noticing that Neptune sounded serious.

“You said that I’m the only one who can activate all the Fairy Towers, right?” Neptune said.

“Yes.” Said Histoire.

“Well… What if Noire and I found a Fairy Tower that needed to be activated. What if I handed the USB memory stick over to her and she inserted it into the terminal. Would it not work?” Asked Neptune.

Noire was surprised. “That’s actually a good question.” Noire said.

“I was do for one.” Said Neptune.

“Actually it would work.” Said Histoire.

Neptune crossed her arms in front of her chest and nodded. “You see? So I have an idea.” Neptune began.

“I know what you’re going to say.” Said Histoire, before Neptune could say another word. “You want to suggest that we copy the data on the USB memory stick, create multiple versions of it and send it to the other nations, correct?”

“Huh? No.” Neptune said, shaking her head. “I was just going to give the USB memory stick to Noire and let her do the rest.”

“Lazy bum.” Noire muttered under her breath.

Histoire sighed deeply. “Jokes aside. The USB memory stick that you possess can be copied, but for safety reasons only one is allowed to exist at one time.”

“Really?” Said Neptune, annoyed. “So why am I the only one who can do this?”

Histoire closed her eyes and smiled. “Because Neptune. I know no matter how much you might complain and try to get out of work, you’d never leave this job half finished. You have a determination that’s very admirable.”

Noire began pounding information wildly into the Fairy Tower’s terminal. “What are you doing?” Neptune asked.

“I think someone must have uploaded a virus into Histoire. I’m going to run a scan right now.” Said Noire, typing ferociously into the terminal.

“I don’t have a virus!” Histoire snapped. Once Noire stopped typing, Histoire sighed once more. “Anyways Neptune. Please continue working hard to activate the rest of the Fairy Towers.”

Neptune sighed herself. “Right…”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 34

 “Neptune! Wake up!” Noire shouted. Neptune was sleeping soundly on the couch and Noire was towering over the girl, her hands were on her hips. “You need to get up and do some work! It’s almost ten in the morning!” Noire said, feeling incredibly annoyed that the girl who was meant to activate all the Fairy Towers refused to get up early.

“No thanks…” Neptune breathed. “I couldn’t possibly eat anymore… Oh is that pudding? I guess I have room after all!” Neptune muttered.

“A clichéd dream? Really?” Noire said, annoyed. “Get up Neptune!”

Neptune suddenly opened her eyes, which surprised Noire. “Huh? Where am I?” Neptune muttered, before she sat up and stretched her hands high over her head. “This isn’t my room… Or house… Or bed… Or little sister.” Said Neptune, turning to face Noire. “Who are you again?”

“Noire!” Noire shouted. “Listen Neptune. If you’re going to activate all the Fairy Towers in Lastation, then you need to show a little more responsibility. Just take our sisters for example. They both woke up early and are currently taking on several quests for Lastation. Meanwhile, what are you doing?”

“Going back to sleep?” Neptune offered.

“NO! You’re going to get up!” Noire said, grabbing Neptune by the arm and forcing the girl to her feet. “Now, I made some toast for you. Eat it, drink tea and let’s get going.”

Neptune groaned loudly as she made her way over to the table and started eating her toast. After that, she drank some tea that Noire had placed in front of her. “Where is Nepgear again?” Neptune asked, glancing around the room.

“I told you. She and Uni are doing quests for Lastation.” Noire said.

“Even though were Planeptune citizens?” Asked Neptune.

“Well Uni took on the quests, Nepgear is just helping her with them.” Said Noire.

“Cool.” Said Neptune, sighing deeply. “Where are we going?”

Noire made her way over to the tea pot and poured herself a cup. “I take on jobs exclusively for a factory.”

“Oh. Sounds fun.” Neptune said, dully.

“Work isn’t supposed to be fun. That’s why it’s called work.” Said Noire.

Neptune waggled her finger at Noire. “Oh Noire. Work can be fun. For instance, it’s my job to taste test pudding. I take my job very seriously, but it’s also fun!”

“No it’s not!” Noire shouted. “Listen Neptune. You need to hurry up with that toast. We need to leave soon.”

Neptune sighed deeply, but did as she was told. After finishing off the toast and tea, the two girls headed outside. As the girls walked down the streets of Lastation, Neptune’s eyes were as large as saucers. She was amazed by all the impressive looking buildings and incredibly high smokestacks. “Got to admit Noire. Lastation is pretty cool.” Neptune said.

“Isn’t it?” Noire said, smiling proudly.

“Huh? Why are you smiling? Lastation doesn’t belong to you, does it?” Neptune asked.

“Of course not.” Noire said, feeling a bit annoyed. “I still have pride in my city. Not sure why though.”

“I just assume you’re a weirdo.” Said Neptune, shrugging her shoulders.

“Well who asked you?” Noire said, her annoyance once again returned.

Neptune and Noire finally arrived at a large factory. Opening a small metal door, the two girls went inside and were instantly greeted by incredibly large machines, conveyer belts and thousands of blinking lights. The sounds of machines running greeted the girls ears as well.

“Wowie! This place is amazing!” Neptune said.

“Glad you like it.” Came a voice.

Neptune turned and spotted a blue haired woman standing in front of a work bench. The woman was drawing something on a long piece of paper. “How are you doing today miss Chian?” Noire asked.

“Oh please. I told you to just call me Chian.” Said the blue haired woman, not taking her eyes off her work. “So Noire? Who’s your friend?”

“Oh she doesn’t have any of those.” Neptune said, giggling.

“Hey!” Noire snapped. “I do have friends! I have tons of them!” Noire said, annoyed.

Chian giggled, as she finally turned her attention to Neptune. “Well I like to consider myself one of those friends.”

“See?” Noire said, gesturing at Chian.

“That’s so nice of you to play along.” Neptune said, ignoring the fact that Noire was now shaking with anger. “My name is Neptune by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Neptune.” Said Chian. “I know this might sound strange, but you’re not from around here are you?”

“How could you tell?” Neptune asked, surprised.

“Let’s just call it a hunch.” Said Chian. “Not that it matters to me.”

“Chian is the owner of this factory. Were going to do some work for her.” Said Noire.

“If you don’t mind of course.” Said Chian.

“I don’t mind. Since I’m here.” Neptune said, her shoulders sagged. “But I should warn you. I’m not good with machines, building stuff, walking around, lifting heavy things, driving things, filling up coffee pots, dealing with customers, making phone calls, holding open doors.”

“Sounds about right.” Noire said, smirking.

“Hey! I can fight monsters pretty darn good!” Neptune said, annoyed.

“Monsters is actually what I need your help with.” Said Chian. “There’s an old factory that’s located on the outskirts of Lastation. It’s crawling with monsters and I’m hoping you two could go there and clear them out. What do you say?”

Neptune didn’t answer right away. Instead she looked down at her hands. “I’m torn. My pride is on the line here, but I also don’t want to fight monsters right now.”

“We’ll take the job.” Noire said, grabbing Neptune by the arm. “Let’s go Neptune.”

“Huh? I don’t wanna!” Neptune cried, as Noire pulled her out of the factory.

“Good luck you two!” Chian said, waving goodbye to the girls.

***

Nepgear had spent the night in Uni’s room. Even though Uni offered Nepgear the bed, the girl couldn’t bring herself to take it. Instead she slept on the floor inside a sleeping bag. That morning, Nepgear was surprised to see Uni had awoken before she did. “Sorry I overslept.” Nepgear said, getting to her feet and stretching her hands over her head.

“You’re fine. I always get up this early.” Uni said, who was sitting at her workbench working on her gun.

“What are you doing?” Nepgear asked, wandering over to the workbench and looking down at Uni’s work.

“I’m just trying to increase the power output.” Said Uni.

“Huh…” Said Nepgear. “Have you thought about using a different lens to amplify power. Also if you’re worried about power loss, you might want to consider a backup power source, but you might have to rewire a few things, but I could help you with it.” Said Nepgear.

Uni’s lower jaw dropped. “Whoa. You sound like you know what you’re talking about.” The girl said.

“Oh, well…” Nepgear began, as she summoned her energy sword. “I built this thing from scratch. It took me a while to get all the parts I needed and it could use some improvements, but I’m proud of it.”

“That’s amazing Nepgear.” Uni said. “If you don’t mind. Could you help me with this?” She asked.

“Of course! I would love too!” Nepgear said, excitedly. After showing the energy sword off for a moment, she sent the blade away.

Uni took a deep breath. “Anyways. I need to take on some quests for the guild. What are your plans today?”

“Well…” Nepgear began. “Do you mind if I go with you? I’d like to help out if I can. Also I need to go back to the Fairy Tower and find out where the next one is. I sort of forgot to ask.”

“Cool.” Uni said, getting to her feet. “I know. I’ll take some quests that will take us in that area. Sounds good?”

“Great! Thanks!” Nepgear said. Uni was about to head for the door, but Nepgear stopped her. “Uni? What about your gun?” She asked. The gun that Uni had been working on was lying on the workbench in peaces.

“Oh! No worries. I actually own about five different guns. I make sure I have at least one in working order.” Said Noire.

“Right. That makes sense.” Said Nepgear.

Nepgear followed Uni out of her bedroom and downstairs where Noire was waiting. “Morning sis.” Uni said.

“Good morning Uni. Nepgear.” Noire said.

Nepgear saw that Noire was sitting at the table. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she was staring angrily at Neptune who was lying on the couch. Noire was tapping her index finger against her forearm.

“I’m so sorry.” Nepgear said, her cheeks grew bright red. “I’ll wake her up.” Nepgear was about to wake Neptune up, but Noire stopped her.

“No Nepgear. I’m going to whip your sister into shape starting today.” Noire said.

“Huh? Are you sure? She can be a handful.” Nepgear said.

“I’m sure. You two eat your breakfasts. Once you leave I’ll get to work on that.” Noire said, pointing a stern finger at Neptune’s unconscious body.

“What… Nepgear? You’re going to do all the work for me today? That’s sweet of you!” Neptune muttered in her sleep.

Nepgear’s cheeks grew even redder than before. “Oh geesh big sis.” Nepgear said, embarrassed.

Uni and Nepgear ate their breakfasts. After that, they headed for the front door. “I’ll see you later sis.” Uni said.

“Right. Be careful out there you two.” Noire said.

“We will.” Nepgear and Uni said, in unison.

Once the girls were outside and the door was closed, Nepgear sighed deeply. “Oh man… I hope your sister knows what she’s getting into.”

“Is miss Neptune hard to wake up or something?” Uni asked.

Nepgear didn’t answer right away. The girl was struggling with a good way to describe her sister. “Let’s just say my sister can be difficult when it comes to everything.” Nepgear said.

Uni sighed herself and patted Nepgear on the shoulder. “I could tell you were struggling to phrase it the right way.”

The two girls headed for Lastation’s guild. To Nepgear’s surprise, the building looked a lot like the guild in Planeptune. Uni applied for two hunting jobs. After that the girls headed out of Lastation.

“So what are we hunting today?” Nepgear asked.

“Were hunting for Spider and Plum-met monsters.” Said Uni.

“Got it.” Nepgear said, nodding.

Uni and Nepgear walked side-by-side until they came across their first group of Spider monsters. “There they are.” Uni said, as she summoned her gun. After that, Uni aimed her weapon at the spiders and fired.

The first energy blast struck one spider dead on, killing it instantly. The other spiders started running towards the girls. Uni aimed at another spider and killed it, before aiming at another one and killing it as well.

Nepgear summoned her sword and sliced through two of the creatures before they could launch their attack. Soon all the spiders had been dealt with. “That was pretty easy.” Nepgear said.

“Yeah. These spider monsters are pretty weak. The Plum-met monsters can be a bit more tricky.” Said Uni.

Nepgear nodded as she followed after Uni. When they finally came upon a few Plum-met monsters, Nepgear was surprised. “Are those pipes poking out of the ground?” Nepgear asked.

“Nope. Those are the monsters.” Uni said. The monsters did indeed look like large, green pipes though. “I’ll start shooting them. After I do, you go in for the kill. Okay?”

“Right.” Nepgear said, ready to leap into the fray.

Uni aimed her rifle at the Plum-met monsters and began firing. The moment her first attack hit the Plum-met monster on the right, the creature started sliding across the ground towards her. Uni ignored it as she fired at the other monster.

The moment Uni lowered her rifle, Nepgear leapt into action. She swung her sword hard killing the first Plum-met monster, after that she began running as fast as she could at the second one.

The Plum-met monster launched it’s large body at Nepgear when she was close enough, causing Nepgear to block the attack using her sword. After that, she swung her blade killing the monster instantly.

“WATCH OUT!” Noire cried, as she fired her rifle once more.

Nepgear turned on her heels and spotted a large spider monster leaping at her. Nepgear held up her sword to block the attack, but Uni fired her rifle. The energy blast struck the creature in the side, killing it.

“Goodness. That was close.” Nepgear said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thanks Uni!” Nepgear said, smiling brightly at Uni.

“You’re welcome.” Uni said, suddenly becoming a bit cocky. “Lastation can be a pretty dangerous place, but you should be fine as long as I’m around.”

“You’re right.” Nepgear said. “I’m glad were friends Uni.”

“F-Friends?” Uni said, her cheeks grew bright red.

“Yeah. I mean… if you want to be.” Said Nepgear.

“W-Well…” Uni began. “I guess I don’t mind being your friend.” Uni said, scratching her right cheek nervously. “Anyways. Let’s keep going.” The girl said, quickly changing the subject.

Uni and Nepgear continued to make their way towards the Fairy Tower. When they finally arrived, Nepgear pulled out her N-Gear. “Excuse me Histoire.”

“Hello Nepgear. Uni. How are you two today?” Histoire asked, bowing a little.

“Were good.” Said Nepgear. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I forgot to get information on the next Fairy Tower.”

“I see.” Said Histoire. “I’ll send you two the information now. In the meantime, tell me. How is Neptune and Noire doing?”

***

Neptune and Noire made their way through Lastation and were soon standing in front of the factory that Chian had mentioned. The factory was old. It had large holes embedded in its sides, the front of the factory was littered with all kinds of junk including robot parts and the sounds of monsters could be heard coming from it’s dilapidated walls.

“Well this place looks cheery.” Said Neptune. “Are you sure you want to go in there Noire? We could just blow this whole thing off you know.”

“Are you kidding me?” Noire said, annoyed. “There’s no way were going to blow this job off. That’s irresponsible. You need to set a better example for your sister.”

“Huh? I am setting a great example for her.” Neptune said. “I think I am at least.”

“Yeah. I doubt it.” Said Noire, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, get your weapon ready. Were clearing this factory out now!” And with that, Noire and Neptune made their way into the factory.