Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 50

 Uni woke up at her usual time. Sitting up in bed, she stretched her hands high over her head and yawned. “I’m a little surprised I was able to get any sleep last night. After everything we heard yesterday. What about you Nepgear?” Uni asked. Uni waited a few seconds for Nepgear to respond. When that didn’t happen, she looked down at the floor, but Nepgear was gone.

“Nepgear? Nepgear?” Uni called out.

Uni threw her blankets off her body and instead of getting changed, she ran downstairs and into the living room. To her surprise, she saw Nepgear was lying on the couch in her sleeping bag. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks looked flushed. “Nepgear? Are you okay?” Asked Uni.

“Huh…? Uni?” Nepgear breathed, as she slowly opened her eyes. “I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling good.”

“Uh-oh.” Uni said, as she made her way over to Nepgear. “I’m sorry Nepgear. I didn’t hear you get up last night.”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to bother you. I started feeling bad last night, so I decided to come in here. I’m really sorry about all this.” Said Nepgear, taking a deep breath.

Uni shook her head. “That’s alright. Why don’t you get some rest today and I’ll worry about work.”

“Tell Kei that I’m sorry too please.” Said Nepgear.

Uni nodded. “No problem.”

Uni went into the kitchen and quickly made breakfast for herself and Nepgear. She also made some lunch for her friend as well. After that, Uni headed to the front door. “I made breakfast for you and some lunch. I wasn’t sure how your stomach was feeling, but please eat it if you can.”

“Thanks Uni.” Nepgear said, weakly. And with those words, Uni headed outside.

Nepgear took a deep breath and waited several minutes, before she sat up and unzipped her sleeping bag. “I’m sorry for lying Uni, but there’s something I have to do.” Nepgear thought, as she got to her feet and ran upstairs. After changing into her regular clothes, Nepgear headed back downstairs and made her way outside.

Nepgear ran from parts store to parts store and even a weapons shop grabbing as many items as she could. Once she had finished, Nepgear headed back to Noire and Uni’s house. “I hope you don’t mind me using your workbench.” Nepgear said, as she placed all the items she had purchased on the ground and got to work.

In a few short hours Nepgear managed to make an incredibly basic N-Gear and with the rest of her time she created a few grappling guns. “This will do for now.” Nepgear thought, as she looked down at her work.

Ever since Nepgear and Uni spoke with Histoire, Nepgear couldn’t get what they had uncovered out of her head. “I know I’m working with partial information, but if we can unseal Histoire now. If one of the goddesses has her, maybe I can rescue her tonight!” Nepgear thought. Though she didn’t like the idea of distrusting any of the goddesses, even though she was sure she didn’t know them very well.

As Nepgear soldered bits and pieces together, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had ever gotten sick in her life. “I actually can’t remember ever getting sick. Not even a stomach ache.” Nepgear thought. “Goodness. I wonder how far back my memories actually go.”

After Nepgear finished with creating her devices, she hid them downstairs where she could retrieve them later on. After that, Nepgear headed downstairs and ate the breakfast Uni had made her.

As Nepgear ate, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was about to make some terrible mistake. “Maybe I’m wrong about this. Maybe someone else has the original Histoire.” Nepgear thought, but every time she felt as though she had talked herself out of making a mistake, she began to have her doubts. “Black Heart is a bit weird. What if she does have the original Histoire locked up somewhere, but why?”

After Nepgear finished eating, she made her way back over to the couch and laid down. A few moments later, Uni opened the door and stepped into the house. “Hey Nepgear. I got off early to take care of you.” She said.

“Hey Uni.” Nepgear said, looking up at Uni who wore a concerned look on her face. “I’m actually feeling better now.”

“That’s good.” Said Uni. “As I was walking to Kei’s, I actually thought about coming back and carrying you to a Fairy Tower. I wasn’t sure if that could help or not, so I didn’t bother.” Uni said, blushing and giggling nervously.

Nepgear smiled. “Thanks Uni.” She said. “And I hope you can forgive me for lying.” The girl thought.

When the sun finally set over the horizon, Uni made her way upstairs. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in my room tonight?” She asked.

“Thanks, but I don’t want you to catch this thing.” Said Nepgear. “I’m sure I’ll be okay tomorrow.”

“Alright. Goodnight Nepgear.” Uni said, as she headed upstairs.

Nepgear waited a few moments before she sat up. “Time to get to work.” Nepgear thought.

Nepgear grabbed her devices. She grabbed her basic N-Gear and slid it into her regular N-Gear’s holster. Then she slid the grappling guns she created on her wrists. After looking everything over, Nepgear grabbed a few articles of clothing and slid them on as well. Now Nepgear wore a long sleeved black top over her regular outfit and a black mask that hid her face.

“Alright. Time to go.” Nepgear muttered.

Nepgear slipped out of the house and started running as fast as she could through the streets of Lastation. The city was beautiful at night. Green lights lit the streets and a strange hum could be heard coming from the surrounding buildings and was soon standing in front of Lastation’s Basilicom.

Lastation’s Basilicom, unlike Planeptune’s Basilicom, was much larger and it was made up of hundreds of thousands of windows and it had strange points that jutted out of it. The building was large, but did have ledges where people could stand outside and look across the massive city.

Nepgear aimed her right hand at a ledge overhead and fired her grapple. The grapple was made up of an arrowhead that was attached to a very thin cord that had incredible tactile strength.

The arrowhead struck the ledge and after pressing a single button, Nepgear was hoisted into the air. After landing on the ledge, Nepgear glanced around and spotted a nearby door. Carefully making her way over to that door, she tried the handle. Thankfully it was unlocked and Nepgear was able to slip into the Basilicom.

Now Nepgear stood in an empty hallway that was only lit up by a few lights. “Now where is Black Heart’s office?” Nepgear wondered to herself as she pulled out her basic N-Gear. “I hate that I wasn’t able to put everything I wanted into this thing, but I’ll improve it as time goes no.” Nepgear thought bitterly to herself.

Nepgear carefully made her way through the building as she searched for Black Heart’s office. As Nepgear searched, she kept her eyes on her basic N-Gear’s screen. “Security camera up ahead… Hack it… Finished.” Nepgear thought to herself. “Laser grid up ahead…. Disable it… finished.” As Nepgear disabled and hacked the security system, she also reactivated them as well.

After nearly an hour of searching, Nepgear finally found herself standing in front of Black Heart’s office. The office door that stood before her was incredibly large. Nepgear held her breath as she pushed against the door. To her surprise the office door swung open, but no alarms went off.

“Nice! Now I can really search for Histoire!” Nepgear thought, as she entered Black Heart’s office and closed the door.

Nepgear was shocked by what she saw. The office beyond was huge. Located in the middle of the room was a large desk that had several computers located on it. The walls were lined with all kinds of bookshelves as well. What surprised Nepgear however, was how messy the office was.

Located near the desk were several whiteboards filled with crazy scribbles. The floor was covered in strange outfits and papers were strewn everywhere. “Was Black Heart robbed or something?” Nepgear wondered to herself.

Nepgear made her way to Black Heart’s desk and sat her basic N-Gear down on it. After pressing a few buttons on her device she started pulling the drawers open. She went through each drawer and looked at each piece of paper and file that was inside. By the time Nepgear went finished going through each drawer in the desk, her basic N-Gear started beeping.

Nepgear pressed a red button on the device, before taking a seat at Black Heart’s desk. Thanks to her basic N-Gear, she had gained access to Black Heart’s computer. “The firewall on this thing was really simple to hack through. Now all I need to do is find some information on Histoire.” Nepgear thought, as she began pounding information into the keyboard.

A few moments later she found several entries on Histoire, but none of them were important. “It looks like Black Heart’s information on Histoire was hidden as well. That’s weird.” Nepgear thought, as she scratched her chin thoughtfully.

Nepgear took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair. “Maybe I was wrong about all of this. Maybe Black Heart doesn’t really have Histoire after all.” Just as the thought entered Nepgear’s head, her eyes turned to the whiteboard.

“What the goodness!?” She cried, jumping to her feet.

Scrawled all over the whiteboard were pictures and sentences. “Why do I dream of Histoire?” Nepgear read the first question. “Why do I enjoy cosplay? Why can’t I be proud of Black Sister? Why can’t I focus? Something is missing. What?”

Nepgear swallowed hard. Her hands started to shake by her sides. “Alright… I think it’s time for me to leave.”

Just as Nepgear turned to leave, the doors to the room opened and Black Heart appeared. The goddess looked angrily at Nepgear. “You snuck in my office to steal my countries secrets?” She said, in her words were filled with venom.

“Of course not!” Nepgear said, before covering her mouth with her hands. “I mean… of course not.” She said, deepening her voice.

“Don’t lie to me!” Black Heart snapped. “You break into my Basilicom, you enter my office without permission and hack my computer? How dare you try to steal my cosplay secrets!” Black Heart said, pointing a stern finger at Nepgear.

“Huh? No.” Nepgear said, shaking her head. “I just wanted to see if you stole-”

“STOP!” Black Heart cried, as she ran to the middle of the room before dropping to her knees in front of an article of clothing. Tears formed in the corners of Black Heart’s eyes as she scooped up the outfit and hugged it close to her chest. “Why? Why can’t I remember what I need to? I’m trying to work, but I can’t focus on anything. I try to focus on my hobby, but I don’t remember if I like this or not. Do I like it?” She asked, looking into Nepgear’s eyes.

Nepgear felt a lump form in her throat. “I’m sorry Black Heart. I don’t know.” Nepgear said, shaking her head. “I feel like were all missing something too and it’s frustrating.”

Tears began trickling down Black Heart’s bright red cheeks. “Do I love my sister?” She asked.

Nepgear took a deep breath. “I’m sure you do.” She answered.

“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE!” Black Sister roared, as she flew into the room. “An intruder! Maybe if I blast her my sister will be proud of me!” Black Sister said, as she aimed her rifle at Nepgear.

Nepgear gasped as she held her hands up in defense. “Hold on!” She cried.

“Sister? Will you be proud if I send her to hell?” Black Sister asked.

Black Heart shook her head. “I doubt it.”

“Fine!” Black Sister said, puffing out her cheeks in anger. “But I’ll do it anyways!” And with that, she pulled the trigger on her rifle. A large beam of energy exploded out of her rifle and struck Nepgear.

A large smile appeared on Black Sister’s face, but it soon vanished when she saw that Nepgear had used a barrier to block her attack. “Sorry. Got to go!” Nepgear cried, as she ran out of the office as fast as she could.

“COME BACK HERE! IF I DON’T KILL YOU MY SISTER WILL NEVER LOVE ME!” Black Sister screamed, as she ran after Nepgear.

Nepgear ran through the Basilicom. Unlike her trip to Black Heart’s office, Nepgear’s attempt to escape the Basilicom wasn’t going as well.

Nepgear set off alarm after alarm. Lastation Soldiers started flooding the hallways looking for her. Robots started patrolling the many hallways as well. Meanwhile Black Sister continued to fly through the Basilicom as fast as she could in her pursuit of Nepgear.

Nepgear managed to get back to the balcony she used to enter the Basilicom in the first place. Unfortunately for her, dozens of spotlights were moving around the Basilicom in hopes of capturing the intruder. Not only that, but several large tanks were now roaming the streets.

“Wow… I wasn’t counting on this kind of security.” Nepgear thought, bitterly.

“HURRY UP AND BRING ME THAT INTRUDER! MAYBE IF I BLAST HER MY SISTER WILL PAT ME ON THE HEAD AND TELL ME I DID A GOOD JOB!” Black Heart screamed, over an intercom.

Nepgear leapt from the balcony and landed gracefully on her feet below. After that, Nepgear carefully made her way back to Uni’s house.

The trip back to Uni’s house took longer then Nepgear had anticipated, but she did manage to get back home. “I can’t believe how well that worked out.” Nepgear thought, as she closed the door behind her.

“Nepgear?” Came the voice of Uni, from somewhere up stairs.

Nepgear pulled off her mask. “Yeah?” She called out.

“What’s all that noise outside?” Uni asked.

Nepgear thought quickly. “I don’t hear anything.” She lied. “Oh goodness! Why did I say that?” Nepgear thought, mentally kicking herself.

“Oh. Okay.” Uni said, which surprised Nepgear. “Sorry for waking you up.”

“No problem.” Nepgear said. After a few moments, Nepgear let her breath out, before she plopped herself down on the couch. “Oh goodness. I need to get some sleep.”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 49

 Nepgear and Uni woke up like they did every morning. They ate breakfast, made sure they had everything they needed for that day before they headed to Kei’s to start working. That particular morning Nepgear and Uni were both sure that the day would be normal. That was until they got the phone call.

“Huh? It’s your sister.” Uni said, taking out her phone and looking down at the screen.

Nepgear instantly got excited as she leaned in close. “I hope everyone’s okay.” Nepgear said.

“Hello? Uni and Nepgear here.” Said Uni.

“Hi ladies!” Neptune said, in a sing-song type voice. “How’s every little thing?” She asked.

“Were good. How’s everything there?” Nepgear asked.

“Well I have some good news and some weird news.” Neptune said. “Which do you want to hear first?”

Uni and Nepgear exchanged quizzical glances before Nepgear said. “How about the good news?”

“Good news go! We found the Fairy Tower and activated it.” Neptune said.

“That’s good. We just have one more to go!” Said Nepgear, excitedly.

“And that Fairy Tower is actually really close to Lastation. Talk about boring am I right?” Neptune said, giggling. “Anyways, here’s the weird news. Turns out everyone abandoned this city about a month ago and this Fairy Tower here was brought here a month ago as well.”

“Huh?” Uni said. Nepgear gasped when it looked like all the strength in Uni’s arm had vanished and she nearly dropped the phone. Nepgear quickly caught her hand and brought it back up so they could both hear.

“That can’t be true. Everyone I’ve talked to swear that the city was abandoned since they were little.” Said Nepgear.

“I know! It’s weird, right?” Neptune said, giggling once more.

Nepgear thought about this for a few moments, before she remembered she was holding Uni’s hand. “Um… Big sister? How is Noire doing?”

“Noire and Linda are fine. They’re both just a little… out of it right now.” Said Neptune. “I can move them around though, so I’m sure they’ll snap out of it once we get out of town.”

“That’s good, but… Who’s Linda?” Nepgear asked.

“Linda is that crazy chick me and Noire ran into when we activated that Fairy Tower in Lastation.” Said Neptune.

“Oh right.” Said Nepgear.

“Well were headed home now. It’s going to take us a day and a half to get back. Maybe longer if I have to carry everyone.” Said Neptune.

“Alright. See you soon big sister.” Nepgear said. After Neptune hung up the phone, Nepgear did the same thing. After that she slid the phone into Noire’s pocket and took her friend by the hand. “Come on Uni. Time for work.” Nepgear said.

“I… uh… huh?” Uni said, but she didn’t snap out of it. She still wore a vacant look in her face.

Nepgear swallowed hard. “I really hope this information wasn’t too much for Noire and Uni.” Nepgear thought, as she guided her friend to Kei’s.

Once the two girls were indoors, they found Kei sitting behind her desk. “You girls are almost late.” Said Kei, who was looking down at an open folder.

“Sorry about that.” Nepgear said, turning her eyes to Uni.

“What’s wrong with her?” Asked Kei, not taking her eyes off the folder.

“We just got some strange news is all.” Said Nepgear, smiling nervously. The girl thought about telling Kei what had happened, but quickly changed her mind. “Uni’s cute when she’s like this, but Kei might become frightening.”

“THE ABANDONED CITY WAS ABANDONED A MONTH AGO? HOW THE HELL DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE!?” Uni screamed.

“Huh?” Kei said, finally tearing her eyes off her folder.

“Uh! Nothing!” Nepgear said, waving her hands wildly around. Nepgear quickly turned to Uni and cupped her friends face in her hands. “Uni? Not the time, okay? We have to work!”

Uni opened her mouth to say something. At first Nepgear was certain she was going to scream again, but instead she said. “We have to work.” As though she were terrified to say anything else.

“That’s right.” Nepgear said.

“Excuse me.” Kei said, finally getting to her feet. “The job of an employer is to look after the wellbeing of their employees. If Uni isn’t feeling well, she can have the day off. Of course I can’t pay her for that day, but…”

“Were fine.” Said Nepgear. “Also if Uni needed a sick day, that is covered and she should be getting paid anyways.”

“That’s after she worked a certain amount of hours.” Said Kei.

“Which you waved when you signed Uni, remember?” Said Nepgear.

Kei’s eyes went wide, before they went back to normal. “You’re right… How did that slip my mind?”

“But anyways. Were not sick, we can work.” Nepgear said, as she and Uni made their way over to Kei’s desk.

“Right… We need more spider web.” Kei said, handing the paper over to Nepgear. “Also to make things easier. I bought a small pocket dimension for the both of you. Here.” Said Kei, handing a watch over to Nepgear.

“Pocket dimension?” Nepgear said, her eyes were as large as saucers.

“That’s right. All you have to do is click the buttons on the watch and it’ll open the pocket dimension. It’ll open a three foot long and tall doorway. Just slide the items into it. I’ll receive an alert every time something gets put into it.”

“Awesome!” Nepgear said, gleefully.

“Oh. I should tell you that people can’t travel through the pocket dimension.” Said Kei. “You actually wont be able to enter the pocket dimension yourself.”

Nepgear looked the watch over for a few moments before she slid it onto her wrist. “Alright. Were heading out now.” Nepgear said, as she took Uni by the hand once more and led her friend outside.

Uni still seemed kind of out of it, but she was more aware of her surroundings than before. “None of this makes sense.” Uni said, shaking her head. “None of it. How did this happen?”

“Oh I’m sorry Uni. I wish I could help you.” Nepgear said, as she too tried to figure everything out.

The two girls headed outside the city and made their way to the Fairy Tower. “Spider monsters.” Uni said, pointing towards a group of five spiders who were watching them intently.

“Not now.” Said Nepgear, dragging her friend forward.

The girls didn’t stop walking until they reached the Fairy Tower. Once they were there, Nepgear stood in front of Histoire. “Histoire? Is it true that the abandoned city was only abandoned a month ago?” She asked.

“Yes.” Histoire said, nodding.

“But that can’t be true! For as long as I can remember the city has been abandoned!” Uni said, angrily. “Before our sisters left for the city, we all asked people about the city. Everyone said that it’s been abandoned for years and years!” Said Uni.

“I understand that, but according to my data it’s been abandoned for only one month.” Said Histoire.

“Could they have been rewritten or anything like that?” Nepgear asked.

“No.” Said Histoire, shaking her head. “That would be impossible. Not even forcing the original Histoire could cause our data to be rewritten.”

“I thought so.” Nepgear said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“What do you mean?” Asked Uni.

“Well…” Nepgear began. “We all talked to a lot of people about that abandoned city. This young guy told me that when he was a kid he was living in Lastation and the abandoned city used to be thriving, but then he heard about all the strange things happening there and everyone abandoned the city.”

“Yeah. I heard the same thing.” Said Uni.

“I also heard the same story from an elderly gentlemen.” Said Nepgear. “The elderly man told me that when he was a kid the abandoned city was thriving, then something horrible started happening and everyone left.”

“Maybe he was confused?” Asked Uni.

“It doesn’t make sense. Everyone we spoke to, regardless of age, had the same story.” Said Nepgear. “Everyone was living in Lastation, everyone was a kid and that’s when they heard about the abandoned city. Then we find out that it was abandoned a month ago?”

“Yeah…” Uni said, nodding.

Nepgear shook her head. “Histoire?” Nepgear began, as she placed a firm hand on the Fairy Tower. “If I wanted to move this Fairy Tower right now. How would I go about doing that?”

Histoire shook her head. “The only way you could do that, is by getting permission from the goddesses.”

“And if the goddesses came here now and ordered you to move the Fairy Towers. You’d have to obey them. Right?” Nepgear asked.

“No.” Histoire answered. “The only one who could move the Fairy Tower is the original Histoire. All I could do is communicate this information with her.”

“Okay. So how many times have the goddesses in the past asked Histoire to move the Fairy Towers?” Nepgear asked.

Histoire closed her eyes. When they opened she held up seven fingers. “Seven times.”

“And that’s just in Lastation?” Nepgear asked. Histoire nodded. “And why were they moved?” Nepgear asked.

“Safety reasons. They were also placed in areas for hunters who wanted to get stronger.” Said Histoire.

“Alright. So the Fairy Towers were moved a grand total of seven times. Did you count the Fairy Tower’s moved in Lastation or the abandoned city?” Nepgear asked.

“No.” Said Histoire. Histoire’s eyes became large. “Those were unauthorized movements.”

“Alright.” Nepgear said, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Nepgear?” Uni began. “Where are you going with all this?” She asked.

“I’m trying to narrow things down.” Said Nepgear. “Histoire. I have a few more questions if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” Histoire said, bowing a little. “I’m here to help you.”

“Thanks!” Nepgear said, smiling. “My next question is this. Let’s say hypothetically I was a goddess and I had the original Histoire in my hands right now. Could I order her to move this Fairy Tower?”

“Only if you are the goddess of Lastation. If you were, then yes you could.” Said Histoire.

“And if I was a candidate instead?” Nepgear asked.

Histoire shook her head. “No. You wouldn’t be authorized to move it.”

“Okay. So is there anything in this world that could force Histoire to move the Fairy Towers, alter people’s memories including the memories of a goddess?” Asked Nepgear.

Histoire didn’t close her eyes this time. “No. The only ones who could force the original Histoire to do anything would be a goddess.”

“I thought so.” Nepgear muttered.

Uni looked from Nepgear to Histoire and then back to Nepgear. “Hold on Nepgear. You’re not really suggesting that one of the goddesses forced the original Histoire to do all this, are you?” She asked.

“I… Maybe?” Nepgear said. “Histoire? Did I make a wrong conclusion?”

Histoire didn’t answer right away. Not because she had to calculate or go over everything they had uncovered together, but simply because it was a hard question to answer. “No. You conclusion isn’t wrong.”

“But who would do that? Why?” Uni demanded.

Nepgear shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t like the idea either. I mean I could come up with a million reasons why Purple Heart and Purple Sister wouldn’t do that kind of thing.”

“Oh yeah? Well Black Heart and Black Sister wouldn’t either!” Uni said, angrily.

Nepgear smiled weakly at Uni. “You see? We could both come up with a reason why they wouldn’t do something like this and I’m sure the people of Leanbox and Lowee could do the same thing.”

Uni took a deep breath as she began pacing back and forth. “Alright! Alright… Alright… Right, right, alright.” Uni said, as she continued to pace. “Alright. Let’s just shelve this for a minute, okay?”

“Uni…” Said Nepgear.

“It’s not because I want to ignore what you said. I hate to admit it, but it makes sense.” Said Uni. “I think we should shelve this conversation, simply because were all missing our memories and the original Histoire is still sealed away somewhere.”

“That is true.” Said Nepgear. “If we just go by the information we have now. It would be easy to blame one of the goddesses.”

“That’s a valid point.” Said Histoire.

“So what should we do now?” Nepgear asked. “Our sisters are coming back now. Should we just work until they get back?”

“What other choice do we have?” Asked Uni. “Come on Nepgear. Let’s get to work.”

Nepgear nodded. “Yeah.” She said, waving goodbye to Histoire. As Nepgear turned her mind returned to what they were just talking about a moment ago. “I’m sorry Uni.” Nepgear thought. “But I’m convinced now that a goddess is indeed responsible for all of this. The only question is. Which one?”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 48

 Neptune, Noire and Linda continued to walk down the long street until the abounded city finally came into view. By the time this happened, the sun had set over the horizon and it was completely dark. “I think we should stop now.” Noire said, taking a deep breath. “We all need to be at full strength tomorrow to deal with whatever monsters have settled into that area.”

“Not to mention all the other spooky things down there.” Linda said, hugging herself tightly. “Seriously. Ghosts roam that city. Also I heard some of the parallel worlds you can be sent are horrific. Like hell itself!”

“Cool!” Neptune said.

“How does any of that sound cool Neptune?!” Noire demanded.

Neptune looked deep into Noire’s eyes, but merely shrugged her shoulders. “Anyways, let’s set up camp!” Neptune suggested.

Noire wanted to say something to Neptune, anything to make the girl understand the horrors they were going to have to face the following day, but quickly changed her mind. “She’s going to figure it out sooner or later. I just hope it doesn’t cost her her life or sanity.” Noire thought.

Neptune and Noire took off their backpacks and started pulling out different items. They removed sleeping bags, battery operated lamps and even food. As the girls unpacked, they started to notice a small problem.

“I forgot about this, but we only have two sleeping bags.” Neptune said.

“It’s fine. It’s too warm to bundle up. Let’s just unzip them and lay them side-by-side.” Said Noire.

“Ooh. For cuddles?” Neptune suggested.

“For sleeping.” Noire said, slightly annoyed.

“Right, right.” Neptune said. “Don’t worry Noire. I won’t laugh when you offer to sleep in the middle of us.”

Noire sighed, but didn’t say anything. After a few moments, the girls managed to pull out most of the supplies from their backpacks. Noire built a small fire and soon the girls were cooking their dinner. A small pot of soup.

“I’m glad we packed soup, but is anyone else getting tired of it?” Neptune asked.

“Well… Yeah.” Noire said.

“I don’t mind.” Said Linda. “I’m starving.”

“So…” Neptune began. “I know I was acting cool and tough and all that, but I’m kind of nervous about tomorrow. Oh sweet Noire, tell us… How should we handle it?”

Noire shook her head. “I think our best bet is to stick really close together. Charge into the city, keep our eyes open for anything that looks unusual and head straight for the Fairy Tower.”

“Right.” Said Linda.

Neptune didn’t say anything as she pulled out the N-Gear that Nepgear had leant her. “Let’s have a peaky peak.” She said. Neptune began fiddling with the screen and controls on the N-Gear for a few moments. “It looks like the Fairy Tower is located in the middle of the city. If we keep following that road, we should reach it no problem!” Neptune said, handing the N-Gear over to Noire.

“Looks like it.” Noire said. “You know what? I really like this N-Gear thing. Where did Nepgear buy it?”

Neptune smiled proudly. “My sister made it! With her own cute little hands!”

“You’re kidding me! This thing is amazing!” Noire said, looking the device over. “I mean it looks like it would be low-tech, but it has amazing visuals and it can do all kinds of cool things. You’re really telling me your sister built this thing? That’s really cool.” Noire said, handing the device back to Neptune.

“Yeah it’s her pride and joy.” Said Neptune, as she slid it back into her backpack.

“Well my sister built her own guns!” Noire quickly added.

“Oh here comes the, ‘my sisters cool too’ talk.” Neptune said, giggling and shaking her head.

“Yeah. It was so cool watching her pick out each piece for her guns and put them all together. It was really impressive.” Said Noire, smiling proudly as well.

“Having little sisters sounds cool.” Said Linda. “I wish I had a few brats that did cool stuff too.”

“Yeah, little sisters can be great, but they can also be a handful.” Said Noire. “Like… Well it’s not her fault, but I’m worried sick about Uni and Nepgear.”

“Yeah. They’re capable enough and we know they won’t take candy from strangers or whatever, but we’d feel much better if they were with us now.” Said Neptune.

“Why didn’t you bring them with you two if you were worried so much?” Asked Linda.

“Work.” Noire said, dully. “Which seems like a bad excuse the more I say it.”

An awkward silence fell over the group. “Well… I think the soup is burning.”

“Oh!” Noire cried, as she grabbed a cloth and then the handle of the pot. After pouring the soup into three cups the girls held them out like drinks. “Cheers!” Noire said.

“Cheers!” Neptune and Linda said, gleefully.

After the girls finished their soup they laid down in the unzipped sleeping bags. True to Neptune’s word, she didn’t laugh as Noire squeezed between both Neptune and Linda. “Goodnight ladies.” Said Neptune.

“Night.” Said Linda, who sounded half asleep already.

“Night.” Said Noire.

***

“Okay… Yeah this is good. This is okay… NO! I can’t bring this one!” Came a frantic voice.

Noire opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. The sun was rising, but the sky still looked a bit dark. Sitting up, Noire looked down at the sleeping face of Neptune, but when she turned her eyes to Linda, she noticed the girl was gone. “Linda? Linda!” Noire cried, jumping to her feet.

“No! NO! This isn’t right!” Linda cried.

Noire turned and spotted Linda sitting on her knees near where the fire had been lit. Surrounding the girl were different kinds of metal pipes. Some were shiny and silvery, while others looked dull. There was even a golden pipe that caught Noire’s attention. “This isn’t any good!” Linda cried, as she summoned another pipe and then another. “None of these are right!”

“Linda?” Noire began, slowly walking up to Linda.

Linda turned towards Noire, tears were in her eyes. “Noire! Help me!” Linda cried.

Noire swallowed hard as she rushed over to Linda and placed her hands on her shoulders. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.” Noire said.

Linda took a deep breath. “Last night I had a nightmare. I feel into an alternate world and was surrounded by the scariest monsters ever! I tried to fight back, but my pipe broke during the battle! And then the monsters licked me!”

“Licked you?” Noire said, furrowing her brow.

“Yeah! It was terrible. I woke up hours ago and I’ve been trying to find the prefect pipe to use during our battle, but none of them seem right.” Said Linda.

“Well…” Noire began, as she looked around at all the metal pipes that surrounded them. “Are you sure you want to come with us? You can wait here and we’ll take care of the Fairy Tower and pick you up on the way back. We won’t make fun of you, I promise.” Said Noire.

Linda shook her head vigorously. “I can’t do that! I have to pay you back!”

“No you don’t.” Said Noire. “We didn’t help you because we thought you would owe us one later. Everything’s fine.”

“What’s going on?” Neptune asked, as she sat up.

“Linda’s freaking out.” Said Noire.

“Oh? Give her a hug or something. That usually helps.” Said Neptune, as she got to her feet. “Whoa. Did the guy in the red cap leave a bunch of pipes lying around?” Neptune asked, when she noticed all the pipes lying on the ground.

“No those are mine. I’ve been collecting them for a while now.” Said Linda.

Noire gave Linda’s shoulders a gentle squeeze. “I know!” She said, a thought suddenly came to her. “Why don’t you borrow a rapier from me? I have plenty of those.”

Linda took a deep breath, before she shook her head. “That’s alright. I’m okay now.” Said Linda. “I guess I just needed to talk to someone.”

“Are you sure?” Noire asked. Linda nodded her head in response. “Great. Neptune? Can you help me gather these pipes and-”

“Which of these pipes did you drop?” Neptune asked, as she cut Noire off. Neptune now held a golden pipe and a silver pipe in her hand. “This golden pipe? Or this silver pipe?”

“Very funny.” Noire said, annoyed.

“Or perhaps it was this rusted pipe?” Neptune quickly added.

After Linda gathered up all her pipes, she managed to find the one she could work with. After that the girls gathered their things. “We’ll leave the backpacks here.” Noire said, as she reached inside her backpack and pulled out some candy bars. “I have several of these.” She said, handing them over to Neptune and Linda.

“Thanks!” Linda said, as she stuffed two candy bars into her outfit, but opened the third one.

“Thanks Noire!” Neptune said, doing the same as Linda.

“Alright. Let’s get going.” Said Noire, getting to her feet.

Neptune, Noire and Linda made their way to the road and began walking towards the abandoned city. As they moved, the girls started to get more and more nervous, but they refused to let that stop them. They didn’t care what kinds of horrors they would face in the city. They would face them together.

Once the girls were just outside the city they summoned their weapons. “Let’s go!” Noire roared.

“RIGHT!” Neptune and Linda shouted.

The three girls charged into the city. As they ran they kept their eyes open for any signs of life. They ran down the long street and soon the Fairy Tower stood before them. “There it is!” Noire cried, pointing the tip of her rapier at the device.

“Were almost there!” Linda cried.

Soon the girls reached the Fairy Tower. Neptune pulled out the memory stick and slid it into the USB port on the terminal. “We did it!” Neptune cheered.

“Don’t cheer yet!” Noire cried, turning her eyes towards the city. “I’m sure something’s going to attack us at any moment!”

“Right!” Linda said.

However, as the seconds slowly turned to minutes, nothing happened. “Huh?” Neptune said, dropping her arms to her sides. “Where are all the monsters, ghosts and other creepy things?” She asked.

“Where? They’re…” Noire began, glancing around the city.

The buildings stood tall and empty. The sound of the wind howling between the buildings could be heard, but other than that, there was nothing. “WHERE IS EVERYTHING!?” Noire screamed, her voice echoed and reverberated off the buildings.

“This city is empty.” Came the voice of Histoire.

“You have to be kidding me!” Noire and Linda cried.

“Unfortunately not.” Histoire said.

“Histoire?” Noire began, turning to the holographic fairy girl. “Since I can remember, which isn’t very far, is that this city was abandoned because of something terrible happening here. Monsters, ghosts and parallel worlds! You can’t tell me that never happened.”

Histoire shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Linda said, shaking her head. “I’ve been terrified of this city since I can remember too. Why?”

Neptune crossed her arms in front of her chest and started pacing back and forth. “Ah-Hah!” Neptune said, as though she had just figured something out. “Histoire buddy? Can you tell me if this Fairy Tower had been moved?”

Histoire didn’t answer. Instead she closed her eyes. After a moment her eyes opened and she nodded. “Yes. This Fairy Tower was located several miles away from this city.” She answered.

“Moved?” Noire said, confused.

“I thought so.” Said Neptune. “Back in Planeptune, there was another Fairy Tower that had been moved from it’s original spot.”

Linda looked the giant Fairy Tower over. “Well who moved it?” She asked, aloud. “This thing looks like it weighs a billion pounds and it’s bolted to the ground.”

“I do not weigh a billion pounds. I weigh about… twenty thousand pounds.” Said Histoire, puffing out her cheeks in anger. “Anyways. That question is restricted information. Are you two okay with Linda hearing it?” Histoire asked.

Noire and Neptune turned to Linda, who looked slightly hurt by this. “I’m cool with it.” Said Neptune.

“I don’t mind.” Said Noire, shrugging her shoulders.  

Very well.” Histoire said. “The only way someone could have moved it, is if it was moved by the administrator.”

“And who would that be?” Noire asked.

“Ah-Hah!” Neptune said, once more. “Let me guess. It was Histoire?”

Histoire nodded. “Yes. Only the original Histoire could have moved this Fairy Tower.”

Noire’s shoulders sagged. “So why would she do something like that?”

“Well. Technically speaking it’s happened several times in the past, but only at the behest of the goddesses.” Histoire explained.

“So we need to ask Black Heart or Black Sister why they moved it?” Noire asked.   

“I wouldn’t bother.” Said Neptune. “No offense, but they didn’t seem that reliable.”

“Hey…” Noire said, annoyed. “Anyways Histoire, when was the Fairy Tower moved?”

“Nearly a month ago.” Said Histoire.

“When was the city abandoned?” Neptune then asked.

“Nearly a month ago.” Said Histoire.

Noire and Linda’s jaws dropped. “N-No. That can’t be right.” Linda said. “I remember hearing stories about this city since I was a kid!”

“I can’t believe it either.” Said Noire. “None of this is making any sense.”

Neptune merely shrugged her shoulders as she made her way over to Histoire. “Histoire buddy? Could you please tell me where the final Fairy Tower is?” Neptune asked, as she held out the N-Gear.

“Sending the information now.” Histoire said.

“Thanks!” Neptune said, smiling brightly. “I think those two are going to be out of it for a while.”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 47

 The following day after checking out of their hotel room and eating a little breakfast, the girls headed to the outskirts of the city. “Just to let everyone know.” Linda began, scratching her cheek nervously. “I did try to find someone to give us a ride yesterday, but everyone refused.”

“That’s alright.” Noire said.

“Bunch of cowards!” Neptune cried, throwing her hands into the air.

“Neptune!” Noire snapped. “Yeah… I get it.” She said, after a few moments of silence. “Still we knew we were going to have to walk, so let’s start walking.”

“Hurray…” Neptune and Linda said dully.

The outskirts of the city were made up of fields and mountains and forests. Thankfully for the girls, they didn’t have to trek through the wilderness. Instead they had a road that led straight into the abandoned city.

Neptune, Noire and Linda started walking down the long road. As they walked, they talked amongst themselves. “So Linda…” Neptune began. “Do you have any funny stories about being a thief?” She asked.

Linda thought for a few moments, before she shook her head. “Not really. I remember being a thief, but all my memories are messed up. I do know that I quit.”

“That’s good.” Said Noire, who had her eyes turned to her feet.

“That wasn’t really funny.” Said Neptune, sighing deeply.

“S-Sorry.” Linda said, surprised by Neptune’s reaction. “What about you two? Any funny stories to share?” She asked.

“Not really.” Noire said.

“Yeah. Noire doesn’t have a single funny bone in her body.” Said Neptune.

“Hey…” Noire said, glancing over her shoulder at Neptune in annoyance.

“Noire single-handedly outlawed fun in Lastation.” Neptune added.

“HEY!” Noire snapped.

“See? What’d I tell you?” Neptune whispered to Linda, as she covered her mouth with her hand.

“What about you then Neptune?” Noire asked, smirking. “Any funny stories to share?” She asked.

“Of course!” Neptune said, matter-of-factly. “I bring laughter to everyone I come in contact with!” Neptune said, gleefully.

“I admit. You’re too goofy to take seriously.” Said Noire.

Neptune closed her eyes and groaned loudly. “Thanks Noire. That was really nice of you!” She said, in a pouting voice.

Linda couldn’t help, but giggle. “I know I’m having fun here.” She admitted.

Neptune giggled. “That’s good to hear.” She said. “Anyways, how long have we been walking? We have to be close to getting there now, right?”

“We’ve been walking a grand total of ten minutes Neptune. We aren’t anywhere close to the abandoned city.” Noire said, sighing deeply. Noire groaned loudly herself. “I got to be honest with you. Even though I choose this route, even I was dreading it. We also have monsters were going to have to deal with regardless.”

“What kind of monsters?” Linda asked, nervously.

“Bird monsters called Shoebill.” Noire said. “These monsters aren’t that difficult, but they can be a pain in the butt to deal with.” Said Noire, readjusting her grip on her backpack.

“Sounds like fun.” Neptune said.

As the girls continued to move forwards, they started to notice signs located just outside the road. “Warning! Turn Back!” The signs read.

“I’m guessing they didn’t want anyone to accidentally go to this city, huh?” Noire muttered under her breath. “It’s so weird. If something went so terribly wrong in this city, why didn’t the goddesses deal with it? All I know about this place is the fact that everyone who lived in this city evacuated.” Noire thought to herself. “I wonder how our relations with the other countries are. If the danger in the city was too much, couldn’t we have asked for help from Planeptune? Lowee? Leanbox?”

As Noire thought about this, she felt a strange sense of pride. “I know if it were me in charge. I wouldn’t want to ask for help either. I could probably deal with this threat alone, but with Uni by my side there is no doubt we could have dealt with this problem.”

“Notice how quiet Noire got?” Neptune whispered to Linda. “It means she’s planning out her next method to make this job harder. Don’t be surprised if she tells us to dump our backpacks and fill them with rocks instead.”

“I heard that.” Noire said, annoyed.

Neptune quickly looked away as she started whistling nonchalantly while Linda giggled nervously.

Two hours later Noire stopped walking, which nearly caused Linda to run into her. “Whoa.” Linda said, stopping in her tracks. Suddenly Linda felt something collide with her back.

“Owie!” Neptune cried out, as she bounced off Linda’s back. “Hey what’s the big idea?” She demanded.

“Look.” Noire said, pointing forwards.

Neptune and Linda looked past Noire and spotted a small herd of bird monsters. “Are those the Shoebill?” Linda asked.

“Yeah.” Said Noire. “Shoebill are pretty aggressive. They won’t let us get away too easily.”

“Don’t worry.” Linda said, smirking. Linda held out her hands and summoned a metal pipe. “I’ll deal with these things!” Linda ran towards the group of Shoebill with the metal pipe held high over her head. “Time to die birdies!” She cried.

The Shoebill monsters turned their heads towards the girl before they began flapping their wings. To Linda’s shock several tiny tornadoes formed between her and the Shoebill monsters. The tornadoes struck Linda and launched her high into the air.

Linda screamed in terror as she flew high overhead and landed hard on the street below. “Linda!” Noire cried, as she summoned her rapier and started charging at the Shoebill.

Neptune summoned her katana as well and rushed along side Noire. As the two girls ran the Shoebill squawked loudly before they too charged forwards.

When Noire got close enough, she aimed the tip of her rapier at the first Shoebill and charged forwards with unbelievable speed. Her rapier sliced through several of the Shoebill monsters in less than a few seconds, killing them all in an instant. Neptune leapt at three Shoebill herself and managed to kill them quickly as well.

Once both Noire and Neptune had finished dealing with the monsters, they turned their eyes towards Linda who had a dazed look on her face. “D-Did I get them?” She asked.

Noire sent her rapier away. “You sure did.” Noire said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Here.” Neptune said, as she held out her hand. “Heal!” She announced.

Linda’s body started shining brightly. When the glow vanished her wounds had been healed.

“That was stupid.” Linda said, giggling nervously.

“Please be more careful.” Noire said, reaching down and grabbing Linda by the hand. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“At least you have a funny story now.” Neptune said, grabbing Linda’s other hand and helping her to her feet.

Linda sighed deeply. “Sorry about that.”

Noire shook her head. “It’s alright. Come on you two. Let’s keep walking.”

***

An entire day had passed since Neptune and Noire had left for the abandoned city. Even though Nepgear and Uni both missed their sisters, the girls refused to let it upset them. Instead they focused on the jobs that Kei gave them. The girls were now standing just a few yards away from the first Fairy Tower, they had just finished off dozens of spider monsters.

“Nepgear? I need some help over here.” Uni said.

Nepgear turned on her heels and saw Uni was bent down and scraping something off the floor. “What is it?” Nepgear asked, making her way over to her friend.

“I found some webbing here, but it’s hard to pull up.” Said Uni.

“Oh. One second.” Nepgear said, a she sent her energy sword away. Nepgear made her way to the other side of the webbing and grabbed several handfuls of it. After that both girls pulled with all their might. IT took several moments, but eventually the webbing began to loosen it’s grip on the ground and pull free from it.

“There.” Uni said, breathing hard. “Can you get me a box?” She asked.

“Sure.” Nepgear said, as she ran over to a small stack of boxes. After finding an empty one, she made her way back to Uni and opened it up. “Here you are.” She said.

“Thanks.” Uni said, as she dropped the webbing inside. “I think we got everything we needed, right?”

“Yeah. Were done for today.” Said Nepgear.

Uni and Nepgear gathered up the boxes and started making their way back to Lastation. “I wonder…” Uni began, as though she were testing Nepgear to see if she was up for a conversation.

“Wondered what?” Nepgear asked.

“I was just wondering where our sisters are right now.” Said Uni.

“Well…” Nepgear thought for a moment. “If I had to guess. I would say they were probably walking to the abounded city as we speak. Unless they found someone to give them a ride.”

“Yeah.” Said Uni.

“Yeah.” Nepgear said, sighing deeply. “I miss them.”

“Me too.” Said Uni. “They should have brought us with them, but I know work is important.”

“Yeah.” Nepgear said, sighing once more. “I wonder where the last Fairy Tower is.” Said Nepgear.

“The way things are going. It’ll probably be located on the very edge of Lastation.” Said Uni.

“I don’t know.” Nepgear said. “The first Fairy Tower we activated was further away from Lastation than the second one was.” Said Nepgear. “I wonder what determines which Fairy Tower needs to be activated next.”

“That’s a good question.” Uni said, glancing over her shoulder at the Fairy Tower in the distance. “Do you feel like walking all the way back over there and asking?”

Nepgear shook her head. “No Uni. I don’t.” Said Nepgear. “Goodness imagine if we did that and Histoire said she didn’t know! I would be so mad!”

“Yeah. Me too.” Said Uni. “Is it even possible for you to get mad?” Uni asked, thinking for a few moments. “I don’t remember seeing you get angry at all.”

“I can get mad.” Nepgear said, surprised by Uni’s question. “I was really mad when my sister got hurt.”

“Mad? Or scared?” Asked Uni.

“Both! I was super mad and scared.” Nepgear said.

Uni giggled. “Okay, okay. I believe you.” She said, holding up her hands in defense. “You are surprisingly over-protective of your big sister. I mean if Noire got hurt like Neptune did that day, I would have acted the same way. Still, I feel like you dote on her too much.”

“Huh… Really?” Nepgear asked.

“Yeah. Like when Neptune’s at home you constantly serve her sweets and do her chores. I mean Noire is working with her to straighten her out, but still. You should tell your sister no more often.” Said Uni.

“Yeah?” Nepgear said.

Uni shook her head. “Not like I have any right to lecture you. I mean, I dote on my sister too.”

“Not like me.” Said Nepgear, tilting her head slightly to the right. “I don’t know. I just love my sister and I like doing things for her. I want to be her little sister forever, so maybe that’s why I’m not strict with her.”

“Yeah?” Said Uni. “Well I want my sisters approval… All the time.” Nepgear couldn’t help, but giggle. “Hey! What’s so funny?” Uni asked, annoyed.

“Sorry.” Nepgear said, shaking her head. “I was just thinking how hopeless both of us are without our sisters.”

Uni blinked her eyes several times. Uni wanted to argue that point with Nepgear, but apart of her knew that her friend was right. “I guess you’re right. Were both hopeless little sisters.” Uni admitted.

After Nepgear and Uni handed their collected items over to Kei, they both headed for home. As they walked side-by-side, they continued to talk about their sisters until they finally reached their home.
 
Before Nepgear stepped into the house, she glanced up at the sky which was nearly dark now. “I hope both you and Noire are doing fine.” Nepgear thought.

“Hurry up Nepgear!” Uni called. “I want to eat and play some video games! I have this FPS I really want to show you!”

Nepgear smiled brightly. “Coming!”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 46

 The bus made several stops along its route, but soon the bus stopped in a small town that was located between Lastation and the abandoned city that Neptune and Noire were heading to.

Neptune, Noire and Linda climbed off the bus. The moment Neptune’s feet hit the ground she stretched her arms high over her head. “Oh man! Great to get off that bus, huh?” She said.

“Yeah that was a long ride.” Said Noire.

“Yeah… Long…” Said Linda, who was hugging herself tightly.

Neptune turned to Linda and noticed how nervous the girl looked. “What’s wrong Linda? You don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to, but you won’t get any of my special pudding if you don’t!”

“Leave her alone Neptune.” Noire said, as she placed a hand on Linda’s forearm and her back. “Are you okay Linda? Listen. I can buy a bus ticket for you and send you back to Lastation if you want. I don’t mind.”

“Tightwad Noire willing to pay for someone’s ticket?” Neptune gasped.

“I paid for your ticket, remember?” Noire said, annoyed.

“Oh yeah. I guess there’s something that can get Noire to pry open her wallet after all. Friendship!” Neptune said.

Noire rolled her eyes, before turning them back to Linda. “So what do you say?” She asked.

Linda fought the urge to take Noire up on her offer. “I appreciate that, but I’d like to pay off my debt to you two.” She said. “If that’s okay of course.”

“Well you don’t owe us a debt, but I don’t mind you coming with us. I remember how tough you are.” Said Noire.

“Thanks.” Said Linda, smiling nervously.

Noire turned her eyes skywards, before sighing deeply. “As much as I would love for us to head to the abandoned city now. We really should find a place to sleep tonight. It’s going to get dark soon.”

“Sounds good to me.” Neptune said, as she began to twirl around on her heels. “Let’s see… Hotel, hotel… HOTEL!” Neptune cried, pointing at a nearby building. “I found one captain!”

“Good work Neptune. You get extra kibble in your bowl tonight.” Noire said, smirking.

“Woof woof!” Neptune barked, as she grabbed Linda and Noire’s hand and started leading them towards the building. Once the girls were inside, they were instantly blasted by the air conditioning, which made them all close their eyes and take in the feeling of cold air against their skin.

“This is nice.” Noire said, blushing a little.

“Yeah. I like this hotel.” Said Linda.

“Let’s just sleep here in the lobby.” Said Neptune.

“Ahem.” Came a voice, from the other side of the counter.

The girls opened their eyes and saw that someone was looking at them. “Sorry about that.” Noire said, brushing past Lind and Neptune and stepping up to the counter. “Can we get a room please?” Noire asked.

“Sure.” Said Noire.

“One room for the three of us? Noire what are you thinking?!” Neptune asked, grabbing her cheeks and giggling.

“Huh? Shut up Neptune!” Noire snapped. Neptune started giggling a goofy grin, which made Linda hold up her hands in defense, but she didn’t say anything. After getting the key to their room, Noire grabbed a brochure from a nearby stand before she led everyone to their room.

The hotel room wasn’t very big. Near the front door of the room was a bathroom. The room had two beds that were pushed close to the wall on the left side of the room. Located near those beds were two nightstands with lamps located on them. Located in front of the bed was a bed. Pushed close to the window at the very back of the room was a circular table and two chairs.

Once inside the room, Neptune leapt on top of the first bed and began bouncing up and down on it. “This is my bed!” Said Neptune, before she stopped jumping. The girl blushed heavily and turned to Linda and Noire “So who am I sharing it with?” She asked.

“Neptune you’re sharing a bed with me.” Noire said. Neptune opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Noire added, “and if you say anything lewd I’m going to slap you.”

“Me say something lewd? I’m a pure maiden missy!” Said Neptune, after making sure she wasn’t in slapping range.

“Uh Noire?” Linda began.

“Oh, don’t worry about us. You can have that bed to yourself.” Said Noire.

“No.” Linda said, shaking her head. “Are you sure you want me in here? You two barely know me and what you do know of me isn’t good.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Said Neptune. “We both trust you.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.” Said Noire. “And don’t take this the wrong way, but I want to keep an eye on you.”

“Oh…” Linda said, her voice trailed.

“Don’t take that the wrong way.” Noire said, once more. “I trust you, but I’m still worried about leaving you on your own. Neptune’s been at this longer and she could tell you some stories about her journey.”

“Oh man.” Neptune said. “That’s all I’ll say. One pudding per story!”

Noire pulled off her backpack and reached inside. A moment later she pulled out a pudding pack and handed it over to Linda. “It’s worth the price.” She said. “But only one story.”

Linda giggled as she handed over a pudding pack to Neptune. “Now I shall regale you with a story about the haunted laboratory that almost took my life!” Neptune began,

As Neptune started telling her story, Noire made her way to the table and unfurled the brochure. Located on one side of the brochure was information on the city they were in, on the other side was a map of the surrounding area.

Noire pulled out a marker and started drawing on the map. “I think if we follow this path, we’ll reach the abandoned city without many problems. The monsters along this route though are going to be pretty tough. I wish we could have hunted more Phoenix monsters, but we might be okay.” Noire thought to herself.

“And that’s how I nearly died.” Neptune said, finishing off her story.

“Oh wow!” Linda said, tears had formed in the corners of her eyes. “Your sister was amazing! She carried you all the way to the Fairy Tower? That’s amazing!” Linda said.

“Yeah.” Neptune said, giggling a bit. “I feel bad about making my sister worry about me like that, but everything worked out at the end.”

“So where’s your sister now?” Linda asked.

“Oh we left her back at Noire’s house with her sister Uni. Noire absolutely had to come with me to activate these Fairy Towers.” Said Neptune.

Noire sighed deeply as she made her way over to the bed Neptune was sitting on. “When Histoire asked me to help you Neptune, I took that responsibility very seriously. I also thought it was a good opportunity for our sisters to interact with each other. Uni hung out with me most of the time and rarely get’s to spend time with girls her own age.”

“Aw! You’re a great big sister.” Said Linda.

Noire shook her head. “I needed some work, but I’m getting better.”

“So Noire…” Neptune began. “Did you figure out our route for tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Said Noire, as she took a seat next to Neptune.

“Let me guess. Were hitting every monster nest on our way over there?” Neptune asked.

“No Neptune.” Noire said, shaking her head. “Even though we have Linda helping us, I knew that wouldn’t be a good idea, so I chose the safest route possible for us.” Noire sighed deeply. “But yeah. There are some really big monster nests out there and I’m sure they would have given us some great share energy!”

“You see Linda? You see!” Neptune said, hiding slightly behind Linda’s back. “Noire’s scary when she wants that share energy!”

“Oh please.” Noire said, sighing deeply. It was at that moment a thought came to Noire. “Linda? I was going to ask you. What do you know about the abandoned city?”

“Good question. You were knee-knocking nervous when you heard we were going there.” Said Neptune.

“Huh? N-No! Not me!” Linda said, giggling nervously.

Neptune sighed deeply. “I wasn’t going to do this, but…” Neptune raised her hands and started wiggling her fingers.

“No wait!” Linda cried. “It’s just… I don’t want you to make fun of me.”

Noire waved her hand dismissively while Neptune lowered her hands. “No one’s going to make fun of you.” Said Noire.

“What Noire means is, no one’s going to make fun of you unless you say something really sad.” Said Neptune.

“No Neptune.” Noire said, shaking her head. “Anyways Linda. People who’ve lived in Lastation have heard all kinds of creepy stories about the abandoned city. I’m just wondering what you’ve heard. That’s all.”

“Oh…” Linda said, her voice trailed a bit. “Well to be honest with you. I think the stories I’ve heard probably line up with everyone else’s. I heard that weird things started happening all over the city. People were disappearing. Ghosts started haunting the streets and even portals to other worlds started to open up everywhere. Eventually the city became too dangerous to live in and every evacuated.”

“Whoa.” Neptune said, astonished. “Is that true?”

Noire shook her head. “I don’t know. Believe it or not, but there are no records about the abounded city. No one knows who lived there and why people left.” Said Noire, shrugging her shoulders.

“Creepy and cool.” Neptune said, her eyes sparkled with joy. “And were going there tomorrow! Excitement!”

“Oh really? I’m surprised.” Said Noire, resting her chin on her hand. “I thought you’d want to get out of it.”

“No way!” Neptune said, jumping to her feet. “I love this kind of thing! I think…”

“Well enough of the Neptune show.” Noire said, getting to her feet as well. “Neptune. You should go and get us some dinner. We’ll relax for the rest of the day.”

“Fine…” Neptune said, as she started trudging for the door. “Oh. What does everyone want?”

“You can decide.” Said Noire. “But not pudding. We already have plenty of pudding in our backpacks.”

“I’m fine with whatever.” Linda said, as Neptune looked at her.

“Whatever pizza sound good to everyone?” Asked Neptune, but the girl didn’t wait for an answer as she left the hotel room.

“That girl. I swear she…” Noire said, sounding more annoyed than she actually was.

“You two do seem like good friends.” Said Linda.

Noire grinned and blushed a little. “We are. Neptune can be annoying, but I don’t hate her or anything. Our trips together have been fun honestly.” Said Noire, turning to Linda. “She can make conversations a bit difficult though.”

“Yeah?” Linda said, giggling.

“With that said. Is there anything else about the abandoned city that you know of?” Asked Noire.

Linda crossed her arms in front of her and turned her eyes towards the ceiling. “To be honest. I can’t really think of anything else. Ghosts, monsters and portals to other worlds.”

“I see…” Noire said, sighing deeply. “That’s basically what I’ve heard myself. I’m just wondering how much of it is actually true. I’m not saying ghosts don’t exist, but it’s weird.”

“What do you mean?” Linda asked.

“Well… It’s weird that a Fairy Tower would be located in the middle of a city in the first place. I’m sure Neptune feels the same way about that. Also it’s weird that an entire city would suddenly be flooded with all these stories forcing people to leave. Doesn’t make sense really.”

“Yeah?” Linda said, nodding in agreement.

“Well as much as I would like to get to the bottom of this…” Noire began, as she grabbed the brochure she drew on moments before. “Our job is just to activate that Fairy Tower.” Noire slid the brochure into her backpack, but was certain she wouldn’t need the map anymore. “Listen Linda. If at any point you don’t think you can go on. Just let one of us know. I promise we won’t take it personally.”

Linda smiled. “Thanks.” She said. “But I want to see this all the way through for myself.”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 45

 The following day Nepgear was surprised by the scene that she saw in the living room. Dozens of items had been placed on the table and several sleeping bags were lying on the ground. “I think I got everything were going to need. I’m going to withdraw some credits on the off chance we run into a place that doesn’t except a card.” Said Noire.

“Right, right.” Neptune said. The girl looked as though she could barely keep her eyes open.

“Are you two going somewhere?” Nepgear asked.

“Were going out to activate the fourth Fairy Tower, remember?” Noire asked.

“Oh yeah!” Nepgear said, as though she had completely forgotten. “I just thought that you were going to leave a little later, that’s all.”

“No time like the present.” Said Noire. “Anyways me and your sister are going to be gone for several days. Are you going to be okay without this dragging you down?” Noire asked, gesturing towards Neptune.

“Huh? Yeah I guess.” Nepgear said, though the truth was she knew she would miss her sister.

“It’ll be alright. Not like you two can’t call each other.” Said Uni, appearing behind Nepgear.

“Good morning Uni.” Said Noire.

“Morning big sis.” Said Uni. “I found some extra batteries.” She said, holding up a pack of large batteries in her hands.

“Oh, thanks. You can go ahead and put them in Neptune’s bag.” Said Noire.

“Why my bag?” Neptune asked.

“I’m going to load you down and help you grow some muscle. By the time were finished with this trip, your leg muscles are going to be bigger than your mouth muscles.” Said Noire, smiling mischievously.

“Hey! My mouth is cute and petite!” Neptune said, pointing at her own mouth as she spoke.

“Big and gaping is more like it.” Said Noire.

“Is that abandoned city really that far out?” Nepgear asked.

Noire’s smile vanished when she noticed how worried Nepgear was. “It’ll take us a few days to reach it. Were not going to be walking the entire way. Were actually going to take a bus to one city and walk to the abandoned city after that. As you can imagine, no ones driving to that city anymore.” Said Noire. “I promise Nepgear. I’ll look after your sister.”

“And Neptune will look after my sister. Right Neptune?” Uni asked.

Neptune didn’t answer. Instead she smiled a goofy smile while she held up a thumbs-up sign.

“I think that means yes.” Said Noire. “Anyways I’m just taking all of this stuff because I like to be cautious.”

“I see. That makes sense.” Said Nepgear.

“But you two don’t have time to worry about us. You need to worry about getting to work and doing a good job, right?” Noire asked, as she placed her hands high on her hips.

“Right.” Uni said, smiling brightly.

Noire, with the help of Nepgear and her sister, quickly packed up the rest of their belongings and put them into the two backpacks. While the girls did this, Neptune made her way over to the couch where Uni’s console was sitting. “We can take this too, right?” Neptune asked, placing her hands on the console.

“No Neptune.” Noire said.

“Aww crackers!” Neptune said. “I was just joking. I know how sacred a game console is to a girl. I just wanted to cheer Uni up.”

“Huh?” Noire said, turning her eyes to Uni. At first Noire couldn’t see anything wrong with her sister. Uni was hovering over the backpack Noire was using and she was filling it with all kinds of items that she would need, but every once in a while a worried look would appear on Uni’s face.

Noire tilted her head slightly to the right before she reached over and wrapped her fingers around Uni’s right hand. Uni blinked several times before turning her eyes to her sister. “What’s wrong?” Uni asked.

Noire shook her head. “Nothings wrong Uni. Everything’s okay.”

Uni’s eyes went wide before she furrowed her brow. “Promise?” She asked.

Noire nodded. “I promise.”

“Thanks big sis.” Uni said.

Nepgear and Neptune exchanged smiles at this lovely scene. “Don’t worry Noire. I’ll look after Uni for you.” Said Nepgear.

“Thanks.” Said Noire, not taking her eyes off her sister. “Uni’s a tough girl, but she still needs someone to stand with her.”

“And I’ll take care of Nepgear.” Said Uni. “She’s still a baby who needs me to hold her hand sometimes.”

“Huh? I’m not a baby.” Said Nepgear, taken off guard by Uni’s comments.

When the girls finally finished packing the two backpacks and stuffed each of them with one sleeping bag, Neptune and Noire slid them onto their backs. “Well it’s time to get going.” Noire said. “Remember everything we talked about. Be safe and we’ll be back.”

“That’s right.” Said Neptune. “Oh and if you two have any trouble call us. Activating the Fairy Tower is important, but you two are more important than that. Understand?” Neptune asked.

Uni and Nepgear hesitated for a moment. “Excuse me? Neptune just asked you two a question. Do you understand or not?” Noire asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Yes.” Uni and Nepgear said, in unison.

“Great!” Neptune said, smiling brightly. “Now give me one for the road!” Neptune said, as she held out her arms.

Nepgear happily hugged her sister. Uni on the other hand hesitated until Noire held out her arms as well. After the four sisters hugged they said their farewells.

“See you later you two!” Neptune said.

“See you!” Said Noire.

Uni and Nepgear stood side-by-side waving as their sisters headed down the long street leading to the bus stop. “Are you alright Uni?” Nepgear asked.

“Y-Yeah.” Uni said, her voice shook a bit in her throat. “I know our sisters are going to be okay, but I’m still going to miss Noire.”

“I know.” Nepgear said. “I’m going to miss Neptune, but this is an important trip.”

“I know, I know.” Uni said, taking a deep breath. “Anyways we better get ready for work. Kei’s pretty strict about tardiness.”

“That’s true.” Said Nepgear. “Let’s get to work.”

***

After Neptune and Noire reached the bus station, Neptune found a bench to sit on while Noire went to withdraw some credits and buy two tickets for them. After that, Noire returned and handed Neptune one of the tickets. “We have about an hour before the bus gets here.”

“Aw shucks. Too bad.” Neptune said, sighing deeply.

“It’s better that were early than late.” Said Noire, taking a seat next to her friend.

“I know, I know.” Said Neptune.

A silence fell over Noire and Neptune as they waited together. As they waited, Noire couldn’t help but wonder what a trip like this would be like if she were traveling with Uni instead. “So…” Noire began. “You and your sister did a lot of traveling, huh? I mean while activating these Fairy Towers, huh?”

“That’s right.” Said Neptune.

“Did you enjoy any of it?” Noire asked.

Neptune thought for a moment. “To be honest with you. Yeah. It’s been fun traveling around, meeting new people. I really enjoyed meeting you Noire, despite you being so stuffy. Uni too.”

Noire thought about getting angry at Neptune’s remark, but decided against it. “Well I’m glad I met you and Nepgear. Mostly Nepgear though.”

Neptune giggled. “Uni’s a good kid. She worries a lot, but that’s because she’s so thoughtful.”

“Same goes for Nepgear. She’s a responsible girl, but she depends on you too much.” Said Noire.

“Yeah…” Neptune said, her voice trailed a bit. “So it’s safe to say were both still worried about our sisters.”

“Oh god yes.” Noire said. “I’ve never left Uni alone for this long. They’re responsible girls. I’m not worried about them causing trouble, I’m worried about someone or something causing trouble for them!”

“Yeah… I mean do you want to go back and get them?” Neptune asked.

“Ye-” Noire shook her head. “No. We have to trust them, right?”

“Right.” Said Neptune. “You almost said yes, right?”

“Yeah…” Noire said, sighing deeply.

Another silence fell over the two girls and it lasted until the bus finally arrived at the station. Getting to their feet, the two girls boarded the bus and took a seat near the back. Neptune swung her backpack off and sat it down on her lap. After that, she opened her backpack and started rifling through her things.

Noire watched as several people boarded the bus after them. Noire looked at the faces of each person, but didn’t recognize any of them. That was until a strange girl with pale skin boarded the bus.

“Hey.” Noire began, pointing at the girl. “Does that girl look familiar to you?” She asked.

Neptune looked up from her backpack and looked at the person Noire was pointing at. “Nope. I don’t think so…” Said Neptune, narrowing her eyes at the girl that Noire was pointing at.

“You know her. She was that loopy girl who attacked us when we activated the second Fairy Tower. Linda!” Noire said.

The girl that Noire was pointing at suddenly turned her head towards Noire and Neptune. Noire quickly looked away and acted like she was reading something, but she gasped when she noticed that Neptune was still staring. “Oh yeah! It’s Linda! Hi Linda!” Neptune said, waving at the girl.

“Neptune are you nuts?!” Noire cried.

Neptune turned to Noire. “Kind of.” She admitted. Neptune suddenly gasped, as she did this the bus pulled away from the bus station and pulled onto the road. While this was happening, Linda had gotten to her feet and started making her way towards the two girls.

“What’s wrong?” Noire asked, keeping her eyes on Linda. “Oh crap. I hope Linda doesn’t start a fight.” Noire thought to herself.

“I just remembered something!” Neptune said.

“Really? What?” Asked Noire.

“Linda! She knows Pirachu!” Said Neptune.

“Hi ladies!” Linda began, but before she could say another word Noire grabbed the girl by the front of her hoodie and pulled her so close that their noses were nearly touching.

“YOU!” Noire screamed, angrily.

“Whoa! Wh-What’s going on?!” Linda stammered.

“Don’t act like you don’t know girlie! Were putting the squeeze on you!” Neptune said, jumping to her feet and poking Linda in the arm. “Better start talking before we start looking for all your tickle spots!” The girl warned.

“Whoa! Hold on!” Linda cried, putting her hands in the air. “I don’t know what you mean. Let’s just talk about this!”

Noire took a deep breath, before she pulled Linda into the seat with them. Now Linda sat between Neptune and Noire.

“So… How’s it going?” Linda asked, her voice shook in her throat.

“Bad.” Noire said, annoyed. “Let me ask you something Linda. How important is a baby sister to a big sister?” She asked.

“H-How important? Very?” Linda offered.

“That’s right!” Neptune said.

“And if someone put that baby sister in danger, how angry do you think the big sister gets?” Noire asked.

“Very?” Said Linda.

“Exactly! Your friend Pirachu put our baby sisters in danger and were really mad about that! Tell us everything you know about that rat and G.” Said Noire, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Rat? G?” Linda said, tilting her head slightly to the right.

“That’s it! Noire you take her armpits, I’ll get her ribs!” Neptune warned, as she started wiggling her fingers.

“NO WAIT!” Linda cried out, her cheeks grew bright red. “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

“Start talking then!” Noire said, annoyed. “But my friend here loves making girls like you squirm. I might not be able to hold her off for very long.”

“Okay, okay!” Linda cried, tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “Listen. After you activated that Fairy Tower, I actually started remembering a few things. The first thing I remembered was the fact that me and Pirachu weren’t really friends. We just pulled jobs together.”

“So you’re a thief?” Asked Noire.

“No not anymore!” Linda cried, folding her hands together. “Linda’s a good girl now! She doesn’t rob or anything, I swear!”

“So what were you two doing in that part of Lastation?” Noire demanded.

“We were going to recycle some of the metal there, that’s it.” Said Linda. “They made it legal to take stuff out of those factories, remember? But then they built that stupid wall. We snuck over it, but were attacked by the monsters. Pirachu left me and I was trapped there.”

“Is that true?” Neptune asked.

“Well for the most part.” Said Noire. “We used to be able to go there, but monsters started moving in so they walled it off.”

“Alright.” Noire said, turning her eyes back to Linda. “What about Pirachu? Where can we find him?”

“I don’t know!” Linda said.

“Better get my fingers ready.” Neptune said, as she started wiggling her fingers.

“I swear! We always met up at the same place in Lastation every time we met up for a job. We didn’t tell each other where we lived or anything. We were playing it safe!” Linda said, looking at Neptune who was poised to start tickling her.

“That does make sense.” Said Noire. “Alright. What about this G person?”

Linda didn’t answer right away. Instead she turned her body so she was completely facing Neptune. Her arms were still raised and she wore a goofy grin on her face. “I don’t know…”

“OHHHH YEAHHHHH?” Neptune said, moving her hands as though she were seconds away from pouncing. “I believe her.” She said, dropping her hands.

“Yeah me too.” Said Noire.

“R-Really?” Said Linda, looking back from Neptune to Noire. “Why?”

“From what our sisters told us I had a feeling that this G person was just using Pirachu to lure them into a trap.” Said Noire. “So with that said. Linda why are you here?”

Linda turned her eyes towards her feet. “To be honest. When I woke up in the hospital I could barely remember what happened to me. I do know that you two helped me out so I wanted to thank you, but I got shy when I noticed you getting on the bus so I followed you.” She admitted.

“Aw!” Neptune said, throwing her arms around Linda. “We have a new friend Noire! Isn’t that great?”

“F-Friend?” Noire said, blushing. “Y-Yeah. I guess. Not that I care.” Noire said, laughing nervously.

Linda giggled. “Thanks!” She said. “So where are you two going?”

“The abandoned city.” Noire answered.

Linda’s eyes went wide with terror. “Seriously? I might need to get off the bus.”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 44

 The following day Uni, Noire, Nepgear and Neptune made their way to Kei’s office. As they walked everyone could hear Noire grumbling under her breath. “Seriously the nerve of some people. Trying to make my sister sign an exclusive contract. I ought to beat some sense into that girl!”

“Big sis… Kei didn’t try to force me to sign the contract.” Uni said.

“Of course she didn’t. She knew she’d get a beating from me! There’s more than one way to get out of a contract and it doesn’t always have to be legal.” Noire said, in the same tone as before.

“Whoa… Noire is scary.” Said Nepgear.

“Yeah, but can you blame her? I mean Kei tried to get you to sign a contract too, right?” Asked Neptune.

Nepgear shook her head. “No. She actually dropped the subject when I told her that I wouldn’t be able to sign.” Said Nepgear, folding her hands together in front of her.

“What?! But you’re so reliable!” Neptune said, before crossing her arms angrily in front of her chest. “Not trying to make my baby sister sign a contract despite being so reliable. There’s more than one way to get you an offer and not all of them are legal!” Neptune said, annoyed.

Nepgear sighed deeply. “Sis, do you even know why you’re mad?” Nepgear asked.

When the girls finally reached Kei’s building, Uni opened the door and waited for everyone else to go inside, but halted Nepgear before she could go inside. “Nepgear could you please help me settle my sister down?” Asked Uni.

“Yeah, but my sister might need to be settled down as well.” Said Nepgear. Both Nepgear and Uni looked into each others eyes before they sighed deeply.

“So you must be Kei.” Noire said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “My sister told me you wanted her to sign an exclusive contract.”

“Ah! So you must be Noire.” Kei began, getting to her feet and extending a hand to the raven black haired girl standing before her. “She’s told me a lot about you. I’m happy to meet you.”

“Uh… Thanks.” Noire said, feeling slightly disarmed. Noire shook Kei’s hand. “So about this contract. I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to read it, but-”

“Of course I would.” Kei said, pulling out the contract and handing it over to Noire. “I’ll also be glad to go over it with you and we can iron out any details you’re unhappy with.”

“Uh…” Noire began. “Um… Good!”

“I can tell, thanks to Uni, that you’re a good big sister. She refused to sign anything until she got your permission. I also had a feeling that you’d want to come down and look the contract over for yourself. That’s what a responsible guardian would do.” Said Kei, matter-of-factly. “While you’re reading that, why don’t I get everyone some tea.”

“Uh… Thanks?” Noire said. Noire took a seat as she started reading over the contract. Meanwhile Kei made her way to the back where she started making some tea. Before the tea finished however, she returned and introduced herself to Neptune.

“Yeah I heard about you! What’s the deal offering Uni a contract but not my beloved big sister! She’s reliable!” Neptune snapped.

“Oh no. I would love to offer both your sister and Uni the same contract, but she informed me that you were on a quest. Of course if she has your permission, I would love to have her work for me.” Said Kei.

“Really?” Neptune said, perking up. “I appreciate the offer, but Nep Jr. and I are on a quest.”

Nepgear sighed even deeper than before. “Oh big sis…”

Kei giggled. “I see.”

A silence fell over the five girls as Noire continued to read through the contract. When Noire finally reached the end of the contract she took a deep breath. “Alright. I read through this entire contract and it’s pretty good, but I saw a small problem I would like to discuss.”

“Of course.” Said Kei.

“First off I have to ask. How many other hunters have you signed up so far?” Asked Noire.

“As of right now. None. Uni would be the first.” Said Kei.

“I see. So if you asked her to collect a certain item from a monster, she would have to act on her own. Correct?” Noire asked.

“Yes.” Kei said, nodding her head several times.

“You already see the problem, right?” Asked Noire.

“I do.” Said Kei.

Uni looked from Kei to Noire. “What’s the problem?” She asked.

“Uni you’re strong, but that doesn’t mean you can hunt every monster by yourself. You need a way to refuse a job for safety sake.” Said Noire.

“That was an oversight on my part. I apologize.” Said Kei, bowing a little. “Please give me a few moments to create a new contract.”

“Thanks.” Said Noire. “But before that, I need to ask you something Uni.” Noire turned in her seat and looked up at her sister. “I agree this is a good deal and Kei does seem like a trustworthy person to work for, but I still have to ask. Do you want to work for Kei?”

Uni opened her mouth to say something, but quickly changed her mind. “I mean… I like doing quests with you… It’s just… Um…”

“It’s okay Uni.” Noire said, taking Uni’s right hand into her own. “If you want to work with Kei. I won’t get upset and of course I’ll help you out whenever you need it. If you don’t want to work for her, no one will force you. You know that.”

“I know.” Uni said, nodding her head. After a few moments of silence, Uni took a deep breath and said, “I want to work with Kei.”

“Excellent.” Kei said, happily.

“Alright. And of course I expect you to do an amazing job while working for her. No slacking off.” Said Noire.

“Right!” Said Uni.

“Wait a minute!” Neptune said, marching up to Kei’s desk. “What about Nepgear? I know she can’t sign a contract, but she’s still reliable!”

“Yes she is.” Said Kei. “And she’s more then welcome to work here without signing a contract.”

“Great!” Neptune said, before twirling around to face her sister. “No slacking off Nepgear.”

“Right.” Nepgear said, her cheeks were bright red now.

“I doubt Kei has to worry about Nepgear slacking off. Now if she were hiring you Neptune, then she might need to worry.” Said Noire.

“Exactly my… Hey!” Neptune snapped.

“Anyways. I’ll get a new contract written up in a few moments.” Said Kei, before turning her eyes to Uni. “Uni? Welcome aboard.”

Uni smiled brightly. “Thanks!”

***

After the contract was signed Kei requested that Uni and Nepgear return the following day to officially start working. Even though Nepgear wasn’t able to sign a contract, Kei promised to pay her a fair wage. “Thank you very much. Please look after both of our sisters.” Noire said, as she and Neptune bowed a little to Kei.

“My pleasure.” Said Kei.

When Noire stood fully erect she furrowed her brow. “I didn’t want to say this before, but you look familiar. Have we met before?”

Kei shook her head. “To be honest. I’m not really sure, but yes. You look familiar to me too.”

When the four girls finally returned home, Uni was left a bit surprised. “Noire? Aren’t we going to take on some quests today?” She asked.

“Not today.” Said Noire. “We’ve saved quite a bit in the bank. Besides I want you and Nepgear to go into work fully refreshed tomorrow.”

“Thanks big sis!” Said Uni.

“Yes. Thank you.” Said Nepgear.

“I also want you two to relax for the rest of the day as well. Neptune and I will take care of quests today.” Said Noire.

“Whaaat!?” Neptune cried. “I thought we were relaxing today! Now I have to do work? Boo!”

“Don’t worry Neptune. It won’t be that difficult.” Said Noire. “Besides. We need to prepare for our trip to the next Fairy Tower. We only need to activate two more, right?”

“That’s true, but still…” Neptune said, sighing deeply. “Noire’s a slave driver!”

Noire grabbed Neptune’s hand and led her back out of the house. “Come on Neptune.” Said Noire, dragging the girl out.

Once Uni and Nepgear were alone, the two girls were left staring at each other. “So… What should we do?” Uni asked.

“Uh… How about video games?” Nepgear offered.

“Sounds fun.” Said Uni.

***

Neptune was nearly doubled over. Her arms swung lifeless back and forth as she followed after Noire. “Noire… Time for a break!” The girl called out.

Noire sighed deeply. “Neptune. We are taking a break. I wanted to do something nice for our sisters so that’s why I told them we were going to take on quests today.” Said Noire, glancing over her shoulder at Neptune.

“Really?” Neptune said, suddenly straightening back out and perking up. Now Neptune was walking beside her friend. “What kind of surprise?” She asked.

“Well were going to buy some gifts for our sisters.” Said Noire, smiling happily. “Uni’s had her eye on this rifle part for some time now and I know about a video game she’s been wanting to. You need to pick out a few presents for your sister too. Presents she would enjoy.”

“Really? Wow!” Neptune said. “Here I thought you were a greedy miser, but I guess you’re pretty nice after all.” Said Neptune.

“Hey!” Noire said, annoyed. “I might be frugal sometimes, but that’s for our sake. Bills are high, but thanks to you and Nepgear we’ve been put over the top. So I want to celebrate with them.”

“In that case were going to need some food.” Said Neptune.

“Yeah, but these presents…” Noire began.

“Huh? I’m going to pay for Nepgear’s presents and the food. Don’t worry about that.” Said Neptune.

“Huh? Are you sure?” Said Noire.

“Of course I’m sure! I can even pay for Uni’s presents too!” Said Neptune.

“Hold up.” Noire said, placing a firm hand on Neptune’s shoulder. “Do you come from a rich family or something?”

Neptune giggled. “Nope! Purple Heart pays me every time I activate a new Fairy Tower. She’s never missed a payment.”

“Whoa… I wish Black Heart offered me that kind of deal.” Said Noire, before she shook her head. “Regardless let me take care of Uni, okay?”

“Alright.” Said Neptune, shrugging her shoulders.

“We also need to get some supplies for our trip to that fourth Fairy Tower. Like I said before, that tower is located in the middle of an abandoned city. Who knows what kinds of monsters are living there now.” Said Noire.

“Why was the city abandoned?” Asked Neptune.

“I’m not sure.” Noire admitted. “As far as I can remember, the city has always been abandoned, but I’m starting to realize that we can’t rely on our memories.”

“Tell me about it.” Said Neptune.

“Well enough talk. Let’s start shopping!” Said Noire.

***

When Neptune and Noire finally made it back home they had purchased several things. “I think we might have gone overboard.” Noire said, when she realized that she bought more than two gifts for her sister.

“No way. Our sisters are worth it! Right?” Said Neptune.

Noire nodded. “I guess so.” Said Noire, before a large smile appeared on her face. “Either way I know Uni’s going to love her gifts!”

“Same with my sister! She’s such a nerdy nerd when it comes to electronics, so I bought her stuff that I know she can use!” Said Neptune. After opening the door the two girls walked in. “Hey girls!” Neptune called out.

Nepgear and Uni were sitting on the couch playing a video game. “Welcome back-” Uni began, but stopped speaking when she noticed all the packages in her sisters arms. “What’s all this for?” She asked, getting to her feet.

“Well we decided to reward you girls with a few gifts!” Noire said. “Nepgear? We have stuff for you too so get over here!”

“R-Right!” Nepgear said.

Neptune and Noire felt incredibly excited as their sisters tore into their gifts. “Oh wow! I can’t believe it sis! Are you sure I can have this?” Uni asked.

“A brand new tool set! Thanks Neptune!” Nepgear said, brimming with joy.

Neptune giggled and scratched the back of her head. “You’re welcome girls!”

“That’s right!” Said Noire, placing her hands on her hips. “Enjoy your gifts!”