Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 54

 “So… You thought you could get away with it did you?” Black Sister said, as she pointed an accusing finger at the girl who sat directly in front of her. “You thought you could sneak into the Basilicom and do whatever you want, huh?”

Linda’s entire body was shaking with fear. Her eyes were as large as saucers. “N-No! I swear I didn’t sneak into the Basilicom.”

“Oh? And if it wasn’t you then it had to be your accomplice!” Black Sister said, suddenly pointing at Kei, who sat in a chair next to Linda.

Kei closed her eyes and sighed deeply. “First of all. I’m not built to sneak in anyplace. Secondly, I have a business to run. So if you could, please untie me.” Kei said. Both Kei and Linda were sitting side-by-side in a small room located in the Basilicom. Their hands had been lashed together behind their backs.

“Well one of you must have done it!” Black Sister said, as she began pacing the floor. “The only thing I don’t understand is why! Or which one of you actually did it!”

“Can I ask a question?” Kei said.

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to ask permission to admit your guilt!” Black Sister snapped.

Kei shook her head. “I can’t speak for Linda here, but what exactly makes you think that I’m the guilty party?” Asked Kei. “I was merely outside heading home when you kidnapped me.”

“I didn’t kidnap you. I just forced you to come with me.” Said Black Sister. “And I know you’re guilty because the intruder went outside and guess who happened to be outside? You two!”

“This is crazy!” Linda cried.

“I agree.” Kei said, sighing deeply. “I’m sure if you searched a little longer you would have found other people outside too.

“So you admit you had other people helping you.” Black Sister said, eyeing the girl suspiciously. Kei didn’t respond. Instead she turned her eyes towards her feet. “You better be careful Kei! I have ways of making you talk! Have you ever heard of horrifying torture before?”

Kei sighed once more. “Listen. I understand that you want to find the person responsible for breaking into the Basilicom. I would feel the same way, but you can’t just arrest the first people you find and accuse them of doing it. You need evidence.”

“T-That’s right!” Linda said, nodding her head several times.

“You have a point.” Black Sister said. “You know what Kei? You may have BROKEN my view of this wide open. You could almost say you INTRUDED into my thought process. Only someone as SNEAKY as you could do that!”

“Oh brother…” Kei said, sighing once more.

Black Heart opened her mouth to say something else, but the sounds of footsteps slowly approaching the room. “Oh crap! That’s my sister!” Black Sister said, as she began running her fingers through her hair. “When Black Heart comes in here, please look terrified and confess to everything. If you do that my sister might pat me on the head and tell me I did a good job!”

The door to the room opened and Black Heart stepped into the room. “Black Sister. Why did you call me here?” Black Heart asked, before she turned her eyes to Linda and Kei who were bound to the chairs. “I didn’t know you were into this kind of thing.” The goddess said.

“Goddess?” Linda began, her voice was shaking in her throat. “P-Please help us! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

“She’s right.” Said Kei. “Were being falsely accused of breaking into the Basilicom. Your sister has presented no evidence to convict us and she’s threatening to torture us.”

Black Heart sighed deeply. “Black Sister? Is this true?”

“No!” Black Sister said, as she quickly ran behind Linda and Kei. “When the intruder ran from the Basilicom, they had to go outside to escape. Right?”

“Yeah?” Black Heart said.

“Well guess who happened to be outside!” Black Sister said, placing a firm hand on both Kei and Linda’s shoulders. Linda yelped when she felt Black Sister touch her.

Black Heart sighed once more. “Listen Black Sister. I get that you want to help find the intruder, but you can’t arrest them simply because they were outside.”

“Yeah I can…” Said Black Sister, her voice trailed.

“Yes, but you shouldn’t.” Said Black Heart.

“Yeah, but…” Black Sister took a deep breath. “I’m trying really hard to find the culprits. I just want you to be proud of me.”

Black Sister turned on her heels. “Release those two girls now Black Sister.” Black Heart said. “And as far as being proud of you goes. That’s probably something that can never happen. I don’t know why Black Sister, but you always disappoint me.” And with those words, Black Heart made her way out of the room.

“Oh… Okay.” Black Sister said, as she reached down and untied both Kei and Linda. “You two can go now. Sorry for the trouble.”

Black Sister didn’t wait for Kei or Linda to respond. Instead she headed out of the room and closed the door behind her. “Normally I would contact a lawyer and file a formal complaint against the goddesses, but I actually felt bad for her right there.”

“Y-Yeah…” Linda said, hugging herself tightly. “I’m sorry I wasn’t much help there. I was freaking out!”

“I don’t blame you. I admit I was a little worried, but I couldn’t see Black Sister actually torturing us.” Said Kei.

“Why’s that?” Asked Linda.

Kei shook her head. “To be honest. I’m not sure. I feel like I know both Black Heart and Black Sister really well and not just because they’re our goddess and candidate. There’s more to it than that.”

“Yeah?” Said Linda. “Well that’s good.”

“Well we should probably leave.” Said Kei.

“Agreed.” Said Linda, as she followed Kei out of the room. The moment the two girls opened the door, they were surprised to see Black Sister in front of them. Black Sister was sitting on the ground, her knees were pulled up close to her chest and had her arms wrapped tightly around them. Black Sister also had her head leaning against her legs.

“Black Sister?” Said Kei. “Are you alright?” She asked. Linda’s gasped at the sight and started inching away from Kei and the goddess candidate.

“I don’t know.” Black Sister said. “I can’t concentrate on anything anymore. All I think about is making my sister happy and proud. She’s never happy or proud. She can’t focus on her work either! She get’s wrapped up doing one thing and then starts doing something else. I feel like something’s wrong with us!”

Kei took a deep breath. “Maybe you two should just manage things better. Focus on one task at a time.”

“Yeah… Maybe.” Said Black Sister.

“I have an idea.” Said Kei, taking a few steps closer to Black Sister. “Your sister is working on a job right now, correct?” She asked.

“Yeah?” Said Black Sister, looking up at Kei.

“Well. Why don’t you go help her? When she starts to feel distracted, just keep her on point. I’m sure you’ll be able to pull something off that way.” Said Kei.

“Huh… That’s not a bad idea.” Black Sister said, as she slowly got to her feet. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” Said Kei.

“Did you break into the Basilicom?” Black Sister asked. “Cause if you did I could-”

“Focus!” Kei said, in a loud voice. “Go help your sister finish the job she’s currently working on. Stop worrying about the intruder. Go! Now!” Kei ordered.

“Right!” Black Sister said, as she began flying down the hallway as fast as she could.

Kei turned on her heels and noticed Linda was staring at her. A look of bewilderment could be seen on her face. “You just gave the CPU candidate an order and she listened to you.” Said Linda.

“Yeah? I guess she did.” Said Kei.

“Can I work for you?” Linda asked.

“We’ll have to discuss it back at my place. Come along.” Said Kei.

***
“BIG SISTER!” Black Sister cried, as she ran into her sisters office. Black Heart was sitting behind her desk looking down at dozens of quest fliers that sat in front of her. Black Heart wore a look of desperation on her face.

“I’m busy. I have so much work I have to do.” Black Heart said, looking down at the quest fliers.

Black Sister made her way over to Black Heart’s desk and watched as her sister looked at each quest flier intently, before she finally slid one directly in front of her. “Here. An ancient dragon’s wandering around the plains on the outskirts of Lastation. This is the quest I’ll take on.” Said Black Heart, before her eyes fell on a different flier. “No… I’ll take on this one dealing with Spiders.” She said, sliding the first quest flier away.

Black Sister watched as Black Heart slid the quest flier away from her, before she reached across the desk and slid it back. “No. Let’s do this one together.”

“Together?” Said Black Heart. “Fine, but try to do a good job for once.”

“I will.” Black Sister said.

Black Heart and Black Sister made their way to the balcony behind Black Heart’s desk. After activating their wings the girls took off into the air. “Wait… I really should read those other fliers again and…”

“No. Ancient Dragon!” Black Sister said, flying closer to her sister and taking her by the hand.

Black Heart blushed heavily and tried to pull her hand away, but Black Sister refused to let it go. Instead she started flying faster and pulled her sister along with her. The two girls flew out of Lastation and were soon flying over the plains that stretched out in all directions.

The girls continued to fly until they spotted the Ancient Dragon. The creature was incredibly large and it was chasing a herd of Terits and Boss Lizard monsters. “We should slay those other monsters as well.” Said Black Heart.

“No! Ancient Dragon only!” Said Black Sister. The girl started dipping downwards and flew straight at the Ancient Dragon.

“Let go!” Black Heart ordered.

Black Sister hesitated for a moment, but released her grip on her sisters hand. Black Heart flew in front of Black Sister and summoned her sword. “Take this!” Black Heart cried, as she sliced through the Ancient Dragon.

The Ancient Dragon roared as Black Heart’s sword sliced through it’s chest, but it wasn’t enough to kill the monster. The ancient dragon turned on it’s heels and launched it’s tail at the girl. Black Heart held up her sword and took the full impact of the tail, but it was powerful and it sent the girl flying backwards.

“HEY!” Black Sister roared, as she summoned her rifle and started firing it at the Ancient Dragon. Several shots hit the dragon in the back, forcing the creature to turn it’s attention to her.

The ancient dragon opened it’s maw wide and roared in defiance.

Black Sister narrowed her eyes at the creature. “Eat this!” She screamed, as she pulled the trigger on her rifle. The bullets struck the creature several times, which caused it to fall backwards, kicking smoke and dirt into the air.

“Good work Black Sister!” Black Heart cried, as she flew at the ancient dragon’s back and plunged her sword into it. The ancient dragon’s entire body went rigid as it opened it’s maw wide. However, the creature didn’t roar. The creatures maw trembled before it vanished.

Black Heart smiled brightly. “I can’t believe it. We finished a quest!” She said, happily.

“G-Good work?” Black Sister said, her hands were shaking. “Did you say… Good work Black Sister?”

“Huh?” Black Heart said, as her sister flew closer to her. Black Heart gasped when she saw tears streaming down her sisters cheeks. “I… Guess I did.” Black Heart said, quickly looking away from her sister.

“You complimented me. I did good. Good work!” Black Sister said, before she started sobbing uncontrollably.

Black Heart groaned loudly. “Yes… Well I… I should be proud of you and… I am. I am proud.” Black Heart said, before she reached over and patted her sister awkwardly on the head.

“Good job, proud and head pats?” Even more tears began streaming down her cheeks. “I’m a good girl!” Black Sister cried. “I’m a really good girl!”

“Yes, yes.” Black Heart said, sighing deeply. “Anyways. What made you decide to help me today?”

“You remember that Kei girl who probably broke into the Basilicom? Well she told me I should help you to stay focused. It worked too!” Black Sister said.

“Yeah, well I can stay focused just fine.” Said Black Heart. “Now let’s go turn in this quest. S-Since you were such a help to me. A little help, very little. You can turn in the quest. Understand?”

Black Sister smiled brightly. “Right!”

***

Kei wanted to put her experience with Black Sister behind her, but quickly realized that would be impossible. An entire day had passed since she had given Black Sister advice on helping her sister. Now Black Sister was sitting in a chair across from her, she wore a stern look on her face.

“Kei.” Black Sister began.

“Can I help you?” Kei asked, folding her hands together in front of her.

“Even though you’re probably the one who broke into the Basilicom, considering you were outside and all, I’ve decided to overlook it and ask for your advice.” Said Black Sister.

“Putting aside my innocents, what kind of advice?” Asked Kei.

“Well. Helping my sister stay focused worked out for me yesterday. Black Heart said I did a good job, she was proud and patted my head. Now that I have a taste for all that I need more! More advice please!” Black Sister said.

Kei took a deep breath. “Very well…” She said. “For the sake of Lastation and my sanity, I’ll try to help you.”

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 53

 When the girls woke up the following morning, they didn’t have to waste a lot of time getting ready. Thanks to Noire, all they had to do was put their food into a single backpack. Now everyone had a backpack that they carried. After that, they headed outside where the morning sun greeted them. “Well… Let’s get going.” Noire said, smiling warmly at her friends.

“Too early. Need sleep.” Neptune whined, her arms were swinging lifelessly by her sides.
    
“It is pretty early, but I’m sure we’ll all be wide awake by the time we reach the national park.” Said Noire.

Neptune, Nepgear, Noire and Uni started walking down the long street that led out of Lastation. As they walked, the girls took the sights in. “I’m really going to miss Lastation.” Nepgear said. “This place wasn’t always fun, but it felt like home every time I came back.”

“Yeah.” Neptune said, perking up a little. “Remember when Black Sister went nuts?”

“Don’t remember stuff like that.” Noire said, annoyed. “Remember how it felt when we came home every time we activated a Fairy Tower.”

“Yeah…” Neptune muttered, as she tried to come up with another joke, but quickly realized she didn’t have one. “Happy.” She said.

Noire beamed with pride, but she didn’t let it show on her face. Instead she led the charge through the city and soon the girls were leaving out of Lastation’s many gates. As the girls walked towards their destination, all of them kept their eyes open for any signs of monsters.

“So…” Nepgear began. “What are our plans today?” She asked.

“First were going to activate the Fairy Tower. Then were going to do some hunting.” Said Noire.

“Huh? I don’t want to exercise all day!” Neptune cried.

Noire sighed deeply. “Don’t worry Neptune. Were just going to hunt for a little while. Not all day.” Said Noire. “I actually have something better planned for us afterwards.” A mischievous smile appeared on Noire’s face.

Neptune cupped one of her hands over her mouth. “Nepgear?” Neptune whispered.

“Yeah?” Nepgear said, whispering back. Unfortunately for her, Nepgear’s whisper was louder then she meant it to be.

“Noire’s up to something. Be ready to make a run for it when she whips out the ultra-training or something.” Neptune said.

Noire sighed deeply and rolled her eyes, but her smile quickly returned. “Now it’s time for some ultra-training!” Noire announced. “Everyone hand your backpacks over to Neptune to carry!”

“Eek! I’ll be good!” Neptune cried.

“Good to hear. Next time you’ll be giving Nepgear a piggyback ride all the way to the Fairy Tower.” Noire warned.

Nepgear giggled nervously, while Neptune nodded her head several times a look of fear on her face.

The girls continued to walk until they spotted the Fairy Tower in the distance. “Hey Uni? Can you please use your rifle’s scope to see what were dealing with?” Noire asked.

“Sure big sis.” Uni said, as she summoned her rifle and brought the scope close to her eye. “I see a bunch of little monsters like Terits, Spiders and Boss Lizard monsters.” Uni said. “Oh and a Phoenix and Galakryzer.”

“Uh…” Neptune began. “What was that last one?” She asked.

Just as Neptune asked her question, a giant robot appeared next to the Phoenix. The robot was black and red in color, looked like it had upside-down wings on it’s back and it held a large sword in it’s hands.

“I want to take it apart!” Nepgear said, her eyes twinkled with delight.

“Sure. I don’t mind.” Noire said. “But first we need to deal with it.”

“Rig-” Uni began.

“RIGHT!” Nepgear said, cutting Uni off.

Noire giggled. “Alright. Uni? I want you to pick off the smaller monsters from here if you can. Meanwhile Neptune, Nepgear and I will rush in and take that Galakryzer down. If you manage to defeat all the smaller monsters before we defeat that robot, I want you to start shooting the Phoenix. Okay?”

“Got it.” Uni said, nodding.

“Alright. Let’s get ready.” Noire said.

Uni fell to one knee as she took aim at a Terits. Noire stood directly behind her sister and held her rapier up to her face. Neptune and Nepgear held their swords down at their sides and both stood on either side of Noire.

“Now… Let’s….” Noire began.

“Wait.” Neptune said, before Noire could finish speaking.

“What is it?” Asked Noire.

“Look at us! Were doing a hero pose!” Neptune said, brimming with excitement. “We did a natural hero pose! Isn’t that awesome?”

Noire shook her head. “No Neptune. That’s not exciting.” Noire said. “Yeah that’s really awesome! Were doing a hero pose!” Noire thought to herself. “Let’s go now!” She roared.

The moment Noire said the word ‘now’, Uni fired at the Terits killing it instant. Meanwhile Neptune and Nepgear followed after Noire who led the charge against the Galakryzer. As the girls rushed forwards, more beams of energy flew past them and struck the surrounding monsters killing them in one hit.

The Galakryzer suddenly turned it’s attention towards the girls. Reeling back, the robot swung it’s heavy sword at Noire. Noire leapt high in the air and flipped over the robot, catching the creatures attention. The Galakryzer turned it’s body in hopes of keeping the girl in it’s sights, but before it could launch an attack, it felt two swords slice into it’s back.

The Galakryzer fell forwards. It’s right knee slammed into the ground sending debris into the air.
    
“Lace ribbon dance!” Noire cried, as she began twirling on her heels. Noire’s sword sliced through the robot’s body several times, sending sparks and smoke into the air.

The Galakryzer’s body started to shake violently, before it fell lifelessly into the ground. “We did it!” Noire said, excitedly.

“Watch out!” Nepgear cried.

“It’s okay.” Noire said, as the shadow of a phoenix fell over the girl. “I have a dependable little sister.” Before the phoenix could launch any kind of attack against noire, a beam of energy struck the creature in the chest several times. The phoenix roared in anger, but soon it’s lifeless body vanished.

“Awesome!” Nepgear said, turning her eyes towards the Galakryzer. “Now to take this-”  Before Nepgear could finish speaking, the robot vanished along side the phoenix. “Aww…”

“Ooh.” Noire began. “Sorry about that Nepgear. I forgot they did that.”

Nepgear felt tears form in the corners of her eyes. “I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to go home.” She cried.

“There, there Nep Jr.” Neptune said, patting her sister on the back. “I’ll buy you a calculator or something later, okay? Let’s hurry up and activate the Fairy Tower!” And with that, Neptune made her way to the Fairy Tower and inserted the flash memory stick into the USB port. Moments later, Histoire appeared.

“Congratulations!” Histoire began. “You’ve activated all five Fairy Towers in Lastation!”  Histoire looked into the smiling faces of all the girls who stood before her. “You all did very well. I’m proud of all of you.”

“Aww shucks…” Neptune said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

“Yes. If it weren’t for Noire, Nepgear and Uni, I doubt any of this could have been possible.” Said Histoire.

“Huh? HEY!” Neptune cried. “I’m the one who inserted the memory dealie. I… Aww…” Neptune said, sadly.

Histoire giggled. “I’m only joking with you Neptune. I’m proud of you as well.”

“I wouldn’t say that to her if I were you.” Said Noire, smirking. “It’ll just go to her head.”

“Yeah that’s true.” Neptune said, blushing heavily.

“Not a compliment.” Noire muttered under her breath. “Anyhoo… Histoire? Where are we off to next?”

“Leanbox.” Histoire answered.

“Thought so.” Said Nepgear. “It is the closest nation to Lastation.”

“Yes.” Said Histoire.

“I was going to ask.” Noire began. “How do you decide the order that we need to activate these Fairy Towers in?”

Histoire turned her eyes to Noire. “That’s a good question. You’re actually activating the Fairy Towers in the order they were deactivated in. It must be done this way or else they won’t work.”

“I see.” Said Nepgear, scratching her chin thoughtfully. “How far away is the next Fairy Tower?”

“It’ll take about three days to reach it on foot.” Histoire said, as she glanced around the area they were in. “I have a feeling that on foot is the only way you’ll be able to reach your destination.”

“Aww…” Neptune cried.

“Suck it up.” Said Noire. “Anyways. Let’s see how much share energy we collected from those monsters. After that I want to do some hunting and then my big surprise!” Noire said, as she rubbed her hands together.

The girls did as Noire suggested. After they removed their backpacks and leaned them against the Fairy Tower they checked the amount of share energy they had earned from killing all the monsters they did and they went hunting. The girls fought Terits, Spiders and Boss Lizard monsters at first, but soon the Galakryzer and Phoenix monsters returned.

The girls continued to fight the monsters for several long hours. As they fought they increased their stats and soon the monsters were easier to defeat. “I think that should do it.” Noire said.

“Finally.” Neptune said, collapsing on the ground. “Nepgear sweetie? Do your big sister a favor will you?”

“Oh no.” Nepgear said, a look of worry appeared on her face.

“Bring your sister a pudding please… Oh and tell her if her legs are still there.” Neptune said.

Nepgear sighed deeply. “You’re fine sis.” She said, but decided to go and get her sister a pudding anyways.

“You’re always going to dote on her. Aren’t you Nepgear?” Said Uni, smiling at Nepgear as she dug into her backpack.

“Yeah, well…” Nepgear began, but she stopped speaking when she spotted the devices she created to break into Lastation’s Basilicom. “She’s my sister. Have to look out for her.” She said, as she covered the devices up and grabbed a pudding instead.

“Yeah… I guess…” Uni said. Uni made her way to her backpack as well and pulled out a pudding before she turned to Noire. Noire was sitting on the ground next to Nepgear and the girls were talking amongst each other. Uni made her way over to her sister and handed it to her. “Here you are sis.” Uni said, handing the pudding over.

“Oh. That’s alright Uni.” Noire began, but noticed that her sister wasn’t facing her. Instead she was looking somewhere else and her cheeks were bright red. “Thanks Uni.” Noire said.

The four girls ate a cup of pudding, before Noire got to her feet. “Alright. Time for my surprise!” Noire said, as she made her way over to her backpack and reached inside. To everyone’s surprise, Noire pulled out four handheld game consoles. “I bought these yesterday and pre-installed some co-op games.” She said.

“Whoa!” Neptune said. “I didn’t know you played videogames Noire.”

“Of course I play videogames. I’m actually really good at them too.” Noire said, smiling proudly.

“Yeah. Sounds like something a losing loser would say.” Neptune said, giggling mischievously.

“What was that?!” Noire snapped. “That’s it Neptune! Me and you, one-on-one! NOW!” Noire made her way over to Neptune and shoved one of the handheld consoles into her hands.

Uni giggled nervously. “You shouldn’t have made fun of my sisters gaming abilities. She won’t stop playing now until she wins.”

“Stop talking like I already lost!” Noire said, handing a console over to Uni. “Here Nepgear. Oh and you better get another pudding ready for your sister. She’s going to need a sympathy pudding after she loses.”

“Ooh. Now I really hope I lose.” Neptune said, as she playfully kicked her feet as the console booted up.

Neptune, Nepgear, Noire and Uni started playing videogames for the rest of the day. Later that night, they unrolled their sleeping bags and continued playing while laying down. “This is really fun.” Noire thought to herself, but she knew their fun would soon be coming to an end.

***

The following day everyone, except for Neptune, tried to hold back their tears. “Waah! I’m going to miss you Noire! Uni!” Neptune cried, as she threw her arms around both girls. “You two were like the sisters I didn’t even know I had, or needed!” She cried.

“N-Neptune! Stop being a baby!” Noire said, as tears trickled down her bright red cheeks. “As soon as this whole thing is over with, were going to see each other all the time!”

“Yeah…” Uni said, choking back her tears.

“That’s true.” Neptune said, as she released her grip on her friends. “I’ll be over at your house everyday playing videogames and hogging the couch.”

“Yeah… We’ll probably be moving before that happens.” Noire said, smirking.

Neptune giggled as she moved backwards until she was standing next to Nepgear. “Nep J Jr.” Neptune said, placing her hand on Nepgear’s back and pushing the girl gently forwards.

Nepgear blushed heavily, but she didn’t let her sadness top her. Nepgear moved over to Uni and Noire and hugged them as well. “I’ll miss you both. I had so much fun.” Nepgear said.

“We did too.” Noire said, patting Nepgear gently on the back.

“You can hog our couch anytime, okay?” Said Uni.

“Heard that.” Neptune said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and trying to sound annoyed.

After that, Nepgear rejoined her sister. “See you later.” Nepgear said, as she and Neptune turned to leave.

“Bye.” Noire said and Uni said.

Noire and Uni waited until they saw their friends disappear into the distance. “Come on Uni. We can teleport back home if you want.”

Uni took a jagged breath. “Big sis?” She began. Uni wanted to ask her sister all kinds of questions. She wanted to ask her if she really would miss Neptune and Nepgear, when they would see their friends together, if staying behind was actually a mistake. Instead all she could ask her sister was one question. “Can we just walk back?”

Noire smiled warmly at her sister and extended her hand. “Of course.”

“Thanks.” Uni said, as tears trickled down her cheeks. Uni took her sisters hand and the two started their journey back to their home. Back to Lastation.

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 52

 The following day Nepgear and Uni went to work like they always did. Meanwhile Neptune and Noire stayed home. “So…” Neptune began, feeling a bit nervous around Noire. “Are we going to do some quests? Or…” She began.
    
“Not today Neptune. Today were just going to relax.” Said Noire, who was sitting on the couch. Noire’s eyes were closed and her face was tilted towards the ceiling. Neptune was sitting on the floor a few feet away from Noire.

“What’s going on with Noire? Did someone replace her with a lazy clone? If so, where can I find one for Uni and Nepgear?” Neptune wondered, to herself.

“I was just joking Neptune. Of course were going out on a quest, but I felt like sitting here for a few moments.” Noire said, taking a deep breath.

“Shucks.” Neptune said, sighing deeply. Neptune turned her eyes towards the window located near the front door of the house. “I think things have settled down in the city. I don’t hear any tanks driving by and Black Sister isn’t screaming anymore.”

“Yeah. No doubt someone complained about the noise and they shut everything down.” Noire said. “It’s weird that someone broke into the Basilicom, but as long as no one was hurt and nothing important was stolen, then everything’s okay. Though I’m sure they tripled the security.”

“Yeah. No doubt they hired professional assassins to deal with anyone who get’s too close!” Neptune said, smiling mischievously. Neptune’s smile quickly vanished when another thought popped into her head. This thought however threatened to make Neptune sad as well. “You ‘re going to miss Nepgear and I, huh?” She asked.

Noire opened her eyes. “Things will be quieter once you leave, but… Yeah.” Noire admitted. “Funny. I don’t think I could have said that a few weeks ago. You changed me Neptune.”

“I have that effect on people.” Said Neptune, getting to her feet and placing her hands high on her hips. “But I’m not the kind of girl who forgets her friends! I remember everyone we’ve met until now.”

“Yeah?” Said Noire, skeptically.

“Yep! I of course remember IF and Compa. I remember Arfoire who might hate me. MAGES. who has an annoying way of saying her name. Falcom and Red. I remember Purple Sister and Purple Heart and of course I’ll remember lonely Noire and her sister Uni.” Said Neptune, smiling brightly.

“Don’t call me lonely.” Said Noire, annoyed.

“Oh and I’ll also remember Linda, Black Heart and Black Sister.” Neptune added. “Hard to forget those last two…”

“Yeah.” Noire said, as she stood as well. “I’m convinced that something’s happened to Black Heart and Black Sister, but there’s nothing we can do about that now. I also want to know more about G, but there’s nothing we can do about that now either.”

“Oh right. G…” Neptune clenched her hands into tight fists. “That’s going to bug me once we leave! You make sure to keep me informed about that jerk, okay Noire?”

“Will do.” Noire said, smiling warmly at her friend. “And if I find anything out about him?”

“Call me so I can come down and help you kick his butt! Assuming he has a butt to kick of course.” Neptune quickly added.

“Will do.” Noire said, giggling. “Anyways. Let’s go take on a few quests, okay?”

“Right.” Neptune said.

***

Kei groaned loudly after what Uni and Nepgear told her. “You two just started a little while ago and you’re already asking for time off?” Kei said, her shoulders sagged. “You two do realize that I’m still in the middle of setting up my business, right?” She asked.

“Sorry about this.” Nepgear said, sadly. “It’s just that. I’m going to be leaving Lastation pretty soon with my big sister and…”

“… We wanted to spend the day together activating the last Fairy Tower.” Uni said, picking up where Nepgear had left off.

Kei took a deep breath as she folded her hands together in front of her. “Well. I would argue about this, but it would be simpler just to give you the day off.” Said Kei. “To be honest though. We are ahead here in inventory, so I don’t see any harm in it.”

Nepgear and Uni smiled brightly. “Thank you!” They both said, in unison.

“So when are you needing the day off?” Asked Kei.

“Tomorrow.” Said Nepgear.

“You’re cutting in close. What if I said no?” Kei asked.

“Well our sisters told us to ask for the next day off. So if you asked us to work for three days first, we would have asked for the forth day off.” Said Uni.

“I see. Taking advantage of my kindness, huh?” Said Kei. “Fine. You can have tomorrow off. I just expect you two to work today and not goof around. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am.” Said Nepgear and Uni, in unison.

“Great. Today’s actually pretty simple. I’m just needing you two to collect some herbs and rocks. Boxes are in the pocket dimension. Good luck.” Said Kei, as she handed over the watch to Nepgear.

“Thanks!” Nepgear said, taking up the watch and looking it over like she did every time Kei gave it to her. “I really want to take this apart and see how it works.”

“Don’t you have your own pocket dimension though?” Asked Kei. “I mean everyone who’s a hunter does.”

“I know, I know, but this one is so amazing!” Nepgear said, as she slid the watch onto her wrist. “I mean all hunters can do is summon weapons, this thing actually allows you to physically take things from it! So cool!”

Kei giggled. “Glad you like it. Now time to work.” She said, clapping her hands together.

Nepgear and Uni headed out of Kei’s building and made their way to the gates of Lastation. Security around the gates leading out of Lastation had tightened and it took them longer than usual to be cleared to leave. Nepgear felt guilty about this, but she was still glad she was able to clear Black Heart of doing anything wrong.

Once outside of Lastation Uni and Nepgear began grabbing the items they needed. After opening the pocket dimension and removing two boxes, Nepgear began filling her boxes with herbs while Uni tossed rocks into her box.

“Weird that we need to gather rocks, huh?” Uni said, as she picked up a handful of rocks and dumped them into the box.

“Yeah, but they can make all kinds of items using these things. Why question it?” Nepgear said, as she scrounged around on the ground for herbs.

“Good point.” Said Uni, as she tossed another rock into the box. “You know what Nepgear? I’m really going to miss going on jobs with you like this. I wish you didn’t have to leave.”

“I know. I wish you could come with us, but I understand your position. If my sister couldn’t leave Planeptune, I’m not sure I would be able to leave her behind either.” Said Nepgear.

Uni was in the middle of tossing another rock into the box, but stopped herself. “To be honest with you Nepgear. It’s not that I couldn’t leave Noire behind. I was scared to.” She admitted.

“It’s alright Uni.” Nepgear said, reassuring her friend.

Uni smiled. “Thanks Nepgear.” She said. “You know for a second there I didn’t think Kei would give us the day off tomorrow.”

“I know.” Said Nepgear giggling. “Maybe were more of a handful then we realize.”

Uni giggled as well. “If anyone’s a handful, it’s you Nepgear.”

“Hey!” Nepgear said, giggling once more.

“I was wondering though…” Uni began, changing the subject once more. “Where are you and Neptune going next anyways?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Nepgear asked.

“Well this next Fairy Tower might be the last one in Lastation, but it’s not the last one you’re going to have to activate, right?” Asked Uni.

“Yeah. We both figured we were going to have to travel to Leanbox or Lowee next.” Said Nepgear.

“Oh. So you don’t know which one?” Asked Uni.

“No.” Said Nepgear, shaking her head. “If I had to guess. I would say Lastation, since it’s the closest, but you never know.”

“That’s true.” Said Uni. “Hey. Maybe we should look some information up about the goddesses of those nations. That might help you and your sister out.”

“That’s true.” Said Nepgear. Nepgear stood up and took out the N-Gear she had gotten back from Neptune. After pressing a few buttons on the device, information about Lady Green heart appeared on the screen. “It looks like lady Green Heart stays in her Basilicom most days.” She read. “As for White Heart, it seems she and her twin sisters patrol Lowee’s border.”

“Huh.” Said Uni. “I’m not sure what to make of Leanbox’s CPU, but at least Lowee’s CPU and CPU candidates will be easier to talk to.”

“That’s true.” Said Nepgear, as she slid her N-Gear back into it’s holster. After that Nepgear and Uni concentrated on finishing their work.

***

Later that evening Neptune, Noire, Uni and Nepgear made their way back home. “How did your day go?” Noire asked, as Nepgear and Uni stood in front of her.

“Good.” Said Nepgear. “We managed to get the day off tomorrow.”

“We also finished a few tasks for Kei. She said we were ahead in stock so we can have the day off.” Said Uni.

“Good work you two!” Noire said, as she placed a firm hand on both Uni and Nepgear’s heads.

“Hey!” Neptune cried, as she grabbed Nepgear’s shoulders and pulled her sister away from Noire. “That noggin is for Nep’s pats only!” Neptune said, as she began patting Nepgear’s head herself.

“Then you better pat it, otherwise I’m going to do it!” Noire warned.

Nepgear giggled and blushed heavily. “Thanks.” She said.

“Anyways. I figured we would leave early tomorrow morning. So make sure you get some rest.” Noire said, looking at everyone. “No staying up late to play video games either. After dinner, we’ll have a little TV time and then it’s off to bed. Understand?” Said Noire.

“Ugh… Noire’s bossy pants mode is so annoying.” Neptune muttered.

“I was wondering.” Nepgear began. “Where is the last Fairy Tower anyways?” She asked.

“Good question. It’s in another natural park.” Said Noire. “It’s pretty close to Lastation. Were going to walk out there, activate the Fairy Tower and spend the night hanging out. When morning comes…”

“We’ll head to our next destination.” Neptune said.

Everyone in the room sighed deeply. “It’s almost time.” Nepgear said.

“Yeah.” Said Noire.

“Were going to have to say goodbye and…” Uni began.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Neptune cried. “This isn’t goodbye! Nepgear and I will have to leave, yes, but that doesn’t mean we won’t still be friends! After everything’s over and we activate all the Fairy Towers and release Histoire, I’ll be crashing on your couch everyday!”

“Oh great…” Noire said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Maybe we should think about moving Uni.”

Uni giggled nervously. “It’ll be fun though. Getting a visit from Nepgear.”

Nepgear giggled as well. “Thanks Uni.”

“Geesh. I’m the unwanted person here?” Neptune asked, her shoulders sagged.

Noire’s cheeks grew bright red. “It’s not like… I don’t mind you visiting or anything, just don’t make a habit of it.”

“I won’t.” Neptune quickly said.

“You better make a habit of it!” Noire snapped.

Nepgear couldn’t help, but laugh. “You two are great friends. That’s for sure.” She said. “I have an idea. Why don’t I make dinner for everyone tonight and you two can hangout for a while?”

“I’ll help Nepgear.” Said Uni.

“I’ll play videogames.” Said Neptune, turning to the television.

“Oh no you don’t Neptune.” Noire said, grabbing Neptune by the arm. “Were going to help Nepgear with dinner.” And with those words, all four girls headed into the kitchen to cook dinner and enjoy their final night in Noire and Uni’s house together.

Neptunia Heart Souls- CHAPTER 51

 Nepgear and Uni had recently got off work and were sitting on the couch playing a video game. Ever since Nepgear had snuck into Lastation’s Basilicom, the girl felt on edge. Tanks were still rolling up and down the many streets of Lastation and people were handing out wanted posters of Nepgear, but thankfully the picture on the poster looked nothing like her.

“It’s amazing, huh?” Uni said, as a tank rolled by her house. “Who would be stupid enough to sneak into the Basilicom?”

“Yeah… Stupid.” Nepgear said, her voice shook in her throat.

“I swear I hope they find whoever it was that broke into the Basilicom, march them through the streets in their underwear and then give them a public spanking!” Uni said, angrily.

Nepgear’s eyes were as large as saucers and her hands were shaking. Not only that, but her cheeks were bright red. “Yeah… That’ll teach them.” Said Nepgear, even more nervous than before.

“Wait a minute…” Uni began, turning her eyes to Nepgear and narrowing them at the girl. “Nepgear… You didn’t… You weren’t…” She began.

Nepgear could hear her heart pounding in her ears. “Oh goodness! She figured it out!”

“You weren’t… going to leave the base without upgrading your armor are you?” Uni asked. “You’re pretty good at this game, not as good as me of course, but you still need to upgrade your armor just incase. Oh and take this machine gun. It’s completely upgraded and should shred through the enemy like their nothing.” Uni said, pointing at the television screen.

“Oh! Right! Thanks!” Nepgear said, taking a deep breath.

The door to the house was suddenly flung open. “WERE HOME!” Neptune shouted, as she leapt into the house and looked around. “Alright! Where are the boys! Where are they hiding?!” Neptune demanded, as she started running around the living room.

“B-Boys… We-We w-would… Never!” Nepgear cried, as she struggled to speak and breathe.

“Sorry about that.” Noire said, walking into the house and closing the door behind her. “Neptune wanted to scare you two.”

“It’s fine.” Said Uni, setting her controller down and making her way over to her sister. “Nepgear and I did fine here. We went to work everyday!” Said Uni.

“Good work.” Noire said, patting her sister on the head.

“Thanks!” Uni said, blushing heavily. “Oh right… Neptune? Nepgear caught a small cold yesterday.”

“Huh?” Neptune said, turning to Nepgear. “Are you okay baby sister? Need your big sister to take care of you for the rest of the day?” She asked.

Nepgear nodded. “Yes… Yes I do.” She said, nodding her head several times.

Uni and Noire smiled mischievously at the two sisters. “Yeah. She seems fine Neptune.” Noire said.

“Oh let her have this big sister. Nepgear’s been crying the entire time Neptune’s been gone.” Said Uni.

“I have not!” Nepgear said, as Neptune pressed her forehead against Nepgear’s. “You’re hot, but your forehead’s cool. I think your okay, but you should rest the rest of the day. Let’s get some pudding in you stat!” Neptune said, as she ran to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Moments later she returned with spoons and four pudding packs in her hands.

“Oh yeah. Where’s Linda?” Nepgear asked.

“Yeah. She said she needed to get some rest.” Said Noire. “I guess Neptune told you about her?”

“Yeah.” Said Nepgear. “She called us yesterday.” Nepgear took the pudding that Neptune had given her and opened the seal. After that she began spooning out the gooey substance inside.

“By the way. What’s up with the security in Lastation all of a sudden?” Noire asked.

“What?!” Nepgear cried, as she began coughing wildly.

“Oh no! It’s getting worse!” Neptune said, as she began patting Nepgear on the back.

“Oh right. Some idiot broke into the Basilicom last night. They didn’t steal anything, but it put the goddesses on edge.” Said Uni. “Black Sister’s been flying all over Lastation demanding their capture. I feel bad for her. She keeps asking people if her sister would be proud if she killed the intruder or something.”

“What about the goddess?” Noire asked.

“Nothing.” Said Uni. “Which is strange.”

Noire closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Speaking of goddesses. I have something I need to tell you two.” Noire made her way in front of the television. At first, everyone in the room thought Noire wouldn’t actually say anything. The girl looked as though she were struggling to figure out her next words.

Finally Noire turned and said, “I think one of the goddesses has Histoire.”

“Really? I-” Nepgear began.

“I know it sounds crazy Nepgear.” Noire said, holding up her hand. “But I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and that’s the conclusion I came to. Fairy Tower’s have been moved and only goddesses can do that. Only goddesses can change the world through Histoire and Histoire is missing.”

“Yeah.” Uni said, as she started eating her pudding as well. “Nepgear was saying the same thing yesterday.”

“Really? So you agree?” Noire asked, turning her eyes to Nepgear who’s cheeks were bright red.

“I-I don’t know…” Nepgear began, before she closed her eyes and nodded her head. “Yes. I came to the same conclusion as you did, but we don’t have all the information yet.”

“That’s true.” Said Neptune, pointing her spoon at Nepgear.

“Yeah, but right now we can only act on the information we have.” Said Noire.

“That’s right.” Neptune said, quickly turning her spoon towards Noire.

“But what can we do? Ask the goddesses if they stole Histoire?” Asked Uni.

“Good point.” Said Neptune, aiming her spoon at Uni next.

“Well… No we can’t do that.” Nepgear asked.

“That’s right. We can’t.” Said Neptune, pointing at Nepgear with her spoon next. “Also why would Histoire reach out to the goddesses for help in their dreams if they’re the ones who stole her?” Neptune asked, before pointing her spoon at herself. “I made a good point.”

“That… Is a good point.” Nepgear said. “Why didn’t I think of that?” Nepgear wondered to herself, groaning a bit. “I could have saved myself some trouble yesterday.”

“Alright. So we know that Black Heart and Purple Heart both had dreams about Histoire asking for help, right?” Said Uni.

“That’s right. So it just leaves Green Heart and White Heart.” Said Noire.

“Oh right!” Neptune said, as she made her way around the couch and plopped herself down next to Nepgear. “You and Uni are coming with us, right?” Neptune asked. “Things would go a lot smoother if you two tagged along.”

Noire’s shoulders sagged a bit. “I’m sorry Neptune, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. As much as I would love to come with you two, I still have things to do here. I want to get stronger and I have a feeling that were all going to need to get stronger before the end of this.”

“Yeah… That’s true.” Neptune said. “But I’m going to miss you Noire! We’ve become really good friends!”

“I agree Neptune. It’s been fun hanging out with you.” Said Noire, as her eyes started to burn. “But… Uni?” Noire began, turning to her little sister. “I’m not going to make that decision for you. If you want. You can start traveling with Neptune and Nepgear. I know they’d look after you and-”

“No way!” Uni said, cutting her sister off.

“Uni?” Noire began.

Uni shook her head. “I have responsibilities and obligations here too big sis.”

“That’s true…” Noire said, suddenly remembering Uni’s job with Kei.

“Besides. What would you do if I weren’t around?” Uni asked.

“Oh please.” Noire said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her voice became bold. “I would be just-”

“Miserable.” Neptune quickly added.

“Sad.” Said Nepgear.

“Lonely.” Uni said.

“Leave me alone!” Noire snapped. Noire took a deep breath, before a small smile appeared on her face. “Uni… I love you.” And with that, Noire turned and headed into the kitchen. “I’m making dinner now. No requests.”

“Pudding!” Neptune cried.

“No!” Noire shouted back.

“So what are you two playing?” Neptune asked, slowly turning her eyes back towards Nepgear and Uni. “Also how do I tag in?”

Nepgear handed her controller over to Neptune. “Go ahead and play. I need to stretch my legs for a little while.” Nepgear said, as she got to her feet.

“You’re not going far are you? Sis is cooking dinner now.” Uni said, noticing Nepgear was heading for the front door.

“No. I’m just going to get some fresh air.” Said Nepgear.

Nepgear opened the door of the house and stepped outside. The sky had turned pinkish and a warm breeze blew through the air. The street outside Noire’s house was empty, but Nepgear could still hear the sounds of tanks driving through the city. She could also hear Black Sister’s voice echoing and reverberating off the buildings.

“How long are they going to keep this up?” Nepgear wondered. “I feel so bad for what I did, but I’m glad I did it.” Said Nepgear, crossing her arms in front of her chest and leaning against the door behind her.

“So many things are happening right now. I’m remembering all kinds of things, but I still have so much more to gain. I just wonder how all of this is going to end.” Nepgear thought to herself.

A small smile suddenly appeared on Nepgear’s face. “I’m so happy I came here and met Uni and Noire. These two have been so much fun to be around.” Nepgear thought.

And with that thought, Nepgear turned around and headed back into the house. “Wait! I’m not in the truck yet! Stop driving!” Uni cried.

“Sorry Uni, no time to stop!” Neptune said.

Nepgear giggled as she made her way into the kitchen where Noire was busily cooking dinner. “Noire?” Nepgear began.

“Hey Nepgear. What’s up?” Noire asked, not taking her eyes off her work.

“Do you need any help?” She asked.

“If you don’t mind. You can clean and chop up vegetables for me. I’m making curry tonight.” Said Nepgear.

“Curry?” Nepgear said, excitedly. “Sure! I’m on it!”

“Curry?” Neptune said, from the living room.

“Neptune pay attention! You almost hit me with the truck!” Uni cried out. “Gah! Nepgear! Hurry up and take your sisters place!”

After everyone ate dinner. Nepgear and Uni stood side-by-side as they washed the dishes. “That curry was so delicious!” Nepgear said. “And the best part is we have so many leftovers!”

“Yeah. Sis always makes the best curry.” Said Uni, licking her lips. “Hey after this do you want to play some more?”

“Sure.” Said Nepgear.

“Speaking of which.” Noire said, making her way into the kitchen. “Uni and Nepgear? I was hoping you could ask Kei for some time off in the upcoming days.” Said Noire. “Since we only have one more Fairy Tower left to activate, I thought it would be nice if you two joined me and Neptune. We’ll make a day and night of it.”

“Sure!” Said Nepgear.

“I’ll ask Kei tomorrow.” Said Uni.

“Great. If she wants Neptune and I can volunteer to help out to help her get ahead.” Said Noire.

“Volunteer? Gah…!” Neptune said, from somewhere in the living room.

“That’s right Neptune. Volunteer.” Said Noire, before she sighed deeply. “Anyways. Good work you two. I think I’m going to turn in early tonight. Goodnight!” Said Noire.

“Goodnight.” Neptune and Uni said, in unison.

***

The sun had set over the horizon several long hours ago and besides the many lights coming from the buildings and streetlamps, the city was dark, but it wasn’t peaceful. Tanks still roamed up and down the streets of Lastation and Black Sister continued her flight over the city.

“Man… What happened to this city since I’ve been gone?” Linda asked, as she slowly made her way down the street. Linda had her hands behind her head and she was looking dully forward. “I can’t sleep with all that ruckus going on.” She breathed.

Just as Linda turned down a street, she gasped. Standing directly in front of her was Black Sister. “You there!” Black Sister shouted.

“Y-YES!” Linda cried, throwing her hands into the air.

“You heard about the intruder that broke into the Basilicom yesterday, right?” She demanded.

“Y-YES!” Linda yelped.

“You heard about it because you were the intruder! RIGHT?!” Black Sister demanded.

“No! I didn’t! I swear!” Linda cried.

“LIAR!” Black Sister snapped, as she aimed her rifle at Linda. “I’m going to blast you! Maybe then my big sister will pat me on the head!”

Linda yelped as she turned on her heels and started running away. “I DIDN’T DO IT!” She cried.

“COME BACK HERE!” Black Sister screamed, as she flew after Linda. 

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.”