Work, work and more work! Oh, look at that! More work! It has been three hours since Histy forced me to work. She closed the fridge and even hid my videogames. She was so evil!
I sighed unhappily. Maybe I could find a quest to sneak away… One that could take me far away, so I could hide from Histy's wrath…
Just then, I saw something that caught my attention. It was a quest… but it had no client. I started to read… Hmm… 'Investigate a manor… making weird noises… twenty thousand credits?!' With that many credits… I could buy all the pudding I wanted! Plus… an idea came to my head… I could go with Nepgear and let her do all the work so I could sneak away to rest. It's a brilliant plan!
But the quest bothered me… It had been submitted to the guild in person, but there was no client… I shook that thought out of my head. It couldn't be that bad. I pushed the chair and shut the computer down. I whistled to myself as I walked towards Nepgear's room.
"Nepgear!" I called out happily once I was near her room.
Nepgear peeked her head out from her room and looked at me, "Yes, Neptune?" She was wearing some goggles and some kind of vest. She must've been tinkering with her electronics.
"I found a quest!~" I said cheerfully, "Want to go tackle it as sisters?"
"Neptune." She said disapprovingly, "You're not doing this to get away from work, are you?"
She was on to me! I had to distract her, quickly, "W-what? No! Is that the type of person you think I am?" I said, trying to sound as offended as possible.
"Eh? What? No!" Nepgear said. I could tell she was flustered, "Stay there, Neptune. I'll come out in a second. But you better not slack off!" Her head disappeared back into her room.
I smiled. Nepgear was so easy to convince, but I guess that was her charm. If only she'd just get a bit more confident…
I shook that thought out of my head. I had to get ready for the quest.
I turned on my computer and sat on my chair. The smell of coffee wafted through the Basilicom. Everything I needed for a good day of work!
As my computer logged in, I remembered the dispute I had with Neptune not so long ago. I wasn't expecting to get that mad at Neptune, I usually enjoyed her teasing in secret but that time… She took it too far. I was busy with work and she tried to invite me to play games in Planeptune. Of course I wanted to go but I was so busy, I couldn't. She proceeded to say that I was going to go anyway and that I was just being difficult for her attention. I snapped. I went on a long tirade about how she always teases me and how annoying she could be. It was bad. She stopped responding after a few of my messages…. I really don't know how she took it…
I felt really bad afterwards… And, although I really wanted to apologise, I feel like that dispute was needed. She teases me way too much, and it gets under my skin. But, maybe I should at least try to repair what little friendship we still have. Her friendship is something I value quite a lot.
My computer finally showed me the Guild Interface. I started to look through the quests submitted throughout the day when I noticed one that caught my attention. It had no client and had been submitted in person to the guild, something that people rarely did ever since we had implemented the online forms.
I started to read. It was about an abandoned manor and strange noises coming from inside… The unknown client suspected it could be members of ASIC… Although they've been defeated, we found small parts of their group still surviving and plotting our downfall. Of course, they could never do anything but… If it was true, I had to go look.
"Uni!" I called out. Of course I could do this quest alone, but Uni and I hadn't seen each other for a long time. I wanted to spend some time with her.
Uni slowly opened her door and looked at me. She had a pen in hand and looked slightly tired. She must've been working on some paperwork, "Yes, Noire?"
I smiled, "There's a quest I want us to tackle together. I hope you're not too busy?" I asked, hoping she would accept.
"Oh. A quest with you, Noire?" She said, trying to hide her enthusiasm, "Of course I'll help you. Let me get ready first!" She quickly retreated back into her room. I could hear her jumping with happiness.
I really should spend some more time with my sister.
I pulled out my chair and stared at the login screen for "4 Goddesses Online". I took a quick sip of my tea as I wrote my username and password. I was ready for some guild raids and unique bosses for the weeken- Wait. Maintenance? For… three weeks?! A breach was made and a hacker gained access to the game backend?! W-What was this nonsense?!
I sighed unhappily. It had to be just now, of all times, for a maintenance to happen just after they announced the unique bosses! I was beyond annoyed!
I closed the game's window and looked through the quests that had been issued during the morning. I really had hoped I could've put these off for the day so I could play, but since I had no other choice…
A quest caught my eye. It was an unusual quest in the sense it had no client and had been submitted in person. I quickly read through the quest. It was a quest about a manor that had suddenly appeared in the middle of nowhere. It noted strange occurrences and sounds coming from there… It also had information about disappearances… It was worrying, to say the least. But the quest was close to Lowee… and then I saw it.
The reward.
It was a limited edition figurine of one of the goddesses in 4GO. It was just the one I had not been able to get as well! Why would someone offer such a rare and valuable collector's item as a reward?
That didn't matter. I had to have it.
I accepted the quest, transformed and left the Basilicom in less than a minute. I could not let this quest linger for long. I had to have that figurine!
And… finally done! I managed to finish my entry for the Lowee Writer of the Year award. I was confident in this year's entry. I had poured my very heart and soul into this story. It was sure to win!
I wrote up a quick message, attached my story and hit send. I had a huge smile on my face. There was nothing that could ruin my day!
I opened up the quests for the day, after all I was still a CPU and I had to do my job. I thought maybe something easy that Rom and Ram would like. They had been quiet for two days, Financier had clearly done something… But that didn't matter much. They had allowed me to work non-stop in my story, so I was going to give them something in return.
I looked through the quest without much success. They were all either hunting quests or not appropriate for them. I leaned back in my chair. I was going to give this one more go… and there it was. A quest that actually worked, although something bothered me greatly. There was no client and it had been submitted ten minutes ago in person. Who does that anymore? Anyway, I read the quest. Abandoned Manor… near the beach… Oh this was an easy quest. Just explore the manor for a few minutes and find an item? Easy.
And come to think of it… Rom and Ram had been scared of the dark recently. They must've asked Financier to read one of my horror stories… Like the one with the protagonist's younger sister and that sword, being forced to kill her friends, and even the protagonist, to defeat a greater evil… It wasn't that good in the end.
Maybe this quest could help them overcome their fear of the dark… And since it's close to the beach, I could reward them with some beach time. Yes! That should work.
I opened the door to my room and looked around. Rom and Ram were silently reading a picture book. They looked so peaceful. I really needed to ask Financier what she did to accomplish this.
Rom slowly peeled her eyes off the pages of the book and smiled at me, "Blanc… Have you… finished writing?"
I smiled in response, "Yeah."
"Then we can play together, right?" Ram asked enthusiastically. They closed the picture book and approached me.
"About that. I thought that maybe we could do a quest together before visiting the beach. So we can spend time together."
They looked at each other before embracing me in a hug. They looked up and smiled, "Thank you, Blanc!" They said in unison, "You're the best!" Ram added.
I chuckled lightly, "Of course. Now, c'mon. Let's hurry before it's too late to enjoy the beach."
We arrived at the location detailed in the quest. Just as it said, it was next to the beach. I looked around the area, green trees surrounding the property that belonged to the manor. In comparison to the luscious green trees, the manor had decayed, old trees as well as dried, yellow grass. It looked old. Definitely abandoned.
I looked at the manor grounds and saw five figures I recognised too well. They were the other CPUs, along with their sisters. I wondered what they were doing there. Had they accepted the same quest as us? Was it a coincidence?
In any circumstance, I had to complete the quest. We landed near them, the dried grass crunching under my feet. My sisters and I transformed back into our human forms. They looked at me before running towards Nepgear and Uni. I approached my fellow CPUs, who appeared to be deep in conversation.
"We couldn't have all accepted the same quest." Noire was saying, "It was requested in person. And the blank name seems suspicious as well."
"Maybe it's three different people?" Neptune suggested.
I stopped next to them. I cleared my throat, "Looks like we all accepted the same quest." I said. They all turned to me and smiled.
"Looks like we are all here." Vert said, "I'm confused as to how we managed to even accept the same quest."
"Well, since we are all here, we could finish it together?" Neptune suggested. Ever the enthusiast.
"I really wished to spend time with my sister, Neptune." The way Noire said Neptune's name… It was filled with both anger and regret. It seemed that something had happened between the two. I decided to ignore that, however. It was between the two of them.
"Ditto." I replied. With this amount of people, I doubted that Rom and Ram could get over their fear of the dark.
"You two as well huh?" Neptune said, a stupid smirk on her face, "I was planning on spending time with Nep Jr. to be honest." The way she said it made it seem like she had something else planned… She was planning on slacking off, wasn't she? I sighed. Typical Neptune.
"Goodness, you three have such luck, being able to spend time with your sisters like that." Vert replied, slightly annoyed. She crossed her arms, her chest moving up and down at the motion…
No, calm down Blanc… She didn't do that on purpose. I said to myself. I couldn't get angry with no provocation. I sighed deeply, "Well, since we're all here. Might as well finish this quest together."
The others nodded regretfully. They turned to their sisters, with Vert following suit, while I turned towards the manor. It was abandoned alright, the once orange bricks that made up the walls of the manor had turned brown; its windows were broken and damaged; the wooden door old with age and vines that creeped up the walls. It was only two stories and had at least five rooms in each floor, from what I could see.
I felt a hand grab mine with fear. I looked down and noticed Rom trembling, "Blanc… I don't like that house... It's s-scary..."
I smiled and rustled her hair playfully, "Don't worry, Rom. I'll be with you, don't be scared okay? We'll get rid of that fear together."
"Mhm." She nodded timidly. Maybe this wasn't the best quest to take them on… But I couldn't backtrack. We just had to finish this quest quickly so we could enjoy the beach and if they got over their fear of the dark, even better.
I looked around me and saw the others waiting for me to approach the house, "What a bunch of scaredy cats." I muttered as I walked up the hill, the grass scrunching under my shoes.
I knocked on the door once I was close enough. The door swung open on its own after a few seconds. I raised an eyebrow at the strange occurrence. It was supposed to be abandoned, right? In any case, it shouldn't be too much of a problem if there was anyone inside. I looked around before stepping through. Rom walked in next to me, still holding my hand.
We watched as the others slowly came in as well - Noire then Vert then Uni, followed by Neptune and finally, Nepgear along with Ram.
"It's so big!" Nepgear said happily. We all gathered in a circle under the chandelier.
I looked around the entrance hall, two sets of stairs leading upstairs towards a hallway, two rooms to our left and right and two more besides the stairs. A glass chandelier was hanging above us, and what I could only describe as a wooden cross was over the entrance.
I walked towards the wall and flipped a switch, the chandelier turned on, "It works." I said.
"For an abandoned manor, it is very well kept." Noire said. She looked up at the chandelier and then at the doors. She placed a hand on her chin, "What's the big deal with this manor anyway? Especially to call all of us here?"
As if responding to her voice, the door snapped shut on its own. We all looked at each in shock other before running towards the door.
I tried pulling the door open, but it would not budge. It was as if it was a wall. Vert looked at me, "Let's do this all together." I nodded at the suggestion, Neptune and Noire agreeing as well. We all took hold of the door's handle and pulled with all our strength but it would still not budge.
"Hold on, let me transform." I said as we all let go of the handle. I closed my eyes and focused the share energy to transform but… nothing happened. I tried again, and failed. What?!
"Uh, Blanc? Are you transforming?" Neptune asked.
"I can't!" I replied. Although I couldn't transform, I still felt tired!
"Huh? Let me try." Neptune said. She closed her eyes and nothing happened, "I… Can't transform." She looked at Vert with a worried expression.
"Neither can I." Vert said, she glanced at us with worry.
We all turned to Noire, "Don't look at me. I... can't transform either." We turned to our sisters.
Uni simply shook her head and sighed. I noticed her biting her upper lip with worry.
"Can't… transform..." Nepgear said. From her expression, I could tell she was trying her best to calm down, "Why… are we unable to transform..." She muttered, her voice filled with unease.
This manor… We were fine just a few moments ago, and now we can't even transform?! I started to kick the door angrily, "Let us go, you shitty door!"
"Blanc, calm down." Vert said sternly, "Let's look around the manor for exits. There must be another one."
"Ugh fine!" I barked back, hopefully this manor wasn't as big as it looked on the outside.
"Let's separate so we cover more ground." Nepgear suggested. I thought it was a great idea, but...
Neptune appeared to panic from the suggestion, "Uh… Nep Jr... We're in an abandoned manor… Separating would be the worst idea in a horror movie! We would all die!" She said. I sighed, what nonsense was she spouting now.
"Neptune, please." Vert said, "We're not in a horror movie. But I agree, we should not separate. We don't know what could be lurking in here. As such, I shall go with my little sister." Vert said as she held onto Nepgear's arm, "Let's go, Nepgear. Let's explore the left side of the manor."
"Hey!" Neptune said, she stomped her feet on the ground in frustration, "Fine! Then I shall go with Noire! The Protag-Tsundere combo never fails!"
"Sorry, Neptune. I wanted to explore with my sister." Noire said, walking away from her, "I accepted the quest to spend time with her, after all. Maybe next time."
"Ohh~ Noire. I knew you were a tsundere, but never this much." Neptune said teasingly. I noticed that Noire tensed, "Maybe you want me to fight Uni for your attention? How devious. I never you knew you could be this hard to-"
"I'm not playing hard to get!" Noire finally snapped. She looked at Neptune with fierce anger. It looks like Neptune pushed her a bit too much, "Why won't you get that?! I just want to spend time with my sister, is that so bad?! And two days ago, you said the same thing! Neptune, I'm up to here," She pointed at her forehead, "with your teasing, so could you please tone it down a bit?! Is that too much to ask?!"
We all looked in shock as Noire snapped. Neptune was too startled to say anything. Noire closed her eyes and took a deep breath before stamping her foot, "Come, Uni. We're going." She said with no second thoughts, walking past Neptune and slamming the door next to the stairs open.
Uni glanced at us before hurrying after her sister, "Hey Noire! Wait up!" The door closed behind her as she disappeared running after her sister.
"Neptune… You took it too far." Nepgear said with a disappointed look on her face.
"Aw damn… I really messed up, huh?" Neptune said, scratching the back of her head, "I'll apologise later."
I crossed my arms and stared at Neptune for a few seconds. Whatever was going on between those two, Neptune was clearly the one causing it. I sighed and looked at my sisters, giving them a smile.
"Hey, Blanc." I heard Nepgear. She approached me with a smile.
"Nepgear." I greeted her. I hadn't talked to her since we arrived… I wondered what this was for.
"Umm… How to say it..." Nepgear stuttered with her words, "May I go with one of your sisters?"
"Ask them yourself." I said rather coldly. I noticed it when her expression changed, "I mean… I can't say no if they want to go with you." I tried to smile.
Nepgear returned the smile, "Thank you Blanc." She said and walked towards my sisters. She knelt down and talked to them for a few seconds. In the end, Ram decided to go with Nepgear, much to my surprise. They left swiftly through the door to the right, leaving the rest of us still standing around.
I looked at Rom and approached her, "Let's go, shall we?" I smiled.
Rom nodded enthusiastically and grabbed my hand. We climbed up the stairs. I managed to take a look at the floor below. Neptune and Vert were standing absentmindedly over the white and black floor. They would figure it out eventually, so I left them be. I pushed open the dark oak door and looked at the single hallway with four doors to the left. I felt Rom shiver in fear, "Hey. Nothing's going to happen. I'm here, remember?" I said, trying to keep her spirit up.
"I know… Blanc..." Rom replied, "But this… place's… scary..." She grabbed my clothes from my back, timidly looking forwards.
I looked at her from under my arm and smiled, "We can walk like this if you want." She nodded at the suggestion, so we kept walking.
I examined the doors as we walked past them - purple, black, white, green - There was something about those colours that bothered me. They weren't natural door colours and it reminded me of… Us. Curiosity took the better of me, I opened the purple doors and examined what was inside. It was a purple room with some lilac to it. A bunk bed stood in one end and a purple wardrobe in the other. A simple lamp hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in yellow lighting. There were no windows or anything else. It was just that - beds and a wardrobe…
I closed the door and walked towards the next one. The black door had the exact same layout as the previous one, except with a black and grey motif. I started doubting myself. This couldn't be it, could it? These rooms were prepared for us… Someone knew we were coming. I shook my head and walked towards the white door. Once again, it had the same layout but this time, it had an extra door to the side. The motif this time… It was us - White, light blue and pink.
I closed the door and attempted to steady my breathing. I moved my hand through my hair, trying to control my thoughts. Surely this was a joke. A joke by a group of pranksters, designed to trick us goddesses. There was no other explanation.
I looked at the end of the hallway. We hadn't checked the green door yet. Although I really did not want to, I walked towards it and opened it. This time, the bunk bed had been replaced by a single green bed, but otherwise the room looked exactly the same as the last three except it had green as its only colour.
I closed the door and urged Rom to quicken her pace. We had to tell the others about this. Rom most likely noticed something was wrong about my behaviour, since she hadn't said anything in a long while.
I burst into the main hall, the faces of the others looking right up at me. Sans Noire and Uni, the others had already returned. Rom and I carefully walked down the stairs and rejoined the others.
"How was it, Blanc?" Vert asked with worry, "You look shaken."
"Shaken? That's an understatement, Vert..." I replied. I let Rom go. She ran towards Ram and they embraced each other in a hug. Honestly, those two were inseparable.
"How so?" Vert interrupted my thoughts, "Was the upper floor worse than this one?"
I hesitated for a second, trying to gather my thoughts, "The upper floors… They contain bedrooms. Four bedrooms to be precise."
"Bedrooms?" Vert questioned, "What's so bad about those?"
"They are… prepared for us." I said before explaining what I meant. I told them about the colour scheme and the amount of beds in each room, tailored to our needs.
"That's… Concerning." Vert replied. She put her hand to her chin, "Honestly, after what Neptune and I found… I'm starting to think this is not abandoned."
"How so?" I asked. This was getting so weird. What was even going on? This was supposed to be an easy quest!
"We… found the kitchen." Vert said fearfully, "It contained fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as other kinds of foods. All… in perfectly good shape."
"Fresh… fruit?" I questioned. There was no way an abandoned manor like this one still had fresh anything. Then again… the rooms were made specifically for us…
"Yes. Neptune," Vert called, waving at Neptune standing in the distance, "come here."
"What is it, Vert?" Neptune asked as she walked over. I noticed her pockets were filled with something… I was pretty sure they were empty when we arrived.
"Show Blanc what we found." Vert told her and… wait. What they found? Then what Neptune had in her pockets was…
Sure enough, Neptune put her hand into her pockets and took out a tangerine. I glanced between Neptune and the orange fruit before I picked it up. I felt its weight and looked at it from every kind of angle… and sure enough, it didn't appear to be rotten. I peeled the tangerine and took a single slice out of the fruit. I hesitantly put the slice in my mouth and ate it… it was delicious. How? A fruit from this abandoned manor had no right to be this delicious. It should've been rotten.
I felt my expression told Vert and Neptune everything they needed to know. Vert smiled at me, "See? Told you."
"What about the other rooms?" I asked, crossing my arms. I was a tiny bit angry at her smug smile, "There were surely other rooms apart from the kitchen."
"Oh oh!" Neptune raised her hand, "I can answer this one. There is a lounge with some board games. There's also a dining room before the kitchen! But that's about it." Neptune said with a smile.
I noticed Nepgear talking with my sisters next to the door to the left. She looked over at us and noticed Neptune's reaction. She excused herself and walked towards us. I noticed that Rom and Ram sneaked away towards the door. I sighed, I'd have to tell them not to do that later…
Nepgear stopped next to us, "Umm. Are we talking about our findings?" She asked.
"Indeed, Nepgear." Vert replied, "How about you? You didn't tell us what you found."
"Oh right." Nepgear looked up, "There was a library just beyond that door… It connected to a study room which then lead to a music room. There also was a computer in the study, but we couldn't get it to start up. What about you, Blanc?"
I told her about the bedrooms. Her expression changed the more I described them.
"They're… based on us…?" She asked with a worried expression. She glanced at her sister, "And you found food in the kitchen… What the goodness?"
Just then, Uni and Noire walked into the room from the door left to the staircase - the opposite side from the one they entered. We all looked at them as they walked closer, Noire avoided looking at Neptune, "Tell them, Uni." She said. It had to be my imagination, but I saw fear flash momentarily over Noire's face as she said those words…
"We… found a cellar." Uni said, interrupting my thoughts. She pointed at the doors to the side of the staircase, "Both those doors… they lead to a connected hallway… With doors that lead to the cellar."
"Just a cellar?" I inquired. That didn't seem as bad as the things we found. Almost. Then Uni spoke again.
"Not only a cellar… There were weapons down there." Uni said with hesitation.
We all looked at each other before looking back at Uni. Weapons? What were those doing here? Even worse, all in the same place? My brow furrowed, "Uni… What weapons?"
"There were… A steel pipe; a broadsword; a gun; a dagger; an axe and a bow with a quiver full of arrows." She said, her eyes closed. She eventually opened her eyes and looked at us with fear, "They were… all on the floor in a pile."
We stayed in silence for a few minutes, trying to process the information until, "Goodness..." Nepgear said, breaking the silence, "But… you found no one?" She said with worry.
"It was completely empty. And the weapons appeared to not have been used in a few years."
"Did you say there was an axe?" Vert asked. She tilted her head, "We could use that to break the door."
Uni shook her head, "We… tried moving the weapons. They're stuck to the ground… We can't move them."
"This sounds like a joke." I said at last, "First the bedrooms, then the food… and now weapons?" I attempted to laugh, "Next up, a member of ASIC will appear from that door." I pointed to the door to the left. We all looked at the door stupidly, believing in my joke. But… the handle slowly started to turn. We all looked at each other with surprise… Until Ram's head popped up from the door.
I sighed with relief. At least my stupid joke didn't come true.
Ram waved at us to follow her. Naturally, we all did with no hesitation. But the thought of the weapons loomed above us. What was this manor and why did it have all this stuff arranged for us? I shook the thought out of my head as I entered the room.
The room appeared to be in perfect shape. A brown rug spread throughout the floor, covering what appeared to be a wooden floor. White walls surrounded us with paintings of open fields - I felt like it was laughing at us. In the middle of the room was a wooden table surrounded by two couches and two wooden chairs. A box sat in the middle of the table, the word 'Hint' displayed prominently in the middle of the plain yellow box. I looked to my side and found, to my surprise, a fireplace. It wasn't on, but I could tell it was a fireplace by the… smell of it? I could smell the faint odour of charcoal. That was worrying, but I paid it no heed. A yellow light illuminated the room from some lamps at at each corner of the room. A few windows to the outside showed the exterior from which we had come… As insulting as it seemed, the room felt… cozy.
"Blanc, can we play?" Ram asked me, pointing at the box. From what I could see, it was a box for a board game.
I hesitated. We were trying to escape from this place and they wanted to play…
"Come on, Blanc." Vert said, placing a hand on my shoulder, "I see no harm in it. We also need to let what we found sink in. It'll be a fun, short game."
I sighed, she was right, "I guess we can play." I said at last.
Rom and Ram jumped with excitement. They quickly opened the box and took out the board and pieces and placed them in an instant. Vert approached them and took out the piece of paper with the rules in it. We sat down around the board, Vert, Nepgear, and Neptune sat opposite of Ram, Rom, and I. We were both seated on a couch around the table while Noire and Uni sat at each end of the table in a chair, Noire trying to stay as far away as possible from Neptune.
Vert began to tell us the rules, "Sort the cards by type and shuffle them face down. Place one suspect card, one weapon card and one location card in the envelope." She picked up the white envelope and yellow cards, each had a word written on them - Suspect, weapon, location. Vert kept reading, "Give out the other cards to the players until they are all given out. Place the weapons" She picked up the small, metal objects, "In a random location in the board. Take turns rolling the dice to the left of the player that shuffled the cards."
"Seems simple enough so far." I said, "Does it talk about our aim?"
Vert held a hand for me to shush. She kept reading, "Move around the board until you enter a location. Once there, you can make a suggestion. Name a suspect, weapon and the location you're in. The players to your left show you their cards if they have one of the suggestions. If they can't show you a card, keep going to the left until a player shows a card or returns to you. Cross the card shown off in your notebook." Vert picked up a small notebook with some writing and small grids on it, "If your suggestion has not been disproven, you may accuse. To accuse, promptly say 'I declare' followed by the murderer, weapon and location. Once the accusation is made, look inside the envelope. If you were right, you win! Show the cards to the other players. If you guessed wrong, you lose and are disqualified."
"Simple enough." I said when Vert stopped reading. She gave each of us a small notebook as she started shuffling the cards. The rest of us picked our pieces…
I stopped. The pieces… they were also colour coded. Purple, lilac, black, grey, white, pink, light blue and green. I shook the thought out of my head. I was getting paranoid. These colours must be a coincidence. Obviously, we picked the colour that matched us and placed it at the starting position on the board.
Vert finished shuffling the cards. She placed three of them into the envelope...and as she did, I felt a chill go down my spine. It was sudden and short, but I clearly felt it. I looked around at the others, trying to see if they felt one too… but if they did, they did not show it.
Vert finally started handing out the cards. She gave two to everyone else but herself and I, we got three. I flipped the cards over and looked at them… Another chill down my spine. They were… Why didn't I notice it before? I looked at the board, it was… the exact layout of the manor we were in, minus the cellar and bedrooms, the rooms were what the others had said they were… and my cards… Steel Pipe; Music room and… Nepgear.
"What the hell?" I rose up, slamming my hands on the table. I startled the others, but they also had a worried look at their cards, "Why is My novel a ca-" I stopped myself. My novel?! I didn't say that! What the hell! I tried again, "Why is My nov-" I stopped again. What the hell was going on?!
"Blanc?" Nepgear asked with worry, "Are you okay?"
"I am not okay! This game has us as cards! I have My nov- ARGH! WORK YOU STUPID MOUTH!" I shouted in anger. I was pissed. Why didn't my damn mouth work! I stomped my foot on the floor and stormed out of the room. I was fuming.
I unconsciously walked up the stairs and into the white room. I approached the white bed and collapsed on it. The… pillow and mattress… it was so soft… I felt my anger leave my body and I was suddenly overcome with tiredness. I let out a yawn and… fell asleep.
We stared at the door that Blanc had just stormed out of. She appeared to be upset over something… Did she mention 'us as cards'? Well, sure. I was slightly concerned over the fact that I was a card in the game, but it didn't bother me that much. After all, this wasn't the only game that featured us. We are the CPUs, and quite popular at that. She must be paranoid after what we found. I sighed.
I looked at the others while trying to avoid Neptune. I was still slightly angry. Uni had tried to reason with me. I listened to her of course, but I still couldn't forgive Neptune. This was the second time she did the same thing. Did she not learn from our previous spat the last time?
Vert clapped her hands, bringing me back into reality, "Okay. Since Blanc left prematurely, we'll resume the game tomorrow, how's that?" Vert looked out the window. I followed her gaze and…When did it turn to nighttime? Vert spoke again, "It's late as well. Might be better to take a rest."
"Aww, I really wanted to play." Ram moaned. Rom nodded in agreement.
"It's okay, you two." Nepgear smiled reassuringly, "Keep your cards and we can continue this tomorrow."
"Yay!" Rom and Ram said in unison, "Okay, Rom! Show me our bedroom!"
Rom nodded and took her twin by the hand, leaving the room.
Vert glanced between Neptune and I before leaving the room. Uni and Nepgear followed after her. Neptune stayed behind. I stood up and attempted to follow after them, but I was stopped near the door when Neptune called out, "Noire… I..."
I sighed and ignored her. Leaving the room and her behind. I couldn't be bothered to listen to her today… Maybe after some rest I could forgive her.
I walked up the stairs, where Blanc had supposedly found bedrooms. I walked down the hall and stopped next to a black door. I pushed it open and walked inside.
Surprisingly, I could hear Uni's breathing. She was asleep in the top bunk of the bed. That was fast… I'm sure she had just arrived in the room. I followed her lead and rested my head in the black bed under her and… I was suddenly overcome with drowsiness. Now I understood why Uni fell asleep so quickly… This bed was heavenly… I closed my eyes and… fell asleep.
…
…
I woke up at what I assumed was the middle of the night. I felt Uni sleeping above me and… a heavy feeling resting on my shoulders. It was guilt.
I should've apologised to Neptune, or at least heard her out. She was annoying, yes, but I shouldn't have snapped like that. I know what she's like, that was no reason for me to have a go at her. There was also something else… Thirst. My throat was dry, for some reason.
I stood up quietly from my bed and tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake Uni up. I walked down the stairs, walking silently. I walked through the lounge, then the dining room until I finally found the kitchen. I took a glass from one of the cupboards and filled it with water from the sink. It… was unusually clean for water from an abandoned manor. But that didn't bother me. What really bothered me was the chilling feeling of being watched.
I turned around and saw a figure with a parka on… Neptune's parka. She looked at me from across the room, the dim lighting making it hard to see her. She noticed I saw her. She turned around and left running. I quickly drank my water and left after her. I had to apologise!
I burst into the main hall, where I saw her standing in the opposite end. Her hood was up and her back turned to me. I approached her slowly, "Hey… Neptune." I said, she didn't even turn around, "I know I… said some pretty mean stuff back there… And I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have." I stopped behind her, "So, I hope you can forgive me."
She didn't respond. She stayed there, with her back turned to me. That was slightly pissing me off.
"Hey, Neptune. I'm trying to apologise," I put my hand on her shoulder, "The least you could do is look at m-" I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.
I looked down and saw… the tip of a sword… A broadsword. The same one… Uni and I… found…
Neptune turned around… I couldn't see her face through the darkness… but I could see a… wry smile… on her face… She was…
I collapsed on my knees and coughed blood. She sunk the sword… deeper into my body… and… I… My consciousness started to fade…
Neptune… Why…?
Is this… how you felt…?
I should've… apologised sooner…
Why Neptune… Why…
I said… I was sorry.
Killed by... my friend…
What a way… to go…
My vision faded…
I was… de-