"Big sis… are you sure we're doing the right thing?"
It's a friday night in Planeptune, and Neptune and Nepgear could hardly hear the sounds of the bubbling city around them. Up high in Planeptune's Basilicom, dubbed the 'NepTower' by the nation's Console Patron Unit, the leadership of the country was hard at work.
And by hard at work, that meant Neptune was dozing off on the couch while Nepgear painstakingly scribbled at a set of documents. Although they had settled down in the CPU living quarters, high above the streets below, the Goddesses had more to do than just sleep.
"Ugh…" Neptune groaned, flipping around on her back. Her forearm was pressed against her groggy eyes, protecting them from the city lights that flooded in from the tall windows that encompassed the walls. "Everyone else is passing this law, we might as well do it too, right?"
The younger of the two sat at a nearby table, her lavender hair tickling the paper beneath it.
"But Neptune," Nepgear abruptly sat up straight, lips curling inwards out of a repressed disgust. "Just because Noire does it doesn't mean you should do it, too. Did you even read the details of the bill?"
"Did I?" The Goddess of Neptune flopped her legs over the couch, letting the tips of her toes touch the ground. Rubbing her face with both hands, she continued. "Well, Nep Junior, I know you're young and all, but you'll eventually learn that sometimes other people do it best. Plus, I don't want this sexy 'bod to get all sweaty from thinking too hard."
She grinned mischievously at her younger sister, evoking a sigh from the recipient.
"I just don't think it's fair."
"Fair?" Neptune yawned, stretching far and wide with her arms. "Nothing on this world is fair. You know how much money Noire can spend on pudding? A lot! You know how much I can use?"
The older sister leapt off the couch, stepping beside Nepgear. She innocently locked her hands behind her back.
"Guess!"
Nepgear knew the answer, and something deep inside her wanted to answer. But on the other hand, she didn't really want to dignify that question, even if it was from her sister.
"Neptune, you already spent all your savings-"
"I HAVE NOTHING IN MAH SAVINGS!" Neptune pouted as angrily as she could, but she didn't appear menacing at all. Quickly changing attitudes, Neptune placed a thoughtful finger on her chin. "We should mess with the budget… I wonder if Histy would be okay with that."
"Big sis-" Nepgear started, raising a pen.
"Good idea!" Planeptune's serendipitous CPU exclaimed. "Let's sign that bill!"
Despite the Candidate's cries of protest, the senior sister leaned inwards, snatching the pen out of Nepgear's hand and scribbling a signature along the dotted line.
"There we go! Now, let's give it to Histy and socialize with Noire because we did what the cool kids do by doing what everyone else does!" Neptune wheezed, catching her breath as she paraded over to the room's exit.
"No…" Nepgear sighed, defeated. Sulking further into her chair, the youngling didn't quite feel the strength to pull herself out of her seat. "You didn't even read it…"
Neptune skipped out into the hall, humming a serene tune to herself. The very idea of impressing Noire made her jittery, a feeling that she nurtured and held close to her heart. She knew that the day that she would be accepted by any of the other CPUs, not just Noire, would be the day that people would regard her as a successful Goddess.
Not that it mattered much to the Lady of Planeptune.
In her hands, Neptune held the executive order that would define her reign.
Saturday came and the bill became law, and in law it became practice.
Sunday came and in practice the law had to be enforced.
The sun was still cresting over the horizon when Norman Dunn entered his boss's office. It reeked of cigar smoke, and the dull brown color that permeated across the furniture and wallpaper felt sickening to Norman's stomach.
Norman cowered before a wide desk. Behind it lie a heavy black chair seating a small woman, no older than 22. With a glint in her glasses and her hands interlaced, the employee shivered.
He tugged at his button-up shirt's collar, the whole room making him feel nauseating and crooked. A leather satchel was slung over his left shoulder, and he clung onto it with both hands. His fingers grew sticky from sweat, and he only noticed it when he ran a hand through his long, shaggy hair.
"Hi, it's me. You… wanted to see me?" Norman tentatively asked, a wave of uncertainty washing over him like the sweat that clung to his socks.
"Yeah." She sighed, looking up at his face. "You enjoy the work here?"
The man frowned, his grip on the satchel loosening.
"What are you suggesting?" He pressed the question, his voice brimming with anxiety. "I know the pay isn't the best, but I'm fine where I am. I'm not asking for any recognition, just… let me keep my job…"
The boss smirked, reclining in her seat.
"You're not being laid off, don't worry." She reassured him, her smile leveling out. "But I'm not sure if you heard the news. I know we're a non-profit organization, but the law extends to us as well."
"Is it-"
"It is." The boss cut him off, and she sighed. Even people who lived under a rock fell prey to the wave of change sweeping Gamindustri.
It didn't come as a surprise to anyone- society was always like this. The only difference was that stigma was now becoming law.
"I saw it coming, Mr. Dunn. Ever since it came to Lowee, I knew times were changing. Although I am a genius," Norman's boss paused, fanning her own ego. "It doesn't take an idiot to see Neptune falling to peer pressure."
"So what does this mean for the organization?" Norman frowned.
"I don't want to fire our male employees, even if we're supposed to. You're a good man, Norman," She boldly proclaimed. "I don't want to fire any employees. Especially since training takes too long, and we don't have anyone to fill your place yet."
"That's reassuring…" Norman muttered.
"Thing is, there's a few loopholes in the law. We can keep you as long as you don't come into contact with women. That means I'm sending you out to the countryside."
She subtly pulled an N-Gear out from under the desk and placed it on the table.
"Take a look at this." She clamored, fiddling with the device. She opened up a map application and nudged it across the smooth surface, right towards a reluctantly approaching Norman.
The boss took a deep breath, speaking as if she owned the world. "This town is smack-dab right in the middle of nowhere. Literally! It's not called the Badlands for nothing."
"The Badlands…" Norman groaned in fear, clutching his satchel tighter.
The very thought of the place brought dread to his head. The man knew it as the land where Lowee, Lastation and Planeptune's borders all touched, a wide stretch of land in the mountains that had a reputation for being beyond the law. Not much was known about the place, as the roads were terrible and all the cell towers in the area were too ruined to send signals out of the Badlands.
It was like it's own lawless land, like a wild west of Gamindustri run by warlords and fascists. Well, maybe not fascists. Maybe.
The last time a nation tried to set up a modern cell tower in the Badlands, the project ended up abandoned due to constant raids by warlords and monsters alike.
"You'll be sent here." She pointed at the screen. "Wel Zelevas. There's a train that will take you there in two hours if everything goes well, and if things go well, you'll be offering our services in a place that no one dares to enter. It'll be good for us... and good for the locals."
"I've never heard of that place…" Norman whimpered.
"Doesn't matter. Either you go or you lose your job. I know that Leanbox has a band of Feds' whose sole purpose is to round up dissidents like you. So if you don't go, or refuse to quit, I'm going to have to call up the Basilicom. Tell them you aren't complying with the law."
"The law…"
"We're not a private organization, Dunn." The boss leaned in, squinting at Norman. "This is a national, state-run service. If you don't comply, then I'm going to have to turn you in. And I wouldn't want to do that."
In Norman's eyes, something told him she would be just fine with turning him in to the law enforcement.
On one hand, he loved his job. He didn't want to quit because of some obscure law that was just passed. But on the other hand, if he wanted to stay, he had to move far away from the place he grew up.
He sure as hell didn't want to go to the Badlands. But where else would he go? Job hunting, again? He hated it in the past, and now that he found a job that he enjoyed, he sure wasn't going back.
"I guess I'll go." He shrugged, giving his boss a defeated look.
"That's good. We can't be a national organization if we don't cover the whole nation, so the fact you're heading out there is a good thing." She nodded as a matter of fact, pulling the N-Gear in close.
"Pack your bags." She slid a train ticket over the table. "This is for you. Mr. Norman Dunn, you've got one hour left in Planeptune."
Norman quickly realized, upon reaching his apartment, that there wasn't much for him to pack. A backpack full of clothes and a handheld gaming console were the only things he decided he would need.
He thought of leaving a message on the table for his ailing mother, and he did so quickly. Although his father was long gone, he hoped she wouldn't feel lonely at home by herself.
The man stepped out of the apartment, not thinking twice as the door clicked behind him. As men couldn't own property, and he didn't have a wife, the apartment was granted to him by his workplace.
Having a government job has its benefits, Norman thought to himself as he stepped down the hall. Heading towards the stairs, Norman found his backpack feeling awkward, especially since it was bouncing against his satchel, while he passed by a pair of women. They stared at him like he was crazy. Benefits that run out.
Norman hustled down the stairs and in no time he left the building, entering a world full of the smell of diesel and Purple Progress. Funny, that progress smelled kinda like cheap pastries and plastic.
Catching the next bus that crossed his path, Norman Dunn waited until all the women boarded first, then filed in behind them. The fare was raised to a whopping 700 credits yesterday, something that made life unlivable without a wife or girlfriend to support you.
Norman tapped his credit card on the scanner, paying the fare with ease. He smiled at the bus driver, who cordially smiled back. The driver, who was a man, was lucky to have his job.
The code was obscure in its 'do's and 'don'ts' in terms of who was lucky and who wasn't, with lots of grey space left to the discretion of local authorities.
As Norman shuffled to the back of the bus, the stampering and campering of feet led him to look back.
A woman around his age, maybe a little younger, climbed aboard just before the doors closed behind her. Her blue coat seemed a size too big for her, and her hands could hardly extend her credit card when she tried to hold it out from under her sleeves. She tapped the scanner, with it paying the standard 100 credit fare, and she hobbled down the aisle behind Norman.
She had smiled at the driver, but the driver didn't smile back.
Norman kept walking down the aisle, almost falling when the bus started moving. Luckily he reached the back of the bus before stumbling, as he knew it was considered impolite to extend your hand towards women as a single man. At the worst, he knew of cases when it was branded as an attempted rape or molestation.
Norman sighed as he sat, using his arms to pull his backpack onto his lap and settle down into a comfortable position. He scooted in some more, towards the window seat. There he had a good view of Planeptune life from the position of an observer. Not that he was excluded from that life or anything, but to him, it was always interesting to see the world move without him.
A grunt was heard to his side, and Norman swept his head over in the direction of the sound. The woman had sat down next to him!
Her long brown hair covered her face until she brushed it aside, revealing a set of emerald green eyes. She huffed, probably still tired from catching the bus.
There was something about those eyes that caught Norman in a trance. Unable to move, and with his mind fixated on the girl's eyes, he completely forgot all mannerisms. He knew that staring too much would be impolite, even in the times when he was a child, but right now he couldn't care less.
The way they moved, the way those eyebrows fluttered up and down with every one of her breaths…
Was this love at first sight? Norman didn't want to believe it. He wasn't a believer in stupid things like that.
"Hey," She started after having given him a funny look for the last several minutes. "You alright in there?"
Norman shook his head around, gathering his senses.
"Yes." He looked down. "Yes! Yes, yes I'm fine." He looked back into her eyes. "How are you?"
"I'm… a little tired… but I'm fine…" The girl blinked, and Norman could've gasped at the sight.
"Ah, fine, and you?" He said without thinking, then realized that he messed up big-time. "Oh, I mean, my name is Norman! A wonder to meet you."
"Yeah… I'm IF."
Truly, he thought, a wondrous name.
"I'm heading out to the Badlands!" He exclaimed, quickly realizing that he was getting too excited. "For a job."
"Weird." She sighed with her eyes closed, shaking her head in disbelief. "But then again, I'm doing the exact same thing."
"Really!?" The man couldn't believe his luck. Did he really just seal the deal with IF? Was he… no… he was going with this girl to the Badlands. Maybe he wouldn't be alone out there after all.
"That's right." She nodded, inching away from him, towards the aisle. Now, why would she do that? "I'm with the Guild, and apparently there's a lot of good work up there. Have you been there before?"
"No, no. No, I haven't." Norman shook his head. "This is my first and hopefully my last time. I heard so little about the place that it's almost scary."
"It's no place for men who are scared of small stuff." IF smiled for the first time since she entered the bus. "Why are you going there, anyways?"
"Like I said. Work."
"Okay… what do you do?"
"I don't really like talking about it." Norman sighed, grinning nervously.
"That's cool. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." IF looked down the aisle, losing interest in Norman.
"Well, I might as well tell you." He fussed. "I'm a operator at the National Suicide Lifeline."
"You- what?" IF raised an eyebrow, turning back towards the man. "That's not something you hear every day."
He nodded. "I'm one of the only guys there. I mean, the pay isn't the best and all, but we get a lot of calls and texts. It's one of the things that makes me feel like I'm doing something with my life, as I can't fight or do physical work. All the medical jobs aren't available for guys like me, and I'd rather die than get an office job. This was the best choice."
"So you're heading out to the Badlands…" She trailed off, thinking. "They don't get coverage out there, don't they? I guess it makes a lot of sense."
"Yeah." Norman nodded solemnly, looking out the window. They looked like they were getting close to the train station, but they'd be able to keep talking on the train. The trees of one of Planeptune's smaller parks waved in the wind brought on by the cars passing by, and in the distance doors of shops opened and closed in tandem.
"It must be hard." IF said, a little quieter than before.
"No, not as hard as fighting. I know that when I get nervous on the phone, or feel jittery in my belly, I know that there's a hundred fighters out there having it a lot more stressful than I have it." Norman paused. "So that helps, just knowing that what I do isn't that hard in comparison."
"I don't know." The Guild Member sighed. "A friend of mine has all sorts of trouble with her sister, and sometimes she talks to me about it. She's not suicidal or anything, don't take this the wrong way, but just hearing what she has to say makes me stressed. She's got a crazy sister."
"What's her name?" The Operator asked innocently.
"Eh, it's a secret." IF nodded firmly. "But they're both people with a lot of responsibility, and I wouldn't want to say anything bad about them."
"I completely understand."
His words faded away as the bus came to a sudden stop, catching him and his distracted seat-mate off guard.
"Welcome to Planeptune Central Station. This is the last stop of this bus, and thank you for riding with the Planept-T."
The intercom buzzed momentarily, prompting everyone to rise out of their seats and to shuffle to the front.
IF led the way as the two filtered into the morass of people. Careful not to seem impolite or out of place, Norman let IF lead him out of the bus and into the station.
As he left, he smiled at the bus driver, who looked distraught.
Distracted, and not looking up at all, the man had his arms folded over the wheel and his face dug into them. Something wasn't right. Was he okay?
"Sir?" Norman politely questioned, holding onto a railing behind him. As he was the last passenger to leave the bus, there was no one behind him. And since his train was leaving in almost half an hour, he had time.
"Oh… oh!" The driver shot up, sitting up straight. "Sorry. We've reached our final destination." He finished his sentence with finality, as if he wanted Norman to leave.
"So we have." The man with the backpack sighed, briefly rubbing his nose. "My name's Norman, do you mind sharing yours?"
"Not really. A pleasure, Norman." The driver looked him right in the eyes. "Call me Kent."
"Do you like working as a driver?" Norman asked.
"I wish I still were." He sighed.
"Something happen? I know that they're laying off Federally employed workers…"
"Yeah." The driver sighed, looking straight ahead. "Ten years in this unforgiving seat. All so some dofus in the Basilicom can kick me out because I'm a man."
"It's gotta hurt, working for so long only to get laid off." Norman looked down, feeling sympathy for the driver. He had nearly lost his job as well.
Kent, the driver, looked up with nothing in his eyes. Sighing, he continued. "Some people come, some people go. We're a dying race, Norman. Next thing you know, they'll kick us out to the Gamindustri Graveyard. Like the Goddesses of old, forgotten and discarded."
"I'm not arguing with you."
"Well, shit." Kent placed a hand on his forehead. "With my wife gone, there's no way I'll be able to take care of the kids anymore. Not anymore."
He turned to Norman, almost getting angry. "Don't you have a train to catch?"
"Hey, guy!" Another person was calling out to him from outside the bus. IF, Norman assumed. "We've only got five minutes, so get moving or I'm leaving without you!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Norman stammered, nodding at Kent. "It was nice talking and all, and I hear how bad things are going right now." He inched towards the exit of the bus.
"Thanks." Kent grunted, turning away from Norman. "That was nice. I'd exchange numbers if my cell was any good."
"Likewise." Norman nodded, stepping out of the bus. "You take care!"
The doors closed behind him, and both and the Phone Operator and the Guild Member were lost in the concrete world of the train station. Surrounded by people but lost by themselves, their destination lie far, far away.
And for a just second, Norman didn't feel scared of the future.
AN:
Although there are other things I could be writing, this is what I've cooked up in my head for a while now.
I'm sorry in advance for slow updates, as real life is kicking ass right now. School, volunteering, games... school...
With that said, I hope you enjoyed the premise that the first chapter brought! I've noticed that in the Nep-verse, men are never seen or noteworthy, which makes me think their society is a lot different in comparison to ours- as it probably is.
This story will also be heavily inspired by things in the discord server- link in my profile if you want it.
The world of the Badlands, and the juxtaposition when seen in conjunction with Planeptune, will be fun.
I hope you drop reviews and follows! Favs are good too- but lets wait until things pick up until you decide this is worth it. But those three mean a lot, more than you'd think!
With that said, thanks for reading!
