Chapter 3
One Week Later…
Neptune was discharged from the hospital with a notice which stated for Nepgear and Histoire to keep an eye on her in case of further development of whatever was going on. Her fever had dissipated over the week, but longer than the doctors had predicted it to take which was very concerning.
Neptune was at home, doing work, while Histy sat at the desk with Neptune to monitor her. Nepgear was gone out again with Uni to a Café that had opened up recently in Lastation which left Neptune to do her work pretty much in peace.
"Neptune?"
"Yeah Histy?" I see, so she hasn't forgotten calling me Histy. She stopped calling Nepgear which was weird, but I guess this is.. Ok.
"Why are you working so much now?"
"I don't know, I just feel the urge to work".
"But I thought you hated working".
"Did I? Well this stuff needed to be done and I would have felt bad to leave you all alone to do it".
This is so weird hearing Neptune sound condescending.. But.. I love it!
3 Hours Later…
Histy still sat at the desk, for 3 hours, watching Neptune fill out papers which were needed to improve economic growth and trade options through with Leanbox.
It's quite abnormal for her to do this for so long without having any change on her expression.. She also hasn't even asked for Pudding of all things! What is with this new Neptune?
Neptune moved the last piece of paper over infront of her and filled it out. She had kept up to date so work like this went from taking around 9-10 hours average with leftover work, to 2-3 hours with no leftover work which any Loner Tsundere could admire as improvement. Neptune got up from the desk, stretching her back and arms, and walking out which meant for Histy to follow her. She headed to the fridge and pulled out a.. Bowl of salad Nepgear had made for her a few hours ago before she left? No pudding on the mind.
"Salad? I can't remember the last time you had salad Neptune".
"Neither can I, that's why I had Nepgear make some".
This feels so weird to listen to an actually reasonable Neptune..
"Neptune?"
"Yes Histy?"
"Could I possible take blood test?"
"Blood test? Why?"
"I thought it would be best if u can monitor your condition via samples".
"Well you're not wrong there, Blood is a key component in living for us".
"Thanks"
After eating, Histy took 4 30ml samples of blood from Neptune and took them into.. Wherever Histy goes for spare time? The Histy room? Idk.. And Neptune went to bed.
3 Hours Later..
Nepgear returned with a bag of sample sweets the Café had supplied new customers with and planned to treat Neptune, but was then reminded by the fact that she wasn't bombarded with "Hey ! What ya got there? Anythin for ya Ole Nepperino?!" and being tackled to the ground which, more often then not now, she missed.
"Neptune! Histy! I'm home!"
"Oh good, Nepgear, come with me please". Histy had said quickly as she peaked around the hallway wall towards the door.
Nepgear followed Histy into some weird room she didn't know existed in the Basilicom. It looked like a bunker of sorts but with medical equipment everywhere with different stuff all over the place.
"To show you, I will need a drop of your blood as a comparison". Histy said. Nepgear nodded, though Needles weren't really her thing, and sat down at a chair to let Histy take some blood.
After extracting a small amount, Histy put a drop of blood on a spot pl then placing it on the stage of the microscope she had been using. Nepgear was still confused a little, but looked through though she was unsure of what to be looking for.
"This is your normal blood, since you and Neptune have close to exactly the same blood. And this-". Histy took out the spot plate and added another one with Neptune's blood under the microscope's lense for viewing.
"-is Neptune's Blood". Nepgear understood completely now, and was now even more concerned for Neptune's health.
"Why does she have such a small blood count?!"
"I don't know, but it might have to do with why she took so long to fight off that fever".
"How did the doctors not find this!"
"Nepgear".
"Yeah?"
"I'm assigning you officially to find out what happened to Neptune. I'm giving you complete clearance to any resource you need to find this out. While that happens, which this is our number one priority, we mustn't let Neptune get sick again or it could get disastrous".
"Yes Histy! I will do my best!" Histy nodded and floated back to keep an eye on Neptune.
I'm going to start.. With that pudding!
Nepgear walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer to pull out the exact pudding Neptune ate that early morning. Why was it there? Well keeping things cryogenicly preserved at a low temperature allows it to be used in the long-run via reheating. Don't worry, I will put some vocabulary at the bottom of the page if you're unsure of what that means or anything else.
She took the Pudding back to the lab thing that for some reason was there in the basilicom and broke a piece of the pudding off the side. She placed it onto a glass spot plate and then into a cillinder like thing that she then filled with water and then added boiling chips. The steam created from the water in diffusion with the boiling chips was what she used to heat up the sample. Why does Nepgear know how to do this stuff that your probably thinking that I looked up how to do? Well one, I did have to look it up cuz I'm smart in the one field that schools don't teach which is astronomy, and two, plot convenience.
After about 10 minutes, Nepgear took the sample and placed it on the stage of the microscope for viewing.
"Hm?! What are those! Are they some sort of- Wait!" Nepgear took out her NGear and dialed up a friend.
"Compa?"
"Yessy? What do you need Ge-Ge?"
"Hold on just a sec, I didn't expect you to answer that quickly". Nepgear said as she patched into the Planeptune surveillance system. She back tracked it to last week and then watched for the place where Neptune would be.
"This is very important Compa".
"Um ok? I don't really get what's going on but what?" Nepgear saw as Neptune held her stomach a bit.
"Alright, that confirms it. Compa, can Crohns Disease be consumed orally? Like through food?"
"U-um.. I think so.. Why?"
"Well I'm onto what's happening with Neptune".
"Really Ge-Ge?! You sure are smart about that stuff".
"Thanks, I have one more question".
"Oh ok what?"
"Can certain diseases, if modified, mutate when in contact with CPU cells?"
"Oh! We learned that in med school I think!"
"Really?"
"But that was the course that failed me.. It was very complicated. But yes some types can if not tested beforehand".
"Ok thank you!" Nepgear hung up the NGear and then looked back at the spot plate.
"Right, last test then". She took a new syringe and drew some blood from her arm. She then put a drop of it onto the spot plate with the pudding sample to see.
Under the microscope, the pudding cells separated from the crohn cells which then latched themselves onto the red blood cells from Nepgear. The white blood cells which were present went to attack the hijacked red blood cells but slowed down and stopped before they got there. The liquid around them turned a yellowish colour which Nepgear understood what was going on.
So the virus inside Neptune is using a toxin to kill off her immune system. That is why she is so susceptible to sickness. But her personality change? That would most likely be from Gene therapy? Maybe. So as the virus came in contact with CPU cells, the energy caused the virus to start mutating at an extreme rate to which it became a single celled fortress. The fact Neptune has a low blood count would mean they have mutated to attack bone marrow..
Nepgear leaned back in her chair sighing in relief. She then looked at the clock. It had been about 2 hours since she started.
"Geez, time flew.. Don't worry Neptune, I will help you! I have this figure out!"
Chapter 3 End
Vocabulary:
Boiling Chips: tiny, unevenly shaped piece of substance added to liquids to make them boil more calmly.
Bone Marrow: soft, fatty, vascular tissue that fills most bone cavities and is the source of red blood cells and many white blood cells.
Genes: Basic biological hereditary units, consisting of DNA and located on chromosomes. Genes contain coded instructions that control how organisms and their descendants develop.
Gene therapy: The treatment of certain medical disorders, especially those caused by genetic anomalies or deficiencies, by introducing specific engineered genes into a patient's cells.
Red Blood Cells: A cell in the blood of vertebrates that transports oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the tissues.
Slide [Microscope]: a small flat rectangular piece of glass on which specimens can be mounted for microscopic study.
Stage [Microscope]: a small platform on a microscope where the specimen is mounted for examination.
White Blood Cells: Any of various nucleated blood cells that lack hemoglobin and function in the immune system to protect against agents of infection and foreign matter.
