Chapter Three: Unexpected Hospitality and Hostility.
() is Liam himself, [] is William, {} is Leo, and ([{}]) in any combination is multiple voices talking at once.
Liam opens his eyes to an unfamiliar room, but he didn't get the chance to look around before his body screams in pain at him. He's been in an uncomfortable position far too long. After shifting about on the couch he's on to take in the decor he gets comfortable enough to sleep. The room was light pink with dark red hearts on it, at one end of the room was an open kitchen. Next to the couch is a light brown coffee table with an unfamiliar white and purple console connected to the TV, sunlight streaming into the room from a pair of windows by the TV. Sitting up to look around some more, he hears a large amount of racket coming from down the hallway and begrudgingly stands to investigate it, sore from the beating he took before he fell.
(Any idea what that is or where we are?)
[In a House with some sort of large animal or animals.]
{Really, and I thought we were in a cave.}
(Shut up both of you.)
Finishing that mental thought, he recognized a sarcastic yet cheerful voice in the other room as Neptune along with another, more ditsy voice. Immediately, he decided that what they were doing in there was likely private and/or embarrassing, and looked for something to eat. His stomach growled with a ferocity that outclassed that of a honey badger.
{So the first thing you do in a strangers house is steal their food? How polite.} (Hey, I'm hungry and grumpy, I need it.) {Well can you at least ask before digging through someone's cupboards?} Liam turned over a can of… something.
(Hell, if you want to barge in on someone else's privacy, you do you. I'm not risking it.)
[*sigh*]
A few minutes later he gave up his search, he couldn't read the language the cans and cartons of food had on them and didn't want to risk eating something expired. Defeated, he laid back down on the couch, head on the armrest as his legs hung off the couch at his knees as Neptune and her companion walked out of their room and into the living room. Pretending to still be asleep, he looked at the other lady in the room through squinted eyes. She was wearing a cream colored sweater that covered up everything but parts of the shoulders and her neck, a red plaid skirt that barely hid the private bits, and strawberry blonde hair that went to about the middle of her back. She was taller than Neptune, but was a great deal shorter than Liam.
(Is it just me, or am I taller?) [Am I the only one who noticed how big her boobs are?] William interjected, forcing Liam to take a sneaky glance at the newcomer's chest. (Holy shit. Look at those fucking things.) {Oh for the love of…}
"I can't believe mister stranger is still sleeping." The girl said in a ditzy voice, snapping the perv back to the now. (Wait, mister stranger?)
"Wait! I know him! He was in my dream before I woke up!" Neptune pointed at him, "You know him? Does he make you remember anything?" Neptune closed her eyes with an intense look of concentration on her face.
[Remember? The hell does she mean?] {I think Neptune has amnesia.} (How do you know that?) {Plot convenience and magic.} [What does Liam has to do with it?] {I don't know.} (Bull…)
Neptune stood there while Liam was thinking to himself before replying. "Nope, I don't remember him and he did say he would have recognized me if we meet before."
"Unless," Liam raised his finger in objection. "purple's a popular hair color." earning a yelp of surprise from both of the girls as a reward for being so quiet. He sat up properly "My name's Enderson, Liam Enderson. What's yours, love?"
"My name is Compa, nice to meet you mister Liam." The girl named Compa answered. "Just Liam is fine." He waved off the title as quickly as he politely could, "Quick and random question, what did you do to my stuff?" Compa cocked her head quizzically while Neptune rocked back and forth on her feet while quietly humming something.
"The staff and the guitar." Liam added, now worried about the condition of his guitar. "Oh! That stuff? There in the first room on the right." Compa directed him to said room.
"Thanks." Entering the room he sees his guitar and his staff unharmed, next to a ridiculously oversized syringe filled with a light purplish-pink liquid, decorated with star stickers.
(Fucking hell that's a big needle.) {She could use that as a weapon.} Liam shivered, imagining what it would feel like to be stabbed by such a weapon. Unpleasant would be a kind way to put it. He grabbed his guitar and staff and returned to the living room before it came alive and stabbed him. Neptune and Compa were eating pudding on the couch and discussing what to do about Neptune's lack of memories.
"Hey Li-Li, you want to help us recover my memories?" Neptune piped up in between mouthfuls of pudding. "Sure, don't have anything else to do," Liam answered while grabbing a pudding for himself. "What are we doing?"
"We're going to go to the place I found you two at." Compa responded more.
"Picked us up huh? So you pick up people often then?" Liam chuckled jokingly, making Neptune nearly choke on her pudding.
"Well, I am a nurse. Well, nurse in training, but it's only natural to help people in need." Compa replied sweetly, unaware of the implied innuendo. Liam almost felt guilty.
"Well let me set my extra stuff down and I'll be with you shortly."
{Waitwaitwait, what? You're just gonna ignore that?!} (Ignore what?)
{Neptune calling you Li-Li!}
(I mean, I don't mind. If it sticks it sticks if not then, oh well.)
…
…
…
The group exited Compa's house and begin walking through a huge, sci-fi utopia of a city. Glass towers shining in the midday sun as people walked through the unexpectedly sparse streets of… "Hey what the name of this city is this again?" Liam asked, looking at all of the people. Most of which were female.
"This is Planeptune, the land of purple progress, and home to the goddess Purple Heart." Compa answered. "I lived here my whooole life." She turned around and extended her arms out in emphasis.
"Huh." The only guy for what seemed like miles looked at the city around him. He pinched himself on the arm to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. Then, he noticed that Neptune, the self proclaimed leader, was gone.
"Hey, guys look what I found!" The girl in question yelled from a nearby alleyway holding a wooden sword. "It's a wooden katana I found for a weapon."
"Do we really need Weaponry?" Liam inquired, rather stupidly even in his own mind. {Says the guy with a magic staff.} (Hush, I know, I'm an idiot.) [Didn't I talk about earlier?]
"Well yeah. We are in a game about fighting and grinding." Neptune proves his point further.
"Good thing I have me good old magic staff." He pokes at the gem at the tip of the staff. It's glow shifted somewhat on contact before returning to it's normal four colors.
"Wait, before we get into a battle or anything, do you know any spells for that thing?"
(Do I?) [Do You?] {You do.} ([Since when?]) {Since you picked the thing up.} [That makes no sense.] (Makes sense to me.) {You could just hit them over the head with it.} [Sounds like fun!]
"Yes, yes I do," Liam answered with a bit too much confidence.
"Ooooo, what are they? Can you summon beasts from beyond the fourth wall? No wait! Characters from other fanfictions?!" Neptune gaped at him with child like excitement.
"You'll see," Liam replied with a cocky grin.
(Please tell me I can do that.) {No, no you can't. Your move are pretty box standard.}
(The hell can I do then?) {Basic ranged attacks and two special attacks.}
… (Go on then, what are they?) {Well first off you have Element Change, it changes your primary element to Fire, Ice, Wind, or Electricity. That one isn't all that special.}[Elemental damage is a thing?]
{It is. Second is the Super-charged Attack were you launch an exceptionally powerful attack at a single target, and finally there is the AOE Attack, you fire an attack that can hit multiple targets at once. It's pretty self-explanatory.} [AOE means "area of effect" right?] (Yep.)
While Liam was pondering, the trio arrived at a forest or nature reserve just outside of the city, the trees had odd metal rings floating around them. The sun was shining between a hole in the canopy. Liam whistles at the site. "Been to my fair share of parks in my time, but this… is really just cool." He grabbed onto a nearby ring and span it around. It moved for a few seconds before stopping. Suddenly, a blue dog faced blob bounces out of the woods and towards the group, a goofy smile adorning its face.
"The fuck is that… thing?" Liam points at the bouncing blobby thing, conflicted between calling it cute or ridiculous.
"That's a dogoo, one of many monsters that started appearing on Gamindustri in the past few years." Information Compa informed as the dogoo bounced closer, ominously.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's either kill it, or go around." Liam started, as five more dogoos appear from behind the nearby trees to surround them.
"Uh oh, more of them!" Compa took a step back.
"Looks like I don't have a choice do I? Very well, let's go." Liam sighed and lazily held his staff to the side.
-Combat Start-
Three of the six blobs bounced over to Liam before readying up to pounce. As they did, the gem on the end of his staff turned red as fire flew from his fingertips at the dogoo in front of him. Leaving it as a screaming pile of caramelizing slime. "Bloody Hell he 'ad one heck of a final word." Liam uncovered his ears. Immediately after which, he was bombarded by the two remaining slimes.
Neptune used the distraction to her advantage and pummeled the dogoo that had bounced out originally, "I'll Nep them all up!" Once she was done with him she lunged at the other nearest target.
Compa was holding her own against the remaining pair with her syringe. Which Liam could swear she didn't have it with her. She kept them off by firing the sharp tip of the syringe, and by simply beating them over the head with it when they got too close.
As the two dogoos paused their attack, Liam stood up eyes blazing with rage. "Why you little shit!" He dramatically jammed the red gem of his staff into the slime, who started to glow red with the gem. "Oh no…" the blob exploded in a decent sized fireball, with chunks of slime flying all over the forest floor. Landing on his still sore back, Liam turned his head to last foe. Who, seeing the technique of his fellows demise, ran off into the woods. The only survivor of the battle as the girls finished off their respective targets.
-Combat End-
"Looks like I gotta be more careful next time." Liam took a victory pose as a gingle signaled a level up. "That… was messy." He turned to the girls, who also leveled up. "Yet fun." He walked the short distance them.
"Hey, I leveled up!" Neptune states, as if it wasn't scripted.
"I leveled up to!"
"Looks like it's even all round." Liam picks some jelly off his sweatshirt, his first instinct was to eat it but he decided otherwise. He continued on the path and the others followed. About a hour later, the group arrives at a pair of massive craters, no farther than a couple of feet away from each other.
"Nep-Nep does this remind you of anything?"
"Hmm…"
As Neptune was thinking, Liam mind wandered.
(How the hell did I survive that fall?) [It explains the soreness, but it only brings up more questions.] {You're Welcome.}
([For what?]) {Saving your lives of course.}
[That was you?]
{Why Yes it was. Come now, you don't really think you can survive that fall.} (I should feel insulted, but I don't really care.)
"Nope still nothing,"
Liam saw a small blue object in a crater and jumped in to grab it.
"Liam! What are you doing!" The girls shouted before jumping in after him.
"Aha, got it!" Liam exclaimed as he excavated a blue water bottle from the dirt, holding it in the air like it was made of gold.
"Found you, you little shit."
[All That for a bottle of water. Really?] (Flavored water. It hit me on the head so it's probably important.)
{Actually, that's Nep-bull VII.}
[That does not help! That does not help at all!]
Before Liam could explain why he was so excited the ground beneath them cracked open and collapsed into a cave system below. Liam fell unconscious when his head hit a rock on the way down. Surprisingly, it hit the same location as White Heart's axe did.
(Ouch, that hurt. Wait. Am I dead?)
[{No.}]
(Ok good.)
[Hey where are we?]
{Underground.} (Damn it you beat me to it.)
…
…
…
(Hey, is it just me or is the ground shaking again?)
[No I noticed that. What the hell?]
{Maybe a goddess is fighting a giant spider monster.}
(That happening isn't it.)
{Maybe.}
[Damn it man it's a yes or no question!]
{Fine fine. Yes it might be.} [You son of a bitch!]
(Shut up both of you! We need to get up!)
Liam awoke to a sight he wouldn't like waking up to again. He saw the back of Purple Heart defending him from a horrific cross between a man and spider, with a giant sword in one hand and Compa in another.
(You know. I'd prefer to be unconscious right now.)
[Get up and fight the damn thing before Compa gets killed.] {For once I agree with him.}
(I never said I wasn't gonna fight it.)
[{Good.}]
Liam lifts himself up with his staff and prepares to fight the abomination.
-Mini-Boss Battle Start-
"I'm going to regret this…"
Purple Heart immediately engaged in close combat with the spider-beast, forcing it back before sending it careening into the ceiling of the cave and smashing it back to the ground.
"Ah, Cross Combination, right." Liam weighed his attack options before deciding that ice is the best option to start, and pulls his staff back to charge. The air behind him grew colder.
"Now, chill!" Swinging his staff like a sword, he sends a giant icicle careening at the monsters chest. It exploded on impact and caused it to recoil in pain.
[One liners, really?] (Hey, I thought it was cool.) [Oh for the love of-]
The spider lifted its blade up and cleaved the rock next to Liam, who fell face first in the ground to avoid the attack. (I was almost half the man I used to be…)
"Ohh… 'ere we go!" With an unexpectedly nimble jump, he flipped back to his feet and shot a smaller and less effective shard of ice at the assailant as Purple Heart finished another combo in its side with a backflip.
[Different element?] (Done!)
Purple Heart drew its attention from him, and evaded its attacks with ease as the wind picked up. Liam drew his staff back again, and with a few swings sent three green slash waves made of the elemental energy of air in the monsters direction. While they didn't cut it like what he initially expected, they did still have a decent effect.
"I'm sure that… uh… shit I don't have a line for this one."
[Blew you away?] (No, to much of a low hanging fruit.)
Sparks flew of his weapon as the wall of the cave suddenly developed a giant sword gash as Purple Heart flew overhead, and with another swing of the staff sent a thunderbolt back at the sword arms of the spider-guard, who fell to its knees. "I know your shocked by my superior aim, but please, have some respect." It collapses, and Compa crawls out of it's grip.
-Mini-Boss Battle End-
Liam falls on his knees, that last attack took more out of him than he thought.
"Fuck. Giant. Spider. Monsters." He gives the corpse the finger as the crystal on his staff glows idle. "Compa, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine. You two were really cool!" Compa responded, prompting Liam to look for Purple Heart as a flash of light appeared behind him. When it faded, Neptune was standing there just as exhausted as he was. Liam tries to process what just happened.
"Man, that was tiring." Neptune turned to him. "Those attacks of yours was really cool!"
"Thanks, made them myself." Liam said, hoping she didn't hear his stupid little puns.
"Li-Li! Did you know Nep-Nep can transform!" Compa yell echoes through the cave system. "Yeah, I noticed. Neato." Liam responded with a thumbs up as the spider monster got back up again.
"It's alive!" The three yelled before scrambling back through the cave system and all the way back to Compa's house.
"Why. The Hell. Did that thing. Not die!" Liam panted, frustrated and tired. "It took three different special attacks two of which were mine and still didn't die!" He laid down on the couch, angry with the durability of spiders and the apparent ineffectiveness of his special attacks. After a minute or so of silence, he nearly dozed off when he noticed a small crystal shard on his sweatshirt. "The heck is this thing?" It flickered to life as a familiar voice answered.
"This is a part of the first key fragment."
"Oh hey, hi Histy." Neptune replied.
"Is the crystal the Histy you were talking about Nep-Nep?"
"Yes, I am Histoire, a tome, but I cannot communicate for long for the shard's power is waning. Liam and Neptune, this is only half of the Planeptune key fragment. I regrettably do not know the location of the other half, but I believe it's in the same place or near where you got the first piece." Liam assumes the piece of the fragment was picked up by accident when he almost got split in two by a giant sword, or when said sword cleaved into the wall.
"Okay, so when we find the rest of the fragments, then what?" Liam wondered aloud.
"I shall inform you when the ti-" Histoire's connection was cut off when the shard lost its power.
"Damn it. Well…" Liam focuses on what to do, "I think we should go back the day after tomorrow. I think we all need some rest after today and we can get to know each other better as well."
"I like it!" Neptune replied.
"Yessy." Compa replied as well.
([Yessy?])
{Don't-(Question it got it.)
[We're not going to question much are we.]
{Not if you like being confused.}
(Got it.)
…
…
…
That's the end of this chapter I hope you enjoyed.