Tune 6: Rider Kick
B-Sha ran down a dark alleyway taking deep breaths as she did. She looked around to see nothing but solid brick walls all around her, then turned around to see a large monster, about twice her size, with shells as armor and a long tongue approach her.
"Why are you running?" The monster asked in a deep voice. "What's the matter? I just want to give my payment."
B-Sha looked at her wrist to see her cracked watch then gulped as she held up her arms in a fighting stance.
"Back off! Go away! I don't want it anymore!" B-Sha yelled.
"Well I believe every good deed deserves a reward." The monster said while licking its lips. "I promise you this will be very rewarding."
B-Sha grinded her teeth and shivered as she backed away into a corner, then closed her eyes and punched at the monster. It grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her closer.
"Help! Someone please help me!" B-Sha screamed.
The monster's tongue then wrapped itself around B-Sha's head and mouth as it laughed at her. B-Sha's hands were on the tongue and she struggled, attempting to pull it off. The tongue began to touch B-Sha's mouth as she tried to scream again.
B-Sha woke up in a bed. She found herself pushing into it and she blinked for a bit. She then made an angry expression and pounded the bed with her fist and covered her face with a pillow.
"Augh! Why can't I just… why is it so hard to move on?" B-Sha asked herself.
She threw the pillow aside and looked at the ceiling with a disappointed expression. She sighed again, then climbed out of bed and out of the room.
In Compa's brightly colored apartment she saw Compa and Comp cooking in the kitchen while IF and Iffy were at the table, staring at some holographic files and sheets.
"Good morning sleepy head!" Compa said with a bright smile. "Hmm? Are you okay Bee-Bee?"
"Yeah… just nightmares." B-Sha said.
"Something about some girls named Uzume and Kurome." IF said. "If we could have proper sleep for once that would be great…"
"Mhm… tell me about it. Where's Neptune?"
"Nep-Nep went out to see something." Compa said. "She said… something about posters?"
"Neptwo said she felt a strange spike in shares so she went to find out what's going on." Iffy said.
"Yeah, I saw posters of Purple Heart on the internet so I figured that was what it was." IF said.
"I see…" B-Sha replied.
B-Sha took a seat at the table and looked down at her red gloves. She looked at her watch, stared at the wallpaper of her and Charlie in presto masks, and took a deep breath.
"So, what'cha looking at now?" B-Sha asked with a forced smile.
"Just getting a read on that Frontier guy and Mobius Corps." IF said. "Surface level searches just show a normal business but obviously everyone has their secrets."
"Can I help in any way?"
"You can help by shutting your mouth." Iffy said quietly.
IF lightly tapped Iffy with the back of her hand.
"Hey, what did I say about being that rude? Especially to strangers." IF asked. "But… sorry B. Unless you can contact someone that knows about Mobius Corps, I don't think you can help much."
"You're usually my go to girl for information." B-Sha replied.
"Mhmm. Nep should be back soon and we can go out and actually do something when she gets back."
B-Sha nodded, then sighed and looked up at the ceiling. She got up and walked over to the window that was across from the pink couch and held her watch to her mouth. She tapped on a few buttons then took a deep breath.
"Good morning Presto Mask!" Charlie's voice answered. "A brawl is surely brewing!"
"Heh, good morning Presto Kid!" B-Sha replied. "How are things on your half?"
"We met Iris, she's pretty cool but everyone's scared of her so I don't think you'll meet her unless it's an emergency. Speaking of emergencies, Iris and I are basically back up so call us if you're in trouble."
"Who's Iris?"
"A goddess? Hold on let me ask."
After a moment of silence Charlie's voice came back to the watch.
"Yup, she says she was born like a goddess so that probably means she is one. I like her, she's really cool and strong, but as I said earlier she has some fear passive or something."
"Fear passive? Is that bad?"
"Really bad, like she's not allowed to show her face in public bad."
"Alright, how about villains Presto Kid?"
"Oh right, we took out some criminals yesterday!"
"Great work! Keep it up, I'll let you know of our plans if we need your help."
"Got it. I'll get ready for school."
"Oh yeah. That exists."
B-Sha and Charlie chuckle a little before saying goodbye and ending the call. B-Sha turned around to see Neptune burst into the room slamming the door open.
"Compa! I'm hooome!" Neptune called out happily.
"Welcome back Nep-Nep!" Compa said with a smile.
"Hey Nep, what did ya find?" IF asked.
"Check this out!" Neptune said.
Neptune walked over and placed a large poster on the table. Purple Heart was drawn on the front in a heroic pose with the words "To feel safe again at night, Purple Heart is here." printed at the bottom.
"Hmm? "To feel safe again at night."?" IF asked. "Who made this?"
Compa shifted the poster around and everyone looked around it.
"Hey I know that symbol." IF pointed out.
"Mobius Corps…" Iffy said quietly.
"Mr. Frontier? Uh, that guy told me that we're gonna fight next time we meet soooo why would he be helping me?" Neptune asked. "Is he a maso? Does he enjoy a challenge?"
"There's gotta be an actual reason." IF said.
"Uhm… well, to feel safe at night…" Compa started. "Does it have to do something with monsters?"
"Right, it might be." IF said. "The monsters have been making more people scared from what I know."
"You got that right." B-Sha said. "That's why Presto Kid and- I- I mean I've just been doing some other…. Bah whatever you all know already yeah that's why I go out with Presto Kid."
"They tryina make me look racist or somethin hmm?" Neptune asked with an aggravated expression.
"But why would they try to make you into a heroic figure instead of… I dunno, rumors?" IF asked.
"Well you know what I think is the best way of getting answers?" Neptune asked.
"What is it Nep-Nep?" Comp asked.
"I think we should go up and ask! Where are they located?"
"Well… I mean I guess that would give us at least something whether they lie or not." IF said.
"Exactly! So let's get going!"
IF shrugged and picked her jacket off the coat hanger.
"I'll lead the way, let's get going." IF said.
The rest of the group nodded and followed IF and Neptune out the door. They walked out of the apartment building and back onto the white and purple streets of Planeptune.
"Their main building should be that way." IF said pointing at a direction.
"Alright, transform!" Neptune yelled.
A light engulfed Neptune and Purple Heart unsummoned the purple katana in her hand.
"Stay close, we will fast travel to the location. Let me see the map IF." Purple Heart said.
"Huh? Oh uh, sure? Fast travel?" IF asked.
Purple Heart stared at the map, then a platform was created at the feet of the group.
"Don't be scared." Purple Heart said.
The group flew up into the sky and they all screamed as they looked down. They saw Planeptune underneath them as Purple Heart flew through the sky and onto the pinpointed building IF had on the map.
The building was tall and made of glass with purple outlines. On the doors were many posters of Purple Heart that the group had seen earlier. She looked at the group to see them stumble around and hold onto walls and street lamps, covering their mouths while doing so.
"Ugh… the heck was that Nep?!" IF asked.
"As I said, Fast travel. Actually, long ago it was Compa's recommendation. A useful upgrade, and thankfully I had enough shares to access it." Purple Heart said while her wings disappeared.
"Did- did I have to be so fast?" B-Sha asked. "Couldn't it be slow travel or something?"
"What would be the point? All goddesses have it. Actually, I'm surprised you were so strongly affected, Iffy." Purple Heart commented.
"Huh me? Why? I'm a biker not a pilot."
"Do you remember how we mentioned you were married to Vert? Lady Green Heart? I imagined that you would have been used to fast travel."
"It's been six years since you all disappeared right?" IF asked. "Six years Nep, gimme a break. Well anyway, we're here."
The group looked at the glass doors at the building, but suddenly an old woman walked over to Purple Heart with a happy expression.
"Excuse me young lady, may I have a moment of your time?" The woman asked.
"Oh? Of course ma'am." Purple Heart said.
"Thank you very much for your service to Planeptune." The woman said with a smile. "I have a big family living fairly close to the borders and I'm always afraid that monsters may come in and do something horrible to them! It makes me feel so much safer knowing that someone like you is protecting us."
"Oh… you're welcome. I will protect as best as I am able to."
"Mhm, take it easy on the poor monsters will you? A painless death if you can."
"I- Pardon me, but could you repeat the last sentence?" Purple Heart asked.
"A painless death if you can?" The woman asked with a curious expression.
Purple Heart glanced at IF who sighed.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but you may have been misinformed." Purple Heart said. "I do intend to protect Planeptune, however I don't want to kill any monsters. At least… no, nobody else has to die."
"You don't want to kill any monsters?" The woman asked. "Oh… oh dear."
"Is something the matter?"
"Well… I have a family at the border of Planeptune and I'm scared that they might be attacked. And if you won't kill monsters… oh, we don't have enough money to move to a safer place."
"I will stop monster attacks ma'am, there is nothing to fear." Purple Heart said. "But you have to understand, they must be treated fairly. Like any other criminals, they must be judged accordingly."
"I'm just afraid that… when a situation happens you wouldn't be able to kill the monster, and someone in my family may die instead."
Purple Heart and B-Sha stared at the woman. Purple Heart sighed, then placed her hand over her heart.
"I promise that I will do everything I can to protect your family." Purple Heart said. "Even for my own life, I will protect Planeptune."
The woman nodded and sighed herself.
"I will believe you." The woman said.
The woman left and Purple Heart continued to stare at her hand. She sighed, shook her head, and turned back towards the glass door.
"Priorities Nep, let's get this job done right." IF said.
"Right, of course Iffy."
The group slowly walked into the building and looked in front of them to see an empty receptionist desk. Purple Heart looked around, then looked down at the red carpet on the floor.
"Iffy, where is the receptionist?" Compa asked.
"Keep the kids behind you Compa." IF said.
"*Ahem* I-"
"One second!" Darince's voice interrupted.
Purple Heart blinked, then looked at the group. She looked back to see the walls behind the half-circle desk slowly shift up revealing red curtains and a shadowy silhouette of Darince combing her long hair and looking into a hand held mirror. Eventually, she tossed the mirror aside and the curtains were lifted up revealing a large number of chained monsters inside numerous cages with Darince in front with an opened arm position.
"Welcome my lady!" Darince introduced. "You already know this, but I am Darince! Mr. Frontier's chief assistant manager and his dearest wife! How can I help you?"
Purple Heart looked down to see Darince wearing a large red coat and red pants along with a golden crown and necklace.
"Yeah… you can't keep monsters that big or dangerous inside Planeptune walls." IF said.
"I know, but what are you going to do about it? Arrest me?" Darince asked.
"Uh, yeah. Hands in the air."
IF flicked out her black blades and Purple Heart placed her hand in front of IF.
"Hold it." Purple Heart said. "Darince, what is the point of the posters?"
"The posters? Oh, just a thank you note for everything you've done for us."
"You are aware that I have no intentions of killing anything, yes?"
"Yes, but there's nothing a little bit of peer pressure can't fix."
"Is that so? In that case, is it fair to assume that you won't be changing the posters, nor freeing the monsters behind you without force?"
"That's fair, yes."
Purple Heart sighed, then summoned her katana in her hands and quickly glanced all around the room.
"We could have reached an agreement that satisfied both parties." Purple Heart said.
"Probably, but I do whatever Mr. Frontier says and he says no." Darince responded.
Purple Heart looked down for a second before refocusing and glancing at the group behind her.
"Tank." Purple Heart said.
"Healer!" Compa announced.
"Damage." B-Sha said summoning her bazooka.
"Support." IF said.
Iffy positioned herself by IF's side and Comp crawled up on Compa's shoulders. Darince pressed on a hand held button from her pocket and all the cages opened releasing the monsters.
The first monster charged at Purple Heart speedily across the floor on it's one tire. The tire was attached to it's round body that had 4 sharp blades as arms and a large mouth in the middle of the body. Purple Heart quickly began deflecting the blades as B-Sha paralyzed it and Purple Heart kicked it aside.
IF looked at a large turquoise humanoid figure crawl forward with it's bottom tarantula-like body and slimy upper body with dozens of snakes covering it's arms and head. She tossed a smoke bomb and dashed backwards while Compa tossed a small potion into the smoke. They heard a bottle smash and a scream could be heard from within the smoke.
"Did you just-"
"I- I'm sorry Iffy!" Compa said. "I- I was used to fighting like normal…"
"*Sigh* come on people, no deaths or unnecessary harm." IF said.
"That's kind of hard when we can't exactly communicate…" B-Sha complained as she took aim.
Purple Heart was quickly maneuvering her katana with her arms, feinting slashes at a large rough squid like creature with cracked dirt and dust as skin as opposed to mucus and she kept her eyes on a pure red humanoid, muscular monster who snarled and hissed at Purple Heart's direction.
Purple Heart stared, then noticed a collar on the monster's neck. She faked a thrust at the squid monster who shifted backwards a bit, then was paralyzed and twitched violently. Purple Heart saw the red monster leap at her so she dodged to her left and stood beside B-Sha who aimed at the large snake monster.
IF dodged and repeatedly dashed backwards while the snakes extended and bit at her. She took a deep breath as Compa stepped forward and tossed another potion at the monster. The monster shrugged off the glass, but looked down and saw crust and solids beginning to form on it's skin. It waved its arms around dropping as much of the substance off as possible while B-Sha shot and paralyzed it. B-Sha took a deep breath, then looked to her side to see Purple Heart shoulder back against the red monster, knocking it to the floor. Her invisible barrier shined from the impact and she pointed her katana at the monster.
B-Sha fired at the monster who quickly crawled and leaped away, dodging the shot then it snarled at B-Sha who fired again and missed again.
"I need a clear shot." B-Sha said.
"Understood." Purple Heart replied, dropping her katana.
She unsummoned her wings and ran towards the monster who swung it's arm at Purple Heart but she blocked the blunt force with her left arm, nearly breaking her barrier, and jabbing at the monster's face.
The monster hissed and leaned forward to bite at Purple Heart but she uppercutted the monster's jaw, then ducked under the monster's other arm and punched at the torso.
Unphased by the hits, it swung it's arms again at Purple Heart who dashed back, then dashed forward punching the elbow of the monster's arm coming back.
The monster cried out as Purple Heart quickly moved behind it and locked her arms around it's shoulders similarly to a harness. The monster growled, hissed, and thrashed about as Purple Heart held its arms back tightly
"Fire!" Purple Heart commanded.
B-Sha pulled the trigger just as Purple Heart released her grip causing the red monster to be paralyzed and fall to the ground. Purple Heart took a deep breath, then quickly turned to where Darince stood resummoning her katana.
"Good game," Darince started holding up another button with a smile. "And goodbye."
Purple Heart's eyes grew wide open as she heard a quick beeping noise. She quickly turned around and dove towards the group, holding B-Sha in her arms and knocking into IF and Iffy. Large explosions came from the monsters and the group fell out of the building.
B-Sha groaned, then looked down at her chest to see Purple Heart coughing into her arm with a shattered barrier. Purple Heart groaned as she pushed herself up to her feet and B-Sha noticed burn marks and holes on her back. Her suit slowly began to regenerate from pixels as B-Sha stood up.
"I- I'm sorry I-"
"Don't be sorry, no one could have known." Purple Heart said.
Purple Heart stepped towards IF who groaned and looked by her side. She saw Compa on the floor unconscious covered in burn marks from head to toe.
"Compa!" IF called out.
IF shook Compa and Iffy stood by her, then looked around.
"Where is the other one?!" Iffy asked. "Where?!"
Iffy looked around, then saw Comp more closer to the building and Iffy quickly ran to her side. Purple Heart grunted, then followed Iffy and carried Comp in her arms.
She looked at IF who began pouring Nepbull into Compa's mouth and looked at Comp.
"Give me her! Bring her to me now!" IF yelled.
Purple Heart stared in shock for a split second before quickly putting Comp in IF's arms. She poured more Nepbull into Comp's mouth and grinded her teeth as she summoned more. Purple Heart looked up at the building to see glass cracking and she heard large metal beams being broken.
"IF, we must bring them to a safe distance. Quickly, now." Purple Heart said.
"Yeah… yeah okay let's go."
IF stood up with Comp in her arms and ran down the street while Purple Heart carried Compa and followed closely behind. B-Sha ran by Purple Heart and saw her limping occasionally and taking deep breaths.
"I'll carry her!" B-Sha said.
"Are- are you sure?" Purple Heart asked.
"Yes, I'll do it."
Purple Heart stopped, then nodded in between breaths and carefully handed Compa into B-Sha's arms. B-Sha slowly held Compa properly and looked down to see her scratches on one of her cheeks. B-Sha took small sharp breaths as she shook her head and looked forward following IF and Iffy.
The group stopped as Purple Heart looked behind her to see the building falling down. Around them, people quickly came to their side while others stared at the building falling.
"What's happening? What happened?" Someone asked.
"A monster attack?"
"Are they alright? Did they drink enough healing items already?"
"Is that Purple Heart? From the posters?"
"It's Presto Mask too, are we safe? I think we're safe here."
Purple Heart's deep breaths began to slow down, but then she felt her wrist vibrating. She held her cuff to her mouth and sighed.
"Purple Heart reporting. What are your commands Histoire?" Purple Heart asked.
"Oh dear… has the situation become dire? If you are busy, I can forward this to Iris Heart and Charlie."
"Iris… Iris Heart…"
Purple Heart looked at B-Sha who quickly shook her head and Purple Heart sighed.
"No Histoire, simply exhausting." Purple Heart said. "Only a few items away from full power."
"In that case, a monster had been reported to attack the south border, perhaps in pursuit of another steal crystal. Details are unknown, what is known is that strangely, innocent civilians are fighting back. Protect them."
"I understand." Purple Heart replied.
Purple Heart's cuff closed as she sighed and took a deep breath. She looked at B-Sha who stared back at her, then looked at IF who stared down at Compa.
"Go Nep, we both have work to do." IF said.
Purple Heart nodded and held B-Sha's hand. The platform appeared underneath the two of them and they flew into the sky, then down at an apartment building. Once they landed and the platform disappeared, Purple Heart stumbled forward and ran into an alleyway where she leaned against the wall and took more deep breaths. B-Sha quickly ran over and looked at Purple Heart chugging drinks down.
"B-Sha- I- I apologize." Purple Heart said. "I underestimated the amount of shares I had, perhaps too excited over… over having shares at all again. If you wait a few seconds I will-"
"Take a few minutes, I'll handle this." B-Sha said confidently.
"Are… are you sure?"
"Of course, I'm Presto Mask!" B-Sha said, pulling her mask out of her pocket. "I've been doing this for years, take a break."
Purple Heart stared at B-Sha, then nodded and sat down on the floor.
"Then I'll join you as soon as I'm ready." Purple Heart said.
B-Sha nodded and quickly ran down the street whipping up her map. Purple Heart sent her map to an icon of B-Sha, then took a long deep breath. A bright white light came out from her body and Neptune groaned while leaning on the wall.
"Geez, work is tough today…" Neptune said.
She looked to her left and up at the tall apartment building she landed in front of earlier.
"Ambi's place huh?" Neptune asked. "Wonder if I'll find an item or something in there… no, wait, B-Sha first. Right, it's big girl stuff now. Let's get going! I-"
Neptune began to get up, then fell right back down. She held her head and her back as she did and rubbed them.
"ACK! Okay okay, a bit… time out for a bit." Neptune said.
Neptune took a deep breath, then leaned on the wall again. Resting her head and body for a moment.
Meanwhile B-Sha approached a small crowd of people surrounding a large monster at the gate. The monster was a large crocodile-like lizard on all fours, growling and hissing at the people who carried kitchen knives and makeshift weapons usually with a baseball bat or a hockey stick as the base.
"Presto Mask!" A person called out. "Thank goodness you're here."
"Yes, no worries citizens! I'll handle this, take a few steps back!"
B-Sha stepped forward towards the lizard while gulping and summoning her bazooka. The small crowd began to step away from B-Sha as the lizard snarled at B-Sha. It looked at the bazooka, then began to back away a bit more.
"It understands? Then maybe it'll understand this." B-Sha said to herself.
B-Sha held the trigger slightly creating the low humming sound while being careful not to fire off a shot. The lizard began to back away more, away towards the open gates and B-Sha took a deep breath.
"Good! Just a bit more and-"
Behind her she heard a small clinking sound and she looked down to see a small red crystal roll in between her feet. She looked down and blinked at the crystal.
"Huh?" B-Sha asked.
Before she could turn around, then lizard roared and leaped at B-Sha who panicked and fired her shot. The short laser blast missed the lizard and cut a hole in the gate as B-Sha stumbled backwards while the lizard slammed down in front of the crystal.
"AAH!" B-Sha screamed.
"Presto Mask!" Someone called out.
The lizard roared and picked up the crystal in it's mouth, then began to grow quickly in size, shedding a large amount of skin. It grew to the size of a house and it roared at B-Sha who stared at it in shock.
B-Sha quickly picked up her bazooka and turned a knob, but the lizard swung it's arm, slapping B-Sha into the stairs of a nearby house. She groaned as she held parts of her body, then looked at the people running away and the lizard stomping around. One person tripped on the street and looked behind them to see the lizard opening its mouth and coming closer.
"AAHHHH!" The person screamed.
"No! Wait!" B-Sha yelled.
B-Sha pulled the trigger causing the lizard to be paralyzed, however the lizard's head fell down onto the person crushing them. B-Sha's eyes grew wider once she heard the sound of a crunch and she quickly turned the knob on her bazooka and aimed it at the lizard.
"DIE!" B-Sha screamed.
B-Sha fired a laser through the lizard's head and it slowly turned into experience. B-Sha took deep breaths as she lowered her bazooka slowly and turned to stare down at the corpse on the street. Tears formed in her eyes and she covered them with her arm. She began to cry as a few people who didn't run very far looked at B-Sha.
"She… she killed it." One person said.
"I've never seen her kill before. Although… I've never seen a monster that big before."
"Can- can we res the person that died? Quick!"
Two people ran to the corpse and another ran to B-Sha. B-Sha began to cry louder as the two people at the corpse stared down at it.
"The heart… bones, brain, organs, we- there's no point in using a revive." A person said.
"Man… shit."
B-Sha dropped her bazooka and covered her face with both of her hands. The person reached his hand out to B-Sha, but pulled it back and sighed.
"I- I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" B-Sha cried out.
A police car drove in and an officer quickly came out and ran into the scene.
"What happened? What's going on?" An officer asked.
As the two people beside the corpse explained to the officer, Neptune ran over to B-Sha and transformed while running. Purple Heart stood by B-Sha and looked at the corpse.
"B- Presto Mask?" Purple Heart asked.
B-Sha sniffed and took a moment to wipe her face from tears before looking at Purple Heart. Purple Heart saw the wet mask in B-Sha's hands and her teary eyes. Purple Heart looked at the corpse again, then looked down and took a deep breath.
"B-Sha-"
"They- they would be alive right now if- if I- I didn't… if I just killed!" B-Sha shouted.
"Did you kill them B-Sha?" Purple Heart asked.
"No- no, but they would be alive!" B-Sha said. "I could have saved them, what's the point of- of being a hero if nobody lives?!"
B-Sha crumpled her mask in her hand and covered her eyes with her arms again. Purple Heart unsummoned her gauntlet revealing gloves and she reached out to B-Sha but she batted Purple Heart's arm away and looked at her.
"I'll be fine!" B-Sha shouted. "Give me- gimme just a minute! I'm fine! I don't need it, I… I'm sorry for yelling at you but leave me alone. For now."
Purple Heart blinked at B-Sha, then sighed again as she resummoned her gauntlet. The officer walked over to the two of them and looked at B-Sha.
"Are you… her new partner?" The officer asked.
"Something like that. Although… perhaps it would have been better if Presto Kid was here instead of me." Purple Heart said.
The officer nodded, wrote more down on a notebook, then walked back towards the corpse. Purple Heart looked over to see people in uniforms covering the body with a white sheet and saw a number of people crying to each other. Purple Heart closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at the tall apartment building a bit of distance away from them.
"B-Sha." Purple Heart started. "There is a better place nearby to be if you need rest. I'm sorry this had to happen, but perhaps you could heal better in a more comfortable place."
B-Sha looked up at Purple Heart from her hands, then took sharp breaths as she looked down and followed Purple Heart towards the apartment building. Once they walked through the automatic glass doors, Purple Heart pulled up her wrist and tapped on a holographic screen to summon a small card. She tapped on a scanner with it and the doors in front of her opened.
Purple Heart walked through with B-Sha and looked at the receptionist who stared at her, then at B-Sha.
"Here to visit?" The receptionist asked.
"Yes, someone here named Ambience."
"Ambience…" The receptionist started.
The receptionist looked at the computer screen as Purple Heart began to walk towards the elevator. Before she reached it, the receptionist stuck her hand up and looked at Purple Heart.
"Uhm, one moment please." The receptionist started. "Ambience hasn't come back in a very long time."
"I… know." Purple Heart said. "She's… she will be back home soon."
"Do you know what happened to her?"
"I do, however it's Basilicom information that I'm afraid would lead to more questions than answers. In short, she is trapped and we are working to help her. I hope you understand."
The receptionist stared at her, then nodded and looked back at the computer screen.
"Have a good day and good luck." The receptionist said.
Purple Heart nodded, then turned and took the elevator up to the proper floor. She used the card and entered Ambience's house, looking around at the yarn and knitting equipment lying on the couch. She entered inside with B-Sha and light came out of her.
"Well, here we are." Neptune said. "Ambi's home. Yup, looks about how I remember it."
Neptune closed the door behind her and then took B-Sha to Ambi's bedroom where she opened the door and looked at the messy bed.
"I'm sure she won't mind if you lie down here for a while." Neptune said. "If she does for whatever reason I'll take care of it alright?"
B-Sha nodded and wiped tears off her eyes again. Neptune smiled at B-Sha with a concerned look and gave two thumbs up.
"Alright! Well, uh, rest up! I'll be right here until you're done, but take your time! We wouldn't want a full tank in our next fight right?"
B-Sha stared at Neptune who made a defeated gesture, then entered Ambience's room and closed the door. Neptune sighed and she walked into the living room where she pushed all the yarn onto the floor and lied down on the couch.
"Geez. Today has been really tough. I… ugh."
Neptune stretched, then looked at her watch and stared at her list of contact. She sighed and turned to look at the TV.
"Oh… man why couldn't the whole squad be here? At least I'd have some fun teasing Noire while she and Blanc would do all the work. They'd debate about this stuff all day and night, actually on second thought maybe it's a good thing they aren't here."
Neptune chuckled to herself, then turned back to the ceiling and slowly began to close her eyes. She yawned and felt herself drifting to sleep.
"Don't you worry about a thing Ambi." Neptune said to herself. "We'll be there to save ya. And Uzume too. Umio as well I guess but uh… yeah."
Neptune felt her right arm fall off the couch and she fell asleep with her left arm on her body, then woke up to the sound of a doorbell. She blinked and groaned as she tumbled off the couch and sighed.
"Geez, who's there?! It's like 1 in the afternoon people are trying to sleep!" Neptune shouted.
"It's 5 Nep." IF's voice said from the otherside.
"Oh Iffy! Hey girl, how's Compa?" Neptune asked.
"She's fine." IF replied.
Neptune stared at the door, then blinked and placed her hands on her hips.
"Uuhh, so… what's up?" Neptune asked. "Ah, hang on I'll get the door for ya."
Neptune walked over and opened the door, IF was standing at the entrance with Iffy standing next to her.
"Hey, good ta see ya. How'd you know I was here?" Neptune asked.
"I called Histoire, she told me." IF said. "Come on Nep, we have more work to do."
"Geez, can't we take a break? B-Sha's having a rough day, a big monster killed someone and she feels like it's her fault."
"You two had 4 hours." IF said.
"Fine, you're right. Didn't feel like it though, uh, gimme a moment with B-Sha will ya?"
"Five minutes."
"Alrighty, I'll be right with ya!"
Neptune smiled at the two of them as she slowly closed the door, then took a deep breath. A bright light engulfed her as Purple Heart walked over to the bedroom door and opened it. She stepped inside to see B-Sha staring up at the ceiling lying down on the bed.
"May I enter?" Purple Heart asked.
"Huh? Oh… sure…" B-Sha replied.
Purple Heart sat down on the bed and looked at B-Sha. She stared at Purple Heart for a moment before looking up at the ceiling again.
"This apartment belongs to a friend of mine, if I hadn't made it obvious earlier." Purple Heart said.
"How was she?"
"Nice. And friendly. I'd like you to meet her one day."
B-Sha nodded and Purple Heart stared at her.
"If you're comfortable with talking again, may I ask a few questions?" Purple Heart asked.
"Go ahead…" B-Sha replied.
"Was today your first kill?"
"I… as in monster kill or… no nevermind, yeah it was my first kill. I uh, was going to become an adventurer but then you came back with the talking dogoos and baby bugs, then a huge ban on monster hunting was put on everyone."
Purple Heart nodded as B-Sha checked her watch, then placed her arm down again.
"I think C-Sha, she's a friend of mine, was affected the most. Something about monster hunting being a way of nature and life so she volunteered to be the Gold Third of Lowee where no laws pass without the approval of White Heart. The K-Sha left for Lastation for some unknown reason leaving Planeptune and Leanbox to S-Sha and I."
B-Sha shrugged and shook her head.
"We uh, kinda never got along very well. It was C-Sha who brought S-Sha and I together so without her we kinda just agreed on who gets what and never talked again after that. Kinda felt bad about it, but a year ago I texted her and she just told me that she was really busy."
"These… Shas if I may call them, are all Gold Thirds and friends of yours?" Purple Heart asked.
B-Sha nodded.
"I see…" Purple Heart said. "Well I'm not quite sure about them, but I am impressed that you decided to take the role of Planeptune's caretaker. With your fear of monsters, I believe that is quite brave."
"Yeah… about that."
B-Sha sat up straight, then held her arms out. She closed her eyes, then hovering over her hands appeared a large shiny pink crystal that gleamed a bright light. Purple Heart squinted at it and covered her eyes before adjusting to the light.
"You can have it back, I think I'm done." B-Sha said. "Obviously you're better than me at all this. S-Sha was right, I should just… stick to making toys. That's uh, that's what I did before all this hero stuff. I don't know what will happen if you accept but… maybe things will turn back to normal?"
Purple Heart stared at the crystal, then reached her hand out. She felt warmth coming from her head as her mind was full of ideas and dreams. She heard songs, laughter, clinking of drinks, kisses, roars of victory, and animage of Nepgear smiling at her while wearing robes and a crown came along with the sounds.
"One day I will be gone." Purple Heart said while lowering her hand. "Mr. Frontier is right about one thing, someone or something must take my place. I have full faith that Nepgear will become a great leader one day, however it wouldn't hurt to have a friend."
B-Sha stared at Purple Heart, then looked at the crystal.
"But I… failed…" B-Sha said. "I suck at this, and I've been doing this for 6 years."
"Today is only a bad day, there will be good days too." Purple Heart replied. "I am not old, I do not have a large pool of wisdom to answer all of your questions, or am I able to give you the proper perfect training to help you overcome all your problems and challenges. However, I can make one promise."
"And… and that is?"
"I will be with you to help you through everything. I'll comfort you when you're down like how I am right now, I will give you advice when you ask for it, I am your teammate and party member."
"Am I worth your time and effort? I mean, seriously it would be better if you just took this and fixed everything."
"There are no right answers to this branching path. Did you expect something like this to happen today?"
"Yeah… kind of… I thought something like today may happen eventually…"
"And yet you took on a mantle to protect Planeptune. Tell me honestly, do you want to be a hero?"
B-Sha stared at Purple Heart, then closed her eyes and clenched her fists absorbing the crystal back into her.
"Yes, yes I want to be a hero." B-Sha said. "I really do, I don't want anyone else to die. Monsters too but…"
"Then continue. You have to decide that the pain you feel right now will be worth it. It won't be easy, but I'll be with you, I'll believe in you. Whatever choices you make."
B-Sha looked at Purple Heart again who stood up and opened her arms in a welcoming gesture.
"Don't feel like you have to, it's an offer not a request." Purple Heart said.
B-Sha looked down as she climbed off the bed and hugged Purple Heart tightly. Purple Heart unsummoned her gauntlets and stroked her hair while patting her back. B-Sha lightly pushed herself off Purple Heart and stared up at her.
"I'll do my best!" B-Sha announced. "Thank you Lady Purple Heart!"
Purple Heart smiled and light came out of her. Neptune placed her hands on her hips and smiled at B-Sha.
"And thank you for not screwing everything up for 6 years!" Neptune said. "Phew, glad you're good to go B-Sha. I mean I'd spend more time in that form if I had to but it still takes quite a bit out of me ya know?"
"Yeah, I get it. Thanks again Neptune."
"Iffy's waiting for us, let's get going already!"
Neptune and B-Sha exited the bedroom and met IF and Iffy outside. IF sighed and looked up from her watch.
"I was about to call you two. Everything alright?" IF asked.
"Yup, you seem a lot more serious Iffy. Is Compa really alright?" Neptune asked.
"They're both in a coma for now. It won't take long before they're back but… we really have to start taking this more seriously."
"Oof, more time in my goddess form. Well alright, that isn't unexpected. Let's go Iffy!"
IF looked at B-Sha who took a deep breath and nodded.
"You're okay right B?" IF asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm alright." B-Sha replied. "I'll be fine, thanks."
IF stared, then nodded and turned around towards the elevator room. The group walked over, took the elevator down, then left the building. IF looked at a holographic map, then pointed down a direction.
"We're going to be heading back to the Basilicom to meet up with someone Histoire said will be able to help us." IF said. "Her name was Chrome, I think. Not to be confused with Kurome or Uzume or whatever."
"Alrighty! That name sounds really really familiar, maybe I met her somewhere before? I dunno but if Histy trusts here then why not right?" Neptune asked.
"Wait, Histoire's got more people?" B-Sha asked with a surprised expression. "Why didn't I hear about any of this?"
"It's probably emergency contacts or something? Doesn't matter we just take whoever we can." IF said.
Neptune and B-Sha followed IF down the streets where Neptune suddenly noticed a sign that said "Sun's Glory Orphanage." Neptune pointed at it and looked at IF.
"Em, uh, I actually might also know a girl!" Neptune said. "I'll catch y'all later, I'll pick her up and meet y'all at the Basilicom."
"Alright, if you say so Nep." IF said.
"You sure you don't need us?" B-Sha asked.
"It'll be fine, she's pretty harmless even if she doesn't remember me."
The two of them nodded and continued to walk while Neptune took a deep breath. She turned to the building and stepped over a small puddle and a pile of sand before knocking and entering inside the building.
"Heyo! Is anyone home?" Neptune asked.
She was met with a large wooden room where a woman with long brown hair tied up with a small red flower was sitting at a large green table with her eyes closed. A large group of children were surrounding her all staring at 8 glass bottles randomly arranged on the table.
"Someone came!" One child whispered.
"Ssh! She's focusing!" Another child responded.
A very faint, nearly invisible purple and orange aura began to emanate from her as she remained perfectly still. Then, the woman opened her eyes with a serious expression and shouted as she tossed three bottles into the air and then two bottles after.
"HRAH!" The woman exclaimed.
She arranged the three bottles close together and then tossed three more bottles into the air. She caught the two bottles coming down and arranged them on top of the three bottles. She then caught the three bottles coming down and placed them quickly over the two bottles mirroring the first bottle formation, then swung her arm around grabbing a long thin piece of cardboard and placing it over the bottles.
"Wow she did it! She did it!" A child exclaimed.
"Of course she did it! Don't shout so loud it might fall over!" Another one yelled.
"What if I touch it like this?"
A child's finger lightly poked the bottles and the woman watched everything fall down.
"You ruined it!" A child exclaimed.
"No I didn't! It was gonna fall anyway!"
"Everyone." The woman finally said. "Manners, we have a guest."
The children all calmed down and looked up at Neptune who laughed and scratched the back of her head.
"Ahaha, sorry but that was really really cool! You gotta show me how to do that one day!" Neptune said.
"Mmh." The woman responded. "May I have your name?"
"I'm Neptune! How's it been? You're a general right? I heard about you from Noire."
"A general? I've never earned that title. My name is Ryuka, it's nice to meet you Neptune."
"Nice to meet ya too! Hey, wanna join my party? We're gonna beat up some evil guys and save Planeptune from being racist! What do ya say?"
Some children laughed and giggled while Ryuka frowned at Neptune.
"Uhm, not in front of the kids right? Sorry about that uh, how about we talk outside then?" Neptune asked.
Ryuka glared at Neptune, then turned her head and faced the children.
"Stay inside until I come back." Ryuka said.
Ryuka and Neptune walked out of the building and Neptune turned around. She looked down at Ryuka's short red and white dress and leggings along with her heels that matched the colour scheme.
"What happened to Lastation?" Ryuka asked. "I lost contact with everyone there, and there is no way to travel overseas."
"Uh, Lastation like isolated itself or something. I'm from the Basilicom by the way in case you didn't know."
"So, I assume you need my help?"
"You're catching on quickly! Nice, makes things easier for me! Yeah, we could use your help. I heard you were strong."
"If I leave, who would protect the orphanage?"
"Uh… does it need protecting?"
"Monster attacks have been more and more frequent lately. If they ever come here, who will stop them?"
"Well, monster attacks are kinda happening all over the place. Other places are gonna get attacked too ya know. Oh hey! If you want to, you can bring all the kids in the orphanage to the Basilicom! We'll keep them safe there, and then you can join us!"
Ryuka stared at Neptune and kept her stern glare as Neptune blinked and smiled.
"Hmm." Ryuka started. "No, if we are fighting not only monsters, but people as well, I'd rather not have anyone from the orphanage involved. Will the monster attacks stop if I join you?"
"We'll do the best we can! And if we're successful, uh, yeah! The monsters should leave us alone, at least for the time being."
"Very well then. But the Basilicom must keep a close eye on this place. I will come back here if there's any danger. And the attacks will stop, no matter what we have to do."
"Yeah that's fair, alrighty nice! Oh, you got some stuff to pack up first right?"
Ryuka nodded, then turned and reentered the building. She sighed and looked down at all the children attempting to stack the bottles in the same way she had done earlier.
"Everyone." Ryuka started. "I must leave for now, I have been called for."
"Aww really?" A child asked.
"Do not be afraid. When I am done, hopefully monsters will stop attacking us." Ryuka replied.
"You're gonna be a hero again? Alright! We get to see her on TV killing people again!"
"I- you saw that? I don't kill people, that isn't something I do."
"Yeah right! We saw you smash someone's spine with a broken stop sign before! That was awesome, do it again!"
"I… *sigh* listen, nothing I do is fun or safe. I've never enjoyed any of the fights I've been a part of. If any monsters come, hide in the emergency room we've talked about until I come back. Understood?"
"Okay! Yes!" The children said.
Ryuka sighed again as she entered another room and began to scan items with her watch. Eventually she waved goodbye to the children who said bye back and walked back outside of the building and stood in front of Neptune.
"Ah, she's back Histy! We'll be right there!" Neptune said as she hung up the call. "Heya! You ready?"
"Histy… as in Histoire?" Ryuka asked.
"Mhmm! Ya know her?"
"Barely."
Neptune shrugged and began walking down the street with Ryuka.
"Why'd you trust me so quickly?" Neptune asked. "I mean not complaining, makes things easier, but any reason?"
"You've been getting popular on television." Ryuka said. "Your sister… or relative Purple Heart, I've seen a lot about her."
"Oh uh hahaha, actually that's me but I think it'll be easier to explain with everyone else!"
"Hmm."