DISCLAIMER
Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima, while the Neptunia series is owned by Idea Factory and Compile Heart.
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Natsu gasped as he found himself standing alone amongst the hellish ruins of Crocus, surrounded by fire and death as wrathful roars filled the night. Everywhere he looked, he saw lifeless bodies scattered about, some burned, some crushed, and some even torn into pieces. But even more horrifying were the familiar faces that laid amongst the fallen. Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus and so on. All of them laid dead, their eyes staring lifelessly at him, as if questioning why he did nothing to prevent their deaths.
Seeing such a sight, the slayer felt his strength leave his body as he fell to his knees. "N-No…" He stuttered out as tears began to stream down his face. Once again, he was unable to stop the dragons from taking their lives. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not overcome the might of the dragons.
He was a failure, both as a dragon slayer and as a friend.
Gritting his teeth, the mage threw his head back and released a roar of agony that echoed throughout the city. He went on for what felt like an eternity, until his vocal cords strained and his throat burned. When he could no longer continue, he simply remained motionless, staring up at the sky while his tears continued to fall.
"…N-Na…"
Natsu's eyes widened slightly as he heard a faint voice. It was distant, but it sounded strangely familiar, almost like-
"…Please…help me…Natsu!"
"Lucy?!" The slayer's eyes widened, instantly recognizing the voice of his best friend. Jumping to his feet, he immediately took off in the direction of the voice, ignoring everything around him as he saw a faint glimmer of hope. If he could make it time, then maybe, just maybe…!
"Hurry, they're coming for me!"
Hearing the desperation in Lucy's voice, Natsu roared as he poured all of his magic into his feet, before he suddenly shot off like a bullet. The entire world became a blur as he pushed his magic and his body to the limit, going faster and faster, until…
"LUCY!" The pinkette yelled as he came to a stop at an open clearing, spotting the blonde haired girl sitting helplessly on the ground. She wasn't alone however, as dozens of dragons hovered around her. The creatures growled menacingly as they inched closer to his precious guild mate, ready to end her life.
He would not allow that to happen.
"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARDS!" Natsu shouted at the top of his lungs as his entire form erupted into flames.
The dragons immediately turned to him, their primeval eyes glowing with rage and malevolence. Ignoring the helpless blonde for now, they instead charged at the pink haired human with the intent to kill.
As the first of the dragons approached him, the mage's feet erupted into flames as he propelled himself up high. "FIRE DRAGON'S CLAW!" Natsu summersaulted through the air and slammed his flame infused foot onto the snout of one of the creatures, causing it to howl in pain as he used the momentum to launch himself towards the another one. "ROAR!" A torrent of flames expelled from his mouth, crashing into its chest and knocking it out of the sky. "WING ATTACK!" Two flaming whips slammed into the next two, sending them both spiraling towards the ground as well. The slayer pressed his charge, unleashing spell upon spell upon the mythical beasts, pushing his way through their numbers as he came closer to Lucy. Fire and explosions filled the night, and one by one the dragons were sent crashing towards the ground by the hands of Igneel's son, until only one remained.
"GROOOOOAH!" The last dragon let loose a vicious roar, its jaws opening wide as fire began to well within its maw before it suddenly unleashed a wave of flames at the human.
Instead of looking worried, the dragon slayer merely smirked as the flames rushed him and consumed his form.
Believing that the human had finally been dealt with, the reptilian creature turned its gaze back to the blonde haired girl, who was still on the ground crying. But just as it began to descend towards her, a strange noise began to fill the air. Confused, the dragon turned around, only for its bestial eyes to widen in shock as the flames it had unleashed were being sucked into some kind of vortex. As the fire began to fade, it finally saw the source of the noise and realized what was happening.
The pink haired human was eating its flames.
"Heh, thanks for the meal, ya scaly bastard." The mage said with a grin as he consumed the last of the flames, feeling his magic power increase exponentially. "Now I'm fired up!" His form came alive with fire, burning even hotter and brighter than before.
Releasing an enraged roared, the dragon opened its mouth and quickly charged at the pinkette, preparing to bite him in two.
"OOOOOOOH!" Natsu roared back, gathering every bit of magic into his hands as his flames turned golden and scales began to form on his arms and face. "DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART! CRIMSON LOTUS: EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!" He swiped his hands in a counterclockwise fashion, producing a torrent of fire that completely consumed the dragon in its entirety, causing a massive explosion that rocked the area.
When the smoke finally cleared, the creature was nowhere to be seen.
With the final dragon defeated, Natsu landed on the ground, only a few meters away from his best friend. Not wasting anymore time, he hastily began sprinting towards her. "Lucy!" He cried out her name.
"Natsu!" The girl yelled back, a wide smile on her face as she looked at the slayer with immense joy and relief.
But then, just when he was only a few yards away, Natsu noticed a shadow suddenly loom over overhead. Looking up, his eyes widened in horror as the dragon he thought he had defeated stood behind the girl, its massive claw hovering above her form. Time seemed to slow down as he stretched his hand out towards the blonde, all while yelling out her name.
"LUCY!"
And then the dragon's claw came crashing down.
"NO!"
Natsu shot up from the couch, face sweaty and eyes wide as tears streamed down his cheeks. He looked around the room frantically, only to be greeted by darkness. The slayer was confused for a moment, before he finally remembered where he was and what had happened. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.
Calm down. The dragon slayer thought to himself as he shakily brought a hand to his face. I-It was just a dream. Yet it had felt so real. The death, the destruction…it was as if he had been sent back to Crocus and forced to relive that horrible event all over again.
Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, Natsu let out a shuddering breath before removing his hand to look around the room. The lights were off, though there were a few rays of sunlight beginning to shine through the windows. Guess its morning already. He mused as he slowly sat up on the couch.
Before he could think of what to do now that he had woken up, he heard a door slowly creak open. Turning towards the sound, he found the door to Compa's room fully opened and the girl herself standing in the doorway, wearing a simple pink nightgown with frilly trimming and a pair of fuzzy pink slippers.
"Natsu…?" The pink haired girl said sleepily as she rubbed her eye. "Is everything okay? I thought I heard a loud noise coming from here."
Rubbing the back of his head, Natsu gave the girl a sheepish look. "Ah, sorry about that. I, uh…fell off of the couch when I was getting up." He lied, which he soon came to regret.
Instantly, Compa's eyes widened in alarm. "Oh, that's terrible!" The girl shouted, and before the slayer knew it, she was at his side. "Are you okay? Did you hit your head? Does anything hurt?"
Natsu was suddenly beginning to feel overwhelmed by the non-stop barrage of questions being thrown at him. "I-I'm fine-WHOA!" Natsu suddenly shouted in surprise as Compa got into his personal space and forcibly opened his vest. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm checking for any injuries!" The pink haired girl replied as a look of concentration formed on her face. "It never hurts to be safe!"
Natsu sweat dropped at that. She watched him jump from the third floor down to the sidewalk without incident the night before, and now she was worried about him falling a few feet onto the ground? Man, I'll never understand this girl. He thought with an inward sigh as the girl continued her inspection.
"Well, it looks like everything's okay…" Compa trailed off once she finished her 'check-up' and pulled away from the boy, causing him to sigh in relief.
I've gotta be more careful next time. Natsu thought with a nervous smile. "Sorry for waking you."
Bringing her hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn, Compa shook her head and smiled. "It's okay. I was going to get up soon to get breakfast started anyways."
As soon as the slayer heard those words, he felt his stomach growl loudly, causing him to chuckle in embarrassment.
The pink haired girl let out a giggle at that. "I'll go get things started then. You can come help set up the table, if you'd like." She said as she began making her way towards the kitchen.
Not having a problem with that, the mage quickly stood up and followed the girl, eager to find something to distract him from the terrible nightmare he had experienced.
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"All done!" Compa said cheerfully as she placed the last dish onto the table.
As Natsu's eyes scanned over the food, he couldn't help but water at the mouth. There was an abundance of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon and so on all piled onto one small table, making it look more like a buffet than a typical breakfast for two. And all of it smelled delicious.
Whoa…did Compa really make all of this? The slayer couldn't help but wonder.
Seeing the boy's awed and hungry expression, the pink haired girl let out a giggle. "Well don't just stand there, silly. Dig in!" She encouraged.
Not needing to be told twice, Natsu grabbed a plate and started piling food on it. Once he was satisfied with what he had, he grabbed a fork, stabbed it in into a little bit of everything and took his first bite. Almost immediately, his eyes lit up with stars as tears began streaming down his cheeks.
"Ith shwo good!" The slayer complimented with his mouth full. The flavor, the texture; everything was perfect! It was so good infact that he almost decided to forego his manners, limited as they were, in favor of using his hand to shovel as much food into his mouth as he possibly could.
Compa quickly frowned at the boy's lack of table manners. "You shouldn't talk with your mouth full, Natsu." She lightly scolded. He might be stronger than a normal human, but he could still end up choking if he wasn't careful.
Swallowing the food in his mouth, Natsu gave an apologetic grin before he resumed stuffing his face.
As Compa watched the boy devour the food she made with gusto, she couldn't help but look on in amazement. How someone could eat so much without inflating like a ballon was utterly baffling to her. She was just glad that she had decided to make extra portions this time around.
Seeing as the food was quickly beginning to disappear, the pink haired girl was brought out from her stupor and she quickly grabbed her own plate. Grabbing a few pancakes and pieces of bacon for herself, she began eating, though at a much more subdued pace compared to her guest.
It wasn't long before the food was completely gone, leaving only a bunch of dirty plates on the table. Satisfied with his meal, Natsu leaned back in his chair and let out a content sigh.
"Oh man, I haven't had a meal that good in a long time." The slayer commented, before he looked towards the pink haired girl with a toothy grin. "Thanks, Compa."
The aforementioned girl beamed at his words. "You're welcome!" She replied happily as she went about collecting the dirty dishes.
Seeing the girl's action, Natsu stood up from his seat. "Let me help with that." He said as he grabbed the plates on his side, causing the girl to smile at him.
"Thank you." Compa said gratefully. "Just put those over by the sink and I'll take care of the rest."
The slayer simply nodded his head and followed the girl's instructions. Setting down the stack of dishes on the counter, Natsu watched as the pink haired girl placed her own stack next to his and began filling up the sink with water. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, before speaking up. "Uh, is there anything I can help with?" He asked.
Compa turned to the boy and shook her head. "I'm fine for now, Natsu. Besides, you should really focus on recovering your strength." She reminded him.
Natsu frowned slightly at that, but wisely chose not to object. He had already seen how stubborn the pink haired girl could be when it came to his health. "…Alright. But if you need help with anything, just let me know."
The girl was slightly surprised by her fellow pinkette's words, but soon her expression brightened. "Oh, of course! I'll definitely keep that in mind!" She replied with a happy smile.
With that out of the way, Natsu excused himself and made his way back to the living room, leaving Compa to clean in peace. Once there, he plopped down onto the couch with a sigh and leaned his head back until he was facing the ceiling. Now that he had nothing left to distract himself with, he began thinking of what to do next. He sure as hell wasn't going back to sleep, not after experiencing…that. Unfortunately, he was left with little else to do, seeing as Compa wanted him to take it easy until he made a full recovery.
With his options limited, Natsu decided to look around the room in hopes of finding something to occupy himself with. He saw some stuffed animals and a few books lying about, and even found a strange looking uniform being hung on the wall, but none of it piqued his interest. Gah, this is sooo booooring! He thought in annoyance. Letting out a sigh, the slayer's gaze continued to shift randomly around the room, until his eyes eventually fell on the door to Compa's room.
The room where the mysterious, lilac haired girl was currently resting in.
Instantly, Natsu's expression went from bored desperation to curiosity. It was only natural that he was curious about the petite girl, considering the state he had found her in last night. It wasn't every day that one came across someone who had fallen from the sky and survived crashing headfirst into the ground, after all. Most people would have ended up as stains on the ground, yet not only did this girl come out of it in one piece, but she only received some minor injuries to boot. Either she was made of some really tough stuff, or she got extremely lucky during the fall.
As the mage continued to ponder about unconscious girl, he suddenly heard an obnoxious ringing noise come from within the room. He raised an eyebrow at this, before his ears picked up on frantic footsteps.
"Oh no, I forgot to turn my alarm off!" Compa yelled frantically as she entered the living room, causing Natsu to turn to her with a curious look.
"What's going o-"
CRASH!
Both pinkettes froze at the sound coming from the bedroom, their eyes widening as they briefly glanced at one another before quickly rushing to the door. Grabbing the handle, the pink haired girl turned it and promptly swung the door open with a bang.
"What's going on here?!"
Upon Compa's exclamation, silence filled the room as the pink haired duo stood at the door way, before they both blinked at what they saw.
Sitting up on the bed was, surprisingly, the lilac haired girl, who was now wide awake. Her eyes were wide with shock, revealing that they were the same color as her hair, and her mouth was agape as she stared back at the two pinkettes.
The two parties continued to stare at one another, before Natsu and Compa noticed something on the wall to their right. Shifting their gazes, they found an alarm clock had been embedded into it, something that required quite a bit of force.
"…O-Oops?" The lilac haired girl said after a moment with a nervous smile, causing the pink haired duo to turn back to her. "I, uh, think I got a little carried away there. Hehehe…" She trailed off with a weak chuckle.
The two pinkettes blinked at that, before Compa decided to speak up. "Oh, um, it's okay." She said as she approached the bed. "How are you feeling?"
The lilac haired girl frowned slightly as her face scrunched up in contemplation. "Hm…weeeell, my body's kinda aching all over, like I got beat up real good or something. My head's hurting a little, too." She listed off, before her gaze shifted around the room. "Where the heck am I anyways?"
Compa was quick to answer the girl's question. "You're in my apartment! Specifically, my room." She replied. "You see, last night you kinda, well…" The pink haired girl trailed off, unsure of how to break it to the smaller girl that she had somehow survived something that would have killed any other living being.
Sensing Compa's hesitation, Natsu decided to biefly jump into the conversation. "You fell out of the sky." He said bluntly, grabbing the petite girl's attention.
"Y-Yes, that's right!" The pink haired girl took over again. "After my friend here found you, he brought you to me and I took care of your injuries. Luckily for you, it wasn't anything too serious."
The lilac haired girl smiled nonchalantly at that as she closed her eyes. "Oh, so that's what happened. I fell out of…the…" She trailed off, before her brain fully processed what she had been told. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?!"
Compa and Natsu both winced at the girl's sudden yell, the slayer having to throw his hands over his sensitive ears to protect them.
"T-T-The s-s-sky?!" The petite girl questioned incredulously, her eyes wide with comical disbelief. "B-B-But why did I f-fall out of the s-sky?!"
"P-Please calm down!" Compa said with a frantic expression, but it did little to help the situation as the smaller girl continued to freak out.
"How do you expect me to calm down after hearing something like that?!"
Growling in annoyance at the loli's yelling, the slayer decided he had heard enough. With a brief stride, he made his way over to the bed and proceeded to flick the girl on the forehead, causing her to yelp in pain.
"Ow!"
"Natsu!" The pink haired girl turned to the aforementioned boy in disbelief. "What was that for?!"
Natsu merely grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Her yelling was getting on my nerves." He replied, ignoring Compa's comically shocked expression as he stared down at the smaller girl. "So, you calmed down yet?"
The loli rubbed her forehead as she sent a teary eyed glare at her attacker. She then opened her mouth to retort, only to pause when she noticed the male's finger twitch menacingly, causing her to sweat profusely before she hastily nodded her head.
"Good." Natsu said with a sigh, finally glad to have the conversation back on track. "Anyways, we're not really sure why you fell out of the sky. We were hoping you could tell us." He explained.
Blinking at those words, the petite girl's expression became thoughtful. After a moment, her face scrunched slightly as she seemed to concentrate on something, before her expression quickly fell and she sighed. "I…don't know. I don't remember what happened before I woke up." She then paused briefly as he expression became confused. "In fact, aside from my name, I don't remember anything at all…"
Hearing that, Compa and Natsu both glanced at one another worriedly. It sounded eerily similar to the slayer's own predicament, minus the falling and lack of memories.
"It sounds like you have amnesia." The pink haired girl pointed out.
Rather than look concerned as a normal person would, the smaller girl merely smiled at those words. "Oh? I guess I do." She said casually.
Compa was a little surprised by the girl's reaction, but before she could respond, the girl spoke up again.
"Oh! But I do remember something!" She exclaimed excitedly, causing both pinkettes to listen in carefully. "I remember feeling this really warm sensation surrounding my body, like someone was holding me close in their arms. Ah, it felt so nice…" The girl trailed off with a dreamy expression, placing both hands on her cheeks.
Natsu and Compa both sweat dropped at that, before the girl pulled herself from her daze.
"By the way, who are you two supposed to be?" The loli asked as she her gaze shifted between the two pinkettes.
The pink haired girl gave a warm smile. "I'm Compa." She introduced herself.
Seeing that it was his turn, the mage gave the petite girl a grin. "Natsu Dragneel." He said casually.
"He's an alien!" Compa added cheerfully, causing the boy's eye to twitch.
A look of surprise flashed across the loli's face. "Whoa, that's…pretty cool, I guess." She replied as she stared at the male pinkette in curiosity. "Although you don't look much different from me or Compa."
Natsu sighed in annoyance. "That's because I'm human."
The lilac haired girl responded with a nervous laugh. "Err, righto then." She said before giving a wide smile. "Well, I guess I'm up next. I'm Neptune! Nice to meet ya both!"
"It's nice to meet you too, Nep- Nept- Nepti- Nepu-" Compa, for some reason, struggled with pronouncing the name.
Neptune merely smiled at the girl. "If its too hard to pronounce, you can just give me a nickname if you want. I don't mind!" She said in a chiper tone.
"Oh, okay then. I'll call you, um...oh! Nep-Nep!" The pink haired girl exclaimed with a wide smile. "Its nice to meet you Nep-Nep!"
The loli smiled cheerfully at her new nickname. "Heh, Nep-Nep...I like it!" She giggled, before she turned her attention to the male pinkette.
Noticing the girl's staring, Natsu raised an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent. Do I have something on my face? He wondered, watching as Neptune's face became thoughtful for a moment before she suddenly nodded her head and gave a wide smile.
"Pinky!"
Natsu's eyes went wide at the name, but it only lasted for a second before they narrowed in anger as a vein began to throb on his forehead. "What the hell did you call me?" He questioned angrily.
Neptune tilted her head at the male's question. "I called you Pinky cause, you know...your hair's pink and all." She replied in an obvious tone, which served only to further infuriate the male.
"Don't call me that!" The slayer yelled while slamming both hands on the bed. "Just call me Natsu!"
"But that's soooo boring. Besides, it fits you perfectly!"
"Why you little…!"
Compa looked between the male and loli with a nervous smile on her face. "Now, now, you two..." She said, trying to diffuse the situation. Her words seemingly fell on deaf ears, as Natsu continued glaring at Neptune, who in turn kept teasing him about his hair. The pink haired girl was beginning to feel concerned, before an idea suddenly came to her. Oh, that might just work! "Hey, Nep-Nep!"
The aforementioned loli broke her gaze from the fuming male and turned her attention to Compa. "Hm? What's up?" She questioned curiously.
The pink haired girl smiled widely. "Would you like something to eat?"
As soon as the words left Compa's mouth, a small growl was heard coming from the lilac haired girl.
"Heh, I guess some food would be pretty nice right about now." Neptune responded with a laugh, causing Compa to giggle.
"Then let me go fix you up something really quick." The pink haired girl said happily.
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"Haha, it wiggles around really funny when you poke it!" Neptune said with childish wonder as she poked the pudding in her bowl with a spoon. Currently, she was sitting at the dining room table in the kitchen, with Compa sitting to her right, while Natsu leaned against the nearby wall with his arms crossed over his chest and an annoyed frown on his face.
The pink haired girl stared at the loli curiously. "You've never had pudding before, Nep-Nep?" She questioned.
Neptune shook her head. "Nope. It's the first time I've seen this stuff." She replied as she continued to play with her food. Eventually, she grew tired of poking the yellow substance and took a spoonful before placing it in her mouth. "Whoa, this is delicious! Amazing even!" The loli exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "The person who made this must have god-like cooking skills!"
The comment caused Compa to blush with a bashful smile. "Actually, I'm the one who made it." She revealed, causing the smaller girl to turn to her in amazement.
"Whoa, seriously? That's so cool!"
As Neptune continued to shower the pink haired girl with praise, the dragon slayer let out a snort from his position on the wall. While he was still irked at the loli for the insulting nickname she tacked on him, he did agree with her assessment. Compa had some serious cooking skills. In fact, he would go as far as to say that the girl's cooking was on par with-
A beautiful young woman in a red dress, with light skin and flowing white hair, turned to greet him with a smile as he entered the guild.
…Mira. Natsu inwardly said the name, before his mood drastically fell and he frowned deeply. Though they never got along well when they were kids, the eldest of the Strauss siblings eventually became like a sister to him throughout the years that followed, always looking out for him and giving him advice whenever he was having trouble with something.
And now he would never be able to see Mira's warm smile ever again.
The very thought caused a pained expression to form on his face, something that didn't go unnoticed by the pink haired girl.
"Natsu?"
Hearing the voice, the dragon slayer was quickly pulled from his thoughts as he found a concerned Compa staring right at him. "Hm, did you say something?" Natsu questioned curiously.
"W-Well, it's just that it looked like something was bothering you." She said with a frown. "Is everything okay?"
Oh. Natsu thought, internally berating himself for the slip up. "I'm fine. I was just…thinking about some stuff." He replied softly.
Upon hearing the answer, a look of understanding dawned on the pink haired girl's face. "Oh, I see. Well, if you ever want to talk to someone about it, you can always come to me, okay?" She offered, giving a closed eyed smile.
Natsu was taken aback by those words, before a small smile formed on his face. Maybe someday… He thought sadly, before his smile morphed into a grin. "Sure thing, Compa." The slayer replied.
"Ah~!" A loud sigh of satisfaction drew both pinkettes' attention back to the lilac haired loli. "That was the best thing I've ever had! Thanks, Compa!" She exclaimed loudly as she pushed the now empty bowl away.
"No problem, Nep-Nep!" Compa replied with a smile as she picked up the dirty dish and went over to drop it off at the sink. Once she returned to the table, her expression quickly became curious. "Say, Nep-Nep." She called out, grabbing Neptune's attention. "What are you going to do now?"
At Compa's question, the lilac haired girl let out a hum as a thoughtful expression formed on her face. "…I dunno, to be honest." She replied. "I mean, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole 'falling out of the sky' thing that apparently happened."
Compa and Natsu both frowned slightly when they heard that, the latter's eyes reflecting some measure of sympathy towards Neptune. Much like her, he was still trying to come to grips with his own situation.
The room became silent as the three contemplated the current turn of events, before the pink haired girl suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, I've got an idea!" She exclaimed loudly with a look of realization on her face, causing both Natsu and Neptune to look at her curiously. "What if we go back to the place Natsu found you?" She proposed, causing the smaller girl to look confused. "If you go there, then maybe you'll find something that will trigger your memory."
Neptune's eyes widened at that. "Oh, that's a great idea!" She shouted in agreement.
Seeing that the smaller girl was onboard, Compa turned towards her fellow pinkette. "What do say, Natsu? Do you think you can show Nep-Nep where you found her?" She questioned with a hopeful expression.
Natsu's face became thoughtful as he mulled over the idea. After a moment, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not?" He replied with a grin as he pushed himself off of the wall, earning him cheers from the two girls. Aside from helping the amnesiac girl out, it was also a good chance for him to get out the house and see more of the city.
"Then it's settled!" Compa clapped her hands together cheerfully. "Just give me a few minutes to get changed and we'll be ready to go."
The slayer and loli both nodded in agreement as the pink haired girl hurriedly left the kitchen. After a while, she returned with her usual outfit, and with everything ready, the trio set off towards their destination.
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"Whoa…" Natsu and Neptune both said in awed tones as they walked through the streets of Planeptune, trailing right behind Compa. Their eyes were wide with wonder as they took in each technological wonder, from floating holographic screens and banners displaying the news and weather, to vending machines that served a variety of goods. There were even people walking on what appeared to be small, floating tiles that transported them far above the streets, like some kind of invisible walkway.
Compa smiled as she turned to her two companions. "Welcome to Planeptune, the Land of Purple Progress!" She said happily.
Natsu let out an impressed whistle at that. He had witnessed these sights from afar the day before, but now that he was up close and personal, he could truly see how much his world and this one differed. This place is insane! He thought, feeling more than a little overwhelmed by all the technology around him. His enthusiasm was curbed a bit when he noticed there were also a lot of vehicles nearby, something that caused him to blanch slightly.
"Oh!" Neptune spotted a shop to her right and quickly ran up to the window. "This place sells so many games!" She exclaimed with excitement as she examined all of the consoles and various discs and cartridges that were on display.
"Nep-Nep, don't fall behind!"
The loli broke her gaze from the window and quickly turned towards the sound of Compa's voice, only to realize that her two companions were now far ahead of her. "A-Ah, wait for me!" She shouted in a panic as she chased after them. As she pushed her way through a crowd of people, she suddenly spotted something leaning against a nearby dumpster. Curious, she stopped for a moment and walked over to check it out.
"Whoa, who left this here?" Neptune asked aloud as she looked at the object, which turned out to be a wooden sword. Reaching out with her hand, she grabbed the handle and brought it up to her face to inspect it. "Hm, it's not damaged or anything. Why would anyone throw this away?" She wondered to herself.
"Oi, Neptune!" This time it was Natsu's voice that called out to her, sounding incredibly annoyed. "If you don't hurry up, we're gonna leave you behind!"
Eyes widening at that exclamation, the loli hurriedly resumed sprinting after the two pinkettes "Hey, you can't leave without the main protagonist!" She shouted, not realizing that she still had the wooden sword in her hands. After a few seconds, she finally managed to catch up to them. "Ha...sorry about that guys, I got a little sidetracked for a second." She apologized sheepishly.
Natsu grunted at the loli's apology, while Compa simply smiled. "It's okay, Nep-Nep. It's your first time in Planeptune, after all." She replied, before she suddenly tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Um, why are you carrying that stick in her hands?"
Neptune became confused at the question, before she remembered that she was, in fact, still carrying the wooden sword. "Oh, this? I found it near a dumpster. It's still in pretty good condition, so I figured 'Why not?'" She explained with a smile.
"Oh." The pink haired girl replied with a look of understanding. "But what are you going to do with it?"
This time, the loli had no immediate answer. "Um, I dunno…practice kendo?" She said with uncertainty, causing Compa to sweat drop.
"Can we get going now?" Natsu suddenly cut in, his arms crossed over his chest as he tapped his foot impatiently.
"S-Sorry!" The two girls quickly apologized.
With that resolved, the trio continued onwards their destination. After walking through many winding and crowded streets, they eventually came upon the moat that Natsu had come across the night before. As the slayer had discovered when he and Compa were returning with Neptune's unconscious form previously, there was actually an underground tunnel that went below the body of water. The group quickly entered the passageway, and upon exiting from the other side, they were greeted with the full view of the park.
"Whoa, this is a park?" Neptune asked in surprise as she surveyed the area. "It's like a massive forest!"
Compa let out a giggle at the smaller girl's comment. "That's because it is a forest. The Virtua Forest, to be exact." She quickly explained. "Our nation tries very hard to preserve the forests that surround the city. We use all sorts of cool gadgets to make sure that the trees and plants stay healthy."
Well, that explains those weird rings I saw around those trees last night. Natsu thought with curious look.
"Huh, that's pretty cool." Neptune said with a smile. "So this is the place I landed in, eh?"
Hearing that, Compa shook her head. "Not really. It's actually deeper inside, although the only one who knows where it is exactly is Natsu, since he was the one who found you." She said, causing the loli to turn to the male pinkette with an excited smile.
"Well then, lead the way, Pinky!"
Natsu felt his brow twitch at that, though he chose not to respond. Raising his head up, he sniffed the air for a moment before he picked up on the familiar smell of burnt wood. "Don't fall behind." Was all the slayer said as he began following the direction of the scent.
The girls didn't need to be told twice, as they quickly followed closely behind the male pinkette. However, as they began to traverse deeper inside, they suddenly came across something unexpected.
"Oh no…why are there monsters here?!"
True to Compa's word, there were a large number of strange looking creatures roaming around the forest. There were yellow, bipedal flowers with angry faces on their heads, blue slime creatures with dog faces, and what looked like walking skeletons wearing glasses and boxing gloves. The monsters were milling about aimlessly, a few of them occasionally bumping into obstacles and even each other. There were some that even roamed about in packs, varying in number and variety.
"Wow, there's so many of them!" Neptune said with excitement.
Compa, on the other hand, was not as enthusiastic as the loli. "What do we do now?" She asked while cautiously eyeing the creatures.
"Isn't it obvious?" The lilac haired girl answered with a confident grin. "We beat up the baddies and get some experience! If we're lucky, we might even get a rare drop!"
Natsu raised an eyebrow at Neptune's choice of words, before he quickly shrugged it off as a grin formed on his face. "Heh, I'm with you on that." He said as he cracked his knuckles, eager to release some pent up frustration.
The pink haired girl turned to her two companions with a worried glance. "Are you two sure about this?" She questioned. Both Natsu and Neptune were still injured after all, and she wasn't exactly eager to let them fight against monsters in their current condition.
If anything, Neptune's grin widened. "These are starter monsters, so there's nothing to worry about!" She said with confidence, before holding up her wooden sword. "Besides, with this bad boy at my side, it'll be a cake walk!"
The pink haired girl looked uncertain, but upon seeing the determined looks on her companions' faces, she realized there wasn't much she could say to change their minds. "Well, if that's the case…" She reached into her hip purse…and pulled out a massive, oversized syringe filled with pink liquid. "…Then I'll help fight the monsters, too!"
Natsu's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "What the hell is that?!" He shouted in disbelief, pointing a finger at the large medical tool.
The pink haired girl tilted her head in confusion. "This is my weapon, silly. How else would I defend myself?" She asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
The dragon slayer could only stare at Compa in further disbelief. He had seen a lot of strange things while on the job, but this was the first time he had seen anyone use a giant syringe as a weapon. It was more than half her height!
It also didn't help that the needle seemed to glint menacingly in the sunlight, causing the mage to feel more than a little uncomfortable.
Neptune was in a similar state as she broke out into a nervous sweat. "Where did you even get something like that?" She asked.
"Ah, this thing? The instructors at school gave it to me." The pink haired girl explained with a smile on her face. "You see, I'm attending a nursing school to become a certified nurse, and as part of my training I was given this syringe to use for both medical practices and combat."
Natsu and Neptune remained silent as they stared at the pink haired girl dubiously, causing her squirm under their gaze.
"W-Why are you both looking at me like that? This is perfectly normal!" Compa shouted with a flustered look on her face.
"If you say so..." Neptune finally said after a moment, before she turned towards a group of dog slimes that were nearby. "Anyways, enough chit-chat! Let's get this show on the road!" She shouted as she charged at the slimes.
"Ah, wait for me, Nep-Nep!" Compa yelled as she followed the loli into their first battle.
Natsu grinned wildly as he cracked his neck. Alright, I've been itching for a fight! He thought with excitement. Spotting a group of those strange flower creatures, the slayer quickly sprinted towards the nearest one and cocked his fist back. Once he was in range, he threw his fist at it and it connected successfully, sending the poor thing flying into one of the trees. The sentient plant then slowly slid down the trunk, and upon touching the ground, its body suddenly glowed with a pink light before winking out of existence.
Natsu was left momentarily confused by that sight before he noticed that the rest of the creatures were now staring angrily at him. Pushing his confusion aside, he grinned once more as he brought his hand up and motioned them to attack him. "Come on!" He taunted.
The flowers took the bait and they all jumped at the pinkette, attempting to overwhelm him with superior numbers.
Reacting quickly, the slayer threw a right hook that sent several of the creatures flying, before he spun around and quickly threw a kick at another bunch, knocking them back as well. Like a whirlwind, he fought off the creatures from all directions, lashing out with a barrage punches, elbows and kicks.
Within moments, the last plant creature hit the ground before all of them simultaneously vanished.
Seeing that there were no more monsters trying to attack him, Natsu let out a sigh. Man, what a let down. He thought, no longer able to hold back his disappointment. He had been hoping for something of a challenge, but it looked like these monsters weren't all that powerful. Even in his weakened state, he was too much for these things.
Letting out another sigh, the slayer decided to turn his attention to his two companions to see how they were holding up.
"Take this!" Neptune yelled as she whacked one of the slimes square in the face with her sword, causing it to glow briefly before disappearing. She smiled happily as she did a brief victory pose, before turning her attention back to the rest of the slime dogs. "Alright, who's next?!" The loli shouted with a cocky smile.
Compa, meanwhile, was taking a much more safer approach. Using her syringe like a long range rifle, she fired out globs of pink fluid at the slimes from afar. When one decided to get too close for comfort, she immediately lashed out with her syringe, briefly stunning the creature before she followed up by stabbing it with the needle and injecting a deadly dose of the mysterious fluid. The slime shivered for a moment, before it went still and faded away. "Alright, I got one!" She cheered while jumping up and down happily.
Natsu chuckled in amusement at the girls' antics, before he suddenly noticed more slimes were beginning to appear from within the forest. He tensed slightly as the creatures began to surround Compa and Neptune, but what happened next was not something he was expecting.
Instead of attacking, the slimes jumped onto the girls and knocked them to the ground, much to their surprise. During the confusion, a few tried to squeeze under Compa's clothes, causing her to flail around helplessly as she tried to knock the creatures off.
"This is really gross!" The pink haired girl shouted with a flustered expression.
Neptune, on the other hand, was lying flat on her back, laughing uncontrollably as the slime dogs licked at her face and neck. "Hahahahahaha, c-cut it out! I-I'm really ticklish!"
'Okay, so they're not in danger...I think.' Natsu thought with a sweat drop as he watched the two girls struggle hilariously against the onslaught of slime dogs. Upon seeing even more of the creatures arrive however, the slayer decided it was time to step in.
Dashing forward, the dragon slayer rushed towards the two girls with a calm expression. The slimes noticed his approach and quickly jumped to attack him, but the mage easily batted them away with his fist, sending the creatures flying through the air. Several more joined the fray, but they soon met the same fate as their former companions as the pinkette began making short work of their pack. In no time at all, only a small number of the creatures remained, whom were now trembling in place upon witnessing their comrades' demise.
Suddenly, the slimes noticed a shadow loom overhead, and they slowly looked up to find the pink haired boy towering over them, his face shadowed as his eyes began to glow with a red, malevolent light.
"Boo."
The creatures yelped in fear before scampering off into the forest.
"Well, that was easy." Natsu commented as his expression shifted back to his usual, carefree one. With that out of the way, the slayer turned his attention to the two girls, who were currently sitting on the ground with slack jawed expressions. "You girls okay?"
The girls both blinked at the question before they shook their heads to compose themselves.
"Y-Yes. We feel a little humiliated, but we're okay now." Compa answered gratefully.
"Yeah, thanks for the help, Pinky!" Neptune exclaimed energetically as she jumped to her feet. "You took care of those things in a flash! You must be, like, super high leveled or something!"
Once again Natsu was left confused at the loli's unfamiliar phrasing, before he pushed that aside and instead leveled a glare at her. "I told you to stop calling me that." He grumbled irritably.
"But giving nicknames to people is so much fun!" Neptune countered with a happy expression.
The slayer growled as he prepared to snap at the loli, when he suddenly noticed that Compa was looking off into the forest with a worried look on her face. Raising an eyebrow, he decided to ignore the smaller girl and instead turned his attention to his fellow pinkette. "Oi, Compa!" He decided to call out to her.
Compa jumped slightly at the male's voice before she hastily turned to face him. "A-Ah, yes, Natsu?"
Frowning slightly at her demeanor, Natsu approached her. "You look a little worried there. Something bugging you?" He asked.
At that question, the pink haired girl suddenly frowned. "It's just…strange." She began. "There weren't any monsters around here last night, but now the forest is suddenly swarming with them."
Hearing that, Natsu realized that the pink haired girl was right. If memory served him correctly, the park had been devoid of any people or monsters at the time.
"Are monsters a big problem around these parts?" Neptune suddenly questioned with a curious glance.
Compa nodded at the loli. "Yessy, although that wasn't always the case. While monsters have always been around, they usually stayed away from cities and people. Sure, there were fights every now an then, but nothing too major. But ten years ago, their numbers suddenly exploded." Natsu and Neptune's eyes both widened at those words. "On top of that, new and more aggressive monsters began to appear in large numbers, and they quickly overwhelmed small cities and settlements throughout the land. It wasn't long before they began appearing just outside of the main city."
"Our military did their best to fight them off, but there were just so many of them that they couldn't keep their numbers down for long. It got so bad that even our Goddess, Lady Purple Heart, had to step in to take care of them. But even she couldn't stop them all." Compa revealed in a sad tone. "In the end, all they could do was keep their numbers down as best as they could so that the people living outside of the city would be safe. But now…"
"…Their numbers are growing again." Natsu finished, causing the pink haired girl to nod reluctantly. It seemed that no matter where he went, monsters would always be an issue.
"Hehehe…" Neptune let out a chuckle, grabbing the pinkettes' attention as a look of excitement formed on her face. "A world full of monsters, huh? This sounds just like an RPG~!"
Natsu and Compa both sweat dropped at the loli's words, though in the slayer's case, it was more because of the fact that he had no idea what the petite girl was even talking about.
"…Well, it doesn't really matter one way or the other." The slayer said after a moment, causing both girls to look at him. "If these things keep getting in our way, then we kick their asses. Simple as that."
Neptune and Compa were a little surprised at the male pinkette's words, before their expressions became determined and they simultaneously nodded their heads in agreement.
With that cleared up, the group resumed making their way deeper into the forest, resolved to face anything that would block their path.
·····Now Loading·····
The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, with the only saving grace being when the occasional group of monsters would appear. While Natsu was able to deal with them with little effort, Neptune and Compa struggled a little on their end, though they were quickly showing signs of improvement. Or as the loli put it, they were quickly 'grinding enough EXP to Level Up.'
The slayer still had no clue what petite girl was going on about.
Eventually, after spending a good fifteen minutes of trekking through the forest, the trio finally found themselves standing at the edge of a very large and deep crater.
"…Well, this is it." The mage said as the two girls took in the sight before them.
"No way…" Compa trailed off, her eyes widening and mouth becoming agape from what she was seeing.
"W-What the heck happened here?" Neptune followed suite with her own look of disbelief as she surveyed the damage. It looked like a bomb had gone off in the area. As she continued looking around, a startling thought suddenly came to her. "Wait…did I do this?" She hesitantly asked.
The dragon slayer nodded his head at the loli's question. "Yep, that was all you." He revealed, grabbing his companions' attention. "I was pretty surprised when I found out, too. Sure as hell wasn't expecting to find you of all things in the middle of all that."
Those words caused both girl's eyes to widen further. The crater looked like it was something only a meteorite would create, yet Natsu claimed that the loli was the cause behind it? Such a thing was madness in every sense of the word, and yet neither one of them could find any words to refute that claim.
After a while, Compa eventually spoke up, though by her tone it was clear she was still a little shaken by the recent turn of events. "W-Well, Nep-Nep? Do you remember anything?" She asked in a slight stutter.
The loli hummed as she stared at the crash site, her eyes taking in every detail as she tried to remember something, anything. As the seconds flew by, her gaze gradually became more intense, before it suddenly dropped and she let out a sigh.
"…Nope. I've got nothing." Neptune said, causing the two pinkettes to frown. She then turned to the male with a dubious look. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
Seeing the look of doubt being sent his way, Natsu frowned. "You saying I got it wrong?" He questioned in mild annoyance.
"Well, no offense, but you don't seem very bright…"
A vein throbbed on the boy's forehead at those words. "What did you say, you midget?!"
Compa looked between the male and the loli with a nervous look. "Um, guys? I don't think now's the time to-"
RUMBLE!
"!"
Everyone froze as they felt the ground shake for a brief moment. Thinking that something might be approaching them, the group immediately went on guard as they looked around the area with their backs facing one another. Natsu readied his fists, Compa held her giant syringe tightly with a look of unease, and Neptune held her wooden sword in front of her, ready to cut down anything that would dare approach her.
As the seconds ticked by, the group remained vigilant, awaiting whatever it was that had caused the ground to shake to reveal itself. After a few moments however, it became apparent that nothing was coming. Even so, no one dared to speak, until the silence was inevitably broken when Neptune let out a small chuckle.
"Heh...guess it was just a false alarm, huh?" The petite girl said as she relaxed her stance.
RUMBLE!
The ground suddenly shook once more, causing the lilac haired girl to cry out in surprise. However, this time the shaking did not cease, and soon large cracks began to spread across the ground.
"W-What's going on?!" Compa cried out in shock as she tried to maintain her balance.
"I think w-we just triggered the n-next event!" Neptune shouted comically.
"What the hell are you even talking about?!" Natsu snapped at the loli, before he felt the ground beneath him sink, causing his eyes to go wide. "Shit, the ground! It's-!"
Unfortunately, the dragon slayer was unable to finish his statement as the ground beneath him and the two girls crumbled away, causing them to fall into the depths below…
·····Save Complete·····
For those wondering about updates, I'm simply going to upload the chapters whenever I feel they are ready. With the way things are in my life at the moment, I won't be able to keep a consistent schedule.
P.S. Oh, and for the reader curious about how Natsu can still use magic in Gameindustri, I do have an explanation for that which will be looked into in a later chapter.
[Updated 8/28/18]