HOLY HELL I FINALLY DID IT.
Sorry, didn't meant to startle you, I'm just finally happy I managed to get this dang chapter out. Yet again, I've had this chapter almost COMPLETED for months now, but I wasn't able to properly wrap things up the way I wanted.
But regardless! Now we can move on, and return to this world!
Let's go!
Chapter 4: Discovery, Caves, And a Promise
…
…
The living room is dark.
It's extremely late at this point.
Neptune and Compa have both retired for the night, with Compa going to her own bed, and Neptune to the spare bedroom.
Cameron, then, was left with the cot that he had woken up that morning on. He was still wide awake, unable to fall asleep no matter how long he closed his eyes.
He was a bit ticked, sure, since Neptune had somehow taken the spare bedroom as her own when he wasn't looking, effectively screwing him over since he didn't have a proper bed at that point.
But beyond that, something was making it impossible for the tall man to sleep. Maybe Compa had left a window open by accident, or that the cot just simply wasn't as comfortable as he thought it had been a while back.
He kept tossing and turning, trying to find a comfy sleeping position. But no matter what, the cot simply didn't have the kind of cushion he wanted.
Frustrated, he threw off the spare bed sheets Compa had given him and stood up, going to the kitchen. Perhaps a late-night snack would help calm him and make it easier to sleep.
He clunked around in there, perhaps making a bit more noise than was necessary. He didn't realize that he was making too much noise, right up until he heard a soft, "Cameron…?"
He jumped a bit, whirling around. Compa, in her frilly night-wear, fuzzy slippers, and a blanket wrapped around her, stood on the other side of the counter, staring at him.
"Oh… sorry, Compa. I just, er… couldn't sleep." Cameron mumbled, taking a sip of milk.
"Really?" Compa asked, tilting her head. "I thought you said the cot was comfy before…?"
"Well, I guess not." Cameron replied. "But, sorry. I'll try to be more quiet."
Compa mulled it over for a moment, then offered, "You know, if you want, you can sleep in my bed. I've slept in that cot before, I'll be fine-"
"No, no, no. Out of the question." Cameron interrupted. "I'm not having you sacrifice your own comfort just to accommodate me."
"B-but! You're my guest, so I want you to be comfy…!" Compa insisted.
"No chance." Cameron denied again.
"C'mon, please? At least see if you'd be more comfortable there instead!" Compa pleaded.
Cameron stared at the girl. Why was she making such an effort for Cameron to be comfortable? Even for how nice and courteous Compa had been to him before, wasn't this pushing it, at least a little?
(People's minds work in strange ways, sometimes.)
He hesitated for a few more moments, but held firm. "I don't wanna inconvenience you anymore than necessary, Compa. I'll be fine, you should just get some rest too, okay?"
Compa clearly didn't like that answer, but she nevertheless realized that Cameron was probably going to stubbornly keep insisting he was fine.
"Alright… but at least let me see if I can't find any more sheets for you, give you some more padding." Compa sighed.
She left the kitchen and headed back for her room. She had just opened the linen closet and was starting to dig around in it some, when all of a sudden-
*SNAP!*
A loud sound of splintering wood, followed quickly by something heavy slamming into the ground, made Compa whirl around. The concerned nurse quickly ran back to the living room, where a very disgruntled Cameron was lying on a pile of broken sticks and one large canvas sheet. "O… ow…" he breathed, though he looked far more stunned than actually hurt.
"Are you okay?" Compa fretted, helping the large man up to his feet.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine, more surprised than anything…" Cameron agreed. "I think I might've sat down on the thing a bit too hard…"
Compa lightly smacked her forehead in sudden realization. "Oh, I forgot! That cot is really old, so you have to be gentle with it, you can't put too much pressure on it too fast or else…"
Cameron held up one of the legs of the cot, which was (somehow) broken almost in half. "This happens…?"
"I'm sorry, Cameron… I'll need to buy another cot tomorrow…" Compa mumbled, looking down. "But… where are you going to sleep now…?"
"I mean… there's a couch." Cameron tried.
"I wouldn't… it's not as cushy as you might think, you can really feel those springs if you put your entire weight on the thing…" Compa explained.
"... I guess there's always the floor…" Cameron sighed dejectedly.
"C'mon! Just take my bed already!" Compa pleaded.
"But then where would YOU sleep?" Cameron fired back quietly.
Compa was quiet for a moment, before she suddenly blushed quite heavily.
It didn't fail to escape Cameron. "Uh… Compa?"
"W-well… we… it's a big bed, so…" Compa stammered, unable to put the words together exactly. She swallowed, took another breath, and then explained, "W-we could… um, share…?"
(Ooooooooooooooooooo~)
At first, Cameron didn't understand. And then the realization of what Compa was offering hit him. Now BOTH of them were blushing.
"I… uh…" Cameron stammered, at a loss for words.
Neither of them said a thing for a moment, but with a lack of a better solution, neither of them really attempted to ignore the option.
"..." Compa was still silent.
"... just for tonight." Cameron quickly responded.
Compa nodded. "Yessy, just tonight."
"And I'll buy you a new cot tomorrow and we'll never talk about it again after, okay?"
"O-okay…"
Another hour has passed. It's a fair bit past midnight at this point.
As the pair had agreed, now Compa and Cameron were sharing the bed. It was quite large, honestly: a family of four could've easily fit on the bed with room to spare. Perhaps that's why Compa had loaded the thing with an assortment of cushy pillows and a stuffed animal or ten.
The pair of them were lying there, trying to fall asleep. Cameron, at least, finally felt comfortable, since Compa's bed was WAY more comfortable than that old cot had ever been.
However, the ever present fact of Compa just an arm's length away made him just embarrassed enough to not be able to fall asleep.
Occasionally, he glanced over and saw Compa, seeing her staring at the ceiling, before glancing away. He would probably feel a lot better if Compa had fallen asleep already…
One time, he looked over only to find Compa staring at him, probably thinking the exact same thing as him.
The two held eye contact for a moment, before Compa adjusted her covers. "Um… Cam… Cameron?"
"Y… yes?" Cameron whispered back.
"I… I've kinda been curious…" Compa murmured, lifting her head slightly to uncover her other ear. "What's it like… not knowing who you are?"
The question took Cameron by surprise: he had been expecting something like, "we should sleep" or something, not a deep conversation.
He glanced away for a sec, appraising his answer. When he spoke again, his voice was neutral.
"I guess… It's scary, kinda. But… also, it's strangely comforting. Since I don't know what I used to be, I'm not bound by any old habits or anything, at least none that I can think of. How did Neptune put it… it's a clean slate. A second chance, if you will."
Compa watched Cameron as he struggled with some complex emotions. "I… I do want my memory back, though. If nothing else, for peace of mind, knowing I won't COMPLETELY lose myself."
Compa hesitated, then scooted closer together. She gently touched Cameron's hand, and took in with hers. "Well… I just want you to know that… I'll do whatever it takes for you to get those memories back. I… I want you to get better, okay?"
Cameron wasn't sure what to say. This girl… she had to have a heart of pure gold in order to help a complete stranger like him.
But… somehow…
The idea of someone… caring about him, despite knowing basically nothing about him…
That struck Cameron strongly. In a way that he couldn't describe, and yet it was powerful.
He didn't say anything, but turned his head so that Compa wouldn't see him rub his eyes a little. Was he about to cry? It certainly felt like it…
"Thanks, Compa… thank you…" he murmured.
Compa wanted to do more to reassure him that he would be okay, but honestly she had no idea what to do.
Cameron looked over again. The pair were very close now.
Oddly, the two found… a strange sort of comfort from being so close together.
Cameron hesitated, but he suddenly felt that he needed to show Compa his appreciation with more than words.
He scooted a little closer to Compa. "I… Compa, I…"
He couldn't find the words, but eventually he stopped trying.
He decided to let actions speak for him.
So he, hesitantly, reached around Compa. Compa was surprised for a moment, but didn't resist when the large man suddenly held her tightly against him.
"Thank you… for being so nice…" Cameron whispered, shaking ever so slightly.
Compa was still for a moment, before smiling to herself.
She wrapped her own arms around the tall man and gave him a pat on his back.
The hug was warm, comfortably so.
Cameron suddenly felt incredibly tired. He slowly released Compa and settled back down, rolling back over to his back.
He closed his eyes, and just like that, he was out.
Compa was surprised when she suddenly heard snoring, but she smiled warmly regardless. "Sweet dreams…"
And she, too, would soon fall asleep…
But she, either consciously or not, still held Cameron's hand.
And the night went on...
"OH. MY. COD."
A sudden and loud voice jarred Cameron from his sleep. Sleepily, he opened his eyes.
This… wasn't the living room…?
He glanced to the right.
A sleepy Compa was less than a foot away from him, still sound asleep.
And then he happened to glance back over to the door, and saw a wide-awake Neptune, grinning ear to ear.
(As if there was any other way I would react to this kind of situation!)
The full reality of the situation slammed into Cameron with about the same amount of force as a fifty foot drop (and unfortunately, Cameron knew he was experienced in that). Rapidly, he started babbling, trying to get some words out, but all that came out was incomprehensible gibberish.
"Ooooooh~, what did the fair Compa and the barbaric Cameron do last night, hmm?" Neptune teased quite loudly, totally enjoying Cameron's red face and his half-hearted attempts to form a full sentence.
Cameron rocketed out of the bed and ran past Neptune, hoping to put as much distance between them as possible to avoid her teasing. Neptune doggedly chased after through Compa's small apartment, cat-calling the tall man the entire time.
After an EXTREMELY awkward morning routine, the three friends reconvened in the kitchen. Compa was still blissfully unaware about the whole fiasco, but Neputne wasn't planning on keeping it that way for very long.
"Soooo~, how'd you sleep?" Neptune asked, grinning at Cameron the entire time.
Cameron chose not to answer, in case his words gave the purple-haired imp any more ammunition. Compa, on the other hand, had light blush marks on her cheeks, but was still her usual smiley self. "Oh, I actually slept pretty good last night. Cameron had a bit of trouble falling asleep, though…"
"Oh, now did he?" Neptune asked in mock surprise, still grinning broadly. "Could that have anything to do with where he was sleeping, mayhaps?"
"W-what?" Compa asked, growing confused.
And then Compa happened to glance over and meet Cameron's eyes. As though a spark had suddenly passed through the pair, Compa suddenly understood what Neptune was getting at.
She blushed heavily, and started stammering, "O-oh! No no no, Nep-Nep! It's not like that! W-we just… um…"
"Then what is it like, then?" Neptune asked, clearly enjoying herself.
Compa opened her mouth to say something, changed her mind and closed it, then changed her mind AGAIN and opened, closed it again, and eventually just stayed absolutely silent and staring desperately at Cameron to do something.
"L-look, Neptune-" Cameron started to explain.
And what followed was an at least hour-long conversation where Compa and Cameron both tried to reason with Neptune about what had happened. And although eventually Neptune seemed to finally let it go, it was clear she wasn't going to be forgetting it anytime soon.
They ended up talking for so long, it was already almost midday, and they hadn't even eaten anything yet. To make up for it, Compa suggested they go to a nearby cafe that she knew about, since they had a nice selection of food to eat.
Once the group had everything they needed/wanted, they set out, and before long were seated and munching away on some rather delectable cafe food. Neptune had chosen a specialty pudding ("No idea what flavor it is, but I want it!" she had proclaimed) and Compa had gotten a small lunch of a sandwich and a drink ("I don't wanna fill up too much, since we'll probably be doing things later too.").
Cameron, on the other hand, was absolutely famished. He managed to wolf down two burgers and was almost halfway through his third before he remembered to breath. Not to mention he was downing soft drinks like they were health potions, and he even somehow had enough room to fit a slice of chocolate pie.
When a wide-eyed Compa questioned him on that, he just shrugged. "Gotta keep my energy up." he said, pausing to sip his drink. "I haven't had a proper meal since… well, I can't remember, but still."
"I hope you're the one who's paying for all that, cause I'm not." Neptune murmured, returning to her fifth bowl of pudding. Compa had a sort of worried smile on her face as Cameron finished off his food.
(Irony much?)
(Irony? Never heard of it.)
Once everything was paid for (in all fairness, Cameron paid for the entire meal himself, since even he realized he ate maybe a bit TOO much), the trio set off to do some light shopping and whatnot. Since they didn't have too much of a landing point beyond 'find the Key Fragments', they decided it would be best to just stock up on whatever they thought was important.
As it turned out, though, there wasn't much as of yet. Apart from a few basic items and some basic accessories, the shop they visited wasn't exactly full of anything groundbreaking. Cameron was slightly disappointed, but he did cheer up a little when he and Neptune were both able to find a better sword for the pair of them.
While they were out and about, the group kept to themselves mostly. "You know, now that we've actually spent a bit of time wandering around, this is actually a huge city!" Neptune mused.
"I'll say." Cameron agreed. "I don't think I can ever recall seeing so many people before."
"Well, Planeptune is the most advanced city of the four Lands." Compa reasoned. Although it certainly sounded impressive, Compa did a good job of sounding matter-of-fact about it.
"Still…" Cameron sighed, letting out a short puff of air. "Would've been nice to have at least something of a lead right now. We're not exactly getting too much done right now. What's our next plan of action?"
The other girls didn't really offer anything. Fortunately, they didn't have to.
As if on cue, a pair of random people (that Cameron was 99.99 percent sure were NPC's at best) suddenly started talking to each other, just loud enough for the three friends to hear.
"Hey, did you hear?" the first one said.
"About the cave that just opened a while ago?" the other asked. "The one under the forest?"
"Yeah, get this: it's totally infested with monsters." the first man replied.
"Oh yeah, I've heard people say that it's become something of a monster breeding ground." the second man agreed.
"Breeding?!" the first man asked, clearly having not heard of that rumor. "Well… that certainly sounds interesting, huh?"
"Yeah, well, the Guild's currently looking for people to go and assess the situation." the second man explained.
"Really? Isn't this something the CPU would take care of?" the first asked back.
Slowly, the pair faded into background noise as their conversation continued, but the three friends had clearly heard enough and stopped paying attention.
(Ahh, the ever convenient NPC group that has important information for the party but will never be seen again strikes again!)
Compa had been quiet the entire time the two had been speaking, but the look on her face was definitely guilt of some kind.
"Nep-Nep? Cameron? Can we do something before we go anywhere?" she asked hesitantly.
"Lemme guess. The cave?" Neptune asked.
"Yes. Even klutzy old me wants to do something to help Planeptune and the Goddess, even if it's not much." Compa replied.
Cameron shrugged in agreeance. "Not like we really found much while shopping anyway. A visit to the Guild it is, then."
"Really? You're sure?" Compa asked, smiling gratefully.
"Hey, you've stayed by us. It's time for us to return the favor." Neptune reasoned, playfully bumping the other girl's shoulder.
On the way there, however, Cameron couldn't help but notice something. He had plugged his phone in last night with that spare cord, which meant that now it was operating normally again. However, nothing about the phone was familiar to him. He had no contacts in his phone, and all the calls that were listed in the call record were from unlisted numbers. He attempted to call one, but it didn't even give him a dial-tone. It just simply cut out entirely.
With that plan having failed, he instead turned to the other applications he had on his phone. One in particular that he found interesting was something called, 'Remake'. He wasn't quite sure what it was yet, but it definitely had some options to dick around with, particularly regarding what looked like items and the various dungeons the party had already visited.
He asked if Compa knew anything about it, but Compa shook her head. "Like I said, I've never even seen that kind of phone before, so I have no idea…"
"Well, guess I'll just have to figure it out in my own time, huh…?" Cameron mused quietly, as to not let Compa hear him.
The walk to the Guild would take a bit longer, so he started looking around his phone more, trying to find even a slight clue as to who he was.
His email turned out to be a bust: just a bunch of spam emails that had nothing to do with him. He did learn his email address again, which was nice to have just in case, but otherwise it was a waste of time.
Finally, he started looking at the phone's photo storage. Perhaps there'd be a picture or two to finally piece together who he was?
Before he got the chance, however, Compa suddenly spoke up. "And, here it is. The Guild."
He quietly stuffed the phone back into his pocket to look at later, and looked around as the party entered the Guild.
It was a very fancy building, with a polished interior and hi-tech computers scattered about. Not many people were here, actually, but perhaps that was because the bulk of adventurers were already out and about for the day.
Compa took over an empty computer, quickly typing a few things out. When she stepped back, she had entered Neptune and Cameron into a pair of forms, basically making them official Guild members and able to take quests and whatnot.
"I've already got a Guild membership, so it's no problem for me. So now, let's just find that cave, annnnddd…" Compa explained, scrolling through the list of available quests.
"Done!" she announced. Cameron looked over and, true to her word, Compa had accepted the quest to go take a look at the cave.
"Alright, that's…" Cameron started to say, but stopped. Something was triggering within himself.
He pulled out his phone and, after a moment of swiping around, he found what he was looking for. "Aha! I knew it. Look, I think I have something to keep track of our quests for us here."
Indeed, he was right. Neptune and Compa both looked at the screen, showing a slightly condensed version of the quest Compa had just accepted.
"Wow, that's convenient." Neptune replied. "Have you always had that on there?"
"Maybe you've lived here before and that's why you have that stuff." Compa reasoned.
"I mean, that's perfectly logical reasoning, but then that begs the question why my phone is so unfamiliar to you, Compa." Cameron reasoned back.
"Hmm… true…" the nurse murmured.
"Guys, c'mon! We're getting off topic! We've got a cave to explore! Let's-a go!" Neptune shouted, jollily grabbing Cameron by the arm and dragging him along. He started shouting at Neptune to slow down, which left Compa to smile, shake her head knowingly, and then try to catch up as best as she could.
Before very long, the group had entered and were now standing just inside the familiar cave, the crystals twinkling innocently against the blue stone walls.
"So… we're back." Cameron mused quietly, his right hand twitching ever so slightly towards his sword handle.
"Yep! And now we have to… erm, what was it we're doing here again?" Neptune asked.
"You… didn't read the fine print, didn't you, Neptune?" Compa asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer.
"Who has time to read the fine print of things?! I know I don't! Never have, never will!" Neptune responded.
"That's not something to sound so proud of, Neptune." Cameron grumbled, pulling out his phone. "According to this, we're meant to look around the cave, take note of the monsters, and just make sure whatever they're doing isn't going to threaten Planeptune too much. Sounds easy enough…"
(That's what they all say.)
"Yeah, sounds more like a basic 'wipe-out-all-enemies-in-this-dungeon' type situation." Neptune agreed.
(That's also what they all say.)
"Then let's not waste any time and get right to it!" Compa announced, bouncing on her heels.
Neptune glanced around again. "But, uh… that big scary monster thing we fought yesterday… it's still around, isn't it?"
"Well, a lot of adventurers have been through here themselves recently, so I'd imagine that it's been scared off by now." Compa responded.
Cameron wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Good thing, too. I'm not sure we could've taken it on again, and I certainly didn't want to find out either way…"
The party soon set off, encountering a small group of monsters that didn't pose too much of a threat. But there was something going on.
After the battle with the monsters, Cameron was almost certain that the cave had suddenly dimmed quite a bit more than normal. Perhaps it was because they had left the mouth of the cave behind, and their eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, but he was rather sure the cave had been brightly lit just moments before.
It also seemed to be noticed by the other two. "Wow, it's getting darker the deeper we go…"
"This darkness doesn't feel… natural…" Cameron mused, before suddenly realizing that Neptune, who he was sure had been next to him just moments before, was nowhere in sight.
"N-Nep-Nep? Cameron? Are you guys still there?" Compa called out, sounding rather far away.
"Oh, don't worry, Compa. It's not that bad." Neptune responded, sounding nearer but still far away.
Cameron grunted and sped up, following where he heard the voices come from. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. Keep an eye out for monsters or something lurking around the-"
He would've kept finishing his sentence, but at that moment he plowed directly into something or someone, tripping and sending the pair of them to the ground. "Gah!" he shouted as he hit the ground.
"C-Cameron?" Neptune called out.
"Oh no… if Cameron fell into a pit, the story might be over…" Compa mused darkly, sounding closer to Neptune.
(Judging from the fact that there's still more text below here, I'd say that's unlikely.)
"O-oww… watch where you're going, dude!" a new voice, sounding like it came right next to Cameron, yelled arrogantly.
Suddenly, the lights emanating from the crystals suddenly seemed to brighten. Compa and Neptune quickly found themselves together, and rushed over to where Cameron was.
Cameron was on his behind, staring at a new girl. She had an amazingly oversized blue coat, with what looked like a black tank-top and shorts underneath. Around the waist-band of her coat was a plethora of cell phones in a rainbow of colors, plus an extra pink phone that was clipped to a pocket that looked like she could grab it at a moment's notice. Large blue boots were on her feet, just barely hiding thigh-high black socks. Around her neck was a thin black… necklace? Collar? Honestly, it was hard to tell. Her light brown hair was long, almost long enough to reach her waist, and clipped in it was a small, leaf-shaped hair pin. Her emerald green eyes were currently a mixture of annoyance and surprise, half-glaring at the man who had just knocked her over.
"S-sorry…" Cameron apologized, quickly jumping back to his feet and offering a hand to pull the girl back up.
The girl looked over as Neptune and Compa approached. "Wait a sec… what are kids like you two doing here?"
Neptune grew indignant. "Kids?! Speak for yourself, you're a kid too! Who are you?!"
The new girl took Cameron's hand and stood up, dusting her coat off a little. She then looked up at the three. "I'm IF. Just remember me as the Wind Walker of Gamindustri!"
If that was supposed to impress the other three, they didn't exactly show it. When she didn't get anything of a response, the strange girl seemed to grow a bit embarrassed. "Ah… eh…?"
"You're… the Wild Talker of Gamindustri…?" Neptune asked slowly.
"Wind Walker." IF corrected. "I travel the world, making a living working for the Guild."
"Sooo… an adventurer type, then." Cameron summed up. "That might've saved a bit more time to say than that whole 'Wolf Warmer' bit."
"W-I-N-D-W-A-L-K-E-R! Wind Walker!" IF fired back, growing impatient. "Ugh, whatever. What are you three doing here anyway?"
"Oh, we're working for the Guild too." Neptune responded. "I'm Neptune, she's Compa, and the tall one who knocked you to the floor is Cameron."
Cameron glared at Neptune. "We could've done without that last bit, Neptune. *sigh* Well, it's good to meet you anyway, If."
"I-F." IF explained again. "Both letters are capital."
Cameron stared at her in a 'seriously?' manner. "That makes absolutely no verbal sense, but whatever."
(You'll… actually, you'll probably not get used to it. Meh, whatevs!)
"Either way, you can't be serious." IF continued, looking at Neptune and Compa. "You girls are with the Guild, too?"
"Yeah, good to meet you too…" Neptune murmured. "Anyway, we're not greenhorne rookies, you know! We know how to handle things!"
"Really? Even when there's so many monsters around?" IF asked.
Neptune faltered, suddenly looking a bit nervous. "Umm…"
"Don't tell me… you didn't read the fine print, did you?" IF asked, rubbing her temples.
But what Neptune was nervous about wasn't the whole Guild issue. She noticed something much more pressing around the corner.
Compa noticed it too. "Nep-Nep… it can't be…" she murmured.
And just like that, Cameron noticed what the two of them were looking at, just in time for it to scream.
The monster that the party had thrashed and just barely escaped from yesterday, looking extremely beaten but still very much alive and angry. It's roar shook the very foundation of the cave, and it looked as though it was searching for something.
"NOT AGAIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Neptune and Compa both shouted at the top of their lungs, holding each other fearfully.
"Oh no, it's gotta be looking for us… or at least you, Neptune…" Cameron whispered huskily, looking just as fearful as the other two.
IF had whirled around and seen the monster too, but whirled back at Cameron's words. "Wait, you guys know what that beast is?!"
"Oh, yes. Nep-Nep sandbagged Mr. Monster yesterday real good. She saved me from it too!" Compa responded.
Neptune was now doing some kind of panic dance, which involved a lot of arm waving and loud stamping of her feet on the rough stone floor. "W-w-what are we gonna do?! It's gotta be looking to get some revengeance for me beating it up!"
(Ohh, like YOU would've acted any differently in that situation!)
(I… I did. Did you not read the previous few sentences?)
(Wasn't talking to you!)
"Hard to believe, but if the three of you can fight, then I'm gonna need your help." IF shouted, flicking her arms out. Two pairs of hand-blades came out from her sleeves, which she grabbed onto in preparation.
Just then, the monster looked over and finally noticed the group all there, probably alerted by their loud voices and Neptune's ridiculous panicking. With another roar, the beast started charging toward the group as fast as it could, bearing down on them with every step.
"Nep-Nep, we gotta beat Mr. Monster for the sake of Planeptune!" Compa yelled out to Neptune.
"Do that thing you did, Neptune!" Cameron shouted as the monster was almost upon them.
At the very least, the idea that she was going to start thrashing some monster tail seemed to calm her down a fair bit. "Okay! Lemme go super-mode from the start this time!" Neptune shouted.
In a flash, Neptune transformed, heaving her blade. "Hah… I'm ready now."
IF couldn't fail to notice this (a bright column of light tends to do that), and she quickly grew even more confused. "W-what the-?! What just happened?! You're, like, huge now! Like all over!"
"Surprise!" Compa gleefully shouted, holding up her syringe. "Nep-Nep can transform! She gets really really strong like this."
"Now do you see how we beat that monster? Now do you believe it?" Neptune asked.
"How can I not?! It's harder to NOT believe it at this point." IF responded, still looking confused but critical at the same time.
The monster was finally upon the group, and it leveled it's massive weapon and roared once more, looking even angrier at the group that had caused it so much pain not long again.
Neptune leveled her massive blade and stared in defiance at the monster. "So, you want to get it on, do you? Well then, the feeling is mutual. I'm going to have to take you down before you hurt anyone else."
And just like that, the party of now four was thrust into battle.
IF joined the party!
Battle Start
The massive bug monster, which Cameron had come to learn was a Guard Vermin ('How appropriate…' he thought), bore down on the party. Now that it was close to the group, it was easy to see that it had taken substantial damage thanks to previous encounters. What looked like dried blood decorated several parts of it, including one right around the mouth area. Despite these obvious injuries, it still seemed quite ready to fight.
IF darted forward quickly and started swinging her blades at the monster's many legs. Cameron, inspired, rushed forward and began hacking away on the legs on the other side of the monster, hoping to cripple the creature.
But, as you could probably expect, swinging a bunch of sharp pointy metal objects at someone tends to make them a wee bit ticked off. The creature roared in defiance and slashed at IF with it's own massive weapon, who just barely was able to block some of the incoming damage from hitting her full force.
Compa ran in for the assist, tending to IF, while Neptune stepped forward with confidence.
But just before Neptune could make a proper move, for a moment, Cameron was sure that words appeared just above her head. They read, 'Cross Combo'.
Neptune backed up a moment, readied her blade, and then yelled, "I'll slice you in half!"
She rushed forward almost too fast for Cameron to track, and swung her blade several times at the enemy in rapid succession. She then proceeded to kick the monster up into the air, slash her blade downward, and send the beast careening down to the ground. Hard.
The monster was quickly losing its health and its temper. Roaring, it swung the massive blade it held around wildly, and it somehow managed to hit all four of our heroes and send them flying backwards.
"O-owie…" Compa murmured, holding her side.
Cameron quickly regained his balance and rushed over to help his friends. He had just picked IF off the ground and was moving for Compa when, with yet another roar, the monster started bearing down on her itself, who was still on the ground.
With no time and no space to jump out of the way, Compa, out of terror, threw her hands up in a fruitless attempt to block the massive creature's sword…
The sword came down…
*CLANG!*
But Cameron had already stepped in front of Compa, and was now, somehow, holding off the massive monster by himself. The two's blades were locked together, and although the monster clearly should've had the strength advantage, Cameron was holding his own.
"C-Compa! Get out of there!" he shouted over his shoulder.
Compa stared at him in surprise and wonder. "C-Cameron…?"
"GO!" the tall man shouted again.
Compa quickly heeded his words. She stood, grabbed her weapon, and dashed off to the others, who had regrouped behind the monster.
Cameron could feel his legs starting to give way. The monster was putting more and more weight into its sword, and he was barely able to stay standing because of it.
Fortunately, the other girls had his back. A triple attack, with IF slashing away at the creature's backside, Compa leaping up and stabbing the thing in the back, and Neptune leaping high into the air and slashing at the creature's face, quickly became too much for the monster to bear.
It roared weakly one more time, but soon enough fell to the ground. And this time, it disappeared into nothingness. Now it was dead, truly.
Victory!
All was quiet for a moment, as the group processed what they had managed to do.
Neptune was the first to break the silence, by sheathing her weapon. "Well, that was hardly fair. It was damaged already, after all."
"Are you sure…?" Cameron asked, breathing deeply while drinking some water. "I was almost sure that thing was a mid-level boss…"
(That's not good that you're ALREADY overwhelmed at just this basic level, bud…)
"Even so, I have to say, you guys aren't half bad. Honestly, I dunno if I could've taken that thing on my own. Thanks." IF complimented, sheathing her own blades.
"No problem. It's my fault the monster was still roaming around, after all." Neptune replied.
IF was looking this new Neptune up and down, her expression thoughtful. "Still… that's some transformation you have there. It's like you're a completely different person."
"Just imagine how it was when WE saw it the first time…" Cameron mused, rolling his eyes playfully.
A quick flash of light later, and Neptune stood back before the group, a bit tired but otherwise back to her normal self. "Whew… I'm beat…"
"Nice fight, Nep-Nep! You were really cool out there!" Compa complimented. This elected a slightly embarrassed Neptune to ask for Compa to stop flattering her, and a few giggles were shared between the two.
Cameron was sorta half-hoping that the nurse would say something complimentary towards him about how he jumped in to stop the monster from turning Compa into confetti, but at that moment IF spoke up. "Really… it's hard to tell that you're even the same person."
"Well… oh! Hey, Iffy, what'd ya say about mayhaps you joining our party, huh?" Neptune asked. "Y'know, while we're at it."
IF was thrown off for a second. "Huh? Iffy? Is that me?"
"Yep! IF = Iffy!" Neptune agreed enthusiastically. "It sounds a heck of a lot cuter too, doesn't it?" Neptune then suddenly looked a bit concerned at IF's confused expression. "Or, wait, do you not like that name? Were you teased by other kids for that name before?"
"W-what? No. I was never teased about my name before. Just… call me whatever. Anything you want." IF responded.
"Iffy it is then!" Compa agreed happily.
"Ehhh, I'm not much of a nickname guy. I'll stick with IF." Cameron responded. He continued, "But, really, don't suppose you'd wanna join up with us? It'd be nice to have someone who's used to this whole adventuring thing."
IF considered it for a moment, before shrugging. "Ah, what the heck. As they say, 'the more the merrier.'"
Neptune seemed ecstatic. "Great! Well, I hope we become the bestest of friends, Iffy!"
(Yayyyyyy!)
(I sincerely cannot tell if that is meant to be sarcastic or not. Considering you already lived through this story, then I hope it wasn't)
And so, IF stayed with the others. After a brief moment to check on everyone's gear, the group of four headed back onto the trail, heading deeper into the cave.
Neptune had, as per usual, charged off ahead to discover all the cave had to offer. IF wasn't far behind, though it was unclear if she was keeping an eye on Neptune or if she was also itching to fight something.
That left Compa and Cameron, who were keeping pace with each other towards the back. Cameron was busy tooling about on his phone, looking at something or another, while Compa was quietly humming to herself.
Then, Compa looked over as Cameron tucked his phone back into his pocket and heaved a dejected sigh. "What's wrong, Cameron?"
"Ah, it's nothing…" Cameron responded. "I just was looking around, and I thought I could find something, but…"
"Didn't you say something about the photos on the phone, or something?" Compa asked. "You said you were going to look at them but didn't cause we reached the Guild…"
Cameron hesitated for a moment, before pulling out his phone, unlocking it, and pulling up the Photo application. "Yeah, I just looked at it. The problem is… well…"
He sighed, then passed it over to Compa, who looked at it curiously.
There weren't many photos in the album, maybe twelve at most. And the photos, oddly, didn't really seem to show anything in particular. They looked like… random locations. A collapsed stone monument, a glass panel, a lake, a big tree, a high-city shot, a muddy forest trail. And then there were even more random ones, like a bed, a box in the middle of a field, an image of a strange cloud, a pixelated blade, and a stack of what looked like game cases on a table.
But it was the last one that was the most curious, simply because all it was was a black screen. No focus on a single item, or an area, just… black.
"I have no idea what those images are or what they mean." Cameron continued. "But… the weird thing is, even though I know I can't remember anything…"
He hesitated, knowing how weird this was going to sound. Compa looked at him curiously as he took a deep breath and continued.
"Well… I'm fairly certain I've never even been to any of the places shown in those photos."
It was quiet, save for Neptune's joyful adventuring ahead and the footsteps echoing around the cave. Compa stared at Cameron for about ten seconds before slowly asking, "What… what do you mean?"
"I mean…" Cameron responded, struggling to find the correct words for it. "It's like… I'm fairly certain that if I really had been to those locations before, I would've at least had a flash of 'this looks familiar'. And yet, well… I can't say that I've been to any of the locations shown in those photos. Like, at all."
Compa stared at the tall man as he seemed to grow increasingly frustrated. "I don't know why I'm so sure about that, I just am. I have no idea where any of those locations are, whatsoever. And none of them really strike me as somewhere I've ever been, so…"
"Well… even so, maybe these pictures can still help!" Compa responded, passing the phone back.
"Eh? How so?" Cameron asked, looking over.
"Well, think about it." Compa reasoned. "You have no memory of your past life, right? Well, even if you don't remember these locations, maybe finding them will trigger something! Like… maybe these locations can jog your memory somewhat."
Cameron considered that. It certainly sounded plausible, but…
"Well, then that begs the question… where the heck even are these places, anyway?" he asked, looking at the photos once again.
"Um…" Compa responded, looking over at the phone again. "I'm pretty sure that one of the cityscape isn't Planeptune… and that one with the stained glass window doesn't look like anything here either… but as for the rest, I have no idea…"
Cameron stared at the photos for a minute longer. Why couldn't he remember anything of these places? Clearly, they were important enough for him to bother taking photos of, but that raised the question of why? Why are these the only photos he had?
More questions than ever were piling up on Cameron, and it was starting to overwhelm the poor man. He hadn't even been on the adventure for very long, and yet he was starting to feel the beginning of panic. It was driving him crazy not knowing.
Compa grabbed his arm. "Cameron…? You're spacing out…"
Cameron shook his head, glancing over at the nurse girl. She was staring up into Cameron's eyes with a look of great concern.
To his credit, the tall man managed to put on a brave face for her. "S-sorry. I'm fine now."
He glanced back at his phone and put it away. "Well, I guess we'll just have to worry about that later. For now, let's catch up before the others leave us in the dust."
Compa nodded, but she still hadn't let go of Cameron's arm. When he pointed this out (saying that they weren't going to catch up if they continued at a walk like this), Compa seemed to tighten her grip a little.
"Cameron… you're so brave…" she whispered, staring into his eyes. "You have absolutely no idea who you are, or why any of this is happening to you… and yet you still fight. You still fight to save others. You saved me. I… how can you stay so brave…?"
Cameron's face… he had no emotion visible. A shadow case over his face, obscuring his eyes from Compa's. When he spoke again, his voice… it was a mask of calm.
"That… wasn't bravery."
Compa glanced at Cameron. But the taller man clearly wasn't done talking.
"I'm not brave in the slightest. When I rushed in to save you from that monster… that wasn't me being brave. Hell, I don't even know what came over me, to be honest. I was terrified that… that thing would still manage to cleave through me. But… I knew I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. So… I threw myself at that thing to save you. Even… even if I was killed in the process…"
He didn't finish his thought. Compa stared at him in wide-eyed wonder. "Y-you… threw yourself at the monster… just to save me?" she asked.
"I mean, it's only fair… you helped me, after all." Cameron responded, trying to give a half-smile, but it looked rather forced, as though it was a joke that he didn't find funny.
"C… Cameron…" Compa murmured.
Before either of the two could say another word, Neptune's voice suddenly called out, sounding VERY far away. "HEY! Slowpokes! You better hurry up! We've got monsters here!"
Cameron let out a short sigh. "Time's up. Let's go."
Compa stood still as the tall man separated from her and started jogging over, pulling out his blade. Only when Compa started hearing the sounds of actual fighting did she charge ahead, pulling out her own syringe.
Something… something inside of her changed then. She suddenly started seeing Cameron in a much different light.
The man had thrown himself at the danger, with little regard for his own life and safety, just to MAYBE save her.
People do just DO stuff like that unless they care deeply about the person they want to save.
And beyond that, Cameron seemed… hurt, somehow.
Like a shadow of his former self was still trying to shine through, and it was making him feel weak.
Compa, charging towards the fight, decided right then and there.
She would make it her personal mission to help Cameron as much as she possibly could, and to do everything in her power to help Cameron get his memories back. She had already promised to do this, but now… she felt that it was more than just a desire to help. Maybe that was impossible for her to do. Or maybe Cameron wouldn't want her to.
But as a nurse, it was her job to keep her patients happy. And right now, one of her biggest patients was upset and unhappy. She had to try, no matter what.
A plan now in her mind, she finally stopped thinking to herself and rushed off to join in the rest of the fight.
The beginnings of a small smile on her lips.
...huh.
Finally! Finally, I managed to work through my ending block problem!
(Yeah, for this chapter.)
Small victories, Neptune. Small victories.
I would like to once again apologize for how long it has taken me to get this chapter out. I am just going all over the place with pretty much everything these days, and it's hard to focus on any one thing for any particularly large amount of time.
On the plus side, at least I'm still writing, and I seriously do want to do stuff. So please understand that I won't get burned out for a long time. I just… kinda get bored by things easily. Even fun things like this.
As always, if you guys have any questions for me, let me know, and until next time, dear readers…
(Always remember!)
Stay awesome! =D