Stage 2: The Grim Omen

Neptune was unusually quiet during dinner. It wasn't something that went unnoticed by the other three goddesses, but of course they didn't say anything. The air was tense. It was a strange atmosphere and no one felt like talking. It was so quiet in fact that Histoire floated in to check on everyone. "Is everyone okay?" She asked worriedly.

Everyone nodded, but Neptune. "Ah, Histy! Look, I'm a little sleepy so Ima catch some z's 'kay? Night everyone." And with that, Neptune was headed for the doorway leading to the catacombs.

Noire rose from her seat. "I-I'm going too!" She announced loudly. Her face was burning when she caught a teasing smirk from Vert.

"Can't sit still knowing your beloved Neptune is down in the dumps?" Vert asked teasingly.

Blanc folded her arms. "Uke." Blanc muttered quietly as she sipped her tea.

Noire rolled her eyes. "A-Anyway, I'm going!"

"Sis wait up!" Uni stood to catch up to her sister, but Noire was long gone in search of Neptune. Slowly sitting back down she made a confused face to Nepgear. "What was that about?" She mouthed quietly.

Nepgear shook her head. "Don't know. Wanna sleep over tonight?" She mouthed back.

Uni grinned. "Sure." She muttered.

With that the two got up and left, leaving only the twins, Blanc and Vert in the room. Thankfully, it was the twins' turn to do the dishes tonight so they could leave as they pleased. For them, it was time to go on a sister hunt.

Neptune leaned against a pillar on an unknown side of the castle, staring at a tower on the far end. The only way in seemed to be through the door in front of her that took a path inside the castle all the way into the tower and up. Histoire had always told them under any circumstance to never enter this side of the castle. After today, Neptune was just full of questions and after today's incident, one she asked herself long ago had finally resurfaced, 'What could be in this part of the castle that Histy doesn't want us to see so badly?' She asked herself quietly. She took a step forward. "I-It's alright Neptune," She reassured herself, "There's probably some event triggering object on the other side of this door. Nope, there's no way there's some giant, unbeatable hidden boss on the other side that's super scary or something." She babbled.

"You gonna talk to yourself all day or are you gonna open that door?" Noire asked from behind her.

Neptune yelped and accidentally tripped. "Uh oh! Whoa!" She yelled as she fell through, hitting her head against the door in question, but not opening it. "Ow, hey watch it pigtails! You almost gave me a heart attack!" She exclaimed angrily.

Noire shook her head with a sigh. "So this is what was bugging you?" She asked quietly, helping Neptune up as she did so.

Neptune dusted herself off and shook her head. "No, but it's related I guess. I just wanna know what's behind this door y'know? Histy's always tellin' us to never go in so I wonder if there's some kind of amazing last resort weapon in here or something!" She explained.

Noire facepalmed. "Neptune, usually a weapon hidden like that is the weapon for the bad ending since it's so easy to acquire." She told her.

"But Noire, in the one game on Blanc's console there's a sword hidden in a castle's basement under the ocean." Neptune argued.

"That's a video game. Well, this is a video game too, but that's beside the point!" Noire countered.

"Uh, Noire I thought we weren't supposed to break the fourth wall." Neptune pointed out.

"It's your fault for saying unreasonable things. Seriously, you lack discipline." Noire complained.

"And you need to loosen up, but I can do that for you later if you want. Right now, I plan to take a look see-see inside. I gotta satisfy at least this part of my curiosity. You in? Or are you out?" Neptune shot back.

Noire didn't know what to say, but under the pressure of her own building curiosity she finally caved in. "Ugh, fine!" She yelled, "Let's go look, but if we get trapped in here and get caught it's totally your fault!" She said to her angrily.

Neptune pumped a fist. "Yes! Thanks Noire, I knew I could count on ya to join me. After all, one person dungeons tend to suck for the player." Neptune cheered.

Noire sighed. "Please don't make me regret this." She muttered.

"Make you regret what?" Blanc asked in a creepy voice.

"Uwaaaa! Blanc!" Noire screamed with astonishment. Beside the petite girl stood Vert who had her arms crossed, her face disapproving.

"I see you two planned to go snooping around in the tower." She said to them with a level voice.

"Baaaw! Vert!" Neptune moaned, "Don't you wanna look inside too? Don't tell me this hasn't peaked your curiosity!" She asked with a begging voice.

Vert hummed. "True, I do. But you know just as well as I do that Histoire said specifically not to enter that-"

"I find it interesting as well." Blanc chimed. "Let's go with them Vert. If we leave this to those two idiots, it's bound to result in disaster." She said softly. "Sides, castle dungeons are my specialty; aside from sewers anyway." She added.

Vert shrugged. "Fine, if all three of you are in then I will go as well. Someone needs to watch out for all of you." She said with defeat.

Neptune smiled. "Alrighty then, let's head on in!" She cheered.

The team took a step forward, but there was a minor problem. "Uh… Neptune?" Noire asked quietly.

Neptune turned to face her. "Hehe, sorry guys I don't know how to open the door." She explained sheepishly.

The three girls fell over in an anime like fashion. Of course, Blanc was the first to react angrily.

"You mean to freaking tell me you wanted to go in here and yet had no frickin' idea as to how you'd get in?" She yelled angrily.

"And knowing your luck Neptune, it probably needs a key." Noire complained.

"Oh relax it's a door. How hard could it be to unlock?" Vert chimed with a positive tone of voice.

The group looked up at the door; it was a large door with no handle on it. In the center, was a strange dragon like face with its mouth hanging wide open. Its face was menacing and unwelcome, as if to warn them one final time that they should leave while they still have the chance.

"Why don't we try sticking a hand in the dragon mouth?" Blanc finally suggested, eying the dragon's mouth.

Noire raised her eyebrow. "Fine, you can. I don't wanna risk spending the rest of my life missing a limb." She replied.

Neptune shrugged her shoulders. "'Guess I'll do it." She said with a slight sigh. Without hesitation she thrust her arm into the creatures mouth, hitting the door as she did so. She winced in pain and yelped. "Ow! That hurt! Geez stupid door! Must be some kinda decoration because there's definitely no hand-shaped key hole or some-"

[Analyzing: Planeptune CPU Neptune… Verified. The entrance will remain open for thirty minutes.] A metallic voice read monotonously.

The group seemed shocked as Neptune pulled her hand away and the door slowly creaked its way open. Neptune stared at the darkness they were met with; there was seemingly nothing beyond it.

"Leave…" A voice warned threateningly.

Neptune perked up. 'Who was that? I heard a voice!' She thought to herself with shock.

Noire shivered and looked around her. 'I could've sworn I heard someone just now.' She thought to herself.

Blanc's eyes narrowed. 'I swore I heard someone just now.' Looking around, she peered into the darkness. 'This might be bad.' She thought worriedly.

Vert continued to look forward. 'Ghostly voices won't scare me! I made it through Fatal Snap II in a single evening.' She thought to herself smugly.

The air grew cold, and suddenly the four were shivering.

"Why do you wish to enter? Nothing good awaits you within these accursed walls… Especially not for little girls like you. Leave, and allow me to return to my slumber." It told them darkly.

Neptune felt herself shake as she tried to take another step forward. "A-Anyone else hear a creepy voice in their head?" She asked shakily.

Noire nodded. "Good, I'm not imagining things." She replied.

"Oh my, now I really want to know what's in here! Drat, I should have brought my camera!" Vert exclaimed.

"This… Isn't good." Blanc muttered.

Neptune took a step back as a chilling wind forced Neptune's right foot off of the ground, forcing her off balance for a moment, causing her to take a step back. Suddenly from the darkness a shape began to form in front of them. Slowly from a pool of shadows a figure towered over them, standing just at a few centimeters taller than Vert! Its hair was wild and long, with deep, red eyes. The horns that protruded from the left and right side of its head were long and made it to the mysterious figure's chin. As for its body, it appeared to be human like, almost masculine in shape; it was too hard to tell. It seemed to be wielding a mysterious and yet to the girls familiar blade. "I will warn you only this last time…" It told them darkly.

Neptune gulped, and the other girls almost started to shake save for Vert who tried to eye the creature from multiple angles.

It glared at them. "LEAVE WHILE YOU STILL CAN!" It yelled almost dementedly.

Neptune and Noire immediately stepped back, moving further back then they intended when another gust of chilling air shoved against them. Vert finally seemed convinced, her shoulders quaking while Blanc merely stared at the mysterious shadow in a mix between awe and terror. Blanc was however the first to note that the shadow, as quickly as it appeared was now beginning to fade from the feet up.

"I've warned you enough, but think of those you hold dear before you step through this door… And beware…" It almost seemed to smile as it said, "of the false… advisor…" And just like that it was gone with the wind, black specks of dust seeming to follow the evening breeze.

Neptune stood there for a moment, trying to take it all in. "Ooookay this place's creepy meter is off the charts!" She exclaimed fearfully. She took a step back, only to be stopped by Noire.

"You're the one who wanted to check this place out. We're going in!" She said strictly.

Blanc nodded. "There shouldn't be any demons in a holy place like Celestia. This is a matter we must investigate as the CPUs." She mumbled.

Vert crossed her arms, summoning the spear to her right. "Besides Neptune, it could be a good chance for some evening exercise." She smiled devilishly as she slightly brandished the spear in her hands left and right.

Neptune swallowed as she looked at the darkness before them. "Well, let's go then! It's now or never right?" She replied.

The four nodded to each other as they took a step into the darkness, allowing themselves to enter the one part of the vast castle they had never explored- the forbidden tower.

Uni and Nepgear, who had witnessed the entire event quaked in their boots.

"N-Nepgear?" Uni asked.

"Y-Yeah?" Nepgear answered shakily.

"D-Did you see a really creepy monster in front of the door too?" Uni asked.

"Yeah, I did." Nepgear answered.

Uni paused for a moment. "…Wanna go in after them?" Uni asked.

Nepgear looked at the entrance. It just screamed dangerous to enter. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea Uni. Sides, didn't you think it was scary too? The monster I mean." Nepgear replied.

Uni blushed. "W-What? No! I wasn't scared! I just thought the thing looked creepy! So are we going in or not?" She half yelled.

Nepgear shivered as she looked at the door, nearing it with each step. Uni had the lead in front of them. "F-Fine… Let's go." Nepgear finally said with defeat.

Uni grinned. "Alright then," she said summoning her giant revolver, "let's go monster hunting." She said merrily as the two entered the darkness.

Ram and Rom eyed each other from across their bedroom as they continued their staring contest.

"Wonder where everyone went off to in such a hurry." Ram muttered aloud.

"…I heard a really creepy voice in my head earlier. It was saying to 'leave'." Rom answered shakily.

Ram raised an eyebrow. "Really? Me too." Getting up from the bed, she looked outside and coincidentally at the forbidden tower. "Wonder what's up." She muttered softly, this time too quietly for Rom to here.

"By the way Ram… You lost." Rom told her gently.

Ram immediately turned around with a rage filled face. "Tch, damn it! I forgot we were still playing! Do over!" She demanded angrily.

And so the twins began to play again, completely unaware of the danger their friends and beloved older sister had stumbled their way into.

A little further in the dungeon, Neptune and the others were carefully sneaking around. "For a holy place, it's sure got a lot of monsters in its dungeon." Vert complained.

"Thanks a bunch captain obvious." Noire muttered as the four looked at their surroundings: a completely black and iris red chamber, far too large to inspect in less than ten minutes. There were two hallways ahead with staircases on each side, one leading upward, and the other downward. All around the chamber were several monsters simply patrolling the open room. At the moment, CPUs used the only cover they had, a small unfinished wall near the entrance to conceal themselves. Already from the get go, this wasn't looking good.

"We've already been through two rooms." Blanc muttered.

"And still no boss key." Neptune added.

"Who cares? The only way out is forward, so we might as well keep going." Vert chimed.

"Yeah..." Noire said quietly.

And so the CPU quartet began to make their plan. A plan to figure out the safest way to get to the end of this tutorial dungeon alive that is.

Meanwhile, Nepgear and Uni had just entered the dungeon, looking around at the first room which was a large chamber covered in black and iris red lights. Nepgear took a shaky step forward. "W-Well, it's got a nice paint job." She said nervously.

"I don't really care for the paint job, but it's alright I guess." Uni replied.

Creak

"Ack! Uni!"

CREAK

"Y-Yeah?"

"CREAAAAK

"W-W-What was that?"

SLAM!

The two candidates shook with the loud sound. "I-I dunno. Look, maybe we should get out and wait for everyone to come ba-" Uni began, turning around slowly. Suddenly, a new detail caught her attention. "Hey wait a sec!" Uni exclaimed. She pulled against the door's entrance, pushed against it. Nothing. "N-Nepgear, help me out! The door's shut us in! It's stuck!" She yelled frantically.

Nepgear paled, immediately rushing to Uni's side to help her. None of their attempts to open the door succeeded. "O-Oh no. What do we do Uni?" Nepgear asked fearfully, pulling Uni to her side.

Uni blushed. "W-Well first you should get off me!" She answered. The two eyed the darkness before them. The only way out was to move forward through a dark, narrow hall way. Pulling her gun closer to her chest, she muttered, "'Cause it looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way." She finished quietly.

[Dungeon: The Forsaken Sanctuary]

[Truth Fragments Acquired: The Failed Purification & The Birth of Neptune]

[Extra Event Obtained: Nepgear's Nightmare]

[Nepgear Obtained Divine Saber]

[Uni Obtained Divine Desperado]

[Save?]

Next Time: Stage 3. The Forsaken Sanctuary, Part I: Pandora's Box

Author's Notes:

Truth Fragments: Throughout this story you will hear a lot about "the truth" from many members of the original cast (the ones who haven't reincarnated anyway) and thus from many different point of views. Truth Fragments will allow the reader, should they desire it or not to see the truth as it actually happened from the Tome of Time's point of view. Remember though, the truth can at times be a blessing and at others, a curse.

Truth Fragments will be uploaded as separate chapters after the end of a boss fight and its respective arc's epilogue. I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter.