Chapter 3 – Gamindustri and the Earth's Surface

Day 2

Planeptune – field

"By the way, I'm still wondering, what's the difference between a 'surface human' and a regular one?"

Neptune, Compa, and Soren were walking along the path towards the Central City of Planeptune when the purple-haired girl's question came out of her mouth. "Compa, do you know?"

"Um, I do, but I think Soren's the best person to explain that one Nep-Nep."

Soren just sighed at Compa's apparent nervousness, hoping it would pass someday. "Right, first, a small geography lesson Neptune. What do you know about the world we live in?"

"Let's see, there are four landmasses floating around below this place called Celestia. The one we're on is called Planeptune and the other three are called…uh…"

"Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox." Compa finished for Neptune.

"Yeah, those three." Neptune finished with a nod.

"Okay…" Soren thought for a moment to dig up on what he knew about Earth. "I'll try to keep this simple. There are three known…levels (?), the first two, Celestia and the landmasses, collectively called Gamindustri, are the most well known ones, to the people of Gamindustri anyway. Now that I think about it, I think there's one other landmass Sis mentioned, but she said that it was a trash heap… Anyway, there are those two levels, and then there's the Earth's surface. Gamindustri is floating high above the surface, while Celestial is above…somewhere. I think it's probably the moon or something…"

"This sounds interesting and all, but what does that have to do with you being a surface human?"

"Well…from what I can remember, contact between humans from the four landmasses and the surface has been lost ever since the landmasses rose into the sky due to…something happening a very long time ago, until Planeptune decided to make an expedition to the surface fifty years ago. I think the expedition teams came in contact with people living on the surface and that things didn't go well, which gave rise to the rumors spreading throughout Planeptune and eventually all the other landmasses."

"Rumors? Like what?"

Compa was the one to answer that. "Um, people say that humans on the surface are barbarians that only know how to fight monsters and don't worship any goddesses. Also, the rumors tend to mention how the shape of their eyes is different for some reason."

"Really?" Neptune took a good look at Soren's eyes, making him feel a bit squeamish before comparing them to Compa's. "Huh, they really are different. It's like you come from a different anime series or something."

Soren turned to Compa with a raised eyebrow. "You sure she has amnesia?"

"Positive, Nep-Nep doesn't even know where she lives or where she comes from!"

"Yet she knows what anime is…" Soren shook his head before finishing his lecture. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm the only human from the surface that's living in Gamindustri. The expedition teams weren't keen on taking people with them, and the only reason I'm here is because Sis was part of the expedition team eight years ago, and she saved me when the town I lived in was destroyed."

"Wow…sounds like you have one of those tragic pasts and are one of those oppressed characters that people sometimes like…"

"…Why do I feel like you're being sarcastic?"

"Never mind Nep-Nep, Soren," Compa waved her hand as if to brush away the conversation. "She's always like that ever since I found her a few days ago stuck head first in the ground."

"…Head first eh? Sounds like suicide to me."

"Nnnooo! That can't be!" Neptune cried out, "Unless I was depressed that I had a lover that betrayed me and I threw myself into the sky in sorrow, leading to a very messy suicide that would've left me a big red splat on the ground!"

"Ugh, too much details there…" Soren shook his head. "So, what's next on the agenda?"

"Well, since we already have both the Key Fragment and the Jewel Core of Planeptune, we should mosey on over to the next landmass!" Neptune's response was immediate and a bit loud.

"What?-!" Compa looked shocked at Neptune's answer. "No, we can't! Planeptune is still threatened by monsters. We can't just leave the townspeople like this!"

"And besides," Soren added, "You need money to travel right? I'm going to take a wild guess and say you two don't have much credits."

Both girls looked at each other before reluctantly nodding, and Soren couldn't help but crack a smirk. "Well, taking monster hunting jobs and the like solves both the monster problem and the money problem at the same time, am I right?"

"Hmm…I suppose so…then I guess we'll go clobber some monster…" Neptune's enthusiasm dropped a bit as Compa gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I have a good place where monster jobs come in." With that, Soren led the two girls into the Central City as he put on his sunglasses to avoid attention.

Planeptune – Torres' Shop

The party was standing in front of Torres' shop and Neptune had a few words to say about it. "So this is the place? Looks pretty fancy for a shop."

Compa had a different reaction. "Hey, isn't this…?"

"Well, we'd better go inside and get it over with…" Soren opened the door and led the two inside.

As usual, Torres gave his usual greeting. "Hey Soren, looks like-…hello, what do we have here?"

"It's not what it looks like Torres."

"Really now…? It's not everyday that you bring two beautiful girls to my shop."

"Um…" Compa looked like she wanted to say something under her blush when Torres noticed her.

"Ah, if it isn't the girl who lost her cell phone yesterday!" Soren couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he remembered that particular job that involved a cell phone. "Hahaha, well, isn't this interesting?"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but who's this NPC?" Neptune's question seemed to shake up the mood as Torres turned her attention to her.

"Haha…interesting, very interesting. Anyway, the name's Torres, and I'm both an information and item dealer, something this shop specializes in."

Seeing the slightly confused looks on the girls' faces, Soren explained, "Torres mainly sells items, but he also deals with information too. It's how I get job requests without going to places like the Basilicom or the request post boards."

"Speaking of requests, a new one came up from the Basilicom just a moment ago," Torres reached under the counter and pulled out a paper. "From what I've read, some Sand Worm took up residence in the cave near the city. It's causing people to become anxious and such, since it might make an attack on the city."

"Well then," Neptune spoke up, "We'll take that one!"

Neptune took the paper out of Torres' hands before leading Compa out of the shop. Soren sighed and was about to follow them out when Torres called out, "Wait Soren."

Soren turned to look and saw Torres pull out a katana from one of the shelves. "Here, give this to lil' Neptune, would ya?"

Taking the katana, Soren looked confused when he heard Neptune shout, "Hey Soren! Hurry up or else we'll go on ahead without you!"

"That girl has to have a wooden sword or some other crappy beginner's weapon. That blade will actually be effective in killing monsters, and since this is a fic, actual weapon upgrading is pretty much impossible unless it's an important plot point."

"Right…and how much is this going to cost?"

"It's on the house. Consider it a freebie for getting not one, but two girlfriends, even though that Neptune girl is a bit young looking…"

"Guh, they're not my girlfriends!" Soren left the shop in a huff leaving a snickering Torres at the counter.

Planeptune – Cave Near Town (Evil Cave)

Compa and Soren watched as Neptune took a few practice swings with her new blade. "Wow, Mister Torres was really nice giving me this weapon. No offense Compa, but that wooden sword you gave me isn't really suited for fighting monsters. Then again, this is wooden swords we're talking about here…"

"I'm sorry Nep-Nep, it was all I had around the house when I looked."

"No matter, let's just head on inside and kick monster butt! I wanna test this baby out!"

Neptune went into the cave first, followed by Compa holding her giant syringe. Soren looked around for any signs of monsters, the Rabid Vermin surprise still fresh in his mind and not wanting a repeat. When it was all clear, Soren quickly followed.

Walking down the cave, the three were on the lookout for mooks when Neptune said out of the blue, "Bad guys hole up in caves, but I wonder if it's kinda like where they do the thing and make babies. Sorry to intrude…"

Soren made a face as he looked at Neptune. "Aww, that's just wrong Neptune. Is that something you really need to mention?"

"Sorry, sorry, but Compa, Ren, it's dark, so watch where you step. You'll never know when you'll h-aghh!"

Neptune fell forwards from something hitting her from behind and both Compa and Soren looking at her oddly. "Nep-Nep? Are you okay? You should be careful too, or else you might fall onto some spikes and game over…"

"Who puts spikes in dungeons these days anyway?" Soren muttered, "That's soo last generation, and sometimes you can't even fall into them due to invisible walls…"

Neptune got back on her feet and dusted herself off. "No, I ran into something. Wait, correction, something ran into me!"

"Yeah, probably that girl in blue behind you Neptune." Soren pointed out with his finger.

The two girls followed his point to see a girl on the ground, some of her cell phones scattered about. "Ow…watch it girl. This isn't the place for kindergarteners to have recess!"

"Kindergarteners?" Neptune looked offended by the statement. "Look who's talking. Who're you? Do you live in this icky cave?"

"Do I look like a ragged bum to you? I'm IF. I'm here to eliminate the monsters as requested by the Basilicom. Who're YOU?" The girl, IF, quickly picked up her cell phones and pocketed them before getting up, looking slightly miffed the whole time.

"We're here because people are in danger, and we took the job of eliminating the monster in this cave. So, we're pretty much here for the same reason. My name is Neptune, this is Compa, and that's…hey where did Ren go?"

"Huh?" Compa looked around, only to find Soren missing from the group. "Oh no, where did Soren go? Did he get eaten by the monsters when we were not looking!"

"What's with all the shouting? You'll attract the monsters like flies to honey!"

Soren popped up behind Neptune and Compa, holding a few Reflex bottles and was drinking one. Compa jumped as Neptune asked, "Hey Ren, where did you get those?"

"Oh, I found them in a chest over by the corner." Soren nodded his head in the direction where he went. "So, who's this?"

"She's IF. She's here to defeat monsters, just like us!"

"Really now? Hello, I'm Soren, a monster hunter helping these two."

IF raised an eyebrow in surprise as she took in Soren's attire. A small nod of approval came from her as Compa bowed her head in greeting. "H-Hello. I enjoy arts and crafts, and I'm good at math. I know I don't look it, but it's something I'm quite proud of."

Soren had a look of surprise on his face hearing that as Neptune spoke up, "Then Compa, you are now in charge of our item inventory and accounting." Then she turned her attention to IF. "Anyway, why not help us conquer this dungeon?"

"What? Well, I guess the more help I get, the easier it'll be for me, especially with a monster hunter fighting. Fine, we'll team up, but know that you're joining me!"

Neptune went all starry-eyed with excitement as she turned to Compa and Soren. "Oh, you'll do it? I'm glad I asked. Compa, Ren, Iffy said she'll join our party!"

"Iffy?" Soren couldn't help but let out a snort when he heard that from Neptune.

"Whatever. Don't call me Iffy. That's not my name."

"Now we really look like a strong party!" Compa said with a smile. "We'll be together forever. It's our pleasure to have you with us."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." IF just nodded until a certain part hit her. "Wait, what? Forever? No, just for now. This dungeon only."

"Bzzzt! We're already a party, so you can't get away from us, even if you try!" Neptune wiggled her finger in a disapproving manner before putting her hands to her hips. "Abandoning your party is against the rules of this world. You got that, missy?"

IF just looked stumped at that as she stared at Neptune. "U-Um, no, but…it doesn't matter."

"Wait," Soren held a hand up to get Neptune's attention. "What would happen if someone actually tried to leave the party?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure, but I think a death flag would result."

Soren just stared at Neptune as she and Compa went on ahead. "By the goddess, what did I get myself into?"

"You know, I'm starting to wonder that myself." IF said as she and Soren followed them.

"Well, might as well focus on fighting monsters Miss If."

"It's IF. I. F. Got that? And you don't need to add Miss to my name either."

"Really? It's so much easier to say If though, unless you'd rather prefer Iffy?"

"…Whatever, then I get to call you Ren then."

"Fine by me. I don't really care unless it's some embarrassing name."

The four of them traveled deeper in the cave, fighting monsters along the way, and after a battle deep in the cave Soren spoke up, "Oh yeah, never mention monsters making babies ever again Neptune."

"Ew, she actually mentioned that?" IF looked disturbed as she looked at Neptune.

"Why? I was just curious."

"Believe me, if you see it in action, it will mentally scar you for the rest of your life. In a bad way."

"I take it you've seen it then."

Compa and IF looked at Soren, who had a very disturbed look on his face as he gripped Yukihira in his hands. "Once, and once was one too many, ugh…"

The look Soren had convinced them that thinking about it was a very bad idea, and hoped that once they find the Sand Worm, that it wasn't in the middle of doing 'that' with another Sand Worm. All of them shivered at the thought as they proceeded deeper into the cave.

Soon enough, they managed to find the chamber where the Sand Worm was resting and to their relief, it was alone. Soren took a peek through the entrance before turning back to the others. "Okay, it looks like it's sleeping right now. So what's the plan?"

"Hmm, how about you and I distract the Sand Worm, while Neptune and Compa sneak up behind it?" IF offered, "I'm sure that with it distracted, they can get a one-hit-kill from behind."

"Sorry, but we're still new at this, so a one-hit-kill is a bit out of our league for now." Neptune said.

IF looked irritated at that, but managed to say, "Fine, at least give it a critical hit and we'll regroup to finish it."

"Sounds good to me." Soren nodded.

"I think it'll work." Compa agreed.

"Me too." Neptune added. "Just let me do one more thing."

"Huh? What are you-?" IF didn't finish as Neptune started glowing, and before she could say anything, Neptune transformed into her HDD form. All IF could do was stare as her jaw dropped at Neptune's radically changed appearance.

"There, now we're ready." Neptune said with confidence, her voice pretty different from her normal tone.

"W-What the heck happened?-!" IF was still in a state of shock as she eyed Neptune up and down. "I-Is this really Neptune?"

"Yes, Nep-Nep just transformed to become more powerful." Compa explained like it was something common that happened everyday. "I only learned about it later today."

"Look, I know you're shocked If, but we really need to act now. I'm hoping that Neptune's little light show didn't wake the worm up."

"Huh? O-Oh, sure…"

"Wait, what's the signal?"

Soren pulled out his pistol and showed it to them. "This will be the signal."

IF was lead by Soren to part of the chamber where they would distract it, while Neptune and Compa went around to ambush it from behind. When the two groups were in position, Soren turned to IF. "Do you have anything to shoot?"

Showing Soren her Qatar blades, IF pulled one of her sleeves to show a shooting mechanism attached to the blade. "I can shoot just fine, though I don't know if it'll be very effective."

"Let's just distract the monster." Soren and IF poked out from behind the rock and aimed at the Sand Worm. "Three…two…one…fire!"

Three shots from Soren and IF each hit the Sand Worm spot on, waking it up and giving off a roar, looking around to see what hit it. When it spotted the two, it was about to move to attack when at the last second, it sensed Neptune behind it and moved a bit, though the Sand Worm still received a deep gash on it's back as Neptune got out of the way, allowing Compa to fire.

The Sand Worm thrashed in pain, but it wasn't dead yet as IF and Soren stepped forward, weapons ready. "Okay, let's go bag some worm!"

"That did not sound right for some reason If."

Neptune and Compa managed to rejoin them as the four of them grouped together. Since the monster was weakened, the four had no problem beating it before it became a problem and soon enough, the monster fell dead. Soren went over and gave it a kick just to make sure. "Okay, it's dead."

Everyone sighed as Neptune went back to her normal self. IF stared at Neptune before turning to Compa and Soren. "Okay, I want to know what's going on. This is way too weird to be normal."

Planeptune – Roadside

"…So basically, you three are looking for Key Fragments and Jewel Core Fragments for this…Histy person." IF summarized.

"Neptune, you should really call her Histoire when introducing her to strangers." Soren said with a sigh. "I doubt that If here would like it if you introduced her to strangers as Iffy."

"So...her name's really Histoire?"

Soren gave a nod while Neptune acted like she didn't hear any of that. "Ding-dong! Histy's sealed away somewhere in this world. She's like one of those secret optional characters."

"More like an important plot character that we've never met face to face yet Neptune." Soren corrected.

"Yeah, that too."

IF went into thinking mode as she crossed her arms. "The different Key Fragments are guarded by monsters. So, the source of this monster outbreak is really whoever ordered the fragments to be guarded. This Histoire character must have something to do with it too… Saving the world, hmm? It could be a big fib."

Neptune went all starry-eyed again as she looked at IF with an odd look. "Ooh, Iffy, you're beyond keen. How can you possibly be so observant at such a tender, young age?"

"You get the feeling Neptune's being sarcastic?" Soren whispered to Compa.

"Um, I-I don't think so. This is Nep-Nep we're talking about."

"...You have a point there."

"Tch, it's simple logic." IF looked annoyed at Neptune's odd attitude. "If this is all true however, leaving it to you and Compa…will spell doom for all humanity, and I doubt Ren here can handle it by himself, since people are still weary of surface humans."

That's when IF gave a smile and nodded. "No choice! I'll help. You three are traveling right? You'll need someone with you who's been to a lot of different places."

"That's true. I know for a fact that I've never left Planeptune in my life, right Compa?"

"U-Um, right Ren. I've never left either."

Now it was IF's turn to raise an eyebrow, but she went on, "About those Key Fragments… If they're guarded by monsters, it might be easy to find them after all. As for the Jewel Core Fragments, they're all scattered on their respective landmasses, right?"

"Yeah, Histoire wasn't good with the specifics, so I don't know if they're being held by monsters or just plain buried in the ground. The Planeptune Jewel Core Fragments were held by monsters, so I'm hoping that's the case for the others." Soren replied.

"B-But if we save Histy, then we can ask her to help locate the rest of the Jewel Core Fragments." Compa got all starry-eyed like Neptune as she got all excited. "Since the Key Fragments will be easier to find, then I'm sure we'll save Histy in no time!"

"Basilicoms around the four landmasses have been researching monsters. I think they'll have a good idea where they spawn." IF pointed out.

Neptune looked puzzled when IF mentioned Basilicoms. "I heard about that from Ren once but…what's a Basilicom again?"

IF looked at Neptune in disbelief as Neptune explained, "I'm apparently an amnesiac, so I need you to explain stuff to me in a manner convenient for the readers to understand!"

"Apparently? So you're pretending to have amnesia and you're just hiding something?" Soren asked Neptune.

"No, I really do have amnesia!" Neptune defended.

"Please be patient with her, Miss IF. She bumped her head on the ground and lost her memory. Sorry for my delayed explanation." Compa told IF. She then turned to Neptune and began to explain to her about Basilicoms. "Basilicoms are holy places run by those who serve the goddesses. There are two parts to a Basilicom: the Sanctuary where goddesses are cared for when they descend from Celestia, and Parliament for political activities."

"Whoa, hold on there." IF interrupted, "Why not let the people at the Basilicom explain it? We're heading there anyway."

"To ask about monsters?" Compa turned to IF. "But we don't need to do that until we go to another landmass."

"Well, we'll need a group permit from the Basilicom to travel anywhere. They manage the Sky Harbors, too."

"Oh, I see. Then we'll continue this when we reach the Basilicom. Okay, Nep-Nep?"

Neptune nodded when she saw the uncomfortable look on Soren's face. "Ren? Is something the matter? Do you have a stomach ache?"

"N-No Neptune, I'm fine." Soren shook his head. "It's just that the Basilicoms don't have a good view on surface humans. I'll tell you about it after we get the permit. For now, let's just stop by Torres' shop to register the job done."

"Okay…" Neptune looked puzzled and she wondered what the issue was with surface humans as the party headed back to Central City.