I know I should have seen this coming but I only have one review for this story. This displeases me. Anyway, have fun.

Chapter 2: Arriving in Gamindustri

Neptune was not someone who liked to wake up early. If she had her way, she would sleep until the end of time or until she got bored enough to get out of bed. For this reason, Neptune had decided that she was going to stay in bed until she either got too hot, too hungry or too bored.

The blaring alarm clock had other ideas.

"Shuuuuuut… up!" she groaned as she backhanded the offending sound of hell as hard as her tired arms would allow, which was more than sufficient if the sudden sound of an alarm clock flying into a wall was anything to go by. This had the fortunate side effect of getting Neptune up out of bed. "Oh, crackers. Did I break something?" This question was left unanswered as she looked around the room containing the bed she was currently in. "Where am I? My room…?"

The room she was located in was rather feminine, or girly, or whatever floats your boat. It had orange walls decorated with small hearts (that is, heart drawings), red curtains decorated with small hearts, a yellow roof that, for a change of pace, was not decorated in small hearts and a purple tile floor with a yellow carpet with a red border resting on top of it. There was a small beige table with a white top accompanied by a plush chair. Two different corners of the room were occupied by wooden cupboards and a wooden bookshelf respectively. In another corner of the room, a giant syringe filled with a strange purple fluid (with star markings, bizarrely) was propped up.

"Oh, you're up. Good morning sleepyhead!" greeted the owner of a cheerful voice that just entered the room with a bucket and a first aid kit before sitting on a chair next to Neptune's bed and placing the equipment to her side. This girl had orange eyes with pale orange curly hair that was in the style of some sort of unkempt hime cut. She wore a woolly jumper of the shoulder-less variety (that is, having sleeves and torso cover without shoulder cover) and she had a black hairband with a decal in the shape of a white circle with a gap where the line marking the radius would be. Around her neck, she wore a choker with a pink heart also having the same decal in the centre. A satchel, also pink with a decal in the centre, was strapped around her waist and right below was an incredibly small red tartan skirt that reached halfway down her thighs. Had Neptune not been staring at the girl's chest, she might have noticed all of this. "Well, good afternoon, technically…"

Neptune, having a somewhat tentative grasp on how a conversation works, was understandably a bit nervous. "Um, this isn't my room, huh? Is it yours? Why'm I tucked into your bed so snugly?" she asked while rubbing the back of her head as part of your average anime expression of modesty.

The girl wasn't put off, though. She was incredibly friendly. "Well, let's see…" she began as she grasped her chin with her index finger and thumb as an expression of thoughtful recollection. "It all happened last night." She paced around the room as she recited this. "I looked up into the sky and I saw a shooting star. That was you."

Neptune looked confused. "I was a shooting star? Are you yanking my hoodie strings? I fell from the sky?"

"I'm pretty sure," confirmed the girl with a nod. "I followed you to the ground with my eyes and you definitely slammed into the earth like a spear." The girl wore a somewhat proud smile that you wouldn't expect to see on someone with a modest depostion like hers. "I pulled you from the ground you pierced so elegantly and carried you to my bed, since you were passed out!"

Neptune was clearly impressed. "All by yourself? That's cool, thanks! You're a lot stronger than you look."

The girl continued smiling. "I attend a nursing school. Transporting limp bodies is part of our training, so I'm used to it! My name is Compa, um…"

"Oh, I'm Neptune. Compa, huh? Then should I call you… Com… uh… whatever. Compa's fine."

"It's nice to meet you, Nept-… Neppee… Neptaa… Ne-pelvis… Nep… tumor… W-wah…" The inability to give Neptune a nickname was apparently so crushing to Compa's self-esteem that it caused tears to well up in her eyes.

As Neptune was not blind and her brain was still located in her skull (somewhat), she managed to pick up on Compa's impending ocular gushers and was quick to try and calm her down. "Oh, is it confusing you?" she asked, surprisingly without panicking like most people do in the presence of someone about to cry. "Okay, then you can call me Neptuna, Nep-Nep, Neppermint or something else!"

This seemed to calm Compa down. "Okay, then I pick Nep-Nep. It's nice to meet you, Nep-Nep!" Compa re-greeted before saying, with a serious look (that is, a serious look by Compa's moe standards), "By the by, I noticed you're all beat up everywhere. Allow me to take a look real quick."

Neptune inspected her jacket-less body and, sure enough, she had scrapes and bruises all over her. "Oh, yeah, I am kind of scraped up, huh? Thanks, nurse-in-training. I trust you with this important task!"

"Sure, but I've just started... and I'm not too savvy… I get bandages all tangled up," she nervously admitted before bending down to her right to pick up a damp sponge and the spray bottle. "Your injuries aren't bad, but the scratches need disinfecting. After that, I'll wrap you up. It might sting a little, but hang in there."

She scrubbed Neptune's numerous scratches and wounds with the sponge before squirting the disinfectant onto them. True to her word, it stung and Neptune was squirming quite a bit when it was being squirted on. However, it was soon over and aside from the persistent tingling, the stinging sensation was gone. "How much bandage should I use?" Compa asked as she picked up a pair of scissors and a roll of bandages.

"Hmm…" Neptune thought for a moment. "Use it all up!" Or so one would think. "Wrap me all up so that it doesn't come loose! Besides, it's a waste if they don't last."

"Okay, then I'll just use what I have." Compa responded with the medical knowledge of a nurse-in-training. "Please let me know if it's too tight. This way… that way… loop it over…"

Jacob was lying in a bed in a room right next to where Neptune and Compa were conversing. He'd been awake even before that blasted alarm clock went off. He just couldn't be bothered getting out of the bed. His body ached all over and his headache felt like the result of sticking your tongue into an electrical socket except without the death or coma part. Between staying in the snug bed (he made a mental note to remind himself to thank the nice person who tucked him in) and getting up and walking around, the former was much more appealing.

"Huh?" Neptune's confusion echoed through the door. "Nngh, hold on, slow down! Be carefu-" Jacob assumed she was being strangled. He knew that she wouldn't die, so he kept resting. He was too tired to care.

"I don't want it to come loose or you'll trip over it!" Compa responded while grunting. "Hmph, hah! There!"

"Ahhhh-guuuuh-wooooo!" Neptune choked out, beginning to grate on Jacob's nerves. "This is way too tight! I'm gonna snap, can't breathe, can't make… more… comments…"

After a moment of silence, Compa spoke again. "Nep-Nep?" Jacob made another mental note to remind himself to never allow Neptune to nickname anything else ever. "… Did I do it too tight after all? Please get a hold of yourself! I'll unwrap you right n-ahhh!"

The tumbling sound was enough to make Jacob think 'What the hell is going on out there?' and get out of the bed, albeit with great effort. During that time, he discovered that Neptune did not lose consciousness, contrary to what he believed before. He also discovered that his clothes were still on, although quite dirty. "It's tighter now! You're just tangling me up! Stop! Gimme scissors… gimme now!"

After stumbling towards the door, he opened it and peaked into the next room. Compa and Neptune were currently on the floor tangled up in the bandages used to patch up Neptune, who was completely naked except for the bandages that were conveniently placed and the other 95% of the bandages that were everywhere else on her body. A bandage on her forearm was even done in a bowtie. "What in blazes are you two doing?" he asked tiredly.

"Jacob!" Neptune called or squeaked or whatever she could manage in her state. "Scissors! Help! Now!"

"Alright, fine," Jacob complied by walking over to the scissors and using them to free Neptune and Compa from their bindings. He quickly looked away before Neptune's bandages fell off so he wouldn't see her naked. "I'm going back to my room. Put on your clothes and then get me."

"Right, right…" Neptune responded before Jacob shut the door to 'his' room. "Oh! Thank you!"

"You're welcome!"

Neptune looked towards Compa, who also looked relieved to be released from the bandages, and asked "Where are my clothes?"

"Oh, they're right here," Compa answered as she stood up and walked over to a pile of Neptune's clothes that were neatly folded and looked very clean. She picked them up and dropped them at the feet of Neptune's bed. "I'll go and look at your friend's injuries while you put on your clothes. Tell us when you're done, okay?" she asked as she walked over to Jacob's door.

"Okey-dokey!" affirmed Neptune.

"Excuse me?" said the nurse-in-training as she opened the door to Jacob's room.

"Yes?" answered the male teen as he lay in bed, obviously still tired. Compa made her way over to him and sat down beside him.

"I'm Compa. I need to look at your wounds, Mr..."

"Jacob," he responded before he extended his right hand towards Compa while wearing as much of a smile as he could in his tired state. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Compa."

Just as before with Neptune, Compa looked very surprised and bashful at his gesture and her face began to glow red. After a second or two had passed, she gained an interest in her feet. "W-well, I'm flattered that you've warmed to me so quickly, b-but I'm ju-just not ready to be a blood sister y-yet. I hope you understand."

"It's a handshake. It's a greeting ritual."

Compa looked at Jacob again and blinked. "… oh." She then grabbed his right hand with her own and gave it a shake. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you two, Jaco… bo… Jakey-"

"Please, no nicknames," Jacob cut her off. "Jacob or Jake will do. I don't care either way."

"Oh, okay then. I'll just call you 'Jake'. Is that okay?"

"Sure. Anyway, my wounds?"

"Oh, ri-" Compa stopped all of the sudden as if she suddenly realised something, which is fair enough because she did. "Oh no!"

Jacob sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I left my medical supplies in Nep-Nep's room!" Jacob cringed at the nickname. "Now I can't treat your injuries! I can't walk in on her while she's changing!"

"Then just wait until Neptune's dressed to get your supplies," was Jacob's rational suggestion. It seemed to work, as Compa clearly calmed down. Just then, Neptune poked her head in through the door.

"I'm done! You can come out now!" she called before slinking back into her room. Compa stood up and walked out and Jacob followed suit albeit with a bit more difficulty. Soon, Neptune was sitting on the bed with Jacob at her side and Compa on the chair. "By the way, I was thinking while I was getting dressed… where am I?"

Compa answered promptly. "We're in the Central City of Planeptune."

"I remember that," Jacob commented. "I think Gamindustri is divided into four regions: Planeptune, Lastation, Leanbox and Lowee. Is that right?"

Compa nodded. "Yes, that's absolutely correct. They are the four landmasses floating around beneath Celestia. Sometimes they come close to one another and drift away."

"Wait, these landmasses float?" Jacob asked, perplexed. "How the hell does that work?"

"I… I'm afraid I don't know. All I know is that they float around and when they get close enough, we can travel to another landmass. Remember?"

"Actually…" Jacob began, actually putting time into constructing his words in an appropriate way. This took about five seconds. "… I'm not from here."

"Oh?" Now Compa was confused. "Then, wouldn't Neptune have told you?"

"Nope," Neptune answered nonchalantly. "I don't remember anything. I have amnesia, so I need you to explain everything to me so-"

"Neptune, shush." Jacob could tell he was getting good at this because Neptune immediately stopped talking after he said "shush".

"Amnesia…" said Compa. "I've never seen a case in person. How original! Perhaps you bumped your head…"

"Like how she shot into the ground at terminal velocity?" Jacob snarked.

"No, that wouldn't work," Neptune added, "because I lost my memories before I got here."

"You still smashed through a ceiling and the second floor of a building before embedding yourself into the wooden floor of my home."

"Oh, right," responded Neptune before she turned back to Compa, who was looking at Neptune's scalp with shock, and said "Isn't there medication or something for amnesia?"

All Neptune got was a shook head. "No, but don't worry," reassured Compa. "Amnesia's usually a temporary thing. I'm sure you'll begin to recall things eventually. My Grandpa always said "Fancy may kill or cure!" Get some sleep, take it easy and you'll be better in no time."

"I agree," said Jacob. "Neptune, your injuries aren't going to heal in an instant. Plus, I need some rest as well. My body feels like it's about to fall apart and I have a massive headache."

However, Neptune didn't seem to be listening. "… Get some sleep? I feel like someone asked me t- OH!" In a sudden burst of inspiration, Neptune leapt off of the bed and upright on the floor. "Jacob! Histy still needs our help!" Then she turned to Compa. "Histy called me for help in my dream!"

"In your dream? Then it's not real," Compa responded in a surprisingly matter-of-fact tone.

"No, it was real!" insisted Neptune. "Histy was like 'pa-choo' and sent me a telepathic message! Even Jacob can vouch for me!"

"It's true," Jacob said.

Compa thought for a moment. "It's possible. Actually, many places, Planeptune included, are being threatened by more and more monsters lately. The military powers failed to keep them from appearing. We can only defend ourselves and keep them at bay now."

"Then…" Neptune started, "there must be a boss generating all these monsters somewhere! I bet my mission is to go defeat that boss and save the world!"

While Jacob was more or less indifferent to Neptune's zeal, Compa was a bit worried. "You may be right about a boss, but no one has seen or heard anything like that. How will you find it? This is irrational, dangerous and absolutely impossible!"

Neptune wouldn't be put off, though. "Nobody's gonna beat the boss if we just sit here. Someone's gotta take initiative, y'know? That's us; me and Jacob!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Plus, I can't ignore this once I've noticed it. Haven't you heard "Strike while the iron's hot"?"

This gave Compa pause for thought. "I believe Grandpa did have a saying like that. Yes, that's right. I wanted to become a nurse to save people." She became a bit more passionate. "So, why would I save the injured, but not those being threatened by monsters? How impolite of me!" Jacob could have sworn that Compa's pupils had vanished in favour of stars appearing in her eyes. "Nep-Nep, Jacob, I'm not the strongest, but I'll help. Three is better than two!"

"You will?" Neptune responded. "Don'tcha have school or something? You're not in the middle of summer vacation or anything, right?"

"Wait," Jacob cut in, "you actually attend schools? And you learn?"

"… yes?" Compa answered. "Why would you think we didn't?"

"I'm sorry, it's just unusual for me to hear. I wasn't expecting people to take school seriously in a place like this. Plus, that was a very good point, Neptune."

"Thankies!"

"Anyway," Compa continued, "this city's population has been declining due to monsters eating people." Jacob shivered for a moment. "Students are leaving school out of fear, so it's closed down for now. Classes are suspended until further notice."

"Shame you don't have online classes," said Jacob. "That way, the students could do their schoolwork on computers."

Compa thought for a moment. "That… is a very good idea. I will have to tell the principal the next time I see her."

"Well, sucks to hear about your school," said Neptune, "but that means you can camp out, right? Goodie! Let's go find the dungeon where the boss is waiting!"

"Hold on, Neptune," said Jacob. "We haven't fully recovered yet and if I go in a dungeon as I am now, I'll probably get killed. Plus, I don't think we've eaten yet. We should fix that."

"Jake's right," Compa concurred. "The both of you are still heavily injured and Jake can barely walk. I propose we put off searching for the boss until you're both adequately healed."

Neptune pouted, but she didn't bother to argue. "Fine. We'll go tomorrow. In the meantime, I want something to eat."

"Hang on then, I think I might be able to cook something up." Compa got up from her seat and walked towards the kitchen.

"Hey, do you want me to cook instead?" Jacob offered as he stood up shakily. "I can cook pretty much anything if I have a recipe and the ingredients."

"No thank you, Jake. You're still very injured. You need to rest," said Compa before closing the kitchen door. Neptune and Jacob were left alone in the room while Compa was in the kitchen.

"You can cook?" inquired Neptune after a few moments.

"Yeah," answered Jacob. "All I basically need is a recipe and a lot of time. I like to cook at my own pace, but enough about that. Can you tell me more about your dream?"

"Oh, sure thing!" Neptune crossed her arms and legs and thought for a moment. "I remember… Histy said she was my mom… and that she was locked up somewhere by my dad who took me away when I was born-"

"We're done with that discussion," Jacob cut in. "Let's talk about something else… how about we sing?"

"Ooh, that sounds fun! What do you want to sing?"

"Hm…"

Ding ding ding! went the alarm thirty minutes later. Compa looked towards the fry pan on the stove containing the nikujaga and smiled. She took three ceramic bowls and pairs of chopsticks with her to the fry pan and filled them all with the meat and potato dish. From outside the kitchen, she could hear laughing. "What are they laughing about?" She carried the three bowls with surprising ease and skill out to the room where Neptune and Jacob were talking. Neptune was laughing her head off and Jacob was sniggering.

"I-I'm sorry…" Neptune managed to say. "It's too hard to say!"

"Okay, let's try again... Nine-hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, nine-hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-nine bottles of beer…" Jacob sung.

"Okay, okay…" Neptune took a deep breath. "Nine hundred and ninety-nine-nine-" Then she started laughing again. Compa walked towards the table and placed the three bowls onto the table. "Oh…" Neptune paused to wipe some tears from her eyes. "Hi Compa! Is dinner ready yet?"

"Yes it is," she responded as she sat in her royal chair. "Come on, you two. Eat up."

Neptune and Jacob walked over to the table. "Kind of small to have dinner at, wouldn't you say?" he asked as he sat down cross-legged at the same time Neptune did.

Compa nodded. "It is, but you can hold your bowl on your lap and eat from it. Now, let's dine."

"What is it?" asked Neptune.

"It's nikujaga, with beef, potatoes and onion. I added some carrot for nutrition. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't," Jacob answered, "but I doubt Neptune shares my sentiments." Neptune was indeed picking out the onion and carrots. She'll be busy for a while. "By the way, I don't mean to be rude, but I really can't use chopsticks. Could I have a fork, please?"

"Oh, absolutely. Please excuse me for a moment." Compa stood up and walked into the kitchen before shutting the door.

"She has massive boobies," Neptune remarked out loud.

"Neptune! Keep that to yourself, please. You shouldn't say stuff like that about other people behind their backs, anyway," Jacob chided.

Neptune nodded enthusiastically. "Okey-dokey!" Compa walked back into the room with a fork and handed it to Jacob. "Hey Compa, you have massive boobies."

"Eh!" vocalised Compa while Jacob hit his forehead with his palm with enough force to make his forehead sting. As he dragged his hand down his face over his eyes, he looked over at Neptune. She looked back, her expression indicating that she had as much guilt as an ant would have for taking your sugar.

"What?" she remarked. "You said I shouldn't talk like that behind the backs of other people."

Jacob held his face in his hands. "Dear god, why…"

I'm concerned about the descriptions I use for things in this story. Are they vivid or tedious? Does anyone actually care?