Chapter Text

The night was cold, and clouds wrapped the sky. Green Hill Zone was enveloped in darkness, only broken by two lights moving along a dirt trail.

“Don’t you think it’s odd, Nepgear? I don’t remember ever entering any contests, and yet here I am winning a whole mansion!”

Neptune and Nepgear were tracing their fingers on a map they had received in the mail. It was a simple map, a path through Green Hill Zone to a mansion that Neptune had won in a contest. The two sisters were confused upon receiving the letter, and were still as such while traveling to it.

“Oh well. I can’t complain about a free mansion. Maybe I can use it as a vacation home after our next adventure.” Neptune cheerfully looked up from the map.

Past a forest of leafless trees, and atop the tallest hill for miles stood the prized house. It seemed to have been well-maintained, despite the owner supposedly dying years ago. Ravens perched along the tops of trees, cawing at the Nep sisters as they walked past.

“I don’t know, Neptune.” Nepgear looked rather frightened as she looked upon the mansion. “This house is really sketchy. I think it might be a prank.”

“No one builds a mansion in a week just to throw a prank on people. The letter had it all, remember? ‘You’ve won this giveaway, deed to an old mansion that was recently discovered, it’s all free!’ Sounds trustworthy to me. Besides, can I really complain if it’s free real estate?” Neptune was as carefree as always.

“There weren’t any records of this mansion being built, though…”

“Because the details were just dug up recently! Besides, even if we didn’t win the place, isn’t it our duty as goddesses to check the place and make sure it isn’t haunted or anything?”

“Well, if you say so.” Nepgear looked a little more confident after her sister’s words.

The sisters approached the front porch, passing by a small wooden shed detached from the house. As they got closer, the dark green colors began popping out against the black sky. It made them both feel rather uneasy. They scanned the front wall, seeing two windows with curtains draped over the inside. A double door with a ring knocker served as the only way in. Nepgear produced a copper key from her dress, and unlocked the entrance. As she put her hand on the knob, Neptune grabbed her arm.

“Remember, if this place is haunted, we stick together no matter what, alright?”

Nepgear looked her sister in the eyes. “Of course. Nothing can break us apart.”

They slowly pushed the door open, as it made a dull creaking noise. Nepgear shined her flashlight in to reveal a dark foyer. There was a chandelier slowly swinging from the ceiling, an unlit lamp atop a dresser, and a tall mirror. Among the structures were a door very similar to the one they had just opened, and two sets of stairs leading to an upper floor.

Neptune opened the other side of the door and took a look inside. After turning to each other and nodding in agreement to something, they both walked inside. They shined their flashlights around as they slowly veered toward the center of the room, noticing some of the dusty pots and vases propped up.

“It doesn’t look too bad. Maybe a fresh coat of paint would do some good, but-“

Neptune’s train of thought was interrupted by a terrifying banging noise further inside, accompanied by an enraged scream. It sounded like it was coming from the second floor on the northern side. The Neps ran up one set of stairs, the banging getting louder and louder. It reached its peak at a door in the center of the wall. As Neptune and Nepgear reached the door, Neptune grabbed hold of the handle and prepared to break into the room.

“Ready, Nepgear? 1... 2… 3!”

She slammed against the door with her shoulder, and broke the lock on the door. When she looked into the room, an orange ghost jumped out in front of her and caused her to fly back into Nepgear’s arms. The ghost flew towards the two of them, but was sucked back by a vacuum turning on behind it. It began flailing its arms and trying to speed away, but the vacuum was too powerful to outrun. Moments later, the ghost was sucked into a tube held by Blanc.

The Nep sisters were both stunned. “B-Blanc?! What are you doing here?”

She stroked her back mounted vacuum. “I was just exploring this mansion yesterday, trying to find some inspiration for a horror novel. Halloween is soon, you know? But all I found was a bunch of ghosts, though, so I brought this special ghost-busting device with me tonight. Some old scientist in Lowee was trying to sell it to people on the street, saying it would suck up crumbs, dust, and spirits. It sounded cool, so I bought one from him. Never thought I’d actually need it.”

Neptune jumped up with stars in her eyes. “So this place really is haunted! No wonder I got it so easily!”

Blanc tilted her head, looking very confused. “You own this mansion?”

Neptune pulled out the letter and map from her pocket. “Yeah! I won it in some contest I swear I never entered, so Nepgear and I came to check it out. Looks like we’ll need to catch some ghosts before we start sprucing up the place, though.”

“I’ve already counted—and caught—at least 10 of them. Surely there can’t be that many still around.”

With the chaos behind them, the three girls began looking around the room. There were overturned tables and chairs, plates on the ground, and beautiful engravings on the wall. Cupboards filled with tea sets and dishes lined the walls. In the back of the room was a set of three paintings, one larger than the others, hanging above four unlit candles. The largest painting had glowing purple eyes, staring directly at the trio. It began to speak.

“The darkness…” Its voice was faint, and drifted off. “They come in the darkness… we are one with the darkness…”

The other two paintings began to rattle, and speak with louder voices. “Be afraid of the dark… for WE will find you…”

All three paintings fell to the ground, and out of them rose three ghosts dressed in fancy nightwear. One of them wore a nightcap, and was the tallest of the bunch. Another had the buttons on her nightgown close to bursting, as her muscles barely fit. The third one was very short, and very young looking. They cackled and flew around the parlor, dragging glassware behind them.

“We are free!” The three ghosts chanted in unison.

Neptune shined her flashlight in their direction, but they seemed unaffected. Blanc flipped a switch on her backpack and began sucking the ghosts into her vacuum. These ghosts were resisting with more vigor, compared to the earlier ones. The three of them were still being pulled closer to Blanc, however. The tall ghost took a tea cup and flung it at Blanc’s vacuum. When it got sucked inside, the powerful pull was blocked, leaving the three ghosts free. As Blanc attempted to clear the jam, the three ghosts flew into the walls and out of sight. They weren’t heard from for a few minutes, so Neptune and Blanc believed themselves to be safe.

Blanc sat with her back against the wall, clearly exhausted. “This might be worse than I thought. Those ghosts seemed more organized than the last ones I saw.”

“Well, I promised I’d fix this place up for a vacation home, so let me and Nepgear help you out.”

“Right. I’ll go see if I can get more of this device, I think the vendor called it the Spiri-Suck 9000. One for you, and one for Nepgear. Speaking of which, where is she? I haven’t seen her since you two found your way into this room.”

Neptune’s eyes widened. “What?! I thought she was behind you!”

“Didn’t you fall on her? She was behind you!”

She thought for a second, then froze. “Oh no, this is terrible! There are ghosts running around the mansion and Nep Jr. is all alone!” Neptune got on her knees and began pulling at Blanc’s dress. “We gotta find her, Blanc! Please!”

“Of course, Neptune. I promise we'll find her, but first we need to get you-"

Neptune quickly interrupted her. "There's no time! I'll just flash any ghosts that attack us!"

Blanc nodded. "Fine. Just stay by my side, alright?"