"Ram don't play with your food. Rom, your elbows are leaning on the table again," barked a petite girl dressed in white as she placed her hands on her hips.
One of her sisters, a girl dressed in a gray dress with a pink ribbon raised her hands up and called out, "Blanc! Pass me the sauce!"
"Can I at least get a 'please'? Mind your manners, brat," grumbled Blanc as she moved towards the table and handed her sister the bottle. With a sigh, she turned her head to her other sister whom seemed to be the spitting image of the girl with the pink ribbon, only that her ribbon was bright blue, "Geez, eat properly. You're getting food on your mouth. You're a girl, you know? Start acting like one."
"Ha! The pot calls the kettle black, Blanc!" laughed the girl with the pink ribbon.
"Goddammit, Ram! Don't shout on the fucking table!" snapped the girl in white with a glare.
This action caused the girl at her side to quiver and stutter out in a trembling voice, "B-B-but you're shouting too, Blanc…"
Blanc noticed this and averted her gaze with a sheepish look on her face. Ram grinned like an idiot as she continued to wolf down her food. The echoes of their knives and forks filled the large dining room which seemed too big to hold just three people. Yet despite that, the three girls managed to make enough noise while eating to make it seem like the entire room was filled with people.
Snow fell in the Land of White Serenity as the year was coming to an end. It had been a couple of centuries since Blanc established her nation and she was still not used to the things she had to do. Working on documents and papers for buildings more structures and making sure she kept her citizens happy. She had to go out and hunt down powerful monsters herself since some of them were too strong for her military to take on. She felt like she was losing sleep since four decades ago after a few disastrous hardware releases and it didn't feel like her work load was going to go down any sooner.
The twins didn't care, why should they? They were kids content on living their life playing around and shooting at each other with ice magic. Still, as much as she wanted to rip her own hair out looking after two hyperactive kids that would most likely blow up the city if she too hey eyes off of them, someone had to do it. Because if no one did, then who would?
"Blanc… Aren't you going to eat?" asked Rom as she tugged at her elder sister's apron. With a tilt of her head, she stared at her sister with her big round eyes, "You're going to get hungry…"
"Blanc's just not joining because she knows her cooking tastes bland!" said Ram while waving her fork and chugging down her glass.
Rubbing her forehead while heaving a sigh, Blanc chose to ignore the long haired twin and replied to the one at her side, "Just finish up. I'll eat something in my office. I still need to wash the dishes because Ram's too useless to do it."
"Hey I heard that!" called the long haired twin.
Rom fidgeted in her seat as she stared on her meal, "Can… Can you join us now..?"
"Yeah, sis. It's more fun if we together. Besides, standing around like that makes you look like a maid," giggled Ram.
"Alright, alright, I give up," grumbled Blanc as she took her place at the center of the table and began eating. As much as she wanted to play hardball with her sisters, she knew that she would eventually fall for their demands. Her sisters were growing and she needed them to become strong so that she could rely on them in the future. She can't have Mina lighten her work all the time and spoil the twins. Still, spending time with them like this wasn't unwelcomed.
Speaking of Mina… The blue haired Oracle should be coming back right about…
"Lady Blanc? I have the documents that you asked," called a voice from the entrance of the large dining room. This was followed by calm footsteps and the rustling of papers as the figure of a tall girl dressed in a long red jacket like robes came into view behind a huge stack of papers. The number of documents she held were so many that they were practically tilting from left to right as she struggled balance them as she walked.
Ram ceased eating and stared at the approaching Oracle. While keeping an eye on Blanc's movements, she silent casted an ice spell to freeze the ground Mina was walking on. The result was pretty obvious as Mina fell with a dull thud, accidentally tossing her documents into the air. The CPU Candidate couldn't help but snicker at her handiwork before returning to her meal.
Watching her assistant fall, Blanc sighed irritably as she got up and helped out her Oracle. Knowing the kind of klutz Mina was, witnessing her fall, slip, trip, crash, and tumble was pretty much a daily occurrence so all of this was normal. Still, she couldn't help be concerned for the bruises her Oracle was getting (not that she'll say that out loud though).
"S-S-Sorry for interrupting your meal, but these documents needed to be approved by you," said the blue haired girl as she picked up her papers, "The work never ends and it's getting pretty rough, don't you think?"
Blanc snorted as she replied, "I hear you. Thanks for organizing these. I'll work on them as soon as I get back to my office."
"Um… Lady Blanc? The Oracles of the neighboring nations have contacted me," whispered Mina as she leaned in close to the Goddess, "They're calling a general meeting to address that problem along with the other Goddesses. They said that the meeting would be taking place in Lastation thirty minutes from now."
"What?" the girl dressed in white's eyebrow twitched at hearing that, "Can't those idiots see that I'm freakin' busy? Look at all these paperwork!"
"It wouldn't be wise letting those two overhear us," warned the Oracle as she adjusted her glasses, "I'm sure it wouldn't take long."
"But who's going to watch them?" questioned Blanc through gritted teeth, "You know the other servants could barely last fifteen minutes against those two."
Mina gathered up all of her papers and took the ones her Goddess had before answering, "Rest assured that they'll be okay. You need to have faith in them. They're grown up now."
"Two hours… Those idiots have two hours for the damned meeting then I'm out," growled the Goddess before stomping out of the dining room. In her irritation, she didn't even notice the twins' attention on her as she left. Mina couldn't help but sigh at her CPU's display.
"Mina, where'd Blanc go?" asked Rom with a worried look in her eyes.
The Oracle turned around and replied, "She has some business to attend to and you two will be left here in the Basilicom. I'm sorry, but is that okay with you two?"
"Geez, she just upped and left. She didn't even finish her food," complained Ram as she crossed her arms. To Mina she said, "Fine, we'll behave. But don't expect the place to be in one piece though."
The Oracle gave the twins a respectful bow before taking her leave. Her footsteps died and the door slammed itself shut, the twins were left on their own as they continued their meal. While the pink ribboned Candidate ate, she noticed her sister staring at Blanc's plate with downcast eyes. At this point, she couldn't help but feel that something was up.
"If you wanna eat her share, then go ahead. Blanc isn't here anyway," she suggested while waving her fork.
Rom replied in her quiet voice without taking her eyes off her elder sister's seat, "That was the first time she ate with us since ages… Do you think we should wrap her food so she can eat it later?"
"Hm, maybe we should. I bet she'll be hungry then," Ram grinned at the thought of a starving Blanc coming home and an image of herself and Rom blessing their dear sister with food. She could already imagine the praises she'll be getting.
While her sister continued eating, Rom kept her gaze on her elder sister's seat before her stomach reminded her that she was hungry too.
Their breakfast was pretty silent then.
The meetings took days and were held on different locations. The first meeting was in Lastation since it was originally proposed by its Oracle, Kei Jinguji to address the growing threat of the Arfoire Chips and to resolve the anomalies the four nations have been detecting within the Gamindustri Graveyard. So far, the meetings have made surprising progress with the leaders of the nations cooperating for once as they discussed matters that would keep their countries afloat should the worst happened.
As arrangements were made, there were a few times when the meetings would come to a grinding halt thanks to one thing and another.
Exhibit A.
"With this plan. Trading routes between Leanbox and Planeptune would be safe from monster attacks for the time being," Chika Hakozaki explained as she directed the leaders' attention to the screen, "However, we will need the cooperation of Lowee for that to happen and if we can just obtain the permission, then we can continue discussing further details."
Mina spoke for Blanc's sake since her Goddess was busy taking down notes and thinking, "But to use Lowee's military forces to protect Planeptune and Leanbox's caravans, isn't that quite bold? This is a huge favor you are asking for, but could you pay the price though?"
"Lady Green Heart as agreed to—"
"Aaaaaaalrighty! I owned the song! Who the Nep? I'm the Nep! Hey guys check th—"
BANG
The disturbance was quickly resolved thanks to Lady Black Heart's quick thinking. Throwing her Oracle's shoe seemed to be the best course action to silence Lady Purple Heart.
"I call for a five minute break," announced Noire as she walked towards Neptune's unmoving body and dragging it as she stomped her way out.
Exhibit B.
"Lastation has developed a defensive system due the increasing monster attacks around every countries' borders," Noire was saying as she paced before the screen, her twin-tailed hairs dancing behind her with every step, "We're more than happy to distribute the technology to the neighboring nations for—"
"Zzzzzzzzzz…"
"— A… A price… However none too expensive for the materials needed aren't that rare—"
"Zzzzzzz…"
"—but I can guarantee its quality when—"
"Zzzzzzz… Mmm, N-Noire, what are you doing? N-No… Hey cut that out… That's—GRAGH!"
"What the heck are you dreaming about, stupid?!" screamed the elegant Lady Black Heart as she slammed Neptune on the floor with a Loweean suplex. With the purple nation's Goddess imbedded on the ground, it didn't take long for Lastation's CPU to call for a five minute break.
Exhibit C.
BOING
BOING
Blanc slammed the table and jabbed a finger at Vert, "YOU'RE ANTAGONIZING ME, I JUST KNOW IT!"
"W-What have I ever done to you?" asked Leanbox's CPU as she backed up from her seat.
BOING
BOING
"Your jugs are mocking me!" roared Lowee's CPU.
Vert took offence and retaliated, "How absurd! Badmouthing my hobbies is one thing but insulting my—"
"Your volleyballs! Keep them from bouncing because I can't fucking concentrate, woman!"
"The avert your eyes! You should be mature enough to deal with your petty inferiority."
"Inferiority?! Like hell! Wanna go at it now, punk?!"
"I've been lenient but I won't back down to a child!"
Noire hit her head on the table as words leaked out of her lips, "This is getting nowhere…"
"Well, you gotta give it to them lasting two days without beating each other up," chirped Neptune as she engrossed herself in her handheld device. She glanced at Noire and asked, "Five minute break?"
"Five minute break…" grumbled the CPU of Lastation.
…..
….
…
Three days passed and the meeting was being held in Lowee. Of course the twins were told not to disturbed the meeting in any manner they could think of so the sisters were left with nothing to do. Their days have been pretty boring. Watching the snow fall and making snow sculptures lost its value to keep them busy so the two settled in for staying indoors to draw. Blanc was busy setting up the meeting area on the other side of the Basilicom so they were both left alone in their rooms.
Drawings were scattered on the floor due to the twins' repeated failures to create something that would they consider their masterpiece. The art littered about had crude drawings that would rival most elementary schoolers despite these two girls being decades old. Drawing was never their strong point but that didn't stop them from trying.
"Hey Rom, you think Blanc will like this?" asked Ram as she held up her image of her elder sister, "You think her head's a little big?"
Rom examined the drawing with a critical eye before giving her verdict, "Well… I do think that Blanc is sometimes big headed…"
"Not like that, silly. I mean the drawing!" clarified the long haired twin.
"Ah, okay. Well… It looks fine, I guess," replied the short haired twin, confused to see her sibling standing up and running towards the door, "Where are you going..?"
"I'm going to look for Blanc! I'm going to ask what she thinks," answered Ram with a smile. She opened the door and shut it as she left.
Left behind on her own, Rom could only wave a hand while saying, "Take care…"
She didn't have any problem continuing her and her sister's project.
…..
….
…
Ram ran along the wide hallways and passed by the few servants her sister employed earlier in the year. Why there are few servants, you asked? Well that was because Lowee's Goddess had a tight budget and rarely needed the servants at all. At most, she'll ask them to clean the Basilicom and make it presentable, on normal days, they would be released until hired again since Lady White Heart found their gossiping and incompetence annoying.
Mina was the only one who did good in her job as an Oracle but it was obvious that leaving the cleaning to her would spell nothing but disaster.
The Candidate paid them no mind as she made her way towards her sister, occasionally glancing at the snowy landscape just outside her window. She passed corridor after corridor, expertly navigating through the maze like hallways as if she knew them like the back of her hand. Living in the place for a long time tended to help.
As she rounded about a corner, she managed to hear a conversation of a couple of servants. While she didn't mind at first, her attention was caught by the off handed mention of her elder sister's name. Naturally, curiosity got her so she couldn't help but listen a bit.
"So that's what they're planning? Are you sure though? Doesn't that sound dangerous?" said a green haired twin-tailed maid.
Her short haired blonde friend nodded while replying, "Apparently, the anomaly in the Gamindustri Graveyard was getting stronger or so I've heard. The Goddesses are going to exterminate it one of these days. At least that was Miss Mina and Lady White Heart were talking about."
"We're soooo getting fired for eavesdropping," sighed the first maid, "I'm kind of worried though. Do you think they'll be okay?"
"They're Goddesses so they'll be all right," said the second maid, "I still don't know what Lady Blanc is thinking though…"
The two maids continued their conversation as they walked off, leaving Ram whom was hiding around the corner a whole lot more curious. She didn't know what to make of this. While she knew that the meetings her sister was having were important and stuff, she never knew that it was something of this scale.
Blanc's planning to fight something? Why and how? It's gotta be strong if she's talking with the other CPUs about it… she thought with a frown in her face, I gotta tell Rom.
Lowee's CPU Candidate then hurried back to where her sister.
…..
….
…
"Are you sure that it's okay for us to be here?"
"It'll be fine. We just have to wait till they come out, then we can ask Blanc if we can tag along."
Ram and Rom stood outside the meeting room's doors, waiting patiently for their sister to exit the room with the other Goddesses. Earlier, Ram explained everything she heard to Rom and told her sister the plan she had to make Blanc let them go. While Rom seemed reluctant to go along, her worry for their elder sister overcame her hesitation in the end. Besides, she had no intention no going against her sibling's forceful nature when she herself felt the same.
And so they waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.
Being the child they were, the twins got bored easily as they waited. They took turns waking up and sleeping as the hours went by. It took them a long time but they managed to wait for twelve hours yet the meeting wasn't over yet. They began to wonder if the CPUs ever needed to take breaks whenever they held strategy meetings. Rom managed to bring packed lunch in case they needed to camp outside the door and Ram was thankful for her sister's preparations.
Once Blanc steps out, they were going to ask her to accompany her. After that, they'll be kicking some serious monster butt. Rom would need to occasionally snap her sister back into reality whenever the long haired twin had a goofy smile on her face.
While waiting, the twins thought about what they were going to talk about with their sister. They felt like they could easily convince Blanc on taking them along.
Finally, the time came and the doors of the meeting room opened. Blanc stepped out of the doors and stood before it with her head cast down. Ram and Rom were confused, but just as they were about to approach their sister, the other Goddesses came right after. The twins paid them no attention as they left but focused entirely on their unmoving sister.
A moment later, the three of them were left. Ram chose the time to walk towards her elder sister and speak, "Blanc, we came to see you!"
The Goddess turned her head towards her little sister's voice and managed to squeeze out her own, "Ah… You two. What are you doing here?"
"We wanted… to ask you something…" replied Rom as she stood behind her twin.
Ram beat her chest as she spoke out loud, "So how was the meeting? Are you all going to take on that thing in the Graveyard? Let us join too, we can't let you all have the fun!"
"Wh…What did you just say" asked Blanc with a scowl on her face.
"Well duh! We're asking you to let us go with—"
"NO!"
The long haired twin blinked and instinctively took a step back, "W-What?"
"Do you have any fucking idea what you're saying?! Where the hell did you hear that stuff?! Were eavesdropping? I told you two not to go near the meeting room, didn't I?!" roared the Goddess as she clenched her hands in to fists.
Rom hid behind her twin , not daring to meet her elder sister in the eye. Ram on the other hand was trembling all over yet she stood her ground. Daring to continue talking in a trembling tone, "I-I-I don't understand. Why a-are you so mad? We're only trying to help!"
"You two have no idea what's going on," growled Blanc as she fought to control her temper.
"That's because you're not telling us anything! Please! We want to fight with you, and if only you'll tell us what's wrong then we'll understand!" sobbed the long haired Candidate as her twin hugged her from behind.
"I don't expect a couple of brats to understand… Just leave things to me," replied the Goddess as she passed by her sisters. Without even looking at her siblings, she stomped her way out of their sight till she disappeared. The twins stood on the spot with Rom still shaking and Ram as stiff as a statue.
A few moments later, the long haired twin fell on her knees, tears running down her cheeks.
"R-R-Ra-Ram?" stuttered her sister as she placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I hate her… She's so dumb…" muttered Ram as she fought back her tears. Gritting her teeth, she punched the floor, "Why… Why can't we go? We only wanted to help, stupid Blanc!"
"R-R-Ram…" Rom wiped her tears as she held her sister's hand. It really seemed that the two got quite a shock. They never expected to be turned down so violently. They were confused and their elder sister didn't even bother explaining anything. Leaving them both out only made them more upset.
Soon, they began to hear footstep coming from the meeting room, though they paid no attention to it since they too busy comforting one another and calling Blanc names. Imagine their surprise when they heard someone call out to them.
"Ram? Rom? What are you two doing here?" asked Mina while carrying a few pieces of paper. She then noticed the twins' state and concern kicked into her system. She walked towards them and knelt down, taking out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiping their tears, "So that's what the yelling was about. You poor girls… That girl, I'll have to talk to her about this, later…"
"Mina?" Ram looked up for a moment before staring down at the floor once again, "It's just you…"
Surprised, the Oracle looked at Rom for answers yet it seemed like the girl was just as distressed as the other twin. With concern on her face, she moved a few strands of hair from Ram's face and said, "Tell me what happened. Did you two and Blanc get into a fight?"
"Y-Yeah…" admitted the long haired Candidate as she hugged herself, "It's not fair that she gets to go… Why can't we help her too?"
"What do you mean?" asked the Oracle.
"We… We heard from the maids… Blanc was going to… do something dangerous… We were worried…" explained Rom as best a she could while her sister continued to fume.
"She gets to yell at us and we don't even understand why! She's a fat mouth meanie! I hate her! I really hate her, it's not fair!" yelled Ram, "She doesn't even get to spend time with us anymore! It's just work, work, work, work, and work! She can just go marry her desk for all we care! She might be doing something dangerous and there's nothing we can do about it! Doesn't she know how worried that made us! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
"Ram… you're going to hurt yourself…" warned Rom as she held her sister's shoulders.
Mina was quiet as she listened and began to think. After a few moments, a small smile appeared on her lips as she breathed a small puff of air, "Did you two know… That Lowee is in big trouble?"
"In trouble?" the twins repeated in unison.
"Your sister's doing her best trying to resolve things. She finally found out the source of her increasing workload," explained the Oracle as she stood up, "Lowee is in a bad shape. There are a lot of bad people around so Blanc is very worried. Not just about her citizens but for both of you too. There are few people she can call on to trust. That girl may not show it, but she cares very much for the two of you. She'll be willing to cast aside her own country just to protect you two… You do realize how protective she is of you girls, right?"
The twins were silent as Mina continued to speak.
"Blanc cares for the both of you. Even if she yells at you and the like, she makes up an excuse and calls it tough love," the blue haired girl giggled a bit before sighing, "A few days later, she'll remember this incident and she'll start feeling guilty… That's because she cares, right? So… Hearing you two volunteering on accompanying her in such a dangerous mission, of course it would shock her. We will never forgive herself should anything happen to you two… Please understand that…"
The Oracle fixed her papers before dragging the two sister unto their feet, "You two go to play someplace else. Please behave yourself and you can count on me to sort things out. Until then…"
Rom watched as Mina walked away. She glanced at her sister whom was still trembling and held her hand. This time, it was her turn to pull her sister away and take her to someplace else. While putting up a strong front, Ram was just as meek and fragile as Rom. Rom admired her sister for being so strong, so she took the initiative to do something when her sister was down.
She just hoped that Mina will solve things.
A few days later and the Lowee siblings still haven't spoken to one another. News of the disagreements between the three of them reached the entire nation thanks to the gossiping servants and the citizens were becoming worried on what this incident would bring forth on the future. For all they knew, the nation may be torn apart by civil war should this escalate yet the y all kept their concerns hidden under the guise of their everyday life while praying for the conflict to be resolved.
It was the end of the year and Blanc had holed herself in her study without going out, content on having her dinners delivered to her door and eating her meals while working. Only a few servants have been allowed to entered the office.
Today would be the agreed day the leaders of the four nation would be leaving for Gamindustri Graveyard. Blanc and the other Goddesses would be fighting against the anomaly they found there, a battle which may or may not be the biggest one she'll have in her entire life. She had to get her game face on, she had to get ready. She didn't have time to mess around…
Yet what was this painful feeling in her chest?
She wouldn't be able to concentrate in battle like this. She had to get rid of it, maybe asking some else for help would be good.
"Milady, today's the day. You don't seem to be feeling well though," said a voice which had just entered her room.
Glancing at her Oracle, Blanc greeted her, "Mina, just the person I need."
"Well? Have you reflected on your actions yet?" asked the blue haired girl.
Frowning, the Goddess seemed confused at that statement, "What are you talking about? Listen, there's this irritating thing in my chest—"
"That's guilt, milady," cut in Mina with a smile.
With a look of disbelief, Blanc repeated, "Guilt..? The hell am feeling guilty for?!"
"Here…" said the Oracle as she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and offered it to the Goddess.
Rubbing her forehead, the CPU of Lowee unfolded the paper and took a look. What she found made her raise an eyebrow. It was a crude drawing of three people. Three girls with the one in the middle slightly taller than the two on either side of her. She could vaguely recognize her own hat but it was strange to see her appearance as a child's scribble.
Then her eyes went wide.
She looked from the drawing to Mina and then back again. If the one in the middle was her, then it would be obvious on who the other two on her side would be. It was her and her sisters, sitting all together on a dinner table. Blanc could recognize the apron she would usually wear and the bland food she would always make.
Ah, that's right. She had to say goodbye to the brats and—
Right… I yelled at them… she thought as a lump formed within her throat. A sigh escaped her lips as she stared at Mina, "You… Damn you…"
"You know what to do…" hummed the Oracle as she peered outside the window. She heard the door slam shut behind her and found a white hat on the floor once she turned around. She couldn't help but giggle at that point.
Blanc ran, gritting her teeth, she navigated through the corridors as she worked her way towards her sisters' room.
She got lost.
She hit a dead end.
She crashed into a maid.
She tripped on her feet and stumbled.
Yet she kept on going.
She called out for her sisters, searching for them as she went.
She kept on running.
She kept on yelling.
She had something to say to them.
Otherwise she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.
Now she felt like a total prick thanks to her smartass Oracle.
But that didn't matter. She had to give priority to what really was important to her.
She found their room and just as she was about to open the door, she tripped once more and crashed into the room. Lifting her face from the ground, she sighed and looked up. Staring at her with surprised expression were two young girls that resembled her. Something about them… was different. Yet this was easily explainable since she hadn't seen them in days. She regretted that and it made her feel like a total idiot.
Without waiting for them to say anything, she embraced them. She would never let them go. Not again, she won't go making the same mistakes.
They didn't struggle, they didn't resist. They just let themselves be hugged tight before hugging their elder sister back. They cried and wept, the one with the long hair started beating the back of her head yet she didn't care. The one with the shorter hair trembled like a small animal that she had no choice but to pull her sister closer.
She just realized how much an idiot the three of them were. She thought that it must've ran in the family.
After much crying and name calling. The three siblings managed to calm down.
"I'm going to fight, so I'm leaving you two in charge," she told them while patting their heads, "I trust the two of you, so be good."
"We will!" replied the twins.
There was a flash of white and she was gone, flying out of the window and glancing back at her siblings on last time.
At least she wouldn't have to worry about paper works anymore.
THREE YEARS LATER
GAMINDUSTRI GRAVEYARD
It's been a long journey, yet they were finally here. They finally had the chance to take their sister back. They fought many monsters, grew strong and gained many friends. They had Uni and Nepgear now so they weren't afraid. Not even after fighting their way deep within enemy territory, the twins stood strong.
Their sister was just up ahead….
"Rom, you're lagging behind again! Hurry up or else we'll be left behind!" called Ram as she climbed up a broken vehicle.
The blue clad Candidate held her staff and breathed a sigh, "It's new year's eve…"
"I know," replied the pink clad Candidate as she helped her sister up.
They straightened themselves and looked over towards where their sister was being held captive.
"We're coming for you sis!"
"We missed you…"
In unison, the twins said together, "Happy new year, Blanc…"