Disclaimer: This story may have spoilers for HD Victory. Proceed at your own risk. All characters, setting, and source materials belong to their respective owners.
Lowee, one of the oldest nations to be made in Gamindustri was currently experiencing a long time of peace. Of course before one would become confused, it would be better to specify that this was the Lowee of the past or alternatively, the Lowee of the other dimension. A huge nation surrounded by beautiful mountains and a sea of orange trees, the mere sight of it could give one an easterly feeling. Elegant structures of the color red and white stood within the capital and the various waterways only contributed to the scenery's beauty.
The Land of Old Serenity as the elder ones affectionately named it. It used to be the leading nation in the Gamindustri of this timeline, however with the rising powers of the nations of Lastation, Leanbox and Planeptune, competition was at an all-time high. Yet despite that, the four nations had good relations seeing as how they aided one another in the Seven Sages Incident. Console marketing may be one of Lowee's strong points but another one of its strengths is its tourist spots, making it an ideal place for a vacation.
Within the central Basilicom's head office, the sound of a pen scratching was the only thing that could be heard. Sitting before an open paper door was a girl dressed in a red skirt and white jacket with large sleeves, a large stack of papers propped up on either side of her. She was working diligently on a low elegant black table, giving the papers a glance before signing them.
It's been a quiet day for Lowee's very own CPU, Lady White heart. There was nothing else to do but approve all of these contracts from the neighboring nations for trading. The only thing that annoyed her was the half-assed requests Planeptune's CPU was sending to her. Asking things like if she wanted a hug, if she would like to go out and play, and if she would like to eat dinner in Planeptune all in formal letters! Naturally, Lowee's ever composed CPU froze and crushed them without second thought.
A sigh escaping her lips, she wondered how whimsical that girl could get. Her mind processed the information of every paper she grabbed from the pile on her right while her limbs worked in autopilot. This may come off as an aftereffect of the days where her nation was sunk in problems. It was only thanks to the efforts of her fellow CPUs were those days behind her. Good thing she settled her debts though, it would've been a pain to have one of those in the present. Helping out and resolving the Seven Sages Incident helped her come out Scott free, and maybe gain a few friends along the way.
Her hand then came to a stop, her eyes fixed on the paper before her as she spoke, "What do you want, future me? I guess we really are different if you'll just hide there."
"There was no need to call me out. I was just about to come out myself," said another girl whom entered the room through a sliding door. This person was the spitting image of the girl sitting between the two piles of paper, the only difference between them was their clothes. The same brown hair, dull blue eyes and flawless skin, one might mistake them as twins.
This new girl wore a different styled cap on her head of the same color as her white dress and jacket. Fur was attached at the edge of her jacket, possibly to keep her warm from the cold weather rather than as an accessory. Her powder blue sandals clacked against the tatami floor a she approached her alternate self while crossing her arms.
"You didn't answer my question," pointed out the past Blanc with a hint of irritation, "Why are you here?"
The future Blanc replied in her usual monotone, "I've decided to take a vacation. I've left Mina in charge of the processing of the projects back home. Sometimes I just need to get away from all of that noise."
"Hearing that from myself sounds a bit disappointing,"
"Is that so? Well you better do your best not to turn out like little old me."
"I probably will. There's more work that needs to be done and I don't have the leisure time to sit around."
This little dialogue somehow made a little anger vein to appear on the future Blanc's forehead, "Hey, hey, hey… Are you trying to piss me off?"
"If you've come to vent out your frustrations on my peaceful land, then I'll have to advise you to leave my territory," said the past Blanc with an obvious smirk on her lips.
The CPU of the Land of White Serenity gritted her teeth before inhaling a deep breath and counted to ten. It was what Mina always reminded her with whenever she was about to blow up. At most times it worked, like right then in which she was able to regain her composure while replying, "There will be no need for that. Besides, I did say that I was on vacation didn't I?"
"The why didn't you bring the twins with you?" questioned the CPU of the Land of Old Serenity in a curious tone, unknowingly starting to approve contracts once again.
"The brats are with Nepgear, being with that girl would keep them busy until my day off is over. I can't think straight with them ticking me off every fifteen minutes," the future Blanc fumed as she sat beside her counterpart. Leaning over, she decided to have a look at what her other self was working on and was forced to resist a snort, "What the hell is with these requests? Planeptune's CPU giving you a headache?"
"You don't know the half of it," growled the past Blanc as she grabbed the paper out of her counterpart's hands and crushed it, "I'm going to have to talk to Plutia one of these days. It's getting really annoying and it's only adding up to my workload."
"Then if may I suggest, why don't you just get people to help you instead of becoming Noire's expy?"
"Been there, done that, look at what happened to that fat bastard I told you about…."
"Ah… Him… I get your point but if this goes on you'll lose your marbles. How long do you think you've been going like this?"
"Three weeks."
There was silence for few seconds. The CPU of the Land of White Serenity stared dumbfounded at her counterpart while her lips parted, "You're kidding, right?"
"I see no reason why I should," muttered the CPU of the Land of Old Serenity, tilting her head from left to right, creating an audible crack, "You're being awfully sympathetic. Did something happen?"
The future Blanc let out a snort as she crossed her arms, "I just don't want my alternate self to be reduced to an inefficient little machine. You'll turn numb and everything will hurt all over. Soon, you're going to screw up and everyone will start yelling at you which in turn cause you to yell back. Then the mob will start to form and everyone will be getting pirated chips from the opposition which'll make you—"
"Alright, alright, I get it! I'll take a week off, happy?" growled the past Blanc as she gripped her pen with enough force to snap it in half, "Now get your ass out of here before I do something stupid."
"You should get some sleep. The bags under your eyes look disgusting. Take a good long nap or else you won't grow taller," continued her counterpart in perfect monotone. Her face betrayed no expression yet deep within her, she was smirking. She considered this as a payback for what her other self did to her earlier.
"I don't want to hear that from you! You damned hypocrite, why don't you just get out?!" yelled the past Blanc, launching her pen like a throwing knife which her alternate self easily dodged.
The future Blanc merely cracked a smirk while saying, "I'll get out when I freaking want to. Besides, you're not the boss of me."
"Gah, you wanted me to relax, right? How could I start relaxing when you're being so goddamned annoying?" groaned the CPU of the Land of Old Serenity. She slapped a palm on her head as she fell back first into the floor. Her eyes fixed on the ceiling, her stiff shoulders began to relax after hours of relentless work. She then grumbled as she realized that her other self was right, she had been working her body over the limit and she didn't even realize it.
She heard her counter part's footsteps grow fainter and fainter behind her before finally disappearing. A sigh escaped her lips as she struggled to organize her buzzing mind. Her eyes felt heavy as the lack of sleep started to weigh down on her, she figured that not sleeping for days on end wasn't the best idea she had. It was during times like this that she wanted something to drink, her throat felt so dry it hurt. She cursed herself for allowing her body to be reduced to such a state.
Maybe she was starting to rub off Plutia and her idiocy because of all of those times they spent together. If inly her mind wasn't crammed with so much work and projects then she would be able to do her job more efficiently. Now that she thought of it, her counterpart had a point.
She just laid there staring at the ceiling as the minutes ticked by. She could've sworn that she dozed off a bit just before she was startled awake by a sound just beside her head. Rising up from her prone position, she turned her head to the right and found a cup of tea sitting beside her. She took a sip from her drink and fixed her eyes on her other self sitting at the porch. Without thinking, she approached her mirror image and sat beside her, staring into space for a few moments before sipping her tea simultaneously.
A cricket chirped somewhere near the rock pond when the future Blanc decided to break the silence, "You need a hobby…"
"What kind?" asked the past Blanc in the same monotone.
Her alternate self scratched her chin while replying as if deep in thought, "Something that will suit you. None too stressful or tiresome, something quiet where you'll be able to do it even while you're working, maybe something that I'm interested in too?"
"Well, we're more or less the same person," said the CPU of the Land of Old Serenity, "If you like something then there's the chance that I'll be curious too. However unless you have some strange hobbies then please leave me out of it."
"That's not what I meant!" yelled her doppelganger.
Raising her hands in surrender, the past Blanc then said, "Very well… What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking of something along the lines of literature," replied the future Blanc with a bashful expression, "You know… reading books… understanding them… And maybe try your hand in writing…"
"Writing, huh? Hmm, well I am good at signing contracts…"
"It's not like that. More like, you'll make a story and put it on paper. See if anyone would like to read it and stuff."
"Is that so? Well, I am aware of various authors and writers in my nation, but I've never really paid much attention to them. How about you? Do you write?"
"Hell yeah, I do! Not too much people enjoy it though."
"So you suck."
"If I suck, then you'll suck too!"
"I'll think about it."
"Eh?"
The CPU of the Land of White Serenity stared at her counterpart with raised eyebrows. Now this was an unexpected answer. Being herself, she determined that her doppelganger would reply a flat no and return to work. Then again, as much as this person was similar to her, they were not the same.
"Give me a month. I'll write up something fantastic," said the past Blanc, a challenging smile spreading across her lips.
"Hmph, alright then," the future Blanc stood up and walked away, causing her other self to raise her eyebrows in confusion.
"Leaving so soon?" she asked.
"You'll need a lot of practice. I learned this once from Mina, you should probably get to work. See ya around, other me."
The remaining CPU watched as her alternate self disappeared behind a paper door, leaving her all alone outside. Staring at the path where her other self was, a small sigh escaped her lips as she massaged her forehead. Just what did she get herself into now? Her eyes turned at her unfinished paper work as her uneasy expression turned into a smile. She was officially on leave; these things could be put on hold for the next month. She would think about solving it then.
Right now….
"Let's see… A prince saving a princess from the demon king…. Simplistic, but it's a start…."
She picked up her fallen pen and slid the door behind her.
The sun was high in the sky and the people walking around only increased by the minute. Most of Lowee's residents matched its theme by wearing traditional garbs made by the local clothing stores. There were a few exceptions with a few people having decided to wear some fashion trends from the surrounding nations. Of course, none of these mattered since everyone was pretty much free to do what they want. Another thing was that Blanc didn't care.
She navigated through the crowd of people with a white plastic bag hanging from her right. She looked like she was lost in her own little world as her eyes stared into space while her feet took her to her still unknown destination. In fact, she had been walking aimlessly for fifteen minutes ever since she bought her tangerines. She had no idea why she bought it or why she still kept walking without purpose, but she just felt that if she stayed holed up in her Basilicom doing nothing then she would have wasted her precious time. It was rare for her to actually sit back and relax.
Problem was that there was so much buzzing in her head that she found it impossible to relax. The words of her counterpart continued to bounce within her mind like crazy. To write a story seemed simple at a first glance yet after trying it for herself, she found out that anything she made looked horrible. She realized this after comparing a book her other self gave her with her own creation, they were exactly the same! Could this mean that she noticed something her future self could not? Maybe this was a chance to save all of mankind from that horror. The True Goddess may be giving her a chance to change her ways.
A sigh escaped her lips as she thought more about her alternate self's idiocy.
Thinking up of a story was a challenge too; she had canned all of her ideas after her first failure. She needed some inspiration, maybe someone who could help her in this kind of field. Unfortunately, she was mostly acquainted with troublesome individuals who are either too busy or too lazy to help her out. Then again, there's that fat guy but she figured he'll only make things worst with his mindset.
"This is hopeless," she sighed as she scratched the back of her head. Looking around, it was quite surprising on how her own citizens ignored her presence. She figured that she was well known for her HDD form unlike her normal form. It didn't seem like the general populace of her nation was aware of her human side so there was no point in making brash actions of making them respect her whenever she's around. It sounded something like that sadist CPU or Noire would do, but then again she didn't care.
That was when she bumped into someone. Looking up at the person's face, her lips parted and uttered a word, "Sorry."
"No, it's okay, I wasn't looking where I was headed," replied the stranger with an awkward smile. The person she collided with was a girl with jet black hair, her head hidden underneath a hood as she had her hands tucked within her jacket's pockets. The strange girl glanced behind her as if looking for someone before turning back to Blanc, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to get going. Sorry again."
The CPU could only stare at her as she disappeared into the crowd as if she was being chased by someone. It turns out that the Goddess' guess was correct as someone walked right out of the place where the girl came from. It was another young woman with neon blue hair, a wide brimmed pointed hat sitting on top of her head as her white coat flowed behind her as she walked. Her steps were hurried and filled with purpose; Blanc could notice her gritting her teeth while her knuckles were white as she held what seemed to be a long stick.
This blue haired girl walked by the Goddess without as much a glance, yet Blanc still managed to hear fragments of her growling, "Damn, that person. Making things hard for me like this. I'll get her this time…"
Perplexed at the sudden events, the CPU could only stare at the two people whom just passed by. Now that wasn't something she saw every day, and that was saying something given how this was Gamindustri. The closest thing she could think of at the moment was if those two girls were having some sort of lovers quarrel. Now at that thought, a light bulb seemed to have been lit on her head. She wondered if her other self dabbled into romance whenever she wrote. She didn't want to make anything cheesy so the best choice she would have would be some research.
"Right," she muttered quietly to herself, "The library it is… There's gotta be something there… anything at all…"
Blanc turned her head towards east and walked towards her destination. It shouldn't take her long to get there.
…..
….
…
"What do you mean it's closed?"
"We apologize, but the entire library is currently going under renovations. It would be quite a while before it will be open to public."
To say that Lady White heart was irked would be an understatement. She pissed, very much so that she could level an entire street. She hid all of that rage behind a stoic expression yet the veins appearing on her forehead while her clenched fists trembled. The first time she goes to her own city's library and then something unfortunate happens, talk about bad luck.
She stood before a plain white building with marble wall and glass doors, a sign saying 'closed' propped up just beside the entrance. She was just lucky enough to encounter the one managing the place before she hunted down the manager herself. Turns out while the library was being renovated, it seemed like someone had bought it off for the day for 'research' purposes. This only pissed off Blanc more to know that there was someone brazen enough to buy off the entire thing for a day.
It was a public building; to suddenly do such a thing was unacceptable!
Gritting her teeth, she did her best not to let her anger become obvious while asking, "When will it be opened?"
"Tomorrow at best, three weeks at worst, miss," replied the attendant in high accommodating tone.
BOOM
"Make that four weeks," continued the attendant while scratching her cheek. She retreated a step when she found the CPU's face within an inch of hers.
Blanc then muttered in a low tone while keeping her eyes fixed on the girl before her, "You wouldn't mind if I checked that, would you?"
"B-But m-miss! We can't let in unauthorized personnel since it's too dangerous!" stammered the attendant while quivering under the titanic aura of such a small girl.
"You wouldn't mind, right?" repeated the CPU as her eyes flashed with a pink and red color while the air around her hummed with energy. At this point, the girl before her seemed to have realized who she was talking to and immediately cowed.
"E-Eep! I'm sorry! I-I didn't realize!" she squeaked as she kept retreating backwards, "I-It's okay! You can enter now! P-Please forgive me!"
BOOM
Another explosion within the building caused a light tremor to pass beneath their feet. The Goddess then relaxed and breathed a sigh before approaching the glass door. Glancing behind her she said, "Come with me, I don't know the interior of this place so I might get lost."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" replied the attendant with a helpless look on her face. The two of them entered the establishment without encountering any explosions. There were a lot of questions floating around the CPU's head like what kind of person would buy off an entire library, why would they do such a thing, and what was up with these explosions however dealing with whatever's obstructing her road to success in writing was her top most priority.
She strolled within the powder blue corridors with a normal pace. Despite not stepping foot into the establishment before, she seemed confident on the path she was taking. Blanc assumed that she was headed the right way since the attendant behind her hasn't uttered a single word, or maybe the poor girl was too afraid to say anything. She eventually came across a pair of closed brown doors three heads taller than her. This must've led into the main building just after the reception desk she passed by.
There was the distinct smell of gunpowder and sulfur coming from beneath the gaps of the doors. With an irritated look on her face, Blanc lifted her foot and kicked the doors open. She was immediately greeted by the sight of the countless numbers of books stacked within rows upon rows of blue shelves. It wasn't exactly big but this was the first time she had witnessed this kind of amount of books in one place. She would've been impressed if it were not for the excessive amount of smoke filling her vision.
She was able to make out the silhouette of a person moving within the gray curtain, prompting her to raise her hand and swing it deliberately to the side. The wind immediately picked up and blew every bit of smoke into oblivion, she heard the attendant behind her yelp at the sudden display of power. The Goddess narrowed her eyes at the person emerging from the dissipating smoke.
"Did I make it clear to you people that I would be performing some very important research right now? I would appreciate it if you lot ceased disturbing me over every little thing," complained a sharp voice which came from a young woman with long blue hair.
"And the last time I checked this was a public building open to everyone. Just who do you think you are 'buying' it for the day?" countered the brown haired girl in an annoyed manner. She crossed her arms and huffed as she continued, "If you're only here to cause inconvenience then it would be best for you to leave before things get messy."
The blue haired girl tilted her head to the side before releasing a sigh. She reached for a large pointed hat on the table and placed it on her head. Giving the Goddess an indifferent look, she then said, "Oh, a CPU. That's quite the mouth you have there. My name is Mages, a practitioner of the arcane arts and I am currently conducting an important research that is relevant to my goal."
"Like I care. You better get out cause you're just polluting the air," shot back the Goddess with an uninterested look.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," replied Mages as she turned her back towards the CPU, "I have a lot of things to do and they must be done with all haste. I can't afford wasting any more of my time."
BANG
The blue haired girl's eyes traced the source of the sound to her desk. She wasn't the least surprised to see Blanc standing right next to the table she had her materials on and she didn't even seem fazed when the Goddess had her fist digging into the wood. She merely stared at the girl advancing towards her with an all too obvious false smile.
"I'm getting reeeaaaal pissed off here. The way you act all high and mighty right now, it kinda makes me want to take a leaf out of Planeptune's CPU and teach you a lesson in manners. I am on a tight schedule now so I too can't afford any time wasted, and I'm not about to let some stuck up magical girl like you stop me from using this library! So why don't you just pack up and play professor someplace else!" Blanc's calm tone slowly increased in volume up to the point where she was yelling.
Mages blinked twice before scratching the back of her head while saying, "Your fuse is short just like your height…"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY—?!"
The Goddess' yelling was cut short the moment the witch lifted her finger and cast an inaudible spell. She suddenly lost her voice the moment the spell took effect. Her hands reached for her throat as she tried her hardest to produce a sound, only to be met with complete futility. She shot the blue haired girl a deadly glare with the aura of a hurricane ready to demolish a wooden house.
But before she could even do much as move a muscle, Mages' lips parted as she spoke, "To prevent any further conflicts, I suggest that we stay out of each other's way."
This made Blanc blink in surprise at her words. It was only for a short moment yet she managed to retain her foul mood which caused her to frown at the girl before her.
Taking this as a sign to go on, the witch then continued, "I will continue my work as per normal; however I will have to reduce the effects of my experiments to prevent any unnecessary distractions on your end. I'll allow you to do whatever you want should you choose to stay here but in return you must not disturb me. Simple is it not? This way there will be no annoying shouting or explosion, plus the library will be able to serve its purpose."
With a snap of her finger, she gave the Goddess her voice back. The CPU coughed and hacked while patting her chest, uttering a low growl as she replied, "You? Allow me? Miss, are you even in your right mind? I'm the ruler of this entire nation, you have no right to boss me around or strike bull crap deals like this to me! I can do whatever the hell I want, when I want!"
"But by saying those kind of things, don't you think that's unbecoming of a wise ruler? If the people were to know of this…" Mages smirked as she pocketed a pen like object into her coat, "It would be big trouble…"
Dumbstruck as her brain processed what just happened, Blanc did everything she could to restrain herself from needlessly attack the witch in front of her, "Why…. You…. Little shithead… "
"I think we've come to mutual understanding. Now, I believe this little conversation is over. I'll have to get back to work than argue with illiterate monkeys," with that, the blue haired girl went to her station and buried her face behind a book.
The Goddess stood rooted on the spot, her lips trembling in her barely controlled rage. She gnashed her teeth as she fought to keep her breathing normal while her eyes were fixed on the book the witch was holding. If looks could cut, then the book wouldn't be the only one torn to shreds. She then muttered as quietly as possible to herself, "This… Is why I hate DLC characters… Stupid game breakers… Illiterate? I'll show you illiterate, you arrogant bitch."
She moved her legs and stormed off into a random section, muttering darkly to herself as she completely forgot her purpose of being in the building. Then again, she'll remember it later soon enough once she had calmed down.
Mages lowered her book to watch the CPUs retreating figure disappearing behind a shelf. She placed her cheeks on her palm while saying to no one in particular, "Well this is an interesting turn of events… I need to hurry… Looks like I got caught up in something complicated."