A/N: Just when you think it's over... Well, anyone who knows me knows that while I certainly can make you feel the feels, I'm too much of a sucker for a happy ending. So BAM! Second part!
...
In a remote location within the land known as Lowee, an intense battle was erupting. Three individuals were facing off against a single enemy, a large military-styled robot that was equipped with a Gatling gun and shoulder-mounted laser cannon. Two of the fighters wore similar styled heavy armor, complete with large helmets that had visors covering their eyes, one holding a large two-handed blade and the other a sub-machine gun. The third was wearing lighter armor over a dark blue shirt and pants with shin guards. He wore no helmet, leaving his dark hair and aquamarine eyes visible. In both hands were curved daggers, poised to strike at a moment's notice.
"TARGET ACQUIRED," a synthetic voice spoke from the machine, as it leveled its gun at them and fired. The three pulled back to dodge the enemy fire, while the gun-wielding fighter fired back its own rounds. The bullets however, seemed to have no effect as they bounced off the armor plating of the robot.
"Shockwave Slash!" cried out the sword-wielding man, slamming his blade onto the ground and unleashing a shockwave of energy at the robot, causing it to stumble.
"Titanium Tempest!" The dagger-wielder shot forward, spinning his body around to create a whirlwind of steel, the wind picking up and scattering dust around him as he rapidly struck at the robot's armor. He pulled back in time to dodge a powerful punch the machine sent his way. "Tch. Nothing is working! What the hell is this thing made of anyway?"
"We can't give up now though," the sword-wielder said, readying to strike again.
"LOCKING ON TARGET. ENGAGING PRIMARY WEAPON." The robot charged its laser before firing at them. Through the dagger and sword wielders had managed to dodge, the gunner was struck by the blast and sent flying.
"Vlad! You okay?"
"Been better… my leg is killing me though," the gunner named Vlad said. He tried to stand, but fell to one knee, gripping his leg in obvious pain. "Dammit!"
"This isn't good. Joseph, you got to get him out of here!"
"The hell!? And what, leave you to die," the swordsman, named Joseph, shouted back. "You can't seriously expect me to think you can take this thing on your own, right? You need backup!"
"I'd rather we not all fall here at once. Vlad needs treatment and we don't have enough healing items on hand for it. I can keep it distracted enough for you two to get away." He rushed in, striking at the monster to grab its attention. "Go, now!"
"Damn it!" Joseph rushed to his fallen comrade and helped him to stand. "I'll try and get help! You better not die Raine!"
The final member, Raine, nodded. "I'll be fine! Go!" He back-flipped to dodge more gunfire from the machine, before focusing his energy. "Nature's Breath." He took a deep breath, filling himself with energy. As he exhaled, he felt his body becoming lighter and more agile. "Come on tough guy, catch me if you can!" He dashed around, his body moving faster than before as he maneuvered around laser fire. He watched from the corner of his eyes as Joseph carried Vlad away to safety. Alright, now to deal with this thing… easier said than done though, he thought.
He dashed, moving past the monster while attacking its legs, hoping to disable it and give him a better chance of getting away. Each strike make another mark on the creature's tough body, but didn't seem to be able to cut deep enough to hit any of the interior wiring. One of his passes was interrupted when the robot struck with its leg, kicking him in the stomach and knocking him back. Raine coughed a few times before quickly scrambling out of the way of laser fire, the ground exploding with dirt sent flying into the air. "That was too close."
Raine continued to contemplate his options while dodging more enemy fire. This is really bad. We seriously underestimated this hunt. I had hoped bringing more people would make this easier but… I still have my trump card. That skill I just finished developing. But I don't think it's enough to take this thing down. Just as he was about to preparing himself for his last desperate attempt, a battle cry voiced from behind the robot. The monster turned in time to get punched in the face by something.
Said something was an older woman in a navy blue uniform that seemed too small around her chest, as it exposed some serious cleavage, with a blue beret on her head. She got into a fighter's stance, a confident smirk on her face. "Hey! You look like you could use a hand."
"Lady C-sha!?"
"In the flesh," she said with a smirk. This was C-sha, a member of a group known throughout Gamindustri as the Gold Third and stationed in Lowee. "Hey ugly! You look like you need a beat down!" Without waiting, C-sha charged in.
"NEW THREAT IDENTIFIED. PRIORITIZING." The robot began to charge its laser to fire.
"Nature's Breath." Raine quickly focused his energies around C-sha, granting her a speed boost to help dodge the enemy laser attack. Her fists smashed into the robot, leaving large dents in the armor. At the end of her combo strike, she uppercut the machine, the force strong enough to send it flying into the air to Raine's surprise.
"Blanny, now!"
Raine looked confused at that, before he noticed something coming their way. It was flying in at incredible speeds, and it took only a second before he recognized it as Lady White Heart, in her HDD state. She was holding her infamous axe in both hands, rearing and ready to strike at the airborne target.
"Zerstorung!" With a mighty swing, she smashed her axe into the robot and sent it hurling towards the ground. It crashed into the earth with a large shockwave that Raine had to brace himself to keep standing. When he looked, the machine was sparking in places, the chest cavity ripped open from the force of Blanc's strike. She flew down and for good measure, gave the machine a kick. "And stay down."
"Nice shot, Blanny," C-sha said giving her a thumbs up. Blanc merely gave her a weak glare before transforming back into her normal state.
"Seriously, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that!?"
"Um, Lady Blanc, Lady C-sha," Raine said, catching both of their attention. "I'm very grateful for the help, but how did-?"
"Hey!" Raine was interrupted by the reappearance of his two comrades, who were running up to join him. "I told you I'd get your back!"
"Joseph! Vlad, you guys made it!"
"Of course we did. I was lucky that we ran into Lady C-sha and Lady Blanc out here," Joseph said. "When I explained the situation, Lady C-sha went running out here while Lady Blanc gave me some medicine for Vlad here. Still, I can't believe how lucky we were to run into the Golden Pair out here…"
"I'll say," Vlad said smiling. "Sorry about that though. I got too careless…"
"Hey don't worry about it," Raine said sighing with relief. "I'm just glad we managed to all make it out of here in one piece."
Without warning, the robot's hand shot out and grabbed Blanc, squeezing tightly around her body. "MAJOR DAMAGE SUSTAINED. CORE OVERLOAD! CORE OVERLOAD!"
"It's still alive!?" Vlad immediately raised his gun against the monster, but Joseph stopped him. "Wait, you might hit Lady Blanc with that!"
Blanc looked pissed, struggling against the surprising strength of the machine. "Let go you damned sorry excuse for a tin can!" Suddenly she stopped, as the world lost all color and sound. Everyone had a look of surprise, none more so than Blanc. This sensation was one she was intimately familiar with. From her vintage point, she could see everyone looking at her. Everyone but one person.
"Melody of Steel." The world returned to normal and Blanc turned her head in time to see Raine in the air behind the monster, daggers raised up in challenge. "Sing." The grip of the monster broke, as its arm separated from its body, before it disappeared into light. Raine fell to one knee, breathing roughly and looking winded. "Damn it, that takes way too much out of me to do…"
"Raine, you okay?" Vlad asked, as he and Joseph ran up to him in concern.
"Yeah… I think so."
"Geez, you need to be more careful. That side effect of your move still gives me shivers, no matter how much I see you do it," Joseph said, helping him stand.
"Hey." The three hunters turned to Blanc, who was looking at Raine with an unreadable expression. "Where did you learn how to do that move?"
"Huh? Well, I just kind of made it up myself…"
Blanc continued to stare at him for a few moments longer before turning around. "Let's go, C-sha. And you guys, be careful on your way back," she said, walking away. C-sha looked to Blanc confused but ultimately shrugged and waved goodbye to the hunters before jogging to catch up to Blanc.
"You okay there, Blanny?"
"I'm fine." C-sha didn't believe that for a moment. However, as she gazed to Blanc's face to call her out on it, she noticed that it looked… pained in a way. She wondered why that was, and could only think that one of the hunters from before had been responsible. Now, C-sha could pride herself in being able to read Blanc like a book, and she knew how to push the Lowee CPU's buttons to get a reaction from her. She could also tell fairly well when Blanc got angry to try and cover up her feelings and when she was genuinely upset. And this incident had clearly upset her. Teasing could wait for the moment.
Right now, there was a far bigger mystery to deal with.
Blanc, for her part, was doing her best to suppress what she witnessed. Memories and feelings she had long since buried in the past threatened to resurface. She thought she had gotten past it. She believed that it wouldn't affect her anymore. The wound had long since healed over, but the scar was still sensitive to touch. It was just a coincidence, she thought. That's all. Blanc tried to force the incident out of her mind.
"Will you stay? Until the end?"
She bit the inside of her cheek. Hopefully Financier had some tea ready to help her distract herself from her thoughts.
...
"Well, that mission turned out to be… interesting," Vlad said, as he, Joseph and Raine walked out of the Guild. "Still, to think we could get to see the legendary Golden Pair in action. Talk about lucky."
"Yeah. Though I suppose we should call it a day for now. We should probably better prepare for next time," Joseph said.
"Agreed. I'll see you both later then." Raine waved goodbye to Vlad and Joseph before giving a sigh. "Well, that mission could have turned out better… heh, but to think I would be saved by Lady C-sha and Lady Blanc. I wonder, is this a thing called fate?" He frowned. "Well, I have the rest of today off… maybe I should go do something…?"
"Excuse me. Are you, Raine?"
"Hm? Yeah, that's me." He turned to see who had addressed him. An older-looking woman with light blue hair, wearing an open red coat and graduate cap was smiling peacefully at him. From her studious appearance, he wouldn't be wrong to think she worked at one of the many magic academies that could be found in Lowee. As it was, he did in fact recognize the person before him. "Mina!? Is that you?"
"Surprise," the woman, Mina, said. Indeed, she was in fact the Oracle of Lowee, who had left on a soul-searching journey some years ago. "It's been quite a while since we last met. It was in Lastation if I recall?"
"Yeah. I remember that," Raine said. The two had met some years ago, in Raine's homeland of Lastation. Although, truth to be told, he had always felt out of place there. It was during a mission at the Guild there did he meet Mina and the two had become friends. Mina had told him that he reminded her of someone, but she never said who. As she was still in the middle of her journey, Mina had asked him about various things, and Raine confessed his feelings of not belonging. It was then that the Oracle had suggested he move to another nation.
He had been hesitant to, at first. Starting over in a new nation was a big change to his life and one he wasn't entirely sure he was comfortable with. Eventually, he had earned enough to rent himself a small apartment in Lowee and it had been home ever since. He had hoped to talk to her about what was happening with his life and was about to suggest catching up when Mina beckoned him to a nearby bench. "Sit down, I have a lot of things I want to tell you."
"Well, I do have a lot to tell you about as well," Raine said sitting down. Mina made to stand before him. "Uh, Mina? Something going on?"
"Nothing special." Without warning, Mina summoned her staff and pointed the tip at him.
"Wait, what are you,-!?"
"Wake up." A spell circle appeared on the ground around him and a sharp pain erupted in his head before he passed out into sweet oblivion.
...
After returning to the Basilicom, Blanc immediately headed back to her room to cool down. That was perfectly fine, for C-sha was a woman on a mission. Something had upset Blanny, and she was determined to find out what. There was no point in asking Blanc about it, as she would likely deny it then threaten to bash her face in or something. And C-sha really did care about her partner as she knew Blanc had come to care about her, despite anything they said and did to the contrary. The biggest problem was she had no real clues to go by to start her search.
"Hurry, hurry! It's this way."
Enter Rom and Ram.
Aside from the older attendants that helped manage the Basilicom and Blanc herself, Rom and Ram had been around their home the longest, and would therefore know about any sort of secret activity going on considering their penchant for sticking their noses where they didn't belong. So she had asked them if Blanc had ever been 'super-secret' about something because she wanted to find something to cheer her up. And like good little sisters who also wanted to make Blanc happy, they lead her down the corridors towards the wing that held the guest rooms.
"Blanc says no one is ever, ever supposed to go in here," Ram continued, happily leading the way, with Rom and C-sha right behind. "I think only Mina ever went in, cause she had Blanc's permission." C-sha raised an eyebrow. Mina had been the Oracle for Lowee, who was apparently on indefinite hiatus, and apparently trustworthy enough to keep a secret. Which meant there was definitely something big behind whatever door Ram and Rom were leading her to. And even if whatever this was wasn't the cause behind Blanc's recent mood change, it was surely home to some quality teasing material.
"Here it is," Rom stated, as Ram presented the door. C-sha nodded, first testing the doorknob to see that it was indeed locked. Confirming that, she took a long and hard look at the obstruction in her path. Clearly, this was something that required a more delicate and subtle touch.
"Hyah!" C-sha kicked the door, breaking the lock and causing it to swing open.
Well, no one ever accused C-sha of being 'subtle'.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Rom said, suddenly having doubts.
"We can't back out now Rom," her twin said encouragingly. "Maybe something in here will make Blanc happy!" Renewed by her sister's words, Rom nodded and proceeded to follow C-sha into the room. Inside looked not much different than any other guest rooms. A giant television with several game consoles ready to be played sat in front of a large couch. A bed and nightstand, a dresser, a table and a few chairs left for a bit of minimal comforts. C-sha inspected the bed and nightstand, while Rom and Ram studied the consoles.
"These are really old," Rom noted, a fine layer of dust covering them up, though perhaps not as much as should have accumulated over the years.
"Hey yeah! None of our newest consoles are in here. Totally lame," Ram said, moving on to inspect under the couch. Rom took note of some old magazines, one which had a faded headline reading 'Dengekiko Scoop! Lowee motion controls are the future?'
Meanwhile, C-sha opened the nightstand drawer and grinned. "Well, what have we here," she said, reaching in and pulling out an old, leather bound book. There was no cover on the title, but she instantly would have pegged this as being one of Blanc's older works. While Blanc's writing ability was considered subpar, and that was a generous overstatement of such, most people never spoke of it directly to her face. Therefore, if this was something that even she could recognize as 'no good' the level of horrendous writing had to be off the charts. C-sha opened the book to a random page and started to read.
"Hey, hey C-sha! We can't find anything," Ram said, a bit miffed at finding nothing worthwhile.
"Search failure," Rom said slightly depressed.
"Hm? Well, I found this," C-sha said holding up the book in her hands. Its pages were starting to fade to yellow, but the writing was still legible. And from what she could read of it, it was certainly not written by the temperamental CPU. While it was no award-winning novel by a long shot, it was still leagues better than most anything Blanc had ever written. And it was handwritten as well, not typed. Flipping back to the first page, she noticed a note that was written in the corner. She read it aloud:
'Dear Blanc,
I hope you like this. I wrote this book just for you, to commemorate one year of service to you. I figured you might like something like this to read on your off time. Let's keep working hard together for Lowee's sake.
Best Wishes,
Zen.'
"Huh? Who's Zen?"
"You don't know," C-sha asked, to which the twins shook their heads. "Weird… Well, maybe Blanny would know."
"Oh!" Rom was inspecting the nightstand again and reached in to pull out an old photograph. "Ram, Ram! Look, its Mina!"
"Really? Let me see!" Rom held up a picture with three people in it. One was Blanc, looking away from the camera in what C-sha could tell was slight embarrassment. The other was a woman who was undoubtedly the Oracle of Lowee, Mina. She was smiling and facing the camera properly. The third person was someone none of them recognized, a young man who was also smiling at the camera and between the CPU and Oracle. "Huh? Who's this guy?"
"Maybe… he's Zen," Rom suggested. C-sha could see how the connection could be made. But that still left a lot of questions unanswered, such as where the man was now. Had he been fired? It didn't seem likely if the picture and the note in the book were anything to go by. From what she could piece together, he had gotten along well with Blanc. Had he taken leave like Mina? It was clear to C-sha now that this room must have belonged to him. But why seal it away was the question. Even Mina's old room was kept in presentable condition, and it didn't look like it was going to be used for a good long while.
Moreover, the more C-sha looked at the picture, the more she had this nagging feeling that she had seen that face somewhere before. But it seemed impossible to believe. The man in the picture was likely to be much older now, yet neither Rom nor Ram could recognize him. It was clear that both Mina and Blanc knew him, but with Mina gone she could only ask Blanc. And that was if she would even answer her at all.
"Well, guess it's a start for now. Thanks you two," C-sha said, patting them both on the head. "Come on, let's get out of here." C-sha took the photo from Rom and stashed it between her breasts. This would definitely come in handy later, she knew.
Though in a way she never really would have expected.
...
Raine groggily opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. His head was killing him something fierce, and he felt the need to bury his head in the snow and just ignore the rest of the world. "How are you feeling," a voice asked him from the side.
"Like I skipped the party and when straight to the hangover..." he said, sitting up and shaking his head. He found he was previously laying on a bench and looking around, noticed Mina sitting nearby, her staff nowhere to be seen. "I know we are friends, but warn a guy next time you do something like that."
"Apologies," Mina said, looking sheepish. "I wasn't too sure if the spell would work though. Still, I'm glad it did. It means I was right." Mina looked at him and smiled, with a few tears shining in her eyes. "It's good to see you again, Zen."
He chuckled a bit before responding, "Yeah. Same here, Mina. It's been a long time, huh? Though it only feels like a few days for me. Ever since I-." He stopped, remembering his last moments. His eyes became downcast, before he sighed. "I made her cry… I really am the worst, huh?"
"That is debatable."
"Damn it woman, you're not supposed to agree with me. But, please, from now on call me Raine. 'Zen' has already lived his life and is gone now. I can't live in the past like that."
"Fair enough," Mina said, reaching out and checking his forehead for a fever. "Are you sure you are okay? I'm not sure what kind of side effects the spell would have…"
"I'll be fine. It's a bit disjointing having to sort through my memories from my previous life and this one. But with enough time, I should be okay. Still, a lot has changed. Blanc has younger sisters now?"
"Yes, Rom and Ram," Mina said, smiling at the memories she had of the twins. "They were born a few days before your passing."
"I see," Raine said, looking over the memories of his current life to find what they looked like. "I would have liked to have met them before. They seem cute. I wonder what Blanc must have told them about me." At this, Mina turned her head away, looking downcast. "Mina?"
"I'm sorry, you must understand. I don't think Blanc ever expected your death to affect her so much. She… never really talked about you much. It never came up unless it was with me, and even then…"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "Perhaps I should have expected as much. I didn't trust her when I should have. Perhaps if I hadn't been selfish, thinking to shoulder all my problems alone, there could have been a… well, perhaps not a happy ending, but a more tolerable one." He stood up, brushing some collected snow off his pants. "In any case, you are finally back. So, does that mean what I think it means?"
"Yes," Mina said, standing proudly. "I think it's high time I got back my position as Lowee's Oracle."
"Good for you. Then, we better get going." Mina looked to him in slight confusion. "Like you, there is something there waiting for me at the Basilicom. A bit of… unfinished business." Mina nodded, and together they made their way to Lowee's Basilicom.
Within said building, Blanc was relaxing at her desk, going over some paperwork that needed signing. Her reading hobby allowed her to speed read most documents and get them signed away, which allowed her more free time than most of the other Goddesses to indulge in her writing. She took a sip of some tea that was prepared for her, as she went through paper after paper. "Lady Blanc?"
Blanc looked up to see her head maid, Financier, entering the room. "Yes?"
"Apologies, but you have some visitors in the lobby. It seemed quite urgent."
"Alright, alright." She stood up from her desk and headed out, Financier already heading in the opposite direction. Walking through the hallways, she reached the door to the lobby before hearing her named called out.
"Blanny! Just who I was looking for," C-sha said, being accompanied by Rom and Ram. "You got a minute?"
"No," Blanc said, turning away.
"Aw, don't be like that," she said, reaching out to pat her head. Blanc let out an angry growl and swiped her hand away, to which the Gold Third laughed it off. "Seriously though, we do have some questions for you."
"It will have to wait. We have guests here, so watch yourself. That means, all of you," she reinforced, staring at the twins while she did so.
"But it's important! Like super, duper important," Ram said.
"Blanc, who's Zen?"
Rom's innocent question caused Blanc to freeze up. She kept her face carefully blank and spoke in as neutral a tone as possible, "Where did you hear that name?"
"Um… in a book." Blanc could only think of one book that would have that particular name in it. And her temper was starting to rise as she realized just how they could have accessed it, as she glared at C-sha. The Gold Third didn't look scared; in fact she seemed pretty confident about herself. Blanc let her anger simmer. She had guests waiting, and it would be rude to keep them waiting any longer. Besides, this would give her plenty of time to think up a suitable punishment for later.
"We will talk about this later," Blanc said, turning and opening the doors before her. Her anger at the situation was dissipated immediately after seeing who was behind the doors though. "Mina?"
"Huh?" Rom and Ram looked around Blanc to see indeed that Mina had returned, standing next to another man who was busy looking at the architecture around him. "Yay! Mina's back!" The twins instantly rushed to her, jumping onto her with hugs that nearly knocked her down had the man not steadied her footing. Both twins kept shouting 'Mina's back! Mina's back!' as they continued to attempt to hug the life out of her.
Mina responded in kind, giving them warm hugs back. "Yes, yes, I missed you both so much as well. And my, look how much you two have grown up!" Her gaze turned to Blanc and C-sha. "Blanc, it's good to see you again."
"Yeah," Blanc said giving a soft smile.
"And you must be Lady C-sha of the Gold Third. I've heard quite a lot about you. On behalf of my status as the Oracle of Lowee, I thank you for watching out for Blanc in my stead," she said, giving a somewhat awkward bow as the twins had yet to let up on their hug.
"Ah, it's no problem. I really couldn't ask for a better partner than Blanny here anyway," she said, patting Blanc on the back. Blanc looked annoyed, but recovered easily seeing the man now looking at her with a look of wistfulness.
"So, who are you supposed to be?"
"How cruel, Blanc. And here I thought we were friends," Raine said with a shake of his head.
"We met one time. I hardly think that even qualifies as being friends," Blanc deadpanned. Raine only laughed.
"I suppose so. But, this wasn't the first time we have met. Although it is horribly similar to that time. You really have worked hard in my absence. I would say you have more than surpassed your predecessor." Blanc looked to him confused. "I remember that day well… To think, that despite being a new CPU, you had the courage to take on those Fenrirs! Or perhaps it was recklessness? Had I not intervened, the story would have taken quite the unfortunate turn, no?"
Blanc's eyes widened. She remembered that mission as well, as though it were only yesterday. And of that mission, only two people had ever known the truth as to what had happened on that day, and one of them was now dead. "How do you…?"
"Of course, it was a shame that our story had to end on such a tragic note. If I could, I would have confided in you sooner, if only to help soften the blow when the time came." Blanc could see tears in his eyes as he started to speak. "Perhaps this is some sort of fate paying me back? Who knows? But Blanc… even in those final moments, I was so happy. I wanted so badly to stay longer, even just a little bit, but I still would not have traded away any of what happened."
"Blanc…" Rom questioned, wondering what was happening. Ram looked about to intervene as well, but a hand on both of their shoulders from Mina stopped them. "Mina?" The Oracle merely shook her head.
"Blanny," C-sha said concerned watching as Raine walked up to Blanc, with the CPU simply standing there a bit wide-eyed. To make Blanc like this, who is this guy?
Everyone looked surprised, and a bit fearful, when he suddenly hugged Blanc bringing her close. The CPU stiffened and she seemed ready to start swinging and yelling about personal space, when his next words froze her completely. "I'm so happy… that you stayed to the very end. I couldn't begin to fathom or explain it to you."
'Will you stay? Until the end?'
Blanc's mind shut down. Everything about this situation was impossible. There was simply no way this person who she had never before met could know all these things. No way, unless… the idea was so impossible to believe. Then again, was it really? Hadn't she seen so many things that others would have called impossible? Could she really believe in this?
"…Zen?"
"Yeah. I'm back. Sorry for everything."
For a moment, no one said anything. Then shock overcame just about everyone when Blanc started to shake, as she unsteadily wrapped her arms around him in return. "It's… is it… really you? Are you real? You… I…"
"It'll be okay, Blanc. I'm not going anywhere, this time," he said rubbing her back.
...
"In another life… I was born here in Lowee, under the name Zen."
Everyone had relocated to another room where everyone could sit down, after Blanc quickly threatened everyone in the room that what happened in the lobby was never to be spoken of again. The twins were cuddling with Banc, who was looking at Raine with a bewildered expression. Rom and Ram looked worriedly between her and Raine. Mina was sitting on her own, as was C-sha. Financier was pouring everyone tea and serving small cakes.
"At the time when I was born, Blanc was not yet the CPU of Lowee. We were at… something of a cold war with Planeptune at the time. I lived a somewhat ordinary life growing up. That changed sometime a little after I turned fifteen. I suddenly got sick, with no warning. My parents were unsure what happened and took me to some doctors. After a few tests, they determined I had contracted F.E.E. syndrome."
"'Fatal Error End'," Financier said. "I've heard of it… They say less than one-tenth of one percent even get the disease. No one knows how it happens though. And despite the recent medical breakthroughs in the last few years, most treatments only put the disease into temporary remission. There isn't a cure to be found, in all this time." Blanc stared at Financier. Was there anything she didn't seem to know about? And why the hell did she even know this to begin with?
"Right. So you can imagine that at the time, it was literally a death sentence for me. The most they could do was give me medication for pain and waiver my medical fees, in exchange for testing experimental drugs they had at the time to try and combat the disease. They said at best, I had two years to live. At worse, weeks, or even less.
"So with nothing to lose, I decided I would do what I wanted before I died. And so I did. I took up working at the Guild full time, since it didn't seem like I had anything left to lose. And during my time there was when the CPU of that time went to fight the threat known as the Deity of Sin and lost her life because of it. Still, the beast was sealed up, and as a result, Blanc was born.
"I met her when I was coming back from doing a Quest. She was fighting Fenrirs and I helped her out a bit. After which, every time she had time to do a quest or two, I convinced her to let me tag along. It seemed like an opportunity to really interact with the new CPU. After all, I was already living longer than what the doctors believed I would, so I assumed that perhaps one or more of their treatments was working.
"After about five months of this, I was invited to work at the Basilicom, as Blanc's personal assistant. It was good work… I did the best I could, and even managed to appoint Mina as our new Oracle. But over time, I noticed that my health was starting to fail me again. I tried to hide it, but somehow Mina was able to find out about what happened. I asked her not to tell Blanc. I didn't want her to needlessly worry about it. It wasn't like there was anything anyone could do for me at that point.
"I held out for as long as I could. Around the time that Lowee's revolutionary motion control console came out though, I had reached the end of my life." Raine thought back to those last few moments. The details around his former life's death were murky at best. But he remembered being content, with Blanc by his side.
"T-that's… that's," Rom managed to get out, amidst her tears over hearing what had happened between him and Blanc. "That's so sad…."
"Y-you jerk," Ram protested, though it was clear she also was struggling not to cry. "D-don't make Rom cry like that!"
"I see… that explains this then," C-sha said, reaching into her cleavage and pulling out the photograph from before, holding it up. "I always knew Blanny had a big heart for her friends."
"Damnit, where did you even get that!? Give that back," Blanc said, charging at C-sha and reaching for the picture, only for the Gold Third member to hold it away from her.
"Yes. Blanc has always held a soft spot for her people," Mina said, looking a bit downcast. "Though she tried to hide it… it was the first time that the scope of just who and what she was, as our CPU, was made painfully clear to her." The implications of that statement were felt throughout the room, distracting C-sha enough to let Blanc snatch the photo and make her way back to the twins, who proceeded to hug her really tightly. "It didn't help that they were good friends. I think that only made it worse for her. Because of it, the subject of Zen was always considered a sensitive topic and Blanc forbid anyone from talking about it. I think because Rom and Ram were born at around the same time was also a big reason why." Blanc turned her head away from Raine. It was true that before all these revelations, Blanc was essentially the only person at the Basilicom to even remember he was once a member of the staff.
"Well, in any case, I didn't even remember any of this in this life until a few hours ago," he said, shrugging. "I grew up in Lastation, and only recently moved here. Mina was the one who helped with that."
"Is that true," Blanc asked, looking at her Oracle.
"Yes. We met a few years ago in Lastation, and something about him felt nostalgic in a way. Like I was supposed to know him for some reason. That's when I received word about your adventure with the CPU, Lady Uzume, and her partner Umio." Blanc thought about it. True, if what she and the others suspected about him was true, the fish that Uzume called her best friend named Umio had once been a human who lived during the time of Uzume's rule in Planeptune and was an attendant of hers, before she had sealed herself away. Of course, Umio himself had no recollection of this, but perhaps… "In any case, I decided to take a chance and took some time researching spells involving memories. My work bore fruit as you can see."
"Well, seems like a happy ending after all," C-sha said with a smile. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"Well… I suppose it wouldn't be too much to ask for our old jobs back?" Raine looked hopefully at Blanc, who was thinking.
"Hey, that's a great idea," Ram said having cheered up again. "We can get someone new to play with us Rom!"
Blanc stared at Raine, her mind thinking over everything she had heard and seen. This person, Raine, really did seem to be the reincarnation of Zen. She honestly wondered what she had done to deserve this sort of miracle. There was no question that she wanted him by her side once more. They had grown so much on each other, after all. "Well, as you know Mina, the position of Oracle was always yours. There's nothing to worry about that. As for you, Zen-."
"Raine," he said surprising Blanc. "Zen… has already lived and died once. And as much as he is me, I also want to be my own person. Besides, it's just easier this way."
Blanc nodded. "Very well… I don't really think I could give you back your old position anyway. But, I'm sure Mina wouldn't mind having an assistant to help her duties. She does have a lot of catching up to do."
"Aw, group hug!" C-sha's announcement was accompanied by grabbing Blanc, Raine and Mina and crushing them together in an embrace. Rom and Ram instantly joined in, hugging around the outside of the group. Financier merely chuckled quietly behind her hand. "One big happy family now!"
"Gck!" Raine struggled to get loose from the Gold Third's rather powerful grip, as his face was pressed into her chest. "C-sha!?"
"Damnit C-sha! Let go of me! Stop it! Financier, do something!"
"Now, now Lady Blanc, such wonderful feelings of friendship should be shared, don't you think?"
"The hell it should be!"
"Blanc, please, calm down," Mina said weakly. Eventually, the hug ended, with C-sha beaming, despite Blanc's threatening gaze on her. "W-what frightening strength…"
"Hey, Mina! Can you make us some hot chocolate like you used to? Please?"
"Pretty please?"
"Of course you two. Besides, I also want to see how far you've advanced in your magic lessons without me," the Oracle said, leading the twins away.
"I should get back to my duties. A maid's work is never done." With a bow, Financier left. Taking the cue, C-sha also turned to go.
"I guess I'll head out too. We should spar later, new guy!"
Finally that left Blanc and Raine alone. Blanc looked to the side, unsure of what to say. "…So, Blanny huh?"
"Damn it, not you too," she said, blushing a bit. "Seriously, why does everyone keep calling me that?"
"Because it suits you," Raine said shrugging. "But, I suppose I'll keep such things private. C-sha seems to be the one who teases you in public these days." Blanc grumbled to herself a bit. "Blanc, thank you. Really, I sincerely thank you for everything."
"If you really want to thank me, then this time, could you promise me something?" Raine nodded. "Promise me… no matter what happens, that you will come back to me. Losing you like that the first time…"
Raine nodded, enveloping her in a hug once more. This time, she didn't protest it. "Of course. No matter what, I'll always come back. I promise."
...
Blanc took a sip of her tea, before setting it down on the table before her. The room was silent, despite its many occupants. "Well?"
"I must say, Blanc, that would probably be the most elaborate story I have ever heard you come up with, if I wasn't seeing this right now," Vert said, the CPU of Leanbox looking surprised.
Within a meeting room, the four CPUs had gathered once more for their monthly meetings this time being guests within Blanc's Basilicom. Usually, these meetings were just excuses for the CPUs to take time off work to hang out with each other, but occasionally some serious issues were discussed and resolved. At this moment, Blanc had just finished retelling her story involving why their meeting was met with an unfamiliar face, as Raine was currently keeping the twins occupied by helping them build a scale model of Lowee's Basilicom from toy blocks.
Currently, the four CPUs were joined by their younger sisters as well as the four Gold Third members, who were using this opportunity to catch up with one another. All of them were rather absorbed by the story, save for the Lowee residents and the Gold Third of Leanbox, S-sha. Although, considering her state of being always seemed to be in a 'disinterested' mode, it was impossible to tell what she thought of the story, or even if she was listening to it properly.
"So… you basically got your very own Umio," Neptune said with a smile.
"I'm not sure how to feel about that."
"Please, be serious for once Neptune," Noire said with a sigh. "Still… reincarnation huh? I suppose anything really is possible."
"I think it's wonderful," K-sha said. "It sounds almost romantic." Already she was envisioning herself being reborn anew again and again to stay with Noire until time's end, a dreamy smile on her face. Of course, this sort of thing was plain as day to see for Noire and Uni, who knew K-sha well enough to know how she would think about such a concept.
"Goodness, though. I really wonder what the odds are for that to happen," Nepgear wondered aloud.
"Apparently, on the same level of Blanc suddenly getting a love interest," Vert quipped, giving her a small smile.
"L-love interest!? The hell does that mean?"
"No need to be shy Blanc. In fact, you should be proud despite having so little to offer that you could find someone so devoted to you."
"What did you say!?" Blanc glowered at Vert, adopting, as what the people of Lowee called, her 'rawr' face, one eye glowing a dangerous red. "How about I-!"
"Blanc, please calm down," Raine said, as he worked with Ram in making one of the towers, Rom currently working on the outer walls of their project. Having a new person around to help play with the twins really was a godsend. "You shouldn't take it so seriously. After all, it's common for women to exhibit jealousy of others, especially once they are past their prime."
The room went deathly silent at that. Apparently for Raine, something that had carried over with this new life was a very loose stance on 'self-preservation', especially when it came to dealing with CPUs. Then again, Blanc knew, when faced with certain death there probably wasn't a lot left to fear. Still, the silence reigned on…
"Bwahahaha!" Until Neptune broke it with her hysterical laugher. "Oh man, Vert just got burned good! A Nep out of ten!"
"H-how dare you," Vert shouted, looking flustered. "I'll have you know I am still well at the peak of my youth and my popularity in Leanbox is on top!"
"Well, you know what they say, denial is the first stage…"
Neptune's laughter reached new heights at that, while Blanc was trying and failing to hide her own rather sinister sounding chuckles. Vert, looking thoroughly embarrassed, stood up and pointed dramatically at Raine. "I will not stand for this! S-sha, attack!"
"Not Interested."
Vert hung her head down in defeat. Noire could only give a deep sigh at how quickly things were thrown off track. "Aw, don't worry Verty," Neptune said, "Nowa knows how you feel."
"Excuse me!? Where do I fit into all this?"
"There's no need to be shy, Lonely Heart," Neptune said. "I'm sure you have all sorts of tips to deal with that sort of thing."
"I do not! And stop calling me that! I'm not lonely!"
"If the processor fits- Nepu!?" Neptune's rant was stopped by K-sha giving her a swift karate chop to the back of her head.
"Thank you, K-sha."
"Anytime, Noire," she said.
"Nepu!? That's unfair, getting others to fight your battles like that! This is the wrong game for such things!" Noire only gave her a victorious smirk. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Well, two can play this multiplayer! Behold the power of my Lily Ranks! B-sha, counterstrike!"
"Sure thing, Nep-Nep. That'll be five hundred thousand Credits please."
"NEPU!? Why so much?"
"Well, I am going to go up against a CPU after all," B-sha said wisely.
"Come on, can't I get a friend discount or something?"
"I suppose so," B-sha said, putting down the juice she was drinking to think for a bit. "Okay, just for you Nep-Nep it will only be four hundred thousand Credits." She gave her a smile and thumbs up.
"Uh… maybe I can get an I.O.U…"
"Alright, alright," Blanc said catching their attention. "If everyone is quite done here, then that means you can all go home. I think we've discussed everything we needed to."
"Bzzt! Wrong answer Blanny," Neptune said, earning her a glare from the white CPU. "I just happened to notice a big ol' festival being set up when me and Nep Jr. were coming here. You wouldn't think of not inviting your old pals to have some fun, right?"
"Yes."
"Not at all," C-sha said immediately after, prompting Blanc's ire back to her direction. "The more the merrier, right Blanny?"
"Don't call me that. And that-."
"Sounds like fun," Raine said, to which Blanc shot him a look that screamed 'Traitor!' as he smiled innocently. "Come on Blanc, let's enjoy ourselves."
"A festival sounds wonderful," Nepgear said before turning to Uni. "Uni, let's go play some games there!"
"Uh, sure, no problem Nepgear," the young CPU Candidate said calmly, before she quickly backpedaled and stammered, "B-but only because you asked me! It's not like I was planning to go with you or anything, ok?"
"Well, we can't let the kiddos outshine us, eh Noire," Neptune commented moving to the black-haired Goddess's right side.
"Don't give me that! I have a lot of work to do back in Lastation. Uni can stay if she wants, but-."
"That's no good Noire," K-sha said, moving to her other side and giving her a look of concern. "You work hard enough, it's important to take a break for your health, you know?" Though she spoke concerning the CPU's health, it was clear by the look in her eyes that K-sha really wanted to spend time with Noire at the festival. Stuck between her rival and friend, Noire was trapped.
"F-fine! But only because someone needs to keep an eye on you," she said turning to Neptune. "Celesta knows you might trigger some event that would ruin everything."
"Oh please, when have I ever-." Neptune stopped, freezing in place for a moment before shaking her hands. "You know, forget I said that…"
"I'm guessing you won't be joining us then," B-sha said to S-sha.
"I'll be there," she said, surprising her fellow Gold Third members. "E-sha wants to try shaved ice," she clarified, to which the others understood. E-sha was a separate soul that inhabited the same body as S-sha, and was quite shy and unassertive, letting S-sha take the dominant role. Of course, S-sha was determined to always keep E-sha happy, so if she wanted to go to the festival, then S-sha would comply without question or hesitation.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask this, but what in the world are you drinking S-sha," Raine asked, pointing to her half-filled wine glass of mysterious blue liquid.
"Essence of Dogoo."
All chatter stopped, as twelve pairs of eyes suddenly turned to the Leanbox Gold Third.
S-sha calmly took another disinterested sip.
"Right… forget I ever asked…"
...
The Winter Starlight Festival was in full swing in Lowee, with several stalls opened for business that were selling and advertising all manner of food and games to play. Most of the CPUs and Gold Third had gone their separate ways, though Raine, Blanc, Rom and Ram stuck together. Currently, Rom and Ram were running ahead and pointing to various stands while holding candy apples, expressing their excitement. The two had been given just a thousand Credits to spend, which would have limited their fun had not Raine been 'generous' enough to treat them with money from his own pocket.
"You really shouldn't spoil them so much," Blanc said, who was snacking on a meat bun.
"Well, I never got to meet them in my past life, so I figure this is just making up for lost time," Raine said, taking a big bite of his Blanc Manju. "Besides, it won't hurt them. At least, I don't think it will anyway."
"Blanc! Raine! Over here," Ram called from a stand, leading the two to the game. It looked simple enough, simply tossing a ball to land in a jar. Raine could easily see the trick though, the tops of jars were only just big enough to hold the balls, meaning they would be extremely likely to simply bounce off the edges without perfect tossing. "Watch, I'm gonna win that one," she said, pointing to the large plush doll that resembled a Baby Bug.
"Then you'll want to aim for the ones in the back," the stall owner said. "A hundred Credits for three tries." Ram eagerly paid for herself, with Rom following, her own eyes looking to what appeared to be a replica of Blanc's hat. Ram immediately went into an overhead toss, which caused her ball to sail over the jars and onto the back of the stall. Rom threw hers underhanded, which came up too short.
"Focus you two," Blanc said, as the twins geared up for their second toss. Ram's overshot it once more, but Rom's had hit the edge of the jar she was aiming for. Frustrated, but not ready to give up, both twins sharpened their focus once more for a grand toss. It looked like a perfect throw, but the trajectory had the two balls aiming for the same jar and collide with each other midair, causing them to miss completely.
"Aw…" Rom sighed dejectedly.
"No! That was so perfect too," Ram said pouting.
"Sorry little ladies. You can try again if you want."
"Yeah, I'll go." Raine finished the last of his Manju before stepping up and placing his Credits on the counter. The owner placed three balls down and Raine picked up the first. He muttered something under his breath before tossing the ball in a perfect arc, having it land squarely in the jar. Everyone but Blanc looked amazed as he repeated it with the second and third ball, winning him three prizes at once. Choosing the prizes that the twins wanted, he was met by fierce hugs.
"Yay! Raine, you're the best!"
"Thank you so much."
"Of course you two," he said, patting them on the head. Rom took off her own hat to place the prize Blanc hat on her head, before pretending to be scolding Ram, who was laughing at the scene. Raine walked back to Blanc with a look that said 'Praise me!' before saying "So, how'd I do?"
"You cheated," Blanc said with a sly smile on her face.
Raine gave a look of mock outrage. "You accuse me of cheating to win a clearly rigged carnival game? Perish the thought!"
"So what did you get?" Raine showed off his own prize, a plush replica of Blanc's signature hammer, which he harmlessly bopped on her head. She brushed it off, giving a playful glare. "Smartass."
"So you keep telling me," he said, as they headed out once more. Their walk was interrupted by a whistling sound, before bright explosions of color filled the night sky.
"Oh cool, fireworks," Ram said excited
"So pretty," Rom added, mesmerized.
The four stopped for the moment, gazing up at the bright display of color and sound. And in that moment, there was peace.
...
Love, they said, was a difficult and often times painful ordeal to go through if one wasn't careful. More so for the CPUs, who were almost considered separate entities from the rest of the world, standing alone at the pinnacle of Gamindustri. Their hearts were trained to withstand such feelings though. Since the CPUs had first appeared in the world, it was almost considered an unwritten rule: a CPU shall not fall in love.
Humans couldn't hope to live along the Goddesses forever. Only another Goddess could potentially hope to love and stand with one another for all time, if only to stave off the feeling of isolation, but the war for Shares had always prevented such things from happening. Moreover, especially for the Goddess in power, love could create risks and liabilities. Love could forge jealousy and heartache. Love could divide a nation and herald its collapse.
But one CPU had decided to forgo that notion, that a Goddess couldn't love a mortal. The first step to breaking the chain that bound their hearts. Certainly, it was not a love that could be expressed in all the ways they wanted it to be. It was not a love that could be announced to the world over. It could only be a secret, quiet love that only the most trustworthy could ever know of. But it was still their love, bound for eternity; a forbidden kind of love that could only be found in fairy tales and fiction, yet still spoke of such a deep understanding of one another.
The CPU and the Human. Chained together through the words carved into their very beings.
I will stay with you, until the end.
I will come back to you, always.
Under the silent starlight and gentle snow, a pair of hands met quietly. A pair of eyes met briefly.
"You know… I really should get to finishing that book."
"Yeah. I've read it a lot of times, but… it really needs an ending. Did you have one in mind?"
"Of course. I still remember how I wanted to end it. It might be a bit cliché, but it's always one of my favorite ways to see the end of a story."
…
…
…
I love you.
…
…
…
I love you, too.
…
…
…
"…And they all lived happily ever after. The End."