"Damnit. Another hit." Planeptune Guild agent IF was currently looking at the news broadcast of the theft in Leanbox. It was frustrating that nothing had yet been done about the Black Feathers, especially since it seemed as though they were getting more ambitious by the day. If caution was not taken, the Shares of the goddesses could be seriously affected.

The receptionist at the Guild looked at the screen with the same contempt as the agent. "Why haven't we done anything yet?! They're out there threatening innocent civilians and all we can do is sit and watch?!" He slammed his hand on the desk in anger.

IF opened her phone and looked at her text record. "I've tried talking to the police force of Planeptune, but they said that it'd be best to wait until they're hit again. Planeptune seems to be their lowest target, although I'm not sure why."

He wasn't hearing it. "Oh, so the 'protectors of the innocent' have decided to slack off because they aren't as affected?!" He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing, "You have a good track record for getting things done. Could you possibly go over to Leanbox and talk some sense into their police?"

"I want this to end as much as you do, but we can't act foolishly. It's possible that their police is already on the payroll. It'd explain the relative inactivity in their area."

The broadcast stopped short and moved to breaking news. "We interrupt your normal broadcast to bring you breaking news regarding the infamous Black Feathers gang. The leader, who has accepted the name of 'Raven', has gone on record and said that he will be moving to Lastation. As we all know, this is a huge risk, since moving their equipment would make them an easy target. Their motives remain unclear, but Raven said that he had 'taken what he wanted from Leanbox'. Citizens of Gamindustri, it is your duty to report any movement of the Black Feathers as soon as you see it."

The receptionist leaned his elbow on the desk. "Now would you look at that. They're going to make Lastation their bi—" He stopped himself. "I guess you don't have to catch a boat now. Mind going over there and giving an adequate warning to the police? Lord knows we have enough trouble already."

"I guess something is better than nothing. Alright, I'm off." IF stood up and began making her way towards Lastation, knowing full well the low odds of success. The Black Feathers were enough of a threat to be recognized regularly on national television, so it seemed unlikely that the police could stop them. Nevertheless, she continued on her way, hopeful that something could be done about the issue.

After about three hours of non-stop driving, IF stopped at the vehicular entrance gate to Lastation. The area was dominated by a large black arch made completely of metal, with bright red lights displaying the words 'WELCOME TO LASTATION'. Cars went in and out, although most of the traffic was flowing out of the nation. One of the border guards walked over to register IF, and thus a conversation began.

"If it isn't IF. What are you doing here?" The guard looked at her motorcycle's license plate and copied the number onto a digital form.

"I got a request from the Guild receptionist. It has to do with the Black Feathers."

He nodded. "Those guys, huh? Yeah, they've been causing trouble for everyone as of late. Lady Black Heart's going to be suitably pissed with their arrival here." He typed more things into the form.

"Well, let's hope something can be done about it here. Leanbox didn't seem too successful in their efforts." IF removed her helmet for the facial scan.

The guard chuckled. "Efforts, or lack thereof. Those guys didn't seem to do much when they swiped half of the gold from their bank." He finalized the form and handed IF a red ticket with the word 'ACCEPTED' printed in bold at the top. "Welcome to Lastation. And, good luck, agent."

IF nodded as she put her helmet back on and continued to drive into the nation. After the broadcast, most people retreated into their houses, fearful of the Black Feathers' arrival. She saw one citizen who improperly identified her as a gang member, and ran into her house and hurriedly locked the door before IF could reassure her. Eventually, she made it to the police department parking lot, where she quickly dismounted her motorcycle and entered the building.

As soon as she opened the door, she was met with a loud argument. One of them was a rather muscular police officer, and the other was a Basilicom agent, dressed in formal black colors.

The Basilicom agent spoke first. "The hell do you mean, 'nothing can be done yet'?! I'm telling you, they're here and they're going to cause a ruckus! Do you have any idea what that'll do to the Shares?!"

The police officer remained calm. "It's unfortunate, sir, but we have to wait until they take action. Unless we know where their base or hideout is, we can't even begin to search for them."

The agent began to lose his composure. "I saw one of them! He had a huge case, full of Anti-Share crystals! Do you have any idea how much of a threat that'll be if it goes unchecked?!"

The officer's eyes widened with realization. "Are you serious? Did you see where they went?"

"Hell no! He pulled his gun on me and forced me to leave!"

IF was about ready to leave. "Did I…come at a bad time?"

The officer turned towards her. "Oh, agent IF. Sorry about that. Are you here to contribute to the Black Feathers hunt?"

She nodded. "That's right. Also, does Lady Black Heart have that intel? On the Anti-Shares?"

The officer began to panic. "God, no! She said she was going to search for them, then left! If she gets hit by one of those, it's game over!" He searched frantically for a document before he finally found it. "Here. She seemed convinced that they're working out of an underground network in the Kuro district. Please, hurry!"

IF took the document and nodded. "Got it."

Noire looked down at her map. If her intel was right, she should be nearing the entrance to the hideout, meaning that she could finally put an end to the Black Feathers' activity. Sure enough, after just a few more moments of walking, she came upon a large metal door, almost completely covered by rust. Strangely, this door was not well hidden at all—the only inconspicuous thing about it was the location. The door was found in an obscure alleyway tucked into a rarely visited area of the Kuro district, making it unlikely for a civilian to happen upon it. For a goddess, though, finding this area was relatively easy. She pulled the door open after some effort due to the rust, and immediately found that what was underneath was not what she expected.

The area was clean, almost freakishly so. It was as if nobody had ever touched it, and as she descended into the space, there was no one around. The only sound was her breathing and footsteps, and the latter echoed more than they should. All of these factors combined with the relatively low light level put Noire on edge, and she proceeded with extreme caution.

As she entered the central area, she noticed that there were several tables with the chairs pushed in. As she looked to her right, she saw an open safe with great amounts of money and gold, as if the inhabitants were inviting her to take it.

"This has to be a trap," she thought to herself. "That's just too obvious."

She looked around the area more, and noticed that there was no one at all. There were empty bottles of alcohol on the tables, as well as cigarettes that were still burning on ashtrays. Reluctantly, she began to approach the safe, although her hand was on her sword, ready to defend from the impending trap that she expected.

Strangely, though, she was able to walk directly up to the open safe, where she noticed that this was not fake gold or credits. These were all real, and she assumed that this was the stolen money from Leanbox. She reached to pick up one of the gold bars when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Sorry, doll. I can't have you touching those." She heard a gunshot, and she was on the ground and in pain.