Somewhere in downtown Conderica, there lay a flat blocky building that at first glance was no different from the windowed corporate buildings that were next to it. But if one were to cast their gaze a little upward, they would see that this building - unlike the others - was unique in its red, green, yellow, and orange stripe that ran near the top of the building roof. And on top of the stripe, was the four-pointed star of the Four Squares Union.

Unfortunately, Paula wouldn't be able to see and admire the decoration from her office near the top. But as a silver lining she could marvel at the landscape of downtown Conderica, the numerous corporate buildings, roads, and neighborhoods carpeting the landscape while the country's mighty factories lined the horizon behind it all. To Paula, the view was representative of Conderica as a whole: a nation of industrial and economic might. And she liked to imagine that it was thanks to her organization's ideas that made it this way.

'Well, that's enough of that,' Paula set aside the cup of coffee on her desk, stacks of paper and reports sitting alongside other miscellaneous items that could fit on the already-crowded desk. 'I can probably admire the view at another time. I wonder how the others are doing...'

The office door jingled as Paula stepped into the hallway. The interior of the workplace here at the Four Squares Union headquarters did admittedly looked no different from the corporate-clean decor of a workplace, but that was part of the charm.

Out in the hallways, coworkers frantically paced to and fro. With the holidays coming up, Paula had the entire organization practically working around the clock, mostly venturing out to perform door-to-door advertising and public rallies. Having a strong presence throughout the continent meant covering a lot of ground: not just here in Conderica but in nearby nations of Pedissia and Azulerdam to the east, Cape Aspiration to the west, and even down south in Calipolis. The thought of the last two nations slightly dampened Paula's chipper mood as she walked; Calipolis was her rival's stronghold and the folks over at Cape Aspiration were quite the queer ones. Nevertheless, the organization still had offices there, even if they were small.

As Paula walked, she briskly passed by her peers. Quick greetings would be exchanged before they parted ways; traffic left little room for idle pleasantries and both parties no doubt had places to go. Posters, both generic and unique but all motivational, lined the sides alongside potted plants and the occasional trash can. The entire headquarters building was buzzing with activity; no doubt a similar phenomenon was being played out in their various departments. The clutter and traffic in the hallways was the personification of the noise that went on, from phone calls, casual gossip, and broadcasts from TVs and radios.

Paula visually picked out one of her secretaries in the hallway, someone high enough in the hierarchy that she could trust. "Everything looking good, PoPoint?"

The secretary turned, surprised to see Paula. "Well, nothing's going wrong, I would say." In her hands was a thick stack of paper. "Just need to deliver this to room 427. Stanley's said that he and his team needs more posters and pamphlets to cover the downtown area along Vista and 10th Street. That is, whenever Stanley's done being a button-pusher. Then after that, get in touch with Word to oversee the FSU-sponsored career fair."

Paula immediately scoot to the side to let the secretary through. "Oh! Well then, go ahead. We can catch up later." And with a quick thanks, she parted ways and left Paula to continued strolling down the hallway. Paula had dedicated a good portion of the organization to door-to-door advertisement as she preferred the advantages that personal encounters had when it came to selling your ideals; nothing better at connecting with your potential audience than having a friendly face come greet you no matter what.

A coworker quickly greeted Paula as they moved in opposite directions and as she was about to turn the corner, almost smacked face-first into another coworker. Both recoiled from surprise, gasps and falling paper punctuating the moment until -

"... Malissa?" Paula breathed a sigh of relief upon recognizing her face. Malissa hesitantly relaxed, the surprise having yet to wear off. Then, she immediately looked down at all the paper that lay scattered by her feet and knelt down to scoop them all up.

"Hey hey," Paula said soothingly as she knelt down as well to help. "My bad. Wasn't looking at where I was going. Stuff like this happens on busy days, you know?" Picking the paper up, Paula was able to catch quick glimpses of their content and realized that they were monthly reports: reporting the usual. With such a special holiday coming up, and with the entire organization mobilizing, there had to be a whole lot of coordination involved. Not just keeping note of what went down within the headquarters building and the city, but also among the various departments that were scattered across the PC Continent, from Cape Aspiration to the west, to Azulerdam to the east, and even so far as having a single office in Leanbox.

Unfortunately, the size that gave the Four Squares Union its power and resources also meant that there had to be a lot of coordination; all communique, accounts, transactions, and even simple requests like who stole who's red stapler all took a while to deliver and receive. Paula made sure she had plenty of people who could be trusted to help facilitate the bureaucracy, but even that did little to alleviate the fact that the prominent organization could be slow and inefficient.

And as luck would have it, one of those individuals Paula entrusted as one of her secretaries relatively high up in the hierarchy was right in front of her face. By now the scattered paper were back into a stack. Timidly rubbing the back of her head, Malissa nervously glanced to the side. "Um… thanks."

"No problem, Malissa, that stuff can happen to the best of us. How's business?"

Despite her slightly disheveled look as a result of her earlier excursion, Malissa still maintained the semblance of honest, hardworking professionalism that Paula always found endearing in her. Malissa awkwardly gestured to the direction she was originally going with the paper in both hands. "Um, well I was supposed to deliver these to the accountant's office for, um, accounting."

Paula's face brightened up. "Oh, well in that case let me walk with you there. I was just walking around to kill time."

"Um!... Sure!" The two walked down the hallway, with Paula and Malissa walking side-by-side though whenever someone passed from the opposite direction Malissa readily shrank behind Paula.

"Say," Paula opened up as she walked, casually turning her head to face Malissa. "How'd the job go?"

"Oh! Um, I guess it, uh, went well. Got all the deliveries done, although there, um, were two incidents in the suburbs that both involved some, um, really… odd homeowners. Well, one incident was about the, um, homeowners while the other involved a minor infestation of, uh, caffeine-addicted raccoons. Oh, by the way miss Paula, you won't believe who I came across earlier!"

"Oh?" Paula turned her head towards her secretary, attention undivided as they walked. The sudden shift in Malissa's tone meant that whatever she encountered during her work had to be something remarkable.

"Earlier when I was going to the place where the downtown meets the suburbs, I came across a Dev! A-an actual Dev in person! I-I just, I wasn't expecting to meet one of the PC Continent's goddesses but -"

Paula stifled a chuckle. "Malissa, there's like a dozen Devs around here, and that's not counting the Prospective Devs - the junior gals. So… what was her name?"

Malissa made sure she was keeping up exactly with Paula before leaning in a little closer to her ear. "She, um, she said her name was Bell."

Paula nodded with a small smile. "Ah. Yeah, I know her. Never met her in person but from what I heard, she's a real brainiac. Not only could she build some crazy stuff like it was nothing but she was a pretty top-tier Dev."

Malissa frowned. "But she lives in a game store. I'd think someone with her talents and skill would -"

"Live someplace fancy?" Paula joked, chuckling a little before she continued with a more serious expression. "I'd probably chalked it up by saying it's humility, but like I said: she was a top-tier Dev. Back then, Bell used to be a real powerhouse of a Dev - some may even claim a legend - but for whatever reason that's no longer the case. Nowadays, the most anyone gets to see of her is from that store selling other Devs' games. Heck, I don't think she's ever participated in any Festivities of Creation for quite a while. She's made plenty of franchises that many thought would continue for a while, then suddenly, nothing!"

The duo continued walking through the bustling hallway in silence until they had arrived at the office door denoting the accountants' station.

"Oh well. Guess that kinda killed the mood, didn't it?" Paula joked before opening the door. Inside, the office was large and busy as ever, though with some of their own absent due to the work. The few that remained sitting amidst piles of papers swiftly accepted the reports delivered by Malissa before both parties parted ways and went straight back to work.

Now that the delivery was finished, Malissa was all too glad to finally be rid of the weight and used her free hands to rub her back. Still beside her, Paula made a quiet but tired laugh. Even though she hasn't actually worked, mere participation in the hectic atmosphere was wearing her out.

As the pair simply stood right outside the accountant office door, trying not to interfere the incoming two-way traffic as best as they could, a small idea popped in Paula's head. "Hey, Malissa, when you have the time off this evening, wanna go out for dinner? There's this one place that should be large enough to have a handful of other people. No better way to wrinkle out the stress of a hard day's work, so what do you say?"

But to her surprise, Malissa timidly shook her head. "No, um, I'm terribly sorry miss Paula," she answered. Malissa seemed to nervously glance away and from what Paula could tell, she seemed a little embarrassed. "I, um, got other plans today. You know, just hard-working secretary stuff!"

The two laughed. Paula was surprised that Malissa would turn down her offer, but at the same time it didn't really surprise her as she was a dependable worker that Paula liked. Same could be said for the other secretaries, but there was a reason why Malissa held quite a high place in the organization. Even though she felt a tinge of disappointment, Paula would respect her wishes. "Alright. You do you, Malissa. Take care of yourself, alright?"

And with that, the pair went off their separate ways, but it wasn't even three steps in that the sound of thud made Paula turn around. Where Malissa once stood, Paula was greeted to the sight of her but now prostrate on the ground.

"Owwww…." Malissa grimaced as she gingerly got up on her knees.

'... Oh yeah. Forgot about that,' Paula remembered.

The headquarters staff lounge was crowded but Paula managed to find a seat to rest. With so many staff working, the staff lounge was quite crowded due to the tide of workers looking to rest their bones and wrinkle the stress away. The only things that attended to their ills were the tables, seats, an abundance of coffee, and a lone radio tucked away in the corner.

Paula made herself as comfortable as she could on the cheap plastic chairs. No doubt that as enticing it was to rest for long, others will want a place to rest as well. She was only here to rest her feet for a few minutes, and after that she would be off and away to oversee other operations. But for now, as Paula sat, the sounds of buzzing gossip among her coworkers and the radio filled the air.

"... Man I wish mom packed me a bologna sandwich that isn't soggy because the meat's been moist and sitting in my lunchbag for so long..."

"Hey 8-Bit, wanna meet up at my apartment once work's over? Got a game mod I'd like to finish..."

"... and just like that, sticking in that MS1000 graphics card with the quad cores did the trick for me!"

"That's nice. Better than that one time I tried making the circuitry smoother by splashing some elbow grease. Darn thing lit up a fireplace! At least the word processor still worked..."

"... I still remember this one time I salvaged some junked computer and decked it to the gills with twin quad cores, several fresh circuit boards, and even a car battery! Once I go home, I'll probably see if I can make the desktop a gif."

"Heh. What can't anyone do with a computer and some spare parts these days? I'd like to see something that can't be retrofitted or modified to hell and back!"

"Something like that does exist, they're called consoles."

Laughter broke out before the sounds of chatter reclaimed the room again. Paula couldn't help but smirk at the joke. But something within that one-off joke did remind her of something: that a momentous event such as the Festivities was an equal-opportunity chance for everyone to become something greater. A chance to prove themselves that they were talented and had vision regardless of circumstances. Everyone was, for a few days, equal - and in Paula's eyes, that was what defined the PC Continent's unity (even if it did mean poking a bit of fun at the other side of the world).

By now, more people were strolling in and Paula interpreted it as a sign to leave. She's well-rested and got some work to do as the head leader. 'Hmm. I should probably head to the marketing division. See just how much areas we've covered and how well the broadcasted adverts are faring. Maybe even -'

As she was walking to the exit, Paula's train of thought drifted away as something caught her eye. Lying on one of the break room tables was a handbag. Completely occupying a table all by itself, no one sat near it, so that meant that it belonged to no one. But who…?

Paula briskly made her way to it and as she got close, couldn't help but feel as if she had seen the handbag from somewhere. As she pondered at who would leave something behind in a place like this, Paula's phone rang. She slipped it out from her pocket, half-expecting it to be a random caller doing their own advertisement or someone within her ranks that wanted to call her for business-related somethings.

Turns out, it was something a little more unanticipated, as Paula saw Malissa's name on the caller ID. Confused, Paula tentatively accepted the call.

"P-Paula? Miss Paula? Have… have you seen my… um, my handbag anywhere? I-I mean, I thought… I had it with me, or, um, left it in my office up at 444. But I can't find it anywhere! I mean, I looked all over my room and-and even retraced every path I took up and down the building to -"

"Um, Malissa," Paula said, eyeing the handbag with suspicion. "... About this handbag of yours… It doesn't happen to be blue, made of denim, and currently sitting in the staff lounge on the third floor?"

A wordless gasp came from the receiver. "... Really?! Oh, um, can you please give it to me? I'm, uh, I'll head up to where you are! I'll - I'll meet you by the elevators!"

Paula smiled, despite being aware that her secretary wouldn't see it. "Try not to trip on your way there, alright?"

Above the murmurs and footsteps of her fellow coworkers filing past, Paula could definitely hear someone approaching. Down the hallway, she could see a certain brunette bounding down the hallway, slipping past and around bystanders in a mad dash to where Paula stood. Upon seeing Paula - and her handbag - Malissa's face lightened up. But right as she was about to reach her destination, Malissa had the misfortune to slip and fall flat on the checkerboard floor with an audible smack.

Some of the Union members slowed down to stare at the spectacle but many didn't bother to stop, their hands already full with work. Concerned, Paula quickly approached the fallen form of Malissa as she winced.

"Well, on the bright side, you only tripped at the end and not on the stairs," Paula quipped in an attempt to lighten the mood. But the moment Malissa glanced up and blinked her vision clear, she quickly snatched the handbag from Paula's arm as if overly possessive of the object. Once in her hands, Malissa frantically examined her handbag, seeming scanning every inch of the exterior for the slightest hint of impostership or defect.

Finally, Malissa calmed down but still hugged the bag tight to her chest. Paula (and by extension several bystanders) could only stare in confusion. "... Um, Malissa? You alright? I'm sure no one has looked inside your bag, let alone touch it before I came along."

Now calm, Malissa got up on her feet while boring an embarrassed smile. "Oh, it's, um, nothing. I just… I just panicked there a little. Er, I guess - me being me - I couldn't help it. Thanks so much, miss Paula, you, um you have no idea how much trouble you saved me!" Malissa then gave a tired laugh which further cemented the image of a clumsy secretary. Then Malissa sighed.

"I, uh... guess I'll call it a day early."

Paula look at Malissa with a concerned eye. "Sure, sure. You look a little tired."

Early dismissal granted, Malissa turned and walked away, yawning. From behind, Paula only stood there, watching her depart. The incident still left her a little confused, but a moment later Paula merely shrugged. Hectic day at work can do a number on one's disposition.

Down south beneath Conderica, far from its capital and the Four Square Union's headquarters lay a tall, gleaming white spire that stood amongst other similar tall white buildings that populated the skyline of Calipolis, both the capital and the nation in general. Unlike the more industrial landscape and uncomplicated architecture of their northern neighbor, the nation of Calipolis valued scientific progress above all, and their appearances reflected that. Their white towers and skyscrapers, shining with purity and exotic lights, reached high almost to the heavens themselves. And the streets down below even borrowed the aesthetic of curvy white and grey, all lit up by bright white lights that ran almost everywhere as well as from holographic signs and billboards.

But of all towers that stood in Calipolis, one stood out from the rest, its grandeur and size greater than the other skyscrapers next to it - the Calipolis Corlast, the seat of the nation's government. And high up lay a single connecting thread that bridged itself with another stark-white building next to it. It too was bereft of any color other than white and black and near the top lay the white and black icon of a rising sun - the symbol of the Weiss Guild.

Mackenzie discreetly hummed a tune to herself as the moving walkway steadily delivered her to the Weiss Guild headquarters. The skybridge's walls consisted almost entirely of glass, offering her a grandiose view of her nation from up high. The sight of glowing lights that lined up on every spire standing in contrast to the daylight sky was always a lovely sight to her, but in her opinion she liked it more when it was night; the sight of white towers against the dark sky always made for a nice image.

An automated female voice notified Mackenzie that the walkway was nearing its end, and therefore, she had reached the Weiss Guild building. Stepping off, she immediately walked through the exit, the automatic doors swiftly opening without even a whisper. Inside, the halls were practically glowing in white: the floors, walls, ceiling, and even furniture were all white, sporting the occasional small black parts and their own glowing lights.

But what defined the part of the headquarters where Mackenzie stood was the dominating silence. Even with full preparations in full swing for the Festivities, the hallway was rather quiet. This didn't really surprise Mackenzie - everything was rather characteristic of Stef and the organization she led. She's been in this building plenty of times whenever she dropped by, so Mackenzie went straight towards Stef's office.

Another automatic door opened and Mackenzie entered another pristine hallway. As she walked down the passageway, holographic screens popped into existence on the wall as she passed by. They showed the various images that promoted the values of the Weiss Guild: the value and power of technological progress to reach new heights and how the future - and success - of the PC Continent and only the PC Contient depended on it. Like their rival organization, the Weiss Guild didn't really care about what went on elsewhere in Hyper Dimension, so long as the needs of the PC Continent were addressed first. Of course, all of the images were done in a sterile, clean art style typical of the Weiss Guild.

Across the hallway, Mackenzie caught the glimpse of someone strolling by. The mere sight of long silvery twintails was a dead giveaway that she found who she was looking for. Quickening her pace, Mackenzie caught up with Stef.

"Hey Stef, are you real busy right -" Mackenzie's words trailed off as she noticed that Stef continued walking, oblivious to her presence. Another second of observation revealed the existence of small slender pods the size of a finger tip lodged in both of Stef's ears.

'Oh, I see. She's got those MyPods on. She can't hear me, let alone an incoming truck. Okay...'

Mackenzie accelerated her pace, coming up right behind Stef. But just before she could try and show up right in front of her face as a playful surprise, Mackenzie found herself the one surprised when Stef unexpectedly turned around. A tinge of annoyance was etched on her face.

"... I'd rather you don't huddle so close to me like that," Stef said as she plucked the wireless headphones from her ears. "It's annoying."

Mackenzie remained undaunted. "Aw, I was hoping I could surprise you this time. You were preoccupied with listening to music and all." Stef merely grumbled. "Anyways," continued Mackenzie, steering to a different topic, "how's work coming along?"

"The usual for special circumstances," Stef bluntly replied as she turned around and continued walking down the hallway. Mackenzie followed. "I've kept close touch with many of the land's elite to ensure their loyalty to the Guild. I've also made sure that the latest products from our industrial allies would be widely available once the Festivities are well underway. With the appropriate marketing, those products should not only be a financial boon for us but also be of a useful way of marketing the organization beliefs."

"New products, huh?" rhetorically asked Mackenzie. She knew Stef preferred the company of the political and financial elite (herself included) but didn't really expect that she had close enough contact to know and influence the consumer market. "You sure this acquaintance of yours would be able to handle the supply of those new products?"

"He's made sure; I've seen to that," Stef replied, barely even looking at Mackenzie. "The same acquaintance has some ties to the manufacturing base in Conderica. We simply have to employ our neighbor's own qualities to our advantage. I have no doubt that my inelegant competitor will not enjoy the irony." And with that, a muffled snicker came from Stef.

Mackenzie, having remained quiet listening to Stef, was indifferent. "Well, either way I look forward to what those new products will be! I heard that the next MyPhone models will come with face-recognition software on top of pre-existing security measures. Anyways, with the Festivities coming right around the corner, I plan on being present in the special event down in Orchard Park where the participants will be to share their ideas and work."

For once, Stef actually turned her eyes towards Mackenzie, along with a raised eyebrow. "You won't be present in the gala that will be held in the Corlast? All the captains of industry will be there to greet the admin."

"Oh, don't worry!" Mackenzie answered with playful certainty. "I did say that I'll be there - just not necessarily be there when it does begin. Just make sure there's plenty of apple cider!"

Stef sighed. "You never stop consuming them, do you?" The two paused as a pair of young women dressed in formal wear that Mackenzie recognized as the uniform of the Weiss Guild passed by them, and upon witnessing two of the most famous people of the country, stopped to wave. Mackenzie energetically returned the gesture while Stef settled with a curt nod before the pair walked off.

Then Stef turned in front of a door as a fingerprint scanner popped out besides it. As she gingerly removed the glove from her right hand, Stef brought to light another topic of discussion. "By the way, about that special event of yours… even if the participants aren't scientists, I certainly look forward to any new innovations they come up with in their projects."

Mackenzie gave Stef an odd but teasing look. "I never took you to be one to look forward to what amounted to a school science fair."

The scanner was busy scanner Stef's thumbprint in three-dimensional space, another product of the nation's technological prowess. "Hm. It is true that nations are built on the back of the people, but it is scientific minds that gives them prestige. That is underlying purpose of the Festivities of Creation; we wouldn't have won the space race if it weren't for it."

"Mm-hm," Mackenzie murmured as the door opened and Stef briskly stepped inside. Right as Mackenzie walked through the doorway was she presented a set of slippers from Stef. "I'll ask you to wear these while you're here; you may switch to your old shoes once you leave. And in the meantime, I'll have to ask that you not touch anything unless I grant permission." And with that done, Stef turned and went further down into her home.

From Mackenzie's perspective, the house rules Stef laid out was getting to be quite unnecessary as she has visited Stef's home plenty of times. She'd known Stef's obsessive desire to make everything squeaky-clean for as long as she known her. It certainly explained Stef's immaculate attire, asocial nature, and the fact she wore her latex gloves practically everywhere she went. Stepping inside, Mackenzie was met with the familiar sight of Stef's wide living room which was also white and smooth as the rest of the building. The leather sofa, the velvet lamps, the coffee table: all white and sleek.

Mackenzie sat down by the table and carefully set down the small bag she had carried with her. Quickly glancing at Stef, Mackenzie found her watching her movements like a hawk, clearly making sure the house rule of "don't touch anything" was held though Stef's inaction told Mackenzie that she was allowed to rest a small bag on the pristine table.

"... It's just some fruit I brought along," bluntly explained Mackenzie. Stef didn't answer as she looked away. Then to no one, she spoke. "Sari: turn up the lights and turn on the television." From somewhere within the room, a single beep was heard and just like what Stef commanded, the living room brightened up. On the empty white wall behind Mackenzie a holographic screen filled it up entirely, displaying a wide variety of information all separated by boxes. On one such box was the local news.

As she glanced at the news, Mackenzie had the feeling it was stuff she already knew. Being the leader of a nation demanded being well-informed, but it was another story when the news was repeating the usual. Stef, meanwhile, paid more attention to the other information displayed on screen: statistics of every aspect of the political machine that was the Weiss Guild, ranging from active attendance, available funds, where organization activities were predicted to be today, and more.

Stef scanned through all of them with a swift but analytical eye. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. Weiss Guild activity are at their highest, yet she expected the levels to be just beneath that of the Four Squares Union. 'Them and their accursed bleeding-heart dogma...' Nearby, Mackenzie quietly (with with due diligence) munched on grapes as she found herself more engrossed in the Weiss Guild statistical data even if she couldn't keep up with them as fast as Stef.

Televised advertising up 149%... Online advertising up 127%... Overall finances… Stef paused as among all the data something more mundane caught her eye. Confined to a small window was an online bulletin board connected to the Weiss Guild headquarters network - a small chat box populated by Weiss Guild members as their own personal social media. In it, something caught Stef's eyes.

[uMapple]: Man, it's been the ninth time I've seen one of the WG posters we put up be vandalized.
[ablo6]: Lemme guess… FSU?
[uMapple]: Yep. A bunch of their scribbling over our posters. Basically calling us names .
[MarkiG]: Yeah, sounds like the FSU alright.
[wyzrx]: Also heard that a couple of em tried to do something same w/ our Conderica branch. Jerks.

Stef frowned at what she read. Direct hostilities via vandalism? With such a moment like the Festivities coming up, increased tensions was the last thing anyone wanted. With anticipation in the air, so were rumors and gossip; and where the latter two are, apprehension followed. Destabilizing influences and actions would only serve to endanger the solidarity of this continent.

Stef frowned. '... Just what in Hyper Dimension are you thinking, Paula…?'

A/N:

HistoricHippos:
When it came to painting the picture of the PC Continent, one of the questions we asked ourselves (besides "what's over there?" or "what's the PC Continent like?") was "why haven't we heard anything about the PC Continent in the Neptunia games?" (outside of Ultra Dimension)

The creation of the political organizations - the Four Squares Union and the Weiss Guild - was an attempt to address why PC Continent-related news and stuff never made it to Gamindustri. The simple explanation we thought of was that the ruling powers of the PC Continent is rather inclusive, focused primarily on internal affairs than external; PC citizens would rather deal with what goes on in their land than what goes on in another. Also, casual prejudice against anything Gamindustri-related (*cough PC master race cough*). The two organizations also represent the computer OSes (Windows and OS X) and how their differences act as a point of contention between them.