"Blanc, Blanc, look at this!"

Ram flew into her older sister's room brandishing a pink envelope above her head. Rom entered a second after holding a similar, blue envelope.

"It's an invitation!" she said by way of explanation. While she was nowhere near as loud as her sister, she sounded excited nonetheless.

Blanc accepted the letters from her sisters and opened one.

"Wow, it's even handwritten," she muttered, nodding her head in respect to the writer. Whoever had sent the invitation put a fair amount of effort into it. She unfolded the paper and read it:

CANDIDATE CHRISTMAS

Lastation Basilicom, Lastation

Christmas Day, 5:00 – 10:00 PM

Bring your gifts!

Uni (& Nepgear!)

"M-Miss Nepgear wrote it," Rom informed her. "I recognize her writing. She says it's messy, but she writes slow so she doesn't make mistakes."

Ram took her letter back and jumped up and down. "Isn't that cool? We're going to a Christmas party!" she cheered.

Later, Blanc would have to thank Uni and "Miss Nepgear" for inviting her sisters to a party. Of course, she had no reason to stop them from going. Seeing Rom and Ram in such a good mood always touched her heart, and she was glad they had an occupation on one of the busiest nights of the year.

"What will you do for presents?" she asked, pointing a finger at the opened letter. "You two still have to get something for Nepgear and Uni."

Ram was quick to shrug off responsibility. "Beats me. Rom, what're we gonna do?"

"Um..." Put on the spot, Rom couldn't answer. Her face grew anxious as she tried to come up with something.

"I know for sure that they'll have their own gifts to give to the both of you," Blanc reminded them. "You can make something or buy it. Do you know what they like?"

"Guns," Ram answered. "And robots!"

"There you go. Buy a gun then."

The suggestion was only a joke—like Blanc would allow her kid sisters to go purchase a firearm—but the twins seemed to seriously consider the idea.

"How 'bout a sniper rifle?"
"Uni has a lot..."

"Then a machine gun!"
"Those too..."

"A tank!"
"Miss Nepgear built her one last year."

Frustrated, Ram whined and broke away from her sisters. She wandered around the room, running in the empty space but taking care near Blanc's desk. Last time she had knocked something important to the ground, Blanc had been miserable for days. While Ram had no idea how valuable the object had been, the CPU was so melancholic over its loss that it told her more than enough. An important lesson had been learned: When Blanc herself was depressed, it was impossible not to feel the same way.

Noticing something unusual on the table, Ram stopped and pointed. "Hey Blanc, what's this? Did someone give it to you? Oh, was it Neptune?" she added after seeing the picture in the center.

The snow globe was still in the same spot as yesterday, in the center of the table cluttered with a worker's tools. Nepgear had left part of her kit behind along with a note on how to fix the snow globe if it were to break.

Blanc remembered the handywoman's last words before she went home:

"I can't wait until the glue sets and we can make the snow fall!"

She walked over to the desk silently, intentionally kindling her sisters' interest. Ram moved aside to let her approach, but she and her twin could sense that something was about to happen and stayed close.

The glue should have set by now. The snow was inside the orb, resting at the bottom, and all it needed was a gentle shake. Yet Blanc still felt nervous; her lungs contracted, and her mouth went dry. She knew her fear was unreasonable, and she had known from the start. Though made of glass, the snow globe was durable—Nepgear had said so. Just like herself, small size did not infer fragility.

Swallowing the sickening apprehension that filled her chest, Blanc lifted the snow globe by its pedestal. It was lighter than she expected it to be, since no liquids were used to fill the snow globe. This was the experiment to see if the design would actually work. Holding it with one hand underneath and another cupped around the glass ball, she took a deep breath and gave it a light shake.

"Nothing happened!" Ram pointed out the obvious. "You're too gentle! Here, can I try?"

Blanc shook her head quickly, moving her prize away from Ram's outreached hand. Already on edge as is, she did not want to risk it breaking from an overzealous shake.

"Y-you can do it, Blanc!" whispered Rom. The quiet girl seemed to sense and empathize with her older sister's trepidation.

Despite all of Blanc's worries, the ball did not roll off the pedestal and shatter into uncountable pieces. When she shook it again, white powder sprung from the floor of the snow globe. It floated a bit before settling back down.

"One more time! You can do it!" the twins cheered for her.

Then they gasped, amazed, when Blanc shook the snow globe a third time and roused a spinning snowstorm. White flecks swirled about in a spiral around the photograph in the middle. Weightless, they floated and fell like real snowflakes. Twenty seconds later, all the snow was back at the bottom.

"That was so cool!" Ram whooped. She touched the glass right above the picture. "Did Neptune really make this? I didn't know she was this good!"

Blanc was compelled to clear up the misunderstanding so she could boast a little. "Actually, I made it. This is what I'm giving to Neptune for Christmas."

Again, the twins were impressed, but even more so than before. Enamored with their sister, they both hugged her at once.

"Really? You're so cool at making things!"
"Miss Neptune is so lucky!"

Blanc smiled at the pair. Her pride was on a highway to heaven; first Nepgear had praised her handiwork, and now Rom and Ram were absolutely enthralled.

"So, any ideas what to do for your own gifts?" she hummed. Hopefully, seeing her handmade present had given the girls an idea. They exchanged looks as if confirming with each other.

"Yup! Me and Rom have a perfect idea!" Ram giggled and grinned at her lookalike.

"Is it a snow globe?" Blanc asked, lifting an eyebrow.

The twins looked at each other again, then smiled in sync at their older sister.

"Maybe, maybe not!"
"We aren't telling..."

They refused to say anything more on the matter. But they did, however, beg Blanc to take them Christmas shopping. They tugged on her sleeves and asked her politely, but Blanc had already made up her mind to accompany them.

That way, just in case they really did try to buy a gun...