Here she was again, drowning in the purple ooze. This scene has becoming more and more frequent every time she slept. This has been going on for weeks yet it still hasn't ended. The same nightmare haunted her whenever she went to bed. She thought that if she was with her sister then everything would be alright. She thought that if she held her sister close whenever she slept then the bad dreams would go away.
She was wrong.
She called out for Rom, for Blanc, for Mina, for Nepgear, to anybody that would save her. It unfortunate that she would have to live through seeing the visions once more. Her body felt light yet she lost the ability to breathe. She could see her limbs flailing about as she struggled to pull herself out of the liquid. She would swim with all her might only to find out that all her efforts were for nothing. There was no escaping what was to come. She felt scared; she didn't know what to do. She wanted to look away.
Yet the man in black forced her to look forward.
A mysterious man whom she did not recognize. She couldn't make out his appearance other than his silhouette yet something about that person made her skin crawl. She could see him floating a few feet away from her, not even fazed by the lack of oxygen. He merely stayed there, staring at her judging by the angle of his head.
For what seemed like the seventy eighth time she had this nightmare, she watched him point into the darkness, wordlessly urging her to look. She knew what she would see there and she was afraid. She did not wish to see it anymore. Fate, however, had other ideas.
It felt like invisible hands were wrapping themselves around her head, causing her to jerk her head forward. Before she knew it, she had lost control of her body; it was as if she was being possessed by something. It was always like this, she had no strength to fight back no matter what she thought or did. In the end, she would have to witness…
Deep in the dark abyss, orange eyes looked back at her. Blinking out of existence, she braced herself as an arrow pierced her.
Through her mind's eye, the vision began to play. She saw a deserted city, light from the heavens, her sister and the other CPUs, and the descent of a being from the place she could only recognize as Celestia. She wanted to scream yet she had no voice. She wanted to fight yet she had no strength. It was scary and she had no power to resist. She didn't understand why she kept seeing these things.
She heard voices all around yet she didn't understand a single word they uttered. Everything was going too fast, spinning too fast, she felt like passing out.
That was until the world was bathed in light. She knew she had come to the end of her nightmare. It always ended like this, a bright blue light as she was taken out of the purple ooze. That person whom extended a gloved hand at her. Even if it was just a dream, she felt as if the nausea was real. That was why she always had great difficulty seeing that person's face. That person had the answers to her questions, she just… had… to reach h—
And then Ram woke up.
Dom sat at the dining table as he looked out the window. A yawn escaped his lips before lifting up his coffee mug and taking a sip. Within an instant, he felt like his mind was on high alert and that he could take in every minute detail of his surroundings. He began to tap his free hand on the table while he bore an expressionless face. He may not be showing it but his mind was running on overdrive mode.
It took six seconds before the rush and adrenalin ebbed away and he was back to his normal state. Another yawn left him followed by a heavy sigh. He casually breathed a curse as he rested his head on his palm. Boring, that would be the best thing that would be able to describe his life. Despite that, he liked it this way. It gave him a nostalgic feel similar to before he got caught up in the mess he found himself in. Turning his attention back at the table, he wrote a three kanji word on his crossword puzzle, only that it had a whole different character from the system the Japanese used.
The characters he placed within the boxes were different from the English alphabet or anything that resembled Earth symbols.
Tapping a finger on his cheek, his eyes focused on the second piece of paper just beside his crossword puzzle. To the naked eye, it would seem like an ordinary all-purpose typewriting paper that one would be able to purchase anywhere. To the boy however, he could see the faint outline of a purple glow on its edges and that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Speaking for the first time in ten minutes, the male protagonist asked, "Histoire, what's the Loweeian six letter word for 'competition'?"
It would've appeared comical if someone were to see him speaking to nobody in particular; however that was not the case. The piece of paper began to glow much brighter than before as the strange symbols he had been writing wrote itself on the smooth surface as if guided by an invisible hand.
Glancing at the response, Dom let out a snort, "That, huh?"
He was only stopped from answering the puzzle when he heard someone fall from the stairs. Out of sheer curiosity, he made his way from the kitchen and into the main hall. He came at a halt at the foot of the stairs and crouched down, poking the dazed form of a little girl dressed in pink pajamas.
"Sleep walking, huh?" muttered the boy just as the girl looked up and rubbed her head. In reaction to this, Dom greeted her in perfect monotone, "Good morning. Remind me next time to tie you down when you sleep. It's been the third time this week…"
"Food… Cook… Rom's…Dying…" moaned Ram as she tugged on the boy's pants. She paused for a moment before letting out a muffled question, "Where's Dia?"
"I stuffed her in the fridge. I'm going to sell you off into a far off country now," lied Dom just to see what the girl's reaction would be.
"Good… I'm sick of this world anyway…" mumbled the CPU Candidate dejectedly, "Just take care of Rom for me…"
Smirking at the response, the boy replied, "You're in a good mood. Get up, breakfast's been cooked and all I have to do is heat it. Your sister will come down if she's hungry."
"You're not going to get her?" questioned Ram before letting out a huge yawn.
"Not my job. Just wait until you hear someone falling down the stairs," said the male protagonist as he walked back to the kitchen. Giving him a suspicious look, the girl waited for him to disappear in the corner before rising to her feet.
She did a couple stretches before scratching her back. Looking back at the wooden stairs she fell from, she was surprised that she didn't feel the slightest pain. Maybe she should've left her buffs off when she was asleep. A flash of pain went through her mind for a second before fading. She almost forgot about that too. Just when she was about to live the day peacefully.
Ram then went to the kitchen feeling more tired than usual. She just arrived in time to hear the microwave ring, cue for the boy to take out the pre-packed breakfast Dia had made before she left. Sitting down on her chair, she let out another yawn before hitting her head on the table with a dull thud.
Placing her meal in front of her, Dom said, "Order up for the spoiled princess. Get it while it's hot."
"I wanna go home…" mumbled the Candidate as she stared at her food. Sitting up straight, she grabbed her fork and ate her meal. Turning her head to face the boy, she said, "It sucks."
"I know," agreed the boy as he ate his share. It was then that he remembered his crossword puzzle lying just next to the little girl's plate. Swallowing down his meal, he pointed his finger at the puzzle and asked, "Hey, can you look over that thing if it's correct?"
"Hm? Confused at first, Ram slowly turned her attention to her side before choking on her food. Dom watched her hack and cough as he handed her a glass of water which she grabbed and drank in just three seconds. Breathing hard now fully awake, the Candidate stood up from her seat and jabbed her finger at Dom's direction, "How'd you do this? You're not supposed to know this!"
"I've been writing those things for the past few days. They're just Lowee's alphabet, right?" the boy continued to eat as he spoke, thus making his words seem muffled.
"These are magic runes! Lowee's magic runes and they're really tough to understand!" replied the Candidate as she looked back and forth between the male protagonist and the symbols on the paper, "No way a human like you could know these stuff!"
"Blame Histoire, she's the one who messed up my head," said Dom as he pulled out the Page. He waved it around until it emitted a faint purple glow. Ram's eyes only widened the moment she saw the piece of paper, she could feel the familiar energy which was usually present back in her world.
"Tell me! Tell me now!" demanded the little girl, clenching her fists.
"Aw, geez, will you shut up? It's not that important anyway. My mind just went haywire back when I first came in contact with this thing," waving the page a bit, the boy continued, "This is a piece of Histoire's Page that came with Neptune when she first came here. This is a real life version of a plot device! A convenient one too. If you want to get back to your world then you're going to need this thing… and me, I guess. When I first got it, it crammed all sorts of information into my brain and here I am now. This is one of the few things I could make sense of while I needed to get a detailed explanation from Histoire about the other things I discovered."
Staring at him in awe, Ram asked in a weak voice, "Then… you can read Loweeian runes? Hold on a sec! You said you can speak with Planeptune's Oracle! How exactly?"
"Do you want me to call her now and tell her how much of an insufferable brat you are?" shot back Dom.
"Eep!" the Candidate had no intention of listening to the book entity's lectures. Even a prankster such as herself knew that there were people that she wasn't allowed to cross. Thinking fast, she decided to divert the topic into something else, "if it's like that, then you can do magic."
"What?"
"Don't you know? Lowee's the country with the highest concentration of magical power. There's a lot of magicians living there because of that. Blanc even built a school for these people to go to a few years back," explained Ram as she thought back.
"No, no, no. That's general knowledge for me, but what was that about me and magic?" asked the boy, half-expectant while half skeptical.
"A normal guy like you that's got zero magical talent since you're not even a native of Lowee has no chance of learning beyond a certain limit. But yes, you can do magic, even if it's lame," answered the Candidate as bluntly as she could.
Dom felt his eyebrow twitch at that and continued, "Alright, why doesn't Compile Heart explain these kind of things in the games?"
"Compile what?"
"Never you mind. So these rune things can even let a guy like me do some magic tricks, huh?"
"Though it'll be better if you chant the spells that your body would be able to power. The most you could probably do would be to push and pull objects."
…
"That's it?"
"Ha! Were you expecting to do something cool like I could? Fat chance!"
Ram went back to her meal and completely ignored the boy. Dom couldn't help but feel annoyed at the girl's attitude. It was to be expected however, he couldn't expect less from a legit magician. Still, he had his doubts, which was why he glanced at the Page and called out to its main body with his mind.
Was it all true?
Indeed. Though you didn't have to threaten her like that, I would've loved to speak with her. I can tell that she's troubled right now, maybe it would be better for her to hear a familiar voice for once.
Reading the words etched on the paper, the boy let out a sigh as he replied back, Sorry, but I guess that chance's out now. She's not opening her heart yet but it'll be soon enough. Also, do you know the success rate for me to be able to do magic?
Less than 0.5%. I think it would be better not to think about it right now. From the looks of it, there is no chance whatsoever—
Stop crushing my hopes and dreams! I will do a damn magic trick even if it's the last thing I do!
I'm sorry, I'm sorry—ababababababababababa!
Dom's attention was wrenched back into reality when he heard the sounds of someone falling down the stairs. He didn't even have to go out and check as Rom entered the kitchen in a daze. She swayed on her feet as she made her way to her sister, muttering while still half asleep. She would've fallen right then and there had her sibling been fast enough to catch her.
"Where… am I? Hungry…"
"Rom wake up, you're too heavy!"
"Ah… Hello Ram… Hello Mister Dummy…."
With a snort, the boy immediately corrected her, "I'm a wizard now and I'm not even in my thirties yet. Now I can go back to being Harry Pott— GUK!"
The twins turned their heads in synch with Dom's fall. A half full water bottle came in contact with his cheek, knocking him into the ground. Ram and Rom then turned their attention at the person who had just entered the kitchen. Dia had just returned from her morning walk, only to find her best friend on full retard. To say that she was annoyed would be an understatement yet she kept her fury in check so as not to startle the children.
"Good morning everyone, lovely day isn't it?" she greeted with a smile on her face, casually stepping on her friend's arms and legs.
"Let go, let go, let go, let go! OH SHIT, THAT HURTS! YOU'RE GOING OVERBOARD, YOU BITCH!" cursed Dom as he struggled to free his fingers under his friend's running shoes.
Dia only grinded her heel in response before taking her foot off the boy's fingers leaving him whimpering at the side. There was no way the twins could be startled by something like that, right?
The two girls had varying reactions. Rom being fully awake by the entire thing looked at her sister with a questioning look while Ram merely kept her attention on her food. The blue pajama clad Candidate couldn't tell what was going on anymore. First she fell down the stairs, then she found Dom declaring that he was wizard, and now she had just witnessed what could've been the most extreme passive-aggressive scenario in her entire life.
She kept looking at her sister for answers yet was met with silence for the whole ordeal. It was strange to see everyone act this way in just a few days since she started living in this world with her sister. She couldn't make heads or tails about what was going on yet she knew that nothing good would come by questioning it.
"So! You two are coming, right? Later?" asked Dia as she took her portion of breakfast and began munching on it.
"Um… ?" Rom asked back, tilting her head in confusion.
A groan could be heard from under the table in response, "Dia's been barking about it the entire week… No way you could not know—GAH!"
"I'm starting school from today onwards! From now on, I'm a third year and I'm sure that there's a lot of people that I'll get to meet," the brunette stomped on the spot where Dom's hand had been a second ago, "People other than this person."
"Oh… Ram, can we go?" asked the blue clad Candidate as she turned to her sister.
The pink clad Candidate had a glassy look in her eyes before blinking twice once her sibling's attention was on her, "Huh? See what? Ohhhh, the school thing? Sure! When do we leave?"
"As soon as I get changed," replied Dia with a smile, she stood up from her seat and made her way to the kitchen's entrance, "You two get ready too! Adrian, pick yourself up, you look pathetic."
Dom watched her leave before uttering a whispered curse. Without looking at her, he then asked Ram, "Tell me, what should I practice on for now?"
"You're still on that? W-Well… How about a hair?" she suggested as she tapped her chin.
She heard Rom yelp beside her, causing her to look to her right and to be shocked five strands of her sister's hair within the boy's fingers. Looking back and forth between her teary eyed sibling and the dumbfounded male protagonist, she then gritted her teeth as she summoned her staff.
"I knew this was a bad idea."
"ICE COFFIN!"
It's already been a week since the twins had first arrived into the Real World. Under the careful surveillance of the two friends, they had mostly lived peacefully without encountering any sort of problems. The past few days were rather boring for the two CPU Candidates, making it difficult to keep them entertained. Dia would either take them to the bakery so that she could keep an eye on them, and when he had returned Dom took them shopping and gave them the traditional tour of Shinjuku and Akiba.
It's already been three months since the two friends had gotten involved with the Goddesses, time sure flew fast.
Despite the smooth lifestyle the twins were having now, their new friends were having a few trouble of their own. One was that there was a disturbance with the Page's powers, according to Histoire's explanation it would take double the usual charge time for it to be capable of sending the twins back into Gamindustri. The reason for that was that Gamindustri was currently in an unstable state, the shifting of Shares between its inhabitants have been affecting not only the power of the Goddesses but also the capability of Histoire to connect one dimension to the other. She had even gone as far as contacting her other self across the dimensions for assistance.
The reason of this disturbance was left unknown, giving Dom a headache and Dia something to worry about when she was told the news. However they were rest assured that everything would be back to normal by the time the twins head back.
The next thing that they needed to solve was the Share Deprivation the twins were suffering from. For now, only Ram knew of what was happening with her and her sister for she forbid both Dia and Dom from telling Rom of her health. The two friends had no idea how long they would be able to last before they could be sent back to their own world. At the worst case scenario, Dom warned Ram that either her or her sister would feel the same experience as Nepgear had. The Candidate took it unto herself to keep her sister from using their powers and her likewise.
The past events had been two days ago and not once did the Candidates show signs of Share Deprivation.
Rom's thoughts ran wild as she set her eyes upon the building just up ahead. There were large groups of girls all wearing maroon blazers and matching skirts all headed to the building, chatting with each other or laughing together as they exchanged gossips they've gathered over the course of their break. Friends greeted friends while the others stared and savored the feeling of youth.
This was the first time Rom had ever been to such a place.
"Shiemi All Girls Academy," Dia proudly presented while puffing out her chest, "The best place on Earth next to McDonalds!"
"And home to stuck up prim maddo— GRAGH!" Dom rubbed the back of his head as he got hit by a stray pebble.
"You again? Didn't we tell you to get lost last time?!"
"Hey Dia, put a leash on the guy if you're bringing him in! We don't want anything to happen like last time."
"Get lost Dom!"
Ram stared at the passing girls with surprise before noting, "He's famous?"
"Everyone hates his guts," the brunette casually explained, "It's not really fame but infamy. Though given his personality it shouldn't be much of a surprise."
"Did he do something bad?" asked the pink clad Candidate.
You don't want to know… Damn those noodles," sighed Dia as she regretted remembering a certain memory. She turned to her best friend and said, "It doesn't mean that three years have passed that everyone forgot what you did. Behave yourself and keep an eye on these two for me, got that?"
"Whatever. Why don't we go inside? We won't leave the damn place so stop fussing," Dom went on ahead while Rom closely followed him.
Dia shook her head twice as she gave the boy a defeated look. It would probably better to let him be for there was no use arguing with him, the brunette was about to enter the school when she realized that Ram was still staring at the building. Wordlessly, she grabbed the girl by the hand and pulled her in.
"If you've got time standing around like that, why not move your feet and head in, hm?"
"I was just surprised! Wait, where'd Rom go?"
"She went in with Dom. She's probably wondering the same thing now. Don't worry, they'll probably be wandering somewhere nearby."
Ram blinked twice before looking away with a frown. Walking ahead of the human girl, she went ahead to go look for her sister. Dia knew she couldn't leave the Candidate all alone so she hastily followed her.
"You're going to get lost this way. Hold on!"
"Geez, stop butting in! I can do this myself."
Ram couldn't help but be impressed on how spacious the whole place was, she also felt that finding Rom then would be a whole lot more difficult. She walked into random directions with the purpose of finding her sister. She kept looking and looking till she had long since lost her way. She couldn't even tell where the entrance was anymore. Looking behind her, the brunette merely followed her without saying a word, only speaking to greet her fellow schoolmates.
The Candidate felt annoyed, just where could her sister be?
"So… Found her yet?" asked the brunette as she leaned to look at the Candidate's face.
"Aren't you going to class yet?" shot back the little girl.
"I have an hour left before the bell. Besides, I don't have much to do anyway so I'll just kill my time with you," replied Dia as she stretched her arms, "It's really been a while since I've walked in this place. It's kind of refreshing compared to being stuck in the house or bakery."
Ram kept her head forward as she said, "So what?"
"Well… You just seemed really quiet. It's kind of weird," admitted the brunette with a nervous chuckle.
"Hmph, I just don't feel like talking!" the Candidate huffed and crossed her arms, "besides, I need to find Rom. It's your fault that I lost her! Now help me out or else!"
Just how did it become my fault? Ah, what the— the female protagonist reached out with her hand and grabbed the little girl by her shoulder.
Of course Ram was anything but happy at getting pulled back, "What's the big idea—?!"
"Are getting enough sleep?"
"W-W-What?! Y-You're face is too close! What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Those bags under your eyes…. Is something wrong?"
The Candidate ceased flailing her hands at Dia's question. She felt a distant memory come crashing into her mind. Her body went stiff with shock a she recalled what happened the previous night. With her lips trembling, she gritted her teeth as words left her, "I don't want to talk about it…"
"Look if there's anything wrong, you can always tell me about it," said the human girl in a worried tone.
"I told you, it's none of your business so leave me alone!" snapped Ram as she shook.
The brunette took moved away a step at the girl's outburst. Maybe she just said the wrong thing. Letting out a brief sigh, she steeled herself as she went on, "Okay… But… At least tell me what happened…."
"I…" the Candidate couldn't bear looking at Dia's face as she said it, "I… I wet my bed…"
….
This was just ridiculous…
"Come again?"
"It was an accident," explained Ram in a guilty tone as she shuffled her feet, "I was having a scary dream and I accidentally did that. I was up all night trying to dry it off because I was… scared that you'll get mad. Especially when you kicked Dummy's butt which was cool and all, but that was scary you know?"
The human girl couldn't help but backtrack in her memories to the events in the morning. Now that she thought about it, the Candidate merely focused on the food while she was in her passive-aggressive mode back then. Maybe the girl had been paying attention but was too preoccupied with her meal to express what she felt.
With a relieved smile, the female protagonist couldn't help but feel as if a great weight was lifted off her shoulders. It seemed like she was worrying over nothing.
"Heh, don't worry! I mean, you're still a kid so I understand. There's nothing wrong with it so why don't we just forget about the whole thing and fix it when we get home, right?"
"Don't you laugh! I said don't laugh, you meanie!"
"I'm not laughing, I swear! I never planned to!"
"Liar, liar pants on fire!"
"So this is where you went…."
The quarreling girls turned their attention to Dom whom was approaching them. Scratching his head, he then took the girls' silence as a gesture to continue, "I've been looking everywhere for you two. And D, your teacher's been yelling at my ear for the past fifteen minutes asking me where the fuck you went. Old bat told me to get you back into your class. Uh, where's the blue kid?"
Confused, Dia answered back as she pointed her finger, "Didn't she go with you?"
"I thought she was with you two," shot back the boy in disbelief.
"We thought she was with you!" repeated the girls before Ram took action and ran off. Dia caught on and turned her attention to the Candidate, "Hey wait!"
Ram dashed into a random direction as she used her power to search for her sister. She kept using her magic yet not a single student she passed by noticed her the faint glow which surrounded her. She ran through empty halls without pause, turning her head from left to right to find a familiar gray dress similar to hers. She released her stored power and let it spread throughout the area in hopes of picking up Rom's energy signature.
Her effort, however, was in vain as she received nothing.
She knew that getting separated from Rom was a bad idea, just how could she let her guard down. If somehow Rom realized that her body was on the verge of disappearing at any given moment, then who knows how frightened she could be. Ram couldn't bear the thought of her sister's terrified face. Then came another disturbing thought which she tried quashing out with all her might. There was the chance of her sister disappearing without leaving a trace.
That was why she had to find her. That was why it was stupid for both of them to be separated. Because if they weren't there for each other then… she may not be able to take it.
The Candidate felt her knees grow weak and pained. A wave of dizziness spread throughout her body as her steps began to falter. She looked at her hands and noticed that she was able to see through them, causing fear to bite down on her heart. Not that she thought about it, just how much power did she expel when she was searching for Rom?
"Oh no…" her vision began to darken. Collapsing on the ground, she breathed heavily as she fought to stay conscious. Just why did her body feel so heavy all of a sudden? This wasn't normal, it couldn't be. She still had to find Rom. She can't pass out now.
"Ram! Ram! Ram wake up! Hey!"
"Shit, bring her to the infirmary! I'm going to do what I can! Tell me where to go!"
"It's over here! Hey stay with us! Ram!"
An unfamiliar white ceiling. She raised her hand before her to reach out on the empty air. A stinging sensation hurt her head as she tried to sit up. Seeing that it took too much effort, she settled for lying on her bed. The white sheets which covered her were pleasant to her skin, keeping her snug and warm. She turned her head from left to right, curtains with the color of snow surrounded as they blocked the sunlight from hitting her.
Her body felt normal. There were no signs of the pain she had felt earlier. It seemed like she had passed out since then, how long she was unconscious was still unknown to her. It felt like hours had gone by while she was out. She couldn't hear anything, it was like the world had lost the ability to make a sound…. Or maybe it was just too quiet. She could still feel her own heartbeat so she knew she was still alive. She had slept enough to last the day her body felt like it was made out of rocks.
Ram didn't know what to do.
She had recklessly used her powers despite the fact that doing so will shorten her life span. She had plunged herself into greater danger than actually doing something to find her sister. Gripping her blanket, she fought her urge to burst into tears. If Blanc were to be at her side then she would only be yelled at while Mina would only worry out of her mind. If only she had been calmer, if only she had been stopped, if only she had been stronger then this wouldn't have happened.
"I hate this place…" she muttered.
Her attention turned to the sounds of footsteps behind the white curtains which were then moved aside to reveal a familiar brown haired girl.
"You're awake. That's good," Dia smiled at the sight of her friend conscious and well, "You really had us worried there."
"Rom, did you find her?" were the words which immediately left the Candidate's lips.
The brunette didn't even hesitate when she replied, "She's fine. Dom found her wandering around the courtyard with some of my classmates. He's with her now so it should be fine."
"Ah…" the Candidate lowered her head with a look of relief. She then tensed and looked back at the human girl, "Did… did you tell her? About what happened?"
"Not yet. We didn't want to cause her worry," answered Dia as she pulled the chair beside the CPU's bedside and sat on it, "How are you feeling?"
"Horrible…" grumbled Ram as she fell back into her pillows and facing the other way, "I… I thought I was going to die… Why didn't I disappear?"
She heard the brunette release a sigh behind her followed by an explanation, "You Dom to thank for this. Apparently, he had this crazy idea which I didn't exactly believe that would work. He had your sister expel enough shares into the surrounding area for your body to pick up. It worked and I didn't waste any time bringing you into here in the infirmary. It's been five hours since then and I'm on my lunch break."
"This is your fault," said the Candidate, her words laced with thinly disguised spite. She couldn't see what kind of face Dia was making behind her yet she didn't care. She just continued on with, "If only we stayed in the house like we were supposed to then this wouldn't have happened. You should've stopped me when I ran off, but you only lagged behind. You said that we were in good hands, we trusted you… You didn't even do anything. I hate you."
Ram felt her shoulders tremble with emotion. Was this really okay? Pushing the blame on someone else? She knew what she had said was bad so the fear of getting yelled at began to creep up on her. If Rom were with her, then she should be able to stand up to herself. If she had someone to lean on, then…
"I see…"
Her eyes grew wide at the tone of Dia's voice.
"I'm sorry. You're right; I should've just let Dom look after you at the house. I shouldn't have invited you two to come along. I, of all people, should be aware of your conditions. I guess it was just selfish of me getting you two to see the place. But tell me something… Did you have fun?"
Ram neither said yes or no, she merely laid motionless on her bed.
"Well. Be sure to get some rest. I'll be heading out now."
There were noises of clothes ruffling before the sound of the curtains parting reached the Candidate's ears. She held her breath as she waited for the door to open and for the footsteps to disappear. Her visitor didn't uttered a word single word as she went out, leaving the little girl all by herself.
She just did something horrible.
…..
….
…
Dia had her back against the infirmary door, keeping her head low as thoughts ran through her mind. She looked at her hands and clenched them into fists. There was this ticklish feeling running down her spine when she was in the presence of the Candidate. She didn't understand why yet the sight of the little girl's face and reaction kept her mind off this foreign sensation. A heavy feeling weighed her down, causing her to slouch a bit once she began to walk away.
Things really went bad. She hadn't expected something like this to happen on her first day back in school. She didn't intend it to be this way at all, if only she had been more careful. She didn't even bother correcting what the Candidate said. Most of the words she said were true after all and Dia could only sit there and listen. She wasn't Dom; she couldn't bluntly speak back to a child. Ram wasn't going to mature anytime soon so her childish mindset could be easily excused.
Still, to the female protagonist, it hurt hearing that she was hated.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked faster. She had to get Dom and make him take Rom back into the infirmary. Ram would need the company of her sister while she recovers. It would be better that way until the day ended.
"Jesus Christ, how times will I tell you not you draw on the library books? These aren't mine, you know?"
"No pictures… I'll make them."
"I take my eyes off of you one second and— YOU DREW ON MY FACE?!"
"Sorry!"
"Come here so I can strangle you!"
Dom got up from the grass and sprinted after the retreating Candidate, only to activate a magic trap which launched a snowball into his face. The resulting shock and impact knocked him back into the ground, barely conscious. A groan escaped him as he rubbed his sore cheek. For a shy and quiet girl, Rom was pretty much adept in luring him into tight spots.
He sent the girl a glare before collapsing in defeat. He had been entertaining her for the last five hours just to keep her from asking about her sister. Now that he thought about it, had he not remembered that Goddesses basically can transfer Shares unto one another, then the situation could've been much worse. He released a heavy sigh as he did all he could to forget what just happened. He didn't know what Rom would do had her sister disappeared without a trace.
For a guy with sucky luck, this day was sure bipolar towards him.
He still hasn't received the order to break in Ram's condition to Rom so he kept his lips sealed tight until further notice. All he had to do until then was to keep the girl preoccupied and play dumb whenever she asked about her sister. Lying he was good at, but lying for this reason gnawed on what conscience he had in his mind.
Just what was Dia thinking not telling the girl? Wouldn't it have been better for her to know and run off to her dying sibling? That way, they could easily perform the Share Transfer than risking the blue clad Candidate exhausting more power than she should. He really didn't get why his best friend didn't let him tell her. Even better was that he didn't understand why he was easily submitting to her like some goon.
Dom placed his forearm on his eyes to block out the sun's rays. He just had to stall for a little longer and he'll be free from this kid's clutches.
He noticed a shadow stand above him and slowly moved his arm away. He saw Rom's blue eyes staring back at his brow ones which travelled down to what she was holding in her hands. It was a wet towel. Sitting up, he took the towel and rubbed the ink off his face.
"Unlike your sister, you're much tolerable. Please continue on being that way."
"Strange…"
"Who is?"
"You?"
Scratching the back of his head, the boy felt at loss on how to respond.
"You're different," the Candidate averted her eyes as she continued, "Never spoke to… someone… like you before…"
"It's to be expected seeing the kind of series you're from. The only people you've met up with so far have all been females, yes?" Dom smirked while waving his finger, "I guess you haven't been talking to boys that much back at home, aye?"
Rom felt her face grow hot as she began to stutter, "W-W-We were t-to-told to stay a-away… B-B-Blanc won't l-let us... M-Mina was against… it too…"
"Stop that or else I'll be pulling your hair out again," growled the boy, quickly forcing the little girl's red face into blue with fear. A chuckle escaped his lips at the sight of the Candidate's uncomfortable face, "Guess having the real thing in front of me is a whole lot different than seeing the person behind a screen. I'm quite impressed on how fast you managed to adapt to this world. I mean, the other Goddesses took a while to be comfortable enough to GET LOST IN A FREAKING HUGE CAMPUS! I MEAN, WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Eep!" the Candidate flinched at the sudden outburst and timidly moved away from her friend.
"Seriously, what the hell was going through your head?! Are you even using it?! You almost gave me a freaking heart attack with the kind of stunts you Goddesses keep on pulling! Do you have any idea how worried we were when we found out you were gone?! Didn't you consider that something bad might've happened to you when you were lost?! This isn't Gamindustri where you could just whip out your damned wand and do magic! Doesn't your elder sister teach you proper manners?! If anything were to happen then Ram would've thrown a fit! Histoire would've contacted Blanc and that girl would be hunting for my head! My freaking life's on the line here! Have some consideration, dammit! Don't you dare do that again, do you understand, young lady?! Apologize! Apologize now!"
"I-I-I'm sorry," Rom covered her head with her hands and shut her eyes tightly. She braced herself for another wave of words yet was surprised when nothing came. Opening her eyes inch by inch, she found the boy lying with his face on the ground, a white ball planted firmly on his head. She noticed a group of girls from the baseball club pumping their fists in the air in celebration before walking away.
Groaning in pain, Dom rubbed the back of his head while saying, "Damn that hurt…"
"Are you okay?" asked the little girl with a look of concern.
"I've lived through worse. And I'm still mad at you. I'm not done yet," the boy readjusted his sitting position while the girl before him put up her guard. Giving her an annoyed look, he then said, "So what's your problem, huh? It's not like you to wander off without your sister like that. The only few instances where you leave her side are whether you have a very good reason for it or that your luck somehow turned against you. I'm guessing that it's the former."
"Can't tell…"
"You're irritating me. Since you're always in my party whenever I go dungeon crawling, I'll be nice to you for a little while but so help me, I'm going to start yelling again. Now, the hell is wrong with you?"
"Not telling…"
"Stubborn are we?"
"…"
"This wouldn't have happened had you not wandered off you know?"
"I… Like it here…"
Dom blinked twice at that. He felt genuinely surprised enough to say, "Excuse me?"
"I like it here," repeated Rom with a much firmer voice, "I wanted… to let Ram see something…"
"And that is?"
"Not telling…"
"Oh come on! At least save me the trouble of guessing!" the boy crossed his arms as he fumed.
The Candidate kept her eyes on her hands as she said, "It's a surprise…"
"So you like this place and you want your sister to see something that you can't tell anyone yet… okay, I'm pegging you as unreasonable."
"?"
"It means that I can't talk you out of this one. But seriously, next time you do a stunt like this in the future, make sure you tell us in advance so we can be ready. This is why I hate kids, you brats always think that you can do shit without thinking of the consequences..."
Rom didn't have anything say after that statement. She merely turned her head into the blue sky above her as she felt a pleasant breeze pass overhead. Her eyes widened once she saw a cloud that had the exact shape of a dogoo. She kept staring at it until the cloud broke formation and disappeared. She focused her attention on another cloud with a familiar shape. This one had the shape of Blanc's hat while the other beside it was similar to Nepgear's hair clip.
She turned to her side to call to her sister, only for her words to die in her throat once she realized she wasn't there. A crestfallen look was on her face as she looked back into the grass.
"I want to stay... a little bit longer…" she muttered quietly.
Still, it wasn't silent enough for Dom to miss as he sat up in attention, "Huh?"
"Can… I stay in this world… A little bit longer? I want to tell Ram what I discovered…" said the Candidate as she gazed deep into the boy's eyes.
Confused, he couldn't help but ask, "Why?"
"Why not?" countered the girl with a tilt of her head.
It was simple question yet it brought a lot of things in mind for Dom. He was told not to break in information about the Share Deprivation state the twins had. Answering this question now would result into a number of problems. He didn't know if Dia gave the green signal for it yet or if Rom was ready to know. He mentally cursed himself for asking first. This was rather tricky situation he was in and anything he was going to say was going to affect shit one way or another.
Breathing a heavy sigh, he threw out another question, "Don't you want to go home? Won't your elder sister be worried sick if you don't come back as soon as possible?"
"It… It will only be for a while. It will be quick…" mumbled Rom as she played with her skirt.
"Don't you think you're being selfish here? You can't just get the things that you want just because you wish for it. Some things aren't allowed to go your way because there's a stupid reason for it," Dom stared at her with an indifferent expression, "People who push their luck farther than what's healthy always regret doing so in the end. You can't indulge yourself with having everything you want because someday, you'll lose something important if you keep forcing things your way."
"But… I…"
"But it's your choice."
"Huh?"
"Whatever happens next, it's all up to you. You can still turn back from what you've decided on and be a good girl."
"…."
"I'm warning you… So think about it for a moment, you're smart, aren't you?"
Rom kept silent as she stood up and began to walk away.
Dom followed her with his head while asking, "Where are you going?"
"Away…"
"You'll get lost, you know?"
The girl came to a halt before turning around with a faint smile, "You'll still find me…"
"Eh?" the male protagonist glanced down on his pocket and saw the Page peeking out. It seemed like she didn't have anything to worry about so long as Dom had that. Blinking twice as he pieced the puzzle together, a smirk decorated his lips a moment later.
…..
….
…
Dia found her best friend sleeping under the shade of a tree. Rom was nowhere to be found. She couldn't help but feel furious at the boy's irresponsible nature, this had been the second time he had lost the Candidate. Now he was just asking for it.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" she snarled as she stood beside him.
"Raising kids," replied Dom in a carefree manner, "Isn't lunch about to end? Get your ass back into class…"
"You lost her?! Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on her while I talk to Ram?"
"And look how that turned out. You should keep your nose out of the problems of siblings. It could get real brutal quick."
"Seriously, you're just hopeless! How will we find Rom now?"
"I got the Page and I am keeping an eye on her as we speak. She never left my sight in the first place."
With a bewildered look on her face, the brunette asked, "What are you planning?"
"Something that requires luck, sacrifices, and a whole lot of praying," the boy smiled as he gave his cryptic reply, standing up while brushing his pants, "The rest is up to those two."
Dia couldn't help but worry over what was going to happen.
The clock was ticking and it had been over ten minutes since Dia's visit to the infirmary. Ram had been silent ever since, not even trying to sleep as she laid in bed. It wasn't like that she didn't want to sleep her heavy feelings off but she found out that she can't. The visions were getting more and more vivid every time she tried to close her eyes. She had wrapped herself in her blanket, shaking as shivers ran down her spine.
Her white curtains swayed as the wind entered from the open window. She merely stared at the end of her bed, thinking back to the words she had let go earlier. She felt like a bad person for saying those things. Now she was all alone with no one to talk to. She didn't even have the motivation to get out of bed and search for her sister again. Her body still felt strange from the recent near-death experience. It was only then did she realize her own mortality.
She thought about it, tried to understand it and had now realized that the world she was in now was indeed completely different from where she was from. Here, there were no monsters to vent out one's frustrations on. Here, she could easily fade out of existence just by staying for too long, she could easily die without doing anything or saying goodbye. Here, she could trust no one and lean on no one but her sister. No one, but Rom would understand.
She had to take her sister and leave this gray world. She had enough, she was scared and she didn't know what to do. She had to talk to Dom and make him send her back. Ram couldn't afford risking her sister's life by staying in this world, she had to protect Rom.
"I… need… to find her…"
The sound of cloth whipping through the air filled the infirmary. Ram put on her shoes and burst through her white curtains, exiting the infirmary and into the hallway. Her footsteps echoed all around as she sprinted with all her might, careful not to use a single drop of her power. Her breath became erratic due to the fatigue of exerting her body right after she just woke up plus the mental stress from how she treated Dia earlier.
A headache seemed to be growing in her head as she went on with her search.
She came to a halt in front of a directory of the school, taking a quick glance through it before running once more. She checked the cafeteria, the rooftop, the gymnasium, the poolside, the football field, the theater and auditorium, yet she couldn't find a single sign of her sibling anywhere.
Ram didn't bother to check the classrooms since she would only attract attention to herself as well as disrupt classes. Barging in to look for her sister would only result into her getting yelled at. Besides, what would Rom be doing inside a classroom for high schoolers during class hours?
Her search eventually led her at the base of the clock tower which stood at the east wing. There were faint traces of magic in the air which she immediately identified as Rom's. Biting her lip, she wondered if her sibling had been performing magic. The Candidate stomped her foot on the ground as she realized her mistake. Rom wasn't aware of the dangers of this world unlike Ram. The blue clad candidate would continue on using her power for the littlest things, completely ignorant of the dangers just because Ram had told Dia not to tell her anything yet.
"Why does this keep happening?" she asked herself as she entered the building.
The echoes of the clock's ticking bounced off the walls from the very top. The girl's eyes eventually settled on a nearby spiral stairs which she quickly got on and climbed. Her feet clanged with the metal steps as she went up, the trace she was following was becoming clearer than before. However at the same time, she could see brief flashes of her nightmare through her mind's eye, so she did all she could to ignore it and continue on. It took five minutes but she finally managed to reach the top of the tower, the clock's face just beside her.
Old mechanical gears spun all around her, banging and ticking as seconds flew by, yet she kept her focus on the person waiting for her at the other end of the room.
Rom felt her sister's presence and immediately turned to face her. The blue clad Candidate's confused face transforming into a smile, "Ram. There you are…"
"Rom…" Ram's worried face turned into a smile, "I've been looking all over for you."
"Something wrong..?" the blue clad Candidate approached her sister and touched her forehead, "Tired..?"
Moving back while waving her hands, the pink clad Candidate stuttered with a flustered expression. Those two… She guessed that the two friends hid the fact of her collapsing from her sister. Shaking her head to compose herself, she stared into her sibling's eyes a she said, "I'm okay. But Rom, I have something to tell you."
"W-What is it?" a look of confusion spread across Rom's face at her sister's words, "Something wrong..?"
"We need to go home, Blanc and Mina are waiting."
DING…
DING…
DING…
"But… Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why..? Why leave?"
"I-I-It's just because! Come on, we gotta go to that weird guy and make him send us home."
"I don't understand… Is something wrong, Ram?"
Ram paused for a moment. She felt an uncomfortable feeling swelling within her chest. It felt heavy and disheartening, an unknown feeling she was not familiar with. She was sure that Rom would understand yet it seemed like she had assumed that her sister would understand immediately. Should she really tell her what was happening?
"I… It's nothing. We have to go now, Rom," she said as she clenched her fist, "If we don't go now, then Blanc would only be worried. Everyone will be… We can go anytime we want, you know? So what are you waiting for? Come on now."
Rom shook her head as she replied, "I can't… Not yet. Um, you see… I still want to stay for a bit… Can we stay for a little bit longer?"
The pink clad Candidate didn't even bother to respond. She had pursed her lips as thoughts ran wild in her mind. What was this about now? At a time like this… When things were already dangerous as it was… Rom really picked the worst time to act up.
Should I say it? Should I not? She thought while out loud she said, "Why? Why do you need to stay? Don't you want to go home?"
"I… I like it… here…"
"W-What?"
"I like it here."
"But… You can't."
"Why not..?"
"It's because you can't! Why won't you listen?!"
"Why? You're scaring me, Ram…"
"It's because we're both going to die!"
The entire room was silent as the girl's voice reverberated all throughout the place. The cogs and gears merely turned as the twins talked to each other yet their incoherent noises were the only things which were heard in the following silence. Footsteps echoed as the pink clad Candidate buried her face unto her sibling's chest.
With a trembling voice, she sobbed, "I-I'm scared! I don't know anymore! I wanna go home! But… But… But I can't leave you behind! I don't want you to disappear! Why can't you understand, you dummy?! I didn't want to scare you that's why I didn't say anything! Every day we stay in this world, we lose our powers! If we stay here for a long time then we'll die! That's why we have to go back, that's why we can't stay here, that's why you need to listen to me! Please Rom… Let's go home…. Please…."
Rom stiffened as her sister's fingers dug into her arms. She didn't quite understand it all. Her sister was shaking on her chest while crying with so much emotion. It was supposed to be the other way around with her crying into her sister's embrace. Just… what happened? A single thought rose above the conflicting sea of words within her mind: Confusion.
"I'm sorry."
Ram's eyes opened with surprise, causing her to loosen her hold on her sibling and step back. She saw how Rom looked away from her and spoke in a firm tone.
Not taking it any longer, she began to ask, "But why? Didn't you hear what I said? This world is dangerous! We have to go home and—"
"No!"
The pink clad Candidate's words died before they left her lips. Rom had never raised her voice before. She didn't fully understand why her sister was acting this way. Rom wasn't like this. She couldn't be.
"This world… Is not dangerous," muttered the blue clad Candidate, her eyes filled to the brim with tears, "It's pretty. I saw how it is… It's scary at first but it's not… really like that… I went to the field, the garden, the pool, and the roof. It's all pretty. Everyone here… they're all kind. This world isn't… as gray as we thought. That's why… You're wrong, Ram…"
"No! Wait! You're the one who's got it wrong!" yelled Ram as she stomped the ground, "No one here is kind, Rom! They tell us that we can trust them when we really can't! The people here couldn't keep promises and always break them! Didn't you see the people that attacked us when we first came here? How can they be kind?"
"Not everyone is mean, Ram," countered Rom, "Mister Dom and Miss Dia—"
"No!"
The other twin jumped at her sister's sudden outburst. This was wrong… there's no way fighting with her sister could be right. The twin she cared for and loved the most, just what was happening to Ram? Was she really that scared? The things she was saying… There was something suspicious about them. However Rom was too busy composing herself to notice that. She had never fought with her sister like this before. This was… The first time they got into a huge argument.
Rom didn't like it at all.
"Especially that girl…" whispered the pink clad Candidate, raising her head with a glare before screaming out loud, "I hate her! I really hate her! I was right when I said she was a bad person!"
"Miss Dia saved us… Even when we were complete strangers."
"She tricked us! She's a bad person that doesn't keep her promises!"
The two were panting hard after tossing out words back and forth. Ram felt sick, she just wanted to take her sister and leave. She had never expected for Rom to be this stubborn. But then again, she herself was stubborn so she couldn't really say much. But still, why couldn't Rom understand? She had even gone as far as defaming a person who helped them just so they could leave quickly. Was saying all of those things really necessary or was it just her true feelings making themselves known.
Did she really thought that way? Then… If she did… Did that make her a horrible person?
What's done was done. She had to stand by with what she said. She felt angry and frustrated that it was hard to think. Her mind was clouded with so much emotion and confusion that she didn't know what she was saying anymore, "Fine. If you want to stay then go ahead." Ram clenched her fist as she averted her gaze, a trickle of tears sliding down from her cheeks, "You can stay here for all I care. Rom, you idiot!"
"Ram…" the blue clad Candidate felt as if rusted daggers had pierced her heart. She couldn't believe what her sister was saying…. Did she… Really mean that? No, she couldn't. "Ram… I…"
"I don't care anymore! I'm going home! Go play with your new friends, Rom! I don't need you anymore!" Ram turned around and ran down the spiral staircase, leaving her stunned sister behind.
Watching her sibling disappear down the stairs, Rom felt her knees grow weak until she finally collapsed on the floor. Her hands were trembling while she noticed drops of liquid on the ground. She felt something hot and wet falling from her eyes as her breathing increased.
She had made her decision. Even if it's for a little while, she hoped that she would make it up to her sister somehow….
Nicolas Notes:
Hello dear readers, lovely day isn't it?
Once again, i'm stuck in a hole I dug myself into. Not to worry though, it's not as bad as the previous one so I'll be all right. Strange how I don't have much to say here so I'll make this quick. I have already mapped out the events that will happen all the way to Vert's Arc which is to say will somehow make job easier.
I've checked, double checked, and triple checked this chapter for errors yet knowing me I've probably left behind a few glaring ones. Sorry if I'll have to rely on you guys to catch anything I missed.
Please enjoy this chapter and I hope I'll be seeing more from you guys in the future.
See ya~
Yahoo~!