as it turns out, i had up to 5k words worth of scrapped stuff just for these two chapters
hopefully ill try to avoid that in the future
Winding around the few corners out into the living room, C-sha finds the partygoers standing aside and Lowee's goddesses about to leave.
In the Candidates' way is White Heart, more than ready to bash them with her axe. "I'm not done with you two brats!"
From behind her, multiple goddesses fly into view. "I never thought I would see Rom and Ram kidnapping their own sister," states Black Heart.
"Why is there a second Blansy?" While everyone else looks determined, Orange Heart is stunned by this "revelation." "Is there an imposter Blansy?"
"We already told you about...wait, kidnapping?" Green Heart frowns upon seeing the girl in question, who's clearly not enjoying her position. "Rom. Ram. Let her go. We need to talk about this."
"Why should we listen to you? All you want to do is take big sis for your own perverted reasons!" Ram accusingly yells back.
"Perverted...Ram, you have the wrong idea! We promise we won't do anything like that!" Purple Heart did not think someone would take that seriously.
Ram doesn't waste a second to fire back, "Shut up! You're just as bad, Neptune! You're going to make her lazy and stupid!"
"We just want everyone to stop fighting! Please!" pleads Nepgear.
"Just...leave us alone!" That's all what Rom and her sister want now that they have Blanny.
"L...Let me go!" Despite them being in CPU form, Blanny is able to squirm out of their grip. Knowing that they'll try to seize her again, she chooses to run back inside, thinking she can hide somewhere.
"What the- hey! Get back here!" Rom and Ram immediately turn around to try catching her again, but they are impeded by a couple of girls.
"I'm not quite sure what's going on, but my hero's intuition tells me you're up to no good scaring Blanc like that!" declares B-sha, bazooka in hand.
"No one makes my wifeys cry like that!" Red is also in position to duel.
"Hey, you two! Remember that we're trying to stop the fight, not join in!" yells C-sha from the sidelines, ready to step in.
"Too late…" murmurs IF, pointing at the window.
"Huh?" The four girls "ready to fight" turn to look at where she's pointing.
The brief distraction B-sha and Red provided is enough for White Heart to come barreling down towards Rom and Ram, just about ready to swing at them. "You're mine, now!"
"Hey! We told you to quit that!" Purple Heart yells from outside while flying in, trying to grab her away from the two.
"Everyone! Can you help us defuse this?" calls out Uni as she and the other CPUs help out.
"At the very least, we ought to bring this fight back outside," adds Black Heart.
Anticipating the imminent chaos around her, Rom finds the urge to do something to stop it before it overwhelms her. "Ice Cube!" As quickly as she can, she summons numerous cubes and starts launching them at the closest targets.
"Ram! No, don't do that here!" cries out Nepgear, hoping that her saber can shatter them before they hit anyone.
"Eat this!" While some were temporarily stunned by her attack, White Heart relentlessly swings her axe down on Rom.
"Yoink, nyu."
Before she even notices, she suddenly moves backward a bit, causing her to completely miss her overhead swing, shattering the floor. Looking back, she's pissed to find that Broccoli had somehow pulled her back by the leg. "The hell was that for?!"
There's no time for an answer, as multiple people immediately start wrestling her. "Go for the limbs!" someone shouts, unavailable to be identified amongst the chaos.
Yet, even just one limb proves to be a challenge for some of the helpers. "Oh, screw off! Most of you don't even know what's going on!" White Heart is able to score a few hits on Rom or the others when her arms are free for split seconds at a time.
It only takes one person to grab Rom, on the other hand. "I got her!" Compa yells as she attempts to pull her away from White Heart.
However, she is quick to notice and immediately pulls both of them back in when she can. "I said screw off!"
"Jeez, if only Crostie can make a big 'ol portal large enough to get everyone out of here…" observes the bigger Neptune, distancing herself from the whole dogpile. For a split second, she spots Blanny turning the corner of the hallway where she and her sisters came out of. "Or…maybe…"
(-)
There aren't many places to run to in the Basilicom, but it sounds like no one has found out that Blanny's gone, being occupied with the half-brawl going on out there. For now, she decides to wait in the guest room until it all blows over by sitting behind the bed. She holds her hat that Rom dropped after transforming, blankly staring at it. "All of this over me…" Her lack of influence on this is still bothering her greatly. Is this what Blanc meant when she talked about losing control of your life? Is that already taking effect after only two days? She should and probably can do something to stop the two; they seem considerably much easier to fight with and defend herself from than that menacing Iris Heart. Though, there has been a looming and persistent sense of hesitance, making her afraid of accidentally inconveniencing her friends with a wrong move. But, sometimes they say they want something that she doesn't, like making up with her sisters, so maybe she should take action. But then again, they know more than her, so…
In the middle of her back-and-forth contemplation, she starts hearing footsteps coming closer, prompting her to duck further under the bed. Even though Rom and Ram can fly and would therefore not make footsteps, she worries that they changed back for whatever reason and were still chasing her.
"Hey, Blanc! You there?" She hears Neptune calling for her in a half-whisper. "Hopefully, those angry girls don't notice that I'm gone. Can't break my stealth now!"
Neptune has helped her out once before, so she decides to trust her again, coming out from hiding and slowly approaching the door. She creaks the door open, peeks out into the hallway, and looks to her right. "U-um...Neptune…?"
Right in front and center of her view is Ram and a charging staff. "There you are!" She lets out a quick lightning bolt at her.
"Ah-!" There's no time at all for her to dodge. Her body painfully convulses and becomes unable to control, just like during her fight with the Child Whale. "A-ah! N-no!" The sharp electricity flowing through her nerves causes her to let go of her hat.
"Hey, how'd you-" She can barely hear Neptune's voice behind her, followed by her running towards her. "Whoa, what's going on here?!"
In front of her, Ram is already grabbing her arms and flying away.
"L-let me-" Blanny realizes that the loss of control isn't going away; unlike last time, she can't even manage to move her arms or sway her body. That attack had left her Paralyzed!
"You might be stupid, but you're still just as strong as before. That should keep you from squirming out again!" Ignoring her pleads, Ram exhaustedly flies towards the balcony again.
"I might not know what's going on, but my protag senses tell me to stop ya!" Chasing closely after her, she draws her handgun and starts firing.
With her solid aim, most of the bullets land, causing Ram to stagger and slow down from the sharp pain. "A-augh! Stupid Neptune…" she curses as her pursuer gains ground very quickly. Forced to think fast, she puts down Blanny to aim her staff at Neptune as it glows a bright green at the tip.
She's seen her cast wind attacks before, so she braces herself and keeps shooting. Instead of taking damage, though, she finds herself falling forward with the heavy wind blowing at her feet. Even after tripping her, the wind continues to push her prone body away from Ram. "...Huh. I never thought she'd use their wind attacks to actually push people. In fact, I haven't seen a lot of wind attacks that actually have Knockback! W-wait, what am I talking about? I need to…"
While Neptune is having trouble standing up, Ram and Blanny have already reached the cacophonous living room. They see that the fight is still going strong, with White Heart and Rom defending themselves for a remarkable time. With everyone else occupied with them, Ram is able to sneakily fly past them without anyone noticing.
"H-hey!" Blanny tries to take this chance to call for help, still trying to move her body.
"Oh, now that's cheap!"
"Stop making a mess in our Basilicom!"
"You ought to keep back, Compa. We need you safe in case people get really hurt, y'know?"
"Aww, but Rom needs our help! I'm good with breaking fights, too!" The immeasurably loud commotion completely drowns out Blanny's cry; not even Ram can hear her.
Already at the edge of the balcony outside, she looks back, silently waiting for someone.
Sure enough, Rom catches a glimpse of her sisters and, after some complicated and perhaps lucky maneuvering, she is able to escape the fight and fly after Ram. Now standing unopposed, the two quickly blast off northeastward to Lowee.
Blanny tries to turn her head to see if anyone is following them, but fails due to her Paralysis. "N-no! S-stop this and leave me alone!" she cries out again in vain.
While ignoring her older sister, Rom asks her twin, "Are we safe now?"
Ram returns a grin sated with justice. "I think so! Now we just get Mina to use the spell on her and we'll finally be done with this stupid, stupid memory problem!" Despite their complete exhaustion after the first bout with White Heart, this crucial breakthrough sparks exhilarates them, promising that their goal is in sight.
Speaking of White Heart, despite being far behind them, they hear her loudly yell, "DAMN IT, GET THEM ALREADY!"
"H-huh?" Her intimidating battle cry fills Blanny with some hope; at least enough to motivate her to try squirming again.
"Crap, we need to fly faster!" declares Ram, to which both promptly speed up.
In the distance, Blanny can see snowy ground in the horizon. Still far away, but nevertheless threatening how little time she has. It's here, however, that her Paralysis has finally subsided. She immediately tries to rock herself to slow down Ram. With each swing, she throws off Ram's flight a bit.
"Hey, quit that! Stop being such a sore loser and let us fix you!" She shouts down at her, being especially heated that she really is slowing her down.
"I don't need fixing! J-just let me be myself!" With each swing, she can also feel Ram's grip on her loosening more and more.
"Don't do that! You'll fall if she lets go!" warns Rom.
Sure enough, looking down is an unwelcoming high drop into the greenery, moving as fast as a plane from her perspective. However, she notices a heart-shaped lake in front of them. Blanny continues her efforts, betting that she can safely drop into the water.
"W-why you…" Ram hates that she forgot about CPU Castle being in their way. "Rom! We need to paralyze her again!"
"W-what?!" Her heart stops for a moment upon hearing that and briefly simulates that electric pain. She only becomes more motivated to slip out sooner, with Ram's hands only holding her fingers.
Rom panics a bit. "But you'll get shocked too!"
"Mmh...Wait, I know! Cover our hands in ice!"
Rom eagerly agrees with her plan. "Okay!" Raising her staff, she sends a cloud of freezing air to her target.
"Almost there…" Right after the moment Blanny manages to get free and she starts falling, ice instantly forms around Ram's and Blanny's hands . "O-ow! Cold!" the latter cries out. It isn't as painful as being shocked, but it is still certainly unpleasant.
Ram, however, is able to take it without any complaints, now satisfied that her and her sister's hands are encased by a sturdy ice block. "There! Now stop bothering us!"
Seeing that she has no way of breaking out until they arrive home sends her to a frantic desperation. "No! I-I won't stop until you let me free!" She keeps on trying to get in their way by continuing to swing in all directions, now investing hope only in the handful of flying specks that are getting closer behind them.
"Shut up! No one cares what you want! You're just some stupid fake Blanc that we have to get rid of; the real big sis would want someone like you gone!"
While their insults have been effective in demoralizing her, even to the point of bringing her to tears at one point, them calling her fake or inferior to the "real" Blanny makes her more upset than dejected. She starts yelling while swinging harder, "I am the real Blanc! And I definitely want you to leave me alone!"
"No, you're not! We're doing this because it's what is best for you," Rom tries to explain.
Her desperation is transforming her tormented state into something more. She subconsciously tries to curl her hands into fists. In one breath, she inveighs, "No, it isn't! That's what only you want, you inconsiderate jerks! I…" She isn't even sure if she wants to say this next part or if it's really what she feels, but she keeps going anyways. "...I hate you! You two are the most stubborn and selfish people I've seen! I won't believe that I'm sisters to people who are so horrible! I'd run away forever if that means never seeing you two ever again!" Her swinging momentarily stops as she catches her breath.
"..." No immediate replies are made. It doesn't matter if this Blanny isn't "real;" they have never wanted to hear her say that about them. Outside of shocking them and making them tear up, all that her tirade has done is enraging them to a dangerous degree, further deepening their hatred for this new Blanny. "You...Get out! Get out of our big sis's body, you fake!" Without rhyme or reason, Rom launches all sorts of spells at her, intermixed with bashing her with her staff.
Whatever that feeling Blanny had evaporates quickly, leaving her in complete fear again. "W-waugh!" Very quickly, the blindingly fast flurry of burning, shocking, freezing, cutting, and bludgeoning makes for a very good and effective method of making her regret ever saying that. Her mind very quickly shuts down at this catastrophe of an attack, leaving her to cower from and severely wince at each form of Rom's attack.
Ram only wishes that she can join in with her sister. "Rom, Paralyze her, now!" she demands.
"N-no! T-that's too much!" she pleads, her body shivering in pain.
"Yes." She stops her barrage to charge one last electric attack, knowing for sure that the ice around her hands won't conduct the electricity to her sister. As she builds up more power, she ignores Blanny's continuous cries for mercy, until the light at the end of her staff is almost as large as her head and unleashes it upon her.
"No, no, no!" Even when expecting how much it will hurt, Blanny can't help but yell out in excruciating pain as her nerves start to fry. "A-argh!" The shock lasts far longer than anything she has experienced. When Rom finally stops, her body doesn't feel anything else but the lingering agony of electricity, and she is about to lose consciousness at any moment. "Y-y-you…I...I don't w-want to…" She's far too tired to call for help.
Ram doesn't comment on her attack. Adding emotional exhaustion to her physical and magical one, all she wants now is to get home.
"Hey, Rom! Ram! What's going on up there? You're worrying us so much!" They hear Orange Heart's amplified voice from afar.
They had momentarily forgotten about them after their heated and emotional exchange. "I got this," Rom bluntly announces. She uses her staff to again launch all sorts of elemental attacks in the other goddesses' general direction. It's hard to tell if her cover fire is working, as her projectiles heavily obscure her vision of the faraway figures.
Very soon, however, a set of lasers and bullets are shot back, grazing past them. "Uni and Nepgear!" warns Rom.
Ram now has to look back to start dodging. Despite the enemy fire's fast speed, the two don't have too much trouble not getting hit, and Rom is still able to fire back. In fact, it might seem like they aren't trying to hit them, especially when Blanny is with them, but they can't be too sure. Yet, all of this evasive maneuvering is nevertheless slowing them down, and they can see a green and white dot masterfully weave around the bullet hell while still closing the distance.
Green Heart is almost in range to attack Rom, the nearest of the two. It's here, however, that she gets a good enough look at Blanny and how limp and tattered she is. Considering the bright electric spark she saw earlier, there aren't many positive ways she could infer on what happened. "You have gone too far, you two! It might not be clear which one of us is right, but you absolutely do not attack your sister like that! Give her to us!"
They don't answer. Rom redirects her aim at her, hoping that she'll be easier to hit now that she's closer.
She might have taken one ice shard or minor lightning bolt, but Green Heart is still able to slip through almost everything Rom shoots out. "This is your last warning: slow down, or else I will have to use force!"
Still not willing to comply, she decides to break out something more. Stopping her magic for a brief moment, she uses the last of her SP to cast, "Eternal Force Blizzard!"
As her staff glows a bright blue, Green Heart can already feel the air around her ready to freeze her. In a split second reaction, she fires back, "Inbetween Spear!"
The moment the ice is supposed to glaciate her, multiple energy spears fly and home in on Rom, shattering it before it can affect Green Heart. "Ow…" The spears slow her down effectively as they stick to her, allowing a larger, longer, and brighter spear to shoot right in the middle of them into Rom's center, bringing her down towards the ground. "No!"
"Rom!" Ram can only manage to yell.
Instead of continuing to chase her, however, Green Heart nosedives towards Rom, leaving the others, who are still almost a mile away, to be her nearest pursuers.
"V...Vert? Where are you..." mutters Blanny.
Right after she drops out of the scene, however, Nepgear and Uni resume firing lasers to impede her.
Trusting her intuition that they're not trying to hit her, she stops dodging and focuses on flying forward. But, that proves to backfire quickly when a couple of well-aimed lasers hit her on the back of her shoulder. Knowing what happened to Rom, she clenches her teeth and doesn't let the pain distract her from flying fast while returning to dodging. No matter how much the accumulating fatigue and the multiple forms it comes in persuade her to surrender, she never thinks about giving up, especially not when she sees Lowee's city lights below and behind her. "Al...almost there...!" Turning around, her Basilicom is right in front of her, and she breaks into a sprint-like speed, expending all of her flying energy to reach her destination as soon as possible.
She hears more of White Heart's voice as she starts flying down. "Damn it, you should've let us get Rom, dumbass!"
With her heart racing wildly, she doesn't even land first; she barges through the front door, with the route to Mina's spell circle already occupying her weakening and overwrought consciousness. "Almost there, almost there!"
"Alright, that's enough." That excitement comes to a neck-breaking halt when she feels something grab on to Blanny and completely stopping them.
Falling down from the sudden lurch, she turns around to find… "C-sha?! How did you-"
From behind the deeply disappointed C-sha steps out Neptune, closing her Nep-Note. "That's quite a number you did to Blanc," she announces in a tone more serious than playful. "Or is it Blanny? I'm not sure."
Mina walks quickly down the stairs with an admonishing frown. "Rom! Ram! What is the meaning of…" She gasps when she sees Blanny looking nearly unconscious and starts running. "What happened to Lady Blanc?!"
"Mina! Get the spell ready!" She frantically sputters.
"What are you saying? We need to tend to her first!" She says back while preparing her Hyper Heal. When she sees how uncooperative Ram is, still trying to pull her away from C-sha, she quickly adapts a critically stern tone. "Ram, tell us what happened right now."
"Nothing happened! Just hurry up and change her back before…" She looks behind her.
All of the other goddesses are already all in the Basilicom, having arrived a bit earlier. "Rom beat the shit out of her," White Heart answers Mina, mirroring everyone's displeasure with her. "You two better be glad that I'm not as pissed off as before, so just give up already."
C-sha coarsely sighs upon learning about that. "You two are...this really is just getting more unbearable with every moment."
"I had thought so." Mina nods in dissatisfaction while finishing her spell.
While the spell has made her feel completely refreshed, with the torture Rom put her under already leaving her memories, she still can't move; all of her limbs feel completely numb. "Thank you, but…"
"Unfortunately, I cannot remove status ailments. Can anyone help, either with a spell or with some Paralaxin?"
No one thought to bring any items, and the only person that can heal status ailments is…"Rom, if you please," asks Purple Heart.
From behind Nepgear and Uni, a de-transformed and completely exhausted Rom stubbornly shakes her head while being simultaneously afraid of what kind of punishment awaits her.
"I assume you had an equal part with this, Rom," chastises Mina.
No response outside of a bitter and unapologetic glare.
"It doesn't matter if Rom's going to be immature about it; she'll recover in a minute, anyways," points out Black Heart.
Ram, still holding on to Blanny, desperately asks, "Mina, didn't you say you want to change her back?! Help me take her from C-sha!"
"Ram, restoring her memories is perhaps the least of our worries right now, including yours." Not tolerating her antics, she starts trying to pry her fingers off of Blanny. "You will let go of your older sister this instant!"
Her command goes over her head in her delirium. "R-Rom! Help me get her!"
"U-um, right!" Despite their apparent position as capturers, Nepgear and Uni let her sister slowly stumble up to her.
Before she can be of any help, Purple and Green Heart join C-sha and Mina, and the four safely yank Blanny out. "I do not trust you two after what you did," says Green Heart as she holds their sister.
"Vert…?" Now finally with her friends, she starts to feel much calmer.
"Get your hands off of her, you creep! Give big sis back!" Ram practically screams at her before tiredly raising her staff, ready to fight once more.
Black Heart stands in her way. "Do you seriously want to fight? You two against us nine?"
"Yeah. We all agreed we don't want to fight you," adds her sister. "We're giving you a chance to talk this out!"
"I don't care! Give big sis back!" she repeats even louder. "Rom!"
"Right!" They both are already charging their staff, bracing themselves for their last stand. "Endless Cocytus!"
"Icecalibur!"
They don't get very far in their charging before White and Orange Heart grapple them from behind, cancelling their EXE Spells.
"I might not know everything, but kidnapping and hurting Blansy is no good!" assures Orange Heart while holding on to Rom.
"Yeah, that's usually what villains do. And you know what we do to bad guys around here," adds Neptune.
"I don't care what you think! L-let go!" Ram resorts to clawing at White Heart's face to get her out.
When she lands a fingernail at the edge of her eye, White Heart's blood spikes, and she immediately slams her on the ground.
"Ram!" Rom immediately tries to do the same clawing motion on Orange Heart.
Without warning, she then pulls Rom away from her before slamming her at Ram.
"B-Blansy? You look really scary, don't-"
"You want to fight, huh? You want to be the big heroes who are going to 'save their sister?' The big heroes who won't listen for shit?! Then how about you save the day from this!" With a death grip on her axe, she slams them both with one deafening swing, sending them flying out of the Basilicom. She then jumps forward, slamming the snowy ground, and in front of her, the earth starts cracking as a wave of seismic energy races towards the two. Once it reaches them, it evokes a cluster of blunt and hardened stalagmites that sends them sky high.
Nepgear and Uni gasp and try to fly after her in an attempt to stop her. "Blanc?! What are you..."
They're too slow; White Heart flies upward, meeting the twins with a legendarily powerful downward swing. The sound of the two impacting the ground, leaving a crater, can be heard throughout the city.
They had no chance withstanding that finisher. Already de-transformed, they both lay almost motionless, with Rom completely knocked out. Ram is barely conscious and steadily sobbing. "Y-you're all horrible…" she whimpers.
Blanny, who is starting to recover from Paralysis again, doesn't have any volatile reactions. Though, something within her impels her to come closer to them, slowly walking to the small crater they lie in.
Everyone else, however, comes to White Heart and grabs her by the limbs in an attempt to restrain her.
"Why did you do that? We agreed not to fight them, Blanc!" reprimands Purple Heart.
"No, we agreed to not fight until they got too dangerous," she coldly counters while trying to wrestle control back.
"They weren't going to hurt anyone; you already had them under control! What's your problem?!" complains Uni.
White Heart lets out a frustrated groan. "How stupid do you all have to be? Look, we were going to be here all night if we tried to 'talk it out.' If you haven't noticed, they were quite literally willing to die to get her back."
Everyone was thinking the same thing, but didn't want to say it out loud. With no further comment, they reluctantly let go of her.
She immediately jerks her arms away and walks away as soon as possible. "In fact…" She looks over to where Rom and Ram landed.
With Blanny standing right next to them, Ram very slowly crawls her way towards Blanny, feebly grabbing her ankle. "It's, it's not fair...B...Blanc, please...I miss you..." Her constant sniffling and tears get on her shoes.
Her previous animosity is still deeply ingrained in her mind. Yet, seeing her so miserable and defeated clearly conflicts with that hatred. She isn't quite sure what to do here, or if she should do anything at all.
"I...I don't want you gone…"
A lot about their situation, down to the time of day and the location feels familiar to her, too. If she remembers her dreams correctly, she picked her up and brought her to safety. Part of her inexplicably urges her to mirror that dream, but she definitely can't push her grudges aside for that right now.
Mina comes up to pick up Rom and observes her wounds. "Still though, miss Blanc, that was rather excessive. There were definitely ways to pacify them without such a strong attack."
"Yeah? Then why didn't you do that, teacher lady?" White Heart fires back.
She chooses not to answer that, instead turning to C-sha and asking, "May you pick up Ram, please?"
"Yeah." Still disillusioned, she slowly walks up to her. She can read the conflict going on inside Blanny off of her face. "Hey, Blanny. This is sort of the worst case scenario of what could've happened, what with everything Rom and Ram put you under, isn't it? Sorry about that..."
She looks up, just noticing her, before looking back at Ram. "It's alright. I sort of said some things that made them attack me like that..."
She can guess what she said. "Really? I suppose that was bound to happen in a situation like that, too. As long as you didn't mean…"
While she looks regretful, she doesn't look guilty, as if she only regrets going on that tirade only because it made them brutally lash out at her.
C-sha can't feel more heartsore. "...I see. Look, Blanny, I know how horrible they must have been to you and that there's no reason to forgive them, but…"
She still doesn't want to upset her or any of her friends any further, putting their wants in front of hers. "It...It's alright. I'll try making up with them."
It doesn't look like she meant it, nor does she look very forgiving. "Are you sure, Blanny? Are you telling the truth?"
Ram looks up at Blanny with watery red eyes, barely aware of the conversation going on above her. "I...I don't want you gone…I loved you so much…"
Her attempt at winning her back has failed with just that one word: "loved." Even now, at the complete mercy of everyone else, she refuses to accept her as she is now? The idea that she still holds scorn for her sends her back to fear and loathing, and her voice suddenly rises in energy. "I...I can't! These two have done too much!" Blanny withdraws her foot, letting Ram fall onto the cold ground. "First, they come crying to me, wanting me to be their big sister, and then they act all lovingly towards me, and then they all of a sudden hate me just because of that dumb spell, and then just bully me in so many ways all the time! I can't stand it!" In her hysteria, she doesn't notice that she's raising her to right above Ram's face. "I, I want them to-"
"Blanny!"
That call breaks her out of it. Turning around, everyone is in some form of shock; they wouldn't even think that she was capable of snapping like that. In particular, C-sha, who is the one who called her, looks as if she's about to tear up.
"A-ah…" Being put on the spotlight completely grounds her from her panic. Her legs become weak, and she falls forwards to her knees. "I'm...I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I-I don't know what happened! I really didn't mean to! P-Please don't-"
Putting her friend in front of her own worries, C-sha puts her hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Blanny. You're okay."
"H-Huh?"
"I...should've known better; it's too soon for anyone to forgive anyone. It's better that you're not dishonest about it, anyways," she admits before picking up Ram.
"Big...sis…" Her voice dies down as she finally loses consciousness.
"Just...we would really appreciate it if you change your mind. Not right now, or not even in a couple of days; we just ask that you don't hate them forever."
It's not quite clear how important "forever" is; she still frowns upon the idea of forgiving them at all. She simply does not answer C-sha's request and hopes that she takes that well.
She quickly interprets her silence rather negatively, but she very hesitantly decides not to press any further, merely hoping for her to make the right choice. Moving on from that topic, she turns to Mina. "So, I think it's pretty obvious that we should keep the twins separated from her."
She reluctantly agrees. "I suppose that is true. It is clear that they will continue their efforts after recovering…"
Nepgear steps up. "I think they primarily need some time away from each other. We were thinking about letting them stay with the other Blanc for like a sleepover before this, but…"
"Like hell I'm letting those two near my Basilicom again. I can't believe I thought they were pleasant to have at one point," scoffs White Heart. "Besides, I'm fairly certain they reciprocate the sentiment after I 'betrayed' them."
"Maybe I can give it a shot!" offers Neptune. "I can just take them on a vacation while I go dimension hopping!"
Everyone doesn't look so pleased with that idea. "I don't wanna be mean, big Nepsy, but…" begins Orange Heart.
"Let's just say that throwing Croire into the mix makes for an untrustworthy idea," finishes Purple Heart.
"Either way, it might be difficult if we don't let a CPU watch over them," adds Nepgear. "They're going to be hard to catch on foot if they transform and fly away."
"Mou...I guess you're right," pouts Neptune.
"I know that Rom and Ram have already expressed their displeasure with me and Neptune…" considers Green Heart. Scouring her eyes across the crowd, that would leave…
"Us?" exclaim Black Heart and Uni. "We are more than busy with our upcoming workload. Do you really think we'll be able to just keep these two grounded at the same time?" demands the former. "Also, why can't we ask another CPU from Ultra Dimension? That way, they're much farther away from Blanc."
"Let's see here..." Nepgear checks over their options. "Not Blanc, not Vert, Plutia and Peashy…"
"...Are, in the best case, too slow to notice if they sneak out and in the worst case…" Purple Heart doesn't finish that thought, and everyone catches on. "That leaves the other Noire, and…"
"She's also more than busy with her upcoming workload, apparently," White Heart dryly repeats.
"Maybe…" murmurs Orange Heart.
"What is it, Uzume?" asks Neptune.
"...No, Uzume doesn't wanna keep them in Zero Dimension. It's still super scary, and they might get themselves in trouble or get lost…"
Feeling that it's necessary, Uni steps up. "That's okay. I can take care of them."
"Really?" everyone mutters.
"Are you sure? You said you were already busy; I can help you if you need to," offers Nepgear.
"It's fine. I'm not that busy. Unless you want to...Not that I'm specifically asking you to be around, just if you really want to help Rom and Ram!" she quickly clarifies.
Her sister takes a deep sigh. "If Uni is helping, then I guess I ought to help out as well when I can." She gives Blanny a stern look. "Just remember that we're doing you a huge favor, okay?"
She might've interpreted that as more intimidating than necessary. "Oh, um...right. T-thank you."
"Don't we always do favors for each other?" Purple Heart teasingly reminds, wanting to end this day on a good note. "Besides, this will be a good time to become familiar with this Blanny."
"...I guess you're right," she concedes. She'll be more agreeable and less cold than before, at the least. She holds her hands out to C-sha and Mina, offering to carry one of them.
"Thank you for your volunteering, Lady Noire, Uni," says Mina as she hands Rom to Uni. "And here I wanted to stop burdening others with this incident...Is there any way I can assist you? I can heal these two before you leave."
"Don't; we'll take care of that after we return. Don't want them to act up in the middle of our flight," replies Black Heart as she takes Ram from C-sha.
"We'll keep you updated on them every day," adds Uni.
With that out of the way, Blanny turns to Mina. "So...what happens now?"
"Well…" she thinks up a future plan as she hands Rom to Uni. "I suppose we begin on your CPU re-training, starting with an orientation on CPU duties."
"Does that mean…?"
"Yes. I will give you a chance and refrain from using the spell. I know I was hesitant about how safe or necessary this venture is, but, in the end, I suppose we can use this opportunity to utilize hindsight to our advantage."
She had a feeling that she held this position after she defended her, but it's nice to hear her say that out loud. "Thank you. I...I'll promise I'll try my hardest," she says with a grateful smile.
"So, are we done here?" White Heart impatiently asks.
"I think so," says C-sha, handing Ram to Black Heart.
"I apologize for all the troubles Rom and Ram caused today, everyone. I really should have been on top of them when they first left…" says Mina before anyone leaves.
"It's alright," assures Green Heart. "In retrospect, whether or not they had left would not have made too much of a difference."
"Yeah, whatever. That would've been nice to know earlier. In fact, it would've been nice if I had just not followed them the second or third time they came by. But enough dwelling on past mistakes." White Heart is more than eager to leave. Turning back to her other self, she reminds her, "I'll be back in a few days; got that?"
"Okay." Before she flies off, she adds, "Thank you for coming, though."
Only the most attentive, which includes Blanny, can notice her cracking a very minute smile before facing away and taking off.
"We'll also take our leave," announces Purple Heart. "Don't be afraid to call us if you need anything else!"
"Yeah! Uzume's more than happy to help Blanny out!" she adds, catching on to her "new" nickname.
"Mhm! Not to throw shade on the old one, but this one's pretty cute!" compliments Neptune.
"Cute…?" She repeats while blushing.
"I already stated I will try not to burden you all too much, but thank you, everyone," replies Mina.
"Don't feel pressured; it is our pleasure to help," affirms Green Heart.
"That'd be nice." Blanny feels much more comforted with everyone around her. In fact, she isn't even sure if she deserves this hospitality. "Th...thank you, everyone. Even when I lashed out like that, you all..."
"It's what we do as friends!" reminds Nepgear. "It'd be really nice to hang out again soon." She looks at everyone, who looks ready to leave. "Okay, let's go!"
"Bye, everyone," says Blanny with a small wave.
"See you!"
"Until then."
"Bye bye!" Everyone says their sendoffs and waves back before flying away, with Neptune warping out of view.
As Black Heart and Uni fly off, however, Blanny still seems to focus on her sisters as they're being carried away.
C-sha notices her concern. "Hey, we got another big day tomorrow, don't we? Time to actually get down to work, y'know?" She says before yawning.
Watching her causes Blanny to yawn as well. "Yeah…I want to sleep, if that's okay."
"Heh, of course it is. I'll be headin' home now." She stretches her arms before turning around. "I should be able to come by to check in."
"Okay. I'll see you soon."
"Yep. See you soon, Blanny." With another wave, she starts walking away towards the city.
Blanny looks at the last person remaining, and she looks back. "Um…" She realizes that she hasn't talked much to Mina.
Despite seeing her shyness as a deterrent as a leader, she can't help but smile at her unsure eyes. "Shall we, Lady Blanc?" she says while offering her hand. "I have learned many things over the past years on my journeys that I cannot wait to teach you."
Though a bit apprehensive at first, her earnest kindness wins over her shyness, and she takes her hand as they walk back inside. "O...okay. I look forward to it." It's in her nature to be uncertain of everything around her, but with everyone assuring her so, she feels more confident that tomorrow will finally be the start of her new life.
well, that wraps up that day / part of the story; again, i hope that i didnt accidentally write any discrepancies / mood whiplashes but point them out anyways pl0x
tiem to sit in my chair and think of what happens next
i have a fair amount of ideas on what happens at the end of the day, but coming up with things in the middle can be difficult in terms of making it not completely feel like padding
i also ought to change the fic's description since it's not actually true that theyre trying to restore her memories lmao
Blanny had been in this room for the last several hours. From below its thick carpet and ornately decorated walls that matched the aesthetics of the rest of the old-fashioned Basilicom, she heard the low frequencies of music, cheering, and conversing that had been present for as long as she was stuck there. Not that she was locked in, but rather her sister told her to stay in her room until the party was over. As for why she wanted to keep her in there? Not so sure, as she didn't look like in the mood to explain when she told her so, far more interested in getting ready for the party.
In the meantime, all that she had to entertain herself was the bookcase next to her bed. Someone had been putting more books in there ever since she was born, but she still didn't know who. She randomly picked one and observed the cover. It was the story Mina read to her when they were at that beach in Leanbox; a whimsical story about a group of friends exploring a dream world. It was a good book, too. Picking out the next book, she saw that it was from the same author. It was probably good, but she was in the mood of reading something else.
She then picks a random book at the opposite end of the bookcase. Standing on her toes to pull it out from the top shelf, it turned out to be her sister's old strategy guide for a Pocketed Monstrosities game. Seeing that Mina let Blanny use her handheld for only one hour a day, this was the next best thing. The walkthrough might not had been for her version, but it was still nice to look at the drawings and read up about what was considered "secret" information back then. She also enjoyed learning more about the game's lore. "The final boss of this game is the player from the last game...? He's really cool..."
She lied down on the bed on her side and kept reading the book for hours on end. In due time, even with the noise around her, she would fall asleep with the guide right next to her.