"Agent Massy here. I hate all of you." A low feminine voice answered the call, after a long interval of static noises. "I'm quitting this job, if they don't give me a raise after she comes back."
She sighed as she stepped off the small boat, which was tied securely to the dock, bobbing up and down on the waves. The lack of panic in her associate's voice was a solace, at least. It meant all hell hadn't broken loose back on PC Continent.
"Status update, please." She zipped up her winter jacket, and started trudging along the trail that extended all the way into the woods. The tree branches had frosted over, making the entire forest into a maze of silver. If the wind wasn't cutting into her exposed skin like a thousand razors, and she wasn't on an urgent search mission, it would have been a calming sight.
She almost forgot how warm Leanbox was, compared to its continental neighbors.
"The local space-time is still stable, with zero rifts detected on my drones' feed. I'm still cold and miserable on my late night mission. E.A. still thinks she's hot shit, and she wants me to send a message to you."
Massy cleared her throat, and shifted to her most bored, flat, reading-off-a-script voice. "During my brief visit to Viven d'Eau's manor, it has come to my attention that her ward is unhappy. No, miserable. Now, it's not my place to comment on your beloved mayor's parenting skills, but when such a cute child begged me to tell her sisters to take her home, I just can't stand by and do nothing, you know?"
"I think you may want to discuss the matter with your other sister, once you find her. If she's listening, tell her I say hello, and I'll always be the most supportive teammate she has ever known."
...Elizabeth couldn't possibly think such blatant manipulation would work. Or she would really tell Ubiquité anything, once they got back together. No, she was just trying to fan the worries and anger. And, as good as she was at keeping these distractions under control, it was impossible to stay entirely unaffected.
"You ready to make a reply? No?" Massy's voice blurted out of the speaker again.
"Tell her I'm flattered that she has taken such an interest in our family matters. Unfortunately, due to the terms of my employment, my courses of action are very limited right now. Still, we appreciate the sentiment."
"That's all?" Massy asked. "Good. Now excuse me, while I go grab the Alex guy they'd been screaming about. For real, how many 'Alex's are there in this neighborhood...?"
"If there's any change to the status quo, inform me at once."
"Will do. Take care," Massy paused, "I mean it. Viven's up to some political bullshit again. As much as I think your sister is a complete idiot, I have a feeling that my workload will only get heavier if she succeeded."
"Instincts of the intel agent?"
"For fuck's sake, Clancy. I'm doing great for an air-strike coordinator turned field operative." Massy sighed. "Stop acting like you've never made a noob mistake before."
With that, the call ended. Just when she was about to switch off the communicator, another notification popped up on the screen. As she read through it, she could feel her facial muscle tensing up.
Clancy's instinct was to dismiss the order. Feign ignorance and continue her search. But 'Red Storm' was a member of Leanbox's military, first and foremost. And, as long as 'Red Storm' was investigating the recent incident as a foreign assistant, she had a duty to obey the local authority's command. She was not going to tarnish Leanbox's image.
Her breath turned into white mist, as she exhaled deeply and stuffed the phone back into her backpack.
Four hours. That was all the time she had to continue the search. Before she left the island and relocated to the World Labyrinth shores, where the Guild's patrol teams were setting up camp.
Just as Rubis walked past the small entourage of soldiers, checking their gears one last time as they prepared for departure, a small silhouette darted out from behind the tents, and caused her to halt. Her heart sank a little at the sight of Blanc's white hat.
"Hello." Blanc said. "I don't hate you. Please stop avoiding me."
Goodness. Her signature subtlety and courtesy must've gone out of the window, ever since they had that conversation. Any outside observers could have seen her behavior for what it was, couldn't they?
"You've been busy organizing the search, and I feel that I shouldn't disturb you." A weak excuse, but better than nothing.
"Now I'm not. Let's...talk."
"You shouldn't push yourself too hard, if you are still uncomfortable—"
"Dammit! I'm serious! Stop treating me like a friggin' baby!" Blanc yelled, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Okay. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry at you. You'd been an ass to your...our people. Maybe to your sister too. That's why you've been avoiding us, right? but..."
"I'm a CPU of Lowee. Everything that has ever happened on this land, the good, the bad, and the ugly, I have a duty to understand. There are so many things I still have to learn. That I can do better. So please, be honest, and tell me everything. About Lowee in the old days, and...you."
That eagerness in Blanc's voice hurt. The fact that she had to ask this question in the first place hurt. But what are you going to do? Cutting off your successor from your own nation's history, just because you can't face your guilt? Again?
"Oh dear. That will be a long story." She sighed, and tried not to let her smile look forced. Luckily, she hadn't gotten too rusty. "Have you ever wondered why we have Basilicoms?"
"...Because we'd be sleeping out in the open otherwise?" Blanc frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"It was not like that, before my birth. Do you have a pen?"
"Yes. It's...almost out of ink." Blanc reached into her sleeves, and handed it over to her.
"That won't be a problem." She nodded.
Together, they walked to the nearest table at the center of the campsite, the wood having already faded to a pale grey color, ravaged by the wind and snow of many harsh winters. The local regiments must've abandoned this drill site for years.
She sat down on the bench, pulled a notepad out of her skirt pocket, and signaled Blanc to come closer. There was already a sense of childish wonder in her successor's eyes, even before she had started doing anything.
"Lowee's Sharecite makes the land fertile and safe, and up here in the far north, it could mean the difference between life and death. The ancient tundra dwellers had fought many battles over the crystal, until they finally agreed to carry it in turns, each tribe enjoying its blessing for a few months, before passing it to their closest neighbor."
With a few strokes, the simple silhouette of a crystal formed on the paper.
"So, when Lowee's first Goddess emerged from the Sharecite, she didn't stay in one place. She followed her people as they wandered across the tundra, searching for pastures their cattle could graze on, and helped them fend off threats along the way."
She imagined the tiniest little kid she'd ever seen, wearing the decorated fur robe and leather hat favored by the nomads of old. Silver Heart would look even younger than her, according to the elders. So, she drew the girl accordingly, before pressing a finger against the paper, and closing her eyes.
"Aww. She's so small." The amazement on Blanc's face was quickly replaced by confusion. "Wait? Is she...blinking now?"
"I've never met her, for when I was born, Silver Heart had already vanished." She made a swipe with her finger, and the ink flowed away, dissolving into a swirl of blackness. "Even the wisest elders were silent on the matter. It wasn't hard to guess why. A terrifying ape monster had landed on Lowee's shores, and was wreaking havoc all across the tundra."
The ink blob soon coalesced into the hulking shape in her memory, with its huge claws and long canine teeth, towering over a swarm of fleeing little dots. Blanc's eyes widened at the sight.
"With how disunited the tribes were, and their weak faith in her, she wouldn't have stood a chance against the Megaprimatus." She paused. "But its rampage had finally brought them together. If they remained divided, they'd all perish, one by one. When all sixty tribes granted their faith to me, and formed one giant army, that was when I became Ruby Heart, and slayed the beast."
"Once the celebration was over, one thing became clear. My people couldn't go back to their old life. The protection offered by the wandering Silver Heart was a matter of luck and chances, and I would not resign myself to such ineffectual rulership. Only law, order and unity could make the happiness last. To achieve that, we had to settle down, as the people of a unified nation."
She could still see the first Basilicom building, lacking the round domes and pastel colors of the present day, its pointy red spires and decorated buttresses stabbing into the sky like giant arrowheads. Her vision sprouted to life on the paper, the animated ink moving up, up, up. When the process was complete, the castle stood tall on the page, in all of its grandeur.
"I'd had a long debate with Histoire before, because we couldn't agree on the date the first Basilicom was constructed." A wistfulness crawled into her voice. "Not over facts, but national pride. I suppose that when your words were law, and you were the only ruler making laws for the past couple of centuries, it was much harder to admit that you could be wrong too. Terribly wrong."
Blanc fell silent for a long time, before she started speaking again. "Wow. That's some powerful magic."
"Oh, it's just uncommon. Dameko created it while she was grounded."
"I...never have much patience for the non-combat magic." Blanc lowered her head. "A shame, really. I'd like to teach the twins some more useful tricks, now that Mina is gone."
"Believe me, this is one trick you won't want any mischievous kids to get their hands on," She added, "If they like doodling as much as my sister."
"...Does she scribble all over your books too?"
"No. But she'd draw on every other flat surface. The walls. The furniture. My face." She sighed. "I'd made a speech with bright neon whiskers on my cheeks before, and no one dare spoke a single word until I was back in my office."
Blanc failed to hold back a chuckle after hearing her words.
"She kept trying to make the drawings inerasable, until I became a master at cleaning spells. Then she realized she could just animate the drawings. Through their eyes, she could see me coming, and then she'll make them run away, hide behind a closet, dissolve into little ink blotches on the most expensive tapestries," She shook her head. "Despite the massive headaches it caused, I have to admit, it's an amazing display of her own magic."
"That," Blanc leaned forward, with a comical seriousness in her eyes, "is a spell I have to stop the twins from learning at all costs."
"And I bet it will be the first thing Dameko tries to teach them, once she knows how much they love doodling." She smiled. "Perhaps you'd like to learn how to dispel it? Just in case?"
It was snowing again. Not a blizzard, just miniscule flakes that dissolved as soon as they touched her coat. Still, she could feel the surrounding temperature drop with each blast of wind, as she emerged out of the woods and walked up the hill.
The greyish white landscape of barren rock and frost made the search even more monotonous. Warfare and missions were ninety percent boredom, as her years of duty would suggest. Yet that dangerous yearning for action still lingered, despite her best attempt to suppress it.
She was almost ready to walk downhill and return from the way she came, when the clouds drifted apart, allowing weak rays of sunlight to shine through.
On a higher slope in the distance, something was glimmering under the sun. Squinting, she reached for the binocular around her neck, and raised it to eye level.
Through the lens, its form soon became distinguishable. A piece of metallic silver fabric, draped atop a rock, next to the blob of darkness that seemed to be the mouth of a cave.
An emergency thermal blanket.
The arduous climb to get there became a blur. When she was already standing inside the cave, and saw the ashes on the ground, together with the empty bottles scattered around it, she felt her heartbeat rising to an uncomfortably fast rate. Whether it was fear or excitement, she couldn't tell.
Especially after she walked to the very back, and saw the dull glimmer of metal, under the glow of her flashlight.
The familiar bracer was lying next to an oversized glove. As she bent down, she could see splotches of dried blood, mingling with the mud that stained the white fabric of the glove into a dirty brown color.
"Greetings." Rubis waved to the woman in a blue beret. Behind them, more Guild crews were setting up tents.
She knew that her sister was inside one of those, working on her soundproof earmuffs. It had been so long since she saw that eager inventor side of Dameko. It had been so long since she last saw her.
"Oh, hi. Haven't seen you around in a while." C-Sha's smile was as bright as ever. "Anything I can help?"
"I'm just wondering where Mr. Esaka is."
"Oh, don't tell me you've been avoiding our old chap too?" C-Sha raised an eyebrow. "He's not mad at you for hiding your real identity or anything. I think he's having too much of a blast playing detectives with Asa, really."
Yes. The real person she was seeking. "I assume they are not available at the moment?"
"Sorry. He said he was keeping an eye on Asa and stopping her from getting into trouble on patrol, but we all know it's the other way around, right?" C-Sha shrugged. "This did remind me of a thing. Why was she so angry at you?"
"That is not her default attitude towards everyone?"
"Nah. She's grumpy and sour and easily annoyed. But she doesn't usually avoid people on purpose," C-Sha added, "Like how you've been acting around Blanny for the past few days."
"My apology. We've started talking again this morning." She looked away. "It was a pleasant chat. Still, I feel like it's best that she spends her time with...those who deserve it. She is already a great Goddess, and with good friends like you, I don't suppose that an old relic like me would be of much help—"
"C'mon. Cut it out." C-Sha interrupted her in a gentle chiding tone. "Yeah, I know, Blanny told me you'd made this huge mistake and was far from this perfect Goddess depicted in the books. But she's also nothing but loyal to her family and friends, even those she'd never known before. And that means you too. You ain't gonna disappoint her again by pushing her away, are you?"
"I won't." Not when she had already failed her family before. "Thanks for your honest reminder."
"No prob. Back to what I was asking. Any idea why she's been acting like that?"
"I'd like to find out myself. But, since she wasn't here, I can only make a guess." A guess that Rubis knew wasn't right, but was the most convincing one she could come up with, prior to the attack on the Basilicom. "Blanc had told you about Lowee's previous CPU, right?"
"Yeah. She..." C-Sha shook her head. "They really weren't treating her fairly."
"Not everyone rejected Delphinus. Radical reformers, rebellious youngsters, they idolized her. Even if she hadn't done anything in their favor, the very fact that she was different," Rubis paused, "Justified their beliefs that traditions could be broken. They were quite vocal in their criticism of past Goddesses, and I thought some of them must've passed that sentiment down to their children."
"That sure doesn't sound like a happy upbringing. You planning to, I dunno, talk it out with her any time soon?"
"Perhaps. After I've thanked her properly for saving my life." Rubis quietly gripped the pen in her pocket. "She was the one who found me, in the aftermath of the battle."
A battle she shouldn't have survived. And she refused to believe that surplus faith could just materialize out of thin air.
Even without the magical flashback phantom pains, her left arm still hurt. Like hell. She had to awkwardly unzip the sleeping bag with her right hand, before she could sit up. Despite all the suffering her own weapon had caused her in the past week, her heart still sank when she glanced past the rolled-up sleeves of her undershirt, and saw nothing around her wrist.
Her hoodie was neatly folded up and placed under her head, however, offering some much-needed protection against the cold as she put it back on, and stood up from the stone floor. Was it this chilly, even underground, or was she still a little feverish and confused?
She soon sat back down, to put on her boots, which wasn't lying too far away from the sleeping bag.
The room was practically barren, save for a tiny glowing rock mounted on top of the barred gate, and the empty bottles placed atop a first-aid kit. She briefly pondered about the possibility of breaking one of them and wielding the shards as a makeshift weapon, until another wave of dizziness washed over her. Her fingers trembled, and the knot of her boot lace came loose, again.
Broken glass bottles against literal Goddesses? With such a realistic confidence in your ability, it is of no wonder that you'd almost gotten yourself killed two times in a row, young lady.
She could hear the ghost's scolding so clearly, even though she hadn't appeared again, after they made her drink the medicine several hours ago.
Sighing, she gave up her fight against the boot laces and stood back up. She had to sit down and rest for a couple of times, before she finally inched her way to the barred gate. With how thick these rusted iron bars were, she was not expecting the gate to swing open with one single push.
The creaking noise did earn a gasp from outside, however. Seconds later, Ryll's face appeared in her vision.
"...I thought you locked it." After staring at each other for a while, she finally squeezed out a sheepish reply.
"Hey. It, it's alright. You can come outside." Ryll winced. "I'm not going to do anything to you, just because you want to look around."
"What would it take for you to actually do something to me, then?"
That was not the most tactful question, even if she did remember the threats Ryll had made in her transformed state. The girl visibly tensed up and shook her head, without a word, before slowly pushing the gate shut again.
"Hey! Don't just walk away!" She practically swung together with the door when she shoved it too hard, lost her balance, and barely avoided a fall. "I need to ask you something!"
"I'm not going to hurt you!" Ryll turned back, and hesitantly added, "N-Not when I'm like this, at least."
The way Ryll's voice faded to a whisper at the end didn't make it any more assuring. "I, I won't transform again. I don't have many chances left."
"That's not it. You are keeping me here, because you are afraid that I'll snitch on you. Not that I'm okay with it, but it's understandable. To some degree." She frowned. "But what were you up to, back in Lastation? Why did you go after her? Elizabeth A.?"
"Oh, that?" Ryll bit into her lips. "Your friend...is she a good person in this world?"
"She's not my friend. She's the asshole in my life I never asked for."
Wow, she'd managed to keep her tone dry, impersonal, and not seething with rage this time. A small step of progress. "I shouldn't be encouraging you to murder people again, but, objectively speaking, the world would be a better place without her."
There was a momentary relief in Ryll's eyes, before her expression darkened into a cold, hard mask.
"...I take that as a 'she's a piece of shit, even across dimensions'?"
"Back in my world, she's my Oracle. One of them, to be exact." Ryll's voice faded into the same monotone of her HDD Form. "And she killed me."