For the past couple of hours, the only sound that entered Rubis's ears was the creaking of a bicycle chain.
She didn't say anything, because the roads here were already slippery enough, and Mr. Esaka didn't need one more distraction. Or maybe he did. Especially after that kind family of farmers (who lent them the bicycle) asked him if she was his kid, and he twitched. Like he had been punched in the gut.
Now that the rusty bicycle chain had finally outlived its usefulness at the most inconvenient moment, just when they had almost reached the main camp, and both of them were on their feet, pushing the broken bicycle forward, the silence had finally become deafening.
"You don't have to go back so soon, you know." At last, she spoke up.
Mr. Esaka didn't say anything in return, and only zipped up his leather jacket all the way to his chin. His pink cloak was still lying in the bicycle basket, draped over his small luggage case and flapping in the wind.
"Well then. If you are leaving, then I'm coming with you."
"No no no, don't trouble yourself, Rubis gir—" He paused, and shook his head, "Darn, I probably shouldn't call you that anymore. I'm not gonna end up back inside some pachinko parlors or shady bars, okay? Just need...some time to think."
"Well, as my sister would say, my age does not make me any less of a foolish child. Call me however you like, please."
"No kids are this humble." Mr. Esaka sighed. "Really, Rubis girl, you ain't anything like us folks who can't make heads or tails of our lives, even in our forties. Aren't you still looking for these two CPUs?"
"My sister and Blanc have it handled." Even if she didn't know their progress right now, she had to have faith in her successors. In their ability to handle things on their own. "And, after hiding so many secrets from you, the least I can do is offering a listening ear, and making sure you are taking care of yourself."
"Geez. You have this 'responsibility' thing down to a T, don't ya'?" Mr. Esaka said, before muttering a small curse, as the bicycle wheels ran over a loose brick. "I don't. That's why I never try to look for them."
He was starting to get to the real problem now. A good sign. Rubis didn't reply, and merely kept her gaze focused on the man.
"Like, even if my little girl's willing to run away with me, I'd just be every bit the train wreck her mom is. A drunken gambler who'd never changed a diaper, or hold a milk bottle in his life, and had a history of solving problems by punching 'em really hard...I'd give the kid to her mom too, if I were the judge. The less crappy option of the two, really."
"When was the last time you saw her?"
"Sixteen years ago." Mr. Esaka hunched his back, "Really, she was so little, I wasn't even sure of her hair color when I left...when did babies grow their real hair, anyways? You are never a baby before, Rubis girl, but you gotta' know how kids grow up, right? I missed so much of it. Couldn't even bear to see a kid in those years. Not that a lot of good parents brought their kids to the kind of places I went."
"You are half right. No CPUs are born a baby, and we stop aging once we unlock our HDD Form. But, here in Lowee, our Candidates come close, and they grow up at a slower speed too."
Rubis winced. The last thing she wanted to think about right now was that face. Not Dameko's. But how Rokushi never looked so happy anymore, after she had grown just a little older.
"Toddlers could wreak a truly amazing level of havoc, especially when they stay toddlers for a decade or so. I used to have nightmares of Dameko never growing up, and just remaining this little whirlwind of destruction forever."
That earned a sad chuckle from Mr. Esaka.
"Wow. No wonder you are so mature. If I had like, a tenth of your parenting skills, I wouldn't be this sorry fool who ditched my kid, and didn't even have the courage to check on her." He lowered his head. "Or maybe it's for the best. I'll just end up being this weirdo who suddenly remembered that yeah, she exists, after leaving her in a crappy home like some unwanted pet. Gah, now that I think about it, I treat Lord Okada better than my own damn kid—!"
"That's one reason why I have to come with you." Rubis let go of her grip on the bicycle's back seat, and walked to the man's side. "You don't know what will happen, unless you stop running away and come back to her on your own terms. And, as a much, much more terrible guardian, I can safely say that you won't be a bad father."
"No way, Rubis girl! Your sister is this...giant-robot-driving, self-sufficient kid who'd..." Mr. Esaka scratched his head, "Done some awesome stuff as a CPU. What exactly, I couldn't remember from my high school textbooks, but I'm sure there are a lot of them! You are involved with her life, and...maybe you just have high standards for yourself?"
"You have no idea." She bit into her lips. "My biggest mistake is being too involved with my successors' lives—"
Rubis was so close to spilling everything out in one go. No more beating around the bushes, no more looks of regret, no more grim silence. Yet, almost as if fortune itself was giving her a convenient exit, two little dots appeared in the distant sky, making their way towards the campsite on the horizon.
One blue, one pink.
"Please, stay here and put off your departure for a while?" Rubis turned to Mr. Esaka. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the twins holding their hands together, peeking into another tent. "I have some talking to do, and I don't know how long it will take."
"Sure thing, Rubis girl." Mr. Esaka gave her a thumbs-up. "Go for it. You don't have to come back for me if it turns out to be urgent, okay? I'll just go find a guy who can return the bike to that family. Maybe they'll build a funeral pyre for it or something, per tradition..."
Rubis didn't think that was how tradition worked. But she kept her thoughts to herself, and merely nodded to the man, before heading for the twins.
"Greetings."
"Ah!" Ram yelped. She seemed a little disappointed when she saw Rubis. "Wow, you move so quietly. Like a ninja. Hmm, were there ninjas in ancient Lowee? Have you learned your awesome stealth skills from them?"
"Not really..." Rom, who had already noticed Rubis several seconds ago, muttered to herself. She wasn't making eye contact with either of them, and had her hands tucked securely inside her coat's pocket.
"Oh, I'm just very good at catching unsuspecting tricksters." Rubis smiled. "Granted, you two seem to take quite an interest in our radio station, and aren't up to another round of pranks. But, if my memory doesn't fail me, you are supposed to be sitting quietly in the Basilicom and not running off on your own, aren't you?"
"Ugh, why do we have to run into the no-fun-allowed senior today—" Ram mumbled, before shaking her head, "Well, big sis told us not to get ourselves into danger or chase after these two! And look! We aren't! She can't scold us for, I dunno, coming here and doing nothing, right?"
"Right," Rom said. "We are just gonna...sit here and wait for her to come back, Miss Rubis. Like good kids."
Ah, the woes of not being specific with instructions. She had some remedies for that. "Well, I can't fault you for missing her. Did you tell Financier before you left, though? I didn't think she'd be too happy to find you two suddenly missing from the building."
Ram's blank stare, followed by an awkward grin, said it all.
"Oh yeah, we...totally remembered that! Totally! Maybe not this time, but we've like, only gotten a little forgetful!" She switched to a puppy-eyed look. "Please don't chase us back? Pretty please? I really wanna see the giant robot? Hey, which one do you think will win in a fight, Bandam or your sister's...Handy-Bot thing?"
"Of course," Rubis winked at them. "I'm not some unreasonable old lady. After you talk to Financier, and get her permission, you can stay here as long as you like."
"So we still have to go back?" Ram groaned. "Aww, that sucks. Can't one of us fly back to tell her, while the other stays? Roooooom? You won't mind, right?"
"...Yeah." Rom nodded, and closed her eyes. She was about to transform, when Rubis put a hand to her shoulder.
"Now, Ram, if Financier did say no, she'd have to come all the way back here again," she said, "And I heard that a good sister doesn't push her twin around like that—"
A shrill beeping sound came out of the tent. Moments later, a sergeant rushed out and blew a whistle, summoning his entire squadron to him, who soon entered the tent in a neat formation. Frowning, the twins also made their way inside amidst the chaos, with Rubis tailing closely behind them.
"Listen up! An emergency alarm has been sounded!" The man yelled, before turning to the technicians, who were tapping a bunch of buttons furiously. "What's the coordinate?"
"Ranger Station 32! 50W, 78N!"
"...Heavens." Rubis put a hand to her forehead, the moment she heard these words. Now she realized what she had forgotten in the chaos of the early morning, before their hurried departure.
"What's wrong, Miss Rubis?"
"I know who sounded that alarm," she said, before raising her hand up in the air. In a crowd of grown soldiers, she was barely visible, and had to wave for a few more times before the sergeant noticed her. "A volunteer is in that ranger station, and she's not associated with the Guild! Her name is Rei, and her instructions are—"
The moment the twins heard "upon seeing the two suspects", Ram grabbed Rom by the sleeves, and slinked out of the tent. Rubis, having not shifted her gaze away from the twins, soon went after them and circled to their front.
"Wait a second."
"Okay, okay," Ram took a deep breath, "You don't want us to get into trouble, I get it! But you heard it, she saw them, she's in danger, and only a real dummy will—!"
"Ram! D-Don't call her that, it's not nice..."
"I haven't said anything about not letting you go after them, have I?" Rubis crossed her arms together. "It is my responsibility, however, to stop you from rushing off in a hurry, with no regards for your own safety. Do you even know the way there? Do any of you have a way to defend against her sound attacks?"
"We'll find out while we are flying around! Then we'll just blast her from afar—"
"Or you could use a pair of these." Rubis took the ear muffs out of her skirt pocket. "Dameko made one for every person on patrol. If you don't ask questions and be prepared, you'll end up repeating the same mistakes, and if I let you run off and get hurt, your sister is never going to forgive me. I've failed her long enough, and I'm not failing her again."
She leaned closer to the twins, "So, if you are going to the ranger station, take me with you. And promise me that you will listen to everything I say, if something unexpected happens. When I tell you to run, you don't argue, and just run. Is that alright?"
Rom, flying at the front, pointed to the crater and the toppled trees. Her twin nodded, before making a sharp drop, and Rubis winced a little. Much like Dameko, whenever the thrill of flight got to her, Ram seemed to forget that she was still carrying someone.
The landing was much gentler, however. Once they glanced around and saw no one in the proximity, Ram pulled her ear muffs off, and gestured for her twin to do the same.
"Did you see this?" She pointed to the charred earth below their feet. "It has to be one of these glowing ghosts! Their explosions are super powerful, and a lot of them must've blown up around here."
"I'm afraid that's not the case." Rubis shook her head. "That's from C-Sha, and a...third CPU."
"A third...?"
"Wait, you saw the whole thing?!" Ram grabbed her sleeves, "What happened? Did C-Sha win? Did she get hurt—"
"It is a long story. The shortest summary is, she's not with the other two, she's also from another world, everyone's relatively okay after the fight, and now she's helping C-Sha find your sister," Rubis said. "Now, can we move on?"
"Aww! You can't just skip a fun story like that..."
Despite Ram's pout and complaints, she didn't press further, and they soon arrived at the ranger station. The front door was wide open, swinging gently in the wind.
The first few minutes she spent in the building was extremely tense. The twins were waiting outside, transformed, ready to blast right through the walls with their magic at the first signs of trouble, and she had her cards ready, but the eerie silence still got to her nerves. Even after it became apparent that not a single soul was inside the building.
"You can come in now," she exclaimed. "No one is in here."
After two flashes of light, the twins made their way into the living room. Rom was visibly unnerved, eyeing the dimly-lit indoor space like she was expecting something to jump out from the shadows, while Ram started pacing around the place, just as Rubis sat down next to the radio.
"...Why is Miss Rei gone?"
"Meh. Maybe the fight she won't tell us about scared her out of her wits?" Ram shrugged, "Made her think one of these two must've popped up again?"
Rubis did not bother to adjust the volume, when she began to replay the messages. It blurted out of the speaker at a deafening volume, loud enough for all of them to hear.
"This is 'Red Storm'. After reporting my previous sighting of the two suspects..."
"Who are you? Did you see my flare gun shots? Where are you right now—"
"It runs out again?" C-Sha looked towards Asa, who was currently kneeling on the ground. "Darn. I guess one person can only give so much faith, after all."
"No. That idiot just drains a shit ton of Shares," Asa looked up, still panting a little, "See, the more powerful a CPU is, the more faith it takes for them to stay in HDD. My people might be few, but they made up for it by believing really hard—" A sigh. "Didn't do me a fat lot of good in that Shift Period. Let's go."
C-Sha glanced towards the mountain, as they started moving again, this time on foot. Before they had to make an emergency landing, the last flare gun shot was seen behind it, though no shots came after that. Perhaps Dameko had finally run out of ammunition.
"There! There they are!"
Seconds after she heard the shout and turned around, two blurs of color zoomed down from the sky. The pink one didn't halt in time, and slammed right into her.
"Woah!" C-Sha winced, as she steadied herself, and saw Ram's face staring up at her. "Hi there! Wait a sec, why are you girls here? Didn't Blanny—"
"Big sis is in trouble!" Ram, still transformed, was gesturing frantically, "Rei—she pressed the emergency alarm, she heard the radio, there is..."
"An avalanche..." Rom looked like she was about to burst into tears, just as she let go of the familiar person she was carrying.
"Okay, deep breaths, Rammy." C-Sha grabbed Ram by the shoulders. "Say it slowly, from the beginning."
"We don't have time for that! L-Let her tell you!" Ram pointed towards Rubis, "You're here because you saw the robot's flare gun thingy, right? Where is it?"
"Right behind that mountain—hey! Wait!"
Before C-Sha could grab her, Ram broke away from her grip, and soared up into the air. Rom hesitated for a brief moment, as she sneaked a glance at Rubis, but soon, she took off too, following closely behind her twin.
"Okay, you know what's going on here, right?" C-Sha turned back to Rubis. "And where's the old chap?"
"He's safe and sound, don't you worry," Rubis replied. "I ran into the twins after returning to the main camp. That was when Rei sounded the emergency alarm. After taking both of them with me to the ranger station, I found Rei missing, checked the radio, and heard my sister's message. A sound attack had triggered an avalanche. Her robot was caught in it, and..."
Rubis closed her eyes. "Blanc was still fighting that CPU, when it happened. They were trapped inside the same cave now."
This sucks ass.
If it was only blindness, she'd still have bumped her head on rocks she couldn't see, or traced the cave walls down some branching paths, and into all these dead ends. But no, it had to be magical blindness. Combined with these goddamn rainbow colors that just wouldn't stop spinning.
This dead end was a little different than the rest. Her palms were pressing against crunchy ice. Or snow. If it was snow, then she had to be close to the surface now, right? Maybe she could bash her way out.
Her hammer soon collided with the surface at point-blank range. When she plopped it down, and started fumbling around the point of impact, it became apparent that only the surface layers were crunchy and somewhat loosely packed. The rest was stone-hard ice that cracked, but didn't break apart.
Even after a few more strikes, the last which nearly sent her sprawling when she stepped on a patch of wet floor, she didn't hear wind or any noises that could be from the outside world.
Rubbing her palms together to regain some warmth, she finally sat down. She wasn't giving up yet. She just needed some...rest.
But her mind wouldn't keep quiet. How did she let that brat catch her unaware like that? Had she not dissolved into ashes after unleashing that attack, she could've been completely at her mercy...
No. That girl was making a suicide attack. To buy more time for her companion. That, she was certain.
"Dammit," Blanc grumbled. She'd like to use some stronger curses, but she must've unleashed most of them when she bumped her head on the same rock three times in a row.
The longer she sat here in silence, the quicker her heart seemed to beat. Why? She had nothing to be scared of. Dameko was still out there, she'd call for help, and then—
Oh crap.
Please don't let her sisters see her, while she was...like this. Even if it meant being stuck in this hole for several more hours. She could only imagine how scared they would be, if Dameko suddenly made a call to the Basilicom, yelling that she was missing, which was totally a thing her predecessor would do.
Gritting her teeth, she stood back up again. Just because rescue was coming, she wouldn't stop making an attempt to get out on her own. A Goddess of Lowee was nothing but resilient, and resilient she would be.
"Alright! Take this, you friggin'—!"
She had already summoned her hammer back into her hand, after making sure the ground below her wasn't wet, and shifted into a stance, when a black dot appeared at the corner of her eyes.
Scowling, she put her weapon away, and started turning her head around. Soon, accompanied by a low buzz, the same dot flew past her once more, against a backdrop of spinning rainbow colors. She made a grab at it out of reflex, but missed.
Was that a fly? Or some other weird insects making their nests in the caverns?
Wait. Even if it was, she shouldn't have been able to see it. Perhaps her vision was coming back sooner than expected.
Another buzz. This time, it brushed past her cheeks. Just as she made a turn, trying to take a closer look at it, it whizzed away, hovering just outside her field of vision. Then it flew right in front of her eyes at a dizzying speed, as if purposefully teasing her. She made a slap in its direction, and once again, she missed.
"Hey! Cut that out!" She must look quite foolish right now, spinning around in a circle, making blind swipes at some magical fly. But, from the looks of it, this thing was being purposefully annoying. "Can't you see I'm already having a shitty day?"
The buzzing stopped. As if complying with her words, the black dot came to a stop in front of her, floating in midair. She leaned closer. Six legs, antenna, two pairs of wings.
A beetle?
Slowly, she reached her hand out, and closed her fingers around it. All she felt was a fistful of thin air, however, before the dark spot suddenly grew larger, dispelling the rainbow lights and filling up her entire vision—
The darkness was like a tunnel. She could see light at the end of it.
She was still inside the cave. The melting ice fragments crunching under her shoes, and the sound of dripping water made it obvious. But, as she moved towards the light, distinctive shapes began to appear, and she clenched her fists together when she got close enough to see the person standing against the light.
"You!" She made a running leap at the cyan-haired girl, "What are you playing at here, you little—"
Her hands went right through the girl's body. Her tackle didn't connect, and, losing her balance, she fell flat on her face. While she was picking herself up from the ground, wincing, she could see more shapes and forms, slowly and steadily coalescing into existence.
A giant glowing crystal was floating behind the girl. In front of her was a blanket of white flowers, spread over a coffin, and the crowd who gathered before it, all clad in dark funeral attires, had their hands clasped together in prayers.
The girl seemed as confused by this scene as her. Blanc made another grab at her vest, after she stood back up. Once again, she did not touch anything tangible, nor did the girl show any signs of noticing her presence.
"Huh." She narrowed her eyes. "This is just like Nepgear's fancy VR goggles, isn't it?"
Right at that moment, the girl made a small wave towards the crowd. "Hello? Is, is this a bad time?"
"...Completed with a headset."
The crowd did not speak. Their gazes were focused on the girl, and for a second, they looked like they had forgotten how to breathe, even though their mouths were wide open. In shock or amazement, Blanc couldn't tell.
Slowly, the people standing at the very front (who also happened to be wearing the most fancy suits) approached the girl. They saluted her in unison, before starting to speak.
"It is a time of great joy, and great sorrow." They paused. "Certainly, you can feel the hope, radiating off our people. And the great man who gives us that hope, who is the reason why we are standing here today...has left a message for you."
The oldest man amongst them held up an envelope, and handed it to the girl with both hands. "Read it out loud, please. It is his last wish."
Her eyes still darting around the crowd, she nodded, opened the envelope, and removed a piece of fine, shimmering paper.
"Dear child," she started to read, "As I wrote down these two words, it becomes clear to me that I will not be able to see you in person, trapped in this frail, aging body. If I am lucky, I may hear a few words, a couple of fragmented sentences on radio, before the pain and exhaustion caught hold of me once again."
"I will never see your face, witness the sense of awe in your eyes, and introduce you to the dear friends and families who bring you into existence with their hope..."
Some of the people in fancy suits were weeping now. The girl gulped a little as she eyed them, before resuming her reading.
"But I do love you, my daughter, my wonderful daughter I will never get to see. If there is one thing you must remember, please, let it be this sentiment." Her hands were shaking a little, when she read out the sentence. "You must be so confused right now, buzzing with questions, thirsting for answers. Do not worry. I will explain it all, to the best of my capability."
"Your name is Ryll. The Council of Oracles, who are probably standing at your side right now," The girl—Ryll—looked quite amazed by this prediction, as she gazed back towards the people in front of her, "Settled on that name after a brief voting session. They have come here on behalf of their settlements and cities, who choose to join the Panason Coalition."
"It is their faith that brings you into this world, and you should never forget that, as the defender and embodiment of everything the Panason Coalition stands for." She took a deep breath. "There are many other beings like you throughout history. Console Patron Units, Goddesses, who derive their power from the people's love and admiration."
"Yet, despite their power and immortality, they are still human and fallible, capable of both great kindness and unimaginable cruelty; they often lose touch with their people, trusting their own self-righteous ideas instead of the people's true desires. Or, they become so focused on their people, they turn a blind eye to the suffering of everyone else."
"They are the reasons why you are born into a world of conflict. The Goddesses of Planeptune and Lowee have devoted themselves entirely to the Great Console War, to the detriment of their own subjects and everyone who stands in their way."
"They are the reasons why the settlements and cities of the east signed on the Panason Treaty, for if the war continues, what awaits them is either total annihilation, or the permanent loss of their freedom. If they want to survive, they have to come together, and become a great power in their own right. To topple the Tyranny of Purple and White, and the old order they represent. To end this war once and for all, and unit the entire continent under one banner."
"You will serve them, and wholeheartedly devote yourself to their goals. You will be an enforcer of the people's will, communicated to you through the Council of Oracles, but never will you lord over them, nor subject them to your whims, and your words are never laws."
"You are freedom, and you will set your people free. You are hope, and you shall embrace the future with hope..." There was a genuine sadness in her voice now, as she read out the last sentence. "So go forth, my daughter, and forge a new, brighter future for this continent. Yours, Hawkens A."