1 year after departure

As the sun came up over the horizon, Ember couldn't help beaming at the sight from atop the mound of snow she sat. She was still having trouble getting around on her own, so a pair of crutches sat at her side. She looked to her right, and saw the light of the sunrise fall on the sleeping form of Glace. She hadn't been sleeping much since the move, so Ember wasn't about to rouse her.

A lot had happened in the last year, starting with Reginald holing himself away in his workshop. The city had set up outposts on the other islands, which were now sending back more resources than they knew what to do with. One specialized in minerals, another food, wood and plant life, one steam cores, and the last was made into training grounds for scouts and warriors. The islands weren't very far away from each other, but they weren't exactly close enough to jump to either, so the people had built a gondola line that connected them.

The largest island – the one the city was situated on – now had a sturdy wall around the perimeter, just a few yards from the ledge, made up of wooden beams on the inside, followed by brick and mortar, and steel on the outside. Not the best wall possible, but the gun ports and watchtowers easily made up for it in the long run.

The second largest island was the one the food, wood and plant life was grown on. The few animals that had survived the move were some moose and a few rabbits; meaning they had to make due with what meat they could salvage from them. Aside from that, it was now warm enough that pine trees could grow on their own, though they would take a few years to do so.

The next largest island was the one the Steam Cores were being produced on. It was the remnants of a factory-based city that had found a way to make them, and all they did was repair the machines, and provide it with the necessary materials to continue production.

The second smallest island was where the minerals were being extracted, slowly but surely. It had taken a full month to set up the mines properly, but it was going rather well, all things considered. There had only been a few breakdowns with the machinery, a grand total of two cave-ins, and only a few injured workers.

The smallest island was where they had set up the barracks and the training grounds, as it was also the closest to the city. They had built an archery range, a gun course, and enough fencing equipment to fit the entire population; though that was only because of an error in the mailing terminal, in which the letter for production had been sent to all of the blacksmiths, rather than just one.

Merely finding out the islands had any resources at all was surprising, given they were floating hunks of rock. It was even more surprising when the miners found out their mines just… reset, for lack of a better phrase, every week or so. That didn't stop them from finding more mineral veins elsewhere, but it was baffling nonetheless. Glace had said they'd exploit it for as long as reasonably possible, but it was always good to have a backup plan or five.

Ember shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was Glace's job to worry about this sort of thing, and she didn't like it when Ember started to concern herself with it. She decided she had done enough thinking for the morning, and snuggled into Glace's sleeping form for some more warmth.

Chapter 1

Introductions and Betrayal

"So, what is it now, Histy?" Neptune asked, carefully keeping the moan out of her voice. "Hey! I'm not moaning!" [… I just said you weren't.] "But you implied it!" [I'm not even going to justify that with a response.] "Hey! Don't you ignore me, buster!"

"Um… Neptune, who are you talking to?" Nepgear asked, unsurely.

"The author! He's being awfully rude."

"Neptune, nobody here is named 'Arthur'." Noire said, idly wondering if Neptune was finally losing it.

Histoire cleared her throat, attempting to regain everyone's attention before the impromptu meeting derailed any further. "I have gathered everyone here, because we now have the time and resources to investigate something I detected roughly one year ago."

"What kind of 'something'?" IF asked.

"A fluctuation in share energy."

The room was silent for a long moment, until IF spoke up again. "Well, what happened, exactly?"

"I'm currently trying to figure that out myself. The fluctuation was small, and didn't affect any of the nations' shares, but it seems to have caused an overall increase to the share pool. Nothing of immediate importance, but something that does need to be addressed."

"How is that possible?" Compa asked, concern written across her face.

"Again, I'm not entirely sure. I have a few theories, but I need some solid evidence to support any of them."

"This whole thing just yells red flag." Neptune commented.

"And that is why I want all of you to investigate."

"All of us?" Noire asked, incredulously. "Doesn't that seem a bit overkill?"

"While normally yes, recent memory contradicts such a statement." Histoire shook her head. "I don't want to take any chances where I don't have to." Nobody could fault her for that logic, so they didn't comment further. "I have narrowed the source to north of Lowee, somewhere in the frostlands." Blanc hummed in thought for a moment, with narrowed eyes.

"Is anything the matter?" Vert asked.

She shook her head. "I'm just thinking. There's nothing up there that I know of, so it would be an excellent place to go and be completely unnoticed."

Histoire nodded, having come to the same conclusion herself. "Since you know the area and terrain best Blanc, I want you to lead the expedition."

Blanc sighed tiredly, but nodded her assent.

"Yeah! To adventure!" Neptune yelled excitedly.

Glace cracked open her eyes, and immediately regretted it. The sun was beaming down on her face; which meant it was about noon. She silently cursed herself for falling asleep so easily. She moved to rise, but stopped when she felt a weight shift on her midsection. Opening her eyes more slowly this time, she glanced down.

Ember had fallen asleep herself, arms wrapped around her stomach. Glace sighed, though a small smile wormed its way onto her face. She huffed in ever-growing amusement, stroking her hair. It was good to know Ember was well enough to not be shivering in the mild chill of the islands. Shattered Rock was nowhere near as cold as it had been back home – though that wasn't saying much – but it was still well below freezing. That being said, the people were used to temperatures so low that carbon rain wasn't an unusual sight, so this new world was tropical in comparison, and they didn't need to wear nearly as much thick clothing.

It was this sight that Spirit came across when she finally found them. She kept her movements quiet so Ember could rest, but obvious enough that Glace would notice. She did, looking over to find her gripping her robes rather tightly; a hard look on her face.

"I will prepare for battle soon, just let me have this moment." Spirit opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when Glace held her hand up. "I am not the naive girl I was all those decades ago. I will let them speak first; we are the guests here. Honestly, I'm surprised it took them this long." She took a deep breath, idly noting she had been doing that a lot lately. "Prepare the ritual, if you would; I want to make sure we are prepared."

"As you wish, my lady." She acquiesced, bowing lightly. "The ceremony should be ready in an hour, and you should have roughly two until our hosts arrive."

"Understood."

Spirit lifted her frame, turned around, and walked back to her workshop; she had to prepare.

Glace watched the sky for a moment longer, before she nudged Ember awake, letting her rouse from her rather long nap. "Hey sleepyhead, it's time to get up." She said, smiling. She chuckled at the sheepish expression that fell across the red-head's face. "I've got work that I need to attend to soon. We've only got another forty-five minutes until I have to leave. What do you say we go play a game until then?"

Ember grinned, and quickly got on her crutches. "I think we both know which one I'm going to pick!" She exclaimed as she swung herself down the street.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Glace asked, sword in hand.

"I am. Ice Breaker will be perfectly fine." Spirit responded, confidently. She glanced at the other blade, which now sat in the middle of a somewhat crude pentagram.

Glace sighed in response. "I hope you're right."

Neptune sighed for the hundredth time. "Are we there yet?"

"No!" Blanc growled, grinding her teeth together. "We've been searching for two hours!"

"Exactly! Usually something would've happened like an hour and a half ago at the latest." Neptune wined. "Hey!"

"Neptune, 'somewhere in the frostlands' is so general that we may not find anything out of the ordinary for days." IF responded, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What? I thought this would be a quick visit, like: go there, figure out what's going on, maybe beat up some monsters while we're at it, and head home. Not some kind of crazy long journey to find our true selves or something."

"Actually, you should almost be there." Histoire commented from Nepgear's N-gear. "It should be just over this ridge."

"Wait, so you managed to narrow it down further?" IF asked.

"Yes. With the assistance of… an outside source, I have managed to pinpoint the location of the disturbance. The reason the range was so great before is because the source of said disturbance had been moving."

"Wait. What kind of outside source?"

"Unfortunately, the source has asked me to keep their identity confidential for the time being. However they were confident that you would meet soon."

"I don't know. This whole thing screams setup."

"They have provided us with a code phrase that should allow you entry. 'At any cost'."

"'At any cost'? That's not ominous in the least." Uni retorted sarcastically.

"What do you think it means?" Nepgear asked, concerned.

"That would likely depend on the context." Blanc responded.

"I guess the question we should be asking is 'what is the context' then." Noire reasoned.

"That is something the source refused to divulge, merely stating that it should be apparent when you would need to use it." Histoire stated. The party went silent for a few moments as they continued walking.

When they crested the ridge, they were left speechless. Five floating islands were tied together via steel bars, and a gondola system allowed transport between them. What really surprised the party was the traffic, there was always at least one airship in the sky, going to and from places unknown.

"Well, I guess we're here." Noire commented, looking at the large smoke clouds billowing out the top of the islands. With a solid nod of affirmation shared between those in the party, the CPUs transformed, and everyone made their way up to the islands.

As the group approached the gates to the central city, they noticed that the guards were tense, as if they were waiting for a fight to break out. The other thing they noticed was that the guards were really tall. They almost looked like giants with how tall they were, towering over the entire party.

"Well, if it's intimidation they're going for, it sure is working." IF sweatdropped.

There was a twitch of the lips from one of the guards in response, he looked like he wanted to laugh, though he was holding it in. They were wearing light fur coats underneath steel and bronze armor. In their hands closest to the city gate, were long spears, even longer than they were tall. Sheathed on their hips were simple shortswords, and nondescript pistols rested on their thighs. Nothing about them was ornate, everything looked like it was mass produced; functional, but ugly.

As they came closer to the gates, the guards dropped their spears so they crossed over each other in front of the entrance. "Do you have an identification slip with you?" The man on their left asked. Nobody knew how to respond, it was new for anybody to deny even one CPU entry, but all of them at once?

The man seemed to misinterpret their silence, and continued. "Do you have an entry grant?" Again, more silence, and he sighed, closing his eyes. "If you have neither, we cannot permit your entry, for the city must survive."

"At any cost." Purple heart muttered, with a look of sorrow finding its way onto her face. The realization struck the party; the passphrase wasn't just a passphrase, but likely a motto of some sort.

The spears retracted to their places at the guards' sides, and the guard on their right pulled a radio out of his coat pocket. "Code one-four-four-three. Total of…" He quickly counted under his breath. "eight guests, all female. Six confirmed transformations. One group, all suspected to be class one. Tower seven, please confirm. Over."

A brief crackling came through the radio, and a feminine voice responded. "Confirmed. Eight females, six transformations, class one strength. Access granted." There was a moment of silence as the gate began rising. "Diplomatic envoy is en-route, ETA five minutes and counting. Over."

"Roger that." He responded, nodding. He turned his attention to the party as the gate finished lifting. "You will be expected to remain within sight of the gate until Lady Glacier arrives, she will be with you shortly. Have a pleasant visit."

"How will we know who she is?" IF asked, eyebrow raised.

"You'll know when you see her, she stands out pretty well." The first guard responded, smirking.

As they walked through the gates, they noticed how close-together everything was. The city looked like it was built to take up as little space as was reasonable, cramming in as many buildings that would fit in the limited area as possible. Then again, this island seemed to be the only one that housed people, aside from the smallest one off to the side.

They watched the people passed by them as they waited, they were all rather tall; not just the guards. None looked an inch under five-foot-six, unless they were children. Said children were playing in the snow relatively nearby, not straying too far from one building in particular. The last thing they noticed was how pale everyone was. It almost looked like these people had never been in the sun before.

It didn't take long for the party to notice the small commotion around the corner, people going to check it out from – presumably – all around the city. Not long after, a few people in purple robes gently pushed the crowd out of the way, blocking streets in a path directly to them. There were smiles on everyone's faces, though the robed individuals wore more serene smiles.

Three people rounded the corner; the one in the front was an elderly man wearing the same purple robes as those who were now calmly holding back the crowds, with the addition of a golden pendant around his neck. He had no weapons to speak of, but in one hand was an old, seemingly ragged, leather-bound book; and in the other was a coiled wooden staff with a silver-ish gem at the top. He had green eyes, and white hair, though he was rather tan. He had the build of an athlete, carefully maintained; yet he also seemed to be a wizened person. Every step he took was measured, careful. His expression was hard, yet kind, like an elder.

The second, and tallest individual, was clearly a CPU, wearing a skin-tight blue bodysuit which faded to white at the ends of the detached sleeves, which started just above her biceps. Hovering mere centimeters above her shoulders were small pauldrons that looked like ice, three curved spikes rising at the far ends. Her 'wings' looked like they were made from sheets of ice which had been shattered, and its pieces spread apart. There was a thin strip running from her hip line to just below her breasts, revealing her exceedingly pale skin. She wore a white scarf around her neck, with flared, blue ends, and a black bandanna could be made out just above it, covering her lower face. She had electric blue hair with white tips, which ended at her shoulders. Aviator goggles rested on her forehead, with green lenses.

She was a curvaceous woman, just a little less so than Vert, yet just as, if not more, athletic than the man in front. Her hard eyes were a smokey gray, almost devoid of color, her irises in the shape of power symbols. Her expression was cold, calculating; though it felt like something was being held back. She walked almost regally, though with clear purpose.

The third individual was also female, and the shortest in the group. She was also a CPU, though she wore a much less conservative outfit. Her midriff was almost completely exposed, though it was covered in a clear, red-tinted material. The reddish-orange outfit had a deep v-neck that exposed a lot of cleavage, and was restricted to rather thin straps supporting the outfit on her shoulders. Her skin was very tan, especially compared to the locals. She wore clawed gauntlets, with vibrant red blades extending from the fingertips. Her hair was a blazing orange that faded to yellow at the ends half-way down her back.

Her eyes were red power symbols, though the line intersecting the circle had a yellow tint to it. Her figure wasn't as developed as the other woman's, coming closer to that of Nepgear. She had a cheeky smirk on her face, and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. Her approach was more confident, almost brash.

As the trio came to a stop, the party was able to better make out the tall woman's weapon. The woman had a skinny greatsword that was as tall as Vert, the core was seemingly made from the same clear blue material as her pauldrons, though the blade's edges were a soft white, reminiscent of snow. The guard was a warm bronze, with icicle-like decorations falling toward the point. It had a leather-bound grip, and the pommel looked like an ornate chimney, releasing a continuous stream of dark smoke.

"I apologize for being late." The tall one started, bowing her head. "We expected you to arrive later than you did."

"So what, you're calling us slow?" White Heart demanded more than asked.

The woman merely narrowed her eyes at the seemingly young CPU as she spoke. "Hardly. I merely expected some border disputes to arise. Clearly I was mistaken." She said, gesturing to the party in general.

"Well, such issues were resolved long ago." Black Heart said, rather pridefully. "However, I don't think I've ever met you, miss…"

"Ah. Where are my manners? I am Glacier, it is a pleasure to meet you." She said, bowing smoothly. "My companions are Reginald, my second in command; and Blaze, the heir to the position of leadership." The old man bowed lightly when she mentioned Reginald, and the short – in comparison – woman merely waved in accordance with the name Blaze.

"I would like to formally welcome you to Shattered Rock; the city I preside over." She finished, gesturing to the city around them.

"Oddly fitting." Green Heart muttered, glancing around.

"So, you would be the CPU, and Blaze would be your CPU Candidate." IF said, glancing between them. Glacier rose a single eyebrow, and Blaze just looked utterly baffled.

"I… suppose you could equate me to a CPU, but that is not my title." Glacier responded, carefully.

Blaze had none of the reservations about speaking her mind. "What?" She asked intelligently. "That makes no sense what-so-ever. A CPU? Seriously? What does a computer's processor have to do with any of this?"

"Well, what is your title, then?" Noire asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am the Captain and Goddess of Shattered Rock; and therefore its ruler, planner, resource manager, and patron deity."

"That sounds like an awful lot of work for one person to manage." Nepgear commented.

Glacier chose not to respond, and Blaze shot her a strange look that sat somewhere between amusement and exasperation.

Reginald cleared his throat as the silence grew. "As Glacier stated previously, we weren't expecting you to be here for another forty-five minutes or so. Thus, we do not currently have a building prepared for delegations. We do, however, have plenty of places we can visit. Therefore, we would be willing to offer you a tour of the main island, so that we may pass the time until construction is complete."

IF noted that Glacier's eyes shot to him, and narrowed minutely. It was much less difficult to notice Blaze's eye twitch as she less-than-discreetly turned her head in his direction.

"I would also appreciate it if you all deactivated your transformations." That statement received outright hostile reactions from both the women, as Blaze snarled at him, her fingers spreading apart, and Glacier lifted her weapon, leveling it with his throat, eyes narrowed almost to slits.

"Remind me of your station, Reginald." Glacier demanded in a deceptively calm voice.

"First officer." He responded calmly.

"Now, remind me what that entails."

"Doing paperwork of less importance than that of which needs to be forwarded to you, and making decisions when you are unable to."

The sword inched closer to his neck. "Incorrect." She stated, actually turning her head in his direction. "The first officer is supposed to organize the military and make minor decisions when the Captain is unavailable. The only time the Captain is deemed unavailable is during such a time as they are in battle, being treated in the hospital, or dead. Therefore, it is safe to assume you have been attempting to do my job for me. Again." She dropped her sword back to the ground, still glaring at him. "In the last year, you have repeatedly ignored my summons, gone behind my back enough times to warrant several investigations, and made the church the sole authority in the city. I am no longer going to tolerate your actions."

"My lady, I was merely-" He tried to defend himself, but was cut off.

"I will not hear any more excuses from you. I gave you more warnings than I had the right to give, or you had the right to receive. Hereby, you are demoted to Petty Officer, and stripped of your rank within the church. You have zero chance of promotion to regain your previous rank. Effective immediately." She subtly glanced at Blaze, who nodded back.

"But-" He continued, trying to salvage his position.

"Good day, Reginald."

"My lady, I-"

"Good day Petty Officer Reginald." She continued trying to be polite, despite the situation.

"Mam, I-" He clearly wasn't listening.

"Petty Officer Reginald, are you questioning your superior?" She switched tactics, using the same line he had used on so many of those both in the church and the military.

"Madam Glacier-" He ground out, actually looking frustrated.

"Must I take more drastic measures, Private Reginald?" She 'asked'.

The man paled hearing that, but his astonishment quickly turned to rage. "I will not stand for this." He growled.

"No?" She asked, eyebrow raised. "Must I remind you that even if you wouldn't I outrank you in every perceivable way?"

He smirked an ugly smirk, and she lifted her sword from the ground. "I am the god here." He said, confident in himself.

"Oh really?" She asked, clearly not believing him. "Blaze, if you would." She stated, letting the other woman close in on him.

Blaze grabbed him by the arms, and forced them behind his back, as he dropped the items in his hands, hissing in pain. "You don't get it, do you?" Blaze rhetorically asked. "All that plotting behind the scenes, all your schemes, everything you've ever done in this city has been monitored, documented, and tracked; all, since, day, one."

"Is that so?" He asked, glaring at the woman who continued to calmly stare him down. "And what of law eight-seven-five?"

"That law is only applicable during times of war; and last I checked, you haven't the authority to declare such things, even as First Officer."

"I ALREADY HAVE!" He screeched, a sickening smile on his face. "You and your pathetic excuse for a sister are no longer the ruling bodies! I am!"

There was a long bout of silence, the guests looking to each other questioningly, shifting uncomfortably. Then the crowd erupted into laughter, even the robed people seemed to be smirking in amusement. Only two people weren't amused. Glacier looked like she was silently seething at the man in front of her, wanting nothing more than to split his skull, and Reginald was glaring heatedly at her.

Once the mirth died down, Glacier spoke up. "Reginald Gerard Himleton; for your crimes of forgery, murder, theft, usurpation of power, framing, and an attempted coup, you are sentenced to life in prison with no chance of bail or leave. Guards, if you would."

"Ma'am." Said one man, as four people followed, wrestling him away.

Finally, she turned to the gobsmacked party in front of her, and bowed deeply. "Apologies, we needed a good excuse to reveal him to the public that wouldn't set off any of his alarms, so we decided to take advantage of the situation you provided. I hope you can understand that we value your time as much as our own."

Blaze followed her example, having picked up the staff and book from off the ground. "We hope you can forgive our need to use your time. I'm afraid we had no other choice, as he would have been prepared to overthrow us otherwise."

"Is that so?" Black Heart asked, more than slightly perturbed.

"Unfortunately, yes." Glacier responded, rising from her bow.

"He had a nasty habit of preparing for every eventuality. We got lucky you're visit wasn't expected for another hour." Blaze stated, sliding the items into her inventory.

"That's… good. I think." Nepgear responded.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about that." Uni admitted.

"While I'm conflicted on the fact you used our arrival to your advantage, I am glad you are proactive in keeping your… city, I suppose, safe." Green heart stated with a carefully neutral face.

Glacier nodded succinctly, letting her appreciation show minutely. "On a lighter note, I am willing to give you a tour should you want one. However, I will not require you to deactivate your transformations, as your security and comfort are priorities for me at present." She rested the tip of her sword on the ground once more, signaling the guards to carefully move through the crowd, with Reginald in tow. With but a mere wave of her hand, the crowd seemed to disperse, the robed individuals making their way elsewhere. "Blaze, you should head home, you need rest; I will stick around and deal with diplomacy."

Blaze shot Glacier a pointed look, but relented under Glacier's stoic gaze. Sighing, she responded. "Alright, but I expect you to take the rest of the day off afterwards." Another long moment passed, as Glacier's gaze remained unchanged. Blaze huffed, but walked off, hands behind her head.

Glacier sighed, wavering slightly, before returning her calm gaze to the group in front of her. "I apologize again for the scene." She took a deep breath, seemingly coming to a decision, and let it out. She herself deactivated her own transformation, revealing the woman that would continue with the visit. "As a show of good faith, I will not be conducting negotiations with my transformation activated."

She was markedly shorter, if still exceptionally tall in comparison to the others. Her vibrantly blue hair had lost all its color, turning into an almost pale, soft white. Her skin had gained some color, though it was still rather pale, more resembling someone who rarely went out, than someone who'd never seen the sun. Her scarf became a deep blue, and its flared ends evened out. Her outfit became notably more conservative, consisting of a dark gray sweater, copper colored thick pants, and the odd, fingerless gloves she wore had become black mittens. On her waist, sat a sheathed katana, the sheath bronze in color.

Her eyes were what caught their attention though, the steely gaze of the woman had softened significantly, and the gray color had brightened to a soft, somewhat dull, honey yellow. She seemed… older, in a way though, like she had seen more as a human than she had as a goddess. The tiny smile on her face only seemed to drive the idea home.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself." She said, bowing once more. "I am Glace, the Captain of Shattered Rock." She rose from her bow as she continued, her eyes shifting between them. "I am the head of the military, the city planner, head of politics, head of legal affairs, head of resource management, head of internal affairs, supreme court judge, patron deity, acting head of the – newly reinstated – Neighborhood Watch, acting head priestess, acting head diplomat, acting head of training, and acting head of academics."

"Acting?" White Heart asked, folding her arms.

Glace sighed, having seen that question coming. "Unfortunately, Reginald was head of the Neighborhood Watch, head priest, head diplomat, head of training, and head of academics."

"That's… a lot for one person to deal with." Nepgear reiterated. Her statement was met with a somewhat nervous giggle.

"So!" She suddenly said, clapping once. In the process, she had managed to startle most of those present. "About that tour."

End Chapter I

Author's Note:

All I have to say about this, is that I am incredibly sorry it took me this long to update, as I have been struggling with inspiration for a long while now. I wanted this chapter to have been posted months ago, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. My muse decided it wanted to go f*ck off into the distance, and I have only recently reclaimed it. Once again, I can do nothing but apologize.

To Guest account numero uno: No I'm not dead, just incredibly annoyed.

That is all.