Chapter 119 - The Gala Part 4
A shiver ran down her spine, unseen by any who looked at her (a lot of men WERE, and not with looks of civilized people like she remembered in the past). She kept it hidden, kept it locked down with her emotions under the polite façade that she generated specifically for this event. Such a façade proved to be just as draining as she had expected though, the Gala hadn't even truly begun yet and already he wanted to retreat into the safety of her bedroom.
If there was anything she hated most in this world, then it would be this.
This was one of the few things she hated the most regarding the state her Nation had been reduced to while she was gone. This was something Vert thought to herself as she mingled and mixed with the Party Guests, talking to various Noblemen and women about topics of state. The situations of their territories and how they responded to them, the state of the Nation's politics, any Bandit Problems, the works. However, all she heard were the words of bigots who only cared for their own self-images. So many times, she had heard straight from their very own lips of how these Nobles demean the men that fell defending THEIR homelands while they themselves just sit back and complain. Complain like spoiled brats, that is.
Then, there were the more… sexist of the Nobles, men who looked at her with the eyes that she despised and loathed with every fiber of her being rather quickly. She felt like she was a sack of meat in a den filled with lions. A weakened sack of meat with little to no way to defend herself in case of an attack. At least, that was what she felt, and would have felt in greater quantity if she didn't have her beloved Gungnir. A lot of eyes were on her back… as well as her front or rather the two things on her front. It made her feel sick to her stomach, feeling their perverse gazes on her body like she was their right to have. More often than not she heard several of the younger sons of influential nobles' comment about her, or rather how 'easy' she must be 'in the bedroom' and other such snide remarks. It made her want to punch those dicks in the face for such rudeness towards their CPU.
Yet, part of her made her stay her hand, stopping her from drawing Beninuki or even Gungnir to pierce through their wretched hearts. One of their few defenses against her wrath for their callous disregard for the public. This part of her had been there since she returned, this part which had been born from her own negligence. This was her fault, this had all been because of her desires to be the True Goddess of Gamindustri. She had let her Nation, something she worked harder than anything even her MMO's to build, fall into such disarray. This was her doing, her mistake, and it was something she HAD to fix.
It helped that she had Gungnir within her, Vert thought to herself, her lips upturning slightly while she stopped by the buffet to get something to eat. She needed to fill her stomach after talking to so many brain-dead fools only interested in themselves. Walking up to the buffet table, Vert grasped a plate and began putting some food on, while a waiter passed by which allowed her to take a glass of wine for herself. CPUs may not get drunk, but, goddess be damned, she would feel close to it by the time this tediousness reached its end.
Even so, her thoughts wandered to the Spear that she had gained from her outing with Nico.
That weapon, a weapon unlike any other, soothed her agitation with is divine energy, demonstrating itself as a weapon that was not meant to be compared to mortal weaponry. It would only be insulting to the Spear itself to even try to compare it to anything. After having so short a time hosting this incredible weapon, a weapon with such potential in it that it honestly frightened Vert sometimes, she had discovered this thing had a prideful nature. It would not be looked down upon by anyone, neither human or non-human beings alike. It wouldn't allow even her to do so, not that she would considering how she had an up-close experience of this weapon's power.
While it soothed her and kept her from going completely crazy by pulling out her hair (oh how she found herself sorely tempted to do so after the 40th time of having to stave off some Noble's son who thought she would be an easy 'catch'), Vert's thoughts wandered to what she REALLY wanted to do by coming to this Gala. Ordinarily, she wouldn't even entertain the idea of showing up at parties like this, especially with her secret s close to being revealed. THAT had been something that scared her to the point of self-imposed isolation. However, there were two things that stopped her from behaving in such a manner for this particular Gala.
One of them was Noire, the CPU of Lastation. Vert may not be what she once was, but thanks to Gungnir she could sense Lastation's CPU's Share Energy being gathered in this room. This meant she was here… along with the Share Energy of Planeptune's CPU: Neptune. That revelation nearly gave Vert a heart attack, especially when she realized that she would be in a weakened state in front of not one, but TWO of her arch-rivals for hundreds of years. It had been all she could do to not break into a cold sweat, as it seemed that Neptune was one of the heroes who had stopped a Demon army (and many others afterward) from harming her Nation more than they already have.
Back to Noire, though. Now that she was near, Vert planned on cornering her and all but demanding her to explain what the heck ran through her mind regarding her shift in alignment towards Planeptune. Well, that would be what she truly intended, but for appearance's sake, she would have to do it in a diplomatic manner. She couldn't afford to look weak in front of the rest of her peers, especially not in front of her subjects. Otherwise, her already low reputation with them would crumble even further, and she did NOT want that to happen. Nope, no sir.
The second reason for her being here was Neptune herself. Vert had been SEVERELY understating how much worry she had been under when she learned that Neptune, Planeptune's CPU, had arrived in her Nation alongside Noire. Judging from past experience, she could only imagine the horrors that would come when they would eventually meet, Noire's changes be damned. Neptune back in Celestia always had a way of reducing her into a blubbering mess that would go into a rage soon afterward. It was LARGELY why she and HER went to a separate area to continue their bout for a couple centuries, they didn't want to get caught up in the crossfire.
Still, something about Neptune's presence seemed… off, and not like her own. Vert had done some digging and Neptune had arrived in Leanbox WAY before Noire had, months earlier even so Vert realized that she had made the Gala a thing before Neptune even knew of it. What had she been doing? What was her goal? Vert didn't know this, however, whatever that goal was, it didn't seem to be too damaging to her Nation if the fact she has been helping a lot of her people with their troubles. Then again, that could be just her trying to get her shares.
Shares that were going to either the Overlord faction or to these sub-religions popping up.
Thirdly, well, there were TWO people tied for this spot: IF and Nico. Thinking about those two made a sweet, happy smile form on the blonde woman's lips. Even helped her ignore the looks she was getting that got directed towards her backside. Her adorable little Iffy and her cute potential in-game husband… though having him to herself in the real world sounded quite promising as well. Especially with their little 'date' that resulted in her gaining Gungnir. She so wanted to meet her darling little Iffy again for some more friends hanging out time, it had been the first time in a long while that she had talked to any girls close to her age… well, at least physically close to her age since she was older than most of these humans put together… wow, that was a depressing thought.
Though, now that she thought about it, wasn't Nico 16? And if she was correct, a lot of the girls around him were older than him by some degree (she had looked into her Nicky's file and discovered that he was in an all-girls party with girls all older than him) so did that mean he liked older women? Well, here's to getting her hopes up there. Though, now that she thought about it, IF, him and Neptune were all in the same party, she'd noticed after doing some research. It made sense really, as IF had once asked her what she thought of the other CPUs, a question that not many would ask unless they knew the CPUs themselves. It made little less sense that Nico would be in that party though, even more so for Neptune, something that Vert wanted to get to the bottom of herself as well.
THAT would only be after the Noire situation got resolved, though.
While she stayed by the buffet, Vert looked down at herself, checking out her apparel for this Gala. It was an important event for her Nation, in more ways than one, so she had decided to change from her usual dresses to… something else, something more extravagant. Though she had to deal with the looks as a result.
Vert wore, instead of her usual dress, a pure white dress that went to her knees, consisting of a corset that exposed her shoulders, and the upper portion of her cleavage, The corset had green frills over its ends, with golden carvings down the sides. A white neckpiece was around her neck, ending with green frills as well, but no gold. Her dress had a multi-layered, white frilly skirt that reached her ankles in length, a slit on the left side exposing one of her white stocking-covered legs, with green stiletto heels. Her arms had white gloves with green carvings at the ends, gloves that reached her biceps in lengths. To further enhance her beauty, Vert had even put on pink lip gloss, light green eyeshadow and had some earrings in her ears shaped like power button symbols. Her hair had been let down though, the only form of freedom that she had afforded herself when changing.
A sigh escaped her when she looked herself over. All this stress seriously tired her out. Part of her wanted to just call it a day and then retreat back into her room, however, Vert persevered. She couldn't do that, not after coming so far. She doubted she'd get another chance in the future, or ever, so she had to do this now. That was what she thought to herself, anyway.
The future was always filled with the unknown.
"Ah, Lady Green Heart, it's you."
A masculine voice spoke up, breaking Vert from her thoughts as she mentally groaned. Great, another stuck-up Nobleman here to try and get her under him. Whelp, she had to make sacrifices, and if she had to wade through more of these pigs to get the answers she wanted, then so be it. Turning to the source, she saw that it was a man with dark hair and fancy-looking Noble clothes, looking to be in his mid-twenties while sporting a drink. No doubt this one was drunk if the flustered look on his cheeks were any indication.
While she didn't like it, Vert had forced herself to look into the Nobles that ran her Nation while she was away, and this one was no exception. This man was Damian Bludfist, a Duke whose lands were the more… tourism-based in terms of purpose. His lands were what foreign people came to Leanbox to see when they would be on vacation, and his tourism business had been quite successful until recently when his lands began getting ravaged by the Demons. In fact, Tourism was what helped keep Leanbox's economy afloat, ironically enough considering Leanbox's problems. However, he was also one of the Nobles who took the least amount of action when his lands were being torn apart. Like, he would just be sitting in his comfy chair sipping wine while his people would get murdered, raped, or both at the same time.
So yeah, Vert did NOT feel happy seeing this man coming to talk to her.
"It is a pleasant evening tonight, wouldn't you say?"
'Indeed, until you came along…' Vert thought with hidden disgust. However, she had to hide it under a pleasant smile while turning to face the man. She pretended not to notice how he looked at her chest with slight perversion in his eyes as she responded to him. "Indeed, it is, Lord Bludfist. It is most certainly a pleasant evening tonight in our fair Nation." Ugh, Vert did all she could not to gag at how pompous she had to sound just then. She didn't like that AT ALL, in fact, it made her sick to her stomach. However, she had done her homework and, through some asking around her online community plus some of the few people she trusted with her secret, THIS had to be how to act in front of Nobles.
She, again, pretended not to notice how he looked her up and down like a sack of meat. Didn't even try to hide it, probably due to how drunk he was but considering the… questionable things she had heard about him and his present mannerisms, Vert had her doubts. After all, when one is drunk, it's merely capable of stripping their inhibitions. "Ah…" The way he spoke with a slur just then nearly made Vert display the displeasure on her features for all to see. "I see that you know me and of my exploits. That is most fortunate, for I…"
Thus, another long tedious session of Noblemen trying to impress her and get her on their side for politics began, and she had to simply grin and bear it. How she HATED this part of the job, she certainly didn't miss it from when she first founded Leanbox. She would rather have been a warrior fighting on the front lines rather than dealing with all this politics stuff. This was more her Oracle's expertise, but she was… rather occupied at the moment.
Fortunately, past experiences with this throughout the Gala had helped her develop the ability to look like she was paying attention when she was really thinking about something else. Thus, that would be what she would do instead of listening to this guy's obnoxious speech of vainglory. There was something else that caught her attention thanks to using Gungnir's power to enhance her senses, and that something was to do with Noire. Of this, Vert had no doubt, thanks to the familiarity she had sensed with the weapon's power.
Not only that, but when she tried to locate Noire just by her Share Energy alone, Vert found herself being 'blocked' somehow, almost like something had shielded her from her mental senses. Well, that may not be completely accurate as she had been able to briefly sense her presence. However, the next moment Vert felt like something had 'noticed' her, and then cut the presence off from her senses. It almost reminded her of those games where you have to sneak around a certain area without anyone noticing you, only she had been noticed and immediately kicked back to the beginning of the level.
Not something she felt very appreciative about if she were honest.
Vert had tried time and time again to locate Noire's presence, using more and more of Gungnir's power as a substitute for her own. It was just short of summoning it into the physical world, the amount of power she drew from the Divine Weapon. However, whatever had caught her before apparently refused to allow it to happen again, and thus completely shielded her presence from Leanbox's CPU. If she had used her own power for this, Vert didn't know if it would have been enough to bypass whatever this… thing shielding Noire was.
'Still, what could this be…?' the womanly CPU wondered, while outside she nodded when Damion had asked her a question. She didn't know what nor did she care as he continued going on about something she held no interest in. 'Whatever is shielding Noire from me, I sense that it has considerable power. More so than myself, as much as it vexes me to admit that…' she thought, and if she could she would have scowled in annoyance, but she had to keep the façade going. She gradually wanted this guy gone more and more by the second, couldn't he see that he wasn't welcome right now?.
"Ah, Lord Damion, I seem to have found you at last."
'Eh?'
Blinking once again, Vert looked to the source of a new voice, one she didn't recognize. Turning to the source along with the Duke (who looked insulted that someone dared 'interrupt' his 'glorious' tale about him killing a bunch of Dogoos with a stick, an impressive feat considering how he seemed to never have exercised his body more than his fingers to count money), the two came to face a man in a military uniform with an older woman by his side. A man whom, at the moment of his entry, made Vert realize one thing that made him stand out amongst these Politicians: He moved differently.
One can tell a LOT about someone judging by how they move. It was how warriors could define other Warriors from civilians, everyone walked differently. Civilians had this loose, lax means of walking due to being raised in a safe environment like a house with caring family relatives. Though depending on their circumstances, they can sometimes walk cautiously like they're scared something would pop in out of nowhere and try to rip their necks out. A warrior would move with poise, precision and swiftness that Civilians would lack. They would not waste any movements, everything had a purpose behind it, and there would be a defensive sense about them, little to no openings in their posture to exploit whatsoever.
This was what the new arrival before them sported… and it appeared that Damion knew him judging by how surprised he looked.
"Von Kessel? Is that You?" the man questioned, a dumbstruck look on his face as he matched his expression with his body language. It honestly brought no small amounts of amusement to the blonde woman, seeing him shut up for once.
Something that this Von Kessel person seemed to have noticed too judging by the smirk on his lips. "Lord Damion, it appears that there are other Nobles…" he began, pointing in some random direction Vert noticed with an impassive look on his face. The woman had an equally impassive look, making her wonder if they were related. "That seems to wish to talk to you. I believe one of them is the Duke of Hotmail, a neighbor of yours I believe. I doubt it would be wise to ignore a fellow Duke, don't you think?"
"Hmmm… your words have merit to them, Von Kessel." Damion responded after a moment of stroking his chin thoughtfully, his eyes shining with contemplation (Vert hoped he left soon though). Eventually, her wish was granted, as the man gave them both a nod to show his acknowledgment. "Very well I shall take my leave. By your will, my lady."
With that, the man left, leaving Vert and this new pair alone together. When he was out of sight the man turned to her once again, a look of apology in his eyes. "Apologies, Lady Green Heart, for my associate. He sometimes thinks his childhood stories are grander than they really are, pay no heed to them. I would have come sooner, but I had other guests to see to. My name is Captain Stefan Von Kessel of the Ostermark Order. This here is my mother, Elenore Von Kessel, the family Matriarch."
Elenore gave a respectful bow towards Vert, one that showed nothing but respect. It seemed that these two shared the same mannerisms, Vert noticed, though she had to admit that between them and that other Noble (she had already forgotten his name at this point) she would choose these two quickly. "Apologies are unnecessary but appreciated, Captain Von Kessel, Mrs Von Kessel." Vert replied formally, bowing her head to them to show them just as much respect as they showed her. Just by looking at their mannerisms, Vert realized they had a distinct difference compared to that Duke, thus she would acknowledge that.
Nevertheless, she had work to do, thus she didn't have time to chat. "I do apologize, but I'm afraid my schedule is tight. I must be off now, I hope you two have an enjoyable time at this Gala." She told them, making to leave to continue her search for Lastation's CPU, when…
"I assume you are searching for Lady Black Heart, am I right?"
The moment that those words left Stefan's lips, Vert's form tensed mid-step, freezing in place while her eyes widened slightly. 'What? Did I just hear that right? Did that man say what I think he did?' she wondered, shocked and surprised. Those were just SOME of the emotions she felt, among others that she couldn't really describe right this moment. However, she COULD still get some answers, thus Vert turned around again to face them, schooling her expression as to not show how he had gotten to her with his question. "Oh? I beg your pardon, but may I ask why you ask that?"
"Oh, that is simple, my Lady." Stefan began, not minding the sudden bout of caution he could detect from the CPU of Leanbox.
To finish where her son left off, Elenore spoke as well, finishing his sentence. "We were actually looking for you, since Lady Black Heart requested it of us. We ran into her not long ago, and she says she has been looking for you. She's a nice lady, though a bit stiff. Then again, she has to be in this environment."
Now THAT got her attention, and it caused Vert's mind to go into overdrive. Noire was looking for her? That was something she didn't expect, she would have assumed that Noire had known Neptune was here and thus try to meet with her instead. However, now that she thought about it, Vert had little to no evidence to suggest that she even knew where Neptune was, only that their Nations were talking about a possible truce.
She inwardly cursed her lack of knowledge about their relationship, it made her assume things which apparently weren't true, something she wouldn't do normally. "Oh, I see." She replied, not letting her thoughts appear on her face. It wouldn't do to have them assume they have a hold over her, even if they seemed like good people. Hey, she had just met them, she didn't know a thing about their personalities aside from what she read/heard so she wanted to reserve judgment for the time being. "Then, would you mind taking me to her? I have been meaning to ask her some questions myself."
"Of course, please follow us. We'll bring you to her."
You know, for some reason Noire had thought searching out Vert's presence with her powers would have been easier than this. She wanted to kick herself in the backside for even considering THAT idea, especially now. It appeared that searching for a fellow CPU in this place would not be as easy as she thought (a SEVERE understatement, a sarcastic side of her quipped in her mind). It almost reminded her of those books In which one had to locate a kid wearing a striped shirt amongst a large crowd, as in city large. She didn't resort to using IT though since for some reason she had been sensing 'odd' behavior from IT ever since this Gala had first begun.
Nevertheless, this hadn't been enough to distract her, something Noire both liked and dislikes at the moment.
The reason: She could feel a lot of eyes bearing down on her, all of them looking at her with either lust or like she was a sack of meat. Sure, she was used to such looks from a lot of the populace, especially back home in Lastation when she went to cosplay events in disguise (or in this case just the basic cosplay, she was just so good at it that no one realized it was her at all). However, and she didn't even think this a possibility before coming here, but the men in Leanbox seemed much worse than the ones back in her home Nation!
At least back in her home Nation the men remained somewhat faithful to their partners, in this land a lot of the men who looked clearly like they were married already still eyed her like they were eligible single bachelors. There were few exceptions to this though, like that Stefan guy she had the fortune of meeting a moment earlier, but they were few and far in-between. It just caused her to briefly shudder like she was exposed to the Lowee Climate in nothing but her underwear, and by Goddess that Land should have the word 'cold' in its name. She even bet it was easy to make a drawing of that land, just buy a white sheet of paper and make one or two lines to differentiate the ground and the sky should be plenty enough.
Right now, Noire, CPU of Lastation, stood in another section of the Gala, far off from the crowd while thinking deeply to herself, her eyes glimmering yet showing no signs of what conflicted within her. She had been approached several times by what she assumed were young Lords trying to earn her favor, for one reason or another (she didn't care what those were though), but she gave them warning glares that, coupled with intense Killing Intent, kept those rats far away from her. It helped that her 'Bodyguard' Mr LB had very… adept experience in stealth missions, for only she could sense his presence nearby, and it helped that she had a special line only she and him could use on her Phone.
Apparently, the Lastation Spec Ops call it a 'Codec' and it was unique solely to their branch. According to her Bodyguard, in military use, radio systems were used to pass on orders and communications between field, command, and support personnel, with radio transceivers used extensively in intelligence gathering operations. The technology had continued to develop for many decades, resulting in such communication systems as the Codec. When relaying messages, primarily to or from a command post, various soldiers while using a radio will end their sentences with "Over" and/or "out," in order to ensure that the message got through.
This Codec system had been implemented for a fair amount of time by her Land's Spec Ops. It incorporates anti-wiring coding, digital real-time burst communication. A normal communication over ten seconds is instantly codified, compressed, and transmitted in a burst one microsecond in length. It is received in real-time, unscrambled, and decoded. It is incomparably more innovative than the conventional anti-wiring frequency scrambler. The 24-hour system that is unaffected by weather is made possible by integrating information from high-altitude reconnaissance satellites and low-altitude reconnaissance planes. Despite this, substantial restrictions such as environmental harmonic resonance, enemy discovery, and very low structures over an operative have caused significant interference in past testing.
The Codec functioned by directly manipulating the small bones in the ears, such as the stapes, so it appeared as if a user was talking to himself or herself. Furthermore, the Codec could process and send photos to people within its network from a digital camera. Such a system had been advised for use by not only the Spec Ops Agents she knew but also many of her advisors who voted for its efficiency and how difficult it would be to hack. As in, it would be nigh impossible to hack. Thus, she had allowed it to be installed onto her phone, as well as a specially hidden earpiece, allowing her to discreetly send messages to her Bodyguard, though he was still around somewhere having blended with the scenery.
However, this wasn't what was on her mind right now, nope not even close. In fact, she was thinking of a completely different matter. Though, these looks she kept getting definitely didn't do her temper any favors. She kept a calm, level head though as she didn't want to look like an idiot and embarrass her people. These thoughts caused her to look down to what she was wearing, and mentally Noire had to hand it to whoever designed it, for they certainly knew what they were doing.
Whoever did this for her, had decided to give her a dark blue thigh high dress with a black scarf-like thing that was wrapped around her upper arms and went behind her shoulders. The dress was held by 2 black thin straps over her shoulders, exposing the area above her cleavage. There was a pair of necklaces around her neck with dark blue jewels, while her hair was held in a similar style to her usual one with 2 blue ribbons and a black colored princess tiara on top her head. The blue dress extended down to her thighs, with a black bow wrapped around the stomach and tied up beautifully at her side. Lastly, she wore a pair of dark, see-through nylon stockings and a pair of high heels with ballerina straps around her ankles.
Apparently, her apparel seemed to be pleasing to the male eye, and while it filled her with pride knowing that she could spellbind so many with something as meager as a dress change, it nonetheless annoyed her to no end. She didn't want their looks of approval, she didn't want them eyeing her like a piece of meat they likely saw her as. She didn't dress up for them specifically in mind, anyways! In fact, there was only ONE guy, only one, whom she wouldn't mind looking at her with those eyes…
'Wait, what?! No! No-no-no-no-no! Get a hold over yourself, Noire! You're here on diplomatic business! Not to go galivanting off to find some guy!' Noire scolded herself, her eyes lighting up like flames by the second. Just as soon as the flames appeared, they soon died down when her form lost its hostility, her shoulders slouching as a… well, forlorn expression took over her features. 'Though, he isn't my enemy… not by a long shot, if anything he…'
Once again, Noire shook those thoughts off her mind, quickly searching for something else to occupy it before her treacherous brain wandered back to Nico. She soon found something else to think about, though, and that was something to do with Vert. She couldn't find Vert anywhere no matter how much she looked, and it wasn't like she wanted to get any closer to those fat pigs anyways. Thus, she hadn't tried to go through them to search for Leanbox's CPU. Of course, her bodyguard had offered to scout them out for her, but that would defeat the purpose of him being a bodyguard. Thus, he had been told t remain by her side.
Still, while she had searched for Vert's presence, she briefly felt it in the crowds, but before she could pinpoint it something blocked off her senses, utterly concealing it from her entirely. It was almost like something had found her while snooping about its territory, and thus promptly kicked her out. She had tried numerous times, but no matter what, she could not get another bead on Vert's presence. It didn't help that she almost felt like something had been trying to look for HER too, only for IT to cloak her presence to fight it off.
It almost felt like there were two forces, IT which belonged to Noire and… well, whatever Vert had, that were battling it out just with their presences alone, a straight-up up the battle of wills that took place within this very room… with its occupants being none the wiser.
Not a nice thought, she would definitely admit that… to herself, at least.
'Still, I can sense Neptune's presence nearby…' Noire thought to herself, furrowing her brows while cupping her chin with her left hand. Her right wrapped around her stomach while she glanced to the side, losing herself in thought. 'The fact that she is here not only doesn't surprise me, but it also leads me to suspect that the others are here too… Though, something about her presence feels off. I can't put my finger on it, but my senses tell me that there's something lurking deep beneath her presence, something… dark, sinful, yet whether or not its evil I can't say for certain.'
To Noire, Neptune's aura felt a little 'mixed'. Mixed as in it held both the divinity that was expected for a CPU, but there was also something else tucked in like a child hiding a cookie taken from the cookie jar. This something not only felt like the exact opposite of her aura… but somehow, it felt like it was co-existing with Neptune's body despite the difference in natures. She couldn't identify more about it than that though, thanks to it not being very 'active' in a sense right now, and that sent waves of irritation through her system. It bugged her, it bugged her like all hell that these variables had integrated themselves somehow into her otherwise 'perfect' image of how this Gala played out.
Still, nothing was ever truly perfect, a bitter pill for a prideful person like her to swallow.
Not to mention that, now that she focused, she could sense other auras around them. Auras that, to her shock, felt so similar yet different to the divine auras CPUs have. Two of them felt… concentrated, yet unique in that they didn't seem to be as 'constrained' like the CPUs' auras. Not only that but the power source didn't seem to come from Share Energy or any person's faith, yet the auras seemed divine in nature. What the hell, what were those auras, she couldn't help but think to herself.
Then, as if all that crap wasn't enough, there were these weaker variants to this aura, two of which seemed more, what was that one word… ah yes, angelic in nature. They didn't feel as powerful as a Goddess, but still way up there enough that, should they get into a fight with a Goddess, it would NOT be easy to take them down. Though, compared to the sinister/divine mix Neptune's aura possessed, these ones felt much easier to identify. Perhaps it was either because they weren't actively being suppressed, she wasn't sure exactly. However, one fact had been made clear to her from all of these new revelations, and that simple fact…
Was that the Gala would be much MORE than what it was originally intended to be.
Once again, Noire found herself contemplating what she would say to Vert, what questions would be asked and what answers needed to be given. Maybe it was just her nerves, but no matter how much her advisors and bodyguard tried to reassure her, part of Noire felt like these talks could break down at any moment, and THAT wasn't even BEGINNING to take Leanbox's dodgy politics into consideration. It eerily reminded her of an already fragile piece of glass suddenly getting rammed into full force by a large brick thrown by a full-on bodybuilder.
It didn't help that she worried about how Vert would react to all of the new changes, if what she had heard of her activities from offhanded remarks made by the public, which were then later investigated and confirmed by her Bodyguard, were true then she would be like a powder keg waiting to blow. The CPUs never had the best of relationships, it was either neutrality or outright hostility between the four of them. She remembered how Vert, however, had been the more… rational, of the four though she had her battle maniac viper-like demeanor just like the rest of them. However, with everything that was going on… well, she feared that may not be the case anymore.
"Ah, here she is, my Lady." The sound of Stefan's voice broke her from her thoughts, making her turn to look at the man as he walked up to her, Vert and Elenore in tow. She knew that man due to him being the first to talk to her face to face, seeing her as someone to be respected and thus, promptly offering such. Seeing how the rest of the Nobility were like, well human trash should be a valid interpretation, it prompted Noire to reciprocate the courtesy. The man had offered to find Vert for her since Noire couldn't find her herself. Didn't do her pride any favors, but she did find solace in that she had talked to at least a FEW important politicians from Leanbox when her reps brought them to her directly. At least she had presented herself as someone who was somewhat competent in politics, something she personally prided herself on.
When she faced the trio, Noire's eyes landed on Vert, and they quickly zeroed in on her like a hawk's. Her senses quickly became alert as IT began releasing this constant… tension from deep within her. This tension that seemed like it merely represented IT's caution. Something about Vert had placed IT on edge, yet Noire had no clue as to what that was. If she were to guess, though, she would guess she had a similar weapon to the one she had, though Noire didn't know that for certain or not. "A-Ah, thank you. Sir Stefan, Lady Elenore. Thank you for your assistance." She spoke modestly, bowing her head towards them.
"Please, think nothing of it. We're glad to be of help to you two." Elenore spoke, waving a hand dismissively as if to say, 'put it behind yourselves already'. If the look on her son's face was something to judge, it would be apparent that he felt the same way. Like mother, like son the two CPUs supposed. "In any case, it seems that our presence will not be necessary at this moment, so we shall take our leave of you two." The woman stated afterward, giving the two CPUs a wide berth before heading off with Stefan in tow.
Neither of the girls stopped them, seeing as those two weren't supposed to be involved with their business anyways. Noire even had her bodyguard, who had been silently watching them, retreat further back for the time being. Any ordinary Bodyguard would have refrained or at least protested, but Mr. LB had extensive knowledge about her stubbornness, as well as her strength thus he showed no worry for her safety. At the end, that left the two CPUs alone with one another… Including their own turmoils within.
'At last… it is finally time…' Vert thought to herself, keeping a pleasant smile on her face while placing her hands together like a proper noblewoman would. However, deeper within her a roaring inferno of different emotions raged. Anxiety, nervousness, weariness, anger, and confusion all combined into an uncomfortable mix that Vert so desperately wanted to go away. Yet, standing in front of her fellow CPU, it made her realize just how hard that would be. She had thought over so many things she had wanted to say to Noire, things that she had been memorizing since the moment she had gotten a confirmation letter that's he would be in attendance to this Gala. However, right now as she stood before the woman, Vert found a lot of those things she wanted to say having vanished from her mind. "It has been a long time, Noire."
Noire nodded, her mind a swarm of thoughts all on their own. "Yes, it has indeed." She replied with just as much courtesy as there had been in Vert's voice. Meanwhile, her own mind filled with a storm of different thoughts, thoughts that jumbled themselves into one big mess in her mind. What was she to do? How was she going to get through this? She had thought she would be ready to assert herself as Lastation's CPU towards her fellow Goddess, but apparently, the real thing felt WAY different compared to how she imagined it. It felt so… weird, meeting with another CPU like this, in human form and with little to no hostile intent. While she kept a perfectly composed demeanor outside, her internal struggles were a whole new ball game that she feared that IT would react to. Fortunately, IT seemed content to remain calm for the time being, and she'd rather not change that. She couldn't help but be thankful for her previous experiences with politicians, which had allowed her to develop a splendid poker face for when she couldn't afford to show weakness, which as a goddess of a land so full of problems means more often than not.
On her end, Vert made to open her mouth, when she glanced about at several Nobles. Her posture reminded Noire of an animal barely sensing the bloodlust of a predator, just getting into an alert phase. This lasted only for a second or two, before she calmed down and looked back to her, her previous demeanor returning in full force. "Why don't we take this elsewhere? It appears a bit crowded here, and I for one do not enjoy such nosy crowds." She offered, Noire nodding as the woman turned on her heels to walk away.
Before she followed, the hidden earpiece vibrated on her ears, making Noire aware of a call through the Codec. She allowed it to be patched through, finding it to be Mr LB. "You want me to follow you from the shadows? This could be a trap?" he questioned.
Only for Noire to shake her head. "Don't, it may be too dangerous having you following me around now, and we don't know who has their eyes on this place and the less they know about how you operate the better. Stay alert, if possible, find out where Neptune, her party, Nico, and Team RAIL are located."
"Got it, Lady Noire."
With that, she shut off the call, before following Vert out of the Main Hall. Whelp, she didn't like it in here much, anyways.
Chapter end!
Alrightie guys, this Gala's finally starting to get into the juicy stuff now. Could you tell me how you feel about my presentation of Noire and Vert's characters in the reviews? I wanna know what you think of them, if i'm accurately portraying them right.
It wasn't shown in the game, but I think that if those CPUs met under different circumstances (as in non-Neptune ones) then this would be how I would think it'd go down. Both parties have their apprehensions about the idea, yet their Nations and the threats against them are spurring them on. Thus, instead of a protagonist influencing them (as in, instead of Neptune or Nico) they are meeting in the midst of a political event hosted by Vert herself, which makes for different circumstances to meet under. How it will play out though, that will have to wait till the next chapter.
Also, there is little Nico involved as i'm trying to develop Noire and Vert as characters in this. The main character can't have all the attention, the world doesn't revolve around him after all.
Hope you guys like the chapter, lemme know what you think, and i'll see you in the next update!
Peace out!
