Alright, this is quite the charged chapter. Pretty fun to write overall, but damn if my heart wasn't tired after it all. IF's suffering comes crashing in full force this chapter. Be ready.


[8] - Re: Dread


Lastation. The land of black progress. Filled with bustling industry and corporations looking to make a profit. A nightmare for some and the perfect playden for many. A city of hustling people, each working and working and filling as much of their time with working.

IF huffed. She liked Lastation, she really did, but the people here were too uptight for her tastes. She didn't go here all that often, but it was nice to be back here. It was nice to see it standing, to see it filled with people and not-

IF smiled thinly. The disaster struck everyone, but Lastation had taken it hard. She could still remember the smog that'd filled the air, the painful weight of ash and dust as she stood by the sidelines. She'd watched as Noire walked over it, eyes dull as she began clawing at the rubble, and IF could feel her heart break and break and-

She closed her eyes and breathed. This…wasn't the time to break. Not now.

She slowly opened her eyes. She felt cold all of a sudden. Her skin could no longer feel the warmth of the sun. She idly rubbed her hands together, letting out a shaky breath as she forced her bubbling thoughts back down.

Not. Now.

…The plane she'd be boarding wouldn't be here until tomorrow. She'd already gone and booked herself a room for the night. All that was left was for her to…enjoy herself, she supposed. She didn't really have a plan. She still didn't.

She was just wandering at the moment, following the flow of the crowd as she took in the scenery. It's strange really. She remembered how animated Nepgear became when she first arrived her, and how she'd dragged her and Compa around as they went window shopping. It felt like it'd been a lifetime since that event.

IF smiled softly. It was a memory she held fondly.

She continued wandering. She passed by a cafe she faintly remembered liking. She went over a bridge she'd met Uni on. She went through the shop district she and Compa had gone through as they waited for Nepgear. She took a small visit to the mechanical museum Nepgear loved to go to.

She stopped for a moment for the Basilicom, before she continued on.

She walked and walked and walked, her thoughts muddled as she followed along the ghosts of the past. The crowd around her blurred away, meshing into the world like one giant ambiguous blob. Her body felt cold despite the glaring sunlight.

She took a deep breath. Everything was really back, wasn't it?

THeN whY aRE yOu hERe?

IF shook her head and continued walking. She'd been walking for a couple hours, and she was nowhere close to finishing an entire tour around the place. She should eat lunch, but she…didn't feel all that hungry, not anymore. She could just eat an extra large dinner to compensate for it.

She could go back to her hotel and sleep, but that'd be terribly boring, wouldn't it? And she doubted Histoire would approve of her spending her time lazing around. Neptune certainly would though.

In the end, she found herself a public library, picked a book to read and barricaded herself inside. It wasn't what she initially had in mind, but this was fine. She wasn't much of a bookworm, but she enjoyed reading once in a while.

Ah, she couldn't wait to get to Lowee. Not to say anything about other countries, but Lowee's book collection beat the rest by a landslide. That place was essentially heaven for book lovers. Fitting, considering Blanc was the CPU.

She smiled slightly. She wasn't all that close with the CPU, but she was a friend nonetheless. That, and they were comrades who'd suffered far too much annoyance at Neptune's weird shenanigans.

She wasn't quite sure when she'd take a visit, but she knew she would. Lowee was a land primarily focused on magic instead of technology. It'd be a good place for her to research and create some magic skills to use.

…She sighed. She couldn't focus on her book at all. She hadn't gone past the first five pages.

With an apologetic smile, she returned her book to the librarian and left. She wandered the streets for several more minutes before she settled down and ate some dinner. She went back to her hotel room soon after.

She laid on the bed for a couple minutes, grimacing, before she took out a pair of iron knives. She didn't have much to do. She might as well use the night to train her Dagger Mastery.

So she did, and nearly forgot to sleep if not for her phone's alarms.


IF frowned, rubbing small circles on her thigh as she stared out the window. They were about to land, and her anxiety was spiking. The man sitting next to her had been worried, but she smiled and told him that she had a slight fear of flying.

Which wasn't all that wrong, she supposed. She hated how vulnerable she felt. If the engine blew up, then she'd be helpless. It was why she stopped flying on planes in the future. It was an easy way to get herself killed.

The airport was in view. Her legs needed to move, but she clamped them down. The man beside her asked again. Her smile was slightly more brittle this time.

She needed to leave. She couldn't be trapped. She needed room. She needed room before they came and took everyone and then she'd be alone and weak and dyingdyingdyingdying-

"Miss?"

IF gasped, and she felt a hand gently pat her on the back. She looked around slowly. The plane was…empty? Where was everyone?

"Miss?" He asked again. His voice sounded oddly distant, but she did her best to listen. "Miss, we've landed. Are you okay?"

Oh. They've landed? That-, that makes sense. Right. She was back on land. She was back. She just needed to stand and leave, right?

She slowly stood up and thanked the man. He looked at her worriedly, but she smiled and shook her head. She felt…terrible, but she'd get better. The man gave her one last worried glance before he nodded and left. She watched him leave and let her smile fall.

She looked around. There really wasn't anyone left. The man had really stayed behind for her. How kind of him.

She took a deep breath. This crippling fear was…annoying. She should get something to allow Soul Blazer to ride over water. That'd eliminate the need for airplanes.

She huffed out a small laugh. That'd be pretty cool.

With a sigh, she finally left the plane. She followed along the flight attendants, walking along the now empty corridors. They made some light chatter along the way; she was glad 5pb. was as popular as ever, before they made it to the exit. IF blinked for a moment, confused why she wasn't going through Passport Control, before she remembered that she'd shown her Basilicom Card. She didn't need to go through all that.

How convenient.

She bid the lady farewell and stepped out, smiling as she saw the ever so familiar Basilicom standing in the distance.

Leanbox. The land of Green Pastures, led by Green Heart. A land closely related to the fauna that inhabited the island. The people had long relied on nature for survival, and so Leanbox showed such reliance with pride. Large trees and plants that would've been cut down were left to grow, and magic sprites floated through the air, gently glowing as they floated about.

She liked Leanbox. She really did. She loved the games they made here, the events they held here, and the people that lived here. Not that she mentioned that to Neptune. She'd flip if she did.

"Excuse me, Ms. IF?"

IF blinked. That voice sounded familiar. She looked around, trying to find where the voice was coming from, only to suddenly feel a hand on her shoulder.

And no, she did not shriek, thank you very much.

"Ms. IF?"

"O-Oh." IF sighed in relief. Red hair, green eyes, armour that looked more like a maid outfit, and an insane ability for sneaking. Definitely Cave. "Yes, that's me."

Cave nodded. "I am Cave. I've been sent to escort you by Lady Green Heart." IF stared for a moment. She was…being escorted? She didn't remember asking for an escort. "I…didn't ask for an escort though?"

The lady simply tilted her head. "I was notified that you were experiencing difficulties after your plane flight." She said, and IF smiled thinly. So that's why.

She sighed. "Lead the way then."

Cave nodded, and so they went. They didn't talk much on the way, and that was fine. IF knew Cave wasn't the most talkative person, and primarily spoke to 5pb. and Chika. She was fine with that.

She wasn't. They'd been friends once.

It hurt.

"Here we are." Cave said, and IF looked up at the Basilicom they'd stopped right in front of. It looked virtually the same as she remembered. It looked the same.

"Thanks." She said with a small smile. Cave bowed and left her. IF turned back to the doors and frowned. The door looked larger than it did before. She took a breath and entered.

A small laugh bubbled out. Even the insides looked the same as she remembered. The office was clean and modern, the lights glowed a gentle orange, and virtual screens decorated the walls. There was a faint smell of mint in the air, and IF took a small step forward.

It looked so, so similar.

"I'm assuming you're IF?"

She turned to the side. Pale green hair. Red eyes. A stylish black mini dress. A charming, if somewhat suspicious smile. IF restrained a small sob. "I am."

The lady's smile turned a tad more genuine. "I see. I'm Hakozaki Chika, the Oracle of Leanbox. It's nice to finally meet the one Histoire has been bragging to us about."

IF blinked. "Bragging?" She asked. "Histoire was…bragging about me?"

Chika huffed. "Yes. She has." Chika gave no more explanations, and IF wryly laughed. She…wasn't quite sure what to think of that. Why would Histoire 'brag' about her anyways?

"I'm sorry for that." IF said, and Chika laughed and waved it off.

"It's fine. It's nice that she finally found someone she cares for." Chika smiled, and IF couldn't help but smile back. She was glad she'd met Histoire as well. "Anyways," Chika said. "My dear sister is getting ready at the moment, so please wait, okay?"

She nodded and took a seat at one of the many empty tables. She surfed through the internet, looking through the recent news as she waited. Nothing strange seemed to be happening it seemed, aside from the 5pb. concert that'd be held in a couple days. She made sure to note that down on her calendar.

She smiled. The girl was still somewhat new to the idol scene at the moment, but her popularity had quickly skyrocketed. Which made sense. The girl was a blessing upon this world, and any who disliked her were clearly delusional.

Well, perhaps not that extreme, but her point stands.

Her smile dropped. 5pb. had been instrumental in dismantling ASIC. The songs she produced gave the people of Gamindustri something else to focus on despite the worrying circumstances the world was heading towards.

But how did ASIC start in the first place? Who instigated it? Was it CFW Magic? Arfoire's ghost? Or was it just a set of small missteps that eventually snowballed into the need to revive Arfoire's true form?

She knew for a fact that ASIC was created before Neptune was imprisoned in the Gamindustri Graveyard. And from what Underli-, Linda said, CFW Magic seemed to be an actual person before she became a vessel for Arfoire's will. That probably meant that the three other CFWs were also actual people before they transformed.

But who could they be? Finding the three other CFWs' identities were practically impossible, but finding CFW Magic would be possible, just improbable. She'd need to find Linda first, and that in itself was a challenge.

She sighed. In the grand scheme of things, ASIC and Arfoire's revival didn't mean much. They were threats, sure, but they were an isolated incident that belonged in the Hyperdimension.

But the threat they carry remained. Arfoire's revival would agitate the Gamindustri Graveyard, and it'd cause the walls between dimensions to thin. It was pretty much what led Neptune to get sucked into the Ultradimension.

And something could force their way into Hyperdimension just as easily.

"My, my, what are you thinking so hard about, IF?" She suddenly heard someone say, and she turned to see Vert sitting across her. IF didn't know when she'd sat down. She just hoped she didn't leave the CPU in silence for too long.

"About things." She said ambiguously. Vert giggled, and IF felt herself smile. "It's been a while, Bianca."

Vert blinked at her for a moment, before she smiled. Seemed like she forgot that she used a fake name. "It has. Ah, but call me Vert, okay?"

"Vert." IF repeated. The name easily rolled over her tongue. "Vert it is."

It's strange really. There shouldn't be anything strange with saying her name. She'd said it countless times before. The woman was her friend. They'd done so much together. Her hobby of reading romance novels stemmed from her.

It's strange. Vert was hugging her now, whispering sweet nothings into her ears as she rubbed her back. IF didn't know why. She didn't know why she hugged back, why her cheeks felt wet, why she was screaming and crying as she held this woman she'd done so much with.

Ah. That's it.

That Vert was gone, wasn't she? That woman she'd played hours of games with, that woman she'd fought monsters with, that woman she'd accidentally slept with, that woman who'd saved her.

That woman was gone, wasn't she?

So she cried. She cried and cried as she hugged Vert with all her might. No one was left. Nothing was left. Only she was left.

Only she was left to remember, and her heart broke.


Vert wasn't quite sure how long it'd been since IF fell asleep. She'd been in a daze, jumping from one thought to another as she did her best to untangle the mess of emotions IF had let out.

It was a beautiful mix of longing and relief, tainted with the colours of regret and hopelessness and so many other dark colours she couldn't identify. Her soul had been guarded, covered by a colourless sheet, and it'd broken the moment IF uttered her name.

She was worried.

She worried, because for a moment, she'd seen an image. She didn't know what it was, whether it was a memory or otherwise. But the moment she tried to comfort the crying girl, she'd seen something. She's seen a world that was dying, seen a sky that was cracking apart, and seen her walk over a dying world with no one by her side.

She worried, because she felt like she knew this girl. From the first moment she'd come in her sights, it'd felt as if a missing piece of her life had been slotted back in. She knew, then and there, that this was a girl she'd give everything away for, someone she would hold close and never dare to let go.

She wondered why that was.

"Dear sister…" She heard Chika say. "Is she alright?"

"She isn't." Vert said simply. Because what else could she say? The girl was slowly breaking, her heart was tearing itself open. "And I don't know what to do."

"Dear sister…"

Vert smiled. "But I won't remain still." She stood up, and a flame lit in her heart. "We'll do as much as we can to cheer her up. After all," Vert blinked at her oracle. "I'm a CPU, aren't I?"

Chika giggled. "You are indeed, dear sister. But," She looked over to IF and frowned. "Will that be enough?"

Would it? Vert didn't know, but that hadn't stopped her before. Truth be told, her rise as a CPU wasn't a clean one. She had to claw tooth and nail to begin drawing faith from her people, and many were still reeling from the major shift their lives suddenly went through.

A lack of faith had never stopped her. Possibility of failure had never stopped her. She knew she couldn't rid the girl of her fears and worries. She knew the scars she carried would remain until her passing. But she'd help. She'd be someone the girl could turn to, someone the girl could come home to when she had no place to go.

It was a promise.


IF canonically doesn't have a fear of planes, but I added it in for this IF, mostly for reasons I'm not going to reveal at the current moment. Just a quick heads up about it.