As Gamindustri's largest organisation outside of its nations, the Guild is an international institution. Each nation's Oracle serves as the head of their branch to promote equal treatment, while also allowing for fast movement of agents throughout the world in case of emergencies.
-Guild Handbook, Structure
November passed into December without anything out of the ordinary happening. IF was already used to her work, the infrequent battles doing their part on that matter. At this very moment however, she was just cold. Temperatures were now regularly dropping below the freezing point.
Naturally, this did not stop them from going out. Neither of them could wear much thicker clothes if they did not want to compromise their mobility. IF was better off than André and Alexis, though; those two were even shaking a little, the leanboxian woman doing so despite wearing tights and anything else she could get away with. Nepgear, clad in no more than her usual clothes, did not seem to mind.
And Gabriel, of course, was smirking at them from beneath a thin sheen of fire. It was barely visible beyond the steam it produced where snowflakes hit, laying around his body to keep him warm.
"Mages are unfair," she heard Alexis whisper to André, who chuckled in response. The cold did not get to his good mood at least.
Gabriel apparently heard them as well, seeing that he snorted in Alexis' direction. "You say that every year. Any Loweean would still run around in shorts and a shirt."
Nepgear was the only one giggling about his exaggeration; IF noticed how she really did not seem to care about the cold despite the goosebumps it send down her own legs. The brunette knew she was not that bad with low temperatures herself, so she attributed it to her new friend using some more sophisticated means of keeping warm than Gabriel was.
Indeed, they had become fast friends over the last weeks. Nepgear slowly managed to leave her shell around IF and Compa as well. She was surprisingly knowledgeable about all kinds of technology and even helped her decide on what kind of gun to buy; a nice and reliable pistol now waited in its holster at IF's hip. The purplette even modified its hilt to fit her hand perfectly.
A Wolf's howl pulled IF out of her own mind, making her focus again. With no actual task at hand, she ended up thinking too much at times. This day their duty was to patrol a marked area near the tourist spots, killing anything that entered but not pursuing.
It was slow going.
After a while of wandering around, IF sighed and turned her head. Almost invisible through the snow, Nicos' downtown area reached for the sky not too far in the distance. It was hardly visible without direct sunlight to light it up. "Will all of our patrols be so close to the city?" She did not particularly mind, but the brunette took note of it; aside from one or two pursuits into deeper parts of the forest, they had never once left the safe zone.
"Yes, for now," André told her after turning his head in the same direction. Then he pointed over his shoulder at Nepgear, who blinked their way. "It's because of you two, actually. They won't just throw you into the thick of it. From how this usually goes... I'd say we will be here for at least another six months, then it gets deeper into the forest and on actual hunts."
Both girls made understanding noises and IF dropped the matter. She might have felt not taken seriously if she had known before, but it was still hard work.
"That aside," Gabriel chimed in from the other side, "they check the actually dangerous hotspots with drones."
That was news to her. IF never really found anything on how these things worked in detail; the few searches she made on the topic yielded little concrete data, too. "I didn't know they use Bits." The ball-shaped Bit drone was Planeptune's most common model, mainly used to patrol railways and other large stretches of land.
"Nah, they don't use Bits. Or any autonomous drones, really." Gabriel shook his head and explained: "The Guild has many operators for that kind of task alone. You wouldn't want the stuff you send out to suddenly join a dangerous Monster instead of reporting it, right?"
It made sense to IF, who felt a little awkward in receiving that lecture. In hindsight, she should have guessed it right away. "Yeah, that makes sense." All autonomous machines more sophisticated than some mechanised arms in a factory eventually lost control. Everyone knew that the Deity of Sin's malicious influence could somehow distort their code. The sole exception to this day was Maker Steamax, Planeptune's first and only fully sapient android.
From the looks on her colleagues' faces, their thoughts were with the Deity of Sin as well; the eternal scourge of Gamindustri, whose spawn they fought day by day.
"That reminds me, have you heard of the heroine's curse?" Alexis looked between IF and Nepgear while the men groaned in unison.
"Don't answer," André dictated them with a pained expression. "It's her favourite conspiracy-" "-and we heard it much too often already," Gabriel finished. Alexis only pouted at them while IF considered.
However, it was the purplette by her side who spoke up first. "Um... I can't say I ever heard about this before. But I am curious..." She continued to fidget and failed to meet Gabriel's eyes, who sighed and dropped the act.
IF only barely managed not to make a face at the situation and gave her friend a light pat on the shoulder. "I saw it mentioned before, but never looked into it. What's it about, Alexis?"
With Nepgear saved, she focussed on the older brunette. Alexis smiled and gave her a grateful nod. "So, see, we have tons of names all throughout the world. There is really no limit to it all. But somehow, all children given one particular name all die early. And I mean really early, most often before their first birthday."
IF was suddenly no longer sure she liked where this was going; it was morbid and sounded absurd. Alexis either did not notice the slight frown making its way on her face, or ignored it. "No one really knows why, but secure sources confirmed that every child with that name dies. There is no other connection, it doesn't matter where they live, which time of the year they are born, what genders their parents are, nothing. Their names are the only thing they have in common.
"So the theory goes that there is something that kills these children and makes it look like perfectly normal accidents. Because come on, all of them dying makes no sense. If there was nothing unusual about the matter, at least one or two should be alive and grown up."
Alexis paused for a moment to take a deep breath. IF and Nepgear exchanged glances, neither of them all that happy with the topic anymore. Gabriel and André just shrugged.
"So," the older brunette continued without paying any mind to them, "what kind of things do we have out there that could do that? I mean sure, the CPUs and Histoire might be able to do it, but why would they? And the only other thing we know is... Her. So She must be the one doing this." She did not say the name, but everyone knew she meant the Deity of Sin.
"But why would She do that?" Nepgear was first in voicing the question, though IF thought the same thing.
Going by Alexis' smirk, that was exactly what she expected. "You see, we can't know for sure. But if She can do it to some people, She could do it to others, too. Why that name in particular? The theory is that it's the name of an old heroine who messed up Her plans, no idea if she was a goddess or a human. Someone She hates so much She'd prevent anyone from ever having the same name again."
IF barely suppressed a sigh, mainly because she could see this making sense in a way. She was not sure what she felt about the matter, but planned to look this up.
"You still don't know if every girl really was on record," Gabriel chimed in with a roll of his eyes.
Alexis only smirked back and raised a finger. "Really? I got the chance to ask Lady Histoire about it a few weeks ago." She visibly enjoyed everyones' gobsmacked expressions over giving out the new information. "I asked her if it's true that every child with that name died as a toddler or infant. She said yes."
And now IF knew she did not have to look this up. No one lied about an answer the Tome had given, or the question asked. Yet there was one question she still had: "Okay, but what is the name?" The older brunette had not mentioned it once during her tangent.
Alexis frowned for a moment and measured both girls. Then she nodded at herself for some reason. "The last piece of evidence. Arfoire."
As she spoke the name, a shudder ran through all of them. For but an instant, they knew something abominable had looked their way. A gaze they could not even comprehend brushed through their very souls.
IF understood. If it had been just her, she could have brushed it off. But all of them having the same reaction was too much to be a coincidence. This name could gather the Deity of Sin's attention.
They all stood around in a heavy silence for a bit. Alexis coughed and changed the topic with a wince, which IF was thankful for. "So, uh, how's school going? Your winter break starts soon, right?"
The younger brunette nodded slowly and brought her mind back to the upcoming break. "It's still half a month, but yes." Another thought made her throw a glance at Nepgear. "What about you? Any changes on your end over the break?"
Her friend nodded in turn, a weak smile making its way on the purplette's face. "My workload gets halved over the break. It's nice to have some more time to spend." IF immediately felt sympathy for the other girl; holidays were really the only times she could spend with friends, considering how much of her schooldays was taken up by exercises and now work. Nepgear's tutor appeared rather strict from what she mentioned.
"Heh, the struggles of a rich girl," Alexis commented with a wink. Nepgear immediately shook her head.
"Ah, I wouldn't say we are rich... sis just wants me to learn a lot is all." She did not elaborate and neither of them asked; Nepgear had a weird home life, they all knew that much.
"Hey look, a distraction!" All eyes wandered to André, who pointed to the side, at a larger group of Dogoos hopping along a few dozen metres away. His toothy grin was soon matched by everyone else; nobody complained.
Gabriel took in the group's size for a moment, then he pointed at André, Alexis, and IF. "Okay, that's a few too many to just stomp on, they might merge. You three break them up by luring them in different directions, Nepgear and I shoot them down." Everyone nodded and they immediately went. IF noticed a few red Dogoos among the mass of blue slimes, but paid them little attention. None of them had any metal colours, so it was fine.
Looking back, she noticed orbs of light and fire orbiting Gabriel and Nepgear respectively. They began to shape into tiny spears as she watched, the two mages conversing in hushed voices. Her other teammates were almost in position, the three of them forming a rough triangle around the dozens of Monsters.
Then, once she got a nod from André and Alexis each, IF stepped forward and kicked a rock to get their attention. The others did similarly, making parts of the bunch turn toward them instead. The Dogoos snuffled, but started to hop their way quickly. Their bouncing advance remained slow but steady, about half of the whole group following IF and a rough fourth each after her allies.
While slowly backing up to stay separate from the Monsters, she idled with the thought of just burning them all in one blaze. IF knew she could do that easily, but it was no more than musing on her part in the end. During her pondering, the brunette almost missed the slaughter; a dozen lances crashed into the Dogoos, leaving gaping holes in the Monsters for a moment before they exploded into light. Aside from one of the light versions, all projectiles made fluid turns and came back for most of the rest before it could do more than bounce in surprise.
After the third time, there were no more Dogoos near IF.
While the mages moved over to freeing up the others however, she noticed something lying on the ground. A somewhat fatter Dogoo had died there with the third volley.
IF slowly wandered closer and got down on one knee, her throat constricting to the point she could barely breathe. When the splintering sound of dying Monsters subsided for the last time, she forced the nausea away and took a deep breath. "Gabriel? Take a look at this." Her voice remained calm, though even the girl herself could hear the faint shiver in it.
The others were with her quickly, looking down at the partly dissolved clothes with a mixture of horror and understanding. Child-sized.
Alexis quickly ushered her up and away while Gabriel took IF's previous position. André thoughtfully blocked Nepgear's sight, though the purplette had already averted her gaze. She was looking between Gabriel's and IF's backs, her gentle expression replaced by one of sorrow.
IF felt like throwing up. Her stomach churned and something was rising up. She forced it back down and took another deep breath, eyes closed and fists clenched. Alexis kept an arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, that's the ugly part of the job." She could feel IF tense up, then relax. The girl took this much better than she herself had the first time.
"Found her," Gabriel noted after some time. He held his tablet pc in one hand, the Guild's database of missing people displayed; his expression was grim. "She was reported missing yesterday, four years old. I'm going to call in now." Nobody stopped him.
IF slowly managed to unclench her fists, noticing the fact she cut herself with her nails for the first time. Nepgear quickly took care of her, probably grateful for the distraction.
They had to wait but five minutes until a small hovercraft homed in on them, landing nearby and letting out a man in specialist uniform. He quickly took their recounting of events and carefully placed the recovered clothes in a container, then thanked them before flying off again. During those minutes, IF remained seated where she was on a bare root, snow gathering on her head almost as fast as it could melt.
She had never stopped to consider how this would affect others. Even if she admitted to herself part of the reason was that others should not end up like her, IF knew it was mainly for herself. She did not want to be weak.
Today was the first day she truly understood that even with all the strength she acquired, those around her were no stronger for it. This child was no one she knew, but it could have easily been; it could have been Compa, too. A deep cold emerged from somewhere deep within at that thought.
Nepgear, seeing her friend's distress, excused herself quietly and went off into the forest, stomping a lone Dogoo underfoot as she went. No one stopped her, thus no one saw her determined expression. Once she was out of hearing range, the purplette flipped open her phone and speed-dialed the one person she could ask for advice.
It felt much longer to Nepgear, but her phone had only rung once before the call was picked up. "Did something happen?" Her usually chipper sister sounded more serious at this moment, leaving out much of her usual cheer; they both knew Nepgear did not call during work except in emergencies.
A quick explanation later, the girl anxiously waited for her sibling's response. She had no idea what to do to make IF feel better, but she knew she hated seeing her like this.
Neptune's answer came softly, understanding. "There's not much you can do. 'Be there for her' is the best I can tell you. But you're a smart girl, and a sweet one. You'll figure it out from there. Now shoo, go back."
The last part came with more cheer, which made the younger sister giggle. "Okay!"
With her own spirits lifted for the moment, Nepgear ended the call and went back around the time the specialists took off again. With IF still sitting, she made her way over and offered a hand to help her up.
It took a moment for the brunette to notice the gesture, but she took it nonetheless. Nepgear easily lifted her off the ground and to her feet; then she gave her friend's hand a little squeeze before letting go. IF's eyes widened the smallest bit, but she cracked a weak smile in response.
"Um... do you need a...?" She felt a little sheepish having to ask, but offered her handkerchief nonetheless. IF appeared to consider her question for a moment, but shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks."
They were interrupted by Gabriel, who had an eye on his wristwatch. "We're about done anyway, let's head back." He looked around for disagreement, but no one spoke up. So he pointed toward the faint lights signalling Nicos' position. "That way."
With how oppressive the snow had felt after their find, IF was glad that it stopped falling on the way. Her hair was cold and clammy, making her wonder if she should wear a hat next time. Then she felt a warm gust and found a perfectly pristine Nepgear drying her with flickers of flame and wind. "You're going to catch a cold," the purplette noted when their eyes met. IF just snorted, but let her continue.
They made it into town after some walking, exchanging nods with the staff manning the main tunnel. Once the group moved by the first parking lot however, something jumped out from behind the wall. "Surprise!" Someone, in fact, who nearly bowled IF over and came to rest on Nepgear's back.
While Gabriel and Alexis each took a step back in surprise and IF needed a moment to get upright again after dodging, Nepgear just turned her head with obvious surprise. A petite figure was attached to her back; their soft facial features and lilac locks were so similar that nobody needed any introductions to know they were related. In difference to Nepgear's long hair however, the newcomer's barely reached her shoulders.
"Well," IF broke the silence with an amused tone, "you never mentioned having a little sister." That one was a good ten centimetres smaller than Nepgear, with a cheerful smile and shining lilac eyes. She somehow managed to keep the expression even while pouting, though Nepgear fidgeted a little.
"Um... I don't, actually. This is my big sister, Neptune."
"Hey there!"
She waved the moment she was introduced, an adorable blob of joy that IF could not really believe was the older one. She gave both of them incredulous looks, as did the other three. "Yeah, not buying that." Alexis looked them both over with a mock frown. "I was promised a pretty woman."
"Nope~" Neptune popped the p cheerfully and pointed at herself. "There's two Neps in this family. I'm the cute big sister and Nepgear is the hot little sister." For emphasis, one of her arms went lower before pressing at Nepgear and pushing her bust up. The taller purplette blushed and swatted her sister off her back. "Sis, stop!"
Neptune only giggled, but complied and unlocked her legs from Nepgear's waist. She landed on the ground with ease, a perfect picture of innocence next to her flustered sibling.
IF needed another moment to comprehend just how different they were; yet, she could see their similarities in almost everything, from their features over the hair to the colouring of their clothes. Neptune wore a big, white sweater with purple embroidery and striped thigh-highs, a big D-Pad clipped into her hair where Nepgear had two.
Once the adults were done being amused by Nepgear's state of being however, they soon caught onto the fact Neptune greeted especially IF with enthusiasm, as well as the younger sister's hopeful expression. They exchanged glances among each other, followed by a set of nods. Then Gabriel spoke up, gathering the younger ones' attention: "I guess we'll leave you three to it then. See you tomorrow."
Only Nepgear appeared to catch what he actually meant; IF nodded and raised a hand while Neptune pouted. "Alright, I guess? I mean, I don't mind giving you guys a ride." She pointed at one of the cars, then shrugged. Gabriel just eyed her car in turn. "You realise there wouldn't be enough room for all of us, ma'am?"
Now Neptune looked back and forth before counting everyone; the car she had motioned for was a normal one, four seats and a potential fifth one. "Oh, huh... I guess. Have fun anyway!" Back was the cheer as she waved as well; the other adults chuckled and shook their heads, waving as they went off.
"So, nice to meet you, Iffy." The brunette hardly had any time to comprehend what was going on before her hand was taken and shaken enthusiastically.
However, she did notice the nickname, throwing Nepgear a glance; the purplette quickly shook her head. "No no, I didn't tell her. Goodness..."
Neptune cocked her head to the side, but quickly dropped the matter in favour of giving IF a little push. "No idea what you're talking about, but I meant it when I said I'm driving you. Hop on in and tell me where to." IF followed her a little more slowly, slightly overwhelmed by the pure cheer this being next to her exuded. Nepgear smiled apologeptically, yet said nothing.
Once they were all seated, with the teens in the back and Neptune in front, the older purplette skillfully brought her car on the road. It was quiet at first, yet their driver's gentle humming made it near-impossible for the heavy atmosphere to return; Neptune followed the radio's tune, a gentle song of 5pb. currently playing.
Nepgear fidgeted from time to time, but ultimately broke the silence herself. "It's, uh, we get that a lot recently." When IF glanced her way, she quickly elaborated. "About sis being my little sister, I mean." The brunette made an understanding noise and took a deep breath, noticing the earthy scent surrounding both sisters for the first time. It was similar to the pleasant smell after rain fell.
Shaking off this thought, IF sighed and addressed the elephant in the room. "I... I never really thought about it. So far this was just about me." It hurt a little to admit, though she still saw no fault with it. She wanted this for herself first and foremost, to prove to herself that she could be strong.
Nepgear nodded, a faint frown drawing sad lines over her face. "I get that, I guess. I haven't really thought about it before myself. Or... at least not imagined how it would feel, even without actually seeing anything." The purplette hesitantly offered her hand again, which IF took and squeezed. Knowing that she was not alone with those feelings, the brunette felt a little bit lighter.
Then again, she was never one to mope for long. After another deep breath, she let go and threw her friend a smirk. "Not like you were out of it at all. I guess you're better at stomaching this than I am."
Much to their surprise, the next response came from the front seat. Neptune had an eye on them in the back mirror, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Yup, my little sis is a tough one. She's just hiding it under that timid shell of hers. Maybe it's time to break out and become a beautiful butterfly soon?"
Nepgear blushed under the praise while IF snorted as quietly as possible.
They managed to talk about a few more normal topics and by the time IF stepped out of the car in front of her home, she actually felt reasonably well again. She would still have much to think about between hitting her mattress and falling asleep, but for now she was okay. She raised a hand to see the sisters off. "See you tomorrow."
Nepgear and Neptune both waved, the latter much more enthusiastically than the former. ""See you!"" They even spoke in near-unison, making the brunette smile, before driving off.
Night had fallen at this point, though neither purplette was bothered by it. Neptune had turned off the radio and snuggled further into her seat, hands firmly on the steering wheel. Nepgear relaxed a little more and offered her older sister a bright smile. "Thank you for the advice, it really helped me there... it sounds so obvious in hindsight, but I really wasn't sure what to do." Neptune only hummed in response, which prompted her to just carry on. "IF is a nice girl, I'm glad I met her after all. Maybe I can introduce her to Uni sometime, I'm sure she would like another friend, too."
The older purplette simply giggled before throwing an amused glance backward, catching her sister's eyes. "I'm sure she'll like her, though not as much as you." With her goal of flustering Nepgear complete, she turned her attention back to driving and the conversation faded out for a bit. Both of them kept their own train of thought going until the younger sister finally realised something that was said earlier.
"When you said that about the butterfly," she started hesitantly, "did you mean it? Do you really think it's going to happen soon?" Neither of them even commented on the fact it was a rather obvious simile, at least to them.
Neptune shrugged in response. "You know I can't say for sure, it's different for everyone. I was fifteen, Blanc was fourteen, Noire was twenty four and Vert thirty." She frowned slightly, ignoring Nepgear's attentive stare. "But I have a gut-feeling it will be soon."
Nepgear took the words in before smiling. Then she giggled. "Ehehe, are you sure it doesn't just want more pudding?" The question made Neptune giggle in turn, though she did not deny it.
"Say, did you see the building she lived in? It looked rather big." Nepgear steered the conversation elsewhere afterward. When her sister motioned to elaborate, she offered a thoughtful expression. "I haven't asked her yet, but she mentioned not having much money. How could her family live in such a big place?"
She still pondered the implications, but her sister's words cut her off: "She's got a big family, y'know? Being an orphan and all."
"Oh." In this moment, Nepgear was incredibly glad not to have kept the question for IF. It would have been awkward, maybe have made her angry despite how mellow she usually was. The purplette cringed slightly to herself, imagining all the horrible things that could or could not have happened to their budding friendship.
Until Neptune sighed loudly, that was. She rolled her eyes and gave Nepgear a look. "Now don't be so surprised, everyone's got some things they aren't happy talking about. Just be cool about it, she won't bite your head off for being rude without knowing." The younger purplette nodded quietly, deep in thought again. Even the city's lights flickering in through the windows did not disturb her.
Neptune let her be in her own head for the time being; she was overall happy with the day and the fact her sister did not have to brood over what happened earlier.