We do not talk about 404. Tis a silly year, just pretend it does not exist.

-Unknown CPU

Sitting down, IF let out a sigh over the prospect of another ninety minutes in transition. "I have to admit, I didn't expect that being a Maker will be mostly sitting around."

Steamax chuckled as he fixed his seatbelt, one of his eyeslits blinking in what she figured was a wink. "It is not that much unless we have to go to the borders. Battle rarely takes long, but we usually have several engagements with monsters each day. Today has simply been a calm day." Which was obviously code for them not wanting to overburden her immediately, IF thought.

Once Nepgear had undone the lock on their ride's controls, she turned them around and flew off. IF kept her eyes on the window and watched the area she just fought in. As they left, a swarm of drones moved in to search the area for hostiles. The Guild had returned to work, scouting the area in case the army would have to sweep up the remnants.

Her colleague's modulated voice took IF out of her observations when he addressed her: "You did well." Turning, she found Steamax with his head slightly lowered in thought. "Most newcomers I saw over the years were rather overwhelmed after their first battle. You look a little tired."

"...Thanks." There really was little else to say, though it did make her glad to know she was performing well enough. Considering that her clothes were damp with sweat however, she attributed his rather positive assessment to the fact he likely lacked a sense of smell. Though IF had to admit that she was not exhausted just yet; her magic reserves were still above the halfway point, and her body took well enough to the few instances of Awakening she had to make use of so far.

Granted, as long as one had a way to hit them without touching, Giant Dogoos were easy in comparison to most of the other monsters.

The android simply nodded and they remained quiet on the journey back.

As the afternoon slowly encroached on them, IF's clothes gradually dried until she could put her coat back on. She took the time to relax and check herself over with healing magic just in case. During the last few minutes of their journey home, Nepgear spoke up from the pilot's seat: "I think we can stop pretending today is a regular day for you. We normally would shoo you two out to another assignment immediately, but you get off the hook this time."

IF frowned at that while Steamax chuckled, but Nepgear gently cut off any attempt to talk back: "I know you are ready for it, but you should still take today to get used to how things work. Take the rest of the day off and know what to expect tomorrow."

Even when delivered benignly, IF could tell it was an order. She sighed, leaning back in her seat and accepting her fate.

. .

. .

The sun was high in the sky when she wandered the streets of Nicos. Many parts of the city lay in shadow during certain times of day, but there was none to be found with the light bearing down from almost right above. Planeptower's vast canopy was the only source of twilight and IF found some people walk the streets with parasols. Most likely loweean tourists.

Her coat got some looks, but most people did not seem to pay it much mind; their attention was much more focussed on IF in general. Eyes kept following her, people respectfully stepped aside to let her pass, children waved and squealed when she waved back, it was surreal in a way. No one had ever paid much attention to IF, now everyone did.

Shaking off those thoughts, the young woman considered what to fill her free afternoon with; going home already felt like a waste.

Then someone called out to her. "Excuse me, Lady IF?" In such a respectful manner that she had to pause and consider if it was really her they spoke to. IF turned her head toward the speaker, finding a man slightly taller than herself. He was dressed in a shirt and shorts, wearing a friendly smile.

Once she looked at him, the man stepped closer and held a business card out to her. "I'm Clovis Segal, from Hedgehog News, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." IF blinked and took the card, putting it into her pocket after a quick glance. "I was wondering if you would have time for a short interview?"

That, she realised, she really should have expected. Hedgehog News was one of Planeptune's leading newspapers after all, as archaic as it sounded in this nation. Next to all the computer screens, people were delighted to have actual paper to read from once in a while.

It had not really sunk in so far, but she became famous basically over night.

Considering that she was free for the day and had nothing to do, IF figured that it could not hurt and nodded. "Sure."

"Fantastic!" He clapped his hands in delight and offered her a wide smile. "I'm glad to get this chance; may I buy you lunch as a thank you?" His offer was a bit of a surprise, though IF did not mind the friendliness.

"Of course, thank you." She motioned for the journalist to lead the way, following his rather sedate pace. At least it was sedate in her opinion. They quickly made their way through the shopping district and to a nearby restaurant; none of the particularly fancy places IF knew were around, but it was definitely a step above where she would usually go with her friends.

All the way, people kept on whispering when they saw her; it was a little unnerving, even while she knew they were not talking badly about her.

The staff of the restaurant immediately noticed her as well, and the two of them were led to a free table. With their orders taken moments later, it was down to her and Clovis looking at each other. He appeared to be a few years older than her and a little more sturdy in his build, though IF could not say for sure; she did not interact with many men for some reason, so she could not really compare.

Being interviewed was not exactly new to her, either. She had accepted a few interviews back in the day, after the incident with the Ancient Dragon.

Granted, Neptune had told her half of the answers she was supposed to give to make sure she did not receive undue attention ahead of time. Now however, IF was on her own and had to figure out how to go about this. She took a sip of water that had already been provided, nodding at Clovis to get started. He quickly brought out a tablet to keep notes, never losing his smile as he did.

The questions, IF found, were indeed rather basic and easy to answer. Nothing about current politics or internal affairs, the latter of which she was not sure she was allowed to talk about in the first place.

How did she feel as a new Maker, what did she expect from her position, what were her thoughts about being particularly young, some questions about the Ancient Dragon from two years prior, it continued like this.

The man obviously did his research about her, but remained respectful and did not push for answers where she did not want to give them.

What IF did answer, she answered truthfully and once they had eaten, she left a rather happy journalist. It made sense to her, too; no matter her own feelings on the matter, she was now a public persona. Being the first one to interview her directly would obviously be an achievement.

With the question of lunch taken care of, IF found herself back at wondering how to spend her day. She considered this before simply deciding to take a long walk. It was quite relaxing to do that, not to mention that any crowded place would mean more attention.

People kept on greeting her on her stroll, especially older folk; it was as if the events from two years ago began to repeat themselves. Only that IF now started to realise it would not stop. She was a Maker and planned to stay one for a long while.

"Oh joy..."

Her comment was quiet when she said it, followed by a deep breath. Neptune never really said anything about the matter, but she could see how obvious it had been. Of course people paid attention to the Makers. The heroes of the realm.

A few minutes later, once she had entered her favourite park and taken some distance to the other people around, IF drew her phone. As expected, Neptune picked up immediately. "Yes yes, Iffy? Are you quitting?" Her question was nonchalant; they both knew the answer anyway.

"No. Just curious about something." She waited for a moment while Neptune hummed and told her to go on, brows furrowed slightly. "How much attention can I expect from the media?"

The resulting laughter was not encouraging. Neptune giggled for a while, leaving IF to sit down on a bench and lean back to watch the canopy above. When the purplette answered, it was with an amused tone: "Oh Isa, you're going to get swamped in them. First come the interviews, then more interviews, then the talk shows, then they will start offering you gigs to play in commercials and so on."

IF just heaved a sigh, which prompted more giggling. "Heh, don't worry. You just have to say no." Neptune did not appear to be concerned at all. "I mean, I'm sure you would rock any underwear-commercials they get you for, but we both know you really don't want to do that kind of thing."

She rolled her eyes; with how self-concious she was, that would certainly never happen. Just the idea had her blush already.

"Don't think too much about it. It's even worse for us CPUs, y'know?" She had not known that. "Nepgear and Uni keep complaining, but I know each of them took some of those requests and boy can I tell you, having a CPU's face on your advertising makes business boom."

That was news to her; IF raised an eyebrow at no one in particular and decided to look up what her friends had been doing. Knowing them, it was probably engineering-related. "On a guess, Nepgear promoted her favourite tech-manufacturers?"

"Corrrrrect! A hundred points for Isa!" Now she had to chuckle while Neptune continued being silly.

. .

. .

The next few days continued like this one had; only that, instead of getting to fight one larger group of monsters, they zipped around the country fighting any number between one and a dozen. Giant Dogoos, Fenrirs, Dolphins, Whales, Ancient Dragons. IF had seen no Phoenixes yet, but figured she would get the chance in due time. More large monsters existed, but they were not seen in Planeptune as often as those few types.

For some reason however, she did not end up dead tired every day like RED teased she would be; IF was not the most lively after two to ten engagements depending on travel time, but she did manage to stay awake until her regular bedtime without much trouble.

Another problem she had to face theses days were the reporters, though. They began to seek her out every waking hour that she was not at work. On her third day on the job, IF decided that it was enough and began to tell them no. Outside of a few interviews that did interest her, every offer was refused. She also turned down everyone who approached her during morning exercises or on the way to work on principle.

She found that at least the other citizens were not as bothersome; even as days turned into weeks and the flood of requests slowly subsided, everyone kept on treating her with respect and insisted on accomodating her. As, for example, she had not have to stand in line at the supermarket at all ever since.

Two weeks in, IF sat together with her fellow Makers in the lounge. It was a slow day and they spent their time playing cards.

"So, how do you guys deal with the media attention?" She was honestly curious about this, though the first response she got from both of them was a shrug.

"I honestly just told them no and you're already doing that," RED answered after folding her cards and putting them down. The redhead wore an easy smile and gave IF a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Iffy. It should go back a lot over the next month or so. Maybe a little longer because you're so young, that has everyone excited and curious."

It made sense, though she did not have to like it.

"Quite." Steamax calmly put a card onto the pile and turned back to her afterward. "I have been a Maker for many years now, so people no longer flood me in requests. I still get my fair share, and you can believe me that it was awful when I was first appointed. You may be young, but I am unique as an android."

IF nodded understandingly; she could imagine the kind of attention such a matter would get. "But it slowed down after a while?"

"A few years, really." He did not sound too bothered. "At least it would have been, if Lady Neptune's prediction had been correct." He chuckled. "Seeing that the program I was built in is still not public knowledge, and people kept on asking about that together with other such matters... well. I simply kept answering most questions in an interview with 'That is classified'. It did not take more than a month for them to stop asking."

Both women chuckled over the tale. "That's mean," RED noted mirthfully. "I love it."

"And you got one over Nep, that's a nice bonus." IF received agreeing nods from her colleagues; she held an easy smile in such a relaxed atmosphere.

It became a little more strained when a fourth voice chimed in loudly: "Guess what, it's your favourite Nep!" And there she was, standing in the doorframe with a bright grin and raised arms. "I bring good news and will gracefully overlook that you just made fun of me like the benevolent ruler I am!"

"Benevolent rulers don't eavesdrop on their subordinates," IF shot back while RED continued to giggle. Steamax simply turned toward Neptune to wait for the news.

"Not normally, true. I have the Inquisition for that." Unrepentant, Neptune strolled into the room and hopped on one of the other tables to sit. She gave them all a thumbs up. "Anyway, Leanbox and Lastation currently have a low on monsters, so they don't mind sending us some more hands."

IF blinked at that; she knew Makers were often sent around between the nations to react to higher or lower than average numbers of spawns. She had not expected it to happen this fast.

"Don't look like that, Iffy!" Neptune teased cheerfully. "We're getting Tekken and Falcom!" She threw her arms up again; IF knew it was exaggerated, coming from the purplette, but she did feel some excitement over meeting more of her colleagues as well.

However, her own feelings obviously did not match RED's, who had jumped out of her chair and began to dance around the room. "Yes, my wifeys are coming over!" Steamax just chuckled while IF rolled her eyes.

The redhead quickly plucked Neptune from her table and began to dance with her, displaying the same grace she had in the midst of battle. Both of them were laughing.

. .

. .

"Looks like you finally found work that fits your power level," Compa supplied with a smile. The following evening saw them in a cafe, IF tired from a monster hunting trek through a good bit of Planeptune.

The brunette merely waved her friend off, who giggled and sipped from her coffee; IF considered her own tea, but left it to cool a little longer. She cast a glance to her friend. "You're not wrong. It's still weird that people keep watching me." True to her words, the majority of other patrons kept stealing glances at her when they thought she was not looking.

Compa shrugged over that, being a little uncomfortable herself. "I get that, I guess? I have people asking me questions about you, too. Not just reporters, my friends want to know more, too." That last part had IF tilt her head, though her friend appeared to think it amusing.

In the end, she just shook her head. "I don't think that is good behaviour. We never really got along, so I won't start talking to them now." It was fairly easy to assume that her fame had brought the attention.

"I agree." Compa shrugged again before taking up her cup. "And I told them that, too." She sipped from it again while IF blinked; she often forgot how harsh her friend could be when she wanted to.

During the pause in their conversation, someone else spoke up: "Do you mind if I sit here?" It was a pleasant female voice coming from behind IF; she did not notice Compa's eyes going wide while turning around, but the refusal died in her throat when she saw who stood there.

Short, red hair framed a mature face with an easy smile that she had seen before; the other woman had a slender build much like IF herself, clad in a blue and white shirt with dark blue shorts. On her hip was a single sheathed blade, and a trolley sat behind her.

"...yes, sure." Completely baffled, IF stood to push her own chair aside a little, allowing the redhead to get seated. She thanked her with a smile while Compa continued to gape.

Maker Falcom, the sword goddess. Easily the most competent human swordswoman on the planet, and allegedly skilled enough to even disarm the Lady Black Sister.

"Sorry to jump you so unexpectedly," the redhead started with an apologeptic smile while grabbing for the menu. "I decided to come a little earlier and get set up for tomorrow, but then I saw pictures of you on Chirper and figured I might as well say hello."

IF nodded slowly, taking in the explanation and ignoring the excited chatter going around the place. Then Falcom's statement registered and she frowned. "Wait, what pictures?"

Quickly snapping open her own phone, the brunette heaved a sigh when she found pictures of Compa and her sitting right where they were. She only barely stopped herself from throwing nasty glares around.

"Yeah, it happens to all of us. I actually recognised the place because RED took me here on a date before." Her fellow Maker just laughed it off and ordered a pudding for herself, together with a lemonade. It was brought out in record time.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you, IF." They shook hands while IF returned the greeting; then Falcom's gaze turned to Compa, who almost forgot to breathe under the celebrity's attention. "Who is she? I saw people guessing your girlfriend?"

Now the brunette just sighed. People kept assuming these things for reasons she would likely never understand. "No. That's Compa, and she is straight as an arrow." Her friend waved shily.

She was not finished, though; casting a glance around the room, IF raised her voice: "I'm not seeing anyone at the moment. And no, I'm not planning to change that."

It was rather embarassing to basically tell this entire room of strangers about her relationship status, but she really rather do that than have them keep assuming she was dating her friends. That only made her angry.

While there were a mixture of sheepishness and disappointment from the general crowd, the reactions from her own table could not be more different: Compa stared at her, still dazed by being in the presence of two Makers, and Falcom burst into laughter.

The younger women both turned their attention to the Lastationite's display of amusement, neither sure what to make of it. IF was still a little annoyed, though it quickly passed in favour of confusion.

By the end of it, Falcom had her forehead resting on the table, taking deep breaths in-between chuckles. "Oh, haha, whew." She sighed happily and righted herself with a smile. "Sorry, just... I rarely meet people that bold. This kind of thing is what I love Planeptune for." She did not elaborate on what she meant, but IF did not bother thinking about it either.

In hindsight, she realised just what she did and barely managed not to turn scarlet. Her fellow Maker chuckled again and clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, it should be fine. That will at least spread the word."

Somehow, they all realised in these moments, they had mostly skipped introductions. Seeing that everyone knew everyone's names anyway though, no one could get herself to bring it up. "Anyway," Falcom continued after a few quiet moments, her eyes on IF. "You look like you had a rough day. Still getting used to the job?"

While the brunette shrugged, Compa could not stop herself from snorting in amusement; it immediately drew the older Maker's attention and a stinkeye from IF. Her friend fidgeted a little under the redhead's gaze, but was not discouraged from explaining: "The last few weeks were the first time in ever I've actually seen her tired. Being a Maker is what it takes to actually wear IF out."

Falcom raised an eyebrow at that, casting a curious glance to IF who refused to meet it. "Oh, is that so? That usually comes after a few months on the job." Then the redhead smiled. "Looks like what I heard from my Lady is accurate. I didn't doubt her," she clarified after getting a surprised look from the brunette, "but I like seeing things for myself."

"That's not what I meant," IF quickly clarified. She sighed and shook her head. "Just... yeah, of course she would talk about me the moment it's out in the open." It had most likely been Uni, she figured. And even if IF was wrong, that could not be taken from how she spoke about the matter.

And in this very moment, she realised that the CPUs must have known. It was impossible for them not to have, being as smart as they were.

"I see." Falcom's words brought her out of the brooding mood, the redhead thoughtful as she considered IF. "Either way, I think we'll get along well."

"Yeah, I hope so." They nodded at each other and IF had to admire how easily Falcom could handle conversations like this; maybe it was the age, seeing that she was eight years their senior.

The Lastationite finished her snack soon after, sighing as she put the cup down. "Ah yes, planeptunian pudding. Anyway, I think it's time to get going; I have to set up camp before RED finds me and drags me off." She chuckled, but IF had to roll her eyes; she could imagine the hyper woman doing that.

Thinking of her, IF checked her phone for chirps about RED, only to find something amusing in her inbox. Then she threw a smirk in Falcom's direction. "Well, I have bad news for you."

"She knows?" The other Maker did not appear surprised.

IF just nodded. "She is waiting outside." Falcom chuckled again and shook her head, then got up with a weak smile, gathering her things.

"Well, I shouldn't let her wait then. It was nice talking to you two. See you around," she told Compa, who nodded happily, "and see you tomorrow," she told IF. The brunette nodded once, seeing her fellow Maker off with a content expression.

About the moment Falcom was out of the glass door, a ballistic RED impacted her; a heartbeat later, the Lastationite was bridal-carried away together with her trolley.

It spoke volumes about RED that people barely batted an eye over her antics.

::

Half an hour later, IF was on her own and with the rest of her evening to spend; Compa had a date and excused herself not long after Falcom.

A quick check of her phone on the way home revealed that Chirper did not yet stop exploding with pictures of her and the lastationite Maker at the same table; going there for a while would yield little of interest for her, which meant she had to think of something else.

Nonetheless, she had never expected how much people kept talking about her. The 'official' Chirper-account Neptune had her create was bombarded with questions and requests; she did not have enough time to read even a good part of them, only being able to pick out some things to answer.

Her musing was cut off when she reached home; once through the door, IF hung up her coat and stretched. She put her equipment away, slipped out of her boots, and quickly made for the bathroom to take a shower; it had been a long day after all.

Her thoughts kept circling under the warm water, though. Realisation had begun to sink in; she made it. IF was a Maker, she reached the position she always wanted to hold.

But what now?

Of course she could, and would, keep walking that path; yet she had no idea where it would lead anymore. The path to being a Maker had not been an easy one, but her goal was always in clear sight.

She had never really done this for others, either; IF knew she liked to say it was to protect them, but her main reason had always been her own satisfaction. She was selfish like that, and she knew it.

In the end however, it did not matter much. She had not done this out of obligation, or out of a desire for glory; she had wanted to prove to herself that she could do it.

Now IF stood where few other humans would ever stand, elevated to one of the highest ranks known in Gamindustri. With no idea what to aim for next.

Her mind still revolved around that question when she stepped out of the shower.

A sweep with her fluffy towel and the hairdryer later, IF sat down on her couch with a content sigh; the blue pyjamas were light and wide, giving her skin some time to turn back to normal. The marks left by her rather tight clothes would be back the next day anyway, but this was bliss.

Yet even then, answers to her question were difficult to come by, and asking Neptune for her opinion did not appeal. IF might have asked in most other cases, but this was about what she wanted.

And for all her intelligence, for all her insight, even Neptune could not accurately see the whole that was Isabelle Fontaine. Nobody could, none but Isabelle herself.

The young woman sighed and leaned back, her slightly damp hair cooling her shoulders where it lay; it had grown rather long again, she noticed. That meant she was due to have them cut back to size soon, though IF considered having them shorter than shoulder length this time. After recalling that RED's hair was significantly longer than her own and did not appear to create problems however, she discarded the idea. She got used to her own hair's length and liked it, too.

Toward the end of her considerations, the doorbell rang; IF's head turned in that direction, even though she could not see it from her position. Curious, she got up and strolled over to check; there was no one there. The light on the mailbox was lit instead, so IF quickly opened it up and pulled out a letter; it read 'to Lady IF' in childish, scrawly writing.

Curious, the young woman plopped back down on her couch and opened it with a bit of Awakening and her fingernail. There was not much inside, though; a few lines of text and a hand-drawn picture. Crayons, she figured from the look of it. Nothing special or artistic, either; merely a meadow of dark green lines, a house toward the side, and a yellow sun in the upper right corner.

It was such a simple thing of which she had seen dozens over the years, yet it coaxed a smile out of IF.

She looked it over again, then placed it to her side to check the letter. This was nothing special either, at least not inherently. Just a little boy telling her how he wanted to be strong like her when he grew up.

The same kind of letter she could faintly remember sending to some Makers that were active during her own childhood.

It was not special in a general sense, but to her it was. This, right there, felt more like a validation of where she stood than any official documents or brooches ever could.

As IF got up to get some tape and find a good place to put that picture, she figured that not having a set goal anymore might be alright for a while; she was where she wanted to be, and now it may be time to think about those under her care instead of her own wants.