It it were not attracting monsters so frequently, LAN Castle would be a spot of worship and pilgrimage. Due to this property however, for whichever reason it exists, only the bravest of adventurers find themselves entering and offering a prayer to the memory of the creator goddess. The last known visitor is Falcom, who detailed her experiences in one of her books.
-Excerpt from "The International Historian's Journal", volume 99
IF could not help but watch in awe while her transport passed over Lake Edenite, the unchanging body of water surrounding her destination. LAN Castle stood in all its glory, reaching two hundred metres into the sky and covering a square kilometre of ground. Two large spires grasped for the heavens, making the building as a whole half as tall as Planeptower.
Of course she was used to such vast buildings from home, but seeing the castle stand unchallenged within untamed nature painted a vastly different picture. Her hometown, the nation's capital city, had been envisioned and created by human minds, tearing a piece of the land from nature's hands.
This place, however, had withstood the machinations and alterations of a hundred gods, remaining in place and unchanged for eons. Even though no one could actually prove it, the sheer age of it was palpable to IF as she closed in. Sandy brown tones covered the entire stonework, yet gleamed like diamonds in the morning sun. Notes of silver could be seen everywhere to reveal its nature as a building made of Sharicite. There were no lines separating single parts, making it appear as if it had been sculpted from a single block instead of carefully put together like any man-made castle would.
The castle's reflection was clear on the lake, waters undisturbed by anything despite the cold November winds running past. IF was thankfully spared due to sitting inside her dropship, but she knew she would not be happy once it was time to disembark.
"We're touching down in a minute, get ready!" Her pilot did not even look her way, instead focussing on his work. IF nodded anyway and put on her seatbelt.
The dropship slowly lowered itself toward the large courtyard, its antigrav-module allowing to easily slip through the air currents without a care.
A loud bird's call caught IF's attention; when she turned her head toward it, she found a Phoenix sitting on the roof and peering over at them. However the avian monster managed to find hold on the mostly smooth surface, it had to let go when the planeptunian tanks opened fire.
A dozen of the finest hovertanks had been assigned under IF's command for this mission, aside from the other personnel. A dozen balls of plasma streaked through the sky and heated up the cold day for a few moments; three missed and splashed over the roof, the rest hit the fleeing monster in various places and burned it away. Silvery fragments scattered as it exploded, leaving the remaining plasma to drip down on the roof and burn itself out.
The structure had not been damaged. IF did not need to see it to know.
That property was why everything was allowed within LAN Castle. Makers could go all-out, explosives of all kinds and power were sanctioned, and so on.
They touched down just a little later amidst a camp already set up. IF unbuckled herself and clapped her pilot's shoulder. "Thanks for the ride, have a safe trip home."
"Can do, Lady IF," the man returned with a grin and two fingers on his forehead in an informal salute. "Make sure to leave the castle neat and tidy."
She could not help but chuckle as she walked out to the crew compartment. A dozen Guild agents, all ranked A or B, stood and followed as she walked. Two more dozens left the remaining dropships that followed after IF's transport, her temporary subordinates lining up orderly on the silvery stonework.
They lacked the rigidness of the lastationite and loweean troops; few backs were actually ramrod straight as would be expected there. However, IF was fine with that. They were all from the Guild, and planeptunians to boot.
The tanks got moving without her order, forming two groups of six that set up in a wedge pointed toward the castle's entrance, with the center left open. Loweean mages that had already arrived would use the opening to aim their spellfire.
A whole platoon of casters had been sent, as Lowee had more mages than any other nation. They were led by Broccoli, who nonchalantly hopped up to IF on her constant companion Gema; the eternal child had not changed, as her inofficial title implied. She still appeared like a young girl, dark brown hair softly falling over her back.
IF and Broccoli measured each other up for a moment, then exchanged nods. "So you made it safely," the Loweean opened with a grin. "I would be disappointed if you didn't. And I would laugh at you."
The dropships rose back into the sky, to return and take everyone back home once their assigment was over. Under the soft humming of their engines, IF shrugged at her fellow Maker. "Not that hard after they cleared the First Armoured to help me out." Some cheering came from the two nearest tanks, the crews having heard her implied praise. IF let out a little snort at that while Broccoli rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, is that why we got here first despite starting further away? Heck, we didn't even have a proper air transport, we came by train most of the way!"
She had a point; LAN Castle was situated within Planeptune's borders. IF nodded in turn while taking a look at the mages her colleague brought along. "Yeah, yeah, you're the fastest in all the lands. I have the feeling no one told your bunch that it is supposed to be approaching winter, though."
Before her, she found most of the loweean agents wandering around in hoodies and slacks or jeans, with few actually wearing jackets. Some even wore shorts or shirts instead of actually covering up, uncaring for temperatures approaching the freezing point.
Broccoli giggled over that and IF was about to add another jab, but then she saw some of the loweean mages flicker and sighed. "They're using the trick to stay warm, aren't they?"
"Yep~"
The taller brunette simply dropped the matter there and drew some of her own fire magic to form a protective shell over her skin as well. It was one of the few tricks she could do herself, having been taught how to during her first stay in Lowee. "Fair enough."
She cast a look back at the waiting agents; her conversation had not taken that long, but she also forgot to address them. Embarassment hidden as best as she could, IF motioned for the established camp. "Set up shop and try to relax until the rest is here."
Her order was taken with a few salutes and verbal confirmations, then the bunch strolled over to the loweeans with supplies in tow. IF and Broccoli stayed behind, watching their underlings start to mingle.
"An entire battlegroup?" she could not help but ask. Her colleague had easily twice as much personnel as she brought, and all of them were A- and B-rankers as well. All of them were mages, too.
"Sure," the other one retorted with an innocent grin, "we need to flaunt our arcane superiority after all, or however MAGES. would say that. Besides, a dozen tanks?" Her return question was asked in the same slightly amused tone IF had used before.
"Fair point," the younger woman answered with a grin of her own and a teasing tone. "We need to flaunt our technological superiority after all."
They shared a quiet laugh over that.
IF shook her head in wonder as she calmed down again; she did not get along particularly well with Broccoli before, but they could definitely snark at each other well enough. Nonetheless, this was a mission.
"Did anything happen yet?"
Her question got a moment of deliberation from the other Maker, who cast a glance toward the castle. "Nope, nothing so far. I don't think any monsters that go into the castle actually come out again. No idea what actually draws them in, but they seem to like it in there." She shrugged and bobbed up and down on Gema. "Any idea what we will have to fight? Steamax went in a week ago or so, right?"
The question got a nod from IF, who had read the report by now; she wondered how she never noticed before how the android was left alone by monsters unless he attacked them first. He was, in short, the perfect scout.
"It's easier to ask what we won't fight, really. Most of the large, groundbound monsters are definitely here and I think some flying beasts made their nests somewhere, too." Like the Phoenix earlier. "No Cliones or such, though. We should be able to beat them all."
Broccoli noticeably perked up about the last part, though it was not with relief. Her gaze was sharp and rested on IF. "Okay, that's a start. Now for something else: how are you holding up?"
The eternal child bounced upward to be on eye-level with her surprised junior for a moment; she gave her a few seconds to respond and, when nothing came, sighed. "Most Makers pack up and quit after their first major injury. I heard what happened in Leanbox, so I have to admit you got guts to come back anyway."
IF could nor help but frown at that; her brow scrunched up, she thought back to her stay in the Land of Green Pastures, then shrugged at Broccoli. "I honestly never even considered quitting. I was well aware what I signed up for when Nep gave me the brooch."
"Good."
She did not say anything else, but IF felt confident in Broccoli's response. They turned to make their way back to the main camp, though the last topic did make her curious as they walked. "Did you get injured before?"
"Got maimed twice so far," the girl chirped while hopping next to her, eyes on the agents. "Lost a leg and had my chest crushed." She giggled over IF's shocked gaze, then slapped her left leg cheerfully. "But guess what, I just regrew the leg and regenerated the organ damage. Gema is great at that kind of stuff!"
"...I just, sorry." IF took a deep breath while Broccoli giggled again.
"Yeah, I know. Hearing a kid talk about that kind of thing is jarring. But it's fun for me to freak people out with it, so I don't mind."
"All the non-children I know are psychos," IF could not help but mutter. A motion from Broccoli made her elaborate: "When I met Ram, she asked me to hit her with all I had, then cheered after I gave her a black eye."
She left out a lot there, but her colleague should understand the kind of circumstances that could lead there; they both knew enough CPUs for that after all. Broccoli giggled about the matter nonetheless. "Ohhh, this is great! I need to squeeze that story out of her sometime!"
"Good luck," IF wished her before they stepped among their subordinates and ended the conversation.
The joint camp was set up at the open end of the large plaza in front of LAN Castle; they were hundreds of metres distant from the main gate, enough of a buffer to deal with anything which might charge them from that direction. Even now, a King Crab watched them from the inside, specks of light illuminating its orange shell.
Walking on the Share-made stone felt weird to IF, though. It appeared like marble, but felt as durable and unyielding as plasteel. Her boots did not make a single sound even when she stomped down a little harder on purpose, all vibrations swallowed by the ground.
IF spent some time watching her people set up the tech they brought to the joint effort while some spoke with the Loweeans; most were talking about the mission, but some had made to just chat.
She helped carry a few heavier things at some points and kept an eye on the area in the meantime, making sure nothing crept up on them. The King Crab had vanished from the castle gate when she looked that way again.
::
Half an hour after her arrival, someone from the loweean contingent called out to everyone: "Airship in sight!"
All attention went to the sky at that, including IF's; a giant, bulbous form quietly sailed through the air. Painted in black and silver, the large machine cast a long shadow ahead on the ground and the lake it soon passed over.
By the time it reached them and slowed to a stop overhead, the construct blotted out a good bit of the sky. Many kept watching it, as the sight of a lastationite warship was obviously unusual for anyone but Lastationites. No other nation fielded them, rather relying on regular aircraft and groundbound vehicles.
The airship stopped a mere thirty metres above and came to a hold as anchors were catapulted into the ground to keep it steady. Platforms descended from the ship's belly, revealing dozens more of black-clad agents led by a tanned woman in white slacks, shirt, boots, and gloves; lines of green ran over the seams of her entire attire, though the most striking parts about her outfit were the bushy tail and dog ears she added to it.
Green eyes wandered over the assorted personnel and a wide grin split her face when she found the cheerfully waving Broccoli, with IF right next to her.
CyberConnect2, the lone wolf.
The blonde made a forward chopping motion with her right hand, at which her agents stepped off the platforms in neat rows and almost matching step. She watched them all disembark, then followed. All four lifts were pulled up on their metal ropes the moment she left hers, delivering a backdrop to her team's approach.
The two contingents already present mostly arrayed themselves to greet their allies, though white and purple attires were already intermingled. Once the lastationite troops came to a halt in front of them however, their Maker strode to the front and started things out by drawing Broccoli off of Gema and into a tight hug. "There is the cutest of the bunch, I missed you!" she almost whined while the child tried to free herself.
IF watched them with a certain amusement while the Guild agents took the sign and broke rank, dispersing to either set up their own part of the camp or mingle with the rest.
Broccoli waved her tiny arms around a little longer, the motion partly exaggerated. She only stopped when CC2 stopped cuddling her and threw a grin toward IF; it revealed a rather sharp canine to the brunette. "Heya, I've heard a ton about you before. Nice to meet you, IF."
"Likewise." They bumped fists once the blonde had shuffled her colleague around.
Right after however, she turned her head back toward the airship. "What's taking the others so long?" IF meant to ask, but the elevators descended again at that very moment and CC2 nodded to herself. "Finally, freakin' freeloaders."
At the same time, a few chords of music hauntingly flowed over the assorted agents and revealed just who accompanied the leanboxian contingent. Green robes soon became visible to those below, with the distinct form of 5pb. perched on the railing and smiling down on everyone. She hopped off in the instant before her lift hit the ground, the guitar case clacking against her back.
The idol played a few more chords before the agents under her command flooded around her and moved to meet their allies in a mostly unorganised heap.
"About time," CyberConnect2 called out to their fellow Maker with a grin; 5pb. offered her a cheerful wave and quickly strode over while the Lastationite raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're pretty relaxed with all of... this." She noted with a nod toward all the people around; there were quite a few gazes directed at them even now.
Lyrica shrugged lightly and made to walk a bit further away. "I'm still in concert mode. Should go away any minute now."
IF could not help but feel sympathetic. At the same time, she wondered why exactly the woman afraid of people was sent over instead of either of the other two.
It appeared that Broccoli thought similarly: "Why exactly are you here, anyway? I'd think they would send Tek or Cave." She received pointed looks from IF and CC2 for how she phrased it, but acknowledged neither of them.
Lyrica, meanwhile, sighed and hung her shoulders. "Because I volunteered. It's never going to get any better if I just keep hiding, so I'm going to try again. No progress so far." And as if on cue, she shuddered and turned invisible.
"Uh, what? Hey! Get back here!" CC2 actually began shouting, which drew attention momentarily. Then she muttered something about elusive idols, which elicited laughter among the agents and had them return to whatever they were doing before.
Their colleague was still by their side, though. A quiet "Thank you" attested to that.
IF threw a look to CC2, who shrugged. "We know she doesn't like people to know how shy she is, so I usually cover for her." The brunette made an understanding sound at that and nodded. Then the blonde grinned and motioned for some of her agents. "Anyway, I'll go help my guys set up the artillery. Catch you later."
The others saw her off and then remained among themselves a little longer. IF could not help but ask, though: "What do we need artillery for?"
Broccoli shrugged and, from the lack of response, Lyrica had likely done the same. The loweean tilted her head and watched the large construction. "Measuring dicks with the Planeptunians?"
A bark of laughter sounded out from next to them while IF rolled her eyes. "Girls that young shouldn't say words like that, you know?"
"Eh, I'm old enough to say them and have them, you know?"
The unexpected response gave IF pause for a long moment. She blinked, then narrowed her eyes and looked down at the amused girl. She grinned wider and pointed at herself. "Not only am I legal, I can be a boy any time I want. You wouldn't believe how shocked Marvy looked when I pranked her with that."
For emphasis, Gema slowly rolled against her leg and shrunk, the organic material visibly roiling through her body and upward; moments later, a grey cat tail and yellow cat ears sprouted from her back and head respectively.
IF decided not to comment on that. She really did not know how to even start, anyway.
Lyrica, however, did. "A lot of people would be really happy about that kind of ability," she told the girl quietly, then stopped for a moment. "Wait, what does that make you?"
Broccoli shrugged and flicked her ear at them, uncaring. "Meh, a lotta people would be happy about a lotta things, sucks to be them. And I?" She pointed at herself with a thumb before suddenly adopting an almost leanboxian tan all over her body. "I stopped thinking about it. Doesn't matter much either, does it? Right now, I'm a catgirl, so pet my head."
It was almost an order and IF rolled her eyes; she never really thought about matters like these and found no reason to, so she leaned over and did as Broccoli wanted to shut her up.
Even the fur on her ears was soft like a cat's, but the greatest surprise was that the child started purring like one after a moment.
. .
. .
It was around noon that everything had been set up and the Makers sat together over lunch. Their subordinates had formed various small groups of various colours, with calm and heated arguments being held basically everywhere.
"It's good to see everyone getting along," Lyrica told the other three with a weak smile; they had set up a bit away from everyone else to give the idol some breathing room, but she apparently still felt uncomfortable.
"Yep, just a single fistfight so far," Broccoli chirped from her perch on Gema, who had turned into a pillow for her.
IF sighed and gave CyberConnect2 a light kick against the shin to stop her from joining the banter. "Enough of that," she admonished and pointed toward the castle. "We need to get our plans in order." The first push would begin in a mere two hours, so they had to compare notes.
"Eh, spoilsport." The Lastationite sighed and ate another mouthful of spaghetti; when nobody else spoke once she was done, she rolled her eyes. "Alright fine, we all brought the usual stuff? High tech and tanks from Planeptune, mages from Lowee, scouts from Leanbox?" All three of her colleagues nodded when their nation was named. "Good. We brought the heavy weapons and air support, same as always."
"We wouldn't have noticed," IF retorted drily with a look at the docked airship; its mounted gun batteries were constantly manned, the battleship serving as a secondary base and anti-air installation at the same time.
Lyrica chimed in next, one hand raised and a silly grin on her face: "And you forgot that I brought the good provisions instead of your standard issue military crap."
"And I'm thankful for it," CC2 returned before stuffing her mouth with, indeed, leanboxian noodles again. The others grinned over the matter while Broccoli unrolled a map and made it hover over their little folding table.
IF looked over the many layers which her colleague floated at various heights, the lowest one being upright and the rest horizontally to conserve space. "Should have brought a terminal," she muttered to herself before counting the number of maps. "That will take a few days, even if we go fast." She squinted at the drawings, then addressed Broccoli: "Can you give us some connectors between the staircases on each level?"
The child opened her mouth as if to retort, but then appeared to accept her question as valid. She slid the map segments over and looked at them, then began to carefully connect strands of gleaming magic to various ones; they quickly formed a more cohesive map that started floating in front of them again, this time put together as one whole.
"I'll say we go for the dead ends first," CC2 started them off while pointing with her fork. "Nothing can come out of there, y'know?"
"Sounds good," Broccoli told her and the other two nodded, then slowly began to lift several markers to note the various dead ends.
While she did so, IF noticed something curious. "Hey, did you forget staircases on the east wing?" Her colleague threw her an irritated look and floated that part of the map closer.
After a moment, her irritation became confusion. "No. It's mostly inaccessible from elsewhere." The map floated back into place and IF nodded.
"Then we will start there and clean it out." She received nods and further markings on the map, then turned to the others thoughtfully. "Center or west wing after that?"
"West wing," Lyrica supplied with a frown. "It's smaller than the central area and has no connection to the basement or the highest levels." She had a point there and so more markings were added.
::
It went on like this and once they had a general plan, the Makers brought the captains of each Guild division into the planning to create a more detailed course of action. Toward the afternoon, their route had been set and everyone prepared themselves.
IF and CC2 were sitting on top of the two tanks that took point, with 5pb. and Broccoli riding on the final pair to cover them. Two thirds of the whole force accompanied them, the last third remaining back at camp both to protect it and to cycle in later.
Flashlights were unnecessary, they found as they passed the castle's main gate. Despite the lack of any and all furnishing, there was light as pale as what the moon reflected. It oozed from the walls, floor, and ceiling all around, allowing them to see in a mostly monochrome world.
She had known it before, but IF could not help but marvel at the vast corridors anyway; everything had been built in a size that allowed even both hovertanks to pass through without any obstruction.
Sadly, this also allowed monsters of that size to enter and move around; she could hear them lurking ahead, and soon saw her first Fenrir of the week. Then the second and the third, all three rising from their resting places like ghosts. IF's eyes narrowed and she pointed toward the beasts. "Engage!"