...
Combined with the unnatural darkness and the only noise in the room being the low hum of the Sharicite, the sight of all her friends and sisters silently staring back at her makes Blanc feel like she's in a nightmare. All of them are in varying degrees of shock with her sisters seeming most affected, looking like she just betrayed them.
The pressure quickly becomes too much for her. In a cold sweat, she panically blurts out, "Er, n-never mind! Sorry that I said that; of course my memories are a lot more important! Here, let me just..." The amnesiac forces herself onto the circle and shuts her eyes tight as she braces for the worst, acting like she's about to be executed.
It doesn't take long for this to become just as unbearable, though, and she jumps out as quickly as she jumped in, exhaling loudly after holding her breath during that excruciating wait. Taking a peek, nothing has changed; they're still all staring at her with very troubled gazes. Mina doesn't even look like she's about to start the spell. "What...what is it? Stop looking at me like that!"
"I...figured as much," Vert reveals with a heavy sigh.
"You too?" Nepgear thought she was the only one who realized this was going to happen.
"Huh? Is there something I missed?" Neptune asks quietly.
"Well…" Her sister catches herself from accidentally revealing something. "Blanc, is it okay if I say what you told me earlier?"
Anything to get her out of this situation. And no, she also doesn't want to say it herself. "Yeah."
"Blanc told me earlier that she didn't like her Ultra Dimension self, so…"
"So, she doesn't want to be like her…" C-sha finishes for her. Such information comes as a complete surprise for her, and it takes a while for her to process it.
Neptune and Mina follow a similar process. "Well, I guess it makes sense…but…hmph, it's hard to decide which version of Blanny I like better," wonders Neptune.
"Neptune, you shouldn't be comparing them like that," chides her sister.
Ram, who didn't seem to hear Nepgear, upsetly shouts, "What do you mean you don't like her? She's literally you! You were just like her a couple of days ago!"
"It's...just that she gets angry or mad too often!" Even though it's somewhat hypocritical, she can't help but feel a little heated that she has to explain why she should exist. Much more softly, she adds, "I don't get how you would like her over me…"
"She's not just angrier. She's also super strong and protective of everything she likes." Rom also isn't so hesitant in letting Blanc know her true thoughts, unusually assertive in her interjection.
"And I'm not…?" Their older sister is genuinely hurt by what those comments imply. "I thought we said we were gonna try to get to know each other…"
"Yeah, well…that's because we were hoping you would be like your past self, but now we have a way to bring her back!" argues Ram. Even she realizes how mean her words are, but she and her sister are also convinced that Blanc will stop acting like this and forgive her after Mina does the spell.
"...I only want to make sure I don't hurt you…" She whimpers back.
"We've always been fine," assures Rom. "Right, Ram?"
"Yeah-" To her surprise, Blanc's suggestion stops Ram's scorn in her tracks. Looking back, there were many times when they faced her full fury. Sure, Ram can see some of them as justified, but other times left her bitter and confused why she would get so angry over something so trivial. "...Okay, maybe you're better than I thought, but that doesn't mean I don't want your old self back anymore."
"Regardless of her personality, there is another problem with choosing not to restore yourself: you will need to relearn everything about being a CPU," reminds Mina.
"Can't you restore only those memories?" Blanc suggests desperately.
"I cannot select which of them to bring back, and even if I could, I feel that there is something immoral or insecure about having a spell where one could cherry-pick your memories and therefore your identity." Mina sighs internally. "I don't know what you have seen from your Ultra Dimension counterpart, but as Rom and Ram have already mentioned, there is nothing to fear about your past self. I'm going to start the spell, which requires you to not make any sudden movements."
"Umm…" Feeling more cornered, she anxiously asks, "W-What does everyone else think?"
"I adore Blanny as she is now!" Vert is quick to chirp in, but the next part is more reluctant. "However, the sad reality is that you're risking Lowee as a whole by declining this, and your people, not just us, will need to get used to the new you..."
"Aww, Vert! If you say ya love her, then you should say yes!" teases Neptune in an attempt to lighten the mood. When that doesn't work, she continues with, "Also, if people really miss the old Blanny, they can just talk to the one we just visited today! What about you, Nep Jr.?"
"Well…" Blanc seems to be putting the most hope in Nepgear. "...the other Blanc mentioned that we should help her, so why don't we help her become a great CPU?"
Everyone seems very hesitant about that. "We should...but…" Vert isn't entirely sure how much work that would entail, or if it would even work.
"I mean, I would've been more than willing to help this Blanny out, but if there's an alternative already available…" C-sha chooses not to finish that thought.
After that, another tense silence befalls them.
This silence is filled this time also by Ram's impatient foot tapping. With a furrowing frown, she breaks the quietness irritably. "Well, most of us are saying to get in the circle, so...do it!"
Everyone around her has the same sentiment, with Neptune's and Nepgear's silence coming off as them reluctantly agreeing. And why shouldn't they? Everything their friends said makes sense, while the opposing argument barely has anything. Under normal circumstances, even Blanc would agree to this. It's not like her experiences so far won't get erased, so it's not entirely true that the current iteration of herself is gone forever. "I...okay, all of you are right…I'll do it." With no reaction to that, she very apprehensively walks up to the circle again.
This time, Mina does commence with the spell. Even though Blanc said yes, the white light appearing beneath her feet still sticks needles into her heart. She just has to keep telling herself that it will all be alright.
Yet, that emotional drive, that gut feeling, screams at her that it won't be alright. It's more than wanting to avoid being her old self; everyone already proved she was fine. It's not even that human instinct to avoid death, either. There's something more, though unknown, harshly compelling her to get out of there. Does it even belong to herself, or did someone inject this voice into her subconscious? Blanc tries to take a moment to consider this new feeling and why it wasn't there in the first place, only appearing just a few seconds ago. It has to have come from somewhere or something in that other Lowee, right?
Nevertheless, this force quickly overtakes reason and even a little bit of her body as she starts trembling. It urges her to do something right now. Nearly as loud as when she fought Iris Heart, she yells one alarming "Wait!"
Mina almost drops her book, which is enough to interrupt and cancel the spell. "What is it now?" She asks with understandable displeasure.
That unfamiliar feeling gives a vague instruction to at least stall this for a while, impelling Blanc to sloppily and nervously ask, "Can't...can't I just try out being a CPU without my memories for a little bit?! W-we have to at least try!"
Her friends wholeheartedly take this into consideration, though her sisters don't seem any less ill-tempered. Mina, however, has already prepared the answer to this. "I would've suggested this earlier, but there's an unfortunate caveat to this operation. The more memories you collect right now, the fewer of your previous ones we can recover."
"This...is similar to how data recovery works in computers, right?" asks Vert with a surprised frown.
"That seems about right. Nevertheless, I do not want to risk you forgetting anything important, so I will not delay this," states Mina rather assertively as she starts up the procedure again.
"W-what?! We should try for at least a month! I won't lose that much, right?" To Blanc, her Oracle might as well have not said anything.
"No, we cannot," she stiffly answers.
"N-not even a few weeks…?"
"No." Each plea only makes this version of Blanc seem more insufferable to her.
"A...a few days?"
Mina has had enough. Just like how she would for Rom or Ram, she cries out, "No! I am putting my foot down here! You will not disregard your responsibilities as a CPU just because of something so irrational. I WILL restore your memories whether you like it or not!"
Her younger sisters are already well familiar with the feeling of an angry Mina. "We already told you that everything's gonna be fine! Please, just get in the circle," begs Rom somewhat tiredly.
At this point, that impression comes back even stronger, setting off all of her alarms to get out of this. She feels like everyone is against her; as if they're not considering her feelings or whatever she says. Looking at the other four, still holding some pity or empathy for her, they seem to silently agree with Mina's demand, almost making them as adverse as her sisters and Oracle. "I...I…"
She would rather stand there forever than comply. Yet, she gets a hunch that they already know that. Then, Blanc detects an extremely slight movement from Ram and immediately registers it as everybody closing on her. Shaking and almost to tears she barks like a caged animal, "I won't do this! I don't have to do ANY of this!" Immediately after, she sprints out of the dark room.
"What the- Where are you going?!" Mina demands.
"Blanc!" Though just as surprised, Rom and Ram already know to chase after her.
"Damn, what's gotten into her?" C-sha and Mina quickly catch up to them.
"Um…" Of the three remaining awkwardly standing there, Nepgear looks to be the most aghast. "...This whole situation just keeps getting worse..."
Neptune feels the same way, though more crestfallen at how sour the situation turned. She doesn't have anything to add on.
"Well, we're not doing much standing here. Come on," beckons Vert as she runs for the other three. "If people get word of this, this will certainly become an interesting part of Lowee's history…"
Before she starts following her, though, Neptune's face brightens in a split second. She is completely stunned by what just ran through her mind, then regretful for not coming up with it sooner. "Wait! I got the perfect idea for Blanny's problem! We should ask H-"
"If you have an idea, Neptune, that's great, but we have to catch Blanc first!" reminds Nepgear, already with Vert.
"Oh, um, righty-o…" Her older sister is last to exit the room.
(-)
Once more, Blanc finds herself fleeing for her life. While their running speeds aren't as fast as a flying CPU, some of them, particularly C-sha and Vert, are not to be taken lightly. She only starts running faster when she sees balls of ice landing right in front of her, too.
"You stop right this instant!" Mina, Rom, and Ram all have their staves drawn, casting magic at her. They're not aiming for a direct hit, and this ice certainly isn't anything mortal; they just want to slow her down so that they can catch her. In fact, Mina is almost more careful not to damage any of the Basilicom's interior.
Of course, Blanc doesn't know that. Any semblance of family she had for them is dashed when an ice ball grazes her left. "S-stop trying to kill me and leave me alone!" She breathily yells back.
"Kill you?! Don't be ridiculous; just stop and talk to us!" responds C-sha.
Blanc would've considered that if they said that earlier, but not now. She ignores her Gold Third friend and continues dashing through the halls.
With her goal of the front door already in mind, she focuses on avoiding all of the projectiles being thrown near her. Feeling her senses heightened, she is able to sidestep all of them with uneasy ease. Her sisters and Oracle become more frustrated at their little success, especially when it seems like the others have more trouble dodging them as they run past their mess. Maybe for a second, Blanc's able to take some time to reflect on what exactly she is doing and maybe even clear up her state of confused fear, but that thought is interrupted by a dim laser that knocks her hat off. "Aah-!"
"C-sha! What are you doing?!" Mina asks in a reprimanding tone.
"Relax, it's not lethal or anything. Just enough to stun her," C-sha assures with little success.
Sure enough, their escapee only resolves her axiomatic mission to get away, and she's already approaching the large front door.
"That's enough!" Surprising everyone, a bright beam engulfs Rom, who then immediately flies ahead of Blanc and blocks the door, arms spread. "Blanc, you need to stop!"
For a moment, Blanc decelerates, but her panicking instincts take over again. "L-let me go already!" In record time, she summons her hammer and, without hesitation, bashes her sister with a half-circle swing.
Nobody could expect that, especially Rom. Unprepared for that move, she limply flies back to the group, almost hitting them. "What the...Blanc…" Mina utters in shock.
Even though everyone else is distracted by what she just did, Blanc isn't; she ignores that and manages to open the door and even put on boots without losing too much time before running into the cold night.
"Rom! Are you okay?!" Ram immediately tries to care for her twin. "That was really heroic and all, but…"
Both of them are too occupied by their older sister's actions; never would she do something like that. "It's...fine. I can always heal myself," replies Rom.
"Everyone! We need your HDD!" instantly commands Mina in an attempt to shake them out of their stupor.
"Y-Yeah!" The other goddesses shakily comply, transforming and flying upward. Yet, they stay up there for a moment, noticing that Blanc is nowhere in front of them. There aren't even any footsteps in the snow running off anywhere. "What the…"
"Where did she go?!" exclaims Ram. "She can't have gotten too far, right?" Though most likely true, the thick obscuring forest surrounding more than half of the Basilicom still makes Blanc an elusive target.
"Looks like we are going to have to split up," suggests the now-transformed Green Heart.
"It's more than that; we're probably going to need to think this through before we do that," counters Purple Heart.
"There's no time for that! What if she falls off another cliff like yesterday?!" reminds C-sha from below, still remembering how long she had to search for her. "Mina and I will stick together and search for her in the city; as for everyone else…"
(-)
Trying a strategy similar to the one during her encounter with Iris Heart, Blanc makes a sharp turn around the Basilicom. She ensures that she only steps on the pavement or anything that doesn't leave footprints as well. Not feeling too safe just being on the side of the building, she continues running around until she reaches the back as C-sha tries to get her group to split up. Making her third turn, though, the girl is surprised when she finds someone already there. "Huh? W-who…"
The stranger, doing seemingly nothing in particular but holding a book, notices her back in equal surprise. "Oh, Blan- er, Lady Blanc! What are you doing here? Is something wrong happening?"
From that normal reaction, she deems it safe to mostly ignore her. "Uh...um...it's nothing, don't mind me!" With that, she makes a quick right angle into the forest behind the Basilicom, disregarding the footprints she's making since they probably won't be looking for her here.
She deems a few yards as enough for her to catch her breath. "Phew…" Here, she also spots something peculiar in front of her that grabs her attention: a tent and a lit campfire. "...Whom does this belong to?"
"Uh, that would be my stuff. Yeah…" Flicking her head around, Blanc finds the woman she passed a few seconds ago. "Yeah...I was kinda camping here when I saw you. Kinda weird, right?" She quickly explains.
"Camping? Behind my house…?" the CPU empty-mindedly asks.
"...Yeah…" She scratches the back of her head under her brown ponytail, before walking to her tent. "But, um, what about you? Like, why were you running here? And also, don't you usually wear a hat?"
"Please, one question at a time…" Blanc's mind is definitely not prepared to answer all of them so quickly right now. "I-"
"Oh, sorry," the woman interrupts tardily. When she realizes what she just did, she adds, "Err, sorry about that, too."
She isn't too irritated by that; at least she means well, unlike the people who were just launching below-freezing projectiles at her. Thinking about the first question, she finally has time to think about what she's done. Although she's not reluctant to share her experience, she's still unsure of how much she can explain correctly. "Well...my friends and family, they sort of wanted to make me do something...and they tried to hunt me down when I ran away…"
"Wow, that is pretty serious," she empathetically agrees while nodding.
"And now…" Actually, what should she do, now? Go back and let them take her? Can she trust C-sha when she said they just wanted to talk? Probably not, but what else can she do? Obviously, something involving running away, but that's going to be pretty difficult when she has no one to help her. In fact, they're probably going to tell everyone to look out for her, making it really like the world is against her. It's only a matter of time before she gets caught or, if she evades everyone, dies in the wilderness. How is she going to live with her non-existent survival skills? "...I d-don't know…" Even after that impulse, it looks like she's still done either way…
On top of that, Blanc preoccupies herself with what Rom and Ram said to her. She can only feel heartbroken by such abrupt disowning. She thought she could trust them all, but when they suddenly disapprove of her, were they really her friends and family like they said? "I...don't have anyone to go to…"
In front of the stranger is a vulnerable and sobbing goddess; something that many would immediately frown upon. Instead, though, she quickly understands her pain and simply smiles while rubbing her back with one hand. "Aw, please don't cry! It'll be fine, even if it seems pretty rough. There are definitely people out there who'll support you no matter what, like me! Uh, yeah!"
Despite her shaky and hasty way of speaking, which should've dampened any attempts at consoling her, Blanc strangely finds comfort within this stranger. "H-huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, they're probably doing something wrong if they're trying to kill you, I think. Who are they anyway?" Before Blanc could answer, she then adds, "How about this; you can stay with me for a while."
The CPU is completely thrown off by the offer. It just came out of nowhere, too! "W-what? A-are you sure?" As surprising as it is, this IS what she looked for: something that can afford her more time to prove her worthiness.
"Yeah, of course. Like, if a CPU needs help, why should I not help her? Seems to only make sense," She confidently replies.
"Well, I sort of meant...am I going to stay here in this small tent?"
"...Huh? Oh yeah, that." She takes a moment to think. "...Yeah, I see what you mean. I only have one sleeping bag, which unless you wanna share it...wait, you can't share a sleeping bag...but that's okay! We can just get a hotel room," she reassures. "It'll be a bit long trying to stay hidden, but it'll work out good."
That answers most of Blanc's worries. "...Alright." Like always, she's not certain about the decision, but it still seems like the best option right now.
"Aw, it'll be great! Finally getting to hang out with, um, a CPU!" she excitedly remarks. "C'mon, lemme quickly pack this stuff up, then we can get going."
"Okay. Do you want any help?"
She is even quicker than usual to answer, "Nah, no, it's good!" At least she seems pretty agile in cleaning up.
As she's doing that, Blanc takes the silence to finally calm herself down. She also takes it to realize that with this, she's essentially abandoning her role as a CPU indefinitely. Again, she notices how despite somehow knowing how foolish that is, the fact that she remembers being one for only two days makes her more than ready to renounce it.
In their silence, though, Nepgear's loud and distant voice brings her out of her pensiveness and triggers her nerves. "Blanc, where are you? Please, come back; we're sorry!"
"Oh, crap! That's your friend, right? Sounds familiar. Anyway, I'm almost done, just a few more seconds, then we can start running!" The woman frantically speeds up to the point where she's frequently dropping her books. When Blanc tries to help by picking them up for her, she snaps her head back and snatches it with frightening speeds. "Sorry about that!" she excitedly says.
Exactly what is she sorry about? No one, including the stranger, knows, as before Blanc could ask, she hands her a large but light bag. "Alright, let's get going!" Without waiting for a response, she finishes up by putting out the fire and equipping a hefty-looking backpack, then starts jogging away from the Basilicom.
"O-okay!" It takes a bit to get a comfortable grip, but at least the stranger isn't too far away.
Just as she's about to start following her, she hears a sound similar to her friends disengaging HDD somewhere nearby. She swiftly looks around to see where it came from, finding nothing at all, before looking above her. By the time she looks up to check what it is, though, it's already too late. "Annnd gotcha!" Planeptune's protagonist CPU falls from above and lands right behind Blanc, who then catches her with a two-arm grapple. "Wow, who knew that not yelling while falling could actually be a useful tactic?"
Right away, Blanc's demeanor returns to complete panic and distress as she spastically tries to break free. "H-help, please! I don't want to go back!"
Turning around to see the commotion, the woman immediately tries to grab on to Blanc. "Hey, you, what do you think you're doing to Lady Blanc?"
Neptune easily carries her fellow CPU away from her. "Whoa, watch it, lady!" However, said CPU ends up almost punching Neptune in the face, which only makes her tighten her grip. "Blanny, Blanny, Blanny! Calm down for just one neppin' second! We're not gonna shove your old memories back into ya! I can tell you some really good news if you stop trying to kick me!"
The other CPU eventually agrees and slows down, mostly because she was already tired. "Huh…?"
"And also, you gotta promise that you won't book it the moment I let go," she somewhat sternly says. "Oh, and also tell your buddy to chill."
Blanc looks at her new friend, who looks ready to grab her and take her away the moment Neptune lets go, then back at her captor. She was one of the few who said she liked Blanc as she is right now, so maybe she can trust her. Neptune's face becomes more pleading the more she looks at her, too.
Eventually, she shakily sighs and says, "...Okay, I promise."
With that, Neptune lets go and breathes in. "Alright, so yeah, I know I was kinda being wimpy by sorta agreeing to whatever Mina was talking about without saying anything, so how about I help ya get away from here by taking you to my place? Then, I got a secret protagonist ace that'll make you a super superb CPU in no time!"
"Um…" That sounds good, maybe even too good to be true.
"We already made plans to get out of here, you know, so we don't need you, really," the woman aggressively points out. "Also, she already told me all the stuff you were doing to her, and that's pretty awful; there's no reason we should trust you!"
"Huh?" It takes a while to realize what she's talking about, especially when considering that she wasn't playing an active role in that chase. "Well...if I really wanted to take little ol' Blanny here to the loony bin or whatever, I would've already called the gang to us," reasons Neptune.
"I don't know; still seems pretty suspicious…" says the stranger in a low voice.
On the other hand, Blanc picks up on what Neptune's getting at. The others probably heard Neptune's voice, so she risks getting caught by someone like Mina or her own sisters if she declines her offer. She might as well take it and hope she's not lying. "But...what if someone like my sisters catches us?"
"We'll be super sneaky and stuff, so don't worry!" Neptune cheerfully assures. "By the way, uh...what were you doin' behind the Basilicom? Smoke break? Esoteric fungi research? Trying to relive general teenage delinquency via loitering?"
"Me? Uh…I was, wanting to, um, check out Lowee's old Basilicom! Yeah, should be around here," she explains.
"Just like Falcom, huh? But, I thought you said you were camping…" reminds a confused Blanc.
"Well, camping for the night; I ain't gonna walk through a completely dark forest! I might fall off a cliff!" She goes from a defensive position to a more scrutinizing one before anyone could ask more. "Anyways, was Lady Neptune one of the gals you were running from or what, Lady Blanc?"
"Well yes, but…we can trust her; I know it," affirms Blanc.
"Yep; I'm not even gonna tell them that I'm taking ya! So how 'bout it? It'll be like a little sleepover!"
With Neptune always beaming positivity from her smile, Blanc regains solace in trusting her with most of her sorrows and doubts fading away. "...Okay. Are we going now?"
"Wait!" Grabbing both CPUs' attention, she stumbly asks, "Can I, uh, sorta, y'know, go with you two?"
"I thought you were camping," Neptune bluntly points out.
"Well, I was, until I saw Lady Blanc run out here all scared, so I packed up and was ready to escort her! And also, I don't wanna set up camp again; I'll just go out here tomorrow or something. Besides, seeing Lady Blanc like that makes me wanna make sure she's okay!" the woman shoddily explains at a faster pace.
"...Man, you sorta talk fast." Neptune takes a moment to think this through. "Well, I'm not sure if what I have in store is part of some sneaky deets that I shouldn't be handing out, or if Mina is gonna get more crabby if I get some citizen involved…sorry pallie; we're sorta already in hot water. I can guarantee that I'm gonna protect Blanny with my life!" she exclaims with a fake salute.
"Oh, okay, I see…" She seems a bit glum that she doesn't get to spend more time with Blanc.
Neptune pulls out her phone. "Anywho, we oughtta get the show on the road before they find out! Lemme just text Nep Jr. that I'm headin' home...and there!" Neptune quickly transforms and holds a hand out to Blanc. "Shall we?"
Blanc looks back at the woman, who doesn't react much except for a goodbye wave, before turning back and taking Purple Heart's hand. "Right."
With that, the two take off from the ground and, still under the top of the forest, flies carefully away from the Basilicom, leaving the woman behind. "I, uh, guess I should make myself scarce now...y'know it actually is weird that I was just hanging around here...heh," she says to no one in particular.
it was difficult picking how this scenario was going to go
in retrospect i probably shouldve done less tense to change up the pace and to take a break from writing all this dramatic stuff and have blanc be not sad or scared for the first time in a while but i already made the cliffhanger last chapter so bleh (eventually though i will probably try to dedicate a whole / most of a chapter for blanny being comfy soon ^ ^)
at the same time i probably couldve written more or picked a better spot to end but this will do for now
"You were...camping?"
"...Uh, yeah. That's what I just said," the woman replies to Rom.
"Have you at least seen our big sis?" asks Ram coldly.
She stays silent for a moment. "...No."
The two are automatically suspicious of her answer, glowering at her silently.
"...What?" It can be intimidating having two goddesses in HDD staring you down. It doesn't help that they already look very ticked off. "...I, uh, gotta get to my place. It's kinda pretty cold right now..."
After a minute, Rom sighs and asks her sister, "Come on, Ram, we need to keep looking for Blanc."
Ram is still very suspicious of her, continuing to stare her down.
"Umm...Lady Ram...that's all there is to it; I really was just, like, camping around here...behind your, um, Basilicom." She still can't help but talk quickly when confronted by these powerful figures. "Is there something wrong?"
Ram finally lets go of her scowl and immediately takes flight. "...You're weird. C'mon Rom."
"O-okay..." Rom joins her sister.
Once they're out of earshot, she takes a deep sigh of relief. "Geez, I really hope no other goddesses come down and stare me down like that while I try to get out of here. I mean, that's all of Lowee's CPUs, so there really shouldn't be anyone else, right? Now, the nearest hotel should be...here. I should have enough credits for a night...okay, yeah I do; definitely plenty; good thing that both Gamindustris use the same currency, heh," she continues to murmur to only herself.
