That was the first day Blanc spent within that building. Hours went by as she began to read books about writing while taking down notes on ideas she gained while reading a couple of novels. She somehow understood the joy her other self had when reading. Everything was so quiet that she could allow her imagination to take flight whenever she wished, it was such an amazing feeling rather than working all day without pause. On another note, reading somehow allowed her to organize her thoughts and gave her ideas on how to run her nation by looking at the faults of the government within one of the stories she read.
She would find herself in some fantastical land filled with everything she liked, a utopia where she would be able to live peacefully without having to work. She somehow felt a little jealous of Planeptune's lazy CPU's attitude towards work. Sometimes she would wonder if she hadn't found that memory chip and didn't turn into a Goddess. Living without the burden of carrying the weight of a nation would be nice, but if something like that were to happen then she wouldn't have been able to meet all of her friends. With that in her mind, she just brushed it off and continued reading.
Her time would've been peaceful had it not for the small explosions she kept hearing at the other end of the library. It took all of her willpower not to storm her way through the shelves and punch that witch on the face. Still, time wound on as she ignored the noises till the day was over.
She kept coming to the library over the next few days, greeting the disheveled attendant, passing by the fume filled east wing while making her way to her usual spot. The witch would arrive sometime around ten and begin her work. Blanc paid her no mind while Mages did the same. They were both immersed in their respective worlds, ignoring reality around them as they worked.
Hours would pass before Blanc would set down her book and be the first one to leave the building and head back to her home. She passed by the east wing in which the witch was located, covering her mouth to make sure she didn't breathe in whatever that girl was brewing, as she navigated towards the reception desk and towards the exit. On a whim, she had a scout of hers monitor the library's activity all throughout the night. She found out that the lights within the building only went out whenever morning came and the silhouette of Mages could be seen stumbling out of the building.
From the looks of it, that witch must've been working hard on whatever she was researching on.
The day would start once more and Blanc would repeat it as usual while she was on her vacation mode. She would read books, practice writing, and churn out ideas. This routine continued for well over thirteen days before it was suddenly broken by an unexpected visitor.
"Woooow, there are so many books here~!"
Lowee's CPU tensed the moment she heard that voice float in the air. The book within her grasp fell with a thud on the floor as her mind wrapped around the idea of that person being in her newly formed sanctuary. She gulped down the lump forming within her throat as she knelt down to retrieve her novel. Tossing the book on her chair, she worked as fast as she can to hide all of her unfinished work before Plutia found her. She didn't have the patience of entertaining that airhead.
After putting most of her books and materials away, she then paused for a moment as she pondered on where she would hide, "The roof's no good since I'll have to go through the main hall, a place where that girl would mostly likely be. Between the shelves? No, she'll notice me right away. Damn it, why did she have to come now? Better yet, what the hell is she doing here in the first place?!"
"Maybe she has something important to do?"
"Heh, like that'll happen. No way would Planeptune's CPU waltz inside a library unle—" Blanc stopped short as she felt someone's warm breath at the back of her neck.
Performing a surprised jump, Lowee's CPU fell into the floor, keeping her eyes fixed on the girl standing above her. Sweat oozed from her forehead as her lips hung open while she figured out how the other girl managed to sneak up on her like that. Those sleepy looking pink eyes gazed at her in a friendly way yet Blanc knew better. Ohhh, she knew better than that and she was wiser to never let her guard down whenever she was in the presence of this girl.
"Hi Blanny~! What are you doing sleeping on the floor? You do know it's dirty, right~?" asked Plutia as she leaned over to give her fellow Goddess a smile.
If Blanc had anything to describe the girl before her, it would be that this person was more than meets the eye. Planeptune's CPU wore a strange mix of a dress and sleepwear which one could totally tell her personality just by looking at her outfit. She wore a powder blue dress with straps wrapped on her shoulders which somehow went along with the design of her uneven white skirt. Her ribbons and bear slippers were the most eye catching things of her appearance giving an innocent air around her.
Lowee's CPU pitied the poor sap whom would make such a poor judgment.
She breathed a sigh to calm her thoughts while forming her reply, "No, that's not it. You just surprised me that's all."
"Ah… But are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? I'm really sorry, Blanny," apologized Plutia in a pathetic tone.
"It's alright, really," said Blanc as she made haste to finish this conversation. The best course of action whenever engaged in a chat with this girl would be to do everything to end it quickly. Keeping Plutia's attention focused on her for five minutes would be her limit. She coughed to clear her throat while she dusted her skirt as she stood up, "So… What are you doing here? It's important, isn't it? Because if it's not, you can—"
Unfortunately, Planeptune's CPU managed to cut her off before she could finish, "Isn't it obvious~? I came to visit you, silly."
"What? You came all the way here just for that?" deadpanned Lowee's CPU. She did not know what she expected by asking that question.
"I was… uh… Worried, you see. Neppy hasn't been visiting a lot and Histy's getting bossier and bossier, so I'm all bored now~. You weren't sending back my letters so I came to see what you were doing~! I was wondering if you read them, you know?" explained Plutia in her usual airy manner of speech. One would be sooner fall asleep if they would wait for this girl to finish what she wanted to say. Something about her voice made people really drowsy for unknown reasons. Falling asleep while she was around would be the last mistake one would be able to make though.
Blanc thought back for a moment as she fumbled through her memories, "Ah… Those… Umm, yes?"
"Wonderful~! Say, Blanny, what are you doing here?" questioned the airhead with a clueless smile.
"That's what I'm supposed to be asking you," replied the brown haired girl with a smile of her own.
"Ohhh…"
"Hehehe…"
"…"
"WELL SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE OF ALL PLACES?!" roared Blanc as she flipped her table, her patience finally snapping in half before being crushed into a million pieces. She didn't care of the consequences, but she felt pretty damned determined to get this girl out of her sanctuary.
Of course, Plutia being Plutia, she wasn't even fazed at her friend's violent reaction. She even took the time to adopt a thoughtful expression as she spoke, "Hmm, I wonder why too…"
"SO YOU CAN'T REMEMBER?!" exclaimed Lady White Heart, she felt like her brain's going to explode at this point.
"What were we talking about again~?" asked the airhead with her default smile.
THUD
Blanc slammed her head into a wall as she hissed, "Is this some kind of psychological torture you've developed? Wait, no… You always did this even back then!"
"That's rude, Blanny~! You know I love you!"
"Okay, this is starting to get off topic faster than a cheetah."
"So what are you doing~?"
Lowee's CPU uttered a heavy sigh as she massaged her throbbing forehead. It was no use trying to talk to this girl. Anything she would say would only bounce off her head and ricochet to hit someone else. She wondered if all of this could've been avoided if she just said what she was doing in the first place, "I'm… Making a book."
"A story book?" pressed on Plutia with an interested expression.
"Here, have a look…" with a defeated look on her face, Blanc showed her fellow Goddess her creation as she slumped back on her chair. She felt exhausted, just by interacting with the airhead was mentally draining. She didn't know how Histoire would put up with such a person. Moments passed by while she stabilized her breathing. She could hear the other girl standing beside her, flipping through the pages of her unfinished manuscript.
Now that she thought of it, this was the first time she had someone else look at her work. She chuckled at herself for having Plutia be the first person to behold her masterpiece. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she immediately turned around to see Plutia's face.
"Can I have this~?" she asked, causing the brown haired girl to form a confused frown.
"Why?" Blanc questioned back.
"It's. A. Secret~" Planeptune's CPU placed a finger on her lips while giving her fellow Goddess a wink.
At that teasing tone, a heavy weight suddenly placed themselves on the shoulders of Lowee's CPU. She had managed to piece what Plutia was thinking and quickly felt disappointed with herself. Lifting her head, she gazed at the other girl right in the eye while saying in a hollow voice, "No. I won't let you use it as a torture device…"
"Awww…." The airhead seemed genuinely saddened at that yet Blanc knew she had just saved some poor sap from a horrible fate. Seeing her fellow Goddess' dejected expression, Plutia clapped her hands once while bouncing in place, "Well, if it makes you feel better, I can point out what's wrong~."
"Really?" asked the brown haired girl with a hint of hope shining within her eyes.
"It's reaaaalllyyyy boring," replied the other girl in a painfully blunt manner. Blanc fell on the ground at that and immediately got up again, placing her hands on both of the indigo haired girl's shoulders. She then began to shake her like no tomorrow, causing Plutia's eyes to roll around in a daze.
"At least be more gentle!" she yelled while continuing to shake her friend.
…..
….
…
It was quiet around the library save for the small explosions from afar and the scratching of a pen on paper. It's been ten minutes since Blanc silenced Plutia by forcing a book into her face and forcing her to read it. She would glance behind her once in a while to see if her friend was doing okay. It turned out that despite her looks and personality, Planeptune's usually airheaded CPU was easily absorbed in the story she had within her hands. If only she would stop gasping every once in a while then it would've been okay.
"W-Wait~! So Snape kills Dumbledo—"
"Hey, you mind keeping it down back there?"
"Ah, sorry, Blanny~"
Blanc uttered a sigh at her fellow Goddess' apology. It's not like would stop even after being told off but there was no helping it. The least she could do was focus on her writing which had somehow become a battlefield. Ideas mixed with one another as she worked on a certain scene. Somehow her hand just refused to write the next few words. Her back tensing, she reached within her memory for the name of this symptom. Could this be the infamous writer's block authors were prone to experiencing?
"Y-You've gotta be kidding…" she growled as she gripped her pen, "Of all times… Why did it have to be now?"
She gulped down the lump in her throat as she unsteadily forced herself to write. After forming a few words, she re-read her sentences tice before coming to the conclusion of them being crap. The worst, unimaginable, crap she had ever produced during her entire time in the building. She slumped backwards as she threw away her draft and sighed.
"This is getting me nowhere," Blanc grumbled these words as she rubbed her forehead.
"Maybe you're just tired~? Looks like you're really trying hard, Blanny," commented Plutia as she placed a stack of books beside her fellow Goddess.
"Yeah well, it's my new hobby after all…" replied Lowee's CPU as she sat up straight once more, picking up her pen as she used to tap her cheek, "It's only been a few days since I started, I can't get all bored now."
"But hobbies are supposed to be fun, right? It's no good to have a hobby that isn't fun! That's just like work and work isn't fun at all," said Planeptune's CPU as she arranged the books and placed them on their respective shelves. She suddenly paused as the gears within her head turned for a moment. She bore a resemblance to a sleepy statue for a moment before her eyes flew open as her head turned to the right, this alarmed Blanc beyond belief.
"W-What's wrong?" stuttered Lowee's Goddess, sweat sliding down from her forehead as an uncomfortable feeling welled up within her.
"I have an idea~!" declared Plutia with her trademark slur. She skipped her way towards Blanc and placed her hands on the table, "I'll help you out! This way you'll never run out of ideas~! How's that sound? Wouldn't that be great~?"
"Help… me out?" parroted the brown haired girl as she thought it over, "But… will that really work? I mean to be honest… You're the last person I wanted to hear that from…"
The indigo haired girl's smile disappeared and was replaced with a sad expression. Her lips trembled as her eyes began to fill up with tears. In a shaky voice she said, "I-I-I see… It's okay, I-I guess…"
"What? Wait, hold on! Why the hell are you crying?!" cried a panicked Blanc as she stood up and went to Plutia's side. Seeing the other Goddess refuse to respond and merely stand there, she couldn't help but growl a little as while saying, "Grrr… Fine. You can help me with my work. Happy?"
"Really~?" asked Planeptune's CPU as her eyes began to sparkle.
Lady White Heart couldn't help but sigh at her friend's change of attitude, "Yeah… Let's get started, shall we?"
The next few days were very busy for Blanc. She wrote and researched at the same time while she did her best to follow the ideas Plutia had left her. It turned out that getting another person to help was the right choice seeing that she would be able to expand on that person's ideas and connect them with her own. Her writing was smoother compared to that little block a few days ago and she could see that she was doing great at the moment.
Planeptune's CPU would drop by from time to time yet she always came at the wrong moment which was whenever Blanc was in the middle of something important. It's been quiet during those days and Plutia had stopped coming after she ran out of ideas. Histoire didn't seem to be happy with her constant absences though and was giving out proper punishment.
The explosions on the other side of the building seemed to be still continuing yet Blanc had no interest in interacting with that witch. She merely sat there and wrote as she worked on and around her fellow Goddess' ideas. Well, that was until she got another unexpected visitor.
"Well, well, well… What do we have here? Making an attempt in literature, are we?" cooed a ladylike voice from over the brown haired girl's shoulder.
Breathing a sigh, she had no choice but to pay attention to the person she had been ignoring for the past ten minutes, "Vert… What do you want? I'm sure as hell that you didn't come to see me."
"I came here at Plutia's request. She said that you were working on something so important that you would need other people's help. To think that you were trying to become an author was really surprising, you know?" replied Vert as she uttered a giggle.
"Go away. You're annoying."
"Now, now, let's try and be nice okay? I'm here to help you after all."
"I don't need it. I'd rather have a bookshelf fall on me."
The blonde girl crossed her arms under her well-developed bust and let out a huff, "How rude! Remember, you can never be player one! No man's an island you know?"
"I'm a girl, not a man," hissed the brown haired girl through gritted teeth. Her eyebrow began to twitch at her increasing irritation.
"Well you're flat enough to be one."
SNAP
The remains of a silver fountain pen clattered into the blue carpeted floor at that. A murderous aura enveloped Lowee's CPU as she turned around to look at Leanbox's CPU, her eyes hidden beneath her fringe. Her hands trembling, she formed a trembling fist as she approached Vert. She then parted her lips as she growled, "Mind repeating that, thunder tits?"
BOOM
…..
….
…
Blanc uttered a sigh as she read a book. It was Tuesday and the weather was nice, the sky was clear and the wind wasn't that cold. The orange leaves of her nation's trees swayed with a passing breeze that helped cool the Goddess' mind. She was just about to reach the part where the detective of the story she was reading was about to uncover the culprit. She learned that there are varying writing styles within each book she had read, causing her to come to the conclusion that these styles help set up the kind of atmosphere the author was going for.
She pondered for a bit as to what kind of style she had been writing about for the past few days. Well, all she knew she was writing a story but it never occurred to her as to what kind of way she should write. Now to her, this seemed to be a matter of concern. If she had no knowledge on how she was writing then she would not know what she was writing about at all. It was like creating something without knowing its purpose.
"Goddess…"
Rolling her eyes, she then placed her attention at the person who just disturbed her for the second time that week. It was Mages holding a long staff at her right hand while her other hand was placed on her hip. She bore the same emotionless expression during the first time they met each other.
The CPU closed her book and tossed it into the table while asking, "What is it? I thought we had an agreement."
"Yes, we did. However the air pressure within the library has changed drastically ever since four o' clock yesterday after an earth shattering explosion. Would you kindly explain why there is a hole in the wall while having Leanbox's Goddess gagged and tied with a rope?" Mages had her eyes on the frantic Vert wriggling within her bonds as she swayed from left to right. A look of pity appeared on the witch's face as she thought about the number of hours the Goddess spent hanging.
Scratching her cheek and turning her gaze at her fellow Goddess, Blanc then replied, "I just took care of a few annoyances. Don't worry."
The witch waved her staff a bit and fired a blue jet of light at the rope suspending the blonde Goddess. There was clicking sound in the air followed by a muffled scream before a dull thud echoed around the room. The blue haired girl turned around to leave but not without saying, "Please clean up your mess."
"Will do," muttered Lowee's CPU as she grabbed another book from the pile beside her and began to read.
Vert burst from her bonds and got up, storming towards Blanc's side with her face red with rage and embarrassment, "That's not the kind of thing you should say in this situation! You left me there for the entire night! Did you have any idea how cold it was?!"
"Of course I did. I was with you the whole night, wasn't I?" pointed out the brown haired girl without the slightest reaction.
"You sat below me with a blanket and thermostat! You were drinking tea! You even lit a bonfire!" cried Leanbox's CPU looking absolutely miffed.
"Your point?" asked Blanc.
"You don't do that to me!" snapped Vert, "Really, now. How barbaric this nation can be when their own Goddess is a savage little dog!"
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"Eh?"
BOOM
…..
….
…
"Goddess…"
"Yeah, yeah, I cleaned up, see?"
Mages visited once again the moment another explosion rang through the building. Much to her surprise though, there were no traces of a hole in the wall and everything seemed to be in place. Though there were no damages as far as the eye can see, she was still a bit irritated that she was disturbed while in the middle of an important spell work.
She walked into the area where Lowee's CPU established her sanctuary and approached the now repaired wall. Giving it a brief knock and muttering a few incantations, she found out that it was just a normal, newly repaired wall. Once she was sure there was nothing out of the ordinary there, she then scanned the room for abnormalities. Of course there was none other than a physical Goddess sitting on a chair and reading a book.
Seeing as she wasn't needed there anymore, she left without a word.
"Three… two… one…" Blanc snapped her fingers, which was then followed by a body falling from the ceiling.
Vert stood up as she brushed dirt off her dress and shoulders, "That…. Was uncalled for."
"If you have that much free time then why don't you go back to your place and work or something?" muttered Lowee's CPU as she turned a page of her book.
"I told you did I not? I'm here to churn out ideas for your little tale since I don't have anything better to do," said Leanbox's CPU while crossing her arms under her bust, "Besides, I find your little project to be interesting enough for my attention."
Blanc paused her reading as she turned to face her fellow Goddess, "Hmmm, how about a no? You're annoying so get out of my sight."
"Oh well, it's your loss. And here I was eager to help you out on how to drag in Leanbox's citizens to read your Lowee product. Think about it, if you let me in with your brainstorming then your book will surely sell!" proposed Vert with her eyes sparkling. She placed her hands on the back of the other CPU's chair and said "Come on, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's not like I'm always in a good mood."
"I'm not interested in you shamelessly advertising your nation in my book or inserting your BL romance genre anywhere near it," the brown haired girl made her reply as blunt as possible. This of course hit Vert where it hurt most and looked like she was just hit in the gut with a metal pipe.
Grabbing the edge of the table for support, Vert gritted her teeth as she said, "Insulting… the purity…. Of BL… It's something that I cannot forgive! Fight me now!"
"No. Please leave me the hell alone," sighed Blanc as she rubbed her forehead, "You're only embarrassing yourself…"
"Your resistance will only make my efforts harder! I will not stop until you let me in that book of yours!" declared the blonde Goddess with a smug look on her face.
"If it'll get you to shut up, then fine," said the brown haired girl as she kept her eyes on her book, "What the hell did you have in mind, oh great Green Heart? Mind enlightening me on your genre busting ideas that will move my readers to tears and awe? Just don't give me crap since I'm already making shitty stories here."
Vert choked at those questions and struggled to regain her composure, "Um… That is… I'll think about it first."
"Good luck with that," replied Blanc with an indifferent tone, "And if you can't think up of anything, try retracing the interesting bits you remember from the games you played. That should give you a damn idea."
"Well if you put it that way," the blonde Goddess tapped her cheek twice as she thought up of an idea. She decided to approach the long table near the other Goddess and pull out a chair to sit on it. Resting her elbows on the table, she fixed her eyes on the powder blue ceiling as she organized her thoughts, "Hmm, don't you think that it'll come off as a total rip off of the games I played if I mentioned them to you?"
Lowee's CPU released an irritated sigh as she said, "I told you that it should give you an idea, right? I didn't actually say that you should give me the plot for the entire story. Just take elements from the damn thing and serve them."
"You look like you know what you're talking about, hm?" commented Leanbox's CPU in a teasing manner.
"I read," muttered Blanc in a deadpan tone, "It's only natural that I freaking know…."
"Then you should also know that you won't be inspired by staying cooped up in a place like this," replied Vert with a smile on her lips, "Inspiration comes from any things and not just from good old fashioned research. If you're really dead set on this like I am to my games, then you should know this by now. A book can't be made by just one person you know?"
The Goddess of Lowee paused for a moment as she registered those words in her mind. Giving it some though, she then opened her mouth to speak, "You know, you actually said something smart for once. But I'll be damned if I actually believed that bullshit. You're just making excuses so you don't have to work, right?"
"How rude, and here I was telling you something useful!" protested the Goddess of Leanbox.
"I'll keep it in mind."
"Huh?"
Vert gave the brown haired girl a look of disbelief at those words. She expected some more outbursts and curses than a quick and indifferent reply. Somehow she felt like asking if the other Goddess was feeling okay but her instinct told her that something bad would definitely happen. Thinking back to the previous days she'd been with Blanc, snapping that thin little nerve in her would be the last thing the blonde Goddess would like to do.
So she settled for staring at the other girl at that moment.
Blanc noticed this, causing her to pinch the bridge of her nose as she slumped backwards, "I'm in a surprisingly good mood despite being exposed to your god awful presence…. You just gave me something to think about."
Snapping out of her reverie, Leanbox's CPU regained her movements with a surprised look on her face. A smile appearing on her lips, she then said, "Well, I did say that I'll assist you, didn't I?"
The other Goddess didn't even spare her a glance as she went back to work. However Lowee's CPU parted her lips and grumbled a reply, "Yeah whatever…. Thanks…"
Vert pulled a chair near Blanc and oversaw her writings. Uneventful hours flew by yet the two didn't seem to mind. Blanc kind of felt this sensation during the time Plutia was with her. She then came to the conclusion that the annoying Goddess beside her may be right. A book can't be made by just one person.