Chapter 4

The morning came with a bright array of hope and bliss. The sun refused to be seen behind the thicket of clouds yet moving, as the blizzard still rained its hellish freeze down upon the land below. The wind had finally died down, so the classification of the storm could be changed, but let's be honest, it was still not a good idea to be outside in general.

Still, the last day before Christmas, regardless of the weather, was always a mixed bag when it came to people. For many, they chose to remain at home (or wherever they happened to have found themselves that day), while a few brave souls traveled to the few shops remaining open, just in case they were too lazy or thought of yet another great gift idea. A few cars were seen on the road, driving slowly thanks to the frozen precipitation, families or workers within singing along to yet another repeat of that damn Christmas song that plays a thousand times every year (which one? You can pick for yourself). Even during the heat of a storm, the joy of the season was always looming at every corner.

For the homeless that managed to keep warm throughout the unforgiving night, many continued to live off whatever they could, though many still found some enjoyment before the greatest day of them all. For the mother and her daughter, they found their smiles against the mighty thicket, their friends around the drum all leaving them behind as they went out to accomplish their own hopeless goals. As the light entered the world, the mother wondered where on Gamindustri Win had gone, and wondered if she was going to come back. She hoped to see her again.

For the people of the Basilicom, the big day finally arrived surprisingly on a whimper. As the citizens of the city got prepped for the grand festivity, the maids and workers made their final preparations, the cooking being the focal point for the setup today. A few of the workers took this day off due to helping the young soccer girl last night, but even then, they still did whatever they could to make this the best party yet. The Candidate took charge surprisingly well as she allowed her sister to oversleep just this once (whether Noire would approve is not relevant right now), while the Oracle acted as if today was just another day for her workful life.

When the sun goes down once more, the Basilicom will be packed to the brim with all the who's-who's in Lastation, and it will be grand. The bands will perform, the games will be played, and Noire will feel rather good about herself; we hope, at least.

…

For Win-chan, she awoke with a horrible shiver. She felt a large blanket around her form, but she still felt as if Jack frost was wrapping her up in a ice-like mummy sheet. Her vision was blurry as her hands were clammy, but as far as she could tell, she wasn't outside anymore. She saw a ceiling over her head, a design showing elegance and perfection only seen in the homes of the very rich. It was bizarre and foreign to her, considering the fact that she only saw brick, snow, and dirt over the past week.

"Where...where am I?"

Feeling pain in her back, she slowly sat up, allowing the blanket to slide down to her legs, making that shiver even worse for her. Her vision was finally clearing up, and what she saw before her was quite the sight to behold.

All around her were dark-gray walls, painted with craftsmanship only the top painters in the land could ever perform. There was a wardrobe right before her, once again looking like the greatest thing anyone could ever make, and on top of it was a grouping of candles, all unlit but ready to be utilized. There was a large mirror to the left of her, a circular shape with a strange border, looking as if a serpent was coiling around her reflection. Blue curtains hung before a window, which was frosted over from last night's blizzard. The best part, though, was that all of this was spread out far from the bed, to the point that she would have to make nearly 50 steps in order to even get to her clothes, which for some reason were on a lone chair in the corner and not on her.

Even with the shady look, the room felt warm and welcoming. However, Win felt fright overtake her, as the room was quite unlike any she had ever seen.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

She shook her head as she completely threw the blanket off, though the chill in the air wanted her to go back into being a temporary cocoon. She stepped down onto the magnificent carpet floor (its dark blue color feeling oddly enough cozy), slowly realizing that even her socks and shoes were missing; only her underwear remained on, though as she observed it, they most certainly were not the ones she sported before. Why am I...oh no, what happened? Win, what did you do?

Millions of possible scenarios ran through her head. All she remembered from yesterday was talking to Isabel and her mother, walking around the local neighborhood, and being spat at by one of her former friends. What happened next? Knowing her past luck, she felt that she was kidnapped by ax-murderers, all ready to chop her up into pieces. Someone sick would say that they would also have their way with her, but this is a T-rated fic, how can that happen?

But no matter what her fears went to, she observed her body, feeling a slight sickening feeling as she saw red spots all over her, and with a touch from a finger, she shuttered as a cold freeze covered her body. She wasn't the best when it came to determining what was wrong, but as she saw these markings, she slowly remembered falling into the snow around central park, the rest never to be remembered again.

"Dammit, girl, you froze yourself! How did you let this happen?"

A sigh escaped her lips as she went over to her clothes, though right as she was about to place on her now-dark shirt, she saw a tiny piece of paper on it. The writing on it looked like it was made from a typewriter, but the smearing of the text made it known that it was actually written by a human hand. It read in all of its monotonous glory:

"Win,

If you happen to wake up, you must remain in the bed and not place these back on. We condemned them. No offense, but you were an idiot for going out there with only these clothes. Just wait; we are preparing adequate clothing for you to wear. Seriously, what the hell were you thinking?"

Kei Jinguji, Official Oracle of the Nation of Lastation, Land of Black Regality

Underneath her signature (which looked somehow robotic in is loopy style) was the official stamp, showing that strange looking thing Lady Noire called her symbol. The sight of both the Oracle and the red ink of the stamp made Win fall down onto the ground. She rubbed her eyes, stammered back up, and looked at it again, nearly falling down once more. "L-Lady Kei wrote that? T-T-The Oracle? How did that happen?"

She ignored the insults the Oracle threw at her as she felt a tinge of glee and joy hop about. She somehow, inadvertently, got not only Kei's signature, but an actual written note; how many in this world sans criminals can say the same thing? "This is so awesome! I...I'm so honored!"

But her happiness soon lead to confusion, as she heard the door for the room slowly swing open, with a kind voice speaking from the opening. "Milady? I see you are awake. I have some nice clothes for you-"

She didn't even get to finish her thought as she looked into the eyes of the young soccer player. Her eyes, so frozen with embarrassment and fear, nearly made the maid run in fright, but luckily the Soccer player was the first one to break the gaze. She made a quiet scream as she ran down into the covers, covering her body in complete shame. The maid still kept her smile on. "Milady? Is everything okay?"

"I'm so sorry! I look so stupid! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

She sounded like a broken record as she apologized for reasons the maid had no idea. Tears came out of Win's eyes, and for about 20 seconds, she remained like this, making the maid laugh to herself.

Eventually, the soccer player realized something. She looked at the maid, who was still holding Win's new clothing for the day. "Wait...are you seriously a maid?" Her question was genuine, which made the professional woman kind of confused, even slightly offended.

"Um," the maid looked at her gown, where an ID badge was found on her chest, "I would hope so. Is there a problem, milady?"

It was a stupid question, sure, but Win was still trying to soak in where she was. First she receives a letter made out by the Oracle herself, and now a maid introduces herself in this royal-looking room of perfection. Wasn't she homeless and dying out on the snow? What the hell happened?

"No, there's no problem, sorry. I just...I, uh, never seen a real maid before. I don't count the ones from the cafes."

The maid giggled once more, and walked over the young girl, who kept herself covered underneath the big blanket. "Well, I'm sorry if I startled you. Ms. Jinguji said you wouldn't be awake until noon, so I'm glad to see you are recovering well. Please, put these on. There is quite a chill in here," she explained, placing the clothing carefully next to her pillow. She soon bowed politely, and walked towards the door before turning around. "Please, if there is any-"

Once again, she was cut off by the strange look that Win gave her. "W-W-W-W-W-W-W-Wait! I saw the letter over there...did the Oracle really write it?"

The maid gave another perplexed look, but held a smile that can warm the hearts of many a stoic. "Why of course, milady. I'm sorry if what she wrote sounded harsh. That's just her nature, after all! Yep, I don't know how much you remember from last night, but our Lady Black Heart found you lying in the park, near dead I believe. If it wasn't for Kei and her, well...let's not think about it, okay? I'm just happy you're all right!"

Once again, the maid was beginning to leave, but Win shouted for her to wait. The maid was happy to be needed, but seriously, she had things to do. "Excuse me, though," Win began, placing her shirt on, still looking as embarrassed as ever, "L-Lady Noire and Kei?" Two names she always heard, but she never once thought she would hear them in regards to her own well-being. "Please tell me, ma'am, where am I, exactly?"

The maid giggled as she placed her hand on the doorknob. "Why silly, you're in Lastation's Basilicom! Lady Noire will probably check in soon, so please, I want you to rest just a little bit longer. If you need anything, there are a lot of maids running about, so please ask if needed."

And with that, as Win felt like she was being lifted up into the clouds, the maid closed the door. Fully clothed now but still feeling cold, Win made a strange exasperated sigh as she fell down onto the ground. She didn't care if she was feeling hunger or the frostbite that plagued her body; she was just told that she was in Lastation's Basilicom, the greatest news she had ever heard this side of being accepted onto the soccer team.

Lastation's Basilicom...I made it...

The circumstances in which she arrived to her dream location, no matter how bad or odd, were completely irrelevant at this point. Her idol found her lying in the park of Lastation, and rather than let her die in a mound of frozen precipitation, she personally brought her here, and her own Oracle kept her alive in whatever state she was left in. Just repeating that statement over and over and over again within her mind filled her with glee never seen since that first goal she ever made.

"But...oh, I must look like a wreck! I can't believe Lady Noire saw me like this. Did she think ill of me! Oh no, that sucks! I hope I didn't make her mad..."

Thinking about that reaction made her fully remember the scenario with that shopkeep back in town. As Win was slowly becoming the incarnate of an ice sculpture, all that woman cared about was the disappointment the young soccer girl caused her. All the pain she must have created thanks to being out of the team was probably far more problematic than she could have ever envisioned.

Was Noire pissed off too? In theory, she allowed Win to live, so as far as she could tell, she either didn't care or was only allowing her to live so she could kill the young girl herself. Ew, the thought of her idol tearing her apart was more than enough to cause Win to gag.

"No, no, Noire is forgiving! She would never do that! I mean, if she had to, though, I guess I can't blame her," suddenly, the happiness that Win felt was destroyed thanks now to her sudden guilt. The voice of that woman telling her off sunk her down deep into a mighty pool of depression, or something along those lines. "I let her down...I let Noire down, right? You know, maybe I don't belong here. I didn't want to die, but...heh, I feel like a loser now."

But Noire saved you, the not-guilty side of her brain tried to reassure her, you should be happy. You wanted this, right? Don't put yourself down so much!

It tried, but her brain was just not listening. "I know, I know, but I just...she was so angry with me. I let everyone down. I just can't forgive myself anymore."

You're basing that on what, one person? Win, I am you, and I think that is pretty stupid. You couldn't control what happened to you, okay? If they're angry, blame the stupid media, not yourself!

"But I could have stopped it. I'm just too stupid. I can't do anything right! I had to be saved by Noire; I should have greeted her, not take up space in the Basilicom!"

Come on, Win, stop that! Be happy! Until you actually see Noire being all angry, which I know she isn't, be glad that you got what you want!

I guess the frostbite hurt more than just her body. Anyways, after that whole tirade of arguing with her freaking mind, Win collapsed onto the bed, looking at the ceiling as her breaths became ragged. "I guess you're right," she said literally to herself, "I'll just wait...I hope she can forgive me. I must have caused too much of a bother..."

She allowed ten minutes to pass by as her mind thought about the people around the oil drum. The mother with her young daughter, the young boy who seemed to have no family, the elder woman who appeared too old for her age, the girl with the dangerous ex, the foreigner; what were they doing right now? She promised Isabel that she would talk to her in the morning (which of course was now), and would you look at that? She probably disappointed her too. Not only that, but if they are still in that alleyway, they would be probably in the same situation as she was last night; a little warmer, but still in conditions a sane person should never have to endure. She let people who couldn't be any lower down the chain lower than even possible

Win, I swear to the True Goddess, if you even dare start up...

Indeed, the guilt was quickly coming back, and this time tears began to fill her eyes. However, in massive relief for her apparently second mind, a sound of anger came from another room. Her guilt was quietly replaced by intrigue, and she looked towards the bureau. "H-Hello?" She called out, feeling like an idiot as she spoke to the inanimate object (we hope).

The angry voice was still yelling, this time sounding as if it was going to explode. It was clearly the voice of a woman, though its power made Win scared beyond belief. 'What's going on out there?" she questioned, finding herself standing up once more, trying her best to suppress the sad feelings within. The carpet below welcomed her feet as she moved towards the door, gulping as she placed her ear on the wooden fixture. She wanted to exit the place and look around, being that this was the first, official time she had ever been in the Basilicom, but she felt extremely rude for even thinking of the idea. "Nah, it's probably just some maids fighting. I shouldn't worry too much."

Yet, as soon as she accepted this reality, the angry voice yelled ferociously, to the point that the young soccer girl was able to understand a few words that came from that naughty mouth. "Damn freakin...I swear to...you'll burn for...blasted, stupid...frazzled dazzle..."

There were a few swears in there, but even though we already wrote in swears in previous chapters, this is still a family production, dammit! Whatever was going on out there, the person was struggling with something, as she heard what she thought was a needle machine running congruent with the angry voice. Was the machine simply acting up? It honestly made Win laugh thinking about it.

The voice continued, sounding even more rage-filled. "Dammit! Seriously, dammit! Oh, it's hopeless..."

She pressed her ear against the door hard, trying her best to hear the dilemma, but instead of finding the problem, she instead took note that the voice sounded quite like her favorite Goddess in the world. It was muffled naturally against the wooden establishment, but she heard the tone and accent quite well. She was in the Basilicom after all; how close was she to Noire's room?

"I-Is it really her? Wow!" She said, quickly covering her mouth in case someone heard her (would be embarrassing, I guess). The voice continued, sounding even more frustrated with whatever the hell was going on. She heard the additional sounds of maids in the distance talking about something irrelevant, along with the lights in the hall making a strange sparkly sound, presumably on purpose. "No one else is around...should I-no! That would be stupid, Win! You can't just walk into the CPU's room. You can be executed for that!"

Curiosity was a satisfying replacement for guilt, but she was unsure of what to do. She could easily follow her order in lying down in the bed, especially since it was the comfiest thing she ever felt, but one side of her wanted to go out and either explore for a little bit, or head straight to Noire's room, the law be damned. The maid mentioned that Noire may be checking in soon, but for some reason, Win felt that either it was a lie, or at least too good to be true. She could test it naturally, but the Soccer Girl wanted to meet Noire, and right now, she wanted to meet her immediately.

"This is so stupid...I hate temptation..."

Her palms were sweaty and her breath was stifled, the doorknob now placed within her grasp. She was yelling at herself for being selfish, but right now, that didn't seem to matter anymore. It may be bad to do, but sometimes good people break bad sometimes. With a gulp, she made her final choice, and that was to open the door and head out into the hallway. There was an immediate regret for doing this, but to her, there was no turning back (she could just walk back into the room, you know?)

The hallway was lit up with the grand lights of Christmas, with blue and yellow bulbs bobbing up and down the pathway; the lights normally on within this path bore light as well, but it was no match for the holiday symbols. Garland and fake branches lay upon the very top of the wall touching the ceiling, descending down with ribbons galore. There was even a tiny mistletoe hanging right on the ceiling in the center, and it appeared that two maids (unaware of Win's presence) had no choice but to follow the grand tradition of, well, displaying affection towards the other party. It made the soccer girl kind of happy, though at the same time giddy with excitement. I'll let you figure out what that meant.

Trying to ignore the pleasures of the design, Win perked her ears as she listened for whatever sounds she could make out. Besides the obvious static and murmurs of the maids, she heard Uni apparently on the phone with someone far away, and what sounded like a famous band showing up early to set up their performance. It was all intriguing to hear after a long time of homeless silence, but all were disappointing in terms of her goal. She took a few steps down the hall, cautiously looking behind in case a maid noticed. Somewhere, Kei was yelling at a soldier for apparently sleeping on the couch, though by yelling I mean a type of stern talking that makes one wonder how much stern a person could generate.

At least she wasn't close.

"Still, where is she? Man, this is so stupid," she whispered as she kept her feet as close to the ground as possible when she stepped about; the floor wasn't exactly old, naturally, but just in case one tiny creak ended her snooping, you know? She kept listening, and soon the voice of the angry Goddess rang through the halls. Some of the maids looked around, but none took heed to it. "Is it...common around here? Jeez, Basilicom life is weird!"

At last, she reached the dead end of the hall, with only two doors greeting her. One was fully closed in all of its majesty, with a voice behind it sounding so heavenly, Win couldn't help but find herself lost in a trance. Unfortunately, the voice of beauty was not the voice of the CPU (who it was, well, I guess it isn't important). The other door, however, was ajar, allowing the soccer girl to peer in, rude and all. The voice, in all of its rage, was at its loudest here.

N-N-Noire's room...the CPU's room...it's right there!

Taking a big gulp, wiping the sweat from her hands and taking one last hint of doubt out of her mind, she took a quick peak into the room. Let us just say that it was even more exquisite than she could ever imagine. To describe it would be an injustice, so I guess you just have to take her word for it.

She looked from the windows to the huge medallion on the wall, marveling at every site before her. The bed, already set up properly by its owner, could probably fit five of her across, maybe 20 of her in total vertically and horizontally. Even the tiny amount of dust in the very corner of the room looked like it matched someone of high regality. and that just flattered Win for some reason.

However, all the beauty in the room was no match for the sight to the very right. Slumping off the bed was an elegant dress, adorned in the colors of Lastation from top to bottom. To Win, it looked stunning, and if she could only be just a tad bit taller, she would love to wear it. Unfortunately, the person beside it, looking at a mirror out of view with an angry face, would never agree with the soccer gal.

That woman in question, of course, just happened to be...well, let's Win tell us.

"N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-Noire!"

Sadly, Win's excitement of seeing the CPU in person made her shout her name. Once she realized this, she quickly placed a hand over her mouth, but honestly, it wasn't going to do anything. Noire, who was still yelling at herself, suddenly stopped as she stared at the mirror, clearly feeling either humiliated or startled. Whoops, Win thought, I guess that's the end of the line, huh?

Yes, dear readers, she could have attempted to run, but for whatever reason, she just couldn't make her legs move. Noire slowly turned her head towards the door, stopping just short of seeing the young girl. "Um, eh, who is it?" She asked, and at that moment, Win realized something quite, er, interesting. You see, Noire wasn't exactly, how do I say this, dressed. She had her standard shirt on, but for whatever reason, her pants were still discarded on the floor, uncharacteristically for her. Win just couldn't help but be struck with a gaze towards...well, you know.

But when no answer was given to the Goddess, Noire had no other choice but to finally look at the slightly ajar door she foolishly didn't close yet. She quickly made eye contact with Win, who started to breathe heavily from fear and regret; it was foolish to even try and do this. If she was patient and orderly, she wouldn't have to experience whatever hell she was surely going to go through. Thus, in what would perhaps be her final moments in life, she once again developed that guilty conscience.

"I-I'm sorry, milady," she tried to save herself. Goodbye, cruel world.

God, how long did it take for them to break the silence? Maybe 10 minutes? They just stood there, the only sound being the ambiance of the maids and lights behind them. Noire's face grew redder and redder, while Win lost all color available. The light outside began to seep through the windows as the sun almost peaked through the clouds for once, though the snow refused to yield.

Finally, after an eternity of waiting, Noire finally spoke, but much to the surprise of Win and to the red face of the Goddess, it was actually a worried voice. "W-Win, you're awake? Are you okay?" her voice, compared to what she sounded like before, was strangely motherly and kind. It was exactly how the soccer girl envisioned it, or something like that. Still only half-dressed, she quickly walked over to the door, allowing Win the privilege of actually walking in.

The room was enormous, and the full shot was more than enough to let any human being be filled with bewilderment and astonishment, but all Win could focus her eyes on was the Goddess still have naked before her. Even if her gaze was incredibly obvious, Noire appeared completely oblivious to it (being a tsundere, isn't that like, you know, heresy to the character type? I don't know, I'm not getting paid for this). Still, as long as she didn't notice, Win got whatever she needed, though she felt incredibly guilty for this. "Win?" Noire asked again, breaking her out of her trance. The soccer girl felt her shoulders being grabbed as the CPU looked directly into her eyes. "Please say something! You really scared me last night! I...I won't forgive you if you keep quiet!"

"Wha?" Win asked in a strange stammer. Noire kept her gaze on her, looking at the Soccer girl from top to bottom, looking at every piece of exposed skin for any mark that would make her extremely angry. She honestly had no idea what to say to her long-time idol, and now that she was literally a few inches from her face, all her thoughts simply went out the window. Any noise she produced was merely just groans and whistles, making the CPU tense with fright.

"Win? Win, please say something I can actually understand!"

Perhaps because she just couldn't take it anymore, Win passed out in her arms. "Crap, crap! Win, don't do this!"