Once again, I welcome you to the story! Previously on…Goddesses join the Veterans Alliance in their daring attempt at stealing an entire fleet of warships held in a secret anchorage in the system. During the mission, Goddess Blanc ends up kidnapped by Imperial Knight Stellaria, while the rest retreats with the fleet in tow. Now, held in Imperial custody, the CPU of Lowee stands face to face with the very person who brought dismay opon the people of Gamindustri.

Now, reviews.

To end5: Thank you, as always.

With that done, let us begin another chapter.

Chapter 16

April 25, 2257 G.C.

17:32

Day's Break

Following the acquisition of the entire fleet, the General asked Goddesses to stay for a bit aboard the VA's fleet. They agreed, even though Rand didn't tell them why he wanted them to stay. But whatever was the reason, they it had to be an important one.

As of now, the three remaining CPUs were gathered in the conference room. On the screen in front of them, they could see Artisan's face as they told her everything that happened during their last mission.

"…and they took her away."Vert finished.

Artisan's face had an expression of deep thoughts and unpleasant surprise.
"So…you gonna say anything?"Neptune asked.

"Give her some time to process this."Noire hissed.
"Okay, sorry."Neptune rolled her eyes.

Leader of Unbreakable Ore looked at them.
"Loosing Blanc is indeed a blow."she stated."But we all know that sooner or later, we will take her back."
"You sure?"Goddess of Planeptune asked, leaning back in her chair."Because if Rand is going to keep us here, then I dunno think so."
"Speaking of which, why is he keeping you there?"Artisan asked.
"You don't know? I thought he told you the reason."Vert noticed.
"No he didn't."Artisan shrugged."He said that they're planning something and that's it."
"Why does he always have to be so secretive? We're allies, right?"Neptune risen an eyebrow.
"It's a matter of carefulness."Noire said."You never know who might be an enemy spy and could give info to the Imps. He only trusts his Officers."
"Sounds about right."Vert said.

"Okay."Artisan said."I'll be signing off for now. Inform me about everything that happens. See ya."
With that, she disconnected, leaving the three Goddesses just sat there for few seconds.
"You know, I've been thinking…"Noire said.
"About what?"Neptune asked.
"About going AWOL and going to find Blanc?"

The other two looked at her, surprised.
"Really? You of all people think about that?"Vert asked."What happened to you?"
"I simply think that it's our duty."Noire shrugged."We're all Goddesses. So we should try helping each other."
"But there is one problem."Neptune said.

They both looked at her.
"Which is…?"Noire asked, crossing her arms and already preparing on some stupid answer.
"We don't know where she is."

Noire blinked for a few seconds. What Neptune just said actually made sense.
"But still, maybe we could…"Goddess of Lastation continued.
"Unfortunately, this time let us be the voices of reason."Vert stopped her."As much as we want to save Blanc, I think we should wait. For better or worse."

Noire didn't say anything. Instead, she just stood up and left the conference room. She was followed by the other two.

April 25

Unknown time

Unknown location

Blanc looked at the leader of the Empire standing before her. She immediately reached out with her hand and tried to summon her hammer. Much to her surprise, it didn't happen.
"Don't even try."Keya said."The bracelets you're wearing are made out of special material that nullifies all magic. And don't even try taking them off, if you don't wanna be electrocuted with enough power to kill a zerrexx."

Goddess of Lowee had no idea what zerrexx was, but if it was used to measure amount of power needed to kill it, it must've been big and deadly. So she stopped and just looked at the Empress.

"Where am I? How long was I out?"she asked.
Keya stopped leaning on the wall. She stepped out of the shadows.
"You're on Nintendus."she replied."It's been three days since you were brought here by my daughter."
Nintendus. At least she was somewhere she knew. Or at least, she did know it before the Empire came. And three days? Damn it.

Looking at the bracelets on her arms and realizing she was out of options, she decided to just play along.
"Alright. So, what are you gonna do with me now? Did you finally find a way to permanently kill us and are planning a public execution?"

Keya shook her head.
"No. We're not gonna kill you."
"Then what do you want from me?"

Empress smiled.
"I'd like to ask you to join me on a dinner."

"I will ne…!"Blanc cut in half her sentence when she realized what was asked of her."…What?"
"I want you to feel not as a prisoner, but as a guest."the Empress continued."I know what you think of us, but we know how to act when we have a high-value guest."

Goddess of Lowee narrowed her eyes.
"What are you planning?"she asked.
"Nothing at the moment."Keya replied.

And from her tone, Blanc could tell she was honest. She relaxed a bit. Just a bit. Not enough to be caught off-guard.

"Alright. I'll join you on this…dinner."she said.
Keya's face was plastered with a motherly smile.
"I'm glad you said so. There's a lot I have to tell you."She turned around."Follow me, please."

The cell's door was opened by a guard standing on the other side. Stepping outside behind Keya, Blanc could see ASIC's badge on the guard's arm. She forgot that it was Arfoire who was in charge of the planet. Oh joy.

"I just hope I won't get any poisoned food."Blanc spoke.
"Don't worry. Only way it could happen would be if anyone tried poison me."Keya replied.

And that was supposed to make her feel better?

April 25

18:02

Corridors

Blanc followed the Empress through the corridors of the building. As they walked past the guards and other symbols of Imperial occupation, Blanc could spot different architectural characteristics. Additionally, judging by the fact that she was captured by Stellaria, she was most likely brought to Nintendus. Which also meant, that she was also brought into Arfoire's personal realm. If not for the fact that that it couldn't end well, she would simply go and smash that old witch's face with her hammer.

"Hope you're not mad about the changes we made?"Keya asked.
Blanc looked at her.
"First, I have to know where am I, before I can reply."she replied.

Keya chuckled.
"Of course, I should've thought about it. We're in Kongtown, on Nintendus."

At least that part was right.

"In that case, I don't like how you vandalized the place."Goddess of Lowee scoffed.

"I should've expected that answer."Keya deadpanned."But still, good that you're honest."
"Some would say that a bit too much."
"Maybe you would find a common language with Hall-A? She also tends to be blunt and straightforward. A bit too much, even I can tell you that. And I'm her mother."

"Yeah, I doubt we would."

Blanc blinked. Was she actually having a conversation with the enemy Empress?

"It would never hurt to try…"
"Shut it. If you think you can smooth talk me or somethin', then think twice!"
"And what if I tried to tell you the truth?"

Blanc blinked again.
"What truth?"
"Oh, look, we're at the dining room!"

CPU looked forward and saw two guards standing at the door. They were both wearing Imperial uniforms, but had ASIC badges on their arms. Arfoire's cronies. Nothing surprising. The two saluted Keya.
"Empress."they said.
"Is everything ready?"Keya asked.
"Yes."

"Open the door."

The two grabbed the handles and pulled the door open. Behind them was an intricately decorated dining room, full of golds and other rich looking decorations. Someone could've said that it was either Arfoire's or Imperial doing. But Blanc knew better. It was the previous Goddess of Lowee's doing. She was known for her liking for splendor. Not that Blanc didn't, but she didn't decorate everything in gold like she did.

There was a long dining table in the room. It was long enough for a dozen people to sit at it. But this time, only three other people were seated there.

One of them was Arfoire. The leader of ASIC, still as old looking as ever, was sitting with her arms behind her head, looking bored. When she saw Blanc entering with Keya, she had a stupid smirk on her face, as if she wanted to tell the Goddess that now, she was in charge.

Second one was a person she didn't know and she didn't know if she wanted to. They had an ant-like head and looked around with their insect eyes. When they looked at Blanc, they narrowed their eyes and their hand landed on their hip, where they most likely had a holster.

And finally, the most surprising of all and at the same time not really, was Stellaria. Blanc almost didn't recognize the Imperial Knight at first, due to the fact that she was not wearing her typical combat outfit. Instead, she was dressed in a minimalistic silver dress that made her look like a normal girl, not a trained killing machine. Which didn't mean that Blanc should not keep an eye on her the whole time they were here.

Seeing her approach, Arfoire smirked.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't one of the Goddesses?"she asked."You already woke up? I kinda hoped you'd never do it again."
"Sorry to destroy your dreams, you old witch."Blanc replied.
"Either way, I welcome you to my planet."Another smirk crossed Arfoire's lips."Got it? Because now, I'm in charge of it."
Stellaria looked at her.
"You wanted to say, that I'm in charge of you?"she asked."Remember, that I'm technically a ruler of all Lowee territories."

Arfoire nodded.
"Of course, of course, Lady Stellaria!"she replied."How could I forget!"

Blanc risen an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Instead, she approached a seat pointed by Keya, which was just next to the seat Empress took. As she did, she glanced at the ant-headed alien seated at her height.

"I don't think you had the chance to meet."Keya said."Blanc, meet general Al'roy, commander-in-chief of our armed forces."

"Goddess Blanc."Al'roy lowered his head.
"General."Blanc did the same."Before any pleasantries, I want you to know, that I don't like sitting in your presence one bit."
"Neither do I."

"So you don't like yourself as well?"

Al'roy's antennae twitched. Before he could do anything, Keya lifted her hand, calming him down.

"Now. Shall we dine?"the Empress asked.

She clapped her hands and the door on the other side opened. A line of waiters and servants came in, carrying trays with all kinds of foods, from meats to vegetables. Some of which were actually Gamindustrian dishes, as Blanc could spot a dogoo jelly among them. When all dishes were placed on the table, all waiters bowed and left. After the door closed behind them, Keya looked at the people at the table.
"Bon apetit everyone."she said.

The dinner went by in silence, as nobody talked in Blanc's presence. From time to time, the other three shot glances towards her, but none said anything. She dug into some vegetable soup and glanced herself, at Keya. Empress sat there, doing nothing much, just…watching them. As if she expected everything to simply blow up. Honestly, if Blanc wanted, she could do just that, make things explode. But then again, she didn't want to end up in another stasis pod for who knew how long.

Finally, the dinner ended, with everyone full. Keya looked at the food that was still remaining, but didn't say anything. Instead, she looked at Arfoire.

"Arfoire, could you leave us?"she asked.

Leader of ASIC looked at her, surprised.
"Why? Aren't I…"
"Because your Empress commands you so."Keya said firmly.

Arfoire looked at her, then at Al'roy, Stellaria and finally, at Blanc. She scoffed and stood up, leaving after next few seconds. When the door closed behind her, Blanc was left alone with some of the highest ranking people of the Empire.

"Now…"Keya said, looking at Blanc."Blanc. I guess you have some questions?"

Blanc looked at her, surprised.
"What do you mean?"she asked, feeling a trick here.
"I'm sure there are some things you want to know about us?"Stellaria said.

There was a lot, in truth. A lot that could be useful if it came to bringing them down when she got out of here. Because that she was gonna get out was certain.
She decided to start small.
"Alright then."she said."Why did you send Arfoire away?"
"She may be our ally, but she doesn't have to know everything. Besides…"Keya leaned in closer."…none of us trusts her one bit. From what we heard, she was your main source of trouble before our arrival."
"Yeah…But she disappeared for a bit…"Goddess of Lowee frowned."Did she ever tell you why she was gone for the past few years before your arrival?"
"Well…"Stellaria said."When she came to us, she said she was searching for some legendary sword."
This piqued Blanc's attention.
"Legendary sword?"she asked.
"Tyer."Keya replied.

Blanc thought that she misheard. Tyer? The legendary sword wielded by the Primordial Goddess herself? It was lost centuries ago. Nobody knew where it was, legends only mentioned it being lost.

"Did she…succeed?"she asked.
"How do you think?"Keya asked, raising an eyebrow.

The tone she said it in left no doubts. Arfoire succeeded.

"Anymore questions?"Al'roy asked.
"Yes."Blanc replied. She decided to leave the subject of the sword for now."Where did you come from?"

Hearing this, Keya smiled and giggled.
"What's so funny?"

"Oh, when it comes to our origin…we have to go a bit farther than a few years back and ask another question…"The Empress leaned in closer to Blanc."Do you know where you, Goddesses, came from?"

Blanc frowned.
"We came from a Primordial Goddess."she replied.

"Hm. And did you ever wonder where did she come from?"the Empress continued.
Honestly, that was one of the things everyone wondered. It was one of the biggest secrets of history. Seeing her expression, Keya nodded.
"Thought so."she said."And what if I told you, that we know?"

"What do you mean…?"
"Did you ever wonder why do we look like humans from Gamindustri? Why do we speak the same language? Why our customs are similar?"

"I…"She did. She just didn't paid too much attention to that. There were other things that were more important. Like overthrowing the Empire.

Now that she mentioned it…Gears in her head turned…pieces started falling into place…and…

She looked up at Keya.
"You mean…"she started, but the rest of the sentence couldn't leave her mouth.

Keya smiled.
"Somehow, I knew you'd figure it out."she said."Yes. Us, Imperials, originally came from Gamindustri."

Blanc tried to comprehend the weight of what she just learned. She quickly calmed herself down.
"How?"she asked.

"As I said, we have to go back several thousand years back."the Empress said."To the times, which were no doubt forgotten by your history. For example, do you think your civilization reached it's peak now? What if I told you, that it reached it's peak millennia ago?"

Blanc stayed silent, waiting for the Empress to continue.
"Millennia ago, the civilization on Gamindustri looked pretty much like it looks now, except we were just starting to enter the interstellar stage of our development. Our people basically took over the whole world. Unfortunately, not everyone liked it, so our civilization faced numerous uprisings and rebellions. So much so, that it was decided to create a new type of super-soldiers. Ones, that would be above average humans."

Saying that, she pulled out a small, round device. Just by looking at it, Blanc could tell it was ancient. Keya pressed a button on top of it and a hologram appeared. The hologram presented blueprints and information.

On a Console Patron Unit Program.

"Your eyes do not deceive you."Keya said."Ever wondered who created the Primordial Goddess? It was us. From the very start."

"So what happened?"Blanc asked, still trying to decide if she believes it or not."What caused you to…escape? Leave the planet?"

Keya scoffed.
"Answer is simple. Insubordination."she replied."We did create the Primordial Goddess as a perfect weapon. CPU-00, that was her designation. What we didn't expect was her to develop emotional connection to the people. People, which soon started rebelling en mass. And another thing we did not expect, was that the CPU-00 would actually turn on us and accuse us of oppressing the people. She was even able to create four more CPUs on her own to fight beside her. With her in charge, forces of our ancestors were unable to quell this rebellion. Because of that, they decided to leave. They built ships and left the planet behind, destroying their own civilization and, as they believed, the CPUs."

"And how would they do that?"Goddess of Lowee crossed her arms on her chest.
"CPU Program had a fail-safe built in."The Empress admitted."A self-destruction button, as you could say. Our ancestors not using it at the start of the rebellion up until the end of it, because they believed they could win, was their biggest mistake. For millennia, we were led to believe CPUs were destroyed while our people left and the Gamindustrian System became a dead system, with no life left in it."

She glanced at Blanc.
"But it seems like the Primordial Goddess somehow managed to eliminate the self-destruction option and lived."she finished."And here we are now."
Blanc tried to take in all the information. All she was just told was just…mindblowing. Was everything they believed in really started by the Empire? Or was Keya just playing some weird mind games with her?

"Following the exodus of our people from Gamindustri, they settled a faraway system, where they started a new civilization."Keya continued."They rebuilt and started expanding. Our empire controlled several star systems around our main one and in the process of our expansion, we met only one other intelligent species."

She glanced at Al'roy.
"Other than that, there was peace in our space. Just a minor rebellion there and there."

"So…what caused you to come here?"Blanc asked.

Keya looked at her.
"That's enough secrets for now."she said."Stellaria, take her away.
"Yes, mother."Stellaria said, standing up.

Blanc wanted to protest, but before she could, Stellaria was already at her, grabbing the Goddess and pulling her away. Even without her suit, she was still super strong. She dragged Blanc through the corridors and back to her cell, where she put her and shut the door.
"Sorry."she said.
"Wait!"Blanc tried to stop her and ask some more questions. But the Imperial Knight just turned around and walked away.

Resigned, Blanc just sat back at her bunk, thoughts about everything she just heard flying through her mind.

April 25

19:46

Day's Break

Noire, Neptune and Vert entered the briefing room and were greeted by the sight of many more soldiers, commanders and pilots of the VA. Standing before them was Rand himself. Seeing the Goddesses arrive, the General smiled.
"Good. Everyone is here already."he said."We can start the briefing."
"So I guess you're still not gonna tell us why are you keeping us in here?"Noire asked, sitting down on a free chair.
"Quite the opposite."Rand said."You're gonna know why I requested you to stay with us for a little longer."

"Oh, good."Neptune said."Because we were about to rise up and force it out of you."

Rand laughed.
"It was not a joke."Blanc said.

Everyone in the room glanced at each other but didn't say anything. Rand cleared his throat.
"Anyway, today, we're gonna speak of our next bigger operation."he declared."One that might completely turn the tide for us."
People started whispering. Goddesses just looked at each other.

Rand in the meantime pressed something on the tablet he was holding. The screen in the room turned on and it showed a picture of a certain planet. Seeing it, everyone either smiled, widened their eyes or thought it was a joke.

"After months of talking, preparations and contacts with our groups on the surface…"Rand said."…we decided the time has come."
He paused for a bigger effect.
"We're taking back Nintendus."

April 25

20:43

Kongtown, Nintendus

The city of Kongtown, being the biggest and most populous city on the planet, hid many secrets and places that were not accessible to public. Some were that way because of government decisions. Others because of bad fame they got. Others because of urban legends of monsters and ghosts roaming them. Some of these were true, while others not so much.

One of such places was the underground facility known as The NEST.

The NEST used to be a secret research facility controlled by Lowee Institute of Innovation, a civilian organization tightly tied with Lowee Defense Forces. The LII was in charge of developing new weapons and technologies to be used in LDF. It was mainly thanks to it's works that Lowee managed to keep up with the speed at which Lastation was developing. Unfortunately, whenever there is too much power, corruption easily takes hold.

Nearly a decade earlier, the LII started unauthorized program of creating super soldiers for Lowee. For that purpose, they started kidnapping all sorts of people: children, homeless, people walking home at night. They took them to The NEST, where they were subjected to inhumane experiments. They were pumped with chemicals, drugs and everything that could cause any reaction with the body. Most of them didn't survive and those who didn't were disposed of…by being thrown into recycling and turned into various things used across the planet.

When one of the workers at The NEST spilled the beans, an international scandal erupted. Immediately after hearing that, Blanc declared that LII is to be liquidated. LII, of course, didn't like it. They moved all their assets to The NEST and barricaded themselves in. What followed was months long siege of the facility. It cost numerous lives, but ultimately, Lowee's forces managed to get into the depths of the facility and eliminate LII leadership. Since then, The NEST was completely abandoned.

Until the Imperials came. Following their capture of Nintendus, numerous resistance groups, mainly those associated with the later Veterans Alliance, decided to fall back there, seeing it as the best possible hideout at the time, even considering it's controversial past.

"Man, when are we finally going to do something?"one of the technicians under VA's cells said, walking down the corridor.

"You heard the boss."his companion replied."There is something big brewing. We're gonna see that action you want sooner or later."

"I simply want to get out of this tomb…"The man felt a shrug going down his spine."Too much memories of LII are still left there."
"We only found three still intact torture chambers. Don't whine."
"Easy to say."
"How about we just go and grab something to drink, huh? This will help you forget everything."
"Maybe you're right…Maybe we'll get Mara to come with us?"
"Isn't she always busy with that 'secret project' of hers?"
"We can always ask, right?"
"I guess."

Saying that, they two quickly paced through the corridors, passing by various rooms either occupied by working technicians, soldiers or simply empty ones. There were currently thousands of people gathered underground, all waiting for the day when they can finally get out of this hole and simply kick the Imps out of their planet.

After a few minutes, they reached a large, empty hangar-like chamber. Inside, there was only one person, a young woman with black hair and goggles, doing something on something hidden beneath a large piece of tilt.

"Hey, Mara!"the first one said."Me and Rorick are going to get something to drink. Wanna come with us?"
"No."Mara quickly replied.
"Oh come on, you're doing nothing by sit here all day long, working on whatever this is."Rorick said."Maybe you'll get some break?"
"No."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
The two sighed.
"What even are you working on there?"Rorick asked.
"Something important."

"Let's go. We're not gonna speak to her mind."
"Yeah."Rorick agreed.

The two turned and left the chamber, shaking their heads. Meanwhile, Mara came out from under the tilt and sighed. She knew she should come out of here more, but she was close to finishing her secret project. Just a few more touches and it should be ready to work. And when it came to food and drinks, fortunately, she had someone to bring it to her.

It's been three years since they came here. Three years in hiding, like bugs in the ground. She was not the kind to feel anger because of that, but at the same time, she was tired of this, like probably everyone else. But if the rumors were to be believed, maybe soon it will be over?

She approached the nearby table, taking off her goggles and rubbing her eyes. On the table, there was a box. She opened it and looked inside.

There was one picture. A picture from a much simpler time. From a time before the Imperial invasion. In this photo, she was with her sister.

Playing games in their old living room in Planeptower.

"Soon, Neptune."Nepgear said with a weak smile."Soon, we're gonna see each other again."

XXX

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