"Are you sure this is the place?" Uni didn't exactly think much of it, but then again, looks can be deceiving.
"Positive... you're at the one with the key right?"
"Yes, I'm at the one with the key." To be perfectly honest, it was a little insulting how her sister assumed she might have arrived at the wrong spot; Uni knew she was better than that.
"Good." Uni felt a twitch in her eye as she heard the relieved sigh flow effortlessly free from Noire on the other side of the phone; did her older sister really have so little hope in her? "I was afraid they might have given you the location of the wrong one."
"Sis, you know I'm- wait, wrong one?" The CPU candidate's face twisted a little as she deconstructed what that meant. "There are more of these places?"
"Well yeah: Lastation has plenty of old ruins. I routinely have our forces clear them out from time to time. However this one has remained hidden for who knows how long, and from what Blanc's reports have stated, the key said to be inside might end up becoming more important than what I initially thought when stumbling across it in my notes."
"Hold on, since when have you been sending people into old ruins and shrines?" Uni didn't recall any of that when her sister talked about work, or when she complained about people in her Basilicom lacking the ability - more so sensibilities related to it - to do their jobs.
"Hmm?" Noire curiously hummed, which only served to stammer Uni further. "I've always gotten reports of old places and such: usually I'd just approve or deny expeditions."
"And we've never come across this one?"
"Oh, no, it was here: I just never got around to it until now."
"Right..." Uni didn't know if that meant her sister just got lazy for a bit, or if the stacks of old ruins being discovered over Lastation were really that big. Either way, Uni kind of felt a little stupid for not knowing this whole thing was going down to begin with.
"So... you've been approving expeditions for all this time."
"No..." Noire's voice came out in a 'what do you mean' sort of fashion, which perked the younger sister's ears, drawing her in. "Why would I approve random delves into dusty old ruins and forts?"
"But you just said you've been approving and denying them."
"Yeah, emphasis on the 'deny' part; I've only ever approved them when there was a benefit beyond just searching for resources, like when the university on the eastern side of the city wanted to take their students to do an archeological dig. That both bolstered the students morale, and heightened their work ethic in pursuit of their interests. Honestly Uni, you should know by now I don't just do things for the sake of doing them."
"Y-yeah." Uni was stammering, but not because of any sense of embarrassment or anything; rather, she was a little disgruntled by the pure hypocrisy on display.
Come on! You literally have this whole 'approve and deny' system set up in the first place!
Such a system provided a service however, more so Uni was just a little preoccupied with being conflicted to come up with a proper example, such as Noire's collection of cosplay photos that she hid away for herself that nobody was allowed to see; both worthless, and fetishist - it's best not to ask.
"Okay, Uni, I need to cut the call here. I have some business to quickly attend to, so I trust that you'll recover the key and grab some photos of anything that seems important. Goodbye."
Uni never even got to answer before it cut out, leaving the young woman huffing and pinching the bridge of her nose, shaking her head as she grumbled aloud.
"She doesn't even bother to tell me why..." Uni sighed, shaking herself and standing straight again.
Ignoring her sister's lapse in judgment for the time being, she opted to focus on the task ahead. Now, usually when going to recover artifacts of the past, a good scholar would suggest a whole team with sanitary equipment and gentle hands to carefully move the object from its place in nature. Old relics and such had a tendency to fall apart at the slightest adjustment, and so required steady fingers to move.
Unfortunately the goddesses weren't so careful... or forward thinking for that matter, and so Uni alone would have to do.
Geez, this isn't creepy at all...
It was only a cemetery crypt, with tall stone pillars and surrounded by a graveyard. There was nothing weird about the gargoyles sitting atop the entryway, staring forwards with unbroken attention. The moss and roots covering the stone like veins was actually rather pleasant on the eyes from an aesthetic point of view.
Ignore the single strike of lightning that illuminated the cloudy sky, which most certainly hadn't made Uni jump.
W-what am I even worried about?
Unlike most hapless dames wandering into a potentially haunted and dangerous crypt, Uni had a gun, which she proceeded to load with a fresh magazine of ammunition.
Whatever's inside should be scared of me, not the other way around!
The best confidence was always forged through self-deception, and there was nobody better at lying to themselves than Uni... don't take that out of context - as if that makes it any better.
I-it's just a simple thing: go inside and look around.
Sure, she had to take the key, but that was only part of it. Uni's job was also to check out the inside, and potentially clear out any monsters that had settled inside - if they were hostile that was. But what were the chances of anything living inside anyways? Uni had fought plenty of creatures before, and most of them couldn't even land a hit on her; she had this in the bag.
With the fires of confidence sufficiently stoked again, Uni made for the crypt with the intent of getting the mission over with before said fires fizzled out.
Ironically, the inside of the crypt was much less unnerving; almost relaxing in a way. Most of the stone was clean, and unlike the outside there was no moss anywhere to be found. It was almost as if somebody had been keeping it clean for years, however that idea seemed a bit questionable considering how the outside looked so... yeah.
This is weird...
Not only was it clean, but the floor looked to have been swept as well, and recently too. Uni wasn't a maid or anything, but she often took to cleaning up her room every weekend, and she could tell from the slight fillings of dust between the cracks on the floor that the dirt inside hadn't had time to fully settle. Uni walked over to the nearest crack, kneeling down and blowing. As expected the dust within fluttered upwards, and unfortunately for the girl she sucked all of it in.
The next thirty seconds was spent hacking and coughing, reeling from the fact she'd not paid attention to which direction she'd blown from.
After getting her lungs settled away, Uni stood. Before she could do anything else she noticed something: a dogoo was staring curiously at her from the other end of the room. Her first instinct was to raise her gun, only... the creature didn't seem to care. Much to Uni's shock it came bounding over, somewhat rolling even, and stopped right at her feet. Looking up at her, it began to talk.
"Who is you?"
"P-pardon!?" Uni couldn't say she was wholly out of the loop; many creatures had shown themselves capable of speech before, particularly from the Zero dimension. What was perplexing was the fact that this particular dogoo was green, and had a white question mark on its body.
"I's asking, who is you?" Its voice was... bumbly, and somewhat masculine, like a country boy who's just rolled up in a beatdown looking automobile.
"I-I, um... Uni." She mentally slapped herself as the name tumbled out. She could have used a fake, just in case this thing was dangerous, but no, she just up and gave away her real name.
"Hmm." It hummed, rolling around her and inspecting from multiple angles. "We don't get many 'Uni' around these parts."
"O-oh." The girl wasn't sure what to make of this, but she never had time to process an idea anyways as the dogoo came to a stop before her again.
"You's here for the frozen key?"
"Frozen key?" It instantly clicked for the young candidate then: that must have been the key Noire mentioned.
"Yeah. Have you's come for it?" It's voice seemed to fall, and Uni recognised this as a sign it didn't take the idea lightly. Quickly, she rose her one free hand, waving quickly and shaking her head.
"N-no no, I'm not here to take it. I... uh... I'm just taking a look around."
"Takin a look around, huh?" It rolled on its... back? "Hmm... I 'spose that's fine. Just don't break nothin: we've just cleaned her up not a while ago."
"O-okay." As she said that, it rolled on deeper into the shadows, appearing to vanish completely.
Right... so that was a strange encounter, but at least she didn't need to use any ammo yet; that was a plus. Steadying herself again, and letting her mind come back down from its reeling, she decided to delve in deeper into the crypt.
Okay... so don't touch the key when he's around, got it.
Seeing as she was supposed to grab it, this rule would be broken later, but right now she needed to find it. Her sight however was a little obstructed by the immense amounts of darkness shadowing the stairs. It was here that Uni began to mentally berate herself: she'd forgotten to bring her flashlight... to a creepy crypt adventure; really bright move there.
"You won't be seeing too easily down there with your human eyes." Once more, let it be said that Uni never once jumped during any point at all while on this expedition. What bobbed by her side was another dogoo, only this one was pink, but still it had that same question mark; albeit possessing a feminine voice. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."
"I-I wasn't frightened!" Uni defended pathetically. "Y-you just snuck up on me."
"Again I apologize."
"I-it's fine..."
What is with these weird dogoos? Why was it that every dungeon and crypt across Gamindustri always seemed to have their own special variant of the slimy little critters?
"My man's mentioned there was a youngling looking around; real curious sort he said." The dogoo bounced over to the edge of the stairs. "But you's won't be getting far without a light, unless y'all're one of those types who's eyes work in the dark."
"No... I'm not one of those."
"Hmm... wait right here." Before Uni could say anything, the pink blob zipped away into the shadows, and almost as soon as she left, came back at equal speeds. Yet it was now that Uni saw something within it, and to her amazement, Uni watched as an old timey wooden torch poked from the top of the beast. "Here, take this."
"A torch?" Uni did as asked, and before anything else, the dogoo bounced up and spit on the tip. The CPU candidate didn't have a moment to feel disgusted before the splotch of slime on the end caught ablaze, forcing the girl to recoil momentarily.
"There, now the shadows will leave you alone."
"Um, thank you?"
"Oh, don't mention it honey. You're here to look at the idol, yes?"
"Idol?" Noire never mentioned an idol.
"Yeppers." It bounced near the stairs. "Just down here: come on, I'll show you."
Uni decided to hold onto her questions after that, following the dogoo deep into the bowels of the crypt. The darkness was all-encompassing, and every footstep and breath echoed out across the stony expanse. However with the bobbing blob of pink, Uni couldn't exactly say she felt anything other than a mild curiosity... that was until they arrived.
"Here we are: the idol."
Uni held up her torch, allowing the flame to brighten the stone wall. All shadows were erased, and the small girl got a solid look at the image carved into the rock. A gasp escaped her, and she couldn't help but call out the name of who's face she saw carved into the wall. Each of the goddesses had a unique appearance that was unmistakable when transformed, but to see this here, in Lastation: Uni didn't know what to make of it.
The girl would soon enough pocket the key and slip out unseen by the strange creatures who made themselves known, however she would do so with the intent to inform her older sister of what, or rather, who it was she saw in that crypt. However, right now that time had not yet come, and Uni found herself mid-call: spitting out the name of the face she so recognised.
"Neptune?!"
.
.
"I have to say: you've impressed me." Watching as Zaeda spoke so casually while both kidnapped women wriggled behind her was... weird. What was even more weird however was the fact that Zaeda herself had actually shown up at the Leanbox base.
All those desk-jockeys up top, and not one of them cared.
Kurome initially hopped in the van - as per Lonk's instruction - with the idea that they'd be heading to a new hideout. Low and behold it just pulled in and parked, with the driver telling her to head on inside. Originally she was about to refuse and call Lonk, but then she saw Zaeda step out from the passenger side, and instantly all sense went flying out the window. And yet, like a good little girl, Kurome followed the more... 'mature' looking woman inside, and as she led the way everybody else just continued on with their work, as if kidnapping were a common occurrence - which at this rate it probably was.
Not five minutes later while down in the 'lair', Linda and Warechu arrived with their own catch, and somebody new as well.
"I never expected you all to be so quick." Zaeda swerved around calmly, reaching down and pinching the gagged cheek of Sarah. "My daughter here can be... quite the handful, I know."
"She's a wasteful little shit, chu." Kurome deadpanned a look towards Warechu, who seemed entirely unbothered by how curtly he insulted their boss's kid; Linda was the reverse however, turning a stark white all over. Zaeda meanwhile just laughed.
"Oh yes, believe me I know." Sending a look to her kid the woman elaborated. "And what have we done to upset this fine gentleman so intensely?"
"Mmfghmmhmph!"
"I see..." Shooting a somewhat twisted smirk towards the rat, Zaeda's voice flowed like wine. "A man of quality~" This was followed up with a few short chuckles. "You'd make for an excellent housekeeper; perhaps you'd accept an offer to switch jobs?"
"Though your offer is tempting, I'm afraid I must decline." Warechu turned away as the shadows encompassed him, with faint light illuminating the edges of his form. "There are those who depend on me: two young women who don't know how to fend for themselves. Without my intervention our home would fall into the depths of disarray comparable to that of your average shopping mall dumpster. The cleanliness of their lives, their needs, their salvation, is all on me."
Kurome was certain she should have been pissed, but the fact Warechu said all that with a straight face was honestly impressive. Was it kind of pathetic for your life to be so meaningless that cleanliness is your only point of pride? Probably. Was it a little cringeworthy to speak with the finesse of a soap opera over cleaning up dust and trash? A little, yeah. But the fact Warechu could pull such a thing off at all was worthy of respect, and so Kurome would allow him this moment to shine.
But Warechu still insulted her, and so she'd make sure to spill a cola or something on the carpet when they got home, and not tell him for at least an hour; that seemed a fitting punishment.
"Unfortunate." Zaeda made sure to let out a long, somewhat tired sigh. "But I suppose angels only fly with those who need them. Either way, you've accomplished your task perfectly, and for that you have both my gratitude, as well as your reward."
"Reward?" Linda tilted her head curiously, apparently having thawed from her frozen state, and Zaeda offered a slightly less sassy smile.
"Of course. You've done me a service, and so you shall be paid accordingly. Lonk has told me of your staying, and while you may have the nicer of lodgings, I doubt my little sugar-cookie gave you the means to keep it upkept." She sent a look to Warechu. "Do not get me wrong: I fully believe in and respect your ability to retain a sanitized home. However, your new stay is large compared to where you've previously lived, no?"
"It is..." Warechu hardened his gaze. "However, I'm not one to back down from a challenge, chu."
"I believe you, don't doubt that: a man like you isn't afraid to dirty his hands with the more monotonous of work, I know. But I do believe such tasks would be easier with more hands, yes?"
"More hands, chu?" Right as Warechu said that, the sassy smirk came back.
"Along with your pay, I've commissioned a caretaker for your home. He should already be there and tending to it as we speak." Nobody else noticed it, but Kurome could swear she saw a spark in the woman's eyes. "Try not to mind his eccentricities too much; he's quite the loyal gentleman, even if he tends to go overboard with his appreciation of the fairer sides of life."
Warechu looked like he was going to say something, but Kurome beat him to the punch; she was getting tired at this point, and wanted to wrap everything up as soon as possible.
"We'll keep that in mind. Can we go now?"
"But of course." Zaeda snapped her fingers, and a bright circle of light sprang to life underneath the four. "Consider this a small bonus for your competence with this job. Simply imagine where you wish to be, and my spell will take you there."
"Oooh, fancy~" Anonydeath clasped his hands. "Anywhere?"
"Anywhere at all."
"Goodie! I've got someone I'd just so love to visit~"
The circle of light below started to glow bright, sending out this mild hum which was nearly missed by everyone aside from Warechu. Kurome was in the mind space to just ignore everything at this point, and Linda was too enthralled by the colors it glowed, flowing between all the different hues with the pulse of a heartbeat. It didn't take long, and right as the group were hoisted just a foot off the ground, they vanished as one, leaving behind Zaeda who just smiled.
The woman turned towards her two new 'prizes' and puffed her chest.
"Now then, how about we start this punishment of ours right now?"
.
.
Upon touching down, Kurome opened her eyes.
The house looked the same as when they left, or rather, their apartment looked clean as a whistle. It was a little weird knowing you went from a rundown dumpster of a home to a five star luxury suite over one simple stroke of luck, but if fate was throwing good fortune their way then who was Kurome to deny it?
"Ah, home sweet home." Linda wandered over to the couch, tossing herself over with a sigh. "It feels good to be back."
"Maybe we'll actually get to enjoy it this time, chu." Warechu huffed, about ready to make his way over to the kitchen, until he froze up.
Kurome saw this, and curiously turned towards where he was looking.
A plate carrying a whole roasted chicken was set on the table, and as her eyes traveled up the bare marble-chiseled arm, Kurome did everything in her power not to flip over from sheer irritation. The man was covered in straps all along his limbs and torso, with a black feathered collar lining his neck.
"I... I-is he wearing heels, c-chu?"
The rat was spot on, and Kurome found herself unwillingly sending her gaze downwards to see the flats of such shoes held in place by a series of straps. Open-toed were not to Kurome's particular style, but then again the guy she was looking at seemed to be sculpted by the gods - or rather, goddesses in this case.
"Hey, what are you guys staring a- Woah!" Linda froze, recoiling a little with shock. "Dude in a thong! Dude in a thong in the kitchen!"
Of course Linda would point out the obvious, and yet ironically, that tiny strip of cloth was a bright crimson, matching nothing but his silky flowing hair. The shout apparently drew the man's attention, and as she laid eyes on his face, she had only one thought.
Why do we always end up with the weirdos?
"So you've returned?"
And he's posing now... great.
Linda rubbed her eyes, taking a second to think, and then leaned in to whisper.
"Yo... is it just me, or does his face look super girly?" It wasn't just Linda. In contrast to his sleek muscular physique, he bore one of the softest, gentlest faces Kurome had ever laid eyes on. And yet, the almost triangular structure of the jaw made him look like one of those dolled up supermodels you'd see on magazine covers.
"I-is that a whip, chu?" Warechu was staring at the questionable weapon on the strap nearest his dignity covering cloth. Kurome's response to that was a swift slap to her own forehead, rubbing it slightly as she sighed.
A snap to her side had her eyes wide and her guard raised. Both Linda and Warechu had leapt back, but Kurome held her ground, staring at their 'guest' as the whip rewound itself in his hand.
"Please maintain proper manners around the table."
"Are whips considered 'proper manners'?" She shot back, but rather than sneer or anything like that, he simply replied.
"This here is a disciplinary tool; neither proper or improper." He seemed to falter a little. "However the mistress has informed me I am to deal with the less fortunate in this position. Therefore I shall allow some faults and mannerisms to slide."
"Sure... and you are?" This got his attention.
"Ah, I apologize, I've not introduced myself. Sonya Belmondo at your service. I am the man our lady assigned to tend to your lodging.
"Right..." Kurome eased up on her glare a little. "So you're here to keep the place tidy while we're out?"
"In basic terms, yes." He clapped his hands. "Now then, the meal is prepared. If you would have a seat..."
Watching the guy pull out the three chairs for all of them should have painted him as a man of elegance, and yet the fact he looked like he'd just wandered out of a bondage lingerie shop dashed those ideas away.
Whatever.
Kurome was tired and hungry; she didn't have time to deal with this nonsense today. She walked up, took her seat, and prepared to just let herself snack down and doze off later. However, while all this was going on, none of them quite thought about the fact that only the three of them ended up in their apartment. This was natural, as they'd assumed Anonydeath sent himself home, however that was not the case, and now the hacker was standing cheerfully in a particular office.
"I suppose that's one way to show up." Noire laid down her pen, standing from her desk as she spoke. "Although I wouldn't exactly call it a good way either."
"Oh, you know me: I've always had a flair for the flashy~" Anonydeath blew the woman's veiled scolding off. "Besides, I was told you were looking for me. Has my Noire finally come to realize her appreciation for this hard working coder?"
"For a hacker like you? Not a chance." She walked around her desk, standing ahead of him a little ways apart. "But I don't exactly have many choices right now."
"Oh?" He set his hand on his cheek. "Do tell~"
"The shrine of Lock-On: have you heard of it?"
"Honey, I've heard of everything there is." His voice displayed prominently his pride, and yet it fell a little as he continued. "And yet I must confess: that place has been a bit of a doozie. Not much is known on it, but I've scrounged up the knowledge that it has a few sister locations."
"Do you know where they all are?" Noire's tone rose a bit, which Anonydeath caught onto instantly.
"Curious for a little archeology, are we?"
"More like desperate."
"I see..." Anonydeath crossed his arms. "In that case, I can probably find all of their locations for you, if that's what you're asking. But I'm going to need a-"
"I've already prepared a room for you."
"Splendid!"
Noire felt the unease in her gut swell, but she had no choice. So far each nation had a shrine relating to Lock-On, all except Planeptune that was. Each of them seemed to have some unique aspect to each, with her's having the key, Blanc's having a painting, and Vert's bearing a different painting. It was as if all of them came together telling a story. However she hadn't heard anything back from Neptune yet, and so said story was incomplete.
"I need you to find one in Planeptune specifically, can you do that?"
Apparently, although his body appeared metal, he could crack his fingers, as he'd just demonstrated right now.
"Oh, my little lovely: just watch and learn~"
Author's note
...
Sorry for the late upload, but this one was suitably harder to write. But hey, it's done now, and best of all we have everyone set up for the next main event... oh boy.
Apologies for the short note, but I'm a little short on time right now.
Catch you next time.