"Gear… what are you doing?" murmurs IF, already moving to stop her impulsive friend, but I step forwards and lay a hand on her shoulder.

"They won't agree to anything, if they don't get this out of their system." I state, holding her back. I pause for a moment, taking in a sigh. "I don't think it'd be healthy for either of them to just keep this bottled up."

Reluctantly, IF moves to a different platform without another word, and the rest of us begin to follow her a moment later. We're making space for the two Candidates to do their thing.

"Derek!" shouts Nepgear, causing me to pause mid-step.

Wait, why is Nepgear calling me? I slowly turn around.

"Here." the hovering candidate says, holding out the chunk of Hematite. "I think you should be the one to hold it during the duel. After all, she's your nation's goddess, right? This way, the person holding the prize will be impartial."

I can't really fault her logic. Uni doesn't say anything to contradict her, so I guess the two agreed already? Either way, I walk forward to accept the raw ore. It's a decent-sized chunk: about one and a half times the size of a standard food storage can. I nod towards the floating Candidates, but cannot stop myself from whispering out, "Please be careful, you two."

With the loot secured away from the battle, I quickly retreat out of the danger zone towards the rest of the humans. I don't want to be anywhere near the battle zone on a platform that is in this bad shape.

I can see the two square up… and take their positions.

Who do I really want to win? Do I even want that?

I don't want the fight to happen at all. But it is. It has to. So I can only watch as Nepgear rushes forwards, blade in hand.

Uni's fast in HDD, but isn't fast enough to get a bead on the Planeptune Candidate before they enter melee distance. Even worse, her tremendous gun doesn't do her much good in a close ranged brawl.

I can see Uni wince as she's knocked backwards, over the ocean, but she recovers herself long enough to force Nepgear into diving through a quick burst of fire. Nepgear avoids a few, but ends up soaking the rest of the energy bolts. Still, it seems the stopping power of that attack just wasn't enough.

She's back in melee range in an instant, this time attacking with a downward slash. There's a sploosh as Uni is knocked into the ocean below, but she quickly resurfaces, coughing and sputtering, a look of disgust and frustration across her face. She raises her gun again - only to once more be in melee and unable to truly do much.

Once, twice, I watch the two continue to 'duel', though now that it's begun, it's truly obvious just how much of a… shitshow it is. Uni is a long ranged fighter with no melee options, duelling a short to medium ranged duellist. It doesn't take a genius to know that the deck's definitely stacked against her. Twice, I watch her being forced to use her oversized cannon as a bludgeon to try and force Nepgear back - but it's simply not made for that. Even her previous, two handed rifle would be more useful here.

Shaking my head, I avert my eyes. I wanted to watch a duel, not… this. It'd probably be better for everyone's self-confidence if I can pretend this never happened.

Finally drawing enough self-control to look away, I attempt to find something to distract myself with. I turn towards the others for a moment to try and strike up a conversation, only to find them all watching the scene with rapt attention.

SPLOOSH

"Aw come on! That one wasn't fair! Did you have to jump for that attack?" coughs Black Sister

Shaking my head, and again forcing myself to not turn back to the splashing and cursing, I look down at the item in my hands. Might as well take a look at the Hematite.

After all, the others did go through all this effort to get it, right? Might as well use what limited knowledge I have about rocks to try and figure out what this thing is - assuming it's actually metal and not some sort of magical item thing. Still trying to figure out what sort of rules this reality has.

Speaking of rules of reality - this thing's heavy. The grip I've got on it with both hands is more than enough for it, but to really get a good look at it, I'll need to be able to rotate it. And obviously, I'm not willing to try to do that when there's a risk of me dropping it into the ocean.

Just how pure is this thing? I know iron's heavier than stone, at least most stones… I know basalt is heavy too, but that is black, right?

Damn… I don't remember the exact details. So much for being the 'rock guy'.

"Hey, IF? IF!" I call, eventually drawing the agent's attention. "I'm going to take this Hematite over to a more stable area so I can take a closer look at it, preferably one where I can sit down. Want to come with?"

IF raises an eyebrow at me. "Not going to watch?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Uni getting dunked again. She loses grip on her gun this time and it vaporizes, but the moment she's out of the water, she resummons it in another flash of light. It seems she's not going to be giving up any time soon, no matter the situation.

"No. Not really." I answer with a wince.

IF follows my glance, and then cracks a mischievous grin at my discomfort towards having my 'goddess' be dominated.

"Yeah yeah…" I sigh, rolling my eyes. "I guess you're going to be watching, then?"

"It's the least I can do for Gear." shrugs IF. "She was in a real bad place a while back, and it'd feel bad to not support her for an important fight like this. But why do you need to take the hematite somewhere else? Isn't here good enough?"

"Okay… So imagine for a moment if I was actually really clumsy, and dropped this thing into the water…" I trail off, gesturing with my foot at the sloped floor, and the countless holes in the metal floor..

I'm not clumsy, but if there's any risk of this damn thing falling into the water, I'm not taking it.

"Plus, stuffing it into my inventory while the battle is still going seems like… well, I definitely would find it kinda rude to pocket something other people are fighting over - and putting it into my actual pockets seems like a bad idea."

At least a bad idea if I plan on ever using those pockets ever again.

IF blinks at me for a moment, before she nods. "I guess I see your point. There was a pretty solid spot a few platforms back you could probably use. Do you think you'll get any useful information out of this rock?"

It's my turn to pause in thought. "I'm… not a geologist. Not even close. I only occasionally collect pretty rocks." I admit, trying not to tank my credibility too much. "But this thing's way too heavy."

"So what you're saying is…?"

"I'm saying this thing's probably really, really pure. At least, I'm pretty sure it is." I state, shifting it a bit in my grip. "There's no way a chunk of medium purity ore should weigh this much."

IF crosses her arms, but nods. "I mean, if you think examining it is worth doing, I can't see the harm in it."

I nod, and turn towards the destination. "C'mon, I need someone to spot me, in case I fall into the water while doing this. Last thing you want me to do is drown while holding this thing. Then you'd need to go all the way down into the mines to go find another one..."

IF rolls her eyes at my hyperbole, but nods. "Hey, Compa, RED? I'm going to go with Derek for a bit. He thinks he might figure out something about the Hematite, and you know how splitting up in a dungeon can be."

"Alright, Iffy." chirps the nurse, not turning from the battle.

"Be safe!~"

Walking to the safer platform is incredibly quick - it's not that far back. I have no idea why this spot is in better condition than the others though - probably either better reinforced, or it had something else on it for longer. Either way, it'll suit my purposes. It's not pristine of course, but it's definitely good enough.

Carefully, I lower myself to my rear in the center. There's about half a meter of untouched, stable metal floor in every direction to work with, so I should be fine. IF takes a seat nearby, pulling out her phone.

Okay… Let's take a closer look at this rock…

First thing that stands out to me is that a big part of this thing's surface is red. Like, really, really red. It's not all the same color of red either - there's orange and greys and all sorts of other impurity speckles in it. Flipping it over, I can spot a few greyish bands running through it in layers - This is a very pretty chunk of rock. I wouldn't mind keeping it on my dresser as decoration.

I rap my knuckles on the thing, but that doesn't do much besides make my knuckles hurt.

Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, with that one. Did I seriously expect it to be hollow, or something?

"Hrrrm…" I utter, as I slowly turn it over again, scraping the metal platform below as I do so.

"You figure something out?" cuts in IF, looking up from her phone.

"No, not yet. This thing… it seems really, really pure though." I answer. I turn it over again, and - ow!

The fuck?

"Why is this thing sharp?" I ask, staring at my cut, but not-bleeding finger. The spot that cut me isn't razor sharp, but…

"Huh?" answers IF. "Wait, do you need a healing item, or something?"

"N-no, I'm fine." I state, shaking my hand out. "But why is it sharp? If monster dropped it, wouldn't it be smoother? Like, this thing has edges like someone -" I pause, sighing. "Like someone broke it off of something. Actually, why would a cat have it anyway? Don't things usually have themed or generic drops- Ah… Goddammit."

"So you're saying…"

"Planted. There's no way this thing wasn't planted." I conclude, as I slowly rise to my feet, and pick the ore up again. "Fuck. And here I was, giving Kei the benefit of the doubt."

"So… what does that change?" asks the brunette.

I begin to speak, before I shut my mouth. "Right… that doesn't actually solve anything. I mean, we do know now that this was some sort of sick game or test or something by Kei, but besides that..."

IF shrugs back at me. "So…"

"We should probably head back." I admit.

Eugh… what a waste of time. I have no idea why the Hematite felt so important…

There's a monochrome blur of something in the corner of my eye. "Uhh… What was that?"

"That was… Uni, I think? It looks like she's in a bit of a rush."

What?

"Uhh… IF, do you mind taking the Hematite back with you? I'll meet you back at the town in a bit. Same cafe as last time, in about an hour from now? I've got my own thing I need to do." I ask, as I turn towards the fleeing Candidate.

"Should I even ask?"

"I'm just about to do something really, really stupid." I answer, before I append, "Oh, and then I'm going to buy some clothes that aren't purple."

IF sighs. "Try not to start a war, or get yourself killed, alright?"

I chuckle sadly. "I'll try my best, but no promises."

Uni's alone on one of the platforms. From what I can tell from here, she's still dripping wet, and is still a mess from the fight. Right now, she's pretty much collapsed against one of the few structures still intact enough to be a backstop.

She's so out of it, she doesn't even notice me walking up to her.

"She's strong… even when she's alone… But she's not alone… She's got so much help too…" murmurs the black-haired girl, tears in her eyes. "And what do I have… I'm… I'm just…"

Time to roll for diplomacy.

"You're just out of your depth." I cut in, but moments later, I wince as what I said dawns on me. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid.

Fuck. Yeah, great. Well, let's try to salvage this one. Guess I'm going to have to do this the hard way.

"Huh?" answers Uni, slowly coming out of her self-focused breakdown to stare at me in confusion.

"So. Fucking. What." I answer, walking forwards and sitting down beside her with a clang on the metal. I've already botched everything else. Let's salvage this by being too stubborn to accept failure.

Uni's eyes widen as she finally notices me. She attempts to move a bit to the side. "Crap! You heard all of that? I mean… Crap!"

"You say that Nepgear is strong because she has friends? She's offering to be your friend. Why don't you take up her offer?" I continue, trying to ignore any sort of sign I should stop.

I of course don't expect her to pull out a gun on me.

"You don't know… You don't know anything!" she sputters, doing her best to keep the waver out of her voice. It doesn't work.

So, I could do the smart thing and let the topic drop. She not only has a gun, and is also vastly stronger than me. My senses are screaming danger.

Too bad I've already decided upon doing the idiotic thing instead.

"Drop the act." I state, looking the girl dead in the eye. "I'm here. I'm the only person here. Nepgear and the others are long since gone. Even if I tell the world about what I see, no one would believe me. And do you seriously think I'd betray you over this?"

"What sort of person would follow someone like me… If they knew I was weak?..." answers the Candidate, eyes cast downwards. "A goddess is supposed to be strong… Sis was strong… Why can't I be like Sis?"

The gun never moves as I open my mouth and keep talking. I do my best to ignore it. "Nepgear told you that I'm a follower of Lady Black Heart. That's a lie. I'm not a follower of Lady Black Heart. Nor am I a follower of Lady Black Sister."

I can see her finger move closer to the trigger, but I'm not stopping now.

"I don't follow people just because they've got some power over me. I don't believe in gods that do nothing. Do you know who I follow? I follow humanity. And you know what? Humanity is about understanding that you can't be strong all of the time. Humanity is about fucking up, humanity is about doing the wrong thing, humanity is about making mistakes."

"Then why are you…"

"I'm here because I actually give a shit about your little city. I'm here because your little city is supposed to be my home. I'm following you, because you're looking after said city, regardless of how much you screw up. That's right, I'm not following some bullshit goddess. I'm following Uni, the person who sometimes makes mistakes."

Uni blinks twice, taking everything in, before she banishes her rifle with a sigh. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"I don't deserve it, though." is her answer. She's still not looking up, or even opening her eyes. "Nepgear's a better person than I am… She has friends, and I don't. She has a sister that appreciates her, and I don't... She has… everything."

"You know what? You might envy Nepgear for her friends, for being able to open up to them…" I begin, rapidly running out of words. I'm getting to dangerous territory here. I still can't say everything, and what can I possibly say, anyway?

"Huh?" sniffs Uni. She's definitely relaxed a bit. "What… what do you mean?"

I take a deep breath before I answer. "I envy Nepgear too. But not for her power. Not for her immortality. Not even for her family. No, I envy her because she can afford to look weak. She can be sure that people will still support her, even if she were broken. Even if she fell apart. I don't have that. I'm a nobody. I'm the smiling jester in the mirror, that's telling endless stupid jokes just because I don't fucking know how to do anything else.

And you know what? I'm fine with that. They're fine with that too. They don't give a damn about my insecurities. They don't give a damn about how weird I am. They're not pushing me, and I'm fine with it. For once in my goddamn life I feel like… Well, even if I don't really belong, I feel like I'm appreciated."

I'm crying. Why am I crying?

There's silence from both of us, before I hear something strange.

It's… laughing.

"Are you seriously laughing at me, after all of that?" I answer, eyebrows raised. Seriously, that's kind of low. It even hurts a bit.

The laughter stops.

"No… It's just… I never expected this conversation, that's all…" answers Uni. Her eyes are definitely…

Actually, her eyes are still red. The white parts of her eyes are less red, though.

"No one's ever been quite so… open with me..." she states, sighing. "I really needed that, thank you."

"No problem. Now… I need to catch up to Nepgear…" I begin, before I pause. "Right."

I remove the healing item I pilfered from Nepugia from my pocket, and present it to Uni. "I'm going to have to talk to Compa about letting injured people walk away, that's for sure."

"Why?" is the only word asked.

I laugh as I answer, but it's a hollow laugh. "Can't be showing any weakness to the people now, can we?" I'm wearing a smile again, but it feels wrong.

There's a flash of light as the herb's healing ability is activated. I turn to leave.

"Who are you, really?" asks the voice behind me.

If only I knew…

"I'll let you know, the minute I figure that out. It's been twenty years… And I still don't know." I answer, not turning back around. "Today though… I'm just someone who's been through the exact same shit you've been. Someone who knows just how terrible it feels. Someone who needed help, but didn't freakin' get it."

I keep walking the entire way, my pace not slowing as I go, my head not turning back.

I keep walking the entire way, not even stopping as the tears return, not even slowing as they continue to fall.