"She's nice," Nepear whispered as Uni gawked.
"Nice? Nice? She's scary is what she is," Uni whispered back. "I get it, you spent the last three years missing, but Green Sister is terrifying, and if Hinum is Green Sister."
"Yeah, but she seems kind of, cool?" Ram whispered but grinned.
"She's like Blanc. Calm most of the time, until you make her angry," Rom whispered faintly. "And the ASIC has made her really angry."
Angry was an understatement, Nepgear suspected. Hinum looked as if she were visibly fuming, almost letting off steam. Hinum hadn't said much since they advanced on the ASIC field camp.
"But I really don't understand why you're so afraid of her," Nepgear frowned, keeping her voice low. Uni continued to look at her, aghast.
"Because a newborn CPU isn't supposed to act like she does!" Uni's voice was still quiet. "Yeah, she's supposedly from another world or something, but do you think that Green Heart wouldn't have announced her to the public the moment she existed? Instead, she just pops up one day, Green Heart gets captured while nobody sees anything from her up until a few days afterward as she's supposed to address Leanbox, only for her to show up with an ASIC monster capture disk, announce to the entire world that they can bring monsters into any city they pleased, and then more or less told the ASIC that she was coming for them."
"But, if she's from another world, wouldn't it makes sense that she wouldn't be like us?" Nepgear's question hung in the air, almost like a weight. That statement was a true one. "She had a life before this. One that she remembers. So of course she's going to do things differently."
"But how? Even if there were other worlds, and ways to move between them, how exactly would someone end up as a Candidate?" Uni's voice was nearly a squeak, faint as a mouse's footsteps. That was a question in and of itself. How did something like that happen?
"Let me know when you find out. I'm curious about how that happened, too," Hinum's voice cut through the silence like a foghorn from up ahead, nearly causing Uni to let out a shriek of surprise. "Apologies for eavesdropping, but we're here."
Nepgear looked out over the hill. They were close, as she could make out the camp nestled into a valley as Hinum raised binoculars to her face.
"You know we're still several miles away, right?" Uni crossed her arms.
"There has never been anything wrong with a little bit of extra recon," Hinum said, though her voice sounded a bit distracted. "They're ready for us, to an extent, but a lot of their bigger systems don't seem to be armed."
"And how exactly do you know that?" Hinum shook her head at Ram's question, bending over slightly to put the binoculars on her face.
"See that over there? They put up a lot of manned defenses, but at the moment, most of them don't have people," Hinum said, scratching her chin with her free hand.
"Are you thinking it's a trap?" Nepgear found herself asking. Hinum slowly nodded.
"Trap, counter-ambush, or have we caught them with their pants down, as it were," Hinum frowned. "Best case scenario, we do have them surprised. Worst case, they know we're coming, and are acting in such a manner to get us to rush in."
"That seems overly paranoid," Uni said, pulling out her pair of binoculars to gaze at the camp.
"I prefer to hope for the best but prepare for the worst," Hinum spoke, keeping her eyes firm. "Besides, it's not like the ASIC doesn't play fair, either."
That was very true. The ASIC didn't play fair. Didn't fight fair, either.
"So I don't exactly have a problem fighting just as unfair as they are," Hinum shrugged her shoulders. "I'm all for fair and friendly competition, but that is something the ASIC simply isn't interested in."
Nepear blinked, and she saw Uni do the same. She hadn't expected anything like that. The first time she had met Hinum, the girl seemed like she was in a state, an abnormal mixture of angry and depressed. Meeting her again, Nepgear got the impression that she was stressed, tired, and reaching a point where she was exhausted. Possibly even beyond exhausted.
But being out here seems to have relit a bit of a fire in her. Almost as if she needed to do something other than work on paperwork on a near-constant basis.
"Guys?" Rom's soft voice cut through the air, Ram helping her hold the binoculars to her head. "I found Underling."
"Underling? There are quite a few Underlings under ASIC employ," Hinum sounded a bit confused.
"They're talking about our Underling," Uni scowled, pressing the binoculars back to her face. "And there she is. I'm not seeing 5pb, either."
"I figured as much. Didn't see her either. Told Cave that the princess was in a different castle," Hinum shook her head as if enjoying a joke only she understood. "Do you mind if I borrow that?"
Rom slowly handed the binoculars back to Hinum, both girls somewhat slack-jawed.
"So let's see who your Underling is, shall we?" Hinum followed Uni's gaze into the distance for a few moments, before she slapped her hand over her mouth, nearly doubling over.
"Are you okay?" Nepgear asked somewhat panicked, before she realized Hinum wasn't doubling over in pain. She was, laughing? Nepgear could scarcely believe what she was watching, as Hinum smothered what had to be howls of laughter with her hand.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Hinum rasped as she gained her composure. "It's just, this has to be the smallest world possible. I mean, I knew the ASIC snuck someone over the border recently, but we never were certain as to who that someone was. I suspected it was her, but the fact you've run into her too?"
Ran into her, too? Hinum knew her? That was odd. How had that happened? Hinum was used to fighting the ASIC. That was clear, but the odds of her knowing that one specific Underling? That wasn't particularly high.
"How is that even possible?" Uni asked as Hinum continued to snicker.
"Because the universe can't decide whether it hates my life or not," Hinum finally began to calm herself, even if she still had a slight grin on her face. "In all seriousness, this could be equally useful. She hates my guts."
"I don't there is anyone Underling, likes," Nepgear frowned. Hinum made Underling not liking her sound like it was a good thing.
"True, she's like, fifty percent spite by volume," Uni chimed in. "Not sure why you think that's a good thing, either. Makes her a pain to deal with."
"Because a person who's angry is a person that is making mistakes," Hinum's grin grew from mischievous to malicious. "I mean, she hates me. Announce my presence and she'll be steaming in no time."
"And how exactly do you intend to do that? Run into the center of camp and just shout out that you're here?" Uni asked, crossing her arms.
Hinum shook her head, a massive weapon flashing into existence. A bow, easily Hinum's height, if not bigger, was now held in her hand, as she jammed one end, which was longer, into the ground.
"Nah. I found that announcing one's presence through stonks is more than effective," Hinum said as she drew back the massive bow. Nepgear blinked.
"The what?" The four of them declared at the same time, as Hinum seemed to bask in the noise.
"The reaction of people learning that is a word that has military applications is healing for my soul," Hinum hummed, before releasing the arrow. Nepgear heard a loud crack as the projectile shot into the distance until it faded from sight.
"This should soften them up just a bit," Hinums voice was calm and focused. "Then we can move in and start making arrests."
So this was why Uni thought Hinum was scary.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Everything was going well. 5pb was kidnapped and secured in their main compound. The trouble they'd been stirring up should leave the Candidate in an irate state, and the brats would ultimately take care of the rest, getting into a fight to help cover their tracks.
Which was why Linda didn't trust it. It was going too well. If there was one thing Linda learned, if it involved Green Sister and it looked like it was going just as planned?
It wasn't. Either Green Sister would flip over the table and start trying to beat them with it, or she was going to do something none of them considered, predicted, or prepared for. And Linda hated her for it. All the other brats were so predictable, but Green Sister? No, she couldn't be just like the others.
Maybe it was just because some weird thinker managed to get ahold of the Candidate's ear, and things had just managed to work out so far. She'd buy that. Her agent, Hinum, was a very likely suspect.
Linda's teeth ground together. She wanted nothing more than to beat that woman with a crowbar! She came out of nowhere and then proceeded to ruin her life! It had been complete and utter chaos when Green Sister appeared on live TV and showed that thing for the entire nation to see. All four nations to see.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
After the madness ended, it didn't take too long to track things back to her. Hinum had played her for a complete idiot, and she was made the suffer the consequences!
She was on the lookout for payback. But such proved illusive, as both Green Sister and Hinum were unpredictable. Green Sister was difficult to isolate. The only time she engaged solo was the rare time when Judge made his appearance, and they fought in a way that the rest of the ASIC couldn't offered support. The best they could do was cause as much chaos as possible while Green Sister was recovering from the clash, but those always resulted in more and more arrests.
Hinum herself would be easier, in theory, but she kept to either very public places, or kept her head down, making her hard to pinpoint. There were rumors that Hinum and 5pb were dating, but there was also no confirmation of whether or not such information was true or not. Though, if they were, then their kidnapping of her would just end up being another twist of the knife.
Linda scowled. If it was, she hoped it hurt. And if it didn't, it still didn't stop this from being a trap. 5pb was elsewhere.
Linda felt her ears twitch, a faint noise reaching her ears. One that grew louder and louder with each passing second.
"Oh you!" She didn't get a chance to finish, one of the turrets exploded. Followed by another defensive system being completely wiped out. Then another, and another. Linda raised the alarm, but it was already swiftly becoming much too late. A force field went up, but one final arrow slipped through, destroying the last defensive system, as three more connected with the shield, one after another.
Linda looked at the arrows, finding a faint swirl of green energy around them.
That wasn't a good sign.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Force field?" Uni looked out over the carnage. "Why didn't they lead with that?"
"Likely because they wanted to lure us in. Make it look like their defenses were down," Hinum stretched. "Clever, but at the same time, that does leave them exposed. Rushing in would have been a major mistake, it seems."
Nepgear simply nodded. It wasn't like Hinum was wrong, per say. But that wasn't what was on Nepgears mind. Not really. Was nobody going to bring it up? Why Hinum suddenly transformed? Seemingly for no reason? Without even acknowledging it? She hadn't seen anyone, transform back and forth that quickly before.
"Are you okay?" She asked, hoping not to step on any eggshells.
"By the standard measurement of okay, yeah. Why do you ask?" Hinum's voice made her blink in surprise. Had Hinum not noticed? Or was that completely intentional? How was something like that intentional in the first place?
"Well, you kind of did this thing where you briefly transformed, then went back. Figured it was intentional, to be honest," Uni commented.
"So you did notice!" Nepgear said, giving Uni an accusatory glare.
"I did?" Hinum gave them a confused look, as Rom and Ram nodded. A faint dusting of red appeared on her face, as she scowled slightly. "Damnit, that's a sign that I'm more angry than I think I am. Thought I was over having to deal with it being erratic like that."
"Wait, so that wasn't intentional?" Uni had a bit of a smug look on her face, though Hinum gave her a look.
"What makes you think that was intentional? Sure, hitting harder would be nice, but at that junction, pulling out the big stuff wasn't exactly needed," Hinum crossed her arms over her chest.
"So what you're saying is you can't control your transformations," Uni seemed to be enjoying this way too much, as Nepgear tried to wave her friend off.
"If that's what you want to call it. I don't know what it's like for you, but my HDD has always been closely tied to my emotions," Hinum gave Uni an abnormal look. "I mean, I wasn't always a Candidate, after all. It's not going to come as naturally for me as it does you."
Did, Hinum just not care? No, that didn't seem to be it.
"Now come on. We're burning daylight, and they already know we're here. Even if 5pb isn't here, dealing with the ASIC and its goons is still a good thing," Hinum said, squinting at the distance. "After that, I'll help you find the Mascot. Hopefully, having multiple people should convenience Chika to cough up the information on that front."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The plan was by no means complicated. Rather, it was straightforward. Sure, my inner Tzech always loved it when a plan came together, but KISS was an acronym that existed for a reason. Plus, no real plan survived contact with the enemy. Best you could do was make sure the enemy plan was disrupted.
Which meant having an angry opponent. Sure there were risks involved in pissing off your enemy, but an angry foe was not a foe that was thinking straight. And I was very good at stirring up the hornet's nest. Linda had beef with me. That was never hard to figure out, as she made it abundantly clear just how much she hated my guts every time we ran into one another. She was very much someone motivated by spite and lots of it. Honestly, I could sympathize with her on that front. Spite was one of the things that kept me moving some days.
But that also made her predictable, to an extent. Especially in a head-on confrontation such as this. Well, calling it a head-on confrontation was just a guess. I doubted it, though. Frankly, that was never really the ASIC's thing. You only got those when you managed to pin down a cell, and even then, they had plenty of dirty tricks to buy time.
This was a trap. It still was, frankly, even if we had already sprung it partially. There were more surprises up their sleeves. There simply had to be more than this.
Which was where I came in. Bait was such an inelegant word for my part in things but at the same time? It was more than accurate to what I needed to do. Get Linda to bite at me, as it were, and spring the trap of our own. She had to expect something was up, when she saw my face. After all, in hindsight, it was pretty clear she wanted some type of fight between me and the other Candidates. It would be the best way to keep me from being informed of 5pb's kidnapping, and probably weaken me, too. Weaken all of us.
Nepgear seemed like the leader of their group, or at least their heart. I hadn't expected her to be Purple Sister, and I was a bit surprised about that fact. She was able to put together a decent idea when I explained to her why Linda hated me so much. But I had not expected, well, the others.
Uni had a problem with me. Why, I wasn't sure. I'd never met the girl, so it couldn't have been something I directly did to her. Sure, Lastation was a bit of a mess at the moment, but Planeptune and Lowee were frankly in rougher shape. As I understood the situation on the ground, the ASIC managed to get its claws deep into Lastation's industry. Which made digging them out a difficult process at the best of times, as surprisingly entrenched as they managed to get in the upper crust. I'd managed to nip that problem in the bud, but then again, Earth had left me very jaded on such matters. However, despite that kneecapping a lot of Black Sister's efforts, it was clear she was doing her best to fight back anyway. Which I couldn't help but approve of.
Rom and Ram, were. Children.
Nepgear and Uni were teenagers. A good bit younger than me in physical appearance, and still having a lot of hypothetical growing to do? Yes, but that goes for everyone. But Rom and Ram were actual children. And not in the derogatory way where parents still tried to pretend their grown up kids had no idea what they were talking about, but real, genuine, children. And I wasn't sure how to process that. Sure, it made the situation in Lowee suddenly make considerably more sense.
But it also made me feel bad. I should have stepped in sooner. I knew things weren't going well, in any of the nations. Uni did the best job she could, with the tools she had, but Planeptune, while capable hands, was without Goddess or Candidate. And Lowee, well, as stated, children.
Unfortunately, hindsight was 20-20. There were a lot of things I could have done, and probably should have done, but if those things ultimately mattered, we'd all have a much better world to live in. But those didn't affect the here and the now, no matter how much I wished they would.
What mattered in the here and now was how I would mess with Linda.
"You!" I heard her snarl, despite the force field, and the distance between us as I stepped into the clearing.
"What?" I smirked. "Expecting someone else, Linda? Or are you just that happy to see me?"