Lastation: Pipe Dream

Uni's black dress stuck to her skin, with her sweat as the adhesive. In contrast, Noire, at least from Uni's perspective, looked as cool as an ocean.

"Uni, think back on your footwork. Even the slightest imperfection will introduce enough error to throw you off in the end."

Noire sternly spoke while walking. Uni, who was trailing behind her, merely stared forlornly at her back.

"You almost broke though and landed a hit on me, but you got overconfident at the end," lectured Noire, "It's never over until the very very end. Remember that."

"...Yes, Onee-chan," said Uni as she gripped her black skirt.

The two arrived at the dining room in the Basilicom. A curry rice dinner was already set out on the table. This was not the handiwork of Basilicom staff. Rather, the staff merely heated up what Noire had cooked.

The two sisters sat down across from each other. Noire immediately began to spoon rice into her mouth. In contrast, Uni picked at the meat covered in curry sauce with her spoon for a while before meekly nibbling at her food half a spoonful at a time.

"What's wrong, Uni? No appetite?" casually asked Noire, "Doing goddess things is difficult without having the energy, you know."

A load was weighing on Uni's mind. With the earlier failure, that load increased by many Newtons.

Uni put down her spoon. She fixed her collar and straightened her skirt, despite the latter being underneath the table.

"Onee-chan, I want to do a quest."

Noire sighed deeply.

"Uni, I still don't think you're ready. Even more so with today's performance."

"But—"

"No, you're only asking to get yourself killed. Not unless you give me a good reason."

Uni took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts.

"Onee-chan, the citizens are mistrusting the police lately."

Noire flicked her black hair and responded, "Yes. I'm well-aware of that."

Police shootings have shot up drastically in Lastation over the past year. Most of the citizens have inferred that law enforcement has been getting too violent, too tyrannical. In particular, those of Planeptune ethnicity felt there was racism of the Lastation police against them and have held numerous Planeptune Lives Matter protests.

"Because the trust in the police has fallen so low, I want to do something to make citizens believe in us again," said Uni.

Noire tilted her head in skepticism, "And that involves doing a quest?"

"A hostage rescue."

Uni placed a quest bulletin issued by the guild onto the dining table. The behest was as follows. A teenage girl had been abducted by a well-known group of terrorists, and they were demanding a ransom. The case was ordinary as far as terrorist-related activities went. Indeed, just like the ordinary blue-collar worker, the terrorists participated in their own ordinary vile acts to obtain funds.

"I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to do it without letting a single person get killed. This is the best way to restore the public's trust in law enforcement."

Noire sighed in disappointment and said, "Uni... do you have any idea what you're saying? There are no guarantees in this line of work."

"Even so!" hounded Uni, "Even so, if we take this risk, then we could get a high reward, Onee-chan! Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

"Uni. You haven't done something like this before. Looking down your sights at a human being is a little different than looking down your sights at a Pox Vader," cautioned Noire.

Uni nodded and said, "I know, Onee-chan. Difference in tactics."

Noire, as well, placed down her spoon. She crossed her arms and thought deeply about something. Uni shuffled her legs. A different kind of sweat glistened on her back.

"Alright, Uni. I suppose this is as good as time as any. But I'll be coming with you, and you'll do exactly as I say," sternly spoke Noire.

Overjoyed, Uni rocketed up from her chair.

"Thank you so much, Onee-chan!" she exclaimed with all of her might, "Finally... finally... I can take a step closer to you..."

Noire stared at her cute little sister with a resigned smile, expectant of folly, the only certainty in the life of a goddess.

Lastation had parts that were flourishing and industrious. However, the area that Noire and Uni overlooked from a distance was neither.

Dilapidated buildings and vandalized infrastructure abounded. Waste littered the cracked pavement, and human feces were strewn about.

There were few obvious signs of life. Few people wandered the haphazard streets. That did not mean that these slums were not inhabited. Certainly, hoodlums occupied dark corners, waiting to mug unsuspecting victims. The souls that did wander out in the open were either brave or stupid.

It was not impossible to salvage this no man's land. However, Noire, Kei and other knowledgeable people of Lastation universally agreed that the cost of doing so was too staggeringly high. Thus, this den of thieves was left as is, with guard stations and physical barriers in place to protect the good part of Lastation from this bad part of Lastation.

It was in this dark place where the S-ranked hostage rescue quest was to be taken place.

Processor units were set. Hard Drive Divinity was engaged.

A goddess's true powers were unleashed when they utilized processor units on their chest, head, back, sides, waist and legs. It was this privilege that separated Console Patron Units from normal humans.

In her goddess form, Noire — that is, Black Heart — wore not her serious frown in her human form but a wide, arrogant smile. Her cute twintails transformed into luscious, flowing snow white hair. The shortsword that she thrusts with in her human form was replaced with a large, mechanically enhanced broadsword. Unlike Purple Heart of Planeptune's giant greatsword, Black Heart's broadsword was still light enough for her to dance around her enemies with.

Uni — that is, Black Sister — had showy, drill-like snow hair on each side of her head in her goddess form. Her arms, if not crossed, was perpetually on her hips. Unlike her older sister, her transformation did not suddenly allot her time to play around. Rather, Black Sister's green eyes were sharp with cold determination, one that was a tempered version of her human form's confidence. Her human form's arsenal, whether it was a semi-automatic rifle, sniper rifle or a shotgun, was entirely replaced, in her goddess form, with a massive black rail gun cannon — the Ex Multi Blaster or XMB. Despite its size, Black Sister wields her cannon as freely as Black Heart wields her broadsword. Unlike how Purple Sister of Planeptune wields her Multiple Beam Launcher or MPBL, Black Sister expertly handles recoil and can accurately fire multiple shots from her XMB in quick succession.

"Now then... Uni."

Black Heart pointed her sword toward a wide circular U-turn.

"That's where the exchange will take place."

Black Heart patted the suitcase on the ground. It was filled with pillows.

"And up there—"

Black Heart shifted her sword upwards so that it pointed at the tallest of the dilapidated buildings.

"Uni, that is where you will wait. That is where you will shoot from."

"Understood, Onee-chan," solemnly spoke Black Sister.

Black Heart flicked her long hair to the side.

"Well then," she said with a restless grin, "Let's just hop right to it."

In her human form, Noire would have definitely said "let's start the mission" instead.

Black Sister nodded.

As if it were the signal, Black Heart jetted towards the U-turn. While also capable of flight, Black Sister chose to dash swiftly, yet quietly, towards her sniper's nest instead.

"Onee-chan didn't even need to say it. I need to do this stealthily," Black Sister whispered to herself as her drill-like hair whipped around in the wind.

Black Sister dashed to the back of a dumpster at a short distance from the building and hid herself. From this smelly vantage point, she scanned her battlefield.

As expected, the terrorists stationed henchmen to guard the building. It didn't take a genius to figure out the implications of having a tall building overlooking the site of the exchange.

"Two out front and three out the back," whispered Black Sister, "It's like the front and back are completely reversed."

Black Sister did not want to stereotype anything, but the way that the guards wore fashionable, metro clothing made them look like they were from the progressive, modern Planeptune. Black Sister did not want to assume anything. Even so, the thought that the guards were simple-minded in nature flashed through her mind.

"...If they are truly reversed, then the front will be easier to break in from than the back."

The option was binary: front or back. There were no others, at least none that would let her retain her element of surprise.

There was nothing else to indicate which side was less guarded. Therefore, she had to follow her intuition.

With unresolved cognitive dissonance, Black Sister shot both of the guards. Their limbs immediately became powerless, and they collapsed in a heap.

Yet, they were still breathing soundly.

"Like I said, I won't let a single person get killed."

She exchanged her tranquilizer rounds for live ammunition. Unfortunately, from here on out, there may not be a good opportunity to put her targets to sleep if they happened to become surprised and adrenaline-filled. Besides, even if they were, her XMB wasn't exactly the quietest weapon in Lastation. It would be a situation where, if it must be resorted to, it would already be too late.

Black Sister stepped over to the sleeping men who, upon closer inspection, had the most terrifyingly ugly faces she had seen so far in her life. Perhaps that was part of the reason that they were driven to this kind of life. She dragged them over to the dumpster and out of sight.

She silently slipped into the building through the front door. There were no sentries posted. Perhaps her intuition was right. She did not bother dispatching with the men out back as it would increase the risk of being caught and ruining the quest. She tiptoed up the stairs and onto the roof.

Black Sister laid down her XMB on the floor and equipped a bipod.

"False goddess. Leave credit on the floor right in front of me."

"Easy there big guy. You'll get your money when I'm sure you ain't going to shave any necks with that knife."

A man, who looks an awful lot like a Planeptune citizen, forcibly held the restrained girl, who was white in the face, and threateningly brandished a knife against her neck. It was the classical movie villain's stance, fitting for a classical movie villain scenario.

Despite thinking that and trying to make light of it, Black Heart could not help but feel her back become soaked in sweat.

She was waiting for the moment when the terrorist would carelessly lower his knife. As of now, if she tried to do anything, the poor girl would find a gaping red maw where her throat was.

"Repeat not again for you, false goddess. Ground the credits immediately," the terrorist demanded.

"Okay, okay, fine, fine, boss," said Black Heart before she sighed.

Black Heart, with her sword hung on her back, walked forward with the suitcase in hand. The terrorist gripped the knife harder and watched her movements carefully. The restrained girl's mouth awkwardly opened and closed repeatedly.

The suitcase was placed on the ground. With that done, Black Heart crossed her arms.

"Okay. Happy, big guy? Just drop that knife now, and everything will be over," she said.

At last, the knife was finally lowered, though not sheathed. Everyone, the terrorist included, relaxed just a little.

"The false goddess is a liar. Friend to come over and check," said the terrorist as he pointed backwards.

Another terrorist marched out from a dark alley. He made his way towards the suitcase.

Now, as planned, Black Sister should have been ready to shoot by now. Lastation's CPU waited for her dear sister to perform her duties as a goddess candidate.

Yet, even as the second terrorist began rummaging through the suitcase, no shot was hear around the block.

Black Sister was prone, and she was looking through her high-magnification scope. A terrorist with his captured girl was clearly seen through the scope.

She waited for the moment that the knife held near the throat of the girl would be moved away.

She saw her older sister place down a suitcase. Subsequently that knife was lowered. The time was now to utilize Black Sister's god-like aim to blow away an arm.

"Oh hell no, you little shit."

"Huh— GYAAAAAAAA!?"

An axe was swung down. Black Sister's back was crushed through. Towering over her, a one-eyed freak grinned in ecstasy.

"Oh, and while we're at it, dumbass..."

The freak, evidently another one of the terrorists, kicked Black Sister's behind. She was pelted forward, off the edge of the tall building, and was sent plunging downwards.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Black Sister.

Everything was far too sudden. It was only when she was halfway to becoming a pancake that she remembered that she could fly. Black Sister tried all of her might to accelerate upwards. Yet, it was too late. She slammed into the asphalt. The pain was so great that she her mouth opened but could not scream. The fact that she was alive underscored the difference between a human and a goddess.

Somehow, despite all of that, she had managed to cling onto her XMB. The warrior never lets go of her weapon.

She forced her damaged body to slowly get up. There was nothing that didn't hurt. Most of her processor units were beyond repair. Perhaps the remaining ones kept her body from collapsing. Or, perhaps it was due to sheer willpower.

But that willpower was shredded in an instant.

In front of Black Sister was Black Heart and the terrorist restraining the girl.

"What the— oh I see," the terrorist snarled, "Stupid false goddess. Trying the funny thing?"

"Wait, what are you—"

The terrorist plunged the knife into the restrained girl's stomach. He withdrew it and stabbed again in the same spot. Again and again and again. Again and again and again and again and again.

Two bloodcurdling cries filled the desolate air.

"False goddess. You will be brought to judgement."

The terrorist tossed aside both the bloodied knife and the corpse. He turned around and made a break for it.

"Y-You..."

Black Sister's mouth was agape.

"You bastard..."

Black Sister jetted to the terrorist and collided with his body. He was knocked off his feet, and he was pinned down by her foot.

She screamed, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Taking her XMB, she smashed the its butt into his head. A horrible cracking sound reverberated. She did it again, and his head squished. She raised her XMB yet again brought it down with the fury of a goddess. And again. Again and again and again. Again and again and again and again and again.

"Uni, that's enough," authoritatively spoke Black Heart.

Black Sister looked around her. Corpses of other terrorists were strewn about, each with one or two neat slices on their bodies. It seemed that they tried to attack the two during the commotion, but Black Heart disposed of them.

In contrast to those fallen swiftly, the corpse underneath Black Sister no longer had a head; chunks of it formed a putrid red mess on the pavement.

Black Sister dropped her prized XMB and stepped backwards in utter shock. Her legs lost strength, and she collapsed onto the ground like a string-less puppet. A stinging, burning load rose up her throat.

Black Heart solemnly spoke, "This... This is what's different, Uni. People... they act much more crudely, much more irrationally. That's why, Uni, your dream is too beautiful for reality."

Rancid, green, viscous, acidic juices seeped out of Black Sister's mouth. Undigested gruel dyed her black goddess armour.

The VIP was executed by the leader of the insurgents.

The rest of the insurgents were eradicated by us — Black Heart and Black Sister.

A clean-up crew was dispatched on-site.

The mission's primary objective was unfulfilled. However, the secondary objective has been successfully completed.

Sincerely,

Black Heart

Noire finished typing up her guild report. Thanks to protocols implemented by herself, she had to make plenty of addendums according to the messy nature of the result of the quest. She created more work for herself. She smiled to herself in self-deprecation.

"It's not like I enjoy working, but..." she whispered to herself.

A teapot filled with green leaves from Leanbox was sitting on her desk. A kettle with water had reached boiling, but Noire had turned it off a few minutes ago, letting it cool down a little. She poured the hot-but-not-boiling water into the teapot. The tea began to brew properly, without cooking the leaves. She put the teapot and a few cups on a platter. Picking them up, she exited her room and headed toward Uni's.

Noire knocked on Uni's door. Straight-laced Noire does at least this much, even if she usually opens the door immediately afterwards. However, this time's knocking was done for a different reason.

There was no response. Noire knocked twice more. She became uncomfortable and feared for the worst. With a shaking hand, Noire cranked open the unlocked door.

Inside, Uni was silently sitting, curled up in the fetal position, on her bed. Noire breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Uni, why don't you take a moment. I've brought some tea. You should thank Vert later," kindly spoke Noire.

Uni lifted up her face. Her eyes were swollen red. Dried blood cemented a vein-like network from her nose. Her hair was in disarray.

"Onee-chan..."

"Here, Uni."

Noire poured freshly infused tea into a teacup and handed it to Uni. Uni, after staring at the simmering cup for a while, took it into her weak hands and sipped.

Uni, again, spoke, "Onee-chan..."

"Hmm? What is it, Uni?"

"Being a goddess... being the leader is hard..."

Noire filled her own cup with tea and sat beside Uni on her bed.

"You see, Uni," said Noire as she looked up at the ceiling, "You are a CPU candidate, a goddess-in-training. That is, you will become the future goddess."

Noire paused to take a sip of tea. Uni turned her eyes over to her dear sister.

"You will lead a great nation. And, in doing so, you will stand alone."

"Stand alone?" Uni murmured.

"In other words," continued Noire, "You steer the wheel, but you cannot reach out."

Noire stood up. She reached out her empty right hand into the air, grasping nothing.

"It's silly, isn't it. Why aren't we omnipotent? We are nothing more than prime ministers with strengthened physical capabilities," said Noire as she stared off at something.

She continued, "Even as goddesses, we are confined to only the duties that we are able to do. And that means being unable to fulfill the duties that we were not set out to do."

Noire turned back to Uni, who was staring at her in suspense.

"Uni, you really are beautiful. And we can use that beauty to guide us. Yet, that beauty cannot aid the present as it is simply a shining lighthouse."

"Onee-chan... I think I get it," said Uni, slightly invigorated, "I don't like it, but, I guess it can't be helped, huh..."

"Yes. It can't be helped. Not as we are now," said Noire, nodding in resignation.

"Then, in that case, that was where I've failed. Standing alone? Hahahahaha!"

Noire was bewildered at Uni's sudden outburst.

"I've already... I've already bloodied my freaking hands! Onee-chan, there's nothing we can do as we are now. That's why I'll take this stupid little body, rip it open with my bloody hands, and squeeze together something that really can make us all live in harmony!"

Noire was amazed. Something broke within that dear little sister. Yet, old foundations needed to be broken for new foundations to be built.

"I... I'm not innocent anymore, Onee-chan..."

Uni's ecstasy left as quickly as it came. She wept. She mourned for the innocent lost female life. She cried for granting an unsightly death to that terrorist, even if he did deserve it. She wailed out of pain for her old, pure self that was now defiled and had become one step closer to being a true goddess.

Noire sat beside her in silence, granting her dear little sister comfort as she metamorphosed.