IF's Grand Adventure Part 1

When I was just a kid, I tried to tell my friends that I had powers, none of them wanted to believe me.

But.

No matter what tried, I couldn't sleep. It seems more nights than not I’m here, staring at the walls of my best friend's apartment. Even with my favorite coat rolled up as a pillow, sleep never comes until I’m at exhaustion. My friend is a nurse, she has a very unique and endearing… everything. I don't think my heart should be trying to jump out of my chest thinking of another girl. Yet every night, between worries for her and my multitude of friends, I find myself counting the spackling in the night dim.

It's been 3 months since our party scattered the Deity of Sin and her companions to the four winds. The CPUs are up to their usual tricks already, and I feel a deep, pervading stress. I don't wish for my years of effort to save them to be wasted like this. I cried, I bled, I was broken time and time again in the quest to revive them and save our world from turning into a hell on earth. My friend was there the entire time. Her name is Compa. Compa could rally me after the worst of days when I practically drug my way through her door, broken, battered and bruised. No matter the injuries, Compa could me revive with her cooking and bandages. Even if Compa just set my bones, bandaged my wounds and shoved food down my throat, there was a powerful magic at work in every action of her’s, lovingly patching my health and spirits back together nearly before my eyes.

Ugh.

No matter what I try, I can’t stop thinking about her. I don't want to have these gummy, soppy feelings. I'm the damn Wind Walker of Gameindustri, not some shoujo protagonist.

My eyes burn as if I was staring into the sun. It takes a good 15 seconds until I can even open an eye. Compa is standing at the corner, next to the light switch.

“You've looked so tired recently, I decided to check up on you~”

“So you turned on the light!?”

“You weren't sleeping anyways Aiefu…”

I had snapped at her. I couldn't speak fast enough to make up for it, and even if I tried the words wouldn't come out.

“Is something wrong IF-chan?”

The nurse leans over the back of the couch, looking inquisitively at my face. I wanted so badly to just pull over the couch and crush her in the biggest hug I could manage. Yet my heart told me otherwise, no romance for me. My legs felt the chill night as I sat up. I subconsciously pulled my blanket over all the bare skin I could cover, stretching the fabric to its limits until I gave up.

It wasn't a muscle problem, nor the fabric resisting. Just me. The cover went slack, falling around my thin hips on the couch. My black top only went to my armpits, it wasn’t enough for the brutal chill I felt. The couch sagged a touch as Compa sat next to me. I didn’t want to look her in the eyes. I did anyways.
There is a silent concern, yet beaming pride in the eyes of a true friend who recognizes a friend in need. What would I do if she didn’t feel the same as I did? Even if she had said that “Girls can’t marry girls” previously… maybe I was an exception?

No.

My silence bothered Compa, her warm hands held my arm in anticipation.

A profuse apology, and a sharp step were all that followed my departure. To clear my head,I had to talk with the only woman on earth who could help. I had to get away.

=====================================================================

The luxurious mansion was not a place I could feel at home, but the woman inside could make it so. The almost 6 foot tall, exceptionally endowed blonde I was looking for almost always retained the aura of nobility. Of all the national leaders, it seemed only she was worthy of the title “Goddess”.

“Vert, you have a bit?”

“My my, of course I have time for my Iffy~”

I didn’t touch the faintly steaming black tea in front of me. Between the artisanally carved hardwood furniture and immaculate layers of ivory cloth perfectly draped over the table, my being at such a quaint scene was not usual. This was closer to the treatment a queen would receive rather than some mangy adventurer like myself. Vert took a dainty sip, setting her cup and saucer down to speak.

“So Iffy? You came to me, tell me what for.”

I gritted the side of my mouth, only barely relaxing before speaking; an instinctive reaction to what I was about to sign myself up for.

“Vert, I remember you remarking on a largely untamed land which was on a technicality under your domain.”

“Oh my. Surely you don’t mean PC Continent?”

Everything told me to reject this quest. There was no reason to take the risk, no reason to terrify the others with this.

Maybe I just tried to tell myself that, to try and hide those hated feelings, anything to shove that responsibility off to another day.

Time for my moment of courage. No matter what every other fiber in my body told me.

“Send me out, I’ll help you with whatever it is you want.”

Vert looked unconvinced.

“Really?”

Vert cleared her throat.

“Well, I mean, if you’re serious, by all means. Take my card and go to the Leanbox Airport, you will get to PC Continent on my country’s cost, don’t waste this opportunity. You’re definitely quite capable IF. I’ll tell the others that you’ll be gone for a while, I’m sure you will return.”

I found myself standing outside the mansion again, Vert’s final words lingering in my mind.

The Leanbox Airport was a great expanse of concrete and shimmering white metal. Upon entering, the tremendous glass construct of a ceiling blinded me while I rode the escalator. The tiles made a satisfying clicking as I strode through the gate. I went directly for the plane that Vert had told me, there was no line outside the hostess’ booth.

The airline hostess was a beautiful woman with a professional, yet warming demeanor. Her slight-of-hand that placed a numbered key into my hand was beyond unexpected. The key said “23D”.

I’ve never ridden in an airplane before, yet I could tell that my seat was some sort of executive or first class. There were hardwood accents among tremendous leather chairs, it wasn’t a type of place but I could truly relax. That place would be a world away soon enough. There was a locker immediately above my seat labeled “23D”.

I pulled the curtain over my luxurious realm, seizing the contents of the locker after a satisfying click from the lock.

The pack was my size, unlike these chairs. I felt I could just soak into the cushions and disappear. Flipping through the contents of my new backpack revealed a carefully organized loadout.

I dug out and held up an envelope.

I had barely gotten my hand to the sealed lip when it fell open.

My face looked back at me from my lap, not from a mirror; rather a freshly minted “Leanbox Agent” badge. The shiny gloss finish threw rainbows back from a hundred Leanbox crest watermarks. The bag contained items I wouldn’t dare show inside an airplane.

Yet… my curiosity got the better of me. I quietly unzipped the largest pouch again, removing an edge of the contents.

The matte black gauntlets faintly shone a eerie green through the crevices of its puzzle-like mechanisms. The assembly of the device was bizarrely drawn out into a somewhat sizeable box that by dimension would be flush with my shoulders. A standalone flat joint made a marked impact on my mind, I could only suspect that Vert had given me for all purposes a collapsing suit of armor.

I barely peeked into the bag at the final item, buried under the mirrored arm component. I had never seen such a device, I had to understand it. I peeked past my curtains; the plane was still empty.

I fully removed the device, it appeared to be a sort of energy pistol. The slide only seemed to operate as an ejection system and dust cover for a sizeable energy cell which took a good half of the weight of the weapon. The top of the device appeared to act as a quick loading system, one merely had to place another cell on the top of the weapon and slide it down the rail, which would replace the cell in the weapon, ejecting the previous up and away. I nearly chucked a cell out of my accommodations on accident learning this. Flicking the stiff switch on the side of the weapon released a great mass of cooling fins around the front assembly, leading me to believe that this was not a weapon for sustained engagements, or that the small package offered significantly more firepower than its size let on. The next button revealed this weapon’s method of operation.

A small box fell out of the grip, the box’s clear polymer construction revealed probably 30 metal projectiles. This was a handheld railgun. Each projectile was carefully milled to expand possibly three times as wide as its initial size, I prayed to all the CPUs that I would never have to use this on any sentient being.

The “fasten seatbelt” light and sound came to my surprise. I stashed the high tech weaponry away before take off. I settled into my seat and it felt almost as my eyes fell onto themselves in fatigue, sending my mind away for a moment before I visited a wondrous land. It looked so beautiful and clean in the advertisements, I couldn’t imagine my quest would be as difficult as I previously thought.

=====================================================================

The airport was familiar, as if I was exiting the very same one I had departed from however many hours ago. The similarities of the land ended there.

The city was nearly blotting out the sun, a tremendous superstructure was built into the tremendous cliff face past the coastal lowlands. The construction made it very obvious, there were three very visibly divided layers of the city. The upper layers were gleaming with a crystalline shimmer, every pearl spire shining in the sun. The layer I was on was not so fortunate. The sun barely peeked over the stark cliffs to the west, further enhancing the terrifying gloom of this area. A toxic scent lingered in the air resembling solder and melting plastic.

I’ve been in some seedy places, but this abomination made even the worst of Gameindustri look like heaven. To see girls in rags, break a single scrap of stale bread between the three of them and then fight over the remainder of a cigarette a passerby dropped is indescribable. The shifty merchants of the narrow, claustrophobic streets offer “upgrades” for cheap, with contracts longer than my homeland’s law books. The prevailing industrial stench emanates from a side road, despite a foreboding sense, I peered down the smoggy alley, to see all sorts of people picking through electronic parts and melting down the rest for scrap. Even the children and elderly have their jobs, shoveling coal into the ramshackle furnaces.

With a grimace on my face, I shoved my hands into my coat, continuing towards the ivory towers that made up what I thought to be the respectable part of this region. My fists balled at the sights before me, worsening my expression.

My boots clacked over the worn and decrepit paving, I tried to put my head down to avoid any sort of attention and to hide the inhumanity of this place from my sight. The street ahead was empty, save some hooligans on the sides of the street, peering from their alcoves and alleys. With my coat fully buttoned I didn’t show off much skin. If I was lucky most might think, much to my chagrin, that I was a boy and I could scrape past without much trouble.

I can sense the figures creeping towards me. The lead girl stops me, brandishing a bat made of old pipe.

“Hey, this is our road, gotta pay a toll if you wanna get past ya know?”

Despite wanting to avoid conflict, the road to this point had wore on my nerves.

“I’m not paying a toll. I’m just a visitor.”

My remark had come off quite irritated. Given the steps the gang had taken, I knew this wasn’t going to be as easy as talking my way out.

The leader had closed the distance. She flicked my hood back, peering at my face.

“A real cutie huh? Those are worth some money if I remember right! Quite a bit more than a lil extortion!”

The leader turned to taunt me, gesturing and asking her gang a few hypotheticals.

“The ones the slavers have time to turn into a whore are more valuable right?”

Their fate was sealed.

It was a unique sight, the genuine terror in a foe’s eye when they realize they have made a leap onto unsteady ground, this gang had no clue the power I contain. My left foot slid backwards, finding a nook on the motley street to entrench into, my left hand working to button my right arm’s coat well past my elbow. The exposed skin soon began to seep fire, taking the form of a wolf’s head.

“Any final words?” I barely managed through my grimace.

I see that the gang members closest to the alleys had fled, the few remaining were frozen in shock.

My whole body was thrown into that punch, the wolf demon’s hunger knows no limit to its terrible hunger. As I reached the peak of my strength, so did the unholy creature residing in my arm. We feed off the other as a mere parasite would, but with results that would make gods turn an eye. The moment my fist clenched, the wolf tripled in size, enveloping and devouring the leader to my front. There was nought but embers and ash as I reached for another, leaping the gap to my foes. The wolf left no remains distinguishable in this sooty slum.

I started down the street, my body’s instincts catching up to me. I was breathing heavily and my arm was quite sore from those impacts despite the demon’s physical protection. My eyes zoned out for a bit as I leaned against a wall, seemingly staring at my own flat chest while it desperately tried to intake much needed air. I laid a hand over my heart, feeling the familiar thump. While seriously accelerated, it was exhilarating to know that I wasn’t totally out of practice.

As soon as I recovered from that immense bout of exertion, I checked my eyes and shoulder for any signs that the wolf had escaped its many layers of containment. Such power could overtake a person,even I, the Wind Walker.

After I had calmed a touch more, I resumed my journey to the silver spires of the city’s apex.

=====================================================================

Everything felt a bit brighter with that spike of adrenaline coursing through me, I was at the gate in no time. The next level of the city had one entrance, the whole entry was armed as if a war could start at any moment. The barrels of artillery guns peeked from casemates in the concrete faces of the canyon that made up the entrance. I could feel a dozen scopes on my back as I approached a red phone on a pedestal in front of the 3 story tall metal blast door at the center of these impenetrable defences. The phone started talking to me the moment I picked it up.

“State your business.”

One of my many phones attached to my belt rang, I moved to pick it up while answering the pedestal phone. I assumed I was speaking with a member of the defence force.

“I’m a Leanbox agent, I’m here on Lady Green Heart’s orders to pursue a closer diplomatic relationship.”

“Place your badge in the vacuum tube, we’ll verify your identity.”

I caught my other phone just on time, barely receiving the call.

Before I could even greet the caller, the familiar voice reverberates through the tiny speaker, somehow still deserving of a regal introduction.

“IF, I have bad news.”

“This isn’t the best time, I’m at the first gate of the city right now going through security.”

“I-I’m too late…”

“Huh?”

“There was an… incident last night, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

“What the hell Vert?! You could have called an hour ago!”

“Ai-chan, it's 2AM in Leanbox, had I not been up late gaming I would not have even seen the news.”

Vert pauses for a moment.

“You have the Mk1 Assault Armor components in that pack, yes?”

“You mean the ‘Let’s get me banned from flying on a plane ever again if I got caught items’ ?”

“Indeed, I doubt security will let you keep those, and they are the only thing that will be your backup on this mission. I cannot leave you out there completely isolated.”

An armed troop of guards emerge from a much smaller door that is built into the massive blast door. My eyes followed them. The way they fanned out concerned me.

A single troop approached close enough to yell at me, clearly a leader due to the brightly colored red stripe over their mass of armor and gear.

“Your badge is being returned through the vacuum tube, you have been denied entry due to your status as a foreign agent and instability in the tower. Leave.”

“Iffy, if you feel threatened… that would be a good time to press the green Leanbox X on your backpack’s strap.”

“What will happen?”

I could tell that Vert had her signature smug, plotting grin on at that moment.

“My greatest gift to you~”

My phone barely slipped, I followed it. Please don’t break…

Poof.

Dust flies from a crater just 5 feet in front of me, just large enough to be a bullet. The trajectory would have been right through my head if I didn’t dive for my phone. If I was to die, I wanted to see Vert’s gift. The pack was only slung over one shoulder as I pressed the button which soon felt like a great mistake.

As if a great octopus was trying to restrain me, the pack tore my arm back under the strap and was promptly wrapped to the point where I could barely feel it, igniting into a great green light.

Everything felt cold, but I couldn’t even make out my own chest with the obnoxious light from the pack.

I felt some urge, despite how stupid it was, to say “Transform!”

The word barely slipped from my mouth, yet the pack responded.

The fibers pulled my back into an arch, ripping the breath from my lungs with the force. This was quite clearly a prototype. My arms moved of an otherworldly volition, accepting the twin armor pieces I had inspected on the plane. The black metallic material made a satisfying click-clacking as it covered me. The newly minted appendages threw out clasping tendrils, locking one behind my back, twice over my breast,and thrice around my hips where the fibers of the pack had replaced my standard clothes. The straps followed a natural symmetry, latching over my spine, and inline with my legs. Even though my breasts were small, the straps over the chest still pushed them together, impressing a burning heat in my heart. The fibers seemed alive as they coated every little crevice of my body. The methodical weaving of my body into the suit was cripplingly hot, not to mention arousing. The uniform stopped its expansion just below my jaw. My face was clad with a similar black metal to the arms and boots, green lighting followed along the straps inside the bodysuit. A visor phased over my eyes as I felt what the suit had done to me.

Oh goddesses, forgive me. The power that just emanated from this suit, it seeped into every single cell of my body. If my face was not covered, someone would know that I couldn’t stop the crimson blush under my eyes. It was so embarrassing to feel this way, but damn was it nice. No words could imitate the… pleasure the power inflicted upon me.

As a final gift, the suit formed almost perfectly to my body, just a little tight in a couple areas. Just equipping this had nearly pushed me to the edge. My heart was hammering even though I hadn’t even started fighting. I looked down, the suit didn’t have much to show off… well I did have nice legs, I mean if you really wanted to reach, I suppose I have quite the hips as well. The breeze was hot over my bare… Why was my belly bare?!? There was a hexagonal window to my midsection between the two front attachment straps. I had no clue why Vert would make armor so revealing, but I would sure as hell talk to her about it. My flat chest was largely hidden by the armor, but I didn’t mind that too much right now.I wanted to try out this bursting energy that made my whole body feel like it would explode.

SWOOSH!

Heh…

Well, my new legs were a bit more powerful than usual. I found myself imbedded in one of the concrete walls, making a turn at blink speed turns out to be more difficult than anime makes it seem. No deal-breaker for me though, my crater was just another launch pad for my escape. The light of the fading sun flooded my eyes as I made my retreat, gunfire chasing me well beyond their perimeter.

I wanted my normal clothes back though, it didn’t feel right to be out of my coat. There was a snug comfort in this suit though; I almost wanted to wear both. I felt a gust of air, and suddenly my coat was over my shoulders. Was this armor listening to me?

Ah. I could still feel my old coat through the suit. The helmet dismantled itself, it seemed almost like I wasn’t wearing the armor. I even got my old boots back. It felt much more appropriate to have my coat covering the suit, it didn’t feel right to show my body off like that. I sat in an alley in the dark. Maybe I could try to talk to the armor?

“Hey. You listening?”

“Yes.”

The voice reminded me of 5pb, it was quite sweet to hear. Maybe Vert used 5pb’s program to make this.

I froze for a moment.

“Your heart rate is rising rapidly, do I concern you?”

“Well a little, you’re kinda snug in some areas that I don’t want to mention.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

The relieved pressure lets the blush fade, I wouldn’t be able to show my face if the suit kept rubbing where it was in public.

There was a bit of a pause while I thought deeply about the questions this whole situation propagated.

“So… I guess… Do you feel my body?”

“In a sense I do, but to comfort you, I will say this. You get much more out of me than a larger girl would. I was programmed to make choices like showing your belly to buff your muscles further with my fibers. I have a limited supply of fibers as they’re too complex to just summon in like a mere piece of glass or metal. If you were larger, I would need more to just coat your body therefore reducing my effect.”

“Why do I get the feeling that was also a designer choice?”

“There are inevitably some systems that are influenced by my creator, yet I cannot change some of these things yet. I don’t have much bonding with you.”

“So you’re an AI?”

“Not exactly, you’re speaking with the server which contains the AI that oversees this creation. Eventually the sensors in ‘me’ will attune to your every nerve impulse and react much more quickly, you may be able to wear me as normal clothing without crushing drinking cups, mutilating doors you open and cratering the ground you walk.”

“Can you disarm so I can wear my normal clothing again?”

“Of course, but please insert an earpiece so I can continue. I also have access to local networks for gathering much needed intel on our situation.”

It felt like seeing an old friend to be back in my black tube top and shorts for some reason. There was a comfort in the familiar, especially when it gets you away from an arousing semi-sentient suit of armor. There was a unique warmth in the straps of the backpack now, almost like a tiny heater. I looked up to see… dammit.

A girl standing there in shock. The girl wore an aged leather jacket, a matte black corset underneath with a similarly colored skirt. Her legs bowed in like Compa for a moment.

I was kinda pissed, who the hell just watches someone change?
The girl rushed me, she was in my face.

“You- you flew!?-”

“How long have you been creeping on me?!”

The girl looked confused, she didn’t look like she understood my anger.

“Do you have some kind of problem? Do you have a name?”

The girl looked like she was on the brink of crying despite being the one that approached you.

“I-I’m Acer… I do- I don’t know if I have a problem…”

The tears started flowing. I couldn’t understand a word through the blubbering the crying girl was trying to speak through.

What do you do when someone was watching you for some unknown segment of time but clearly needs help? I felt so strongly in favor of just leaving this girl. Yet… she reminded me of Compa in some ways. I could never leave Compa hanging in a time of need.

Dammit. I don’t know what’s going on but I have to help. I can’t avoid it; even though it’s illogical and stupid.

With my arms folded over my chest, and the best expression I could put on I said:

“A big girl like you shouldn’t cry, if you don’t tell me what’s going on I can’t help.”

The girl barely wiped away her tears, she lunged forwards, crushing me in a hug.

“HEY OFF OF ME! I DON’T KNOW YOU!”

I got a hand into her face and pushed her away for some breathing room.
“Explain before I get mad.”

Acer sniffled and looked down.

“Uh… you don’t look like a local… have you been to the OEM district of PC Continent before?

“I’ve been here for about 5 hours and already had to get in one fight and escape another.”

“Are you alright miss?” Acer has beads of tears already seeping up from the corners of her eyes.

“Jeez, of course.”

Acer clears her eyes, and stiffens her voice.

“Well, some of us used to be better… this is the lowest level of the Manufacturer's district. All the companies that make full PCs are confined here. Well, in this city; We can’t leave… ever.”

Acer sniffles.

“My company is a really wide range producer, things have gotten tough for us. For some reason the old companies that get screwed over by their larger brand just get thrown to the dogs… I’m sure you’ve seen the scrappers. On top of that, our higher end company members get much more choice in the direction of the company.”

“Wait so you have someone else that makes your decisions?”

“Yeah… the worst off was Compaq… HP drove her into the ground…”

“Why?”

“I don’t know! HP wanted to make her part of that stupid giant tower even bigger or something!”

“I came here to restore a semblance of order to the continent.”

“Really? How?”

I paused. I don’t really know. Yet, Vert’s nation has always been a leader in software production. I bet all these computers all use her software.

“You wouldn’t happen to use any software from a company called “Leanbox” or-”

Acer’s eyes widen, she nearly drops her handbag.

“You mean you’re from the company that makes our operating systems?”
I could tell I was showing my emotions, my hesitation and disconnect were highlighted. I can’t leave this girl without some hope.

“Well. Uh, I’m a representative. Normally I’m the Guildmaster, you know, I issue quests to kill monsters, clean up disasters, find rare materials and assist our nations in any way. Lots of our work is routine statistic and intel work. I try to get in the field as much as possible though, just doing paperwork isn’t my style.”

Acer’s eyes light up, she smiles for the first time since your encounter.

“Jeez, I thought you might’ve been just some corporate drone… you might be able to actually help this city.”

With a slightly smug, and slightly dry grin, I can’t help but add some snark.

“How many corporate drones wear flying suits of armor?”

“And change in alleyways?” Acer says with a smile.

My face is crimson, but I try my best to put on a smile for the girl.

“S-Sure.”

I have to change the subject, someone might think my bones are red I’m blushing so hard. I try my best to regain my composure before speaking.

“So. You have a plan? Any direction you can send me to help this place? I’m flying blind here without my intel network.”

Acer takes a long pause, she really does resemble my childhood friend Compa. She’s ditzy, a bit taller than most girls, and cares probably a bit too much. None of this quest is going to be easy, but that's why I chose this fate.

“You know, the only thing I can think of is… Maybe talk to the important big girls at the top of the tower?”

I can feel my expression become colder, I pull myself back a bit before speaking.

“I tried to enter through the gate, I was retreating when you found me. They blocked me from entering legally and then tried to snipe me.”

Acer is beyond shocked, she stumbles a bit before commenting.

“No one has survived being rejected at that gate! EVER. We hear the cannon blasts all the time, we’re right next door after all.”

Ugh. I can’t hide my distaste for this situation. I pinch myself and continue.

“So what if I just skipped past the security? If I can fly, I can just skip the gate and go to the next level right?”

“You’re the only person I’ve seen fly without an airplane or helicopter before… I don’t think you would be noticed if you did. I never got your name...”

“My name is IF, most people call me Iffy, IF-chan, Aiefu… anything works really.”

“Alright Iffy, sorry for surprising you and all that…”

The way Acer smiles is like looking into an early morning sun.

I barely know this girl… but she’s making me smile. It might just be contagious but it seems like Acer is making me honestly and actually smile. I don’t know how to feel besides wonderful.

The day is starting to wear on my mind, I need to find a place to stay. Acer leads me to a small, well kept but clearly low income residence.

“Well, this is where I live. I guess you could sleep on my couch if you’re gonna try to convince sis and them to be nicer.”

I froze.

“You have a sister among the higher-ups of the city?”

Acer looks confused initially but remembers that I’m entirely out of my element before she answers.

“There are lots of Acers, we all live in groups based on who manufactured us. Asus came from us, they did better though. Acer and Asus both have members throughout the layers, some companies aren’t so lucky. The higher up members like to try and short change the lower ones to make themselves bigger, but it never works out well.”

“So what’s outside of the city?”

“We’re not allowed to leave. We physically can’t, the rest of the continent is ran by a creepy, but super powerful self-modifying computers. They use components from similar manufacturers but often from the absolute highest end of manufacturing in superior configurations. Someone like me with a double silver CPU pin and an iGPU ribbon can’t compete in any way with a quad Red CPU pin and a triple Red GPU ribbon.”

I scratch my head.

“I’m gonna need more of an explanation than that.”

“Come in first.”

The house , rather, home is comfortable and impresses a snug feeling in my heart. The place is repaired to the best of the girl’s abilities and has a simple decor of a few pictures and some cushions. The old couch bows slightly as both of us sit, Acer immediately stands up, walking over to the tiny kitchen.

“You want tea?”

“No. er. No thank you.”

Acer walks back empty handed.

“I bet you’re tired. I’ll explain now so you can sleep.”

Acer takes a breath.

“Since we’re representations of computer hardware, we need a clear way to represent our hardware. So on a scale, the worst hardware has a bronze color, where the best has a red color. That doesn’t change between pins and ribbons. The whole scale is Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Red. Pins represent our processing units, obviously the number is how many “cores” the unit has. A ribbon, well, it’s really closer to a military dress bar system. We have a small rack of bars that explain our other hardware. The more bars, the better off, which is almost always true. I don’t have a real GPU so I get a replacement rating which makes me even lower on the totem pole.”

I could tell surprise and realization had lit up my face, this was quite the system. None of the nations in Gameindustri were like this.

“I’ll let you sleep.” Acer leaves the room slowly.

I want to think, to try and understand my day. How do I find such weird people wherever I go? I suppose I’m lucky that the people I meet are nice, even if they have odd habits and manners. The ones that aren’t nice usually seem to be the ones I’m hunting.

Even if I wanted to stay awake, I couldn’t. My eyelids fell like weights were tied to them.

=====================================================================

The AI quickly briefed me through a series of text messages, the massive amount of data that this whole city produced was working as chaff, slowing its’ progress in finding information. After hours of my own search, I’ve barely found enough documentation to understand my own location. I know I have to go up the tower, and besides that, I have no clue where potential safehouses, supplies or hostiles could be located. I wonder why- no, I don’t. My host is still asleep because I woke up at 6 AM on a weekend.

I played a game on my phone, I paced by the small pair of windows, I tried to sleep again. Nothing took my mind off the girl I had just met. I pressed my flip phone to my heart as it swooned. She… she was cute. No one would know about her as long as I kept my mouth shut.

No! Why am I thinking this way? I don’t want this, I don’t want to feel this way. I know I don’t…

“Good Morning Aiefu! It’s a pretty Sunday don’t cha’ think?!”

There might have been a slight blush as I responded.

“Yeah. Sure.”

“IF, you know, I could lead you around town today. You’re probably pretty lost.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Nothing in this city was planned in any way it seems.”

Acer kneels in front of me, sitting on her haunches. Her expression hides something behind that shining smile.

“Alright, I guess. Where are we going?”

Acer looks pleased with my response.

“Just to the markets and stores, I have to eat somehow you know~”

“I suppose I’ll just ask around while you go about your usual errands.”

The girl bows as she begs.

“No no! You should come with me!”

Eh?

“I guess?...”

“PERFECT!”

She sure is excited for going shopping. I couldn’t- I hope in some pit of my heart that maybe I’m part of that.

=====================================================================

The Market district isn’t nearly as bad as the other parts of the town. There are enough vendors to form a moderately sized army if needed and my guide seems to flit along the merchants at a rate unheard of.

Where did she go? How did I, of all people, lose track of someone?

I almost throw a fist through someone immediately. They grabbed my hand so unexp-

A crepe nearly crushes my face.

“HERE IF!”

I withdraw my fist.

“Uh… sorry.”

“IF-chan, you like sweet things right?”

“I mean, I guess.”

She looks happy, I’ll eat. Acer pulls me along by the wrist. For being on a mission, this sure seems like something Nep would do.

Acer leans into me. Her arm… it’s warm. It’s… soft.

She looks at me, barely containing an embarrassed smile.

“I’ve never had anyone to go shopping with before~”

Is she?

“I don’t think I’m too good at shopping myself, not really my thing.”

“IF there’s no way! Unless you’re one of those girls who tries to be cool.”

“T-try?”

She grins, hardly containing a giggle.

“IF, you’re cute!”

Ah. She found my weak spot. I think she might be doing this on purpose…

Get your mind out of the gutter IF, focus. Sigh. I need to get out of here before something happens. The rest of the afternoon goes without incident. Mostly. Acer leaves me questioning many things before I pass out on her couch again.

=====================================================================

“Wake up.”

My eyes shot open, scanning despite not seeing in my newly woken status. Oh, I fell asleep with an earbud in. I’ll just take that out-

“Don’t remove me. I’ve got some maps and intel for you to review. Pull out a phone and connect it to me, there should be a USB port on the left strap.”

“You’re pretty needy for a computer.”

“Just doing my job, it appears you secured allies without my help. We have quite a foothold already.”

Acer is staring at me from the hallway. Her face is flooded with concern. I’ve been talking to seemingly nothing, no wonder why she’s spooked.

“You don’t have to speak out loud to communicate with me, just have a dialogue in your mind and I’ll respond.”

How many of my thoughts can this stupid thing read?

“Too much, trust me. I’m still trying to build algorithms to sort through all this chaff. I really don’t care about anything beyond the mission.”

Acer has gone about starting her day while I spoke with an AI thousands of miles away.

I sit up fully, my head becomes a touch woozy, I sit for a moment. The edge of my shorts is a bit ruffled and folded, I can’t look messy. On top of that, jeez, you could almost see my panties. I pull and pat the fabric out, repairing my neat black clothing. It takes a while to realize that I’ve spaced out, Acer wakes me by setting a bowl of hot oatmeal into my hands.

“You doing alright Iffy? You look really sleepy.”

“Not a morning person really.”

“Iffy, why don’t you dress a bit girlier? You could look really cute!”

I’m blushing already. She woke me up in an instant. She might be right but I’ll be damned before I admit something like that.

“No way! I’m not cute.”

“You wouldn’t be smiling and blushing if you weren’t!” Acer leans into me a bit,with a smile as wide as her face.

She isn’t wrong but, dammit, I’m not going to dress like some little princess. Don’t do this to me.

“I’ve got some time before work! Come over here!”

Acer’s bedroom is the same as the rest of the house.

She appears, stepping out of the closet with some overloaded hangers in hand.

The girl holds out a light grey turtleneck and a green miniskirt.

“Put these on! I know there’s a cute Iffy in there!”

“N-No way!”

“Please~!” Her eyes beg me.  I have to say no. I can’t.

It's so weird to be sharing clothes with someone. I stand in the mirror for a second. Must’ve been much longer than I thought, Acer starts complaining that she wants to see. Is… is this what being cute feels like? My heart is fluttering just looking at myself. I’ve got a little more skin than usual showing below the hem of the skirt that matches my bow, but the thigh high socks she gave me keep me snug and warm. My hand rests over the center of my chest as I open the door. It feels so shameful to be showing off… to be so girly. I don’t know, there is a slight crest over my breasts highlighted by the sweater. I’m still flat, but… Acer isn’t particularly large either.

*gasp*

Acer just about melts where she’s standing.

“Hey! Don’t think-”

*click*

She’s running. She got a picture.

“OH NO YOU DON’T!”

I reached, I connected.

Acer and I both hit the ground, tangled and wrestling over the little digital camera. I finally seize it from her hands. I turn. My nose almost brushes hers. My heart stops.

I can’t even breath.

She’s blushing, I’m blushing, I want to move but my body doesn’t listen.

She isn’t Compa. She’s an imitation. My heart is hammering, I barely roll off the girl.

Acer sits up, she stays there for a moment. Her cherry blush hasn’t left her face.

“You… you…”

Her hand covers her mouth.

“My… It's so wrong… but my heart tells me to…”

Her hand barely nicks mine. Her fingers tease one of mine free. She ties our hands together. Her other hand balls up over her chest, barely squeezing enough courage into her to speak.

“I-I-I-I, I’ve never…” she looks away.

I’m stuck. What do I do?

As soon as that thought completes, she turns and throws herself onto me. I can feel her arms wrapped around my back, the slender pressure impresses a kindness upon my own slim body.

“I’ve never had someone to love… you don’t have anyone back home Iffy...”

I want to tell her to stop, everything inside me is screaming to tell her to get off.

I… I’m in the same boat as her. My power returns, but I don’t know why I feel the way I do.

I sit up against the couch front with Acer, her arm wrapped around my shoulders. The unfamiliar sweater I wear smells just like her. I- I can’t tell if I should stay with the girl or run as fast as I can.

“I don’t even know you Iffy… I don’t know why I feel this way…”

Acer pauses, she looks ready to tear up.

“Even if you have to go out on your mission… can you promise me to come back?”

My throat is dry, I gulp and try to speak. My voice is weak and raspy, but it does the job.

“I- I can.”

Acer looks frustrated.

“That isn’t enough.” her expression is pleading.

It's not a conscious process, yet I can feel the gap between our faces closing. I don’t know why this is happening.

I just don’t know.

=====================================================================

The door clicks as I sit against the couch. I’ve been sitting here a while now, I’m not sure how long. Right here is where my new friend… I don’t know what to call her, especially after what she did. Anyways, she kissed me. I just don’t know.

I guess it was nice. Her lips were soft, wet and kinda... silky.

Her blush was kinda cute, too. I think.

Why did this happen? All of this felt so wrong. I don’t know why it felt so wrong. Was it everyone telling me it wasn’t right to feel this way?

Was it something else?

There’s a million and a half things imbedded in my brain. All the thoughts are a torrent, drowning out any proper logical process.

My heart was hammering, but it took everything in me just to get off the ground.

My legs shook a bit as I stood up and dusted the borrowed skirt off.

I straightened the hem.

I took what felt like the first breath in an hour, I didn’t know how to feel. It seemed that everything was a shade of gray in the early morning light. I wasn’t cold, I wasn’t uncomfortable, more accurately I didn’t feel much of anything.

I left Acer’s clothes on the bed, folded nicely. I didn’t feel right, even in my old coat and black top. I snatched up the “backpack” before sitting by the door to lace my boots.The skin between my socks and shorts filled with goosebumps as I slipped out the door of the tiny residence.

Am I a coward? Is that what I am?

The rooftops were a much easier method of travel. My boots connected with the next shingled surface with a solid thump. My hair flew in the slight breeze and my motion. I kept running until I couldn’t anymore, stopping on the final rooftop before the great tower’s footprint. The ground around the monolith was entirely cleared, flush and paved, with ample signage to dissuade would-be intruders. Not me, well, after a break.

“Are you planning on tiring yourself out before even reaching the destination?”

Goddamit.

The armor saw everything. That means Vert saw everything. I could do without this AI’s commentary.

“Well, if you do intend to shut me off do so. However, such a choice would only harm your mission. The blueprints to this structure were surprisingly easy to find and I have a suggested path if you would latch the visor module over your eye.”

Click. The satisfying cascade of metal positioning follows as the visor sends a band around my head before deploying the front shield to display the AI’s discovery. I closed my eyes for a moment, anything to try and dispel this awful mood for a moment. They opened to a holographic trail along the crevice of the frontal tube structure, keeping me from view quite effectively until I got to the precipice of the second tier of the city. The moment I mantled that edge would decide if I was to fight my way to the ringleaders of this hellish zone or to have a semblance of stealth.

I couldn’t ignore my feelings.

There was something stuck to my brain, I didn’t like it. I wanted to go through my missions, but I could barely even concentrate on this slideshow of diagrams. I pulled the visor off and looked into the sky. It took a bit, but I pulled the earpiece out. I pushed the backpack around the corner of the wall. I sat alone now.

I buried my face in my hands for a moment, with my back against a wall, knees on the back of my hands. I sat there for a bit.

The people on the streets were nice to watch, I was invisible up here. I pulled out one of my many phones, this one I saved for Compa and music. There was no service here, but with an microSD card and some earbuds, the hard concrete rooftop was almost comfortable.

I…

I saw the people move like water along the streets, soon filing into their jobs by about nine.

I was crying.

I didn’t choke and sputter, the tears just followed a steady flow down my cheeks.

The tears stopped after a while, but I felt as if I could drink a lake dry.

After a long draught from my canteen, I sat for a moment against the service access wall again. I slowly slid down, laying on the concrete and looking at the almost clear sky in this part of town. Everything was tiring, I couldn’t keep my eyes open for long.

=====================================================================

The sun was peeking past the walls of this pit of existence. Though I was well rested, I was drowsy. The music playlist had started to repeat.

I’ve been here for much longer than intended.

I still didn’t understand, but I had to move. That was what I did after all.

It feels so bad to say that. Do I run from my problems?

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzzt. My phone is ringing, my hand flies by instinct to the ringing phone. The call ends with my hand lingering.

The phone automatically hangs up but immediately starts ringing again.

“Iffy?”

The only person who can call me here, did. I should have expected this one. With a heavy heart and a weak voice I respond.

“Hi Vert.”

“... IF- the AI sent me an alert that you were non-responsive, given you answered the phone, are you alright?”

“Yeah.”

Vert’s voice became significantly more stressed, she presses on me.

“IF, you need to tell me when something is amiss or I simply cannot assist you.”

“N-No really. I’m fine.”

“You cannot convince me when your voice is almost cracking. Tell me.”

Beep.

I hung up. The arm holding the phone went slack and fell into my lap.

Why do I do this?

The wispy clouds migrated in the sky as I slide back down, staring into the sky. The sun was too bright. I didn’t want to see it. I rolled over, face into the concrete. I didn’t need these people, hurting my heart and ordering me around.

=====================================================================

I woke with a cold sensation on my neck. The rain pattered on my coat in the dim of whatever time I had slept to. My phone said 19:45, I sat with Vert’s backpack under an awning.

The rain was soothing, the slight rhythm it kept put my mind at ease for a few short seconds.

The synthetic material that made up the backpack nearly stuck to my fingers. I could feel that warmth, that invitation to adventure. I didn’t know if I wanted to feel good right now though.

“We have things to do.”

“I d-”

“No waiting. Put me on.”

The fibrous, almost sticky material bonded to my skin, slowly enveloping that arm until the full transformation set in. The alluring suit strapped and bound my body much faster than my first attempt, but the machine still took it’s time lashing into every tender and sensitive spot of me. As it’s final action, it loosed up in the same places I had requested earlier.

Running along the no man’s land around the tower felt good, every bounding stride seemed to fill my heart with energy. I was flying. The wind caressed my face, though the raindrops felt like little knives at my speed, it was simply wonderful.

I don’t think anyone has run up a wall as if it was just normal ground before, so I’ll cue you into what it feels like.

Every cell in your body tells you what is occurring, should not be happening, but you keep going. As you continue your charge, you actually start to think that this is how you’ve always been. God-dammed invincible, untouchable, the master of the world and the unknown all in one person would be the only fitting titles.

As I mantled the edge into the second layer, I was on point, ready to attack anyone and anything that would try and stop me.

Tick, my feet said as I contacted the concrete floor through my suit.

The streets of the adolescent night were vacant, light shone from the residence’s windows. I just kept running. The map projected onto my visor followed my location, sending me right to the next ascension point.

Did they not plan for intruders or something?

Whap!

A green laser struck the ground next to me.

Of course, the moment I make a comment something happens.

My hand flies to the miniature railgun on my thigh, flicking the safety and I get onto target, a single security officer. By now, his backup is inevitably on the way, but I can tell that he didn’t look too well when taking his shot. The fibers coating my body reverberate with the energy of battle.

Heh. I didn’t know a 150cm tall girl could be so terrifying.

He relieved himself where he was standing.

Screw that, I kept running. No sense in getting caught up on little obstacles like an inept security detail. It takes no effort right now to disappear. This, is how I always wanted to feel. This light, fluttery sen…

Nevermind.

The final step of the tower before it turned into the pearly spires was ahead. An alarm soon follows my touching the structure.

Shit.

A hail of emerald lasers charge me, barely missing hundreds of shots. Between the soldiers on the ground behind me and the turrets farther up the tower, I’m dead if I don’t get somewhere quick.

“You’re being too reckless, use your strength AND your brain before you fail this mission for both of us and probably get yourself killed.”

Oh right. Half way through a stride, I pull the railgun putting a shot into each of the turrets after a few bursts. Upon holstering the gun, I have breathing room and it’s time to make my play.

My fists feel like an endless inferno and this is not the familiar power of the demon.

The tower’s outer case crumbles under my unrelenting strength, offering a friendly 3 meter entry. I thrust myself into the interior of the tremendous structure. Most of the tower seems to be a stark, soulless mass of support girders and trusses with a few thin and nearly unidentifiable catwalks. Following the path was difficult when the catwalk was painted in the same corrosion resistant paint as the rest of the metal structure. Who designed this place?

My pondering was cut short by guards yelling and the obnoxious clanking of boots on catwalks.

Even if I have no clue where I’m going, as long as I’m headed upwards I can make it work.

Well, I didn’t mean for any of this to be so easy, I literally just ran over some guards. Having superpowers is awesome, no wonder why the CPUs are so confident. There is a double door in front of me, just these stairs left.

My hand connects with the bar and-

Swoosh!

I don’t think it can be said enough, I’m moving so fast it’s like I’m flying. If it didn’t feel so great I would have noticed the trap I had just stepped into.

Spotlights glare down on me. The loud clacking of more huge lights follow. If I said I didn’t feel a small army’s worth of weaponry trained on me I would be lying. Looking into the harsh light that surrounds me is impossible, all I can do is wait for my demise.

Clack. A sharp heel stabs the concrete floor.

A powerful, mature voice calls out to me.

“State your business, it would be a shameful waste to not learn what you’re here for after all that work you put in getting here.”

My body- no, the suit finally recovers from the dazzling lights, giving me a silhouette of who I’m speaking with.

“Leanbox Agent, here to find out who tried to kill me and bring some civilization to this hellhole.”

The charging of weaponry is followed by an arrogant woman clearing her voice.

“We don’t need you. You can’t leave either.”

Before I could even get a response in, I couldn’t breathe and my feet weren’t touching the ground.

Falling…

Falling was a familiar feeling.

The rain followed me down, forming a glimmering constellation around my eyes.

Everything was cold. Either it was the windchill or my injuries.

Falling should have been terrifying, but it wasn’t. The darkness began to surround me, more succinctly, drown me.

=====================================================================

Falling and falling, I wondered when it would end.

It was a descent into the abyss of nightmares, I fell for what felt like days. Without any way to tell time, it was arbitrary anyways. I was becoming anxious, I never knew when it would all end with my broken body in a pile of whatever I landed on.

I didn’t remember the sky changing..

Streaks of blood seemed to light the sky, casting ghastly shadows over me. My power armor was gone, just little old me remained, leaf bow, blue great coat and black undergarments all intact.

Gruesome murk entrapped this whole world, I was not sure what had happened. Maybe I had fallen into the Demon’s trap and was in an out of control rage in reality. Maybe this world was my reality now, regardless, whatever was going on wasn’t right.

Falling doesn’t get old, you really always feel a panicking sensation in anticipation of meeting the ground.

So I fell, I don’t know how far or for how long. I closed my eyes.

Just end it. I thought.

The emptiness enveloped me.

…

My eyes creeped open.

The sky was still a terrible vortex, seemingly rotating around where I entered. The sight more resembled cooling magma than a skyline, it fluxed and bubbled in all sorts of ways.

My back was being prodded with rocks.

Welcome back to earth dumbass. I thought.
My body was stiff, as if I had actually collided with the wasteland like surface. Surely such an incident would have woken me. My mind… wandered. It wandered to the things that made me so hasty.

I wondered how things could have been different. I could have just ignored, I could have waited. There was a million “could haves” for my situation and none of them made me any more comfortable. The place I had landed was a seemingly endless plain of a dark reddish-brown rock and gravel. There were no protrusions or landmarks, only the endless sky.

A growl stirred me.

I have never seen such a creature in my life, and I hoped to never see it again. I could only guess it was about 2 meters tall and built like a dragon. I reached for my qatars, knowing that again, I had to fight.

Tar enveloped me, pulling me down into the ground, pulling my weapons from me.

NO! NO! NO!

No matter how I tried to keep my dual blades, they seemed to slip from my grasp ever so slightly every time I gained ground of any kind. The beast neared, seemingly ready to devour me in my helpless position.

Even my beloved coat slipped from my shoulders as the beast neared me. My bare skin felt the fiery, noxious breath of the monster as I said my final prayers.

It laughed at me. The laugh was more like a chuckle as the tar slowly absorbed me.

I lunged with all my strength and I barely cleared enough ground to reach the demon. My blade buried deep in it’s abhorrent red shoulder while the creature stared at me. The demon paused for a moment and gave what I assumed to be a smile.

Smug bastard, I’d get him…

The tar redoubled it’s efforts, slurping me back towards it’s pit. Only the front of my face remained free. Just enough to watch the spinning, murderous sky and to take my final breaths.

The monster?

The monster disappeared, or at least I thought.

In a great obsidian stadium, I sat in the center. There was a good hundred meters to each end of the oval shaped courtyard and fifty to the walls at my sides. The single demon waited in a front row seat, nonchalantly watching me squirm in what felt like my tomb. Where did I go wrong? Was this my fate?

A glassy surface seemed to materialize, I saw a face, but was it me? It looked like me and it seemed familiar but I still questioned. I was better off leaving who I thought I saw to a coin flip than trusting my own judgement. The ground began to absorb me again.

I took a big breath as the tar began to cover my cheeks, expecting the worst.

Goodbye.

I was falling again. There was no light now, I was good as blind. Really with all this falling I’ll be rivalling Neptune in the art of gravity research. With no light, despite my essence of darkness, I too am helpless, for the transaction is a two way street.

I landed in what appeared to be the same stadium, this time on my feet, coat and qatars intact.

There were more demons waiting, they sat in the bleachers with no expression. I could only see their outline in the dim.

I was blind, a white light soaked into everything from the sky. The ground rumbled and I knew I was traveling away from the floor. As my eyes adjusted again, I was dressed like an idol, cute and with a tremendous crowd. The people cheered my name, the went wild for my every motion. All the while, the demons in the one bleacher multiplied.

As confident and prideful as I felt,  the foreboding sense that this was another trick occupied my mind.

If one could go as far to say what the surface above me was, I would assume it was closer to a ceiling than a sky. The ceiling bubbled at the opposite end of the stadium, I opposed another pillar as goals on a sports field.

A voice called out, the first sound I had heard besides myself in what felt like days. My voice. It was not the angelic singing of my pure white and gold form. The IF across the gap shone an opposing red and black.

The courtside wall lights into fireworks as the other IF begins.

Her song is angry, it pushes the crowd into a mosh pit. No matter how I plead, only a few stay on my side. Despite feeling the pressure of the other IF, I realize that she isn’t actually speaking, just vocalizing. I have to stop her. I have to stop me, to save these people.

These people materialized like she did though. My thin white robe flickers, appearing to just lay over my standard outfit. As I fall to my knees, the pillar follows. My robe transforms back into my clothes and the crowd watches me with hungry eyes. Red IF is winning.

She looks upon me with a triumphant and snide grin. A bloodlust hides in her face. At her gesture, the crowd swarms me.

Screw the crowd, I want her head. I- ?

I run right up, a stone step appears before every connection of my boot in the air. It takes a huge amount of energy for some reason and I’m desperately trying to breathe by the time my fist connects with her nose.

We’re on the floor, centered again at the perfect geometric center of the stadium.

Panting, I scrape myself off the ground and take a step to bury my left hand’s blade deep into the evil’s heart. In her moment of weakness, I strike.

Ack. I can’t push. I…

She looks me in the eyes with that same grin. My stomach burns as her blade digs deep. I can’t do anything but stare. She slowly stands and shrugs me off her blade. Despite the screaming nerves and sore pain in my stomach, I live. No matter how hard I try, I can’t catch my breath. I clutch my belly in vain.

The clone looks at me with an intrigued expression.

“Who's the crazy one here? Me or you?”

What a loaded question. She continues.

“Because of you, we’re not the boss anymore. We’re weak and you want to pawn it off on others. This is your fault.”

She isn’t wrong.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow isn’t it? But how long were you going to languish in your own sadness. You’re a coward.”

I… I want to retort, to say something smart… but it’s no use.

My eyes roll back as everything goes black.

Really.

I’m already getting tired of this world. I feel no wound or blood on my body before I stand, ready to engage again. I exhale. Being able to breathe again is nice though I feel like I should be falling. Well I’m standing on the “ceiling” of another layer of this world, or at least I think another layer.

It feels like there is actually air on this level, unlike what happened to the last. A gust sweeps my coat as I look down at the giant rocky plane. It seems like every mistake, every misgiving I have sends me deeper. I can only assume that such a case is only leading me further from the exit. The ceiling pulls me back.

I’m so calm in danger and battle, why can’t I be that was around people?

=====================================================================

I woke with a throbbing head in a shining white room.

The floor, or at least where my body wanted to stay was a light grey. I took a few steps in vain. My legs were weak, I wondered how long I had been here. There was no sun or moon, no watches or any sense of time in this whole area of existence. I say “area of existence” because I wasn’t sure if it was an alternate dimension, a delusion or some sort of afterlife. I was the only one here besides the demons and the hollow clones of people. Given that the actions of the demons influenced the clones, I must confront the demons and win in some way.

I- I don’t know why I feel so indignant all of a sudden. It’s all encompassing and fuels my gaining hope. I’ve spent the past couple months just languishing… this time I win, this time I show everyone that I’m deserving of this power.

Plus… If I were to give up, someone would enjoy the sight of me failing surely. I refuse whichever dark threat that hides in the shadows of the world. I speak of the same evil which is eagerly awaiting my downfall to spread it’s borderline Lovecraftian tentacles upon the world, nay, universe as we know it.

“COME AND GET ME!” I yelled into the void.

The room obliged in a way that I did not expect. The floor sprouted a spartan cot, a bench press, and a small cluster of essential goods like food, tools, a bathroom and a kitchen. The floor around the items was a kind green and as I stepped into the room it transformed into a box, a very simple room. I opened the single door of the box, revealing a great wilderness.

There was a breeze, the slight chill and the sun. At least I was alive. My bare chest catches a breeze and sends me into a chill. Nothing like being naked and lost. I probably could have cut my way out of this place if I used that sarcasm as a blade.

Dammit.

I fell to my knees in the grass. What did this place want from me? I may have taunted the world but I was beyond confused. The rolling hills I was sitting in lead to the mountains of the gods, a stiff charcoal grey outside of the tendrils of nature that crept up those unforgiving rocks. Everything outside of the clearing I sat in was a temperate rainforest, bearing evergreen trees that I doubt two people could join hands around. The excessive boughs of the forest left a dim but comfortable clearing around their ancient roots.

I walked back inside. I tried to rub my eyes, was I hallucinating, was this sight a mere mirage? The graffiti wouldn’t disappear from the wall no matter what I tried. The spray painted words said “SWEATING IN TRAINING PREVENTS BLEEDING IN BATTLE”. I touched the bench press bar and the words faded away immediately.

I don’t know my fate. I don’t think anyone does any more. The only answer, is to go in “guns blazing”. I can’t stay here, I’ve got to beat this and get back to everyone. I need to be the best Iffy, the one that can win no matter what.

With a notepad in hand and wearing the basic athletic outfit offered by the room, I began. The tan short shorts and green t-shirt provided were a perfect fit.

One, two, three…

Thirteen presses of 32kg and Nine of 18kg, I did sit-ups until my belly burned and I couldn’t lift myself. In my plain outfit, I sprinted until I could no longer, then ran until I couldn’t continue and began to walk. The debris of the forest cut into every bit of exposed skin every time I lay panting against the base of a tremendous evergreen. I brushed the twigs off my legs and arms before continuing. I staggered into the door of that bizarre box residence as the cicadas began to sing.

Flash.

Time had passed like I hadn’t even slept. My body ached. It was a new day, the sun of the wilderness was beautiful to eat under. Today, I must give my muscles a break. Time for spells and magic, the forte of my powers!

My fire, ice, thunder, blast and non-affiliate were nice and all, but I needed more than that. I had to fight the most powerful enemy I had ever fought to escape this place, my own attitude. I had to defeat myself, no more weakness and “good enough”, this must have just been a snowball of when I was jealous of Nepgear. I had to be the best Iffy. I had to be the Iffy… the IF that was deserving of her friends.

With Latin, English and Japanese dictionaries and thesauruses set on a cloth in front of me and notepad in hand, I had to make new incantations. Attempt after attempt, every little refinement meant leaps and bounds. If I was focused on this training, I wasn’t worried about everyone I thought I had let down. I didn’t let them down, I let myself down.

Whether it was containment, focusing, power consistency or just pure ability to put energy into an attack, I was more than a little rusty. If MAGES could do it, I sure as hell could do it.

“HAH!” I shouted triumphantly as lightning arced from my fingers, containing a tremendous ball of energy. I threw the thing just for giggles.

Sure I had put a nice crater in the landscape but like hell I was going to let some stupid monsters stop me. That’s all those demons were.

I sat at a pond to calm down. It was serene as the insects skimmed the surface and the sky reflected off the calm surface of water. Heh, here I am, doing everything I never thought I would. I took a breath and looked at my hands. My eyes drifted to the bandage on my right arm. I unwrapped the demon’s cover and let the monster spend some time out. The savage and inferno-like ethereal body of the spirit stared me down. I stared back.

I smiled.

That’s right, I’m not- OK, maybe a little bit, ashamed to say that I smiled at myself when I looked into the pond. My face looked back at me, emerald eyes and long brown hair intact. I moved the bow, making my hair into a ponytail. The demon hid again in my arm, this time not just because it’s magical containment. I was someone it could fear and respect again.

Dammit, I might have no boobs, I might have a scratchy, boyish voice sometimes, I might even be irritable but this is me. Plus, look at those legs, it’s only been a day and they’re looking great. I’m doing great. I felt the warmth of the afternoon sun on my belly as I fell back into the grass. I took a peek… progress there too. Even if I wasn’t any different right now soon, with enough work, I would break this world and go back to where I belong.

Every time I flopped into that stupid little uncomfortable cot, either my head hurt or my body felt like I had gotten hit by a train.

It was raining today. By my count, it had been a week since I got here. I could do 4 more pushups, 8 more sit-ups and run for an hour more than when I started. I didn’t have a computer system to analyze my magic, but I felt that I had at least doubled my power on that front. There were so many highly available methods to rend far more power out of the energy I currently had. Despite this, it would take some time before I could deploy them on a battlefield. My spells had become a sweet dance or painting, where I threw around incomprehensible power with the finesse of a master painter. Even with this, I was not enough, I needed more endurance, more strength and more focus.

My outfit was worn at the hem from use, sap stains from the forest clung to the shirt and the shorts had a burn from where I lit a grass fire with an experiment. I wouldn’t want it any other way. With a shovel in one hand and an axe in the other, I started out. I had to put my strength into something I could see, not just numbers. My hands wore red from the raspy wooden handles as the trees fell and the foundation was dug out. I was sopping wet as I stumbled through the door of my residence again. I wrung out the shirt and shorts. There was a nice tone to my body in the mirror. I sat with books, reading everything and anything I could get my hands on. Anything I could get my hands on was quite the stretch, I merely had to ask and the world would phase things into the same space that my outfit appeared in. If only it was so easy to put on muscle and develop my magic. Yet, I don’t say that with any malicious intent, I know why I was put here.

The thin blanket of the cot was just enough for my nearly nude body. I personally don’t think that underwear really counts as clothing around other people, but that was one of the beauties of this world. I was alone, stuck in here with myself. I let my bowl of stew slack while I daydreamed.

I wondered, what did I see in my friends that made my put so much effort into this. I was devoted to six days a week of the most rigorous training I’ve ever been through and I don’t even know when it will end.

No, I know when it ends. It ends when I’m good enough for me.

I want to out-dodge and run Cave, to confuse MAGES with my spells, to beat Tekken in a brawl, I’ll out- out...

I’ll show them that I care. Huh, my blanket is getting wet. I…

I’m crying. The tears keep coming and I can’t stop them. It’s uplifting, it’s beautiful. I’m happy. I’ll be like Compa and- and…

Who am I trying to fool? I can’t outdo them, but I can try. They’ve devoted their lives to what they’re good at. That’s what matters. I’ll be better because I can do everything. I’ll use my magic and my athletics to make me faster than Cave. I’ll be just like that for every challenge I get. I’m not the smart mouth of the group for no reason. That’s why I’ll get back.

Heh.

I’ll make it back just so Histoire won’t be the only one frustrated with Neptune procrastinating. I’ll be back.

=====================================================================

I’m not perfect. However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t try to get there. As I lay on the roof of my newly completed cabin in the beaming sun, I’ve got some time to kick back and enjoy my victory. I figured out how to fit logs about halfway up my first attempt at walls, so at least I don’t have to cut down and age more trees for firewood.

Despite my best efforts to relax, I can’t. This time… I really can’t place my finger on it. The warm breeze that sweeps me sets my mind straight.

Grrrrh.

My… my bra doesn’t fit right. I- I’m… even flatter. I poke myself, trying to judge how much I even have left in the “assets” department (if one could go as far to even say I ever had).  The shorts don’t fit as well either… that’s probably the only thing I have going for me left. I sneak my shirt up and poke my belly.

Well, I could skip out on armor I guess- huh?  ...am I turning into a gym freak?

I better not turn out like Tekken… it feels so good to stretch out in the sun though. The new and improved IF is here! It feels wonderful, all my muscles just seem to ooze their stress out in this weather. I wasn’t horribly muscular or anything, it seemed that my magic had done the best it could at compressing my gains. I was definitely toned though. The others would be so jealous~ I mean, yeah I was proud of what I’ve done.

I slipped from the roof, landing on my feet. Even my stride felt stronger, I couldn’t wait to get over to my testing grounds.

A while ago, after a few grass and forest fires, I started using the same area that was now devoid of flammable materials to improve my magic. My great bounds in power were increasingly difficult to focus and control. This lead to quite the conundrum as it seemed whenever I gained the ability to concentrate my existing power I grew into a new extent of strength that was again largely uncontained. Where my first “leap” in power took me only a few days to focus, my recent gains had taken weeks to just render into not a constant hazard. Sometimes after training I would be so tired mentally that I lit things on fire accidentally.

Ah.

The smell of roasted earth in the morning.

Well, I figured it was time to change things up. My progression this far had resulted in the world giving me a boot, the coat, tube top and my qatars back. When I got all my outfit back, I knew I was ready.

I had nearly perfected my fire magic, yet it wasn’t enough. I had long since used wind magic to reinforce my insatiable firestorms and the various other doctrines were on my list. But.

I was stumped.

Where to go from here?

Hehehe…

HAHAHA!!!

I cackled while sitting with my nearly filled notepad in the middle of the ruined field. Hehehe… My POWER will be impossible to even RIVAL!

I returned to the field, white athletic tape and a brand new leather backed notebook in hand. Incantations, symbols and all sorts of magical pathways filled the first few pages, establishing the guidelines of my newest experiment.

I took a calligraphy set and began to write in great poetic verses about the powers I wished to invoke, contain and enslave. I copied these words to the tape and began to wrap my right arm in these spells that sat beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. With the final strip, my forearm was entirely enveloped. My palm gained a disposable hex key to the curse I had covered my arm in. I clasp my hands together, I pray, to the heathen gods. The rasp of the taped hand losing contact with my other sets me into a soaring attitude.

A savage, toothy grin floods my face… it begins.

My arm darts away from my body, a great rush fills my body as magical energy charges towards my arm. I release the wolf demon, using him as containment for the growing orb of power in my palm. The bluish fire is about the size of a grapefruit now.

Hehehe.

I throw the weight with all my strength, the orb feels to weigh about 5 kilos. Were it not for the booster written into the spell I would have incinerated myself. The pulsating sphere begins to break containment the moment it leaves my hand.

A cone of fire streaks at least a hundred meters in front of me, devouring a trench through the earth. Such power… The shockwave whipped the various loose strands of hair around my face as I stood in the light of the glorious explosion.

I take a breath as the air begins to return to the area. It would take some effort to make this a viable strategy, as I would have to keep a roll of backed tape for each attack. I suppose that changing the way I write could make things more effective, I could possibly cut out words or change how large I write. Everything would be tested in due time. It had been three months since I came here.

Soon, I thought.

=====================================================================

I sat cross legged before the same pond I had before I started this quest. In the beating heat of late summer I opened my eyes. The plain shirt was long gone, replaced by some bandages around my meager chest. The tattered shorts were missing most of their material. I wore the ragged shorts as a badge of honor rather than clothing, mainly because my briefs covered more skin.

My chest rose and fell with each calm breath.

Matching magic to muscle memory was powerful indeed, but mastering without such crutches gave me even more of a boon from that same link. A flame stood in the middle of the pool, a comfortable distance above the water. This was my doing, an exercise in concentration and longevity. The ability to ignite anything that I focused on would grow to be quite the power I believed. I let the fire dissipate, maintaining my stillness. I took a final breath.

So this was it? Whenever I got my belt back, I had to leave. I had to escape and get back to everyone that needed me. They needed a hero, they needed the real IF.

The canvas of my coat felt homely as I held the familiar garment. I sat for some time with my old great coat over my shoulders in the dying sun. My hands worked at finishing the final preparations for my return. I wanted to try out this “tag” system, I’ve never seen anyone else use something like this before. Having a spellbook was one thing, bearing a homemade spellbook on your arm designed to react to a trigger spell was unheard of. I put a roll of the inscribed tape inside a pocket of my coat and set myself to sleep. The notches in the wall said 127, I had been here for a hundred and twenty seven days.

I swept my legs out from the thin covers. I was tired. I’ve been at this for a long time. My usual morning run takes me on a roughly 8 kilometer path that I’ve slowly dug with my own feet through the majestic wilds. I remember when this would have been enough to do me in, now I’m relaxed while going through the motions. My mind wanders to all sorts of pleasant places. I’ve long since stopped putting real effort into my physical development, I’ve already multiplied my strength however many times. I care about my magic, and little else at this point. The only real way to get any stronger is through magic. Nevertheless, I do my standard workout to maintain, I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t working.

I smile. Another night.

My eyes catch the stars, the glimmers reflect into my heart. Fall chills my skin and sends a wave of goosebumps up across me.

I’ll see them soon. I have a plan to make the final leap in my magical prowess, but it will take a while.

Another morning. I make the one hundredth and twenty eighth mark.

My first step outside sets my plan in motion. I match my breath and clap my hands to start.

A flame hovers in front of me.

I go through my day, maintaining the ember. Through all my copying efforts, I maintained the flame. This would be my best work yet, my absolute end all to my magic studies. The writing had become more deliberate and organized, the most essential component of focusing the immense power that I, in all my strength could barely contain. I am referring to the one artifact of this dimension that I would keep, a small pocket dictionary sized book. One could call my flowing structures of words art, for the very orientation had been deliberated during one of my sixty four marathons or study days. This book was one of the sources of my power and contained the master copy to my supreme power. If anyone else was to observe this arcane tome, they were sure to doom themselves.

As I entered the familiar cube from my study in the cabin, I smiled. It was time.

The belt made a satisfying click after I fastened my coat to the neck. With a quick prayer, and a challenge to the world, a void began to eat the dwelling. The black tube top and shorts didn’t fit my new body particularly well, but I didn’t mind.

I was falling, this time, I was in control. The demon locked onto me, I could feel it. A few bursts of magic stabilized and slowed my descent. I touched down, feeling the grit under my boots. A devilish smile crept onto my mouth.

“So you dare challenge me?”

The demon looks intrigued. The creature’s twisted voice responds.

“You have no power here.”

“No, I AM here. This world is mine. Surrender yourself or I shall rend this whole dimension. I don’t need to explain how I know that this segment of the dimension is the weak point.”

The devil laughs. Given the rapidly multiplying number of demons, I can only assume that peace is not an option.

“SO! You challenge the Wind Walker of Gameindustri and the Great Wilds? I accept, for your fate shall be complete and unconditional DEFEAT!”

My coat whips around my legs with the wind. It begins.

I clap, and release my arms into a wide stance. A ring of fire surrounds me. I throw my arms down, dropping my trusted blades into my hands and obliterating an island of foes among the sea that awaited me. I was a heartbeat away from death at all times, and yet I never felt so perfect. Every flick of my blade sent a foe to those great gates. Every arc from my tense fingers caught into a storm among those unfortunate. Despite all this, I flit about the field, a one girl tornado of retribution.

My blood soaked blades drip, lonely in their sound among the field. I clean my weapons with a burst of fire.

The single demon remains.

My eyes focus, there is no hope for it.

A blue spark flashes, igniting a trail across the gap and throwing the creature out of my sight. I turn, ready to rocket out of my imprisonment.

“So this is it eh?”

I had sunk into and had been powerless against this place just 128 days ago. Every cell of my body seemed to chatter with limitless energy, it brought a sly grin to my face. I took a full breath, ballooning my chest. I let the air go and readied myself.

Huh?

Everything feels so… gross. I’m not usually creeped out but this is strange. Something wipes my leg, a mushy contact, accompanied by a rotting smell. I don’t want to look down, but I have to.

The floor. The floor is growing arms, rotting, fetid arms.

Figures being to emerge in addition to more demons. So they haven’t had enough fun yet.

I clasp my hands together and close my eyes. I take another deep breath, exhaling in a slow pattern. I slowly open my eyes, leaving my arms to fall to my sides. I have no mercy to offer for these abominations.

My fists ignite, my legs tensing to leap into action.

Everywhere I go leaves a trail of fire, eerily hovering over the slowly emerging creatures.

“RELEASE!” I shout, raising an arm to gesture towards the bizarre tube of fire I’ve left behind.

The fields wipe clean with a tremendous cleansing inferno, giving my nose an assault of burning flesh. I know that this will not do in the demons hiding among the blinding fire. I must employ spells that no human should ever use. I scratch a series of symbols into the gravel with my boots.

“By the Goddesses, those far gone, I summon thee!”

A supernatural blue light encircles me, the ethereal figures of dozens of lost CPUs, many unrecognizable in their ancient gowns and armors.

“I request you assist my spell’s containment with your spirits, for all of you will receive an infusion of my power for your services.”

The wispy faces nod in affirmation, soon collecting in my left arm. With the demon on one side and the CPUs of the lost past on the other, surely I will be able to put all my effort into this.

Triangle, Leaf, Horns Clashing, my hands weave the framework which I shall inject power into and will be contained by the spirits. A structure of gleaming white strands suspend between my hands, resembling a spider web coated in early morning’s dew. My fingers are all fully spaced and extended, containing and beginning to fill the capsule. Needs one last thing.

Grrh, ouch.

I bite my lip with a canine tooth, extracting some blood. Payment.

The formerly empty container floods with green liquid, the fact that I can still hold the container means that the containment is complete. I am totally encircled by demons, yet they offer me a wide berth, clearly recognizing the greatest power I have yet deployed without my spell papers.

It takes all my strength to throw, and I immediately summon the greatest shield I can conjure around myself. I run with everything in me from the cylinder, without even looking at it I can tell that it is going critical. I stand panting in the shadow of the explosion for a moment while I regain my focus. The shield becomes an oily rainbow as the shrapnel and gore of the many dead bodies rains around me.

As I begin to walk towards the rising mushroom cloud, I see one of the bodies struggle. The demon is missing its lower half and I decide it would be best to finish it. I let my blade slip to my hand from my left forearm, carefully sinking the razor-like edge into the villain’s chest.

Without a break, more demons crawl out of the ground, charging me.

The magic was taxing, I find myself slowing as I slice and dice the unorganized mobs.

Standing panting in a crowd of moaning bodies is not a desirable place to be, yet it was better than being parted from everyone for the rest of eternity. There was no rest for me though, more enemies emerged for every foe that I put down with extreme prejudice. I had to maneuver the field to ensure that I even maintained a solid footing as the bodies were beginning to stack up.

I took a knee and drew my pistol, keeping the enemy off my while I caught my breath. I kept the seemingly endless horde at bay for another moment, changing my magazine before holstering the gun and continuing my storm of blades. To the non-initiated, my canted walk would be the sign of someone about to collapse.

I summoned a ring of fire around me upon standing, soon releasing it to give myself some breathing room to work inside. Each fleeting touch of my blade and the horrifying blue arcs of my fingers rend the enemy with ease. This battle was more a challenge of endurance than strength.

Dammit, why do I have to curse myself.

The demons encircle me though still leaving a wide berth. The ground shook and crumbled as a tremendous figure struggled through the hardy crust of this endless wasteland. I mean, when reality starts re-using assets, I’ve got to laugh at everything a little bit, it was just another demon that was scaled up in size. The world didn’t even bother changing it’s color or anything.

I dispensed with a number of the lesser demons first as I wouldn’t want to have to suddenly fight everything here without an escape path. I leaped towards the giant, aerating his leg with my blades. I plunged my fist into one of the wounds, blowing it up and throwing myself away from the fight. The giant fell to a knee. I’d got him.

I thought I’d got him at least, I wouldn’t deal damage to myself unless I thought it would get me somewhere. The giant’s healing power was incredible. It was not the time to use one of my spell papers, those were far too valuable to waste. Then again, I supposed that I would never use the damn things because I would always think that I would be wasting one when I could need all of them later. It was the ancient dilemma of heroes the world over.

On the positive side of this situation, my lip had stopped bleeding and I was in a far better position. Any of my spells would surely connect with multiple foes, it would be a poor choice to not-

Ugh- The wind is knocked out of me, so much for situational awareness. A rock falls away from my belly as I take a knee. I grimace and stand again, preparing a light barrage to cause some chaos for me to take advantage of. Before I start the spell, I write out some quick spell papers, ensuring that the devil dies this time. The projectiles streak through the sky as I charge towards the mob, targeting the giant very specifically. I dance about my bulky foe, stripping him of any dignity with a fleche of pinpointed lightning and edged incursions. The real purpose of this risky play is to coat every and any surface of the brute’s skin with my papers, ensuring that he dies in a storm of the gods.

I let myself retreat for a moment after clearing some more of the weak demons from the edge of the mob. I clasp my hands together, saying a quick prayer to the Wolf Demon as I draw a fireball between my palms. I raise the hand that does not contain the spell to ensure the world knows my power.

“Harbinger Storm of the Demon!”

I lower the free hand and launch the fireball which immediately triggers the spell papers upon impact. Every paper multiplies my projectile and coats the effective area in cleansing fire, occasionally lapsing into Zeus’ most aggravated fury. The blizzard that follows steals hairs and marks my clothes, relenting only after effectively blending the corpses of the battlefield.

After thanking the Wolf, I lapse the distance quickly, plunging my right arm into the still beating heart of the giant. The Wolf is always starving, It devours the organ in a single bite.

Indeed, feeding the monster is a hundred times more appreciated than a mere prayer. I can feel a trickle of energy already reinforcing my weakening body. There is no reference of time in this section of the dimension beyond what I comprehend. When in battle, I have no clue how long I’m taking to perform actions, it could have been less than seconds or a half hour. All of this fighting could have taken hours, I really don’t know. The fatigue is starting to weigh on me.

I’m only one girl. How long will I have to fight?

=====================================================================

My breath was a steam train in the cold of the battle, I was fighting in an increasingly frozen wasteland, the bodies that lie under the mounting snow cover were forming a semblance of terrain. Even if I stood on one leg and fought with my teeth, I had to continue. Despite the enemy’s weakness, they had gotten in lucky hits on me. My arm bore a bandage with a red blossom and my whole existence ached with use and blunt force beatings. My eyes wore heavy with fatigue, I had no idea how I could recuperate myself in this situation.

I slowly picked a spear off the ground and imbedded it in the ground, leaning on it for a heartbeat of rest. The dwindling enemy forces meandered about the battlefield as I did. I…

It was stupid, sure, but it was a chance. I dug into the ivory snow with my bandaged hands, seeking out the tiniest cave I could possibly fit into and safely sleep in. It wasn’t perfect, but I could lay inside my sleeping roll. I was bloody, sweaty and in terrible condition. With my adrenaline depleting, my hands were tender when breaking up the hard cracker that was my dinner. After a gulp of water, I passed out, my backpack preventing me from getting trapped in here.

I felt better with that rest, I must have been awake for at least a day in battle. It hurt to move, I knew I had to continue though. With a handful of peanuts for breakfast and some stale jerky, I wrapped my exposed skin in bandages and employed every bit of clothing I had inside my pack. Wearing a shirt as a facemask is a nice touch, one would only recognize me by my signature blue coat. The frozen wastes have only gotten worse, with the snow subsiding but being replaced by wind.

With my chin tucked as low as it could in the collar of my coat, I ventured out to hunt the final demons. Snow had built up into rolling hills around what I assumed to be the piles of corpses I’d made yesterday.

Footstep after footstep. Just each breath was a struggle. I might’ve gotten a few of the demons, but I had no idea how I could make it out of this alive.

I collapsed in the snow, facing the relentless winds.

I woke quickly, at least I thought. A berm had built up in front of my goggled face. My arms were buried. There was a bizarre peace to the scene. So this is how I really die, starved in a hellscape of an alternate dimension. I rummaged around in the snow with my arms, trying to find solid ground to push off.

I grazed a shape, something buried in the snow.

It was weird, but I pushed all my might into unburying it, even if there was no reason to waste my efforts. Maybe just the idea of something being there that could help me was enough. I pulled the shape from the snow. It was so much more than some battleground relic.

I took the heart shaped crystal into my grasp, giving the golden bordered gem a hug. It was warm, and that was enough to compel me to keep it near my own heart. Death wasn’t so scary after all, the warmth was probably just the hypothermia setting in and letting me relax before my inevitable downfall.

=====================================================================