"Look, you just need to keep them distracted while we make our move."

  "All four of them are already here, boss. I don't know what else we're supposed to do."

  "The little sisters need to be distracted too. A little bird told me that Planeptune's Oracle had informed Green Sister of the attack on her precious nation. They should be heading towards Leanbox by now."

  "So you want us to hold off nine Goddesses? That's a tough sell, even for the best of us."

  "You don't need to win, you just need to buy us time."

  "Pardon my interruption sir, but one of our spies as reported that four of the sisters have shown up at the Planeptune Basilicom. Green Sister is the one that is missing."

  "Missing? What do you mean, missing? You don't just lose track of a Goddess like that!"

  "Doesn't that mean there will be four Goddesses there when the extraction team cuts the power?"

  "Shit, shit, shit! Where is Green Sister then? She wouldn't just run off on her own without any support, right?"

  "What is with that screaming? Can someone get a ping on that?"

  There was a pause, everyone involved seeming to hold their breaths.

  "I think I just found where Green Sister is. She's here."

  "Alone?"

  "I'm beginning to think that someone several underestimated how many things would piss her off."

  "Sir, the Planeptune Basilicom just had it's power cut. They're going through with the operation!"

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  Trick looked down at all the readouts and communications as all of his carefully laid plans started to fall apart around him.

  There was only a single appropriate response to be had.

  "Shit."

  x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

  The explosions that went up in the waves of monsters did not come from an observable source. At first glance. Pretty much everyone noticed the green streaks that had come off from over the horizon, slamming into the ground, blasting massive craters into their ranks.

  The second thing everyone noticed was that despite the shots having traveled a considerable distance, they could hear shouting.

  Very angry shouting. Several more arrows landed among the monsters again, before exploding.

  "How sure are we that she's not yours?" Purple Heart asked, briefly looking at White Heart before sending a wave of monsters flying.

  "I'm wondering about that myself," White Hearts axe cleaved a giant monster in two with ease, dissolving into motes of energy.

  "She just has a bit of a temper is all!" Green Heart protested, even as her spear ran several monsters through in a barrage of thrusts.

  Several more explosions erupted among the monsters, taking out clumps of chaff with extreme and brutal precision. All while the angry shouting only got louder with each passing moment.

  "I think this goes beyond a bit of a temper," Black Heart muttered, loud enough to be heard anyway. Green Hearts squawk of protest was ignored.

  Well, this did explain why her little sister said that Hinum had a tendency to choose violence. And Black Heart knew she couldn't be the only one to be thinking that.

  Of course, they were now learning what that entailed. She knew all of them had things that could set them off. Even Vert was far from immune to this. Plus, she didn't have a little sister up until recently, so that button had yet to be pressed. Yet.

  But that didn't change that what they were seeing was far more Blanc-like than anything Vert had ever displayed.

  There were enough notable differences. Hinum wasn't exactly wading into punching distance like an advancing glacier. She was using her position to blast apart monsters at range.

  And her swearing was, interesting enough. If Blanc's younger sisters were here, it would be easy to see the blue haired woman flying up to get Hinum to shut up. Instead, Blanc was likely making mental notes. Mostly because Hinum had skipped past simply cussing, and actively describing the ASIC, the use of goats in a bedroom setting, and vigorous describing the cactus Hinum wanted to shove up the organization's rear end.

  Which lead to just one problem. Beyond that she hoped that nobody was recording Hinum's tirade.

  Where exactly were the rest of their sisters? They went out on a mission together. She should have gotten Histoire's message and passed it along. She didn't just rush off on her own in a fit of anger, right?

  Oh, who was she kidding, that was exactly what it looked like.

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  "I can't believe she just took off like that!" Uni said as she landed on the Basilicom balcony, shifting back to her human form, the others along with her.

  "She had to have had a reason!" Ram protested as Rom nodded. Nepgear did agree. It wasn't like Hinum to suddenly just leave. Her strong opinion against Brave aside, she would have been there under normal circumstances. "She isn't one to just up and go!"

  "Hello?" Histoire's voice came from around the corner, as she peaked her head out, a look of surprise on her face. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon. I'm guessing Hinum decided to remain in Leanbox for the night, then?"

  "What are you talking about?" Uni's expression was just as confused as Histoire's. "She just, up and left without saying a word?"

  "Really? That is bizarre. That doesn't sound like her at all," Histoire nodded her head.

  "See, that's what I'm saying! She wouldn't just fly off without a reason!" Ram continued, giving a slight glare at Uni, as Nepgear noted the growing look of confusion on Histoire's face.

  "Histoire, did you send Hinum a message of some kind? One you expected her to relay to us?" Nepgear asked.

  "So you don't know?" Histoire looked between the four of them, noting puzzled expressions. "Oh my, then this is serious."

  "Histoire? What's happening?" Nepgear was now worried. She was already worried. Hinum running off on her own was a sign that she was upset. Despite her best efforts, she did end up wearing her heart on her sleeve.

  "Simply put, the ASIC launched an attack while you were raiding the factory. Leanbox was the target. I told Hinum, thinking she would tell the four of you as well," Histoire paused. None of them needed her to continue, though, because it was clear that Hinum had not done this. "Your sisters arrived on the scene first, but given the situation."

  It wasn't bad. They'd be happy to help. But Hinum had a sizable head start on them, and was likely getting close to Leanbox at this point. But then again, she was also likely burning heat on her way to protect her nation from the ASIC. And if she was angry enough to not tell them where she was going, then she was angry enough to just rush over the distance.

  "Okay, so we need to be in Leanbox right now," Uni crossed her arms, huffing slightly. "Let's go help her before she gets herself hurt more."

  That was a sound a plan as any. But as they prepared to leave, the lights flickered off, a shudder running through the entire building. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. Back-up generators existed for a reason.

  But they weren't coming back on.

  "How much are you willing to bet that the attack on Leanbox is a feint?" Uni's rifle manfested in her hand, as Nepgear's sword flashed into being. Rom and Ram clutched their staves, putting their backs together.

  Nobody was going to be taking that bet.

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  The circumstances that forced Trick into his current situation were multifold. But it all started with a single, simple, problem.

  Leanbox should have been on it's knees from the start. While the capture Purple Heart and Purple Sister was a lucky break for the ASIC, every planner knew that with Green Heart captured, Leanbox would be a non-factor going forward. The emergence of Green Sister, especially so suddenly, had caused some concern, but for most, a freshly minted Goddess, while a potential problem, was likely less of one in relation to her fellow younger sisters. Many felt that her clear inexperience would lead to more chaos as she desperately tried to get more Shares, or that she would be a weaker target for the others to gang up on.

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  In short, a self solving problem.

  Her reaction to the disappearance of her sister seemed to confirm this line of thinking, with Green Sister seemingly already losing control of the situation. Then came the night of the interview.

  The script was quickly flipped on them. Despite their own plans, it was clear the Green Sister had not spent her time out of the spotlight panicking. Instead, she had spent it planning and plotting. Green Sister had taken the table and upturned things. Worst of all, she did it in a manner that everyone else, including her fellow younger Goddesses, would notice. Revealing their disks had caused panic, but when word finally reached their ears about what she intended to do?

  It was not only too late to stop, but it was also spreading. Yes, the panic was something they could exploit in theory. If they had time to do so. Green Sister didn't give them that time, and it wasn't hard for her fellow Goddesses to exploit it as well. It wasn't difficult. If they had the time, they could spin things, but being able to control monsters? That had implications. Suddenly, the attack in Leanbox that was planned to force the Goddesses hand was being used as an excuse for Green Sister to start going full bore against the ASIC.

  That put them off guard. While Leanbox would make for a good power base, bringing the country to heel was not something most expected to be difficult. The nation had went from no major backup power to Green Heart, to having Green Sister. And most had expected Green Sister to be the easiest to play around. She had to be a newborn, after all.

  It was a double-edged sword. On one hand, Leanbox had less immediate assets for Green Sister to destroy. There had been less investment because it was assumed that it would be easy to keep the country reasonably pacified. But it also meant she had less to destroy before people started to feel the damage inflicted upon the ASIC. Which allowed her to not only build momentum but also rally more public support because she was winning.

  With the headwinds and reversal of fortune, reinforcements were needed, pushing ASIC assets into the country. While they could just ignore her, dealing with the other sisters first. But Green Sister had made it clear that if she could provide support for the other nations, she would be more than willing to do so. Internal plans showed that she wanted to do so.

  That was something that could not be allowed. If permitted to grow without being obstructed, Leanbox could easily act as a springboard to free the other nations, providing needed material and economic relief. This forced them to reallocate assets, but that took time, and resources. Resources that were limited. And with significant portions of their infrastructure that they had set up in Leanbox having already been destroyed by Green Sister during her opening moves?

  They had to sink a disproportionate amount of resources into Leanbox's ASIC branch to keep in strong enough shape to keep fighting Green Sister. Material had to be shipped in, often from other fronts were it could have been needed, and Green Sister's anti-piracy reforms further cut into the resources they had on hand.

  The word resource sink could be used to describe things. And with resources being diverted from other fronts, as it turned out, it caused those materials to be missing by those who needed it elsewhere, which resulted in greater attrition than there otherwise should. Not just against Green Sister, but everywhere. But pressure needed to be applied to Leanbox. Even with them managing to keep the nations from creating a united front, they needed to keep them weak as well. If one could rally enough to be a springboard for the others.

  But attrition piled up. Green Sister took to attacking the ASIC however and wherever she could like a dog. And it wasn't through simple combat, either. She undercut recruitment, built up as stable an economy as she could, and did everything in her power to build up short-term results while stalling out long-term pains.

  It was not an ideal situation on the surface, but something would break sooner or later. Either it was another nation falling, causing panic or despair, or finally some patch breaking in a way Green Sister simply couldn't fix. But eventually, something was going to break, and it could break hard. Eventually, Green Sister would be forced back on the defensive, and Leanbox along with her. It was just going to take longer than had originally expected.

  In the end, it was ironically the one they had all assumed had been removed from the board that proved to be the one that changed the equation. Purple Sister had returned, despite being guarded by Judge himself. With both Goddesses gone, many of the resources in Planeptune had been cannibalized to deal with Green Sister. They had resources there to spare. There was only so much an Oracle could do in that situation, no matter how skilled.

  It allowed Purple Sister to start cleaning up her nation much faster than she otherwise might have. Their Oracle proved to be clever, many actions the looked to be stalling attempts revealing themselves in their full glory. Suddenly, the ASIC was on the backfoot in not just one but two countries. Of course, they wouldn't simply admit it.

  But the information didn't lie. One could fudge the numbers, tilt them and bend them all out of shape, but in the end, the writing was clear.

  And soon, Purple Sister had done what Green Sister hadn't. Couldn't.

  Get the other sisters to put aside their differences.

  That was their worst nightmare, and the final straw. The return of Purple Sister had already caused rumblings. Her return raised one single question, yet answered that question in turn.

  If Purple Sister had returned, was it possible that the Heart's could return?

  That answer? Was yes.

  And if the answer was yes? Then they would.

  Yes, Magik was powerful and in reserve. Yes, Arfoire was the true Goddess. But she was not manifested in the world. She was a distant Goddess, capable of great feats. But the fake Goddesses were knowable. They could walk among their followers, and grew stronger from their prayers. Compared to a distant, true Goddess, a fake one that you could talk too had its appeal for many.

  And with their release, with their freedom?

  Many would prefer the Goddesses they knew to the Goddess that was distant. The loss of manpower had shown itself in full then. Some would marvel at it, as if this had been the plan from the start. That the ASIC overextended itself. That it throws away resources that it should have conserved trying to beat back a wayward nation to heel.

  But it hadn't. It was a string of gambles, calculations, and dice rolls, at the end of the day, ended up crippling the ASIC's manpower.

  Of course, in a world where Green Sister didn't exist, the ASIC would have likewise been in a bad situation. But they would have had enough resources and manpower to feint the invasion of Leanbox, while successfully taking over Planeptune. They would have been able to kidnap the Oracle, using her as bait for a trap to lure in the four Sisters that had ruined their plans while the Goddesses recovered from their injuries.

  This plan would result in the destruction of Trick, of course, but most didn't know of Arfoire's true designs.

  But that is not this world. Instead, the Goddesses had recovered enough strength to be able to fight. Green Sister had whittled away at them for years, draining resources that could have gone elsewhere. That could have been used at this possibly pivotal moment.

  Which left Trick in a situation. A situation he had never hoped to be in.

  For Arfoire was a Goddess as merciless towards her enemies as she was her own pawns.

  Before Trick were two paths.

  The first one led to likely death. The second one?

  Led to certain death.

  And Trick was, if little else, a coward. He would pick likely death over certain death every time. But there was one problem with his calculations.

  Arfoire, wanted, no, needed, Trick to die. Thus?

  Both paths led to certain death.