Well, here's Book 12.
…I recently realized that when I typed up the last chapter of Book 11, with Kaede K.'s mother and stuff, I forgot Nyū. D'oh!-!
I MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS, WHICH ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE MENTIONED OWNER-PEOPLE:
Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha (Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Shion, the "Keiichi Crew") – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen
Shuffle! (Kaede Fuyō, Rin, Asa & Ama, Sia & Nerine, Primula) – Navel and Asread
Erika's New Perfume (Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – Deviant-Art artist Lance the Young
Mai-chan's Daily Life (Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga
Star Wars (Ahsoka, Cody, Rex) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm
Halo (Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie and 343 Industries
StarCraft (multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment
Naruto (jutsu, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto
Mahō Sensei Negima (spells, abilities, characters) – Ken Akamatsu
Kingdom Hearts (Keyblades, the concept of Nobodies (Laicixa), Aqua) – Square-Enix
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Mana Kirishima) – Studio Gainax
Elfen Lied (Kaede K., others)– Lynn Okamoto, Arms
Red vs. Blue – Rooster Teeth
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES
-BOOK 12 START-
Planet Dolus (UNSC Outer Colony)
August 15th, 2553
The seven girls of Gamma Team made their way across the desert in a Transport Warthog and a basic Chaingun Warthog, heading for an excavation site already visible up ahead. Supposedly, it was in this area that the ex-Freelancer, former Agent Washington, was last seen heading; the tire tracks the group now followed were further potential evidence. Marie had been quiet this whole time, but Kaede and Teana could detect the concealed giddiness about all this; apparently, it was another facet of how the events in the UNSC's universe were a work of fiction on her Earth (though things had ended quite differently in the fictional timeline compared to this one that Teana participated in). Gamma Team was on alert; this out-of-the-way planet might have pirates or leftover Insurrectionists hiding on it, and there was always the slight risk of encountering Covenant Remnant forces. Mainly, though, a force of personnel from the late Admiral Parangosky's personal subdivision of ONI Section Zero, operating under a posthumous recorded message/order from Parangosky, had been ordered to kill anyone connected to Freelancer, as well as anyone – including civilians and UNSC personnel – who knew of said people.
When the two Warthogs drove up, they saw another Warthog parked near a pack of boulders. They piled out of their vehicles, ensuring that their armor – Mark-7 MJOLNIR for Teana, custom-built for Ahsoka, and customized ODST armor for the other five – was on and shields ready. As they moved through, they heard talking up ahead. They moved closer until it was discernible.
"Alright" a woman's voice was heard. "Pack it up, people. We're moving."
"Where to now?" a man's exasperated voice asked.
"There's an old ship that crashed at a Freelancer outpost a few years back."
"Outpost 17-B?" another man asked.
"You mean we're going back to Valhalla?" another man asked.
"Back to our own base?" a fourth, gruff voice asked.
"That's right, assholes" a fifth chimed in. "You're finally goin' home. And you're taking us with you."
"Those voices…" Marie murmured. "Could it be…?"
As the people on the other side of the boulder continued to talk, Teana snaked a fiber-optic cable around it, relaying the image it captured to everyone's HUDs. It showed seven people – a woman in cyan armor, a man in cobalt armor with yellow accents, a man in teal armor, another man in deep-blue armor, one in bright red armor, one in maroon armor, and one in orange armor. The man in red had a shotgun, the deep-blue one an assault rifle, and the rest had battle-rifles. The armor of the latter five looked like an imitation of MJOLNIR armor with elements of ODST and SPI to it, while the former two's armor looked slightly more advanced. Also, the small hologram of an A.I. wearing blue armor similar to the five stood atop the woman's shoulder, clutching a virtual sniper rifle.
"Oh my God, it's really them~!" Marie's voice started out high and continuously rose with each syllable, becoming a fangirlish squeal at the end.
Inside her helmet, Teana quirked an eyebrow at the sudden, never-before-seen reaction from her normally calm & snarky teammate at seeing these new people. "I don't think I've ever seen or heard you fangirling, Marie" she said.
"Omigosh-omigosh-Omigooosh~!" the girl was lightly bouncing in place and quietly squealing, acting like the stereotypical teen going crazy over the latest hot young celebrity. "It's the fucking Blood Gulch crew! This is so awesome~!"
Teana rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. She then noticed as the other group started moving around.
"Looks like they're getting ready to move out" she said. "If we're gonna catch 'em, now's the time."
"W-What?" Marie asked, surprised. "B-But I'm not ready yet! …H-How do I look? D-Do I need to polish my armor, do ya think? Oh man…"
"Just… let us do the talking, I guess" Shion said.
"Okay. Okay… Oh man, I'm so sorry, girls. I know this is the farthest thing from professional that you can imagine, how I'm acting right now. I just… c-can't help it. I'll try my damndest to keep it under control, keep myself quiet. And once I get used to them, I'll probably calm down after this initial freakout is done."
"I think it's kinda funny seeing you in Epic Fangirl Squee mode" Sarah said with a grin.
Teana walked out around the rock. "Hey~!" she called out, waving her arm high. "Yo! You guys!"
The 'Blood-Gulch' group turned and saw the red-armored figure walking across the sand towards them, six other armored people following her. They were on guard quickly, the cyan-armored woman pointing her rifle.
"Don't come any closer" the woman warned as Teana stopped about 10 feet from the group.
"Is any one of you ex-Agent Washington?" Teana asked.
The man in cobalt armor with yellow trim stepped forward. "I am" he said, taking position between Teana and the other group.
"My name is Second-Lieutenant Teana Uchiha-Lanstar, head of UNSC special-ops squad Gamma Team" she gestured to the six behind her. "We're here to help you track down the Director of Project Freelancer."
The other group looked surprised. "I thought the UNSC was after us" the orange-armored man said.
"Only a small part of it," Teana replied, "specifically, a subdivision of the Office of Naval Intelligence, Section 3, operating without the rest of the UNSC's knowledge… until recently. Project Freelancer was a pet project of ONI's previous head, Vice-Admiral Margaret Parangosky, who suffered a fatal stroke two months ago. But the project's Director went rogue. So Parangosky spent a lot of time and effort trying to 'clean up' the project and its remnants, if you catch my meaning. Now that she's dead, a cadre of personnel more loyal to her & her ideals than to the rest of the UNSC are following a posthumous command to kill anyone & everyone who is connected to Project Freelancer or who knows of said people, including civilians and UNSC personnel.
"UNSC HIGHCOM recently found out about all this. They sent us to help you guys track down and detain the Director, as well as execute a kill/capture order of Parangosky's minions. Also, we've received word there may be pirates hiding somewhere on this planet; we're to help you guys out if they show up."
"Well, this is quite the surprise" Washington said. "And I'm not entirely sure I can trust you just yet. But… for now, welcome aboard, and thanks for the help."
"Wash" the cyan-armored woman interjected. "Are we really gonna trust these people?"
"I don't think we have a choice in the matter, Carolina. We need all the help we can get."
"Ex-Agent Carolina?" Teana asked. "Our records showed you as deceased."
"I got thrown over a cliff" the woman replied. "Nobody saw me use my grappling-hook pistol to arrest my fall, and by the time I climbed back up the people who saw me thrown over were gone."
"Hm… Well, anyway, are all of you ex-Freelancers?"
"No, these guys are… allies of mine" Washington replied. "I'll give you the full story later. Now, why don't we swap names? If we're gonna be fighting together, it'd probably be a good idea not to rely on 'hey, you' when communicating in battle."
"Good idea" Teana said, and even with her helmet they could 'hear' the amused smile in her tone.
"As you know, I'm former Agent Washington, and this is former Agent Carolina."
"Call me Sarge" the man in the crimson armor said with a gruff but friendly tone.
"I'm Simmons" the maroon-armored man said.
"I'm Grif" the man in orange armor said.
"Name's Tucker" the man in teal armor said.
"And I am Caboose!" the dark-blue-armored man said cheerfully.
The small blue-armored hologram appeared over Carolina's shoulder. "Call me Church" he said.
"As I said, my name is Teana Uchiha-Lanstar". She then pointed to her squadmates as she introduced them. "This is Shion, Gamma-2. She has no surname; long story, family drama. This is Kaede Fuyō, Gamma-3; Mai Kitagawa, Gamma-5; Ahsoka Tano, Gamma-6; and Marie & Sarah Swanson, Gamma-4 and Gamma-7."
"What's up with her?" Grif gestured to Marie. "She looks kinda… stiff; nervous, maybe."
Teana sighed. "You'll probably not believe me, but… we're all from different realities – different universes." She then proceeded to point her hand at a nearby boulder and fire a burst of raw magic that blew a chunk out of it, deeply surprising Team Blood-Gulch. Ahsoka pulled free and activated her lightsabers (which they all recognized; Star Wars was still around, even in the mid-26th century), while Shion's Void Blade came forth.
"Holy shit…" Simmons murmured.
"Agreed" Sarge said.
"After all the crazy shit I've been through," Washington said, "this isn't too surprising. But… what does your extra-dimensional origin have to do with her nervousness?"
"Apparently," Kaede replied, "on Marie's Earth, you guys are the stars of a famous web series that she's a huge fan of. This is like meeting celebrities for her."
"Red Versus Blue is, like, my favorite show ever!" Marie finally spoke up.
"Red Versus Blue?" Sarge said. "Hm… I like it; the title mentions us first!"
"Wait…" Grif said. "You mean… we're famous?"
"In another reality" Simmons clarified. "In this reality, we're still nobodies."
"So?" Tucker said. "It still means that somewhere out in the multiverse, we're famous!"
"So…" Carolina said to Marie. "I don't suppose you could tell us what happens next?"
"Um… No, sorry. Seasons 1 through 5 were the time at Blood Gulch, Seasons 6 through 8 were Valhalla and the stuff involving Wash, the Meta, Epsilon, and stuff; and the most recent one for me, Season 9, was Church's time in the Memory Unit, interlaced with flashback footage of the days of the Freelancers. The last flashback sequence was the operation to retrieve the Sarcophagus and the battle on the highway, and then the Director asking you to 'do something' for him. And the last present-day scene was you emerging right after Church was freed from the memory unit, telling him you needed his help in killing the Director. The season ended there; I have no idea what you guys have been doing since then, or what flashback stuff takes place after that bit I mentioned."
"Dagnabbit, I hate cliffhangers" Sarge mumbled.
"Yeah, I didn't expect us to have that kind of luck" Simmons said. "Ah, well."
"We haven't really accomplished anything big since then" Tucker said.
"We're trying to hunt down any leads on the Director," Carolina said, "but so far we've had no luck. However, there's an old Freelancer ship crashed at 'Valhalla'. We're heading there next to see if we can find anything out."
"We'll accompany you" Teana said.
Marie opened a private comm. channel with the other six Gamma girls. "I'll explain what I can about characters and events to you girls on the way" she said.
"You seem pretty calm for someone who's meeting 'celebrities'" Wash said to Marie.
"We saw you guys before you saw us" Sarah replied. "So she had a chance to get most of the fangirl squeeing out of her system already."
"And believe me, I am not calm" Marie said, her voice bearing a slight tremor. "It's taking a fair bit of my self-control to appear calm right now, actually. Inside I'm still in full-out 'Holy crap I'm talking to the Blood-Gulch crew' freak-out mode. I-I'll be fine, though. I can be professional if need be."
"We should get moving" Teana said. "There may be hostiles between here and our destination, so when we move, stick close and stay nice & tight."
"Bow-chicka-bow-wow" Tucker and Marie said simultaneously. Tucker looked at the girl with mild surprise, and she nervously rubbed the back of her (still helmeted) head.
"Not the first time she's used that" Shion remarked. "…Though the second time was really asking for it."
"Oh?" Tucker enquired as Sarah looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Yeah," Shion replied, "we'd just found a girl who had some serious issues with letting people close to her. Sarah here said about trying to get her to open up that, and I quote, if we 'went at it too hard or too fast', the girl would 'clam up and refuse to open up', and that we 'had to go nice and slow and easy so she'd be comfortable'."
"Wow" Grif deadpanned. "That's, like, too easy."
"And the best thing was Sarah, at the time, honestly didn't know how what she was saying could be misconstrued. Marie's ensuing 'bow-chicka-bow-wow' caught her by surprise; it took her a bit to figure out what the things she'd said sounded like."
The tall blonde in question was glad her helmet's visor was polarized to hide her face.
"Why did you go out of your way to remember that?" Sarah mumbled, embarrassed.
"'Cause it was funny."
Teana smirked, then turned to the group and spoke in her 'soldier' tone.
"Alright, let's saddle up! Time to roll!"
"Shotgun!" Marie called quickly.
"Shotg… Crap" Ahsoka was disappointed at not calling it fast enough.
"Shotgun's lap!" Kaede called out.
"Yay!" Marie said.
"…Yay?" Simmons asked. "I was expecting a repeat of me, Grif, and Donut."
"Marie and Kaede are together" Sarah nonchalantly explained.
"Oh. Cool. Well, let's get going. I'll drive, Tucker."
"Oh, no way, dude. You drive like a pansy. I'll drive. You take the gun. Caboose, you're riding shotgun."
"Okay."
"Hey, Wash, can I have the gun for our 'Hog?" Grif asked.
"What? No, you had it last time. You drive. Sarge gets the gun."
"But we didn't run into anything I could use it on last time."
"That's beca-"
"Can we get the fucking show on the road already?-!" Church interrupted.
-SCENE BREAK-
En Route to Valhalla Base
30 Minutes Later
The four Warthogs and one Mongoose rolled across the rocky plains. The mountains that Valhalla Outpost was nestled within were visible up ahead. Marie had spent the past 40 minutes telling the rest of Gamma, via a private TEAMCOM, all she could about the group they now found themselves in the company of, and about some of their adventures and incidents. No sooner had she finished when Cross Mirage reported over group-wide comm.
"Warning" the AI reported. "Energy signatures detected on the perimeter of my sensors, approaching rapidly. Readings suggest multiple vehicles. IFF tags do not fit any known coalition signature."
"Heads up, people" Carolina said. "Looks like we're gonna have company."
Teana conjured an Area Search spell-sphere, the orange ball of magic flying up high and zooming toward the closest signature. It returned to her an image, projected on her HUD, of an old Warthog and a handful of Mongooses painted very non-regulation colors, manned by people in varying types of armor, all looking worn & torn and painted with colors similar to the vehicles. Teana recognized a symbol on the Warthog's hood, and glared inside her helmet.
"Ready up, people" she said. "We've got pirates – the Black Suns."
"Ooh!" Caboose chimed in. "Do they have a pirate ship? Can we ride in it?"
"Caboose, the Black Suns aren't that type of pirate" Church replied. "They're the 'pillage, murder, rape, steal everything not nailed down and burn everything that is' type. They're most likely gonna try to kill us. …And no, they won't be saying 'Arrr'."
"Aw, shit" Grif muttered. "I've heard of these guys."
"I've fought these guys" Wash said. "They're one of the more dangerous syndicates – lots of gear, lots of members, and they almost never take prisoners… and the ones they do take often wish they'd been killed instead."
"They don't know who they're messin' with" Marie chimed in as she climbed out from under Kaede (who'd been sitting comfortably in her lap the whole ride and now readied her DMR), moved back, and manned the chaingun of the Warthog as Teana focused on driving. Nearby, aboard the Transport Hog driven by Sarah, Ahsoka, Mai, and Shion readied weapons. As the enemy vehicles became visible up ahead and to the side, driving parallel to the heroes' convoy, Sarge and Simmons spun up their Warthogs' chainguns, waiting for the pirates to make the first move.
The man riding shotgun in the Pirate Warthog pulled out an old M19 rocket launcher, and fired at Grif's Warthog. Simmons fired the chaingun of his vehicle at the rocket, hitting it mid-transit and detonating it harmlessly away from its target. One of the Pirate Mongooses rushed in amongst the convoy, the passenger firing an M7 SMG at the Transport Hog; Marie unloaded her chaingun on them, ripping both pirates to shreds and destroying their vehicle. One Mongoose tried to box Grif's Warthog in, driving in front of it; Grif responded by flooring the accelerator, running the smaller vehicle down. The driver was thrown off, but the passenger grabbed hold of the Warthog and drew his pistol, ready to kill Grif… who turned out to be a quicker draw, as his own pistol put a round between the pirate's eyes. Grif put his hand back on the steering wheel as the pirate's body fell off the Warthog and tumbled to a stop in their wake.
The Pirate Warthog's chaingun opened fire, rounds narrowly missing Carolina's Mongoose. In response, Kaede took careful aim with her DMR. Two pulls of the trigger, and the pirate gunner slumped over, dead. Then, the three Warthogs focused fire on the Pirate Hog, .50-caliber AA rounds punching into its armor; it wasn't long before the vehicle was trailing smoke. After several seconds of sustained fire, despite the pirate driver's best efforts to avoid it, the Warthog exploded, killing the driver, and tumbled end over end, the launcher-wielder being thrown clear, breaking his leg and his launcher on landing.
'Who's bright idea was it to attack an armed UNSC convoy?' he thought to himself as he lay there, looking up at the sky.
Three Pirate Mongooses remained. With one hand, Carolina pulled free her battle rifle. Church interfaced with her armor and helped steady her arm, and she fired a three-round burst that killed the driver of one of the Mongooses; the passenger threw his partner's body aside and took the controls. Another of the Mongooses drove alongside the Transport Hog, its passenger firing an MA5B assault rifle that the passengers' shields protected them from. Sarah jerked the wheel left, sideswiping the little Mongoose with the much larger Warthog, sending it rolling wildly through the dirt, forcefully ejecting the two pirates.
"Hey, heads up, guys!" Church reported. "Scanners are picking up an aircraft closing in behind us; IFF tag shows it's Black Sun!"
Teana turned around long enough to catch sight of the aircraft approaching from behind with her visor's 5x zoom.
"Aw crap, they've got a Falcon" she reported.
"Could be worse" Wash replied. "Could've been a Hornet; those have heat-seeking rockets."
The Falcon was soon upon them, firing its chin-gun at them as two pirates manned the side-mounted machinegun turrets, opening up. The heroes' convoy snaked around, narrowly dodging the rounds sent down at them while returning fire, none of them managing to do nearly enough damage to bring the Pirate Falcon down. As a round narrowly missed her head, Marie got fed up with it. In a flash of purple light, she brought Charon into its active form over her right arm. Holding onto the chaingun with her left hand, she turned and pointed her Device up at the Falcon. A violet sphere of charging magic formed at its tip. A magic cartridge was expended & ejected, and a 'Super Missile' shot went out, homing in on the Falcon. It was a direct hit just behind & beneath the cockpit. The Falcon rapidly lost speed and altitude, flames trailing from its underside. It hit the ground, leaving a trail of smoke and debris as it slid to a stop.
The few remaining Pirate Mongooses broke off their pursuit, falling back. The heroes' convoy was home free.
"That's right, bitches!" Tucker shouted. "Run!"
"Yeah, you won't be shivering our timbers today!" Caboose added.
"You boys messed with the wrong buncha misfits!" Sarge taunted.
"Valhalla Outpost in sight" Teana said. "We made it, ladies & gents."
"Alright!" Grif said. "We're home!"
-CHAPTER END-
And so begins Book 12. Also, I plan on starting the uploading of the series to Deviant-Art very soon. The uploaded-to-DA versions will have grammar & punctuation fixes, and a few altered or even added scenes. As a consequence, this Book's updates may take slightly longer.