A/N: Waning! Short Chapter!
Hey guys! Even I am surprised that I got this chapter out so fast but I doubt that bothers any of you that much. Especially since many of you really liked my last update. Now I did say I would have had this chapter out by next week when I updated my other story, but I was on a roll today with ideas and got it finished much faster than I thought it would. But like I said, I doubt you are complaining about it.
To ChoyTheUSChap: Yea I know... still bumed about such such a great fic on this site.
To Shadow Walker of Fire: That aint go work, I am his Chimmichanga dealer and we are both Friends with Pinkie Pie.
To BluewallBaron: I have plans... just wait and see how this story plays out. Trust me, Zorzal and his Daddy aint gonna get off easy.
To Ramzera: You are right, there are many variables to consider. As a matter a fact, you may or may not have helped influenced this chapter.
To Roasted Rowel: You may or may not have influenced the rest of this story as well.
To everyone else, thank for your input and support. Shino will not beat you up now. Now on to the Story!
[ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ]
{ Chapter 40: Aftermath... }
Freedom...
This one simple word held so much value for so many, especially those who had been oppressed and it was a price so many had paid for in blood to achieve. It was a mentality many treasured and would fight to the death to protect. But for the former Battle Queen of the Northern Warrior Bunny Tribes, it was something she was once willing to give up in an desperate attempt to save her people.
'I was so naive... so... stupid!... why did I believe him?'
When the Imperial Army marched into the Northern Regions with Prince Zorzal leading them, the many Bunny Clans banded together to defend their homes. Tyuule herself, was selected to lead the combined tribes against the invaders and for many at the time, it seemed like the most logical choice. Before in invasion, Tyuule had been one of the more respected clan leaders among the tribes. As she had earned a reputation as being both a formidable fighter and a true born leader among her people. She herself had even organized several peace meeting between a number of clans that were on the verge of war. Tyuule loved her people and did not want to see them kill each other if she knew she could prevent it. Tyuule may have been a formidable Warrior, but she was just as effective as a mediator.
When Zorzal and the Imperial Army marched into their territory and Tyuule was selected to be the Battle Queen, she quickly got to work. She organized counter attacks against the Saderans and even lead guerrilla style raids against imperial camps herself. Tyuule knew that fighting the Imperials head on at this point made no sense and in the beginning, these hit an run attacks did have an effect on the Saderans. S much so that when the first real battle occurred, the Imperial Army was soundly defeated with ease and was forced to retreat. But every time the Bunny Tribes won a battle, more and more Imperial troops would march north to replace those who had been lost. It was not long before Tyuule came to a terrible realization, that no matter how many battles her people one, they were not going to with the war.
The empire had unlimited resources and men, while the Bunny Tribes' numbers would only continue to shrink. She needed to save her people and considering what she knew about the Prince at that point, Tyuule decided that she only had one option left. That night, she left her camp alone and made her way to the Imperial lines. Upon her apparent "Capture", the now former Battle Queen was brought before the Crown Prince where she proceeded to carrying out her plan. In exchange for the safety of her people, Tyuule offered herself to the prince as his personal slave. Saying those words and hearing them come out of her own mouth, sickened the Warrior Bunny but she was more than willing to sacrifice her own freedom if it meant salvation for the Bunny Tribes. She hoped that the idea of bringing back a Battle Queen to the Imperial Capitol would appeal more to the Crown Prince.
But she was wrong... oh so wrong...
Tyuule grossly underestimated Zorzal's thirst for personal glory and she she genuinely believed that the Prince had accepted her offer. But it was all a ruse... as no sooner had the Prince placed her in chains and stripped her of her armor, he ordered his army to lay waste to every and all Bunny settlements they came across. Tyuule could only look on in absolute horror as her people were brutally slaughtered by the Imperial Army, while many more were taken as slaves by Zorzal's men. But what made it worse, was that the Prince made every single captured Bunny Warrior march pass both himself and their former queen in chains. All the while the Prince thanked Tyuule for abandoning her people to become his personal slave.
The looks her people gave her as they were marched passed would forever haunt the former Battle Queen. She had tried to save her people and their lands, but instead she had effectively sold them out to save her own skin. Or at least that was how the Crown Prince made it look. What would come next would be nothing short of a living hell for Tyuule, as she soon found heself becoming the Crown Prince's personal plaything and for the next three years, that would be her life.
Every day, the Crown Princes abused her in ways that would make even the most hard core sex addicts cringe. The things that sadistic excuse of a human being did to her in that time, broke her body and almost her mind. The former queen could even remember just how many slaves broke under Zorzal's constant abuse, many of whom became nothing more than mindless husk of their former selves. While others... not even Tyuule wanted to know what happened to them. Especially those who had been supposedly been brought back from beyond the Gate. Noriko was the only it seemed to have retained her sanity, though that was only because the Prince had only recently begun to pay attention to her. Especially after he heard her talk about the idea that more Earthshakes were to come.
Yet in a strange twist of fate, it was Noriko's statement that may have saved the both of them. As Zorzal had taken the pair with him to the Imperial Palace, the same time the Emperor was meeting with the Other Worlder representative. Who just happened to have a contingent of soldiers with him at that time.
Now both herself and Noriko were on one of the flying contraptions the soldiers called "A Chinook" and were now on their way to other worlder Fortress on Alnus hill. Tyuule was rather surprised that the Other Worlders decided to rescue her along with one of their own, but she did not question their decision. She hated that bastard more than anything and the Empire he was supposed the rule one day. There were more than a few time the Bunny Warrior had an opportunity to kill the Prince while he was in bed, but Tyuule knew better. She knew that Killing the Prince outright would not be enough. If anything, killing the crown prince would more than likely cause the Empire to hunt down the rest of her people out of revenge for his death and she didn't want to bring upon more suffering to her people. No... Tyuule knew that the only way her people would ever truly be safe, was if the Empire was destroyed outright. The Empire was too strong to be destroyed from the outside, but it had a soft underbelly named Zorzal.
Arrogant and easily manipulated, Tyuule originally hoped that she could get into the Prince's ear and cause him to make mistakes that would ultimately spell the demise of the Saderan Empire. So committed to her plans for revenge, the former queen even considered allying herself with the much fabled/feared Haryo Tribe. A group the Warrior Bunny soon came to realize, were just as vain an arrogant as the Prince she was now forced to serve. Both herself and the Haryo Tribe both harbored an undying hate for the Empire and its ruling families. But while Tyuule wanted to destroy the Empire to ensure that her people (and by extension, other Demi-Human races) would no longer live in fear of the Imperial Government, the Haryo and it's leader wanted to replace the leadership with one of their own, so as to assert their will upon the inhabitants of the continent. The Warrior Bunnies included.
Though driven by her thirst for vengence, Tyuule was not about to endanger her people even more than she already had. The Former Battle Queen knew she could manipulate Zorzal by constantly stroking his already over blown ego, as it would be more satisfying to build him up before ultimately striking him down. That way his fall would be much harder when his struck rock bottom, only for him to die at her hands. But fate had presented the Bunny Woman with an opportunity she could have never imagined and now she was flying on board the most magnificent of contraptions.
Looking out one of the CH-47G's side windows, Tyuule could see the world below glide by. The dim lights of Sadera had long since vanished, as the full moon bathed the country side in a pale blue light. She wondered if this was what birds saw when they flew?
Tyuule was not alone though, as she shared the Chinnok with not only the flight crew, but her rescuers as well and of course... Noriko.
Though she did not want to admit it, the Former Queen had developed a fondness for the young teen girl and did everything that she could to protect her from the deviant prince. Though she was not alway successful. Noriko reminded Tyuule so much like her sister before the Imperial Army invaded their lands. So innocent and pure, she did not deserve what ever god had planned this fate for her. To become the plaything of a sadistic monster disguised as a human being. It was not that Tyuule had developed an romantic feeling for the young woman, far from it. It was just that she could not bare to see such a person fall into madness like so many others before her.
Now after so many months of unspeakable horrors, Noriko was now back with her people and would be on her way home soon. At least she had a home to go back to after that living hell. For Tyuule, she now faced an uncertain future.
The former queen held no illusions about herself, she highly doubted that her people would be so willing to welcome back the one person they blame for their defeat. Then again, Tyuule never really expected to be forgiven for what she had inadvertently done to her people. The Northern Warrior Bunny Tribes trusted her to save both their lands and their people, but she had failed them all. It was a harsh reality Tyuule had long since come to terms with, but it did not make living with that fact any easier. Maybe these Other Worlders would help her build a new life after their war with the Empire was over? Maybe... just maybe, she herself could offer her services to this "Coalition" in exchange for that new life. There were a lot of secrets the Crown Price had absentmindedly shared with her over the years and just maybe she could use what she knew to gain favor with the Other Worlder Leadership. Her body may have been weakened by years of abuse, but her mind was still as sharp as ever.
Eventually, the Nightstalker Chinook landed at Ginza Air Field and no sooner had it touched down, medical teams carried both Noriko and Tyuule to a pair of ambulances that were waiting for them on the tarmac. Escorted by an Australian G-Wagon with a blue flashing light on its roof, the small convoy made its way out of the air base and towards the Fortress itself.
The ambulances and their escort were that another happening on an already been an eventful evening. As Alnustown itself was still trying to recover from the Earthquake that had stuck earlier that day. Despite the strong shaking, the town itself had mostly survived intact, save for a number of broken windows and minor injuries suffered by the residents. Many of the prefabricated buildings were able to sway and bend with the shaking, sparing them from destruction. Most of the injuries occurred when persons were hit by falling objects or were cut by broken glass. But for the most part the town itself was mostly unharmed.
In Italica, the situation was a little more grim. Several buildings within the city itself had collapsed and trapped numerous people within the rubble. While many more had been damaged and had been evacuated after the shaking had stopped. Teams of Marines and Japanese soldiers soon descended upon the crippled city and began to do what they could to help the survivors. There were assisted by some of Countess Myui's maids (Bunny Warriors/Nekos) in there search and were even joined by the recently created "Italica Constabulary Force", the majority of who were made up of Demi-Humans who in fact had been held as prisoners after the Battle of Ginza. But were given the opportunity to return home and help fight against the very same Empire that treated them like secind class citizens.
Countess Myui herself, helped to co-ordinate rescue operations with Major Payne in Camp Formal. As well as visiting those who had been brought into the base for treatment, as their injuries were far more serious and would be transferred to Ginza via helicopter. But despite the destruction, Italica itself and its people had gotten off rather easy. The same could not be said for the Imperial Capitol itself, specifically... the Akusho District.
By now most of the fires within Sadera itself had either been extinguished, or were currently in the process of. Despite its marble columns and impressive architecture, the Imperial Capitol had been hit rather hard by the recent Earthshake. As many buildings around the centuries old city were unable to survive the shaking and fell victim to the violent movements of the angry Earth. But it was the Akusho District that quite possibly bore the worst damage, as yeas of neglect and poor building standards resulted in dozens of damaged/destroyed structures.
With no assistance expected to come from the powers that be, the citizens of the infamous district would normally have to rely on themselves in situations like this. But with the fall of the Bassara Family and the presence of the Other Worlders, this was no longer the case. As other worlders soldiers took charge of the district in an attempt to maintain some form of law and order. Two words that were not normally associated with the district, but somehow they were able to do just that. While some some soldiers maintained security, others rolled up their sleeves and helped in the rescue efforts that were now taking place.
The Playful Elf, once one of the more notorious brothels in Akusho, was now being used as a makeshift field hospital for those who had been hurt. While the former home of the Bassara clan was being used as a means for much needed supplies to be flown in via helicopter, as well as to evacuate those who were in need of help that could not be provided by the basic field hospital. The small garden space was just big enough to allow at least one Chinook to land and off load supplies.
But while the relief efforts were going on, there was one person whose mind was focused on an event that was quite more distructive than the Earthquake itself.
[ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ]
Jade Palace... 01:27 Hrs...
Despite the clean up efforts taking place, absolutely no one had seen the Imperial Princess since she and the Ambassador had returned from the Imperial Palace. News about what had transpired earlier that night had quickly begun to spread among the Cialition personel and by extension, the Rose knights. For many of the Noble woman, it really did not come as much of a surprise that Crown Prince Zorzal would have kept slaves from the beyond the Gate. As many of them were well aware of the Prince's hubris and ego. There were more than a few stories the female members of the Order had about the carnal prince, none of which painted him in a good light.
Pina had locked herself in her personal quarters since she returned to the Jade Palace and had refused to talk to anyone at that. For Pina, it was as if her entire world was crashing around her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Here she was trying to return every single person the Empire had taken from the other world, only for her brother to appear with a other worlder he more than likely used as a sex slave. What made it even worse? Was that he had admittted that he had more of them in his palace and she was completely unaware of their existence. Just what would happen now when the Other Worlder Leadership found out about the slaves kept by her brother.
Like everyone else, Pina knew about her brother's reputation. She also knew just how the other worlders felt about Slavery and the fact that their people were taken to be used by slaves. When they found out that a member of the Imperial Family were using some of their people a sex slaves... she did not even want to know what would happen. In less than ten minutes, her oldest Brother had quite possible doomed the Saderan People and the Empire in one swift move.
"Your highness?" a voice called through the door. Pina, for her part, just remained seated on her bed and stared at her lap.
"Pina, its Todo. We need to talk." the voice called again. Knowing that ignoring the Ambassador may make things worse, the Royal got up from her bed and allowed the diplomat in.
"What do you want to discuss?" the princess asked the Japanese man. Knowing very well that she would not like what he was about to say.
"I... came to tell you that I have been in contact with my government" Todo explained. "I just want to let you know that my government, nor any of the other Coalition partners blame you for what happened tonight. I explained to them that you genuinely did not know that your brother had our people and that you are not at fault for not knowing."
"But they are still angry, aren't they?" she asked the diplomat.
Todo just nodded somberly before he replied, "I am afraid that there are many who are demanding that some action be taken because of this development, and those calls will gain support once the general population finds out."
"So what will happen now?" Pina asked the older man.
"I cannot say..." Todo replied. "But if there are still slaves being held by your brother, then my people are going to do what ever it takes to get them back."
[ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ]
Two Days Later...
Five blacked out MH-6 "Little Bird" helicopters flew low over the Falmart countryside towards their destination. On board each aircraft, were a mix of U.S. Navy S.E.A.L.s and Japanese SFG who had only been briefed about their mission less then two days ago. Upon their arrival, they would be joined by Filipino Scout Rangers that had been monitoring their target for the last three weeks and would be assisting the Special Forces teams for this operation.
The Helicopters themselves had taken off from Italica earlier that day and belonged to the 160th Aviation Regment of the U.S. Army. They specialized in low level flying and night time operations, making them best suited to work along side units such as SEALS and even Delta Force. Following the Little Birds were a trio of CH-47G Chinook helicopters would also be taking part in this operation. Though unlike their smaller counterparts, these helicopters were empty save for a small contingent of medical personnel who would also have a key roll in this operation if the reports they received were correct.
Rounding out this airborne task force, was a single AC-130J code named "Snake Pitt" that had been assigned/loaned to the 489th Attack Squadron when it and "War Hammer" were shipped through the Gate almost a year ago. It would be providing close air support if the situation called for it
These 10 aircraft made up what had been code named "Task Force Blitz" by its planners and its objective was was of the highest importance.
On board one of the Little Bird, Tyuule sat quietly as she saw the country side fly by. The dirty rags that had been her main attire for so many years were now replaced with a dark green uniform similar to the ones being worn by the Japanese SFG. The former queen was surprised when the leaders of this coalition agreed to her request to take her along for this operation. Then again it made sense to carry the Warrior Bunny seeing that had been held captive there for the better part of 3 years. If there was anyone who would know just where the hostages were being kept, it would have been her.
Besides... there was no way the Battle Queen was going to miss an opportunity to strike back at her former captors.
After a brief stop at Battan, the six Little Birds took off once again with Snake Pitt continuously providing over watch. The three Chinooks would be called in later if all went according to plan, for now the Little Birds would press on to their objective.
Finally after hours of flight, the six Nightstalker aircraft and one Spooky came upon their target.
The massive palace, that was the official home of Crown Prince Zorzal...
[ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ]
A/N: Now before you say anything, I promice, it will all me explained in the next chapter. So please wait, okay?
Don't really have much to say really, so please leave a review or Tyuule with hunt down. Until next Time, NIGHTSTALKER OUT!
And to the one guy who reviewed, dont ever mention that plagerized mess Blackdawn because as everyone had pointed out, it was a stolen fic originally done by TheDrkKnight.