Real life delayed me yet again...

Neptunia Guild Files: Fate/book one

A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction

by Derald Snyder

Section 44: Blitzkrieg!

*Artum Galliasta's Residence, 10:30 PM*

"Looks pretty basic from the outside," Rider muttered as she scanned the yard with night-vision goggles, Archer beside her. "Of course, there could be bounded fields hiding the truth..."

"Would explain why the police couldn't find this guy," Archer concurred, before seeing movement in the distance. "Wait, what's that?" Rider promptly pointed her goggles where Emiya pointed, zooming in... It appeared to be two adult maids escorting a young girl, who was visibly struggling against them to no avail...

"Oh, shit, I think it's a sacrifice!" Rider realized. "We gotta stop them!"

"Trace on!" Archer intoned, summoning his bow and arrow... drawing the string back, he took a moment to aim, then let loose, his arrow striking one of the maids in the side! The girl took this chance to break free, running toward where the two agents were staked out, the other maid giving chase! But before she could catch up, another arrow struck her in the head, the maid promptly collapsing!

"Over here!" Rider said as she emerged from the brush, beckoning the girl over to her, grabbing her in a tight embrace once she arrived. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe now."

"I want my mommy!" the girl sobbed, burying her head in Rider's bosom.

"Hey, hey, calm down. We'll get you back to your mommy soon enough," Archer said as he knelt down beside the two, noting the girl had platinum-blonde hair. "What's your name?"

"Il... Illya," the girl grunted as she pulled away, revealing red eyes... which suddenly widened in recognition. "Wait, are you the Red Archer?!"

"You know me?!" Archer said in surprise.

"Yeah! You saved my mommy from thugs when she lived in Planeptune City!" Illya exclaimed. "Um, her name is Iri... Iri-is-vi-el...

"Irisviel von Einzbern?! You're her daughter?!" Archer recalled. "Wow, small world..."

"Yeah! But, my sister and best friend are still locked up! You gotta help them!" Illya cried.

"We will," Rider assured her. Releasing her embrace, she looked up to see that the first maid had vanished while the second was no longer moving. "Shit, that other one's probably raising the alarm now... what'll we do?"

"Blitzkrieg," Archer responded. "Call in the calvary, we're taking this scum down now."

"You got it," Rider nodded, pulling out her radio. "Heaven's Feel to CCC! Code red, code red! We're going blitzkrieg on this guy's ass! Get IF and Extra and the police down here A-SAP!"

("Copy that, mikon!") Tamamo's voice responded.

"Hey, look! That one evil maid melted!" Illya pointed.

"What?! Rider looked, and sure enough, the woman Archer had headshot had melted into skin-colored ooze. "What the fu- fudge?!"

"A homunculus. And not a very good one, either," Archer noted with mild disgust. "Which would explain their loyalty to Atrum without batting an eye to his sacrifices... Alright, as soon as the others arrive, we're moving in quietly, and Illya goes with the police..."

*A short time later...*

Archer and Rider crept through the yard, the former taking out any security cameras he spotted with well-placed arrows. As they rounded a corner, they saw several vaguely humanoid white monsters with dome heads and arms that looked as if they were made with noodles! And in the center of said monsters was...

"Atrum Galliasta!" Rider yelled. "Or do you prefer Jason Gallia? Either way, the jig's up; your ex-girlfriend Medea ratted you out!"

"Did she now?" Atrum smirked giving a nonchalant shrug. "You've got some nerve, stealing away my livestock for my mana crystals, not to mention murdering one of my maid homunculi! Do you know how difficult it is to get those female features just right? However, these ones," he swept his arm to indicate the monsters, "are far easier to produce, and much harder to kill!"

"Yeah, and I bet the souls of the girls you sacrificed to make them are screaming in agony, you asshole!" Rider snarled. "Any last words before we haul you in for kidnapping, child abuse, and murder?!"

"You and what army?" Atrum said smugly.

(Music- 'Encounter', Metal Gear Solid)

Immediately Nero and Tamamo popped up from some brush, IF jumping down from above, and several police officers emerging from the darkness as well!

"Ah... good answer. KILL THEM ALL!" Atrum cried as he promptly turned tail, the homunculi staggering forward with unintelligible groans!

"Likewise! No mercy!" Archer exclaimed, shooting one monster in the head with his bow and arrow! It wasn't enough, however, the homunculus lashing out, forcing Archer to dodge lest his own head get taken off! Meanwhile, the police had opened fire on the monsters to seemingly no avail!

"Haaaaaa!" Nero's sword lit up with fire as she cut a monster's head in twain... which promptly collapsed into primordial ooze! "The head! Take out the head and it dies!"

"Got it!" Rider grunted, ducking a swipe from a homunculus, then jumping and jamming both knife-ends of her chain into it's head! She pulled in opposite directions, the monster promptly deforming as well!

"Arrrgh!" cried an officer as he emptied his clip into another monster's head... just when it was about to strike, the creature finally died and fell apart. "Damn, bullets aren't very good against these things!"

"We need hard kinetic impacts!" Archer realized, dismissing his bow and tracing his short swords, dodging another swing from a homunculus and chopping off a piece of it's head, killing it!

"This should do the trick, mikon!" Tamamo said as she materialized an ice spike, then jammed it dead center into another monster's head, killing that one as well! Meanwhile, IF leapt and jammed her qatars into another monster, similar to Rider's method, managing to pull the head apart enough to finish it.

Fortunately the monsters had little in the way of battle strategy, allowing the Guild to slowly turn the tide of the battle in their favor... As they moved forward, Nero spotted what appeared to a shipping container secured with a heavy chain and padlock! "There! The poor children must be in there!"

"We gotta take care of these things first!" IF insisted, using her agility to dodge two homunculi that tried to gang up on her.

"Right!" Nero concurred, chopping off a creature's arm before stabbing it through the head! Tamamo used her ice magic to freeze a monster's legs to the ground, Rider running up and jamming her knives into it's head!

"AK-47!" an officer cried, the police and Guild members hitting the ground as automatic fire rang out!

"You won't lay a finger on Master Gallia, or his supplies!" the maid homunculus from earlier cried as she fired wildly!

"SUPPLIES?!" Nero screeched, managing to unleash a fire wave at low altitude, igniting the grass and causing the maid's legs to catch fire! Rider quickly took advantage, rushing forward and lashing her chain around the mind's neck, before pulling! A wet snap was heard, the female homunculus going limp and dissolving into skin-colored ooze like her counterpart.

The remaining monsters were swiftly mopped up, Tamamo taking the chain on the supply container in hand and heating it with her fire magic. "Nero, help me out here!"

"Gladly!" Nero agreed, slashing at the chain with her flame sword... after a few strikes, the heated chain finally broke, Tamamo carefully pulling it out of the latch, the padlock falling to the ground. Nero then grabbed at the door, an officer helping her out as they pulled it open-

-revealing several young girls in various states of dress, many bringing their arms up as the police's floodlights lit up the cramped space! "Please don't sacrifice us!" one girl cried out in fear.

"No one is sacrificing anybody anymore! Your saviors have arrived!" Nero proclaimed.

"Oh yeah?!" a girl with pinkish-white hair and dark skin retorted. "How do we know you're not another of that evil mage's flunkies?!"

"We're the Planeptune Guild," Archer tried to assure them. "We're gonna bring you all home, okay?"

"No way!" the dark-skinned girl pointed. "The Red Archer?! He's real?! I thought he was just some story Mommy made up...!"

"That's right. You know Illya? We just rescued her..."

"You saved Illya?!" A girl with black hair and fair skin spoke up from beside the other one. "See, Chloe?! I told you it'd be okay!"

"Illya's okay?!" Chloe gasped, pushing herself through the other girls until she was standing in front of Archer.

"Yeah, she's with the police," Archer confirmed. "These officers will make sure you're reunited, alright?" At this... Chloe's facade broke, grabbing Archer and sobbing into his chest in joy and relief. The other girls began crying as well, realizing they were truly being rescued, the police slowly escorting them out of their prison...

"Okay, the police will handle these girls," IF ordered. "In the meantime, we need to make sure that Atrum Galliasta doesn't escape..."

"Yes, you're quite right!" Nero nodded, stepping aside to let the police do their work. "Come, Fox Caster, we must ensure that villain does not evade us!"

"F-Fox caster...?" Tamamo shook her head in disbelief. "Whatever, mikon, let's go..."

"Right, everyone stay together!" Archer said as he and the others went off toward's Artum's mansion proper...

*Inside the mansion...*

"My livestock! My precious mana supply! How dare they?!" Atrum wailed as he observed the scene through a scrying spell.

"Now, now, there's plenty more where that came from," a confident male voice spoke up. "What we need to concern ourselves with right now is the Guild. You remember what I told you, right?"

"Right, I got it," Atrum sighed, clutching a blood-red mana crystal in one hand. "If those fools think they can just arrest me, they'll have another thing coming!"

"Indeed," the mysterious man smiled sinisterly...

*To be continued...*

I wonder who Atrum's partner might be... Find out next chapter!