Heroic New Era: New Beginnings
Chapter 2, Side A: A World of Aliens
The Golden Blaze soon stopped just outside orbit of the apocalyptic Earth.
"I'd recommend we do not take this lightly. Yang, Kaguya, take down with you some of your best weapons, as well as some plasma weapons. The best way to fight aliens is to use their own tactics against them." Siege said.
"Uhm… if I may speak?" Allison asked.
"Go ahead, Allison." Siege said.
"Rachel and I wish to accompany them. If this world is as dangerous as you say, the more numbers we have, the better." Allison reasoned. "Besides, Rachel and I are both hellaciously good shots when it comes to any sort of weapon."
"Hmm…" Siege considered, mulling this over. "Very well. Besides, you two know what we're looking for down there as well, so that should help things."
"Right! Getting the F-15 ready! Come on!" Yang called out as she and Kaguya headed to the F-15s, as the group slowly got into the nearest ones, as they slowly cleared preparation checks, as the hangar crew guided their lift-off towards the planet.
Operation: Snatch and Grab
Locate and Retrieve Great Seal Piece
Eliminate all Hostiles
A Nuke is located in the central part of the landing area, arm it if possible
The F-15s soon set down, as Yang, Kaguya, Allison, and Rachel got out, guns and other weapons at the ready, as Yang had on her a Tac-12 shotgun capable of shooting explosive rounds, while Allison opted for a Plasma Assault Rifle. Kaguya went for some sort of bolt-action rifle, although it seemed quite modern-like, while Rachel had a sniper with a long-range scope.
Yang soon noticed a hive in front of them, blocking any forward progress, as Yang soon contacted Siege and Richard on the subject. "Ehm… Commanders? Why is there a hive blocking our path?"
"A hive? ...Please tell me you Did not just say hive." Siege said in concern.
"...I did." Yang deadpanned, as Siege groaned.
"Oh this is going to be fabulous… that explains why we were picking up two different alien signatures down there." Siege said. "Here, warping in a care package for those hives."
In front of the group, a laser drill soon appeared.
"That laser drill will destroy those hives as you move forward. If you find any bigger hives, one of you will have to fall back and man an F-15 to bring the hive down." Siege informed.
"Wait, is this… oh hell." Kaguya remarked, realising what this is all about. "Okay, let's hope that the other alien signatures are wusses, because if they're actually competent, or worse yet, colluding with these ones… We're in for a real treat."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.
"Okay, first things first…" Kaguya remarked, as she snatched the laser drill. "I'm assigning myself on personal duty on making sure this thing doesn't sputter and die. I'm sure that Siege won't mind it being destroyed too much, but it would be inconvenient, and there's no telling what we risk by trying to tempt fate."
She then set it down, as she activated the laser drill, as it began to carve its way through the fleshy shell, while Kaguya loaded a round into her rifle. "Alright, eyes sharp. Consider what's to come to be basically feral beasts." She stated. "Round up, and get ready to shoot."
As the drill was activated, soon enough, Scouts began running into the area, leaping over fence wire as they had their sights set on the group… but they weren't all that was there, as Kaguya noticed Sectoids coming into the area as well, confirming the fear that the other aliens were going to be competent.
"What the hell are these things!?" Yang yelled as she unleashed her Tac-12, killing the Scouts in one go, as she was also avoiding Sectoid Plasma Pistol fire.
"Joy. Sectoids." Kaguya spoke with a dripping sarcastic voice, before she then blew the heads of one of them out with a shot, as she quickly reloaded. "Shoot the midgets first, they got range, while the others only got claws and teeth."
"Roger." Allison said, taking out another Sectoid, as Yang looked to see the hive they were drilling beginning to convulse frantically.
"I think the drill's halfway!" Yang called out as she saw this. "This hive is halfway destroyed!"
As Yang called this out, 4 Scouts ran into the area, setting their sights on Yang as they began swarming her, with Yang backtracking to a corner. "Holy shit these freaks are fast!" She yelled as she shot them in their armored plates, which wasn't killing them. "A little help!"
Rachel noticed the request for help, as she carefully sniped through the armour plating of the surrounding scouts, which caused them to detach, before she then switched to her side-arm, and shot right through the shattered armour to bleed them out, all in quick succession.
"Phew…" Yang said in relief. "Thanks Rachel!"
"Be careful, please. We need to avoid taking casualties among each other." Rachel responded back. "And you're welcome."
4 Sectoids rushed in, trying to get good firing areas to shoot the drill, but by then it was too late. The hive was destroyed, and the group took down the Sectoids quickly, as Yang rushed ahead, looking around for more aliens. When she didn't see any, she began reloading her Tac-12. "Reload, grab the drill, and let's move up, team. Stay frosty though, we've got more hives in this area." Yang said as she soon had her Tac-12 reloaded and ready to go.
Allison would make a move to grab the drill, but remembered Kaguya said she would be handling it. "Oh, right… You said you would watch the drill, didn't you, Kaguya?" Allison asked with a slight nervous laugh.
"Eh, don't worry, I won't miss the chance." Kaguya responded back, as she hefted the drill up. "Let's hope that we get some beneficial surprises. Because I doubt that Sectoids are the only ones we have to deal with here."
"If I may, Kaguya, you seem incredibly… worried when those… 'Sectoids' appeared. Do you mind explaining to Rachel and I what we're up against, exactly? Because from the sound of it we're up against two different sets of aliens." Allison would request, as Yang was listening in to get the gist of the situation herself.
"Yeah, can't hurt." Kaguya responded back. "So let's start with those beastly aliens that these hives belong to. They're called Cryptids, aptly named due to their anomalous nature. They basically want to turn this world into a wild paradise for themselves, and they're basically older than the dinosaurs from the universe they came from. So basically, they're the jungle law faction in all of this. And then they're the Sectoids. Considering how Siege said this place reeks of alien occupation, I assume that they've formed ADVENT, which is basically the alien army for Earth. They're basically your usual grey-men, except a lot more militaristic and war-mongering, and they come in all kinds of sizes and shapes, some of which can screw with your mind with psionics, and some who are basically the peak of extraterrestrial genetics and science. I think I understand the connection between the two. They're both subservient to a master psionic race who pull the strings behind the invasions. Ancestors for the Cryptids, and Ethereals for ADVENT. Both of them are psionic gods in flesh, except the Ancestors are more hands-on with their action, while Ethereals are more behind-the-scenes with orders and commands. Considering that Cryptids and ADVENT aren't clawing at each other's throats, and actually working together, the two psionic races must have reached a compromise. Means we need to really put the effort in. Hopefully, we can get some help from XCOM, if they're not wrecked by the alien alliance..."
"Sadly, I doubt there's an XCOM here, Kaguya." Yang said solemnly. "Considering this much apocalyptic stuff and other things, I doubt they'd have anywhere to go for funding, and that's gonna shut them down completely. It's up to us to at least, if there are survivors here, just underground, to show that these aliens are not invincible, and that they're able to be beaten, just like anything else in this world."
The other hives in the area weren't too difficult for the group to clear, as it was simply more Sectoids and Scouts… except for when they got to the final hive, surrounded by electric fencing, as Kaguya suggested to clear that hive last due to the traps they could activate. As usual, Scouts and Sectoids began flushing into the area… as well as something else.
"Hey! I see humans over there!" Yang said as she saw really tall men in business suits… but wielding Light Plasma Rifles. Kaguya recognized them instantly, knowing they weren't humans and CQC was going to be problematic against those guys.
"Wait, humans?" Kaguya remarked, as her weapon instinctively aimed for them. "Oh, you son of a… Those are not humans, those are Thin Men! Blow their heads open, they're annoying assholes!"
She then repeatedly shot them down, as she dodged and blocked some of the returning shots heading towards the drill. Yang noticed when they died, they exploded into a poisonous gas.
"Whoa!" Yang yelled as she saw the gas coming from them. "...Poison…?"
"It's best that we don't let it get to us." Rachel remarked, as she pulled her spear out, before twirling it around at high-speeds, changing the flow of the poison clouds away from their position.
Other than that, the final hive was destroyed, as a Barrier Hive was up ahead, as Yang soon sheathed her shotgun.
"...So… since we have that massive hive up ahead… and since you gals have more range than I do… I'm gonna pilot the F-15." Yang said as she rushed back to the F-15 to start it up.
The group made the move forward towards the Barrier Hive, as they soon saw a light overhead, and Yang descending the Golden F-15 into firing position on the Barrier Hive.
"Okay girls I'm in position and opening fire on this hive! Just keep the enemies off me!" Yang declared as she began to fire, when suddenly seeing two sets of 3 aliens a piece. One set was of Cryptid Scorpions, the other was ADVENT Mutons. "Uhm… that may be a problem! Kaguya! Two visuals! One of these weird aliens with tails, and another of large bulky Brute guys!"
"Oh boy, this might take some time." Kaguya remarked, before she noticed the alien heavies coming. "Alright, keep baiting them out. They'll take a while to take out, but our priority is keeping alive, and making sure they don't destroy that laser drill, in case we need it later."
Allison nodded as she got the attention of a Scorpion, and, unfortunately, two Mutons, as Allison dodged the shots of the Mutons before they reloaded, but was hammered by the acid of the Scorpion, as she screamed in unbelievable pain, as she backed out of the acid cloud, landing near something she found might be helpful, a pair of knives, being Hypno knives, unbeknownst to her. Allison, going pure survival mode, tossed one Hypno Knife into a Scorpion, and another into one of the Mutons.
At once, the Scorpion began unloading on approaching Scouts, as the Muton from before murdered it's like brethren, before firing on the Sectoids and Thin Men trying to approach.
"H… Huh…!?" Allison winced in searing pain as she sat up, seeing the Muton and Scorpion attacking their allies. "...All I did was throw one knife into the brute, and another into the alien with a tail…"
"Wait, I saw those knives in flight… Holy shit, you got lucky there." Kaguya remarked with awe. "Those were Hypno Knives. They basically rewrite the mind of the target to consider the user and their allies as friendlies, and designated enemies as hostile. Doesn't work against the Ancestors, but if we use them well… Perhaps we can bag a Rhino to help us out. And to think that it can work against ADVENT troops. Just don't use it against anything with a resistant mind, it might not work. Mutons are dumb as fuck so it works easily on them…"
Allison, hearing this and seeing quite the collection of Hypno Knives nearby, quickly stashed two more in her pocket, before sitting up. "If someone can get me a painkiller or something to get me up and going, there's a stash of Hypno Knives over here we can use." Allison groaned in pain.
"Here." Rachel answered back, as she walked over and plunged a needle of pain-killers into Alison's arm, which helped alleviate her wounds, and bandaging the affected parts, before Rachel then slid some of the Hypno Knives into her hold. "So they are useful in most cases, but converse them for emergencies or best-cases, is that right?"
"Yeah, save a few, in case we can reverse-engineer them for easy production." Kaguya answered back. "If Hypno Knives are here, we might be able to find some goodies here. Cryptid Slayer Ammo could do you a favor here…"
"Not to interrupt an important moment, but I've got this hive halfway destroyed, and I'm evading Scorpion fire up here!" Yang yelled as a rogue Scorpion was tossing acid to try and get the F-15, but Yang was moving it around to avoid the shots. The ally Scorpion and Muton were too busy providing covering fire to notice.
"Let me." Rachel remarked, before she then decided to take a high position, and snipe the Scorpions, as well as the nearby ADVENT troops.
It wasn't too much longer, and the Hive was destroyed, as Yang scanned for more aliens, finding none other than the allied ones. "Well if there are no aliens here then I suppose I can set the F-15 down right here." Yang said as she landed it nearby, before getting out and rejoining the group, as she grabbed two more Hypno Knives, before a care package warped down.
"You guys are doing wonderful so far, but I couldn't help but notice Kaguya making the comment on Cryptid Slayer Ammo. I always asked Magina why we had this stuff on stock… but now I know! Enjoy. Should be enough there to fully stock your weapons to maximum capacity with Cryptid Slaying Ammunition." Siege said via comms. "You'll also find a couple automated turrets with it. Should help things considerably."
Kaguya rushed over, as she hastily cracked the care package open, as she loaded her weapon and reserves with the ammo, before she then checked the minigun turrets inside. She grinned, when she noticed that they were loaded with explosive rounds, meaning that they would shred any physically-armoured enemy to pieces with only a few rounds.
"Good package you sent us." Kaguya remarked, as she took a few turrets. "Might want to add some stims on the next round, we could use the extra boost to our hand-speed for us with bolt-action and magazine weaponry. And add some AP and explosive rounds too, doubt that Cryptid Slayer rounds work much better against ADVENT troops than normal ones."
"Roger that. Get a move on, guys, the unfortunate side is that you guys being down there has allowed us to locate the Great Seal piece… and it's planted right next to where you arm the nuke." Siege deadpanned.
"Greaaaaaaat…" Yang groaned. "So… as far as time when we arm the nuke…"
"Intel says you'll have 3 minutes to get your asses out of there before it blows. Better have some stamina built up for running." Siege explained.
"We'll be sure to keep that warning to mind." Rachel answered back.
With that said, the group, plus their newly acquired Scorpion and Muton allies, headed down with drill in hand by Kaguya, as they found the first hive nearby the entrance to what appeared to be a ruined city.
"Oh boy… tight quarters here." Yang mused. "Snipers may not excel as much in this area." She mused, before spotting an M27-IAR nearby. "...Now that bad boy on the other hand! Gimme that! Where have you been all my life!" Yang said as she picked up the LMG.
"As long as I can make good use of the penetration of the rifle, and the specialised ammo, I can handle it well." Rachel responded back, as she loaded a clip of Cryptid Slayer bullets into her weapon.
"Guys, Kaguya's planting the drill, focus!" Allison said as the next wave would begin… as they saw some different looking Sectoids coming in… as Yang blasted them with her M27-IAR, as she smirked as they died.
"More Sectoids? They're getting annoying…" Yang said, except Kaguya recognized they weren't the same as before… they were actually Sectoid Commanders.
"Well, as expected, a step-up to the force's strength. You see these guys trying to transmit some beams of energy to anything in their range, blow their heads apart ASAP, they tend to make their recipient a lot harder to kill." Kaguya warned the group. "On top of that if we aren't careful… they could possess one of us."
Allison looked to Kaguya as she said that last part. "Wait a second… what!?"
"I didn't stutter. It's possible to resist, but once they zone in, the only way to snap out of it, is a good smack on the noggin, or enough ballistic shock to cause a pain reaction to flush the invader out." Kaguya grimaced.
"Can't we just kill him if he does that to one of us? Won't that break his trance?" Yang would ask, not knowing the consequences of that.
"That's a good question…" Allison mused as she looked to Kaguya. "Is that possible, Kaguya?"
"Possibly." Kaguya answered back. "But let's not risk brain damage on ourselves in trying to experiment with that. We need us all able and well at the end of this. If killing them when they try to Mind-Merge does the same to their recipient… I shudder to think if they actually use this against us, as a lose-lose situation. Best option: Don't get zapped."
"...When you put it that way. Just kill them before they get the chance!" Yang smirked, as she fired at all incoming aliens, before seeing a larger version of the Scouts from before running to them, as she looked at it, bringing out a Hypno Knife. "So how good of an idea is it to Hypno Knife this larger freak that looks like a Scout but bigger?"
"Wait, a larger scout? Can't be a Rhino… just save the knife for later." Kaguya remarked, as she scored several kills against the back-line Thin Men.
"Okay!" Yang said, pocketing the Hypno Knife as she saw the alien leap at her, as she blew it open with her Tac-12, as it skid and landed at Kaguya's feet. "Mind telling me what that is that I just shot, for curiosity purposes?"
"Hunters, evolution of the Scouts. They're dodgy motherfuckers… and got some meat to them." Kaguya answered back. "But if I had to choose between a Rhino and a Hunter, Rhino winns by the fact that it can distract its brethren, and stun anything around it. You want a Hunter the next time you see one, go ahead, just make sure to stop its aggressiveness from being its demise. It's only good if its up against glass cannons, like the Sectoids and Thin Men."
"Got it, roger that." Yang said as they destroyed the first hive. The second hive produced similar results, except when they got halfway…
Yang spotted lightning coming down in the distance. "Uhm… that's not normal lightning… Kaguya…? What is that over there coming down…?" She asked as she noticed a large red rock crashing down where the lightning landed.
"Wait, is that…" Kaguya remarked, as she walked over towards the red rock. As she did, she unfortunately was swarmed. By exploding Seekers. "Oh, you've got to be… Turret, go!"
Kaguya finally decided to slam the mini-gun turret down, as it mowed down the majority of them, although the rest managed to down Kaguya, as she used her side-arm to stop more from surrounding her.
"Kaguya!" Yang yelled as she saw Kaguya down, as she ran towards Kaguya, using Ember Celica to fire at incoming Cryptids and ADVENT. "I need covering fire! Kaguya's wounded!"
"I understand." Rachel remarked, as she Hypno-Knifed one of the approaching Hunters, as it covered one flank, while Rachel helped it out, as well as shooting anyone taking shots at Kaguya or Yang.
Yang soon got Kaguya to cover, as she brought out a syringe of Healing Dust, injecting it into Kaguya's bloodstream. "No one is dying today, not on my watch!" Yang yelled as she injected the syringe.
"Is Kaguya okay, Yang?" Allison asked as she kept firing, the Scorpion and Muton allies still doing their thing as well to keep Kaguya safe.
"I think. I hope so, anyways." Yang said, looking down at Kaguya. "You alright?"
"Urgh…." Kaguya groaned. "Just give me a moment to pop back to normal. Thought I saw something in that stone… doesn't seem familiar to me, at least with how it looks. How about one of you try to examine it first?"
"Okay, sure." Yang said as the hive was destroyed, as the aliens were taken out, while Yang ran up to the stone to check out what Kaguya was talking about, but before she could, the stone crumbled and fell to pieces. "Ack! Shit! Well… no telling what it was now."
"Wait, Seekers, lightning, big red rock…" Kaguya remarked, before her eyes widened for a moment, and she then face-palmed hard with an audible smacking sound. "Oh god, I can't believe I'm that stupid to walk into a Seeker Meteor. That was pretty much deserved for being unaware of such a thing."
"Well, in whatever case we need to be more careful." Yang said, soon looking at the conditions of the Hypno-Knifed allies. "Our Scorpion and Muton friends seem to be getting pretty damaged, and the Hunter in his recklessness isn't faring too well either."
The third hive went rather well, considering the group avoided the Meteors and took out the exploding Seekers before they got close. The group then approached the Barrier Hive, as Yang nodded. "Okay, time for me to go get the F-15! Wait here gals, I'll be here ASAP." Yang said as she ran off.
"Right, I'm going to get some use out of these turrets." Kaguya remarked, as she laid a trio of them in different angles to cover most of the area. "Alright, Allison and Rachel, if you got any preparations to make, do them now."
"Let's search for some ammo, Rachel, we're starting to run low on both normal and Cryptid Slayer Ammo." Allison recommended, as she began searching for any sort of ammunition they could use.
Rachel moved around the area, before she found some sort of high-power battery, as she examined it.
"'Nucleic Battery'?" Rachel remarked, before she looked around, and examined the battery again, as it seemed to be in pristine condition, unlike much of the surrounding area. "Hm… This might come useful for later."
Rachel then continued searching, as she pocketed the battery, and looked around, finding some explosive rounds for her sniper-rifle, and some Cryptid Slayer Ammo for Kaguya and Allison.
As for Allison, she had similar luck finding ammo, including setting her sights and snatching up a Lynx Sniper Rifle, with quite the number of rounds in it, including several clips of Cryptid Slayer ammo, as Allison smirked at getting more of those, and also found a couple more Hypno Knives to put on her person. She and Rachel regrouped with Kaguya as Yang flew in the F-15.
"Alright ladies, I'm here! Let's get this Barrier Hive!" Yang yelled as she opened fire.
"Scorpions and Mutons! On our 6!" Allison yelled as she began firing at multiple Scorpions and Mutons that were trying to get into position to fire at the F-15.
The Barrier Hive in the ruined city went rather smoothly, as their combined efforts brought it down, as the aliens in the area were cleared out, although their Muton ally had been slain, but they still had their Hunter and Scorpion allies.
"Okay, gals! Not seeing anymore Barrier Hives on radar, go ahead and push on, I'll rejoin you after I set down back at our starting area!" Yang said as she flew off.
"Okay, let's move forward." Allison said as Kaguya picked up the drill and moved forwards…
When suddenly, appearing in front of their next area… was a Rhino, that Allison instinctively fired at… which made it angry enough to engage. "...Oops… Kaguya… is that… what I think it is…?"
"Rhino? FUCKING FINALLY!" Kaguya shouted with released joy, as she tossed a Hypno Knife at such a speed that it pierced through the cranial armour. "Come to mama, big boy!"
Rachel looked at Allison for a moment, slightly worried about Kaguya's sudden outburst. Allison shared the concerned look with Rachel, as they literally saw Kaguya hugging the newly acquired Rhino around the neck in joy.
"Who's a good Rhino? Who's a good Rhino?" Kaguya cooed with a blissful reaction.
"Uhm… Kaguya?" Allison asked in concern. "Are you… okay? You're hugging an alien. I'm not sure how Siege or Richard would react to you bringing home a pet like that…"
"I agree with Allison, you should take a moment to calm down." Rachel suggested. "It's concerning me, and I'm not that easily fazed."
"Oh… Oh, alright." Kaguya stated, as she let the joy dissipate. "Anyways, it's not that easy to take control of a Rhino. I hoped that this is the updated version of the Hypno Knife that actually got what it takes to control one of these. Guess I was right. Now then, let's get moving. I could even affix one of the mini-gun turrets on its back to make it a hulky tank with a turret. But maybe if the Rhino will last for a while more at least."
Suddenly, a large roaring sound was heard as the group and the allied aliens turned to see a Muton Berserker roaring at them, as it charged. The Scorpion jumped it's way, but was easily ripped in two. The same happened with the Hunter.
"Uhm… Kaguya what is that!?" Allison yelled as the Muton Berserker roared, about to tackle on Kaguya's pet Rhino.
"Oh HELL no!" Kaguya remarked, as she rapidly fired at the Muton Berserker, hoping to daze it with the shots she was landing on its head. "I'm not losing that Rhino just after I acquired it! Fuck off, you roided jock!"
The Muton Berserker avoided the fire, as it soon charged, before a Hypno Knife was tossed into it, as it suddenly stopped, and looked at Kaguya, acknowledging her as an ally.
"Somebody call for some backup? Oh, and nice pet, Kaguya." Yang smirked as she walked up, looking at the Muton Berserker. "Gotcha big guy! Now come here and give me a hug!" Yang said as the Muton Berserker shook its head. "What? Alright… fine, be that way." Yang chuckled. "So now we have a hulking tank and a muscle brute. What can stand in our way now?"
"Well, let's not waste any more time. If anything I'm concerned about more Rhinos popping up. But considering we just took over one… if we used our Hypno Knives we could take over many more." Allison mused.
"Hah! An army of Rhinos! I love the idea!" Yang chuckled.
"And Muton Berserkers too…" Kaguya remarked. "Ah, fuck it, we got the knives, let's make a brains vs. brawn civil war between these aliens. This oughta be a fun way to deal with my first mission out here."
The group advanced, making quick work of each hive. As they advanced, they were able to capture two more Rhinos and two more Muton Berserkers… when suddenly, an Ethereal came into the picture, enhancing multiple enemies.
"Uhm… CRAZY PSYCHIC ALIEN, 11 O'CLOCK!" Yang yelled as she saw this.
"Oh? Then gun play-time is over." Kaguya remarked, before she then pulled out her naginata. "I seen Ethereals laugh off bullets and lasers, but I like to see if they can parry a fucking naginata right to the brain. HEY, TIN-HEAD!"
"Oh this is gonna be so badass to do this!" Yang yelled as she got beside the Rhinos and Berserkers ready to help Kaguya charge at the Ethereal. "I suggest you get on your pet, Kaguya, and hold on tight! Ready, and… CHAAAAAAAARGE!" Yang yelled as the 6 possessed alien powerhouses charged in a straight line, deflecting alien fire and bulldozing down any aliens stupid enough to get in the way.
Kaguya was riding on the Rhino she captured, as the Ethereal tried to fire a Psi-Lance at Kaguya, only for the psychic blast to miss, as she leapt right into the air, with her naginata pulled back, before she then thrust the entire blade length, despite the Ethereal's attempt to shield its head and divert the weapon's path, right through the slot in the Ethereal's helmet, causing it to come through the front side to the back, as there were blue blood and gore splattered on it, as the Ethereal warbled weakly, before it then collapsed, as the allies it was boosting immediately died on the spot due to mental feedback.
"Ha, SUCK IT, Ethereal!" Kaguya boasted, before she then landed back on her Rhino, as she returned to using her bolt-action rifle, shooting the nearby aliens, as her Rhino moved back to let the rest of the heavy-hitters decimate the weakened alien army.
The hives in the area were cleared out, with all 3 Rhinos and 3 Berserkers still alive, as Allison made her way down to the nuke… and found a shimmering golden piece in front of the nuke, as her eyes lit up.
"The first piece of the Great Seal!" Allison shouted as she grabbed it and pocketed it. "Okay, setting the timer!" Allison yelled to the group above, as she soon set the nuke and activated it. "Go, go, go, go!"
Multiple aliens came out to try and halt them, but 2 of the Rhinos and 2 of the Berserkers began fending them off, the rest running towards where the F-15s were, as Kaguya's pet Rhino soon charged towards a Meteor blocking their path, and decimated it so they could go through the city. This process continued until they got to the first area, running like hell towards the F-15s, as Yang, Rachel, and Allison got over there… and then the ground shook, breaking way between the first area and the starting area, as Kaguya was stuck with the possessed Rhino and Berserker.
"Shit! Kaguya!" Yang yelled as she saw this. "We gotta get her!"
"But how!? The gap's too big to jump! We can't get over to her! She can't get over to us!" Allison yelled.
The Muton Berserker, seeing more aliens rushing towards them, ran back to hold them off, as Kaguya was stuck with her Rhino… before her Rhino, suddenly, picked her up, hefting her off the ground and tossing her to the other side safely, as she was caught by Yang.
"Well, at least the Rhino was a good boy to the end." Kaguya remarked, as she saw the Rhino joined the remaining Berserker in driving the alien horde back. "I haven't even named you, and you did this for me. Makes my heart twist, but I'll make sure that there's something to remember your passing by."
Kaguya then slowly moved herself out of Yang's grasp, as she gave the Rhino a respectable salute, before she then ran off the F-15s, as the others followed quickly after her. They soon took off as the nuke exploded shortly after they left, eradicating all the aliens from below.
The group soon returned to the OSA Golden Blaze, as Allison and Rachel walked in first, Allison procuring the first piece of the Great Seal, to which Zatanna smiled.
"Excellent. The first step in rebuilding the Great Seal." Zatanna said, as Kaguya noticed Siege and Richard finishing up a talk with Magina, as they ended the call, as Siege turned to Kaguya and Yang.
"Well done for your first mission, both of you." Siege said with a proud smile. "...I could tell you were starting to bond with that Rhino down there, Kaguya."
"Yeah… Well, I can't help it in this kind of scenario. I'm just… conflicted at how that Rhino threw me over, even though I was capable of getting across by myself." Kaguya remarked. "Wasn't going to be able to bring it over in the time remaining, so I was about to head off, when it did just that for me instead."
"Well… since I know how much it meant to you after that event… Richard and I discussed it with Magina… and I think you're going to find something you'll dearly enjoy. There's a surprise waiting for you in your personal quarters aboard the Golden Blaze." Siege said with a warm smile.
"Oh… Is it…?" Kaguya asked with an expectant expression on her face. "Actually, I'll head there now."
She then quickly made her way to the personal quarters aboard the ship, as she slid the door open.
Inside, waiting for her, was a Cryptid Rhino, possessed via Hypno Knife. Not just any one either. There was a small chip in his armor where the Hypno Knife Kaguya threw it. It was her Rhino.
Kaguya looked torn between breaking down with joy and squeeing loudly at how strangely cute it was, when it let out a gentle growl of recognition. Eventually, she settled with opening her arms.
"Come here, you big lug." Kaguya smiled, before Rhino and Lunarian Princess embraced each other for a while, as Richard watched the entire process, with a smile on his lips, behind the door.
Siege watched the scenario as well, smiling just as warmly. "I couldn't see her be so twisted in pain about the ordeal… so why not give her a pet she'll enjoy?" Siege said as he looked at Richard.
"Yeah, odd choice of a pet, but who gives a damn, she likes it, it's hers to have." Richard chuckled gently.
"Let's go check up on our other allies, Richard." Siege suggested as he began walking back to the cockpit, with Richard in tow as well.