RECAP: Last time on The Neptunia Chronicles; Our heroes rescued the enslaved Aurelian goddess... and Andrew and Neptune spend more time together.
Neptune: That was a short recap!
Author: Yes, but please let me read the story.
-WARNING-
Contains Crossdressing
The Neptunia Chronicles
The Prophecy/A Day of Peace
Andrew and Neptune wake up the next morning with a start, having heard Luna's voice and witnessed Andrew's death in the same dream.
"That was a strange dream. I could swear I heard Luna's voice." Andrew said, rubbing his tired face.
"You and me both. That was-" Neptune replied before cutting herself off, as if noticing something that had eluded her. "Wait... You had the same dream? You heard that prophecy and saw your own death?" Neptune asked, a shocked expression on her face.
"Yea... I think I did... this is insane." Andrew replied.
"More than insane, man. There's no way this is but a mere coincidence." Neptune said.
"Agreed. We should ask Luna and Histoire about this "prophecy." If anyone can shed some light on it, it's them." Andrew suggested as he got his shoes on.
"I hope this prophecy doesn't come true..." Neptune thought, worried about her lover, as they walked to the break room.
Andrew and Neptune enter the break room, where breakfast was to be served, and see it empty, other than Histoire floating around.
"Good morning, you two." Histoire greeted cheerfully.
"Histoire? Where is everyone?" Neptune asked as she looked around.
"They're still in bed or otherwise getting ready? Why" Histoire asked, confused.
"Well... Never mind that. We need to speak to you and Luna about something, and it is important." Andrew said.
"What seems to be the matter?" Histoire asked as Luna walked in, yawning, before taking her place next to her. Luna looked to be somewhat sleepy, but in a good enough state to hear what has to be said.
"Well, the thing is... Luna read us a prophecy in our sleep, a very concerning one too. We're hoping the two of you would be able to interpret it." Andrew began.
"What was the prophecy?" Histoire asked curiously.
"The prophecy read "The Shield must give way to the sword before the flames of war are extinguished."" Andrew explained.
"And that is concerning... how?" Histoire asked, maintaining her curiosity.
"That's only the tip of the iceberg, Histy. We also witnessed his death in the same dream as the prophecy." Neptune said, referring to Andrew. What came over Histoire next was a look of dread, while Luna had a serious look on her face.
"What? What is it?!" Andrew asked, now VERY concerned.
"It means that you will have to die in an act of sacrifice for the war to end, Purple Shield. Take heed, that my prophecies are VERY rarely wrong, and you will find yourself in a situation in which there will be no alternative to turn to." Luna explained. This left Neptune to gulp, fearful for Andrew's life.
"Don't worry, Neptune, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Andrew said with a sigh, before turning to Histoire. "Anything to report on the war, Histoire?" Andrew asked.
"No, nothing new. You guys have a day off, a day to yourselves." Histoire explained, calming down a bit. At that moment, Noire and Lance walked in, followed by Konata, Kagami, IF, Avan, Zeri, Compa, and someone else Andrew didn't know.
"Good morning you two." Noire greeted. Andrew and Neptune nodded, before turning to Kagami.
"Kagami, who is this?" Neptune asked.
"This is my twin sister, Tsukasa. Tsukasa, these are my other friends that I told you about; Andrew, Neptune, Noire, Lance, Avan, Zeri, IF, and Compa." Kagami introduced.
"Hello." Tsukasa said with a bow. It was then that two sabres shown on her back.
"Quite the number of swordsmen in our world, now." Andrew muttered out loud.
"By my reckoning, I prefer the term "swordmaster" Andrew." Tsukasa mentioned, her short, purple hair waving under the A/C as she smiled.
"It's nice to meet you, Tsukasa. When did you come in our dimension?" Neptune asked, a rather forced smile on her face.
"Oh, only yesterday. I was since training with Kona-chan and Cloud." Tsukasa explained. "You don't mind if I call you "Nep-san" do you?" Tsukasa asked.
"No, not at all, you can call me anything you like." Neptune replied in a chipper tone. Her happy tone made Andrew smile again. It was at that moment that breakfast was being served, in the form of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and biscuits and gravy. Everyone grabbed a plate and got whatever they wanted, before sitting down. Andrew and Neptune got a small table for two in the interconnected dining hall.
"I really hope that this is one of those very rare prophecies that are wrong." Neptune said quietly, making Andrew sad again.
"Please don't think about it right now, Neptune. We still have a long way to go before then." Andrew said just as quietly.
"How can you say that with the knowledge of your own death?" Neptune asked, knowing she's going to take his death very hard.
"We can deal with the now and spend as much time together as we can until then." Andrew said as he wiped gravy off his face. His response garnered a genuine smile from Neptune.
"That's the sort of response I've come to expect from you." Neptune said, taking a bite of her bacon. It was a good ten minutes before they were done, and they excused themselves from the room.
"So, what would you like to do?" Andrew asked. Neptune scratched her head as she thought about it.
"We could always go home, back to Planeptune, and do some shopping." Neptune suggested.
"Sounds like a plan. You may go on ahead if you wish. I'll stay here with the others." Histoire said, giving them the go ahead to head for Planeptune.
"Thanks, Histoire!" Andrew said as he and Neptune left the building, before transforming and flying off, hand in hand.
Andrew and Neptune land in Planeptune's Market District and transform back into their human forms, before checking their wallets.
"Well, we've got plenty of credits from our work in the Guild a month ago. Lets look around the shops and see what we like, and then grab some lunch before we head back." Andrew said. Neptune nodded at the suggestion, before walking towards a jewelry shop.
"Hello, what can I get for you?" the woman at the counter asked. Neptune and Andrew looked at the different necklaces and stuff, and one caught Andrew's eye.
"Hey, Neptune? What about this one? It matches your hairpieces." Andrew said, pointing to a sterling silver and amethyst necklace with a D-pad as its center piece. Neptune eyed the suggestion like a hawk, before smiling and nodding. As if though the woman at the counter were listening to them intently, she walked over and got the necklace out of the display case.
"That's a very good choice for your girl there, sir. That'll be 600 credits." the shopkeeper said with a smile. Andrew paid the shopkeeper, and retrieved the necklace, before fastening it around Neptune's neck.
"What do you think?" Andrew asked as Neptune looked in the mirror.
"I love it!" Neptune said, as if jumping for joy, before locking into a quick kiss with Andrew. Afterwards, they leave the shop.
"We have still got plenty of money. Where to next?" Andrew asked as he gripped Neptune's hand.
"How about the clothing shop, next? I've been thinking about getting a new dress anyway." Neptune suggested. With a smile, Andrew nodded. As they walked to the clothing shop, Neptune hugged Andrew's arm and muzzled it like a cat, which fed his smile like tinder to an open flame.
They entered the clothing shop together and looked around. Other than the shopkeeper and the occasional shopper, the large clothing store was relatively empty.
"Welcome, you two. Go ahead and take a look around." the shopkeeper greeted. With a nod, Andrew and Neptune walked past the front desk and into the women's department, and scanned the dresses. Andrew laid eyes on a rather pretty, sparkled purple dress that was small and petite in size, perfect for Neptune.
"How about this one, Neptune?" Andrew asked as he held the dress out for her. Neptune looked at it and her jaw practically dropped to the floor.
"That's very pretty! Good find, Andrew!" Neptune shouted in a hushed tone, the excitement beaming from her face.
"Anything else you're looking for?" Andrew asked. Neptune looked around the rows of dresses and saw a knee-length, pale pink dress trimmed with purple and hot pink lace. It was then that she started looking between Andrew and the dress she spotted with a scheming smile that made Andrew uncomfortable when he saw it. "Neptune?... What's with the face?" Andrew asked as he saw what was going on, before she walked up and picked up the dress.
"What about this one?" Neptune asked.
"Isn't that a little... you know... big for you?" Andrew asked, unsure what was going on.
"No, not for me, silly. For you!" Neptune shouted. Andrew jumped back in surprise, his face flustering violently.
"M-m-m-m-me?! Neptune, you can't be serious!" Andrew stammered, feeling like his face was dipped in molten iron.
"Awh, you're blushing! Aren't you at least a little curious about it?" Neptune cooed playfully. Andrew sighed in a vain attempt to calm down.
"Well, I will admit that I am a tad curious, but... what would the others think?" Andrew asked, still feeling hot as though he were now swimming in the molten iron from earlier.
"Ah, don't worry about it! Go ahead and try it on!" Neptune said, giggling.
"I hope you know what you're doing..." Andrew said with worry as the two of them walked to the changing rooms. "If it is my lovely Neptune asking for it, how can I say 'no'? I did say we should spend as much time with each other as we can before my eventual death, after all. Well, here goes nothing!" Andrew thought as he changed into the dress. He walked out of the changing room a minute later, holding his left arm in embarrassment. Neptune was waiting for him in the dress he picked out for her.
"How do I look?" Neptune asked.
"Good." Andrew said, his voice shaking in a vain attempt to hide his embarrassment. Neptune giggled, before turning around to see her lover.
"Hmm..." Neptune hummed as she looked him over. Despite his shaking and obvious embarrassment, she was able to get the picture. "Well, it looks good on you. We just have to do something about your hair." Neptune finally said after a full minute.
"Oh s-stop teasing me." Andrew said with an awkward laugh, trying to force a smile. It still did nothing to hide his embarrassment as he went back to collect his clothes. After an hour, they walked to the front desk, both of them shouldering a pile of skirts, dresses, and mens t-shirts, jeans, and slacks.
"What on Gamindustri are you doing wearing that dress?!" the shopkeeper shouted in a hushed tone. All Andrew could do was point at Neptune behind him, who was giggling up a storm at his expense. He made no attempt to hide his embarrassment this time. The shopkeeper looked at her. "How did you persuade your man to wear that?" the shopkeeper asked out of curiosity.
"Well, we've got a day off from our duties in the war today as Planeptune's leaders, so we felt we'd have the whole day together. I asked him about this and there was no way he could say 'no'." Neptune explained with a childish half-lie, not willing to disclose Andrew's future death as per the prophecy they had heard.
"Wait, you're Purple Heart, and that's... Purple Shield? No way!" the shopkeeper laughed - once again at Andrew's expense - as she was handed the clothing they were buying. Andrew tore the tag off his dress and handed it to the shopkeeper to be added to the list of purchases. After a minute, they got their purchase down. "Alright, the total goes up to 1,698 credits." the shopkeeper said. Andrew took the necessary money out of his wallet and handed it to the shopkeeper before putting it in one of the pockets on his dress. After a while, they had all their clothes in at least six bags. "Have a good day, you two!" The shopkeeper said with a smile as Andrew and Neptune left the clothing shop. The breeze was light, but it was enough for Andrew's flamboyant dress to flow in it, which did not help his overall embarrassment.
"Alright, let's go to the Basilicom and drop this stuff off. No sense in carrying it around." Andrew suggested. They transformed and flew the whole way to the basilicom, before dropping the clothes they bought off in their bedroom. Afterwards they flew back to the market district. "Where to next?" Andrew asked, still flustering.
"Well, I kinda feel like getting some steak." Neptune said, obviously thinking hard about this.
"Alright then. Let's go to the local steakhouse." Andrew answered in reply, a small smile across his face.
"Be careful not to get any grease or steak sauce on your dress now!" Neptune teased. Andrew groaned in reply as Neptune laughed at her words.
"Are you going to tease me all day about this? It was your decision after all." Andrew said in minor annoyance and even worse embarrassment than earlier.
"No, no. You're right." Neptune said as she forced herself to calm down. It took a while before the two of them entered the local steakhouse.
"Hello. Welcome to The Purple Steakhouse, best steak this side of Planeptune." a waitress said in greeting. "Two friends eating out, I see... no. Purple Heart? Who's that with you?" the waitress asked as she was making the connections.
"That's my Hubby, actually." Neptune replied playfully. The waitress looked at Andrew for a second to see what she was talking about.
"Hey, you're right! How did you get him to wear a dress?!" the waitress asked curiously, getting the attention of some people nearby as Andrew looked away nervously, flustering hard.
"Long story, too hungry! Let's get a table for two, please!" Neptune said, dismissing the issue. The waitress laughed as she showed the two of them to a table.
"How much more laughing and stares will I have to endure before the day is out?" Andrew thought to himself as he sat down, the flamboyant dress getting somewhat in his way as he did.
"Andrew, you've gotta sit properly, you'll wrinkle your dress like that." Neptune said in a hushed tone. Andrew sat back up and folded the skirt under him before he sat back down. "Yea, like that." Neptune said, trying to make sure he doesn't go nuts from the embarrassment. Andrew simply sighed as he waited for the waitress to return for their order. He didn't have to wait long, as she returned with a booklet.
"I'll take your order now." the waitress said.
"I'll have the special." Neptune said. The waitress looked at Andrew as she wrote Neptune's order.
"Same as her." Andrew replied shortly, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. It was mortifying enough with the prospect of having to explain this to Histoire and the others without getting teased by them for the rest of his life. The waitress left after jotting down the notes.
"How does it feel to wear a dress?" Neptune asked, staying to the point.
"Well... humiliating, yet at the same time... exhilarating, somehow. It's a very odd sensation." Andrew answered, doing his best not to sound stupid and make the situation worse.
"Well, you'll get used to it. We can make this our own little gig, just between the both of us." Neptune said in an attempt to calm him down.
"That's if the others don't find out first. Which I know they will, no doubt." Andrew answered. Her promise did make him feel a little better, however.
"In which case we will have to explain to them what happened." Neptune said.
"Then of course there's the possibility of this spreading like a wildfire across Gamindustri. Then where would I be?" Andrew said.
"Stop making up excu-" Neptune began. "Oh... some people heard. That waitress said it too loud." Neptune concluded as she looked away. It was only a moment before she looked back in his eyes. "Tell you what. If any issues arise from this, I'll take the brunt of the backlash and tell them the truth-the WHOLE truth. We're just a married couple having a good time together, after all." Neptune vowed. Her vow made Andrew feel quite a bit better, though the nervousness and embarrassment still seethed in him.
"Thank you, Neptune." Andrew said with a genuine smile. "So, what do you suppose we do for the rest of the day?" Andrew asked.
"You mean, after we get back to Lastation? I don't know." Neptune said.
"I guess we'll have to figure that one out on our own at the spur of the moment." Andrew said with a rather shaky laugh. Neptune giggled at his answer.
"I guess so." Neptune replied. The two of them continued to talk for several minutes until their food arrived. The special wasn't completely special, just some medium-rare t-bone steak and mashed potatoes and gravy on a bed of rice pilaf, garnished with different herbs.
"Well, let us dig in." Neptune said as she and Andrew put napkins over their clothes to prevent stains, before they started eating. They had a glass of soda each to drink, which they drank every now and then to wash down the food.
"I have to admit, this is some really good steak." Andrew said as he took his next bite.
"Indeed. Now I know why they claim to have the best steak on this side of Planeptune." Neptune agreed, swallowing her food. Just the fact that they were having a good time with lunch together made Andrew forget completely about the dress he was wearing. It was ten minutes before they finished.
"Ready to go?" Andrew asked as he looked at Neptune.
"Yea. Let's get going." Neptune replied as they got up and shuffled their way out of the table, and walked to the front table where their their waitress waited for them.
"Here's the money, ma'am. We really enjoyed our time here." Andrew said with a smile.
"Thank you for coming, the two of you. Good luck!" The waitress said as Andrew and Neptune left.
"Well, let's return to Lastation with the others." Andrew said as he transformed. Neptune followed suit, and in a moment they were off, hand in hand once more.
Neptune and Andrew landed back at Osiris Air Base and walk inside, before transforming back into their human form.
"Hello, Neptune, Andr-" Histoire began to greet, but was caught off guard by an odd sight. It was at that moment that Andrew remembered that he was still wearing a dress, and now their friends know. Quick to come in behind Histoire was IF, Compa, Noire, Nepgear, Uni, Rom, Ram, Luna, Kagami, and Tsukasa, who crowded around to see what was up.
"What's with the dress?" Histoire asked, her face showing irritation beyond measure. Andrew's fluster and seething, nervous embarrassment returned at full force like high speed train plowing right into him, and he looked away mortified.
"That was my idea." Neptune said. Just as she promised, she was covering for him. Histoire just raised an eyebrow. "Well, remember the prophecy? Andrew and I agreed to spend as much time and have as much fun together as we can until the day comes. I made the suggestion that he wear the dress, thinking this would be between the two of us. Now that you guys know, I am not so sure." Neptune explained. Histoire simply looked on with a puzzled, yet still irritated look. It was clear that she understood Neptune's meaning behind the thing, but she didn't approve of it either way with more pressing matters to look forward to come tomorrow. Luna was fighting through the crowd and got to the front, eying Andrew with curiosity.
"Well, it definitely suits him." Luna finally said, her somewhat childish mentality showing through.
"Yea, I see what you mean, but I don't think it is appropriate." Noire said, blushing a deep red.
"Nah, I think this version of him might be interesting!" Uni shouted.
"I agree with that assessment. I mean we need to find some way to keep our spirits up, right?" Ram said.
"Now that you mention it, yea. I guess there's nothing wrong with it on our end, just so long as the two of you don't let it get to your heads." Noire replied. Neptune looked around and saw IF and Compa looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Hey, Iffy, Compa, if you have any problems with this image, please tell me." Neptune said.
"I don't think this is a good time to get everyone's opinions, Neptune!" Andrew thought. He was ready to say those words, but he kept them to himself. What was the point? He was basically going to be getting mixed reviews from everyone around him like a strange, walking piece of art.
"Hmm..." Compa said as she thought about what was going on.
"Nah... I can see nothing wrong with it if it's just in good fun between the two of you, it's just... how you got him to go along with this is beyond me." IF said, looking directly at Neptune. Compa merely nodded in agreement.
"Sister?" Neptune asked.
"Nope! Nothing wrong with it on my end. Just, be careful with where you guys go, some people will take this as a sign of weakness." Nepgear said with a friendly smile.
"Nothing wrong with it on my end, either! He looks kinda cute!" Tsukasa said with a playful smile. Her words made Kagami, IF, and Noire fluster harder than Andrew was right now.
"Gee, thanks." was all Andrew could muster.
"Huh? Was it something I said?" Tsukasa asked.
"No. I appreciate the compliment. It's just that you set Noire, IF, and even your sister off with it." Andrew replied, still flustering.
"Here's hoping the other guys don't come in and screw things over." Luna said, not wanting Andrew to feel any worse than he probably already does.
"Speak of the devil. I see them right now." Ram said with a look of worry. She was right, Lance was approaching, followed by Avan Zeri, Cloud, and Cosette.
"What is going- oh geez." Lance said as he noticed what was going on.
"What is this, some kind of sick joke?!" Avan shouted.
"Actually... it was Nep's idea." IF interjected. That caused them to lighten up, though Cloud was behaving far differently than how people thought he would react.
"Well... I'd say if you styled his hair right, he'd definitely look the part." Lance said after some measure of thought. Avan and Zeri both had a look of indifference, which was to be expected from two guys in military uniform. Cloud, however...
"Hey, why is Cloud blushing so much?" Neptune asked.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's looking at something he experienced first hand." Luna suggested,
"That's preposterous! There's no way a brute like him would-" Zeri shouted, before being cut off.
"No, she's right." Cloud said. Zeri looked back at him as if he smoked something.
"Please, Cloud. Explain how a brute like you would end up wearing something like that." Avan said, confused about the whole situation.
"Well... It was in the Midgar Slums, before Meteor." Cloud began. He goes on a long monologue about how his friend Tifa captured by Corneo, a local Don. Aerith told him how the only way to get her free was to imitate the role of a woman himself in order to sneak into the Don's estate in Wall Market. Skipping the irrelevant details, he mentioned that Tifa allowed herself to be captured in an effort to gain intelligence from Corneo himself. He concluded that the intelligence they gained indicated a plot by Shin-Ra to topple the plate on top of Sector Seven and blame it on AVALANCHE, a group he was a member of. "Sadly, we failed to prevent the scheme, and Sector Seven was destroyed at a great loss of life." Cloud concluded.
"Hmm." Zeri thought.
"To think that Shin-Ra would drop a section of a floating city onto it's own citizens like that..." Cosette muttered.
"Sounds an awful lot like the Avenir corporation before we beat the snot out of them." Neptune interjected. There was silence as Zeri thought of what he heard.
"Come to think of it, I can see the military applications of... whatever this is... in espionage, no matter how inappropriate it seems." Zeri concluded after a lot of thought.
"So, you understand?" Neptune asked.
"Yea, we kinda do, though how you got him to agree with this is beyond me." Zeri responded. Histoire lightened up a bit, having a change of heart after hearing everyone's opinion.
"Yea, everyone's said that to us." Andrew interjected, unable to hide his embarrassment.
"Well, I guess if everyone else is okay with it, I will have no problem with it. Just keep it amongst yourselves, okay?" Histoire said, with a small request.
"Okay." Neptune said, while Andrew nodded meekly.
"Andrew, why don't you go ahead and get changed. A group of pilots requested something for the two of you." Histoire said. Andrew nodded and turned towards the dormitory he and Neptune have for the day. "Guys, please don't mention this incident to anyone else. I don't want things to spiral out of control." Histoire ordered. Everyone responded with a simple "yes" before going their separate ways. Andrew returned two minutes later in his normal attire looking better than he did earlier. His nervousness was gone, though he was still slightly embarrassed.
"Alright, so what's this special thing?" Netpune asked Histoire.
"The base commander is waiting for you on the tarmac. He says to see him as soon as you're ready." Histoire said. Andrew and Neptune looked at each other.
"Well, shoot. This'll be interesting." Neptune said with a rather neutral face.
Andrew and Neptune were walking on the tarmac, and saw the base commander standing next to what looked like an F-15 ACTIVE.
"Neptune, Andrew. Which one of you is most competent in flying a plane?" the base commander asked. Neptune shook her head, but Andrew raised his hand. "How much experience?" the base commander asked.
"2,000 hours in simulator, plus 600 hours actual." Andrew responded. He was a gifted pilot, having flown an F-5A that he purchased while he was still in his dimension, before his world came crashing down around him.
"Well, the two of you are lucky. The pilots of Task Force 118, Infinity Squadron requested that you two fly with them on recon and training exercises. For this task, you've been given an-" the base commander explained.
"F-15S/MTD." Andrew finished. His words made the base commander give off a satisfied smirk.
"You've got the knowledge, Purple Shield. Impressive." the base commander complemented.
"Thank you. When you have a lot of spare time, you learn some things." Andrew replied.
"Indeed. You'll be armed with the usual loadout, 20mm cannon, AIM-9M sidewinders and AIM-120D AMRAAMs. Make sure that when you lock on our boys during the exercise that you do NOT fire." the base commander explained further.
"Understood, commander." Andrew said.
"Oh, before I forget, the pilots of 118 are hardcore. They'll use every known trick against you, so don't hold back." the commander warned.
"Got it." Andrew said as he put on the HMD he was handed while a member of the ground crew helped Neptune with hers. Since the two of them were basically deities, there was no need for a flight suit.
"Hey, she won't fit her HMD!" a crewman on the ground shouted, noticing that Neptune was too small for any standard-sized HMD. She and Andrew looked at each other. He was having some light trouble with weight.
"Guess we'll be flying in Hard Drive mode." Andrew said with a shrug, before transforming. Neptune transformed as well, and they were pretty much ready.
"You guys don't have any wings on you this time, so you'd better put your trust in your pilot instincts and your bird." the commander said as he eyed Purple Heart and Purple Shield, who had transformed without opting for their own wings. Andrew remained silent as he helped Neptune into the rear seat of the cockpit. After getting her buckled in, Andrew stepped into the pilot seat and buckled in himself, before going through checks. He didn't need a headset because his communicator can interface with the radios of allied aircraft, something he did on the day he rescued Neptune from Jose.
"Alright, kid, good luck." the commander said. Andrew laughed at the word "kid" as he closed the canopy and started the two jet engines.
"Canopy closed and locked. Chocks away, ready to taxi." Andrew announced on his communicator as a holographic screen popped up in front of him. It didn't interfere much as it resized to fit the small cockpit.
"Purple Shield, you are clear to taxi to runway 14 for immediate takeoff. Expect headwinds of 1-5 knots and clear skies." the tower called, appearing on Andrew's holographic screen as a bouncing line to visualize the audio transmission.
"Taxi to Runway 14 for immediate takeoff, roger." Andrew called back as he opened the throttle a little, and the F-15S/MTD rolled at a slow speed towards the designated runway. It only took 5 minutes but they got to the runway for takeoff.
"Purple Shield, clear for takeoff." the tower called as Andrew turned onto the runway.
"Takeoff clearance granted for Purple Shield, acknowledged." Andrew read back. As he opened the throttle further, the afterburners ignited, and the F-15S/MTD rocketed into the air. "Five hundred feet, gear up, flaps to zero." Andrew said as he went through post-takeoff checklists.
"Purple Shield! Nice of you to join us today! This is Infinity One, callsign Reaper, looking forward to flying with you!" a pilot called out, his flight helmet showing up on screen. "We've got more friends of ours coming. Free Aurelian Air Force Ishtar Squadron and William Bishop of the Lastation Air Force will join you as our "opposition" for the exercises. Until then, form up on our six o'clock and engage in patrol." Reaper continued.
"Got it!" Andrew replied as he maneuvered his plane to be sandwiched between the F/A-38s and the F-22 Raptor currently in arrow formation.
"Now THIS is what I call a squadron!" one of the F/A-38 pilots called. Andrew and Neptune couldn't help but chuckle at his comment as they flew between the planes.
"Approaching checkpoint one. No enemies thus far." Reaper called out as he turned his F-22 30 degrees to the left. All the other planes followed suit.
"You know, I've never flown in a fighter jet before." Neptune said.
"I used to have an F-5A Freedom Fighter in the world I came from. She was an absolute joy to fly." Andrew said with a smile as he maintained position.
"I'll bet. You don't see too many of those in active service anymore. Most are either mock targets for training or planes in aerial display teams. The rest are junk or in civilian hands, if not in the hands of, dare I say, a mercenary." a pilot replied.
"Ah, those F-5's are total trash in mercenary hands! It's the Flankers, Burkuts, PAK-FAs, and that Nosferatu we have to look out for." another pilot said in response.
"Speaking of, I heard rumors about that Nosferatu that everyone talks about so much." yet another pilot interjected.
"Rumors?" Andrew asked.
"Yea. I heard Jose himself flies that." the other pilot replied.
Andrew then had a flashback to day two of the whole war when it only a small scale conflict. The Nosferatu that came in and wiped out a number of allied planes with those swarm missiles, just as IF tore a large wound in the enemy's air forces with Lastation's prototype fighter.
"Purple Shield. Don't tell me you've had enough!" Reaper called to him.
"No, sorry. Just had a flashback is all. I remember that Nosferatu as if it were yesterday." Andrew replied, shaking his head.
"Well? Just don't lose your head, Paladin-Knight. That's the last thing you want to do in a dogfight." Reaper replied.
"Thanks." Andrew replied back.
"Hey, don't mention it. Just don't crash into anything before the fun really starts." the pilot to his right called out to him, before breaking out into a fit of laughter.
"Approaching checkpoint 3. Everyone, remain on watch. The day may have been peaceful, but Jose may have a his little birdie ready to flip us all off at any second." Reaper said.
"Acknowledged, lead." a pilot said in response. The six planes continued their patrol over Lastation's airspace.
"Arriving at Checkpoint 5." Reaper called. In an instant, bogeys popped up on radar, their IFFs identifying them as friendlies.
"Heads up, boys, our friends are here. Purple Shield, go ahead and leave formation and join them. The exercise will start in about two minutes." Reaper called. Andrew pulled back on the stick and left formation, before joining the other team.
"This is AWACS Juggernaut, here's how the exercise will work. You have been separated into two different teams. Purple Team, under the command of Purple Shield, will go after Black Team, led by Reaper, and vise versa, in an all out mock dogfight. When one pilot gets a missile lock on their target for five seconds, the locked target will be marked as "SHOT DOWN" and their IFF markings will turn neutral. Though this is a mock battle, Jose's mercenary air force will not hold back in a real battle, so don't hold back yourselves. I'll alert you if something pops up. Juggernaut, out." the AWACS explained. Outside the battlespace was an E-3 Sentry running a standard pattern.
"Alright. Let's see who the top guns are. Ready, Neptune?" Andrew asked.
"Ready as ever!" Neptune replied.
"Begin!" Reaper ordered, and the formations quickly scrambled into a fur ball.
"All wings, break off and engage targets of opportunity, but don't forget to keep an eye on your six o'clock!" Andrew ordered as he spun around and pulled into a Split S.
"Roger!" Bishop and the Ishtar Squadron members replied, before splitting off. Andrew and Neptune quickly looked around, before spotting an Infinity Squadron F/A-38 flying lazy maneuvers.
"There! An easy target!" Neptune called out.
"Too easy. In all likelihood it is a trap." Bishop replied. Andrew looked around and found a decent target.
"Found one!" Andrew called as he opened the throttle and went after the F/A-38 chasing Ishtar 2. "Need a hand, comrade?" Andrew asked.
"Yes. And quickly. I'm not so sure how much longer I will last." the pilot of the Aurelian plane, a P-201 Sparrow, replied. Andrew got a lock, and the F/A-38 trailing the Aurelian quickly pulled up hard into a climb.
"Oh, no! You're not getting away!" Andrew said as he pulled hard, the S/MTD's thrust vectoring sending him into a Cobra which he pulls out of in a vertical climb with his afterburners. He quickly regains lock, and the F/A-38 does a suicidal maneuver. Andrew's opponent stalls, and five seconds after, his target becomes a gray box on his HMD.
"Got one!" Andrew shouted. William Bishop trailed another opponent, his R-99 Forneus faster and more nimble than the F/A-38 he chased. He quickly gets a lock, and manages to keep it within five seconds, and gets his victory. Somewhere else, Ishtar 2 was chasing another enemy plane, and got his lock. The F/A-38 pulled away from the lock with the help of VTOL.
"Agh! Damn him!" Ishtar 2 swore as he struggled to break the lock that hit him.
"I'm on my way!" Andrew said as he "switched" to his AMRAAMs and locked on to the hostile pilot at long range, getting his attention.
"Thanks again, Purple Shield." Ishtar 2 replied. However, the F/A-38 turned head on to Andrew's F-15S, and he dove for the deck.
"Seem's he's got my tail now. Bishop?" Andrew said, asking for assistance.
"On the way." Bishop replied as he turned for the deck and got behind the opponent as Andrew phased in and out of a lock. Bishop quickly got his lock, and again claimed a victory as the enemy plane turned gray.
"Thanks for the help!" Neptune said with a smile.
"Don't mention it." Bishop replied as he pulled up. Andrew scanned the skies and found a major threat, Reaper himself, closing fast.
"Alright, big guy. Want to play rough?" Andrew asked as he turned away from the engaging F-22.
"You call that your all?" Reaper laughed as he witnessed what looked like Purple Shield cowering.
"Hehehe, just watch!" Andrew replied, before he jerked the stick back. In an instant, the F-15S/MTD seemed to slow down, and even fly backwards, as it tumbled meters over Reaper's F-22 in a complete 360 degree spin, getting a lock in an instant.
"Not bad, Purple Shield!" Reaper cooed, his timer expiring as he grayed out.
"And the leader is down for the count!" Neptune shouted.
"Nice one, Purple Shield! There's just one left!" Ishtar 1 called out.
"Can't go wrong with a swarm now, can we? All planes, engage that last bandit!" Andrew ordered. However, before anyone could get a lock, the F/A-38 they were chasing suddenly turned blue on the IFF.
"Hey! What the! I had a chance there! What's going on?!" the sole surviving Infinity Squadron member shouted, demanding answers.
"All planes, this is AWACS Juggernaut! We have a flight of unknowns inbound! Cancel the exercise and execute Defensive Protocol One! I say again, cancel the exercise and execute Defensive Protocol One!" the AWACS shouted, alerting everyone to the threat. Andrew gave a sad sigh.
"So much for spending the rest of this "peaceful" day together." Andrew muttered.
"Yea..." Neptune replied, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"All planes! The pilot of that overbuilt F-15 is Purple Shield. He is confirmed to have Neptune with him as we speak! You are ordered to shoot him down, but I want him alive!" Jose ordered as he piloted his Nosferatu into the airspace. Around him were black-colored Su-35 Super Flankers and PAK-FAs.
"Will do, sir. Purple Shield is primary target. All others are irrelevant!" a PAK-FA pilot said, before a string of menacing laughs echoed the comms.
"Andrew, what is going on? Why has the exercise been stopped?" Noire asked over Andrew's communicator.
"We've got unknown planes inbound, lots of them." Andrew replied.
"All pilots! Lead enemy craft is confirmed to be a CFA-44 Nosferatu! Same ID as the one we fought over the Western Isles!" Juggernaut alerted.
"No! Jose's attacking!" Andrew shouted.
"Hold on, I'm sending reinforcements to your position. Can you hold out a little longer?" Noire asked.
"Negative! I'm being locked! They're- they're all engaging me at once! I'm getting swarmed!" Andrew yelled. Suddenly there was a long tone.
"What's that annoying ringing?" Neptune asked.
"We've got a missile launch! Multiple vectors!" Andrew said.
"All pilots, the enemy is going after Purple Shield at once! Give him some support!" Juggernaut ordered. Immediately, all the active allied planes vectored onto the enemy, and each got missile locks.
"Come on, girl! Give us all you've got!" Andrew shouted as he entered a cobra and dumped chaff and flares, defeating the oncoming missiles.
"Missiles evaded, but you've got a whole lot more coming in from new angles, they just won't quit!" Reaper said as he locked onto an enemy plane, firing a missile. The enemy plane exploded into a fireball on impact, but there were still too many planes to focus on.
"Six! Seven, eight threats! The alarms won't shut up!" Andrew shouted as he threw his plane into a barrel roll, evading more missiles. However, one stayed tightly locked on him.
"Damn! He's got semi-active guidance on you!" Bishop warned. Andrew turned his head, seeing the threat from behind.
"No luck losing this one. I'm sorry, Noire, it seems we're done for." Andrew said as the missile exploded, setting the port engine alight.
"We've got an engine fire. Hydraulic fluid leaking fast. There's no way we can get out of here in this, we've got to bail out." Andrew said as his communicator began showing static.
"How do we do that?!" Neptune shouted.
"You see that black-and-yellow striped handle between your legs?! I want you to grab hold of it with both hands and pull it up as hard as you can! You'll be ejected from the plane and out of harms way! Do it, I'll follow suit!" Andrew instructed. Neptune grabbed hold of the handle and pulled up on it hard. In an instant, she was forced out of the cockpit, before a parachute deployed. Andrew followed suit, and he too was forced out of the wrecked plane seconds before it exploded.
"Purple Shield confirmed shot down!" one of the mercenary pilots confirmed, as a sinister smirk extended across Jose's face.
"Well done. You'll all receive a nice bonus for this! Everyone, RTB." Jose said, before they left the battlezone.
"Purple Shield is down! I have one-no, two deployed chutes!" Bishop called.
"We'll send SAR to pick them up. Please remain on station for a moment." Noire ordered. As Andrew and Neptune floated down to the ground, they couldn't shake the odd feeling that they were being hunted. They both landed on the ground, a forest floor, with a grunt, before staggering a couple yards, only to fall over and roll on their backs, their HDD forms giving out on them.
"Well... now what?" Andrew asked as he lay on the ground, his emergency beacon broadcasting their location to both allied and enemy forces alike.
"Ohhh! That was so unfair! Why'd they have to gang bang us like that?!" Neptune whined.
"I don't know, Neptune. I don't know." Andrew replied. As the hot afternoon sun beamed on them, Andrew covered his eyes in frustration and exhaustion. "We've got to get moving, Neptune. The enemy's probably on our backside right now, trying to get to us before Search and Rescue can." Andrew said as he got up, cutting the chute off of the both of them.
"Awh man! don't feel like moving an inch!" Neptune compained. Andrew just grabbed hold of her and slung her arm over his shoulder, and his arm around her chest for support.
"Come on, champ. You've resisted crushing Gs, a little walk isn't going to hurt." Andrew said with a smile, trying to cheer her up, as they slowly walked across the forest floor.
END OF EPISODE FOUR OF "THE NEPTUNIA CHRONICLES!"
-AUTHOR'S NOTES-
Yes, I had Neptune suggest crossdressing to Andrew, got a problem with that?
All joking aside, I ended this quite like I wanted it to, with a cliffhanger.
There was originally a different ending to this chapter involving a dojo, which I have since edited out. I felt it was too cheesy.
Anyways, stay cool, and keep Nepping! See you later!