Recap: Last time on The Neptunia Chronicles, our Purple Duo was engaged in a race against mercenaries chasing them through the forests in Lastation. Though they successfully made it back, Andrew took a round to his left shoulder, leaving him out of the coming offensive. Later, the rest of the gang attacked and liberated the Aurelian town of Vitoze, which was under the control of Heaven's Bane. Oh, let's not forget that Luna adopted a child.
The Neptunia Chronicles
The Defector
Andrew and Neptune woke up the next morning, tired as ever, but ready for anything. They walked down the hallway to the break room and, just like last time, got breakfast. The break room seemed a bit more empty than last time, as most people were still in Aurelius. They ate in quiet, and, when they finished, they got up and went back to their room.
"What a meal." Andrew said with a yawn. Neptune could only nod happily in reply. A little later, Luna walked in.
"Hey, Luna." Neptune said, a pocky stick in her mouth.
"Hey, Neptune. We're all going to Vitoze, as decided by Histy. Let's all pack our bags and get going." Luna said. Her words made Neptune and Andrew look at each other for a moment.
"Well, I can't be caught dead in a dress so close to the front lines. As far as I'm concerned, it stays hidden in the bag." Andrew says sternly.
"Good call. I doubt they would be very happy to see you dressed like that." Luna replied.
"Probably for the best, it seems." Neptune added, a hint of displeasure in her voice.
"Oh cheer up, Neptune. If it matters to you, we can do plenty of it at home when return." Andrew said, flustering.
"Good idea. I have a couple of outfits for you to wear as well." Luna replied, making Andrew grumble in embarrassment. After Luna left, both Andrew and Neptune began packing up their stuff, and they had everything packed and ready to go a minute later.
Outside on the Tarmac, everyone was waiting. Their ride out was already there, and once again it was a Pelican dropship, fitted for executive transport. Next to it were three F/A 38s that would be escorting the Pelican to Vitoze.
"Is everyone here and ready?" Histoire asked. Everyone replied with a "yes" before they boarded the Pelican. After a short while, they lifted off the ground. Neptune and Andrew laid back as the ride progressed, listening to the hum of the engines and the chatter of the passengers. A while later, they land in Aurelius, and the door opens.
"Ah... It feels so nice to be back in Aurelius again." Luna said with a happy sigh as she breathed in the fresh air.
"You mean longterm, right? Because you were only here two nights ago." Avan asked, obviously confused.
"Yeah, I do mean longterm. I missed my home so much." Luna replied. It was then that Noire and Lance greeted them.
"Hello, you two. Having a good day, so far?" Neptune asked, a bright smile on her face.
"Far from it, but we're managing." Noire replied somewhat irritably.
"Huh? Is there anything wrong?" Cortana asked, concerned for the ground force stationed here.
"Heaven's Bane mercs made a counter attack last night. We drove them back, but sustained some casualties, pretty bad ones, too." Lance reported. Andrew just shook his head. It was all he could do, given what has happened.
"What is the exact casualty report?" Luna asked out of concern.
"Thiry-four dead, and sixty-two wounded, including twelve civilian casualties, all wounded." Lance explained, reading off the list he got from a medic's report.
"That doesn't sound good." Konata muttered unhappily.
"It isn't. This is the first time since our operation in the Western Isles weeks ago that we've suffered a number of casualties that actually made a hinderance to our war effort." Noire concurred, shaking her head.
"You say it like it's a PR thing. I understand why." Kagami said.
"And how? When you go through major battles without many casualties, then suddenly suffer a good number of them in an enemy counter attack, our people begin to suspect complacency. Some may even lose faith in their goddess." Noire said in disbelief.
"But they haven't, have they?" Histoire asked.
"There has been some grieving when they heard the news, but their faith in me has only strengthened." Noire said.
"See? Nothing to worry about." Neptune exclaimed enthusiastically, which brought a smile to Noire's face.
"Lastation's citizens must have suffered enough from the attack on your main city that they have the desire to see Jose's criminal empire burn to ashes. And it seems they want us CPUs and Paladin-Knights to be the spark that catches the fire." Andrew hypothesized.
"Quite the metaphor, there." IF said.
"Hmm? You've been pretty quiet, IF. Why only speak now?" Neptune asked, wondering what was going on.
"I guess I was thinking about this war. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you guys." IF meekly replied.
"I feel the same way." Konata replied.
"Let's not worry about this now. Luna, I'd like you to come with us to the hospital where the wounded are. You need to tend to your people." Noire said. Luna only nodded in reply, before following the two of them. It was then that Lucas walked up to them, with a bandage around his left shoulder.
"Took a round there, Lucas?" Andrew asked.
"Yeah. Hey, by the way. I want the two of you to go with a mixed unit on patrol. They know the route, so just follow them. They're waiting for you right over there." Lucas replied, before asking them a favor.
"Me and Neptune? Are you sure?" Andrew asked.
"Uh-huh. They requested a CPU's aid, and you two are the only ones we can spare." Lucas replied.
"Very well." Andrew said as he and Neptune walked over to the waiting group of men, a mix of Loweean, Planeptunian, Leanbox, Aurelian, and Lastation foot soldiers.
"Ah, Purple Shield, Purple Heart. Nice of you to join us. I'm Colonel Hudson, of the Free Aurelian Army." one of the men in the group said as he shook Andrew's hand and kissed Neptune's in a rather old fashioned greeting. Andrew paid no heed to it, since he knew it was a formal greeting a man would give a lady.
"You're quite the gentleman." Neptune complemented. "So, where are we going to be patrolling today?" she asked.
"We've got a trade route that runs between here and Griswall, our capital city. The mercs have been using it to run supplies and men here, so we're going out to find where their camp is." Hudson explained.
"I thought this was patrol, not recon or covert ops." Andrew replied quizzically.
"It still kinda counts, as we're running short of supplies. I don't want to be caught dead with a Loweean Erza-4 or a Leanbox or Lastation M-8C or M4A1." Hudson joked.
"Aw, come on, man! The Erza-4 isn't all that bad." a Loweean lieutenant whined.
"Read my lips... Don't take a joke too seriously!" Hudson snapped. Everyone laughed at the reply, not to mention that the Loweean himself laughed, while shaking his head. "Anyway, yes. This is a patrol mission. We have a pocket of control on the western end of the trade route that loops around the ruins of Breakwater Fortress, thanks to the Lastation Military Second Armored Division and PSF Twelfth Infantry Battalion. Heck, it gets us close enough to the enemy that we can see what they're doing." Hudson continued.
"Ah! That makes things more clear for me." Andrew replied. "So, are we good to head out?" he asked the men.
"Ready when you are." a Planeptunian shouted with vigor.
"Alright. Let's get this over with and return safe." Andrew said.
As Purple Shield, Neptune, and the Allied Forces group left Vitoze, a mercenary had eyes on them via a surveillance quadrotor. The operator gave a smirk, before tapping a button on a cellphone to Jose that sent a message: "Purple and Blue across the field." These words signify that last night's decoy counter attack worked, and the trap is sprung.
It has been hour since they left Vitoze, and already, the group on recon were close to the supposed enemy encampment. Andrew looked up, however, and spotted the drone.
"Is that one of ours?" Andrew asked, pointing at the quadrotor hovering silently above them.
"No. Probably a civilian quadrotor from Vitoze." Hudson muttered.
"If it were civilian, it shouldn't even be up here in a military operation area. I don't like this." Andrew muttered nervously.
"Neither do I. I suspect a trap." Neptune agreed cautiously.
"Oh stop it you two, you're making ev-" the Loweean soldier said optimistically, only to be interrupted when he had his head blown off by a sniper in the fields.
"Ambush! Take cover!" Hudson shouted. Just as he did, a hundred elite mercenaries appeared out of thin air, and they knew they had fallen into a trap.
"Mercs... with personal cloaking generators..." Hudson muttered in shock.
"It's a trap! We fell right into it!" the Planeptunian shouted. One of his buddies pointed to a man in an obscure, yet familiar uniform. Andrew and Neptune looked at him.
"So you fell into my trap. Jose was most displeased when he learned you had escaped the forest. I am here to correct that." the man said in a sick accent, with an unsettling grin.
"Just who are you?" Andrew demanded.
"My name is Greg Levitsky. And that is all you will ever know, before Jose gets paws on his slave girl." the officer replied, before two mercenaries each grabbed onto both Andrew and Neptune.
"No! You bastards, let her go!" Andrew shouted. He saw the fear and sadness grow in Neptune's eyes as a new kind of collar was locked around his neck, with the old style HDD Inhibitor collar around hers. "I'm going to kill you! I'll kill you all for this!" he continued to bark.
"All bark and no bite. Such a waste. Maybe you should control your dog a little more, Neptune. Mind if I rectify that?" Greg said to Neptune, who was struggling to get free. With a twist of a knob and the push of a button on Greg's remote, the strange collar sent an electric charge down Andrew's body. He screamed in pain as Neptune was forced to watch in horror as her husband and shield get tortured in a sick manner.
"No! Andrew!" Neptune shouted, almost in tears.
"It's your master's trump card, Neptune. Try to escape or fail to follow commands... your petty little husband gets it. This shock collar on him not only inhibits his HDD, it also sends a high voltage electric current down his body at the push of a button. If the need comes, the operator can go up to a voltage level just below the lethality line. Of course a Paladin-Knight like him can survive... but it'd be the most painful experience he'll ever have in his infinite lifetime. It hurts, doesn't it? Seeing the one you love tortured like this. Just do as your master tells you, and he won't have to suffer." Greg explained sinisterly.
"You sick fuck!" Hudson shouted in disgust, his hands on his head and his weapon taken. The other men in the group were in a similar situation.
"Hmph. Petty. Take the slave and her husband away... and kill the rest." Greg ordered. The Mercenaries attach shackles on Neptune and Andrew, before shoving them onto a truck meant for slave transport. As they drove off, Andrew and Neptune witnessed the men they followed gunned down, before returning to the shadows and driving off to forward base camps far from the decoy site, but still close enough to Vitoze that they can make a proper counter attack. However, nobody noticed that the PSF soldier survived the massacre, and continued to play dead for a few more minutes before he made his way to a passing patrol with the news.
Jose was beside himself with glee, if anyone could call it that, when he saw Neptune and Purple Shield at the doorstep, with Greg close behind them, holding the chain to make sure they didn't escape.
"So, your plan worked out. Just when Ludwig said it wouldn't." Jose said aloud. Andrew looked to the side to see Ludwig Schneider looking at him grimly, almost as if he lost his job, or was showing sympathy for him.
Jose then turned to Ludwig. "Ludwig Schneider. We made a deal. If his plan wouldn't work, you would become my right-hand man. If it did, which it clearly did, you would lose your rank and command." he said.
"Yeah, yeah." Ludwig said sadly.
"Don't worry. I still like you. Have a job guarding the slave and her husband." Jose said sinisterly, as if to taunt his former officer.
"Yes, sir." Ludwig said in humiliation, before dragging Neptune and Andrew into the basement. Andrew noticed, however, that there was something about the way he dragged them that indicated he was unhappy about what happened. He motioned the two of them into a cage and locked the door, before unshackling them, hanging the keys on the other side of the basement and closing the metal door.
"Where did I go wrong?" Andrew asked.
"What? No, don't think that." Neptune replied softly.
"How can I not? I failed you. I was supposed to protect you from slavery and I failed." Andrew said, pain showing through his eyes.
"Just because we fell into a trap we weren't prepared for, doesn't mean you failed me." Neptune countered.
"I might as well have. Now Jose has the best of both worlds: A CPU slave, and her husband with which he can use to blackmail you and control you." Andrew said, sadness filling his eyes.
"Don't think that." Neptune said again.
"How can I not?!" Andrew snapped, scaring Neptune in the process. She backed away from her husband, only to see him shed tears at their misery.
"Andrew..." Neptune mumbled, watching her husband, a strong and lightning-fast warrior, showing such weakness.
"I'm sorry, Neptune. If only Luna had foreseen this beforehand. If only I could have shared her premonition... I could have prevented this!" Andrew said, tears still streaming from his eyes. Neptune shuffled her way back to him and found him closer than before his outburst.
"You have nothing to be sorry about. Come on, honey, no tears." Neptune said as she looked him in the eyes and wiped his tears away with her thumbs. "You didn't fail me. And you aren't failing me now. We have nothing to worry about. Because in the end... we still have each other." Neptune said. The dramatic scene ended as the two of them embraced each other, Neptune comforting her husband as he buried his face in her shoulder.
"If only I had acted sooner." Luna said, a look of shame on her face. Everyone was gathered in the Town Hall, discussing the news they had received from the now-hospitalized Planeptunian soldier.
"We didn't know, because neither of us would think that mercs had the nerve to pull a trick like that. It isn't your fault, Luna." Noire said, feeling sad about what had happened. Behind them, Nepgear was curled up into a ball in the corner like a grieving child, with Uni sitting next to her, trying to comfort her.
"So, now that we have made this big intelligence blunder in our campaign against the enemy, what can we do to correct it?" Lucas asked, feeling somehow at fault for what transpired.
"That, we do not know. It may be months or years before we find out anything. By that time, Jose may move to whatever country is acting as a safe haven for these criminals, and we'll lose them forever. It's going to take a miracle to get us anywhere." Cortana said, with an obvious sigh. Everyone seemed to feel saddened by the news, and the meeting broke up with out answers, only more questions. Noire and Lance went back to the hotel, where they both embraced each other, full of worry and sadness. All of the Planeptunian troops were worried as well, but were asked to keep their faith for when the time comes.
"Okay, girlie, back to work." Jose said as he opened the cage door.
"Will Andrew be with me? I want him with me for support." Neptune asked.
"Sorry, no can do." Jose said with a smirk.
"Please! I'll lose my head if I don't have him near me! And what if I make a mistake like last time? I'll need someone to act as a witness!" Neptune pleaded.
"If you need a witness that badly, you're going to have to settle for one of my men. Now, leave the man behind, and get working." Jose ordered.
"No! If I don't have him close... I... I could really lose my head! I mean it! I'd be such an emotional wreck that I wouldn't be able to..." Neptune continued to plead, before witnessing Jose pull out the remote for Andrew's shock collar. "N-no! Please! Don't do it!" she begged desperately, wanting to save him the pain.
"Too late!" Jose said as he hit the button. The energy current tore through Andrew's body, and he screamed in response to the intense pain. Watching him suffer brought Neptune to tears.
"No... Please... stop!" Neptune cried.
"Be careful of what you say, girlie, or he gets another shock. Now, do as I ask, and get out of the cage." Jose ordered. Neptune could only comply, sighing as she crawled out. She glanced back at Andrew with sadness as she walked out while the cage was re-locked.
"Why did this have to happen...?" Andrew asked himself as he gripped the bars of the cage, watching Jose and Neptune walk out, before the basement door was closed. He glanced to his right, and saw Ludwig looking at him.
The expression on Ludwig's face read that he understands the pain Andrew was going through, and was trying to decide between two options. He could either defect with a mercenary pilot he knew and help the Allied Forces rescue them, or he can maintain his pitiful, insignificant job and watch the man suffer countless times. No, he decided he had to make a difference. Having a slave was one thing, but having another suffer just to keep that slave in check was unbearable. He refused to let it happen. With a pained smile, he handed Andrew a silver item, which appeared to be a special shock resistance ring.
"When the time is right, put this ring on your finger. It will allow you to be immune to the shock collar's effects." Ludwig whispered, before looking at the door to make sure nobody saw. Andrew could only give a pained smile, knowing that Ludwig made the right decision.
"Okay... I'm pretty hungry. Go make me a burger." Jose ordered, before walking off to his desk to fill out paperwork. Neptune, with her eyes still filled with tears, went to the oven and started making the burger. She wanted to stop and let her feelings out, but the fear of having Andrew suffer again kept her going. She was determined to do exactly as her master tells her to, just to save him from the pain. In ten minutes, the hamburger was done. However, she didn't know what he liked on his burgers, so she went and asked the guard who was standing watch over her.
"Um... What does the master like on his burgers?" Neptune asked.
"Why on earth do you ask? You should be working, not asking questions." the guard replied.
"I know, I know. I only want his burger to be just right." Neptune countered, before letting out a hefty sigh. "I don't want to see my poor husband suffer just because I messed up his food, you know?" she continued.
"Well... he likes ketchup... cheese... oh what the hell, let me write it down for you, it's going to take all day. Just don't put all the ingredients in at once. Hey, let me make it easier on you and group the additions by taste." the guard said, before writing everything down and handing the paper to her.
"W-what the heck?!" Neptune thought, completely bewildered. "Why is this guard being so friendly?" she continued to think as she walked back to the hamburger, which was still quite warm. Looking over the list, she put in lettuce, chopped onions, cheddar cheese, tomato slices, and barbecue sauce, before putting the hamburger on a plate and taking it to Jose. "Here you go, Master." Neptune said as she gave him the plate. Jose took a bite, before shooing her off. She wanted to go back into the basement, but one of the guards told her that it was unwise. Without anything to do, Neptune just chose a wall and sat down, thinking about how Andrew might have been suffering emotionally in her absence.
"With the capture of Purple Heart and Purple Shield, you've been ordered to step up all air patrols. Twenty squadrons of aircraft will fly several combat air patrol shifts, ten in the morning, and ten at night. You will fly for as long as your fuel allows. If you spot something on radar, or you spot something visually, you are to contact the tower before engaging. Any questions?" Victor said as he waltzed between the pilots. The pilots being given this command are from all five nations, and will be providing CAP while the hunt for Neptune and Andrew continued.
"No questions, sir." Amethyst 1 said.
"Good. Now, report to your planes, gentlemen. Dismissed." Victor said, closing the briefing. As everyone left, Victor turned around and stared at the wall, deep in thought. While selected for supreme command of the allied air forces in this emergency, he wasn't sure if he was up to it. Just outside the room, Noire impatiently paced the hallway, a grim look on her face.
"L-lady black heart, is something wrong?" Reaper asked her. Noire looked at him to acknowledge him and his question, but didn't respond. Only she, her sister, Lance, and her other friends in the highest circle of command know exactly what happened. Nepgear has fallen ill with depression, seeing the situation hopeless. Noire ordered several teams of her intelligence network to find out where exactly Jose has gone with Andrew and Neptune, but they haven't made much progress. The longer they take to find an answer, or some sliver of hope, the worse Nepgear's condition gets. Noire suddenly burst out of the building and ran for a meadow to the south of Vitoze, near the ruins of Breakwater Fortress. She sat there for an hour, leaning against the charred wreckage of an Su-30 MKI Flanker.
"Everyone is losing their spirit. What are we going to do?" Noire muttered to herself. She, too, has lost hope. Her communicator suddenly went abuzz. It was a call from Histoire. She tapped the Answer button.
"You wanted to call about Nepgear's condition?" Noire asked, a tear almost visible on her eye.
"Yes, and no." Histoire replied. The 'no' part caught Noire by surprise.
"Please, Histoire, speak up." Noire shouted, just about ready to burst into tears.
"Well, Nepgear's condition has gotten worse, and we're forced to send her home on medical leave." Histoire reported. This was the final straw that broke Noire's spirit completely. Uni was suffering, because she couldn't bear to see Nepgear suffer. But Histoire wasn't finished. "That is, we would be, but we have asked her to hang on a bit longer, because a major development has risen in our search for Neptune and Andrew." she continued. This word completely shocked Noire, and a smile rose across her face. Hope. The one thing she let slip through her grasp, and it brought only more of it, like a poor man in a shack running away and returning with riches and food for his starving kids.
"Say no more, Histoire. I'm on my way." Noire replied with a smile, before closing the link.
"You see this, right? Look at him, suffering. But look at him suffer for the one he loves. I can help you rescue them, but it comes with a price." Ludwig said over the line via Andrew's N-Gear.
"Mercenary dog... why should we trust you?" Boss shouted. As a clone of a Mandalorian trained under the ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality by the best his dimension had to offer, his reaction was warranted.
"You don't have to trust me. But I am the only hope you have of getting them out alive. As such, I am going to defect. I've gotten in contact with a mercenary pilot who also wants to change sides, and he's agreed to fly me out. All I ask in return for my aid is immunity for me and the pilot." Ludwig explained.
"Are you sure about this?" Lucas asked. It's going to be tough for him to trust Luna's former master.
"Yes. I'm very sure. I've already made every detail of our plan, all we need is someone to execute it." Ludwig replied.
"Very well. What's the plan?" Histoire asked. Noire stood in the back with a pen and paper, ready to write down every detail of Ludwig's plan to defect.
"We'll fly out in a stolen plane and rendezvous with one of the five nations' air squadrons outside the enemy SAM zone. As soon as we enter Allied Forces airspace and get "intercepted" by your pilots, we will use the codeword "Valiant" to identify our plane. Once we get our identity settled, we'll change our IFF so that it matches that of the Allied Forces, so that we are not accidentally fired upon. After that, we need a designated landing zone." Ludwig explained.
"Sounds like a gamble, but we'll make it work." Histoire replied with a little thought.
"I know who to contact. I'll go ahead and do that now." Lucas said. He hastily went out and contacted an abandoned airport they recently reactivated, as well as the top Aurelian pilot.
"Very well. Let us not delay, for Andrew and Neptune depend on our cooperation." Ludwig said, before he closed the link.
"Thanks for letting me use your N-Gear, Andrew. I don't know if they will ever trust me, or if Luna will ever trust me, but I can at least prove to them that I am sincere." Ludwig said with a smile.
"No big deal, man. I'm glad you made the right choice." Andrew replied, also with a smile. There was then a knock on the grating, and the pilot who was going to defect with them opened it.
"Hello, Purple Shield, hehe. Enjoying your stay?" the man said, pretending to be smug about Andrew's capture.
"Why don't you come down here and find out?" Andrew replied with an equally deceptive tone of oppression and sadness, when in reality, he gave the man a friendly smile. The mercenary pilot motioned Ludwig to follow him through the grating, and to the airport. His cover was forged orders for Ludwig to oversee the training of pilots. The ploy worked, only because Jose hadn't informed anyone of his decision to demote the former commander. Ludwig climbed out of the basement and to the nearby airport.
"You have chosen well, Mishka. This plane will get us to the rendezvous with time to spare." Ludwig said as he looked at the two-seater Su-30.
"Thank you. I hope to get it redecorated for use in either Lastation or Aurelius, too. She's going to be my beautiful baby bird from now on." Mishka, the pilot, responded in a Bavarian accent. His words made Ludwig chuckle.
"I like your sense of humor, Mishka. Let us get inside and get out of dodge, before our "allies" figure out what we're up to. You have the data for Histoire, no?" Ludwig commented.
"Indeed I do. All on my trusty flash drive. I had to... coerce a female officer for it. She quite enjoyed the short time we had together." Mishka replied. "And more, too. Battle plans, weapon schematics, troop movements... I even put a trojan on their system to feed the Allied Forces updates in real time." he continued.
"Ahahaha... Let us see Jose recapture Purple Shield and Purple Heart after this coming breakout." Ludwig laughed as they climbed in the plane. The hangar doors open, and with the whine of jet engines, Ludwig and Mishka quickly taxi to the runway and takeoff. A textbook escape, Heaven's Bane had no idea what was going on, and they were too late to intervene when they noticed something amiss. At ten thousand feet in the air, they were en route to the rendezvous.
Above Aurelius, a lone, but skilled, Free Aurelian pilot cruised at Supersonic speed to the rendezvous point in a requisitioned F-22 Raptor, repainted in Aurelian colors. On the back was the image of a Gryphon. foreshadowed by the Southern Cross constellation. This man was Christopher Patterson, AKA Gryphus 1, the best pilot that the Free Aurelian Air Force has to offer. He had been slipped the necessary information, and was given his mission: "intercept" a lone Heaven's Bane-affiliated aircraft and escort him to the airfield between Breakwater Fortress and Vitoze. He had music playing in his head when the GPS signaled his onboard computer, nicknamed "Zoe", to tell him he had reached the waypoint.
"Okay... where is that... I think that's them..." Christopher thought as he spotted the plane he was to escort. He knows that the defector was playing the intruder so they wouldn't arouse suspicion. He had just the speech to maintain the deception. "Heaven's Bane aircraft, you are intruding in Allied Forces-controlled airspace. Tune your radio to 148.60 MHz and alter your course to heading two seven zero. Failure to comply will result in your death." he said, almost laughing at himself for the soap opera of an intercept mission. Christopher tuned the radio to the designated frequency. A voice on the other end let him know that he established contact.
"Quite the speech there, pilot. Maybe you should have chosen to be minister of defense, rather than a pilot." Ludwig said, laughing. The words also got Christopher laughing.
"Alright, scumbag, let's get this done quick, before the enemy sends fighters after you. What's the codeword?" Christopher asked, being friendly with his use of the word "scumbag".
"Codeword: Valiant." Ludwig replied. There was a moment of silence.
"Your credit card is accepted, follow me in." Christopher said jokingly, poking fun at Ludwig's former status as a mercenary. Just after that, Mishka changes the Su-30's IFF transponder as was planned, and they flew to the airfield.
"Alright, let's tune the radios to 165.40 MHz for Breakwater Tower." Christopher ordered after ten minutes of flying. As ordered, Mishka changes the radio frequency to get in contact with the tower. "Hey, Breakwater Tower, say hello to my little friend! I have brought back the defector! This is Gryphus 1, requesting permission to land." Christopher continued.
"Landing clearance for both planes is acknowledged. Welcome home, Lieutenant Colonel." the control tower operator returned.
"Alright, follow me in." Christopher instructed. After five minutes, both planes were on the ground and parked. Histoire, Noire, and Luna were at the airport waiting for them. Luna went white, however, when she saw who exactly the defector was.
"M-master? W-what are you doing here? You're not going to punish me for my escape, are you?" Luna asked, almost panicking.
"Hello again, Ms Azure Heart. Not to worry, I'm done with slavery, so you don't have to call me "master" anymore. In fact, I'm willing to pledge myself to you. Here's a little heart to heart relaxation stuff for you, if you don't trust me." Ludwig said, before Mishka gave them the thumb drive.
"This data drive holds all the data necessary for a successful rescue operation, including manpower, equipment loadout, and other technical data for the area. As a little bonus, I pulled battle plans, weapon schematics, troop movements... and something I left on their servers that will allow you to update the information in real time." Mishka explained.
"Thank you very much guys. We will form a plan of action and hit them first thing in the morning." Histoire said happily.
Nepgear was getting better by the minute. News of Ludwig's defection bringing information on her sister and brother-in-law spread fast among the allied forces, reinvigorating many men.
"Oh, sister. I can't wait to see you again." Nepgear said to herself happily.
"I can't either." Tsukasa agreed.
"We all can't. Everyone's been frantically looking for a way to rescue them. These defectors are the breakthrough we desperately needed." Kagami said, a smile on her face.
"Glad to see you getting better, Nepgear. I was so worried you might have to be hospitalized." Uni said happily.
"Hey, we should be getting to bed soon. The rescue op is first thing tomorrow, and we need every soldier to be at their best. The fighting is only going to get a lot tougher." IF said.
"You've done enough for today, Neptune." Jose said, before motioning the guard to take her back into the basement. Neptune followed, and saw Andrew looking like he was in as much pain as he was before. The guard opened the cage and let her in, before closing and locking it again. Seeing Andrew hurt like this made her heart sink. It didn't seem fair. After the basement door closed, however, Andrew looked Neptune in the eye and his face brightened up enormously.
"What's with the bright smile? Did they turn you into a bipolar or something?" Neptune asked him, a little creeped out.
"Not even, Neptune. Two of Jose's men have defected to our side, and they took information with them - information that is vital to our rescue. They're coming for us, Neptune! We're going to be free again!" Andrew explained. Neptune's happiness returned, and they embraced each other joyfully.
The next morning, everyone was assembled in a gym for briefing.
"Alright, so here's the details on Jose's defenses. Jose has three armored columns here, and here, machine gun nests along here, pillboxes and artillery pits here... a DEADS and SAM defense zone here... and finally a group of IFVs. All supplemented by Jose's elite, under the command of Greg Levitsky, Ludwig's "successor"." IF explained as she looked over the data, all confirmed by Lastation's satellite surveillance network. "And it seems that these men have access to personal cloaking generators, like the men who captured them." she continued.
"Cripes, that's a lot of defenses." a soldier cried when he saw everything.
"What gives?! This is practically a suicide mission!" another soldier yelled.
"I know how you guys feel about this. It is not going to be easy. But so long as both Andrew and Neptune remain in Jose's grasp, Heaven's Bane has a surefire way of conquering Planeptune. And that would drastically alter the course of this war. Millions will suffer and even die if we let this be. That is something we cannot allow." Noire said, getting irritated by the outcries coming from the soldiers.
"But what of the potential casualties?! Do you realize that too many men will lose their lives?!" a female soldier asked.
"The words and insight of a potential officer, my dear friend. That is why we've called for backup. We've got more men coming in to help us... and these men know war and tactics better than anyone." Noire countered. The chief, who was watching the proceedings, wasn't sure of what she was talking about.
"Those men, my friends, are the United Nations Space Command." Vert began.
"And, a UEF element led by Dominic Maddox." Luna concluded.
"These two factions have agreed to add their forces to ours during the period of this war. With this strength, we can win this battle. We can win this war!" Noire finished. The pep talk aroused the troops, giving them an unbreakable spirit.
"With that out of the way, here's what we have planned. The operation will start with an orbital drop by SPARTAN Blue Team and Logan Star of the UNSC 83rd Shock Battalion, who will be supported by Blanc. They will be the vanguard of our assault. Following their entry, Noire, Vert, and Luna will lead the main assault from the south, while Maddox, Cloud, Kagami and Haruhi lead a separate assault from the southeast, and the Chief, The Arbiter, Solid Snake, and Avan will lead their own assault from the southwest. Delta Squad will have their own entry point, to the north, supported by Section and Lance. Given their defenses, we will need to use all our available assets, so this means a combined assault from the ground and from the air. I expect you all to perform at your best today. All of Planeptune depends on our success. Dismissed." IF said, explaining the operation. After she concluded, everyone stood up and got ready for battle.
"So, this... Neptune... she's a goddess, correct?" Dominic Maddox asked.
"That's correct. And before you ask, yes. Her husband is a Paladin-Knight." Histoire confirmed.
"Neptune looks kinda small... like a kid, even." Terrence Hood mused.
"You do know that looks are deceiving with her, sir." The Chief corrected as he walked in.
"Ah, Master Chief. Good to see you." Lord Admiral Hood said.
"You too, sir." The Chief agreed. With him was a man of about middle age. However, as the Chief said, looks can be deceiving.
"We don't have much time, Master Chief, so whatever you have for us, make it quick." Histoire said sternly.
"Ma'am. I found this... man wandering around the town perimeter, in HDD. His name is Jacob, and he claims to be Neptune's younger brother." The Chief introduced.
"A man with CPU powers, who is not a Paladin-Knight. His name is Jacob, and he claims to be... can it be? Jacob, it is you!" Histoire shouted, almost jumping for joy.
"Glad to see you too, Histoire. If it wasn't for Jolly Green Giant here, I wouldn't have known you were still here. I've been all over Gamindustri looking for you, because I am looking for my sister." Jacob explained. The Chief made no reply on the "Jolly Green Giant" comment, believing it to be on account on the size and coloring of his MJOLNIR Power Armor.
"You'll see her soon, son. Right now, she and her husband are being held as slaves in the den of Jose Carter, the leader of a major criminal organization." Terrence explained.
"Great. I just reawaken from stasis, only to find my older sister married to some guy I don't even know, in the hands of a crime lord, and all of Gamindustri at war. Thanks a lot, Neptune, for putting me in such an awkward future." Jacob whined, before touching a strange amulet around his neck.
"He was in stasis since before the Console War, and just happened to have been reawakened at the worst possible time in our history." Histoire said.
"What's that amulet around his neck?" Dominic Maddox asked.
"Oh, this? It's a weapon I developed, named Ignite. It allows me to channel dark powers without succumbing to them. As such, my abilities can increase in power tenfold." Jacob explained.
"That might not be be a good weapon to have. If it were to fall in the wrong hands..." Cortana theorized.
"Hey, the assault starts in an hour." an advisor said.
"Oh, right. Jacob, I want you to join Blanc in our Vanguard force. Get the Crimson Broadsword and join her on the cruiser Reliance. I'll let her know you're on your way." Histoire ordered.
"Very well, Histoire." Jacob said as he left.
"I hope things will be okay. There was something about that amulet that gave me a bad omen." Maddox said.
Jacob went to the motel and grabbed his sword, before joining Blanc on a Pelican dropship that was bound for the cruiser in geostationary orbit above the target.
"Who... no way... Jacob? Last time I saw you, Neptune foresaw the conflict between the goddesses and put you in stasis!" Blanc exclaimed.
"Yeah. I remember the crush we had back then." Jacob said.
"What was that?!" Blanc snapped, her classic red eye showing. Her reaction made Jacob jump, garnishing a fit of laughter from Blanc. "Oh, I got you! I so got you!" she shouted. Jacob sighed.
"You did that again... like you did when we had just started our relationship." Jacob said, his face flustered.
"Oh, come on, you know I like to tease you, Jacky... Oh how I missed that nickname. It may have been minutes for you in stasis, but for me, it's been an eternity." Blanc said.
"So that's why Histoire stuck me with you for this battle. It's to give us a chance to reconnect." Jacob mused.
"Indeed. And I missed every moment we spent together. Let's finish this battle and get back to it, shall we?" Blanc asked.
"Yeah... Let's..." Jacob said, as they embraced each other. They continued to hug each other for as long as they could, while the Pelican continued its ascent into space.
"Alright, you two, we're about to land. Get ready to disembark." the pilot announced as the Pelican dropship entered the hangar of the cruiser. Jacob and Blanc broke their embrace and stood up, just as the loading ramp lowered.
"Welcome aboard the UNSC Reliance. Follow me, the men you're going with are this way." a UNSC Naval Officer said as he led the way. Jacob and Blanc follow him through the corridors of the large cruiser, and into an ODST ready room. "SPARTAN Blue Team, Logan, this is Blanc and Jacob. They will be supporting you on this mission." the officer introduced. The four soldiers stood up and briskly saluted the two CPUs. Blanc and Jacob eyed each other in response, confused about what was happening.
"We've been told that the CPUs are going to be our supreme commanding officers for quite some time. Logan Star, ODST, 83rd Shock Battalion. That is Frederick-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058 of SPARTAN Blue Team. We look forward to serving with you." Logan explained, before introducing everyone.
"Are introductions done? Good, because the drop is in fifteen." Arcadia, the Reliance's AI, spoke.
"That gives us only ten minutes to prepare. Blanc, Jacob, if you would be so kind." Kelly instructed, her joking not getting through to the two CPUs as they followed her. "Alright, here's the basics. Hatch, stick, jettison charges, etc. Upon entry, the hatch closes and seals. Normally we have a pre-determined flight path or a semi-automatic Unified Control System flying the thing, but just in case both fail, here it is. If you happen to fail to hit the ground or the hatch fails to open, hit the charges to blow the door off the pod. Also, Ammo and gun racks for firearms, O2 mask for pressure failures, bumper stickers, decals... you get what I mean." she explained.
"N...no we don't." Blanc complained.
"You lost us as soon as you mentioned "bumper stickers"." Jacob concurred.
"You do realize that Kelly likes to crack jokes, even at the mot inappropriate times." Fred explained.
"Heh. That reminds me too much of Neptune." Jacob laughed, realizing what had eluded them.
"I was under the impression that SPARTANS were supposed to be super-serious. I guess Sierra-117 isn't the perfect model for you guys." Blanc explained.
"Wait... how long has John-117 been here?" Linda asked, sounding completely shocked.
"Who the hell is... no way! He never mentioned his name to any of us!" Blanc exclaimed.
"Understandable... but I wonder why he had to be super serious and not use his real name." Kelly thought out loud.
"I don't know. I thought it had to do with professionalism." Blanc suggested.
"Blanc, when you've seen one SPARTAN, that's exactly what you've seen. One SPARTAN. Our personalities range variously, like the average person." Fred explained.
"Ah." was all Blanc could say in reply.
"Five minutes to drop! Get ready!" Logan announced.
"So, ready for the ride of your life?" Kelly asked.
"Sure, Kelly, I just LOVE the idea of dropping to earth from orbit in a giant metal capsule like a meteor!" Jacob complained.
"Hehe, welcome aboard, Jacob." Kelly joked snidely. The minutes pass.
"One minute!" Logan shouted. Everyone got in their drop pods and strapped themselves in. The hatches closed and sealed. After the minute passes, the magnetic clamps disengage and the pods drop out of the ship, falling back to Gamindustri. The atmosphere glowed around the pods, the heat of re-entry threatening to burn them up on decent, too fast for the DEADS and the SAM defenses to track effectively. But the pods hold firm, and they lose velocity rapidly. Finally at 3,000 feet, the retro thrusters engage, bringing the pods to a slow, comfortable touchdown. On the ground, the hatches open, and everyone ran out into the battle, the mercenaries caught completely off guard by the sudden attack. Jacob's pod failed to open, so he hit the charges. The door jettisons, plowing right into a group of mercenaries readying themselves to meet the attacking Allied Forces.
"Vanguard has reached the target zone. Let's go." Section reported. They had been waiting in the brush with active personal cloaking devices. They walked up to the rear point and started taking out mercenaries left and right.
"Ah! G-ghosts!" a mercenary shouted, fear gripping him.
"Switch to Thermals, hurr-" another merc ordered, before getting his neck snapped. By this time the mercs were shooting in every direction, hoping to hit something. But they sometimes hit each other in the chaos.
"Oh man! I'm not paid enough for this!" a merc whined. It was then that Section, Delta Squad and Lance turned off their cloaking generators.
"Sorry to pop in unannounced!" Lance said, before transforming and shoving his sword into a merc's chest. The mercs opened fire, but they were quickly taken out by the uncloaked men, too off guard to effectively counter the surprise attack.
"Well, that's got the enemy confused." Scorch said, before they all recloaked.
"Man, I love these things!" Section said.
"North Guard, what happened? North Guard, report! North Guard has been taken out, somebody investigate!" Greg ordered on the radio.
Christopher was flying Combat Air Patrol over the assault force, while Infinity Squadron and Amethyst Squadron performed ground strikes and SEAD missions against the enemy.
"Enemy Air Defense is forty percent destroyed. The mission is going well." Amethyst 1 reported.
"Bandits! Incoming! Vector zero eight zero. Analysis confirms that they are MiG-31 Foxhounds and Su-25 Frogfoots." the AWACS announced.
"Gryphus 2, you ready?" Christopher asked the new member of his squadron, Mishka.
"Ready and willing." Mishka replied, his newly repainted and modified Su-30 flying beside the F-22.
"Break off and engage." Christopher orders. The two planes split up and fly into the enemy formation.
"Don't leave us hanging. Blaze, engaging!" the pilot in the black F-14D called out, the three black F/A-38s splitting off.
"And so the Razgriz finally reveal themselves. Welcome aboard, Blaze. Your skill in the dogfight over the Western Isles was exceptional. Let's do it again, shall we?" Bishop said.
"Copy, Warwolf 1." Blaze agreed. The planes flew through the merge. Some of the newbie merc pilots, fearing a midair collision, performed evasive maneuvers, sometimes running into each other. But the MiGs, being controlled by veteran pilots, held firm, turning to engage the fighters. They misjudged, however, the technological and numerical supremacy of the allied forces as more planes from Planeptune and Lastation entered the fray, taking out the Su-25s before the MiG pilots could react.
""Our planes filled the skies like a huge, aluminum cloud."" Blaze said, quoting the late Captain Davenport.
"This is way beyond overkill." Amethyst 3 commented.
"Art of War man, use all your available resources where they count." Reaper shouted.
"But that's not even what it means!" Amethyst 3 complained.
"Hey, we're on mission. If you want to goof off, save it for the ground." Noire shouted.
"Sorry, milady." Reaper replied. Amethyst 1's AESA Radar ticks the remaining bandits and shares the data with all of Amethyst squadron through the Tac Links. Same thing went for Infinity Squadron. Blaze tapped into the data and went for the best possible kill. Switching to multi-lock AIM-120D AMRAAM missiles, he fired four in a volley, and two of them hit their mark. Edge, Blaze's number 2, followed suit with a mix of AIM-9X Sidewinder and Python all aspect missiles, each of them hitting a target.
"They're dropping like flies!" Amethyst 6 commented.
"This is Dominic Maddox with B Company, we're approaching the target. ETA is ten minutes." Maddox announced, at the controls of his ACU. Beside his ACU were Rock Head and Thunderhead Main Battle Tanks. The Thunderhead, last seen in the Western Isles assault, was more numerous, and oftentimes crewed by all five nations, sometimes by people from all five nations in one tank. The UEF Rock Head MBT, which people considered to be the Thunderhead's twin, had a similar configuration, but required only two or three crew members due to it's semi-automation - a driver and two gunners.
"Enemy tanks in sight! Range is twenty miles!" the commander in a Rock Head announced.
"Turret, minus twenty-two horizontal, five degrees up! Fire!" a Thunderhead commander shouted. The gunner oriented the turret precisely, before the duel railgun fired in a loud, energetic roar. The ballistic shell screamed at high supersonic towards its target, before hitting smack dab into the ammo rack of a T-72, the resulting explosion forcing its turret off the chassis.
"Good kill! New target, plus sixty degrees! Fire!" the commander ordered. The gunner reoriented the turret and fired the railgun, the sound of thunder echoing across the battlefield. This time, the shell pierced clean through the engine of its target, stopping it dead in its tracks.
"Enemy tank, disabled!" the gunner reported. As they got closer, twelve T-72s rolled in to meet the attackers head on. This time, it was the Rock Head's turn to show its teeth. It wasn't as good as the Thunderhead at long range, having a low-charge high-output railgun of a lesser caliber, but it was rugged, and was especially effective at ranges matching that of the famous M4A-32 Sherman tank from 1944. The main gunner simply tapped the target on the touchscreen and the Rock Head's computer did the rest. The turret automatically oriented itself, keeping track of the target, before the gunner pulled the trigger. Like before, the railgun fired. Unlike the Thunderhead, the Rock Head was capable of rapid fire due to it's specialized ammo rack. The shells split right through the enemy tank and detonated the ammo racks, creating another fireball.
"haha! Good kill!" the Rock Head's commander congratulated.
"C Company here, enemy ground troops have us in a bind. Requesting artillery support!" Avan radioed. He and the rest of C Company were dug in, facing a hailstorm of bullets as PSF, Loweean, Leanbox, Lastation, and Free Aurelian army personnel and marines died around them, one man every eight minutes.
"Apex, here, artillery is on the way." a Loweean announced. Far behind them, Loweean self-propelled artillery began firing on the enemy toops, their high explosive and incendiary rounds sending shrapnel and fire in the merc's direction.
"Artillery support is on target, keep up the good work!" Avan reported. Every shell landed, and every shell had an effect on the strength the enemy had.
"Tangos, to our right! They're trying to flank us!" a PSF infantryman shouted, firing his PLR in the direction of the enemy troops.
"This isn't good. C Company to all available parties, we're getting hit hard! Requesting immediate support!" Avan shouted in the radio.
Andrew was chained up to the opposite wall, taking shock after shock, simply because Neptune refused to work the fields outside due to the gunfire.
"Neptune, you are trying my patience!" Jose bellowed, hitting the button again.
"And if the Allied Forces get me?" Neptune asked.
"Then I will keep torturing your husband until you come walking back and surrender yourself to me." Jose said sternly.
"We both know that I won't come back to you." Neptune said snidely.
"Last chance. Get to work!" Jose shouted.
"No. I don't think it's worth it. You could lose your slave." Neptune said. Jose, having enough, twisted the knob to the right, increasing the voltage. He kept twisting and twisting as Neptune watched. It was then that she realized, he was actually going for maximum charge. "No... Please don't... Don't do it! You don't know exactly what you're doing!" Neptune begged.
"Hehehehe! You should have thought about it before you started defying my orders. My word is law, honey, and when that law is broken, you get punished. When he breaks, you will break. It is that simple." Jose said with a smirk.
"No matter... how many times you hit that button, I will not allow myself to break." Andrew said, panting.
"Oh. How shocking." Jose countered, before hitting the button. At maximum charge, Andrew let out a blood-curdling scream as his body was cooked from the inside, Neptune watching in horror.
"STOP! STOP! YOU'RE KILLING HIM, STOP!" Neptune cried in horror. After a full minute of screaming, the collar finally stopped sending him the electric current, leaving him panting, smoke rising from his flesh.
"How many times will I have to give him the shock treatment, hmm?" Jose asked sadistically. Andrew grunted in pain as he tried to turn his head to look Neptune in the eye.
"Please... just leave him alone." Neptune cried.
"It's okay, Neptune... Pain is temporary, but love is forever... I don't care how many... times he shocks me with his damn button, but the Allied Forces are getting close. I can feel it." Andrew said to Neptune, his voice hoarse.
"Silence!" Jose shouted, before hitting the button again, this time for a two second shock.
"Sir! Allied Forces are on our doorstep!" a messenger shouted.
"I'm well aware of that, kid." Jose said, not paying much attention.
"No, I mean they're literally on our doorstep!" the messenger corrected. This caught Jose's attention.
"Literally?" Jose asked quizzically.
"Yes, sir. Commandos with personal cloaking devices that came in from the north end, and SPARTANS that fell from the sky in drop pods! They've... They've got two CPUs and Black Shield with them!" the messenger explained.
"As I predicted, the fools come running back for them." Jose said snidely.
"Huh?" the messenger asked
"I learned from the last time. This time, I'm well prepared." Jose said, before he and the elite mercs in the room vanished in plain sight.
"Just like they captured us... They're setting a trap for our rescuers." Neptune muttered, afraid of what is going to happen.
"Have faith, Neptune." Andrew said quietly, slipping the ring onto his finger.
"Give me back my sister!" Jacob shouted furiously as he sliced a mercenary clean in half, before beheading another. Linda and Fred were completely shocked at what they were witnessing. Blanc just went along with it, chopping the enemy in half with her axe.
"You assholes are going to die!" Blanc shouted, burying the edge of her axe viciously in her victim's face.
"This is bloody." Logan muttered. A flight of F/A-38s suddenly flew overhead, dropping napalm on the mercenaries attacking C Company.
"Just like old times, eh Fred?" Kelly asked.
"I... guess." Fred replied, knowing she was referring to their original role in putting down insurrectionists. They were already outside the place where Jose was keeping Neptune and Andrew. Suddenly Lance, Section and Delta Squad uncloaked, firing on mercenaries. The mercenary defense became thinner and thinner as each minute passes.
"C Company here, the Mercenaries here are losing traction." Cortana announced through communications.
"A Company. Enemy forces are losing the will to fight." Noire reported.
"B Company. The enemy is faltering here, too. It's only a matter of time." Maddox reported. Fixer, Boss and Scorch kept shooting the enemy forces, while the two CPUs and Black Shield hacked and slashed away at the enemy as well. After a few minutes, the Mercs outside the building were killed off.
"It's a shame they didn't surrender." Logan said, checking the ammo in his MA5C.
"They're mercenaries. They only care about money, and are willing to die for it." Lance said.
"Enough talk, we've got my sister and her husband to rescue." Jacob said. The fury in his voice sent shivers down Blanc's spine.
"Scorch, get a breaching charge on that door!" Section ordered. Scorch immediately went to work, and finished in three seconds.
"Charge set!" Scorch announced. In his hand, he had the detonator.
"Hit it!" Section ordered. Scorch hit the button on the detonator, and the charge blasted the door to splinters. After that, everyone went inside, finding it eerily empty.
"Huh? Was this all for nothing?" Jacob asked.
"No, it couldn't have been... something's wrong!" Section muttered.
"He's got a point, something doesn't feel right." Fred agreed.
"Switch to Thermals, everyone. Blanc, Jacob, you two go down to the basement." Section ordered. Blanc and Jacob turned and headed to the basement. As everyone else switched to their thermal cameras, heat signatures appeared everywhere. "Just as I thought." he muttered, looking around at all the heat signatures. They pulled out smoke grenades and detonated them, filling the room with smoke. The mercenaries, not having been equipped with infrared headsets, couldn't counter it, and were caught off guard. Unable to see, they fell one at a time. With the mercenaries in the room dead, the group split up and went around looking for more enemies.
Blanc and Jacob entered the basement to see a badly tortured Andrew and a fear-stricken Neptune.
"Neptune!" Jacob shouted as he ran to the cage.
"Jacob? Bro! Forget me, just get out of here!" Neptune shouted, warning him.
"No, forget that! I'm not leaving without you!" Jacob countered.
"You don't understand! My master is here, in this room!" Neptune continued to shout.
"Is that some sort of joke?" Jacob asked.
"No! I mean it! He's got a cloaking generator on him!" Neptune warned. Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and became locked. It was then that Jose and the two mercenaries uncloaked.
"No..." Neptune cried.
"Ah, you Allied Forces guys are so gullible. When will you learn about these personal cloaking generators?" Jose mocked.
"Jose..." Blanc spat.
"You... You're my sister's master? Let her and her husband go and I will let you live." Jacob said, trying to reason with him.
"No chance of that." Jose said, as Jacob and Blanc suddenly drop out of HDD.
"What?! My form!" Blanc shouted.
"I learned from the last time. Within these walls is an HDD jammer, just like the one we used in the forest outside Lastation." Jose said. He started pulling out the remote to Andrew's shock collar, still on maximum charge. "Two options. Surrender, or watch Neptune's husband suffer." he said.
"We can't surrender. Not while we still have a chance!" Blanc shouted. Jose turned to her, then to Jacob. That's when he noticed the amulet around his neck.
"What's this?" Jose asked, pulling the amulet off Jacob's neck.
"Oh no..." Neptune muttered, realizing the most powerful weapon they had was now in Jose's hands.
"Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Jacob said, warning Jose of the immense power within.
"Watch me!" Jose shouted.
"You don't understand, Jose! That amulet has power you can't possibly hope to control! Any unprepared or weak mind will be corrupted by its immensely dark power!"
"Oh. Power. That's good!" Jose said as he walked away with the amulet, not believing a word Jacob said. He had no intention of wearing it, but he would keep it as a trophy. He then walked into a hidden passageway, out of the sight of the Allied Forces, but he never noticed Section and Scorch watching him under the cover of their cloaking generators. The two of them went to the door and set a breaching charge, before blowing it.
"Huh?!" one of the mercenaries shouted. Looking past the smoldering door, they could see nothing, before they got a face full of nine millimeter bullets.
"Clear!" Section said as he and Scorch uncloaked.
"Section?! Good to see you! How did you know?" Blanc said excitedly.
"When we noticed you failing to report in, we knew something was wrong." Section explained.
"Yeah. Too bad Jose escaped." Scorch said.
"Worse than that, really. Far worse." Neptune corrected.
"Huh?" Section asks.
"My poor Andrew is badly hurt. That, and Jose has my brother's amulet, which just happens to be the most powerful magical weapon in existence." Neptune explained.
"That's not good." Scorch muttered.
"Forget that for a while. Let's get you guys out of here." Section said. He went to the shackles on the wall and unlocked them with one of the guards' keys. The moment they opened, Andrew fell straight to the floor, showing he was too weak from the pain he endured to stand. Section then used his TacPad on the electronic lock to Neptune's cage, and opens the door. Neptune crawled out of the cramped space and stretched, before helping Andrew up.
"We're finally free, Andrew. We're going back." Neptune said with a smile.
"That's great, love. I'd very much like that. For both of us." Andrew replied, his voice still hoarse and quiet. Blanc and Jacob joined in to help, and they followed Section, Scorch, and the rest of the strike team outside, where a Blackhawk waited to take them. The sound of gunfire had calmed down to where there was very little of it every so often, indicating that the fighting was just about over.
"No Pelican, huh?" Kelly asked.
"Guess not. We'd better return to Vitoze, though." Section said.
"Welcome back, everyone." Histoire said as they got out of the Blackhawk. She turned to the sight of Andrew needing help to get out. His eyes showed extreme pain. "Oh my! What happened?" Histoire asked, completely shocked.
"Jose tortured him really badly with electric shock. Wouldn't even stop. He even went to levels just below what is lethal to humans. All because I refused to follow commands. It was horrible! Just horrible! Seeing him in such pain... it broke my little heart." Neptune said, breaking into tears at the vivid memory of her husband being hit with so many high voltage electric currents from his shock collar.
"It's okay, big sis. you're safe now." Jacob said, hugging her.
"NEPTUNE!" Nepgear shouted, running towards her big sister. Neptune turned to look at her, before giving off a forced smile. Nepgear kept running toward them, taking out her special tool. She went to Neptune, and used it on her HDD inhibitor, which, like last time, fell off easily. She then turned to Andrew, and used it on the shock collar. This led to a different result, sending electrical energy coursing through both of them. Andrew just cringed and let off a low, pained moan, while Nepgear screamed, pulling the device away from the collar. "W-what the... what was that?" Nepgear asked.
"It's likely a shock collar. Probably has a different lock system." Section theorized.
"Yeah. It's a shock collar." Neptune confirmed, looking at Andrew with a sad expression.
"Let me try something..." Section said as he worked his TacPad close to the shock collar. After a little while, it beeps, and comes off easily.
"Th-thank you." Neptune said.
"I need a vacation, bad." Andrew said painfully, his voice still quiet and hoarse.
"I can only agree with that. I'm sending you two back to Planeptune for two weeks, so he can recover in a safe place. Since he's too weak to stand right now, I'm sending Compa with the two of you." Histoire said, facing Neptune.
"Booyah! More girl time with Andrew!" Neptune thought teasingly, though still glad to be out of that nightmare again. Histoire led them both to a Pelican that will take them to Planeptune. Andrew needed help, given the fact that he was too hurt to walk, let alone transform. They get on the Pelican and it flies off. Everyone else stayed behind. As the dropship flew off into the distance, Section whispered in Histoire's ear, and her face went white because of what she just heard. Cortana's and Maddox's fears became reality. The most powerful CPU item in existence now lies in the hands of the most powerful crime lord in Gamindustri. Just after she had received the casualty reports, things have gotten really bad for the Allied Forces.
Andrew was fast asleep, his head resting on Neptune's shoulder. She had her arm wrapped around him, holding him close. The ride back to the Planeptune Basilicom was very quiet. Neptune thought back at how they both suffered those past couple days, and then forward at what the two of them can do during the couple weeks they have at home. Compa watched over the two of them like a hawk, ready to help Andrew the moment they land at the Basilicom. After that, she has to go back to Aurelius to help treat the wounded. The minutes seemed to tick by like months, but after a while, they finally arrived at the Basilicom.
"Okay, Andrew, we're here." Neptune said, waking the man up.
"Ugh, what time is it?" Andrew asked tiredly. Neptune giggled in response.
"Ah, you're too funny. Come on, let's get you inside, you wounded warrior." Neptune said cheerfully. All Andrew could do was chuckle, as Compa slung him over her shoulder. They walked inside the Basilicom and took the elevator to the top floor, going straight for the bedroom. They then laid Andrew on the bed, before putting the covers over him.
"Now listen to me carefully, Neptune. He's to get plenty of rest this first night. Oh, and he can't cook or do quests or anything, and he's to eat soft things and drink plenty of fluids. If he feels feverish, put some ice on his chest or a cold towel on his forehead." Compa explained.
"And what if he can't move? What if he needs bathing? What if he needs to use the bathroom? And what about changing his clothes?" Neptune asked.
"If he can't feed himself, you'll have to feed him. Bathing is going to probably be a big issue. Bathroom issues, he can probably handle if you help him. As for changing his clothes, he's going to need really big help with that." Compa explained.
"So I have to do pretty much everything for him, right?" Neptune asked.
"Pretty much, yeah. Cosette and I won't be on hand to help him, because we're going to be out in Aurelius helping our wounded." Compa replied.
"Then leave it to me. I'll take care of him like maid if I have to." Neptune said enthusiastically.
"If you say so." Compa said with a chuckle, before leaving. As Compa left, Neptune looked at the clock. It was already nine o'clock, and the stars shone brightly over Planeptune. With a smile, Neptune climbed in bed with Andrew, turned out the light, and fell asleep.
END OF CHAPTER 6 OF "THE NEPTUNIA CHRONICLES"
AUTHOR'S NOTES-
This chapter, having taken so long to write under tremendous mental workload, might be shaky at best. There may be plenty of things that need to be redone. If you want me to change anything or leave the current progress as-is, let me know in a review, or send your grievances to my email address in a PM. Remember that your opinion matters.
Jacob is the name of a character a friend of mine on G+ uses in his HDN Roleplays (might even be his real name, I haven't asked the guy). His special weapon in this, the amulet Ignite, stems from two of those roleplays.
In one review, someone asked to add Gryphus 1 from Ace Combat X - Skies of Deception as a character. I have done so, with plans of alternating between joking and serious personality traits depending on the situation in combat.
The meeting between Ludwig and Mishka loosely resembles a scene from HAWX 2, between the lead Russian character and Wolfhound.
I felt it appropriate that Halo would get a stronger representation as the story progresses. This war does involve characters from different dimensions, after all, so why stop now?
I felt Supreme Commander 2 didn't get enough love with the simple Battle Action system, not to mention that I have a burning love for the United Earth Federation in terms of weapons and technology in the Supreme Commander series. (The Illuminate seemed much like a ripoff of the Covenant, while the chipheaded Cybrans were cheesy altogether, though their fighter bombers and their destroyers did look good.) Thus, Dominic Maddox gets a spotlight as a hero character in the story.
DEADS is an acronym for "Directed Energy Air Defense System" if you are unaware.