The Neptunia Chronicles
Darkness Unleashed
Andrew and Neptune, as well as Jacob, Blanc, Rom, and Ram, flew back to the front lines in HDD. It took them a while, but after seven hours nonstop, they land in Vitoze, before leaving HDD. Histoire and Luna were waiting for them.
"Glad to have you guys back. How are you feeling, Andrew?" Luna asked.
"Still sore… not as much as yesterday, though…" Andrew replied. Luna then used her healing powers on him, and before long, his pain and soreness were gone.
"Better?" Luna asked with a smile.
"Yeah. Thanks for that, Luna." Andrew replied, also smiling.
"Well, we need you all to go to the front lines. Our men and women need your support." Histoire announced.
"Won't Andrew and I be easy pickings?" Neptune asked, a little worried.
"No. Not as long as long as you remain vigilant and have men watching over you." Luna said.
"Okay." Jacob said.
"I should be going back to the front as well." Luna announced.
"Now that I think about it… weren't you still at the front one chapter ago?" Neptune asked, once again shattering the Fourth Wall. Luna thought about Neptune's question.
"You know what, you're right. There's a bit of a plot hole there." Luna replied.
"Are we done yet?" Jacob asked, slightly annoyed.
"Oh, sorry. You're right. Let's all get going." Luna said, realizing that the plot of this story was being held up. With that, they all flew out for the front lines.
Jose was in Aurelius's Basilicom with his generals, listening to the comms at what was going on, his frustration building every second.
"Damn it! How can my own empire fall apart like this?!" he shouted when his frustration came to a head.
"I am not sure, sir. Every tactic, every strategy, they seem to counter. It's maddening." Greg replied.
"I can't afford to lose this war. My interests depend too much on victory." Jose said in rage.
"Sir, we may be already looking at a lost war, here. If you have any tricks left, I'd suggest using them now." Greg suggested. Jose thought for a moment.
"That amulet…" Jose muttered.
"Excuse me?" Greg asked, trying to get clarification.
"That amulet I got from that CPU." Jose replied.
"But sir! That's a CPU weapon! Are you sure you wish to associate with that filth?" Greg asked in complete surprise.
"It might be the only way I can turn the tide of war back in our favor. He did say it was a weapon of great power, after all." Jose replied. It was then that they both smirked.
"I'll get a squad of my best men to support you, sir." Greg said.
Ludwig Schneider, now a Lieutenant General in the Free Aurelian Army, was working with Maddox and Hood. They were looking at a screen that was providing a satellite feed of the battlefield. As distrusting as his colleagues in the allied command structure were, he nonetheless provided his honest input, helping to keep the men alive. He watched as Infinity Squadron cleaned up a flight of Su-25s that were on course to drop their bombs on the front lines, right on top of Zeri's detachment.
"The battle is going well, but we're taking heavy losses." Maddox reported. He looked outside at his ACU, which was undergoing repairs after an RPG knocked out its right leg days before when the enemy made their counterattack. The few UEF technicians he brought were killed that day, and thus the repair effort was lagging behind. Ludwig took a close look at the screen and noticed a major mistake in the enemy lines.
"Maddox, Tell the Lastation Third Armored Battalion to force their way through that gap." Ludwig suggested. Maddox took a hard look at what he was talking about and, with a confident smirk, nodded in agreement. He then picked up a radio and talked to the leader of the battalion.
"This is Commander Maddox with command, I've got a golden opportunity for you guys. The enemy has left a wide gap in their lines, now's the time to force your way through and crush them." Maddox said.
"Roger that, commander." the leader of the Lastation Third Armored Battalion replied in earnest.
The Schwarzkopf main battle tanks of the Lastation Third Armored Battalion began their lightning fast assault on the enemy, driving a wedge through the gap in the Heaven's Bane front lines. The resulting destruction was explosive, as the enemy troops, technicals, and armored units fell rapidly in the assault. One enemy tank, a T-72, accidentally turned on one of their comrades in the chaos, blowing the top off a nearby T-90 with a misplaced shot before being destroyed themselves. With every second and every shot, the enemy lines were pushed back, farther and farther towards the city of Santa Elva.
"YEEEEAAAAAAAAAHOOOOO!" a Lastation tank commander shouted as they pushed their way through the enemy lines.
"The enemy forces are faltering! Move up!" Avan ordered on the radio.
"MAC rounds are coming in! Look at them all scatter!" an allied soldier shouted.
"Their forces are a complete mess! They don't know who to shoot at!" Amethyst 1 shouted as he continued CAS over the battlefield.
"Then let's finish this before they regain their foothold!" Noire commanded.
"Roger that! All forces, continue advancing! Don't stop until you reach the objective!" IF ordered. On their command, the Allied forces continued to push through, shooting the enemy before they can take a shot at them. With no cohesion left, Heaven's Bane forces began to make a retreat for various locations around Aurelius.
"We've got 'em on the run!" a UNSC marine shouted with joy.
"This battle is over! Onward to Santa Elva!" a Planeptunian commander shouted. He then turned around to see Neptune and her husband in HDD, saluting the two of them as they landed.
"What's the situation, commander?" Neptune asked, still in HDD.
"The enemy force has lost all cohesion here, milady, They've begun to retreat." the commander replied. Neptune and Andrew looked at each other in complete shock, before smiling.
"Then it seems we're closer to winning this war. Keep the pressure on them and don't give up hope." Andrew commented. The commander nodded in reply. It was then that a Planeptunian tank rolled up behind them. The commander popped his head out, calling to them.
"Oi! Lady Purple Heart! Sir Purple Shield! Need a lift?!" he asked. Neptune and Andrew nodded before leaving HDD and getting into the back with the men and women.
"What the hell happened?!" Greg asked as an aide walked in the war room.
"We had a gap in our front lines… sir. The one in command of that detachment is on his way to the field HQ." the aide responded, fearing the consequences.
"I'll handle this myself." Jose answered quite angrily as he walked out of the room, the amulet glowing red in his fist.
David Mason was with Delta Squad on another side of the battlefield, following the now rapid advance of the allied forces closely. After hearing what had happened,he had high hopes for the end of the war. It was only a moment later that the Chief showed up with the Arbiter, both of whom were out of breath.
"This war certainly had many surprises for us…" Mason muttered.
"Yeah. I'm certain the goddesses are overjoyed." the Arbiter responded. Though he had no human features to make a smile or a grin, or any emotional face for that matter, everyone could tell to some degree that the Sanghelli said his piece rather happily.
"There's still a long road ahead of us. We should conserve our strength." Boss said, taking off the helmet of his Katarn Armor and wiping sweat off his face.
"Cortana to Histoire. Our forces are advancing rapidly. Care to give us a lift?" Cortana announced over the comms.
"You've got one on the way. Hold tight." Histoire reported. A few minutes later, as if on cue, a rather large transport vehicle came into view. The Chief instantly recognized it as an M510 Mammoth siegeworks ultra heavy vehicle.
"Woah… that thing is massive! On par with the AT-TEs we're used to seeing!" Scorch commented.
"It's a heavily armored and armed ultra heavy vehicle, of the kind we call a "Mammoth"." Cortana stated,
"You boys getting in or what?" a recognizable voice shouted.
"Sergeant Johnson!" the Chief shouted. Johnson simply smiled at the sight of his old friend, as well as his new friends. Everyone got onto the Mammoth and took a seat. With a rumble, the massive vehicle started to move again at a constant speed.
It had been several days since the battle first began, and the allied forces had already reached as far as the outskirts of Santa Elva. Many troops awaited airdrops and pod drops of much needed supplies, while Neptune and Andrew talked with Titus and Luna about the coming battle. Histoire was with them, taking in the information.
"There's many buildings around… narrow streets and alleyways… plenty of places to hide for an ambush." Andrew said drearily as he looked at schematics of the city.
"Yep… going to be one heck of a fight… We attack at first light." Luna said. It was then that Solid Snake decloaked right behind Neptune.
"AAYEEEP!" she screeched.
"Snake!" Andrew and Histoire both shouted rather irritably. Hearing that single word made Neptune calm down quite a bit.
"Sheesh, don't scare me like that!" Neptune groaned.
"Sorry. Couldn't be helped." Snake replied.
"What's the status, Snake?" Titus asked.
"Many civvies still inside the city. By the looks of it, Heaven's Bane mercenaries intend to use them as a shield when we try to liberate it." Snake reported. Andrew just shook his head in disbelief.
"That just makes our job THAT much harder…" Andrew finally said.
Several hours have passed on the outskirts of the city, and a plan has been formulated. The troops are in position waiting for their orders.
"Alrighty, 'gents. This is our final push into Santa Elva." Sergeant Johnson began. There was a brief pause before he continued. "I'll tell you this, it's looking grim right now. Many civilians are still inside the city, and are being used as human shields for the Heaven's Bane occupation force within. The odds aren't good, and we know that we can't save everyone." Everyone's faces went white at the sound of this development.
"What gives?!" a marine shouted.
"These mercenaries have no morals, no ethics! They're only in it for the money!" another shouted.
"So what's the plan?" Kelly-87 asked.
"The plan is to force our way into the city and crush the enemy, while saving as many civilians as we can. SPARTAN Blue team and the UNSC Reliance's ranger complement will descend first, and ODST and commando forces will be deployed on the opposite side of town. You will receive no MAC support for this mission, as there's too much possibility of collateral damage and civilian death, so your support will consist only of precision airstrikes from attacker aircraft, Pelican gunships and attack helicopters." Sargent Johnson explained further. He was about to add something when the alert flashed on the SPARTANs' HUDs, signifying the deployment order.
"Let's get this done!" Frederick shouted as he boarded the back of a Thunderhead MBT.
The skies around Santa Elva became littered with various transports, most notably Pelican dropships, MH-60 Blackhawks, and C-17 Globemaster III's as they airdropped troops, vehicles and supplies into the city. The scene looked almost like something out of World in Conflict as the Allied Forces began their final push through the city, supported by precision strikes by allied air forces, some sporting A-10 Thunderbolt II's and A-20 Razorbacks in Lastation colors as they attacked the enemy force with AGMs and 30mm cannons. The streets became cluttered with tanks soon after.
"This is the Sergeant Collins with the Planeptune 130th Infantry Battalion! We've entered the city limits! Our ultimate objective is to link up with the Lastation 3rd Armored Battalion and liberate City Hall. We request consistent air support from our angels overhead!" an infantry commander shouted over the comms as he and the forces he was leading moved forward through the city. Ahead of them, Thunderhead tanks slowly moved forward, ready to deposit their troop load and munitions on the surprised and jumpy Heaven's Bane occupants. The roar of jet engines slowly started to die off, leaving the city eerily quiet, except for the squeaking and trembling of the tank treads as they rolled through the city streets.
"Shit! RPG!" one of the soldiers shouted as a rocket-propelled grenade was fired from the smashed window of a nearby skyscraper. It smashed head-on into a Thunderhead tank, killing the occupants inside. What followed was a loud, thunderous crack from a sniper rifle, and everyone scrambled to find cover.
"UGH! I HATE URBAN WARFARE!" a soldier groaned as he leaned on the entry to a building.
"Someone take out that sniper and RPG! We need to secure that building!" Collins ordered. One of his men brought a .50 cal sniper rifle to bear on the opposing sniper.
"There you are, you little weasel!" the soldier muttered, before he took the shot. Through his scope, he could see that the sniper plopped onto the floor. He pulled the lever and ejected the spent round, loading a new one as he did. Through his scope, the enemy with the RPG readied his weapon, but before he could fire on another tank, another sniper round brought him to the floor, dead. "Hostiles eliminated." he said as he once again pulled the lever on his sniper rifle.
"Right! Move into that building!" Sergeant Collins ordered. Several troops broke off and moved into the building, fighting their way to the top. What they saw at the top disheartened many of them.
"Slaves?" one of the soldiers asked, his arms shaking. Before them were some of the slaves that they were looking for from the old slave market that was destroyed weeks ago. Their buyer turned around and saw the Planeptunian soldiers, who instantly brought their pulse laser rifles to bear on him.
"It's over, freak! We're modifying the deal! Surrender and let them go, or face swift justice!" another soldier spat, clearly pissed off, his words sending chills down their new prisoner's spine as he slowly lifted his hands in the air. He went to unlock the cages, but instead brought in a 9mm pistol to one of the soldiers.
"Big mistake!" the soldier shouted, before ending the man's life with a shot to the face. "You two, open those cages and let them out. We'll make sure they find some help." he ordered. Two soldiers nodded and went to work on the locks and got the cages open in no time.
"Sergeant Collins, this is IF. What's your status?" IF called on the comms.
"IF, My men have just secured a skyscraper, and they've found and freed a couple of slaves from the slave market. We're going to hand them over to Lady Azure Heart and make sure they get the help they need." Collins responded with haste.
"Copy that. Be advised, Lastation's satellite network has picked up a couple fast movers heading in your direction. Looks to be a pair of Hinds." IF reported. Collins dropped his hand off the comms.
"Shit…" he finally muttered.
"What's the deal, Sarge? How do we handle a pair of helos?" a Planeptunian soldier in Collins's unit asked. Another one came up with a bold plan.
"Sir, if I may… I propose we turn the railguns on the Thunderheads into an anti-aircraft weapon. The turrets can still track fast enough, and the high velocity slugs should be enough to bring them down." he suggested. Collins thought it up. A smirk rose on his face.
"That's just mad enough to work, lieutenant! Yo, tank commander! When those enemy birds show up, I want you to blast them out of the sky with your railguns, you hear me?" he commanded.
"Copy that, Sergeant!" a tank commander replied. The noise of the two Hinds was faint, but grew louder. Suddenly, they appeared from behind a building, and tried to get a bead on the allied forces. That's when the Thunderhead MBTs fired their railguns at the enemy attack helicopters, the high velocity slugs blasting them out of the sky. The first one exploded right then and there, but the second one went in on autorotation and hit the ground almost spotless with a low metallic thud. The mercenaries occupying the helicopter jumped out and tried to fight back against the allied front lines, but were just too undermanned. The Planeptunians cheered as the last mercenary fell.
"Onward! Onward!" Collins called as they continued their advance towards City Hall, almost unhindered.
Noire was leading her own charge against the enemy alongside Cloud and Uni, slicing a mech apart with Lace Ribbons. Uni gunned down a line of enemies with her machine gun. Like an unstoppable wave, they advanced towards their objective, the radio station. It was a scene from the final days of the attack on Berlin in 1945, as the enemy put up fierce resistance to this portion of the assault as they were slowly boxed in by the main force on this side and commandos and ODSTs on the other. For the clusterfuck this war had become, and for how hopelessly outnumbered Jose's forces are, the CPU of Lastation had to give these men some credit. They fought against the odds fairly well.
"Lady Noire, enemy reinforcements are coming in from other parts of the city. It looks like they want to hold the radio station at all costs. It could be where the occupying force's general is holed up in." Maddox reported on the comms. Noire heard it well and pressed her attack harder. The Loweean and Lastation forces followed her without wavering, knowing that their goddess was with them every step of the way. Blanc flew in from the sky and threw her axe into an enemy tank, turning it into a flaming wreck. Jacob followed suit with his own attack, bisecting an IFV.
"They don't stop attacking… This is making me break a sweat…" Blanc shouted as she impaled a mercenary with the blunt edge of her axe.
"I think I'm going to come out of this one minus about six or seven pounds. What a workout." Noire replied.
"BLANC! BEHIND YOU!" Jacob shouted. Blanc spun around and chopped a mercenary armed with a vibroblade clean in half.
"Thanks for the warning, Jacob!" she replied, before burying her axe into the face of another foe. The minutes ticked by, until they came to a stop at a pillbox just outside the radio station. "Damn it! Can this shit get any more believable?!" she yelled.
"Noire to allied aircraft, my forces and I are being pinned down by a pillbox outside the radio station, we need immediate assistance! Authorization Override: Alpha Whiskey Zero Niner Xray!" Noire called out.
"Copy that, Lady Black Heart. Air support is on the way, ETA thirty seconds. You might want to stand back." a pilot replied. Thirty seconds later, an A-10 Thunderbolt II flew past, firing precision air to ground missiles at the pillbox. The missiles struck home and it went up in a fireball, leaving nothing but a pile of rubble.
"Airstrike was on target, thanks for the assist!" Noire called out. She motioned for the men following her to press on into the radio station. They fought hard, and took the building room by room, very few mercenaries surrendering or changing sides. Finally, they got to the enemy general's makeshift office. As his bodyguards attempted to fire at the allied forces, they were quickly gunned down. With little options left, the enemy general surrendered, being taken into custody by by a couple Lastation soldiers.
"This is Noire, my forces and I have taken the radio station." Noire called out on the comms. The Planeptunians under Collins's command all cheered. It was clear sailing, however, towards city hall, but this development has boosted the morale of the allied forces. For Sergeant Collins, the news was bittersweet, as the enemy in his direct path were nowhere to be found. They just kept marching on to city hall unchallenged. It was a long and boring march, but they soon arrived to find it empty, and the Lastation 3rd Armored Battalion had arrived a little early. Little did they know, they were about to be in for a heck of a firefight, as around the corners, the enemy lurked.
"Collins here. We've arrived at City Hall. Sector is clear." Collins announced.
"GET DOWN!" a soldier shouted, as an RPG flew into a Schwarzkopf MBT, followed by loud, thunderous cracks of machinegun fire.
"NOT CLEAR! NOT CLEAR!" Collins rectified. He ducked behind the fountain. "Return fire!" he shouted as he brought his Pulse Laser Rifle to bare against the marauding mercenary forces. Laser and gunfire lanced forward back towards the enemy, and the battle quickly turned into a violent event for both sides.
"We're getting overwhelmed! For the love of all that is decent, do something, Sarge!" a Planeptunian soldier shouted as he maintained his fire. Another RPG flew into another Schwarzkopf, and it, too, turned into a mangled wreck.
"We've got to get back control, or this will be our last stand, Sergeant!" yet another Planeptunian shouted. Collins scanned the chaos in front of him, and it was hectic.
"Collins to command! We've been boxed in! Enemy forces were lying in wait around City Hall! We're trapped! What can you see from orbit?!" he called out.
"This is IF. It's not looking good, I'm afraid. The mercenary forces sent to reinforce the radio station have been sent your way, they'll be on top of you in five minutes. I'm diverting a Helo unit to back you up, expect them in ten minutes." IF replied.
"WE DON'T HAVE TEN MINUTES! YOU TELL THAT PILOT TO HURRY UP OR HE'S GOING TO BE SAVING A BUNCH OF CORPSES AND SMOLDERING WRECKAGE!" Collins shouted.
"I understand. Stand by, I'm detailing some A-10s to give you rocket support. ETA will be seven minutes." IF replied, before cutting the comms.
"DAMMIT!" Collins shouted as he threw his fist into the fountain.
"One dead RPG maniac, coming right up!" a Planeptunian soldier shouted, before pulling the trigger on his .50 cal sniper rifle. A loud, thunderous crack, and the mercenary with the RPG fell to the ground. It put a stop to the enemy forces attacking their tanks. That was when Neptune and Andrew jumped into the fray in HDD, slicing the mercenaries apart.
"HEY! IT'S LADY PURPLE HEART AND HER HUSBAND! WE'RE SAVED!" another Planeptunian shouted with renewed vigor. Soon after, the enemy reinforcements arrived. Andrew felt a shiver down his spine, when he saw just WHO was leading it, and both sides ceased fire.
"Jose…" Andrew muttered.
"Ah. Purple Shield. We meet again." Jose said with a sinister smirk.
"You have my brother's amulet. I demand that you return it at once." Neptune ordered, pointing her Odachi at him.
"Oh… This thing?" Jose asked as he held it up. "I COULD give it back, but… I think I have a much better plan in mind." He added, laughing. He then slipped the amulet on, and his whole body began to glow a deep red, before he took on an almost demonic look, the same one Andrew and Neptune saw in their vision.
"No… It's happening…" Neptune muttered in fear.
"Impossible…" Collins stammered.
"Sergeant Collins, what's going on?! Report!" IF called on the comms, asking for an update.
"You see now, how great this power feels. How great this power IS! I will kill your pathetic husband and all your pathetic friends! Then your pathetic nation!" Jose explained, before giving off a hysterical, sadistic laughter.
"You've lost your mind…" Andrew muttered. It was then that the air support came as two A-10s flew in between the buildings. Jose, however, brought his rapier to bear on them, and in a brilliant flash of dark power, the two planes were brought out of the air, crashing into a building.
"My god…" a Planeptunian soldier muttered.
"Ready to return to your life under me, my little slave?" Jose asked Neptune. Andrew stepped in front of her in defense. "I see… your husband is still foolish enough to face me. Perhaps now is not the time to take you back. In time, your husband will die and you will return to me. Enjoy the little time you two have together." Jose spat. Andrew was ready to charge, when the now-demonic crime lord just leaped up and out of sight. That was when the firefight continued, and Andrew and Neptune quickly took action.
"IF, this is Collins, our air support is down! We need help!" Collins shouted.
"I know, Collins… I saw what happened…" IF replied shakily.
"Damn you!" Andrew snarled as he bisected an enemy tank. Neptune did what she could, but she knew that she could not handle this many foes.
"Neptune here, requesting immediate air support for the forces besieged at City Hall. Authorization Override: Gamma Victor One Eight Foxtrot!" Neptune called out on the comms.
"Copy that, Lady Purple Heart. Air support is en route. ETA one minute." a pilot replied. WIth that, Neptune and Andrew both jumped out of the way. A minute later, some A-10s flew past, firing unguided HVAR rockets at the enemy troops, followed by another two that strafed the enemy with thirty millimeter cannon fire. Finally, a third pair flew by with a second round of HVAR rockets on the stragglers, and soon, the battle was won.
"Collins to command. We have City Hall. I repeat, City Hall is under our control!" Collins shouted amidst the cheers of Planeptunian and Lastation ground forces.
"Copy that, Collins. Great work. We're just about done liberating Santa Elva. All that we have left in our battle plan to free Aurelius is the capital city, Griswall." IF said. The cheers of the men were soon quieted by Neptune's sobs as she lay against the wall out of HDD. Andrew quickly approached her.
"Neptune… What's wrong, love?" he asked her, concern in his voice.
"It's happening… The prophecy Luna showed us is happening… I'm so scared of losing you, Andrew!" She cried as she hugged him. Andrew hugged her back and tried to comfort her.
"Shhhhh. Sweetheart, it's going to be alright. We'll find a way, don't worry…" he said with a calming voice as he petted her hair lightly. A single tear fell down his face as he knew what his fate was going to be. His words did little to comfort her, however.
"I can't… I can't accept this… I don't want to lose you… I can't lose you…" Neptune wept. Collins walked over to the two of them and put a hand on her shoulder.
"H-... huh?" Neptune wondered as she looked up from Andrew's shoulder at Collins, who offered her a container of pudding. This got her to at least smile as she took it with the best "thank you" that she can give.
Hours later, everyone gathered in the City Hall of the newly liberated Santa Elva. Titus, Lance, HIstoire, Luna, and the other leaders were talking about the casualty reports, and they weren't pretty.
"Six thousand dead, two thousand dying, and another five thousand injured, and that's not counting the two thousand civilians that have been killed by those monsters…" Lance said with a sigh.
"These have been the worst casualties of this entire campaign so far." IF spat in displeasure. Outside, medics were tending to the wounded soldiers and civilians.
"These casualties are little compared to… that…" Jacob said with a sigh.
"Even I was unable to believe it… how Jacob's amulet could give our enemy such power… I now fear for Neptune's emotional well-being and continued safety…" Histoire added.
"The prophecy is coming true… and far faster than I'd like…" Luna continued.
"Nep Nep…" Compa muttered.
"We need to do something about this… If Lady Neptune loses her husband, that will break her spirit and destroy the morale of our forces." Lucas mused with concern.
"You're right, Lucas, but it's out of my hands. A prophecy is a prophecy, and the events have already been set in motion for that prophecy to be fulfilled. There's nothing we can do." Luna countered with a sullen look on her face.
"Nothing? Luna, you can reshape future events with your visions, heal and resurrect people with the shares. Surely you can bend the rules a little." Nepgear pleaded. All Luna could do was look down at the floor, close her eyes, and shake her head. Nepgear just looked down with sadness over the bleak future ahead of them.
"I know we all have had a long battle, but it's time we all get some rest. It's going to be a long, hard couple weeks to finish this." Histoire finally stated, closing the discussion. At that, everyone disbanded and went to get some rest.
-AUTHOR'S NOTES-
Once more, the fanfic has been a bitch to finish, and I have a whole other fanfic in mind for when this one is complete. College and real life, as well as general laziness and writer's block once again contribute to the late release of this chapter, but I swear on my life that this fanfic will be completed before the next one is started.
The whole "Not clear!" thing that Collins, a character from Ace Combat, does is from one of the Star Wars Battlefront II trailers.
As always, your opinion matters. Send in your reviews and tell me what I should keep doing and what I should stop doing.
That's all for now. Stay safe, eat your pudding, and keep on Nepping!