Whenever I read Nanoha Vivid, all I can hear is G Gundam's opening songs.

Shaking up from her fall, Quint peered into the darkness. She wasn't so sure about up or down in this darkness besides what gravity told her. Her back and legs ached from the fall, sliding down the rocky sides of the crevice. Unsure of what to do next, she flicked her radio on and hailed Major Zero.

"Major? This is Snake."

"Ah, Snake. I was getting a bit worried from you. You haven't contacted back in some time."

"I ran into Ocelot again but it looks like we are interrupted by some bugs."

"Wait, some bugs came and interrupted the fight?"

"Yeah… It seemed like they were controlled. A few of them killed members of the Ocelot Unit but the bugs seemed to, I dunno, push me into the crevice."

"Hmm, were they insekts?"

"Yeah, black bugs that leave nasty stunning stings."

"Then it must have been The Pain."

Quint frowned. Even if she had been in the hospital before the mission, she did some research into the Cobra Unit. All members seemed to carry some type of 'emotion' into battle. The Pain, The Fury, The End, The Fear and finally The Joy, or The Boss. Strange as she rarely seen The Boss actually smile since she had seen her again.

"The Pain?"

"A relatively unknown person. Has the ability of controlling insekts at his will. Always seen with that mask helmet thing of his."

"Hmm, got it. But Major I've gotta ask you one more thing. It's extremely dark in this crevice. Is there some way that I could light it up?"

"Hm… There is your cigar, but that's limited. You can use magic, but remember that the longer you hold it, the more tired you'll become."

"Got it. Snake out." She snapped the little dial back to standby. Concentrating her magic into a fist, the crevice cave lit up with a purple glow. Drips of water falling from the ceilings of her new environment as snakes and other crabs crawled about. Looking around, she spotted a strange pattern on the ground. It was stripped in some tannish brown color with patches of brown and black on it. Picking up the small trinket, she flipped it around. It was relatively solid too. Shrugging, the agent stored the thing in her backpack before hurrying into the cave.

It was only a short while when Quint started to use the wall to hold herself up. Using her magic as a source of light was tiring as she had to let the power go every once in a while just to catch her breathe. Rounding a corner, she met another dead end as her eyebrow angrily twitched. While Eva's talked about finding way through the crevice to reach the mangrove swamp, she never did talk about which direction it was. The glow of her purple light faded as something perked up. It was a faint green glow. Hastily making her way towards it, she found a glowing mushroom.

Her curiosity got the better of her as she kneeled down to the fungus and looked at it. It seemed edible. It smelled edible too. Shrugging, the mage took a big chomp out of the mushroom and slowly chewed it. It was pretty tasty actually. A few moments later and the mushroom was no more. But Quint remained crouched down, her body feeling a bit light. She felt light, but as if someone had lifted her off the ground and allowed her to dangle her legs freely.

Lifting her hand into the air as she generated her magic again, she felt as if the power being generated and used was nonexistence. As if an inflow of mana swelled up inside her.

"Huh… Maybe it's the mushroom!" she nodded to herself before clinking on her radio to Paramedic's channel.

"Paramedic?"

"Yes? What's going on Snake?"

"I found this glowing mushroom in the crevice. A light green color."

"Ah, so you must have found the Shutran Glowcap mushroom. It's a bioluminescent fungus that uses magnesium two plus ions and reacts with oxyluciferin and carbon dioxide. When the electrons in the carboxyl group return to ground state, they give off a light. In this case green."

"OOhh… But hey, did you know that they also regenerate mana?"

There was a pause in Paramedic's voice. "… Uhh, can you repeat that Snake?"

"Ohh, I'm sorry. Not exactly that but after I ate it… It's like I'm running off another mana cartridge besides the ones I put into the pistol. Just without the whole leaving behind a cartridge thing. Oh! And they taste pretty good too."

"That's… That's lovely Snake… Uuhh, can-can you hold on for a second?"

"Yeah, sure."

-.-.-

Graduating with high remarks from Tuffs University in Boston, Massachusetts, Precia 'Paramedic' Testarossa was a well respected individual. Her knowledge into physiology, psychology and even genetics made her known the intelligence field. Although she was called a 'Quack' at times, she shrugged the nickname off and continued with her work.

But when something was completely off the charts with ridiculousness, she needed some time to just relax and think about how it would happen. Placing a cloth over the microphone, she tried to consolidate her thoughts to try and explain to Quint.

A light tap on her shoulders alerted her as she looked to the side. A man with long purple hair and yellowish gold eyes. Sure, back in the Pentagon and the IIA he was called a 'nut' but he seemed pretty nice. Mister Jail 'Sigint' Scaglietti.

Cupping her head, Precia sighed. "You overheard the conversation didn't you?"

"Who wouldn't?" he shrugged, leaning back as well.

"Can you believe?"

"Noope! There's no way that eating a bioluminescent mushroom should be able to do that."

"Maybe she's thinking this all in her head?"

"You mean like the box thing?"

Chuckling, the doctor leaned forward. "Yeah, exactly like that."

"Well, it's not exactly hurting the mission and hey if it works to her advantage, then why say anything about it?"

"So like a placebo effect?" She said aloud, thinking. "Good point. Thanks Sigint."

-.-.-

Finally the radio cracked back to life as Quint had managed to find her way a bit away from the labyrinth she was trapped in earlier. "Alright, I'm back Snake."

"Hey Paramedic, I was getting a bit worried."

"Alright, I just looked into the book I was keeping and yes, collecting and eating those Shutran glowcaps will give you an extra boost in mana."

"Awesome!"

-.-.-

Finally, through minutes of walking around and swatting away bats, Quint spotted sunlight however faint. She immediately ran towards it before slowing down to a hastily walk. The area was a small semi-sphere with a large rock platform in the middle. Two small rock formations rested a meter or so away as she continued to look around. The water was clean and light blue from the sun still in the skies. It must be roughly mid-afternoon or so.

Looking around, she spotted insekts leaking in from the ceiling as a ball of them hurled over. Swatting a few away, she made a dash and dive into the water as the small creatures swarmed above the water for a moment. But then, they moved away towards the center platform. Eyes slanting, she pulled herself out of the water and swam over to the small rock formation.

"I've been waiting for you!" a male-voice boomed. She heard this voice before, only a few days back when she was on the Virtuous Mission. The insekts seemed to stick together forming a humanoid shape before exploding out as the voice continued.

"We are the Sons of The Boss!" What stood where the ball of insekts once were, was a humanoid man, clothed in black armor. A strange insect shaped head helmet and a red scarf wrapped around his head.

The strange masked man backflipped a few times before throwing his arms out in a strange ready stance. "I am The Pain…" Again, with more queer movements before pointing directly at Quint.

"I will guide you to a world of anguish beyond your imagination!"

She immediately dropped down to a ready stance, her pistol and magically charged hand ready as The Insekt Master swarmed his pets around his arms.

"Let's get started!"

The billowing clouds of insekts burst as they swarmed around the cave. Mindful, Quint immediately took three shots at The Pain's stomach as he curled over, "Paaiiiin…" he groaned as several of the insekts swarmed around his hands.

"Tommygun!" And somehow a Thompson submachine gun dropped into his hands. Immediately taking aim, the Bug Master fired at Quint. Diving into water, she managed to evade the bullets. Pushing her way through the water, she could still here him.

"Where did you go?"

How did he summon that Thompson? While summoning magic was not exactly unheard of, summoning larger weapons like a Thompson submachine gun wasn't exactly the easiest of things to do. Swimming to the other side, she hid behind a rock formation.

Almost immediately, he man turned around, his hands in the air. "Thank you my pretties, we've found her!"

Again, taking the opportunity, Quint rapidly fired her pistol as much as she could at the man. A black cloud of insekts suddenly came to his defense and acted as a secondary shield. Inky mass covered his other hand as he shouted, "Grenade!"

He lobbed the ball over as she dove back into the depths again, hurrying away. The blast of the grenade shook her ears as the water reverberated. Again, the Cobra had lost sight of her. Getting to the other rock platform was on before, she peeked over. The Pain was off doing strange gestures, swinging his hands to the side as the swarm of insekts floated about him. She took a crank shot, but the bugs deflected the mana shot as The Pain threw some strange grenade at the platform. The oblong shape cracked against the rocks as yellowish ooze dripped out. Quint knew exactly what it was, "Aww, shit!"

Immediately taking a dive back into the water, she cursed as bubbles lifted up to the surface. It was the liquid that the insekts make from their home nest. Any foreign object drenched in the ooze would have been swarmed with the little creatures. Swimming over to the other side, she was immediately greeted with bullets from The Pain's tommygun.

The Haimirian agent barely had time to gasp for air, immediately dropping back into the water. She needed to change her tactics. Then she remembered two things that she got from one of the guards. Grasping the stun grenade at her belt, she pinned the pin and lobbed it over. A muffled explosion rumbled the water as she popped her head back out. The Cobra stumbled backwards as the insekts laid prone to the ground.

"M-my insekts!" He screeched as more started to swarm into the cave. Quint took no time to fire again as The Pain stumbled back, nearly falling over into the water. By luck, his creatures latched on to his arm and pulled him back up. He slung over, his body now covered in more of the insekts. When he lifted his head, Quint's eyes widened.

What she was seeing was not a helmet. But it was his face. What looked like a jaw cracked up, revealing a swollen tongue that hung loosely from his face. The two slits on the side cracked up, revealing glowing red eyes. A feral shriek bounced around as she covered her eyes. The Bug Master croaked as a large red insekt shot out of his mouth followed by another and another. Their loud flapping wings almost sounded like planes from the Second World War.

Laughing with a childish glee he pointed at her as the large bugs followed his command. "Get her!"

Ducking her head into the water, one of the bugs managed to make their mark, a large stinger burrowing into her forehead. She screamed as bubbles rose to the surface as The Pain continued to laugh. Blood rushing from the wound, Quint felt as if she had shot in the head. Barely swimming away to an open area, she gulped down air breaching the surface of the water. Shaking off the weariness of the hit, Quint took no more time as hurled the last stun grenade she at the Cobra. Keeping her eyes closed and ears under the water, the grenade exploded, killing enough of the insekts flying around.

She unleashed the last of her rounds at The Pain as he stumbled back from the hits. One shot shattered his Barrier Jacket, exposing a blackened mutated skin underneath. The next shots hit his neck as he curled forwards and the final shots cracking against his head. Hunched over, Quint only watched what happened next.

"The pain…" He whispered as he slowly got back to his feet. The insekt clouds seemed confused as they billowed around his face. "The pain…" he said again, as if he was unsure of what was going to happen next.

"The pain!" The Cobra roared. Time slowed as he fell on his back. A fiery explosion erupted when he toppled at the rock top his voice echoing around the cave.

"The Pain…"

Still bleeding from the large insekt, Quint swam her way over to the platform. Gripping herself up and pulling herself out, she looked where the Bug Master once stood. In his place was a blackened and crumbled rock. But in the middle of it was small patch of something. Stumbling towards it, still clutching her head, she found a patterned remain of his armor. Still black, she felt around the texture. It was almost fuzzy to the touch as she placed it in her backpack. Taking a seat, she started to work on the wound to her head.

-.-.-

One patch up and several scavenging for Shutran glowcaps later, the purple haired mage found her way out of the crevice. Entering a deep trench, she tried her best to cover up the patched wound to her head with her bandana. Hopefully it would stop stinging.

Continuing on, a strange whirring sound perked her ears. Pressing herself against the rock ledges, the whirring sounds grew louder and louder as strange single-man boards flew just above. Blue flames ignited on the bottom, they lazily floated just above the treeline and didn't stop to look down. Quint shook her head, remembering The Major's words. There was going to be advanced and experimental technology when she was getting close. And this must have been one of them.

Only a little bit further she walked until she was in the mangrove swamps. The tree's stretching roots in a tangle with other another making a barely accessible path for her to continue. Moving along, she noticed that there were marks of blades and uprooted spots. It was clear that the Harlaown men used this path for something. She was going in the right direction. Continuing on, she reached a fork in the river. One going right and other going left.

Left is lucky today… She hummed to herself. The currents seemed to lead in that direction too. Following her gut, she sat in the water as the current dragged her way.

Her mind shifting to something else, she looked at the skies above. The fight with The Pain and her trek out of the crevice caves took awhile. The sun was already setting and her stomach was getting hungry. Once she made dry land, she needed to eat.

Once the current died down, she started to swim again. Checking her pistol, it was out of mana. Ejecting the cartridge, she loaded the next. Following along a rock wall, she peaked over her shoulder. There was a dock with a man-made shelter off in the corner. A few boats were tied to the dock as a little orange light sparked above a red metal door. Smiling at her luck, there was nobody on duty. Swimming her way over to dock, she pulled herself out and sighed. Looks like this wasn't the way to the laboratory.

Still, she was curious to see what the Shutrans got in stor. Marching her way over to the door, she gently pushed it open, pistol at the ready. It was a small store room, just like the outpost she managed to infiltrate. Looking around, there were extra supplies for grenades, ammunition and even some ready to make food. Her stomach growled for a moment as she looked at the food section, sweat dripping down her face.

Giving into her stomach's demands, she tore into one of the foods and munched down on biscuit like substance. It tasted like a graham cracker, but compressed. Taking a few more, she sighed happily at her discovery. The box was labeled as 'CalorieMate'. Quint grinned and stole a few, dragging them into her backpack. Just before leaving the storage, something caught her eyes. It was a long rectangle that lay to the side. Interested, she opened the crate to reveal a folded up Dragunov Sniper Rifle. Sparkling eyes glimmed with glee as she took the weapon and placed it in her backpack. Even in the West, this weapon already had a legacy behind it.

I'm sure that they wouldn't be missing this right? Plus, it's a Sneaking Mission. Gotta use their tech against them! She justified herself taking the carrying crate.

-.-.-

Perfectly disguised as fragile flower, Eva continued to walk with Harlaown, keeping her stance as helpless as possible. When she saw the setting sun from the far end of the hallway, her tensions eased for a moment before she overheard grunting not too far.

Rounding the corner, she saw Flor struggling against one of his men.

This man can't be serious… She thought as Harlaown raised an eyebrow at the scientist. Shaking his head, he said, "Really now? How many times do I have to tell you?"

Patting her on the shoulder she felt the man's mana surge into her body, a near electrical discharge burned at her nerves. Screaming, the GRU Colonel let as she felt to the ground. Even with a little bit of magic to counteract the discharge, it still burned.

"Hay-hayate!" he said, as the soldier he was with shoved him back.

"Each time you resist," Harlaown casually grunted. "Your love will suffer the consequences."

Angry arose in the scientists face but he was too weak and lanky as the soldier shoved him back. "D-damn you!"

Struggling to get back to her feet, Eva felt her collar lift into the air as Harlaown gave her an amused looked. Coping a feel on her breasts, her skin felt cold as she struggled against the pain of near frostbite. The growing cold and yet burning sensation spread across her body as she screamed again. Her leggings ripping apart from the sheer cold, the GRU Colonel simply dropped her back onto the ground. Her fake glasses clanked to the ground.

Just as Flor continued to be pushed away, a familiar voice barked from behind the both of them. "Just hold it right there, traitor!"

The soldier seemed to figure out what to do as he pushed Flor into the woman stepping out from behind them. Her revolvers pressed against Flor's forehead, Ocelot casually shrugged with a bullet in her opposite hand. "I have a game to play… So let's see how lucky you are."

Taking the bullet and jamming into the one of the socket's, the blonde Major took out two more revolvers at her belt. "I'm going to pull the trigger six times in a row… It's like Shutran Roulette."

Flor's mouth instantly dried as Ocelot started to juggle the weapons, his own fate at the work of chance. Her skill at juggling would have been something to remark if it wasn't for the fact that his life was on the line.

Lackadaisically, she took one of the revolvers and fired. The heavy clanks of metal on metal making Flor hop backwards. A few moments later, she did it again, as Flor pushed himself against some crates. "Ahh..!"

Again and again and again, she fired. Juggling faster and faster, even going behind the back just to screw around with the scientist's fear, Ocelot only grinned as he stumbled on his legs and voided himself. The steaming scent of urine and feces only helped her smile grow.

"Looks like your luck hasn't run out just y-!" From the corner of Eva's eye, The Boss stepped from nowhere, grabbed a revolver and fired it into the calm water's before them. Holding the weapon to her side, she glared at the blonde, a frown on her face.

"There is no such thing as 'luck' on the battlefield." The brunette said, looking at Flor and back to Ocelot. The blonde looked down for a moment as Harlaown smugly laughed as the soldier brought Flor to his feet and pushed him out of sight.

Eva could tell that the blonde haired woman wanted her revolver back as The Boss held it pointed up. "Stay in line Major. The Cobras will take care of her." A simple trick with her hands, the White Devil shoved the weapon into Ocelot's chest.

The once proud Single Action Army was broken into three pieces. Her face mortified by her comrade's actions, The Boss returned her face with a glare. The GRU Major angrily stomped away, muttering curses and throwing her hands in another gesture.

"Has the IIA dog been disposed of yet?" Harlaown spoke again, his patience clearly tested.

"… The Pain is dead."

Shock quickly became rage as he smashed his fists into the concrete wall besides him, rumble easily flying out from the holes he made. Mana streaks and frost overshadowed him as he gritted his teeth. "Peh, she may be a child, but she's definitely one of yours."

"I fear that Zaporozhet may have a hand in this." He grunted, turned back to The Boss. "You must eliminate her before the final test."

"Don't worry." She replied, as the sounds of a squeaking wheelchair slowly approached. "They'll be able to handle it."

The wheelchair seemed to move on its own as seated in it was a young man, taking a nap. Chocolate brown hair rested over his eyes as he continued to snooze. Slowly, a woman with blue hair dripped out of the ground, her happy-go-luck grin gazing over the small group.

"I'm leaving her to you, The Fear." The Boss nodded to the blue haired woman. The woman grinned as she sunk back into the ground and sprung out, jumping into another form of matter. Happy as can be, she leapt into the deep forest, shouting. "Fear!"

If there was any sense of creepiness that Harlaown had, it was masked by his curiosity at the young man in the wheelchair. Eva squinted to get a better look at the man. His Barrier Jacket was dark green with black undercoating. The perfect camouflage for a sniper.

"The young lad is always sleeping. He's not dead is he?" The ice mage asked.

"The End is saving his energy if he does have to battle. He did a great service during the war, sniping at the ripe age of six." The side-ponytailed mage returned, looking back at the sniper. "He'll wake up when the time is right."

The crash of thunder up above signaled as rain started to drizzle down. "And when he does… It'll be The End for the girl."

"Meh." The Colonel grunted as he shrugged off some of the rain as it picked up intensity. Marching back to Eva, the hair-clipped agent looked up. "Flor isn't worth of your love. You can entertain me until the rain stops." Turning away, he muttered his usual charm. "Minokichi, minokichi…"

Getting up herself, she gripped her uniform and her near burned breast, following after Harlaown.

Finally rid of the people, The Boss looked at the skies above. Streaks of lightning lit up the skies as she calmly looked bacl. "Sorrow…" She muttered shaking her head. Faintly, she waltzed into the large garage opening, disappearing into the shadows.

-.-.-

Holding her Dragunov Sniper, Quint took a moment to think. When another soldier started to push The End away, she thought of sniping the man. After all, it was a clean shot and it would help her mission to get rid of one of the Cobra's real easily. Her finger on the trigger, a trail of sweat dripped down her neck.

It just didn't feel right to do something like that though. If The End was saving his energy when he's going to battle him, she felt obligated to give him a soldier's battle. It was the least she could. With all the guards gone, she made her way over to the docks nearby and pulled herself out of the water.

-.-.-

The inner warehouse of Ponizovje was cold and damp as Quint continued to creep through. With her Barrier Jacket shifting to urban camouflage, a pattern of grey with splash spots of black and white spots, she pressed herself against the wall. A few drips of water squished between the concrete ground and her boots. But luckily, it wasn't the loudest of things. Drips of water from the ceiling as well as the marching of foots echoed about the area. There were guards about, but nothing that she couldn't handle. Peeking her head over a wall, she spotted two soldiers making their routes. Firing her pistol, even if it was suppressed the sounds would echo about and smashing their bodies into the ground would alert the others.

Stepping down the stairs, she waited for one of the guards to loop around the corner as she matched her footstep sounds with the others. Seeing that there was a slight time delay between the two in the middle, Quint waited for the first guard to round about. Immediately she ran across the open space and slide across the ground.

"Makarov, was that you?" One of the guards noticed her dash.

"What?"

Fuck! Looking around the area, there wasn't any cover for her to use.

"Didn't ya hear footsteps?"

"Nope. I think your just imagining things. Maybe that ration got to your head."

"Yeah, well fuck you too."

Sighing at their banter, Quint still rested herself against the crates, as one of the guards slowly rounded the corner. Just then, she lunged at his neck, choking him as his cries for help came out as coughs. Hands wildly flailing about, she was lucky that the guard dropped his rifle as it clanked on the ground. Squeezing hard, Quint closed her eyes as she waited for the guards struggling to stop.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" The other guard shouted, raising his rifle at the two of them.

Her eyes snapping open, she immediately jumped into action. Full control of her captive, she shoved the man into the other guard, before charged her hands with magic and rushed at the two. A twin blow to their heads, cleanly slamming their heads into the concrete as they instantly fell unconscious. They might have a bit of brain damage, but at least they were unconscious. Scanning them over, Quint spotted their radio communicators as she ripped them off their person and crushed them under her foot with a magic driven stomp.

"Stupid, stupid…" She muttered to herself before looking up. She's still got a ways to go before reaching the laboratories.

-.-.-

The metal exterior of the Research Facilities gates was surrounded by barbed wire fielding. Electrified to a point, a guard walked around doing his routes, clearly bored. Right next to the main gates doors was a Belkan Shepherd, snoozing away. Its ears flickered at the slights of noise. Light swish of its tail showed that it was aware of its surroundings, albeit bored as well.

The night continued on as it usual was, guard the outdoors, walking a linear pattern, and keep your eyes open, blah, blah, blah. Of course, he would never admit to thinking anything against his job, else Harlaown freezing him in a block of ice for eternity or something crazy like that.

The dog's ears perked up again, as it immediately stood up. Tail pointing straight up and mouth closed the dog slowly walked over to the guard as he watched it. "Something up boy?" A second later, the dog yelped out as it fell unconscious, thrown back from some purple colored mana round at its skull.

"Wh-who's the-!" Another round exploded in his face as everything turned black.

-.-.-

Donning a scientist garb, Quint entered the laboratory and removed the bandana on her head. Having something like that would have been a dead giveaway to who she was, or at least it the guards would have been suspicious of whom she was. Doing her best to casually walk around the place, the test came when she approached her first guard. The Shutran soldier virtually gave her no second looks as she continued.

It was a good sign that it worked. Happy with her new disguise, she pushed open a door that was labeled scientist lounge. Inside was a small corridor, with support pillars and small benches inbetween. Gulping to keep herself cool, she walked around, making sure to keep herself out of the sights of other scientists that might be in the area. A stairwell to the left, she quickly followed it down, leading to a small hallway. A door to the right, it was probably a security post. Rounding the corner, the purple-haired agent reached another door. Opening it gently, she looked inside. It was a small living area, complete with a half-complete game of cards and a small television. Luckily there was nobody around as she casually passed through and found another door.

But when she opened this one, the room was completely different. It was like a small personal space as piles of paper sat to the corner of the main table. The smell of vodka trickled out of the room. Quint was never one for hard liquor but, this smell was terrible. Pulling out her knife, she casually looked around and entered. The quiet sounds of radio played some Shutran song.

"If you're looking for Flor, he isn't here." A man voice grunted as Quint turned to face the sound. A pivot chair slowly turned around as a man with long green hair gave her a half dazed look. A man in his later years, the green in his hair was a shade lighter and spots of grey near the roots showed his age. So that's where the vodka came from… She mentally snarked.

His drunken blue eyes gazed at her body as he sighed. "Put that thing away, you'll spoil my drink."

Lowering the knife, the man sat himself back up. "So you're that intruder that has everybody talking. Typical capitalist dog – no matters whatsoever." In his hands was a flask as he took another large gulp.

"And you are?" Quint asked.

Getting up, the man sighed. "And you call yourself an agent, you little… Very well then, I am Verossa Cynosovitch Acous. A man of some importance, as you might say."

"I am the foremost weapons scientist in the Soviet Union, and the head of the glorious Acous Design Bureau." Mindfully, Quint switched her radio on to see if anybody would want to hear this back home. Pointing at a medal on his suit, the green haired scientist continued.

"This is the Order of Lenin, a medal of great magnitude given along with the title 'Hero of Socialism'." He said, hands in grandeur pose. "Since The Great Patriotic War, I've created countless weapons in the service of our great communist society. It was thanks to me, that we Shutrans were able to stamp out the Nazi scum."

"It was I that created the basic design for the mobile missile system you know and fear as SS-1C." He pointed to the side. Her eyes following the path, she saw a small display case of the SS-1C Shutran rockets. A small scaled down version perfect for a little trophy space.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" Quint stated the obvious. Even with the Shutran 'iron-liver' and the numerous of jokes it created, it was clear that head of the Acous Design Bureau was in a stupor.

"It's called 'drowning my sorrows'." He pointed back with the flask in hand. "Because of him, I've got nothing to do here but sit here…" He paused. "And drink this crap!"

"You mean Flor?"

"Of course!" He threw his hands in the air, turning back around. A few drops of the vodka flew out and dripped on her head. "Because of him, I've been stripped of my authority. Research, poof! Gone!" Walking back to his desk, he withdrew some papers in a drawer and handed to her. Although she was no good with large detailed words with research, she did understand a few things as well as the pictures. A large two standing walking battle tank machine with a nuclear silo to the side.

"It's a revolutionary mobile nuclear and magical missile system… A bipedal tank."

"A bipedal tank?"

"Yes, a walking tank. A robot!" The green haired researcher then trailed off to another topic. "Are you familiar with the theory of the mana and magic manipulation?"

"Doesn't any other mage know this?"

"The ability of mana control and absorption of the atmosphere and surrounding lifeforms. Soldier mages use it all the time if the area provides it. Hard but… Possible. If human can do it, why not machines?" Quint blinked as he continued. "It was once said in ancient records that magic came from the power of the stars above… A folklore obviously, but what about now? This weapon will revolutionize weapons develop for decades to come… The mana increasing nuclear fusion one hundred fold! Harnessing the power of a star. Star power… A Starlight Breaker if you will."

"Starlight… Breaker?" Quint frowned. What type of name was that?

He sighed, slumping a bit over with his flask. "But no, I won't be used to easily. No, no crying to myself at night. Because I already sent these plans to a friend I had back in the United States…" He pointed at an old photograph on the wall. He was him and another woman. Her hair was pushed to the side, showing her widow's peak. Kind eyes, but thanks to the photographs detail, no color was on it.

"Wait, what?! Why?" She asked, confused on why he would.

"These bastards will regret this. And when they themselves become targets of MY creation, they will know TRUE greatness. Yes… Flor's Fanzabastovka is nothing more than a shadow of my work. A pale IMITATION! Feph… A tank with rockets… Why not go large?"

Seeing that he might bring himself off to a tangent, Quint quickly spoke up, putting down the papers. "About Flor…"

"Tanks with rockets… Look at these!" He pointed down to his legs.

She nodded. "Nice shoes."

"Wha? No, legs!" he slapped his knees a few times, "Legs that allow it to go anywhere! Like an ordinary person! THAT is true replication. True revolutionary development! Don't you agree?"

"… Uhhh…" Quint was no rocket scientist, and the science behind walking around didn't really seem to help her fire a gun or use magic.

"But, those fools chose FLOR instead, the nerve." He spat out, grabbing a bottle from the wall. It was vodka, probably the same one he was drinking from the flask.

"So where is Flor?"

"My project has been terminated; Al-Hazard has been handed over to him."

That name didn't seem recognizable. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Al-Hazard. Haven't you ever heard of the Philosophers? The Colonel has inherited their immense legacy. Feh, I doubt he obtained it so easily from his parents. His father, Clynde was in charge of the Philosopher's money laundering activities. But in the confusion of the war, either by him or his wife Lindy, they somehow ended up with their treasure. We never need to worry about a military budget. The development costs at our facility are all paid out of the Colonel's deep pockets."

"The weapons born here will be the genes for creating an entire new form of warfare! The funding of my research came out from that legacy… And now, MY men, MY money… all diverted to the Fanzabastovka project. Tomorrow will be the final test. While Flor is off doing the final checks in the weapons facility at Harlaown's main base, the great fortress of Groznyj Grad, here I am playing host with enemy spy and drinking myself into tomorrow."

"So that's where they moved Flor?" Quint chimed in.

"Have you not been paying attention?"

A bit offended, she then said, "And the Fanzabastovka is there too?"

"Duh."

Growling, the Haimirian agent moved towards the door. "Hey! You're not thinking of going to Groznyj Grad, are you?"

She stopped, listening to his words. "Are you mad? It's an impenetrable fortress!"

"I'm sure it is…" She grunted, getting irritated from the old man's rambling.

"You'll be killed!"

"I'll take my chances." Moving to the door again, Acous commanded, "Wait!"

"Oh, what now?"

"Listen to me you fool! I want to help you."

"Eh?"

"To thank you for your compliment." He smiled, still drunk. "These shoes… Hayate gave them to me. I wanted to thank you for complimenting me on them."

The purple haired mage blinked. Odd, but ok…

"I'll tell you how to get to the fortress. All I ask is that you take that idiot out of there and destroy the Fanzabastovka." Circling around, Acous continued, "There is an underground tunnel that runs around the perimeter of the fortress. You should be able to sneak inside to the base."

"Head to the mountains. The entrance to the tunnels should be located there." Pulling a thin card from his back pockets, he handed it to Quint. "This will let you get in."

Taking the card, she tilted her head as the scientist continued, "You passed through a warehouse on your way here, correct? There should have been a locked door inside of it. This key will open that door. Pass the thick jungle and you should be able to find way to climb the mountains."

Stowing the key away, something was bugging her. Everything seemed way too convenient. "Why are you helping me?" She inquired.

"Because unlike Flor, the thought of defection never once crossed my mind. I love…" he breathed in. "I love my country. I love this land. I cannot even imagine anywhere but. I wish to remain a hero; of the great motherland."

"The thought of being hounded and left to waste away…" Acous started before noticing the clock just above the door. "Hmph, it is already dawn. Go. I will remain here, and nurse my troubles a little while longer." Slowly, he walked back into his chair and slouched down, resting his head against the back.

As Quint turned away and headed to the door, he smiled and raised his flask.

"To capitalism!"

And with that, she closed the door behind her.