A brown-haired young man sat reclined in a soft red sofa; the lights in the house were dim, and the television ran old reruns of a classic sitcom. The man's chest peacefully rose up and down as he drifted off to sleep.
"Dadda!" a small voice cried out from another room. Within seconds, small feet clambered across the hard wood floor. Tap tap tap tap tap! "Dadda!"
A girl, who couldn't be older than seven, leapt into the air and crashed into the young man's stomach. His eyes immediately bulged open. "W-W-Woah, wh-what?... W-What's wrong, honey?"
The child looked in her father's eyes. "D-Dadda, I had a bad dweam."
The man- no, closer to a teenage boy- ran a hand across his face. "Again? That's no good, now is it? What was it about?"
"There was... Oh, I can't wemember."
The boy, much younger than his father-status would imply, chuckled. "Heh, I see. Here," he trailed as he picked her up, "how about I tell you a bedtime story?"
"Sure!"
"That's my girl."
The 'father' carried his child up the stairs to her room, and laid her down softly among the sheets. He reached to the left of the bed and pulled out a few tall books.
"Ooh, what storwy, dad?"
"Hmm... Ah, here we go. This story's about a wonderful sea dogoo..." And he read from the short picture book, stopping each page to show off the innocent illustrations. When the tale was finished, the girl was just about ready to drift off to sleep.
"... Dadda?"
The young man smiled down at his daughter, calmly stroking her hair. "Yes darling?"
The child closed her eyes. "... What if I have anoffer bad dweam? I'm scarwed, dadda."
Still wearing the most disarming smile he could muster, the boy took a deep breath. "Don't worry, Isara dear... No matter what happens, I'll keep you safe. I'll scare any bad dreams away!" He then closed his eyes and whispered under his breath "I'll keep you safe, always... Always..."
The girl was content with the answer, and slowly drifted off herself. "... Night... dadda..."
"Good night, darling. I love you."
...
"Adrian! Yo, I'm talking to you!"
The leader of the rebels was instantly snapped out of his daydream. "... I'm listening. What, Alex?"
"Almaz and Rei came back. They failed... spectacularly, from the sounds of it. They said the CPUs turned right at the split."
"... No surprise... Alright, my turn now." Adrian cracked his knuckles and held the tome firmly in his hands. "Check on the hostages while I'm gone."
Alex nodded. "Alrighty... Though, I don't foresee them going anywhere. I'm pretty sure the boys tied them down and are keeping watch as we speak."
"Ha, yeah, I'm really sure."
"Such confidence. Great bedside manner, bro..." The irritable brother waved his orb to teleport back up to the cave, leaving the leader alone to his thoughts.
"..." The distraught young man clenched his fists tight. "... All just a dream..."
Adrian had no daughter; hell, he most likely never would. But, even if he did... she wouldn't be HER. She'd NEVER be HER. No one would...
... All he could do now was take revenge... That was the only thing keeping him going: vengeance on the goddesses for allowing such a little girl to die. For allowing uncountable amounts of adults and children to die, while they goofed off and otherwise neglected their almighty duties.
Today, however, someone new was going to die; Adrian knew it. The question was, then... would he do the killing, or would he be the one killed?
"... This is for you, Isara."
Only one way to find out...
...
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
A fair ten minutes had passed since the party encountered the ineffectual tornadoes. Suffice to say, no one was really feeling on edge anymore. So much for death-defying tension.
However, one opponent was taking its toll on some of the party members.
"C-Can we take a break, guys? I'm pooped..." Neptune whined, no longer in her HDD form. Her slumped shoulders and drooping arms backed up her words; all this walking was too much on the lazy girl who mainly ate pudding. Gee, what are the odds that she's out of shape?
Histoire wagged a tiny finger at the exhausted goddess. "Neptune, we are actively being pursued by countless amounts of men, and more importantly, all of this is a rescue mission for Compa! We can't possibly take a-"
"Ah, I could go for a few minutes of relaxin'. All these idiots are seriously makin' me tired." Blanc aided, yawning cartoonishly. Her eyes studied the landscape of the surrounding mountain rocks, and spotted a mid-sized hole in the wall just a few more steps up the path. "That a cave up there? How about we put our feet up then? Those freaks won't catch up to us in time."
Kei sighed, but nodded regardless. "... Truthfully, a short rest would be beneficial; both for our health and to confuse the enemy. If another boy is waiting for us, he'll surely not expect our delay."
Noire eyed her oracle strangely. With a slap to her forehead, she spoke. "... So what you're saying is... we're going to confuse the enemy by acting stupid? I didn't expect that from you."
"Not the dumbest thing we've ever done, let's be perfectly honest."
At least our heroines are honest; even they know when the script sucks. Still, a good-bad plan is always liable to... succeed?... E-Er, so they all crowded into the small cave, which was soon discovered to not be the most luxurious resting spot.
"Get yer elbow out of my freakin' face!"
"Heh, that's not my elbow, Blawney..."
... In the deepest reaches of the odd cavern (read: 10 feet in), two oracles sat side-by-side.
"Histoire," Mina began, absentmindedly biting her thumb nail, "did something strike you as odd about that first boy?"
The tome cocked her head to the side. "The first boy? Well, it was peculiar how he caused a miniature rock-slide... Is that it?"
"No..." the scholarly oracle lightly shook her head, thinking back on the scene in question. "... We mentioned Jade's name, and he immediately lashed out at us... To me, it seems like that news was more than a little shocking to him."
"It was probably nothing. Jade did tell us how the boys had requested his help by force, and how he just as quickly declined; that boy probably realized their mistake right then. Avenir is not a force you want working against you."
"I don't know... I know that look." The look of betrayal, abandonment, no hope; why had Alex and Mina shared that same look?
Histoire could detect this was seriously bothering her best friend, so she gently rubbed her fellow oracle's hand. "You worry too much, Mina. Everything is going to work out, I promise. And weren't you the one who said that we have no reason to not trust Jade?"
"... That was before... Something feels off about all this. Now that I think about it, we know nothing about Jade besides that he works for Avenir. Prior to these events, he's practically a ghost..." The glasses-wearing woman looked down at the ground thoughtfully, her eyes attempting to pierce the dark stone floor. Detecting a concerned gaze coming from the tome, however, she quickly looked back up and attempted a smile. "L-Let's not worry about this now! We should be calm and collected if we're to save Compa and stop this rebellion."
Histy smiled back. "Yes, you're right. Speaking of which," the fairy turned to Kei, who was busy watching Blanc and Neptune fighting, "how long shall we stay here, Kei? At your discretion, we should head back out."
The boyish woman did some type of calculation in her mind, her eyes darting around aimlessly. "... Perhaps two more minutes. I have yet to hear anything coming up the mountain, and I hope it stays that way."
Two minutes, huh? No rush or anything, guys.
Near the exit of the cavern, 5pb looked at her dangling feet as she sat on a boulder. "... Chip..."
Cave and IF eyed the pop idol curiously. "Er, Fivey?"
"... I-I know he was a jerk, but... that rock... It killed him! J-Just like that! A-And all those soldiers in the airships... I don't even know their names, but they're... they're all..."
The two warriors looked at each other, perhaps for help. Cave spoke first; all too eagerly, in fact. "... We'll avenge them, Lyrica... I promise you, I'll make sure no one else falls today. I'll protect everyone." An attempt at an earnest warm smile. "I'll protect you."
The battle-hardened veteran also smiled disarmingly. "Cave's right... And of course I'm here for you too, Lyree." The brunette quickly turned the scene tender, running a hand through her lover's hair. "No matter what happens, no matter what it takes... we'll make sure you're safe."
Lyrica blushed, and quickly embraced IF with a kiss. The SMD warrior could only slowly turn her head the other way. One-upped again.
Across from the three, Noire tried to tune out Neptune and Blanc's quarrel through whatever means necessary. Looking at IF gave her an idea: "Huh, guess I should text Uni while we're resting. It'd be good to tell them we're not dead." Taking out her phone, she opened the text app and wrote a quick 'howdy! :D'... or something or other. "Wow, there's actually cell phone reception up here... Small, but it's something." How convenient for you. The message now sent, Lady Black Heart closed her phone and stuffed it back into her pocket.
... Well, that short paragraph was useless.
But Noire wasn't the only one watching IF. No, one much more conflicted soul was watching the brunette warrior.
"You are seriously tense here, Verty-berty!" Chika cooed, giving her darling Green Heart a shoulder massage in the corner... Er, how many times has this type of scene happened in this series? Well, at least Verty-berty seems new... I think.
The CPU of Leanbox smiled softly at her "sister's" words. "Ahh~ That feels good... Your hands are the best, Chika~"
"Anything for you~!" Ah, how chaste...
If you had to ask, with the way Chika was sitting, Vert was stuck facing the very same scene that caused Cave to turn away: IF and 5pb kissing like a star couple at the end of a romantic comedy. Such was the life of this troubled woman; stuck between a world of happiness and utter despair. Aren't we all?
"..." For Chika's sake, she would keep her troubles below the surface. She had already made an ass of herself the past year; enough was enough. It was time to bottle her problems away from the light of day...
IF... To Lady Green Heart, she was a goddess all her own... But it was Lyrica who had won the otherworldly brunette.
Ah, an endless cycle of tragedy; Vert desired IF, Cave pined for Lyrica, and IF and Lyrica were unaware how much their love was destroying their friends' hearts and minds.
... Random useless recap, huh? Oh well, at least the two minutes are up.
"Okay, everyone! Time to get back to the mission!" Kei shouted, jumping up with more energy than usual. Blanc pushed Neptune off her face and followed right behind. Within seconds, everyone was on their feet...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain...
Seventh Journey
"Huugh... Huugh... Ugh... C-Can... C-Can we slow down... ppplease?" The out-of-shape Hank East pleaded, hunched over and holding his knees as he struggled to keep breathing. The other seven bodyguards stopped.
"Er... you're kidding, right?" Nat Hail asked, pinching the skin on her forehead. "Why are you even here if you can't take a little uphill climbing?"
Femme shook his head. "Bitch has a point." Two eyes glared at him threateningly, but he ignored them. "Why'd you volunteer to be a bodyguard? Shouldn't you be out there taking pictures and getting chicks?"
Hank laughed and slapped his stomach. "My healthy gut isn't exactly a lady-magnet, bub. Besides," he quickly dropped to a sitting position on the ground, "when's the last time you've seen a girl date a dude? A year or two back, my buddy Chuck's girlfriend left him for some purple-haired broad in Planeptune of all places! Nah, I'm perfectly content with my camera and stomach bulge. Took this job for a little extra cash."
Sumas sighed in the background. "There's a really great image for my mind... Thanks a lot..." Nat and Bimmy were the only ones who heard her speak; the female soldier was busy staring daggers at Femme to truly appreciate it, while Bimmy was too shy to say anything.
The Leanbox soldier continued to shake his head. "Man, you're a weird one... You call yourself a Leanbox citizen?"
"Eh, I skirted around the nations for a few years, lemme tell ya, but Leanbox ultimately paid me more."
"Shoulda figured..."
Apparently, Hank had won; the group had stopped to take a break, conveniently at the same time as the main cast. Come on, guys! Rebellion! Do somethi-
"Why are we just standing around like fools!? Man up and let's move on!" Cratus snapped. The other six instantly jumped in surprise, whilst Saturn Shiro remained as still as ever. "Get your flabby ass off the ground and LET'S GO!"
After the initial shock had worn off, Hank squinted at the pale white man. "... Listen, bub, I'm tired. I just need a few minutes, and I'll be good to go for the rest of the day. I may be fat, but I can really move when I ha-"
East was interrupted by a sudden miniature explosion of air no more than twenty feet away. Natalie and the boy in green took two steps towards the peculiar sight to get a better look.
"What in the world?"
"...?" At least he shows a little emotion sometimes.
"W-Woah crap!" Bimmy instinctively dashed behind the armored mercenary, who again shot an annoyed look towards the scared boy. Cratus clutched the chain-blades wrapped around his arms, Femme cracked his knuckles, Shiro remained absolutely still, and Hank East leapt up to his feet, nearly stumbling in the process.
Dust flew around the air for a moment before settling... revealing a brown-haired young man clutching a grand book. "Heh heh heh... Remember me, Neptune? It's a pleasure to see y-" Upon seeing the small group, Adrian's eyes widened. "... Wait... who the hell are you guys?"
The overweight journalist, wearing a cocky smile, eyed the boy humorously. "Could be askin' you the same thing. Do I really look like a sexy broad? I'm flattered."
The teen's eye twitched. 'Damn them... Almaz and Rei can't freakin' tell left from right...' "... Oh well, guess I can test this spell out on you freaks. Otherwise, this would've been a complete waste of time."
Nat, despite clear orders to forget about weapons, reached for the pistol in her holster. "You're one of the leaders, right? We don't have any time for your magic tricks."
"Heh... this isn't a trick." Quickly turning to the 'game controller" page of the cheat tome, Adrian keyed in a new code he had yet to use before now. The Lastation soldier kept her hand on the gun, deciding whether disobeying orders and blasting this villain would be the best course to take.
"... Dammit..." She made the ultimate decision. *crack!* A bullet instantly whizzed through the air, catching the brown-haired young man straight in the head right as he was about to finish entering the short cheat. Defying physics like one of Uni's favorite Westerns, he flew back a couple of feet and crashed into the ground.
"H-Holy crap!" Bimmy cried (again), now clutching Sumas' right arm. The mercenary nudged him off, but looked on in just as much shock. The sound of the bullet played over and over in her head. Over and over and over and over and over and ove-
"Haha!" Femme snickered with a clap. "Way to disobey Command, cutie! Well, it's your title and rank, not mine."
Natalie remained frozen with her body tense and gun held in the air. Her eyes stared in horror at the downed boy a little ways away, and with each passing second, her breathing became faster and faster.
"Finally, some smart thinking," Cratus growled, his arms crossed. "We should be killing everyone on this mountainside for even standing against us. This boy is nothing." Is he... trying to be comforting?
Shiro just kept looking ahead, the wind occasionally blowing the massive tuft on his head that he called hair. His eyes stayed on the still teen.
Hank, finding proper balance after both jumping to his feet and hearing the shot, walked up to Hail and pat her on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry, I think ya did the right thing. If the CPUs start harassing you, I got yer bac-"
"Shut up!" The soldier elbowed the photographer away. "Just... leave me alone..."
As the other six bodyguards were preoccupied with her, Shiro watched the dead boy energetically sit up. With a growl, Adrian pressed the 'Start' button on the controller, confirming the code. A ding rang in the air, startling everyone back to the situation at hand.
"Take this, assholes..." the brown-haired young man sneered, holding the bullet that had failed to penetrate a single inch of his skin. "Pathetic cowards..."
"H-He's alive!?" Bimmy cried, once again reaching for the young woman's arm, who had moved a few inches away in anticipation.
Femme grinned slyly at the wide-eyed Natalie. "Got lucky, broad. Guess you'd better check those bullets; even a dud should've hurt 'im."
"Hey, something's happening!" Cratus pointed his right blade at the space in front of the brown-haired boy. "What sorcery is this?"
Plumes of haze formed before Adrian, whose twisted grin was nothing less than horrifying. "Heh heh... 'Ghost Soldiers Lite!' The peasants can't fight for shit, but maybe the dead can..."
The hazy apparitions indeed took the shapes of men in cliché feudal armor, accompanied by ghostly swords and spears. A total of eight ghosts... The hell? I don't remember this from the last story! I take it this is the spell he's testing out?
... And wait; did he say 'Ghost Soldiers... Lite?' The hell does that imply? These are just stock soldiers... What is the 'Complete' spell?
Hank eyed one of the phantoms up and down, clearly not impressed. Walking with a slight waddle, he moved right up into the ghost's face. "So, yer a ghost, huh? I've heard of zombies, but ghosts? Are we supposed to be afraid of ya? Ha, my mama's a scarier thought than you."
The phantom's lifeless eyes stared right through the overweight Leanbox man. Then, with stiff robotic precision, the hand holding the ghost sword moved back before jutting straight into his gut... Wait, what!?
"Glugph!?" was all Hank East could utter as the transparent weapon embedded itself into his stomach. Sumas wasted no time; she raised her buster cannon and fired a paralyzing shot. It passed through the ghost with little fanfare, and dissipated into the atmosphere.
"... Damn."
As quickly as it had struck, the phantom retracted the blade and returned to its original pose. The other seven dead soldiers struck fighting stances behind him, their weapons presumably just as dangerous.
"Have fun... I gotta get to the main attraction now." Adrian chuckled before vanishing from the path. The bodyguards ignored him as they ran up to the wounded photographer.
"A-Are you alright!?" Bimmy cried. He looked down at the man's stomach, where his t-shirt was turning red fast. "A-Ahhh!" The egg-boy nearly passed out, falling backwards into Saturn Shiro's arms.
Natalie snapped out of her horrific shock and took out bandages from the pack on her back. "K-Keep him still! I'll patch you right up..."
Meanwhile, Cratus tightly grasped his blades as he glared at the eight phantoms. "I do not fear death! Death fears ME!" The chains extending farther than most would expect, the blades sliced through the figures... and aptly did absolutely no damage whatsoever. "... Huh?"
The boy in green stepped forward next, not content with giving in to the undead. "... HYAA!" A boomerang soared through the dusty air, flew straight through three soldiers, and returned to his left hand... Nothing was accomplished. "..." This is going nowhere fast.
"Come on, ya pansies! Let me show you how real men deal with problems!" Femme laughed, pulling out his machine gun and firing a full clip into the crowd of stationary spectres... It worked as well as you'd expect. "... And I thought I hated aliens."
Sumas Nara shook her head at the insolence going on all around her. Ignoring the gunshot sounds that tormented her so, and tossing aside whatever pre-established silence she had left, she yelled out "We can't fight them! Run, you idiots!"
Bimmy was the first to react. "R-Right! S-Sensei, let's go!"
"... Ahum!" Guess that means yes. Shiro and Hatchet boldly ran towards the ghosts, aiming to move further up the mountain. Four of the soldiers turned as if on a pivot and swung their spears and swords down. Shiro made it out unscathed, whilst the boy's sleeve was torn, but both ultimately made it out fine.
The space mercenary motioned with her head, and ran right after them. A ghostly spear jutted out, but the girl was nimble enough to leap over and evade just as easily. This is kinda pathetic.
"Hey, asshat! He's your partner, so help me!" Natalie shouted at Femme, holding the bleeding Hank in her arms. The Leanbox soldier grimaced at the sight of the sweating and possibly dying fat man; no matter how many times he saw this on the battlefield, it never got any easier... He wasn't like Markz.
"... Ah hell..." With a groan, he finally reached out to Nat in order to help support Hank. The two began running towards the still soldiers, Cratus and the elf boy taking the lead.
"Come at me, minions of Hades! Show me your pathetic strength!" Say whatever you want, Cratus is good at drawing aggro; the eight spirits robotically marched towards the bald man, allowing the other guards to pass on through. Thus, the coast was now clear. "GRAHHHH! I am the GOD OF WAR!" Stop saying that! Corniness aside, he was also able to make it to the clear.
And so, the eight bodyguards survived yet another near-pathetic trial... Well, seven survived, whilst one is currently bleeding out. Yeesh.
A little ways up, however...
Shiro now lead the group, walking with an air that clearly showed he wasn't nervous in the slightest. No nervousness... yet ever attentive, as always. Further up the path, his hawk-like eyes landed on four figures heading right towards the group. "Ease!" he shouted, Bimmy instantly screaming behind him. "... We have more guests."
Sumas and the green-clad boy shared a look of understanding, and drew their paralyzing weapons. "Fire?"
Natalie shook her head, her arms still busy holding the near-unconscious Hank. "Don't shoot yet, dammit! We have no idea who they are!"
"We can't trust anyone."
"That's the type of attitude that'll result in friendly fire. You call yourself a mercenary?"
"..." Huh... Both women seem to be reliving some... less-than-desirable memories from the distant past.
Shiro kept staring at the four incoming figures, holding his arm upright in the air to signal not to fire... No, wait... there's five figures! Four women, and one... mouse? "..."
Back at the highest cave on the mountain, Alex teleported back into the world. "I'm back, buggers! Hope you're pleased to see me, becau-"
Clear as day, no one greeted him in the cavern. No fake Nepgear, no unconscious heroine nor alchemist, no frightened nurse-in-training, and not even a squashed rat. Nobody.
"... Dammit, should've figured the boys didn't know how ta tie 'em up..." With a depressed sigh, and a tingling nervousness in the pit of his stomach, the irritable brother took out his orb and whispered into it. "Bro, we have a problem..."
...
Adrian waved devilishly at the eight 'strangers', and the next thing he knew, he was standing on a path on the complete opposite side of the mountain. "... Still not used to that..."
Hm, okay, so now it looks like he's waiting for the CPU group. Ugh, we'll be here all day with all this time-wasting...
Fortunately, it was then that the message from Alex reached the leader's ears. "Bro, we have a problem..."
"... What NOW?"
"Er... it's the bloody hostages. They... uh, kinda escaped."
"... You mean to tell me that the girl, the very reason why these CPUs are coming down on us so hard... has just walked out!?"
"... Yeah."
Adrian couldn't help but laugh. "Even you, Alex... I didn't expect anything from Almaz or that useless wimp, but you..." Smiling ironically to the cruel heavens, the boy shook his head. "Arfoire was right, heh... Can't say I'm surprised. I was just hoping we'd actually accomplish something at the very least. One success so I could believe even in the slightest that I was the chosen one to spread Pale Heart's teachings... I shouldn't have expected so much."
"Bro..." On the other end of the 'line,' the irritable brother's shoulders slumped, although he couldn't really tell why. Despite being apathetic towards all of their plans over the past year... it hurt to hear Adrian practically give up on everything. Give up on him. Alex's eyes began to quiver, and he blurted out the first thing on his mind. "... It's not your fault, bro; we've been betrayed."
This caught the leader's attention. "What, did that harpy convince Almaz to turn tail and run?"
"No... Jade."
"... What!?"
Now it was the irritable brother's turn to let out a defeated laugh. "Jade led the CPUs here... That's how they found us so fast. He must have been planning to set us up the whole time; he WAS the one to recommend hiding on this mountain. Should've bloody seen it comin'..."
Adrian raised his left hand to get a better look at himself. His palms were dry and callused, and an old scab was drooping off of his index finger. How easy it would be to pluck it clean off. "... There has to be some sort of explanation. For Pale Heart's sake, why the hell would he side with Green Heart!? No, he must have a plan..."
"Yeah, a plan that we're apparently not involved with anymore. Whatever's goin' on, he's trying to tie up some loose ends- US."
"..." Another spectacular fail. The Yellow Bandana army was useless against the strength of the CPUs, his own brothers' attempts to stop them led nowhere, the hostages had escaped and could be anywhere on this mountain... and now, Avenir, the very organization that had helped fund this whole operation, had turned against them. The only way this day could be any worse for Adrian was if he ended up in either cuffs or a pit in the earth. Frankly, he couldn't be sure what'd be worse.
... It was around that time that a parade of voices reached the leader's ears. Huh, could it be...?
"-ll the way to next week! And this is the hoodie that caused it!"
"Is that supposed to be encouraging?"
"Makes me feel pumped... Probably to kill Neptune, but who the hell cares?" Yep, I thought so.
Here they were; the enemy, just a few feet out of sight. Closer, they creeped... Closer... Closer...
The boy's shoulders tensed, his pupils dilated, his breathing sped, his fist clenched, his brown hair rustled slightly in the uncaring dry wind, the sun bore its incessant heat down on his back...
They're nearly here... This is what he wanted, right? Then... why was he suddenly so... so nervous? Scared out of his mind?
... Tome clutched tightly in hand, Adrian had to make a choice. If he stayed here, he could have a direct confrontation with his utter enemies... but he'd surely be killed in the standoff. But what else did he have to live for? He had failed so much already...
The noises of the walking group became louder, more apparent. Right there... So close!
Heart beats... Ringing in his ear. Ringing? Hissing? Howling?
Step, step, step, step, step.
Nothing left. Nothing left to fight for. Nothing left to win. Nothing left. Nothing left.
Inching closer and closer, closing in on the boy.
Step, step, step.
... Nothing? No...
Step, step, step.
Not like this.
Step, step, step.
There was something left, wasn't there?
Step, step, step.
"Dadda!"
Ancient Heroes
Adrian's eyes continued to glare down the path, the CPUs nearly entering his vision.
Should he stay and fight? No. Should he set a magic trap, perhaps the same ghost soldiers he had tested on the bodyguards?
"... No. I'll let them reach the summit... They want to kill me, then I'm going to drag them through hell first!"
Gaze cold and unforgiving, the boy closed his eyes and waved the book, picturing the cave at the top of the mountain in his mind. In a flash, there he stood, surprising an unsuspecting Alex.
"H-Holy crap, bro! Don't do that!"
"Alex... Find Almaz. There is a group of eight soldiers moving up the path Almaz claimed the CPUs had gone up." The leader pointed at the path closest to the entrance of the cavern. "With the way our day's going, I'm sure they've survived the ghosts. I bet you anything our hostages are moving down this very same path, and will soon meet up with those eight. I need you two to find the girls before that happens, and hold the soldiers off for as long as possible."
The irritable brother, still confusedly shook up at disappointing his brother, nodded as fast as he could. "A-Alrighty! Er... W-What are you gonna do?"
Adrian, with no emotion on any of his features, stared at Alex... but he might as well have been looking through him and at the wall. "I'm going to construct an altar to Pale Heart."
"An... altar?"
"Go, Alex."
"O-Okay, righto!" Without another question, the perplexed brother took out his orb and teleported, hoping to find Almaz and Rei as soon as possible. Adrian, meanwhile, stood right outside the entrance of the cave and flipped through page after page of the cheat tome.
"Here goes nothing." Within moments, the cavern was no more; reduced to a massive mound of rocks in a single ground-shaking rumble. Another rockslide cheat? Isn't there anything that could directly harm his enemies? You know, like... why doesn't he just shoot explosions at the CPUs, or create a gun and shoot someone in the head? All he did so far was summon hail to bring down ships and create ghosts to attack for him...
... He's still afraid to directly kill someone, isn't he?... That's it; he's deathly horrified. It's okay if he uses nature or has someone else do the dirty work for him, but him being the absolute direct cause of someone's death was out of the question...
... Heh, y'know, it's kinda scary; Adrian reminds me of... me. Never again do I want to cause violence or splatter the blood of everything before me... I-I can't do it anymore. All that death I've caused...
... But I'm not the one leading an anti-CPU rebellion. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, kid...
He can't hear me, though. Only you can... I think. Though, ever since I was put in these chains, it feels like... someone else is watching me too. Not like you, though; this entity is... *sigh* I can't really tell, that's the frustrating part... Let's just drop it and see what the boy's planning on doing.
"Okay... Have to stack the rocks. Don't have a lot of time; it MUST be ready by the time they get here... Has to be perfect..."
... How's he gonna do that, you reckon? Guess he has a tome of unparalleled magic at his fingertips... though honestly, it has been less than useful for most of today.
Oh ho ho, it's magic...
It wasn't too hard to find Almaz and Rei; the two friends were busy hiding in another small cavern a few feet down the most obvious path from the now-deceased cave, close to bawling their eyes out.
Alex cautiously stepped inside, tapping his fist against the wall lightly as if he were a father checking in on his son. "Almaz... You okay?"
The timid brother wiped his right eye as he looked up in the direction of the voice, but seeing his brother, he quickly turned away. "O-Okay? H-Ha, o-of ccccourse! Never bbbbbbbbetter..." Ah, let me do it: Beat. "... W-We're gonna die! I can't do this, bro! W-We gotta get out of here before Adrian gets us all killed!"
The irritable brother wasn't particularly surprised by the outburst, though it still concerned him regardless. He next looked at Rei sitting beside his brother, who simply nodded her head quickly up and down. Same feelings, just more subdued. "... Well, not that I'm endorsin' this or anything, but why are you guys still here? You can teleport; just go ta Lowee or something."
Almaz shook his head. "The orb won't let us go too far; we can only maneuver around this mountain! And besides, wouldn't Adrian be able to find us? With the tome, he can zip to anywhere he wants; he'd hunt us down and kill us!"
"... You have a point..." Alex began, closing his eyes in thought as he raised his chin to the sky. "... But I don't think you have any reason to worry."
"... W-What do you mean?"
"Adrian... Well, he's not going to leave this mountain. He's either gonna win, or he's gonna die; the chips aren't stacked in his favors. If you two want to run, now's the perfect time." As much as Alex hated saying this, he knew that it was the right thing to do. Their brother was lost; too obsessed with proving some kind of point to see that his actions were going to get everyone killed. Better that he, Almaz, and Rei not get dragged to Hell with him.
The meek brown-haired young man and the silver-haired girl looked at each other for a good few seconds, playing out who knows how many possible scenarios over and over in their heads. Running would be nothing short of betrayal.
"... You're... You're right, bro... C'mon, Rei! Let's get out of here. We'll just... run down the mountain and find the nearest town! Forget all of this ever happened... Start a new life."
Rei's eyes began to tear up, but a certain twinkle began to shine through. "... O-Okay! T-That sounds great!"
... Who gave a crap about betrayal? Betraying a mad man was certainly better than staying by the side of one.
Alex watched the two stand, suddenly full of energy they had been missing for days! "So yer really going?"
Almaz frowned at his brother for a moment, but nodded resolutely. "... Yeah. I gotta keep Rei safe. Y-You can come with us, if you like!"
"..." Visions of a different kind of traitor flashed through the angry brown-haired young man's mind. Betraying a mad man to ensure your survival... Was that what was happening with 'him?' "... Thanks, but I can't go with you guys just yet. I'll stick around here just a little while longer... Then, I have to pay our good friend Jade a little visit..."
"I-I see... O-Okay!" The meek brother rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before holding his hand out in front of his fellow OC. "Good luck, Alex... Find us soon, though! U-Understood?"
"Heh... Of course, ya galah. I can't trust you two to tie yer own damn shoes without someone like me around."
"... I'll take that as a compliment." And the two boys shook hands, sharing a brotherly moment for perhaps the first time in months, if not the first time period. After the quick gesture, Almaz took hold of Rei's right hand and left the small cavern, not looking back in fear of breaking down into tears and hysterics.
...
The two friends didn't make it far down before they became tangled up in yet another subplot.
"A-Almaz... There's a bunch of people heading our way!"
"C-Crud!... T-There's no place to hide! W-What do we do!?"
"I-I don't know! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!"
Meanwhile, the mysterious group got sight of the two Yellow Bandanas.
"Could those be... villains!?" Nisa gasped, holding her hand above her eyes to drown out the sunlight from her gaze. The hell!? Why is Nisa he-
"That looks like... one of those creepy boys! And he's holding a cute girl's hand! Unforgivable!" Yep, there's Nepgeo too. Why are they climbing up the mountain again? Weren't they trying to escape?
Femme handed all of the passed out Hank to an annoyed Nat and concerned Compa, and walked up beside the heroine. "... Heh, another trap. At this point, I say we shoot 'em. Can't afford anyone else getting stabbed by a ghost." He raised his machine gun, his finger flirting with the trigger.
"W-Wait!" the pink-haired nurse-in-training shouted suddenly, causing everyone but Shiro to turn. "I-I don't think he's one of the evil ones! He didn't seem like he wanted to kidnap me, at least..." Hm, I guess she's forgetting the fact that Almaz stabbed a man just a few days ago... Though, it was strictly self-defense, and Alex finished the creep off...
Gust cocked her head to the side, almost as if her large hat was serving as a massive weight. "Hey... Gust knows that boy! He creep from that school! What's he doing here?"
Again, mentioning that fateful 'school', where Arfoire had unleashed all of her OCs on the world, intent on seducing our heroines to steal their strength. If I remember correctly, Almaz had been tasked to take care of...
"You!" Gamindustri's heroine of justice shouted, her words loud enough to reach the two Yellow Bandana leaders' ears. Heh, guess she remembers...
"Gack! M-Me!?" Almaz's jumped back instinctively, nearly knocking Rei Ryghts over. "T-They've seen us!"
Fire filled Nisa's eyes as she broke off from her extremely unusual party in an intense sprint. "I remember you, vile deviant! Back again to taste my righteous kick one last time!?"
The brown-haired young man fell backwards, looking on at the rampaging heroine with sheer terror engraved on his pale face. Rei stood frozen with a hand clasped over her mouth; thanks for the help, as always. "P-P-Please no! N-Nisa, d-don't hurt me!"
Seeing the 'evil creation' grovelling in fear on the ground caused the blue-haired girl to halt right before her fist would've made contact with his frail bones. "So, you do remember my name? Why shouldn't I fight you, evildoer, after you endangered my sisters and nearly killed us in that airship crash?"
"T-That wasn't me! I-I only stuck around because Adrian's my brother!... B-But I'm not with the Yellow Bandanas anymore!" He quickly flicked his head towards his friend. "R-Rei and I were just trying to leave... I-I don't mean any trouble!"
The heroine stood thinking for a moment, looking the downed boy up and down, and then did the same for the standing wide-eyed silver-haired girl. Apparently, she was able to come to a conclusion. "... Hmph! I refuse to trust someone who tried to take my soul!" This comment caused Rei to raise a perplexed eyebrow at her friend, but Nisa continued regardless. "... But... Well, I don't think you're stupid enough to try anything funny when there's a whole group of us... aaaaaand I don't like the thought of letting you run loose on the world..." Another pause, with the heroine looking over her shoulder. Compa nodded, and so did the rat on her shoulder, though he was obviously just trying to play up his ally image. "... So you're coming back up the mountain with us! If you really aren't on the villainous side, then you should have no objections!" Damn, that's... pretty cold, Nisa. Is this... her 'heroic' attempt at blackmail?
Almaz, hands shivering, looked up at Rei with pleading eyes. "... W-What do we... W-Wait! Y-You were the girls Adrian and Alex kidnapped, right? Then... why aren't you escaping?" Huh, he makes a point for someone being pushed into a corner.
The heroine next turned to Nat and the rest of the bodyguards. "Well, we were heading down when we came across these guys. They're helping the CPUs, and I can never ignore those in need of assistance! I told my fellow ex-prisoners that we couldn't escape just yet!"
"It was Compa's idea. Wanted to nurse stabbed guy and help Neptune," Gust interjected, totally thrashing the heroine's honorific attitude.
Nisa sighed. "... Let's just move on; my other sisters are waiting!" Without another word, she marched up the mountain path, her face a hint of red. Nepgeo grinned at the alchemist, who shook her head and followed close behind. Like a herd of migrating horsebirds, the rest of the group did the same.
"Er... h-hi, I'm Bimmy! I, uh, hope we get along..." the egg-boy awkwardly stated, holding his hand out to Almaz. Before the brown-haired young man could shake it, Sumas clutched Hatchet's collar and dragged him along.
The two friends watched the group move. "... G-Guess we have to put off that new life, huh?"
"... J-Just for a short while longer..." the former Yellow Bandana leader said as he looked towards the stone ground, utterly dejected. "... B-But d-don't worry, Rei! W-We'll get out of this..."
A smile lit up the silver-haired girl's face, her eyes behind her glasses physically sparkling. "I-I-I'm not worried... A-As long as I'm with you."
Almaz's face burned beat red, and he rubbed his cheek like a young schoolgirl. "S-Same here..."
"Come on, ya brats. Don't make me shoot you. Stragglers'll be put down like plant-based aliens." Femme's gruff voice rang out. So nonchalant for an obvious threat.
"C-Coming!"
"I'm saying that I no longer need you, Mother... Nor did I ever, really... You gave the 'Crucial Codes' to us, and I am grateful for that... but you can no longer help us... You are no longer useful."
Thanks to the fully powered Level 50 tome, an altar was constructed from the cave's remains in only a few minutes. Adrian looked on at his creation apathetically.
"What!? How dare you speak to me like that, you insolent child! With a flick of my finger, I can reduce you to ash!"
In the dead center of the structure was a pedestal, housing the mystical cheat-code book. An offering to the pixellated gods above?
"Then do it. Kill me, Mother. If Pale Heart wills my death, then I must respect her wishes."
The dry wind that had blown all day had finally ceased, leaving the air as lifeless as all the poor people who the CPUs' neglect had killed.
"How dare you turn your back to me, all for some mythical goddess! There is NO Pale Heart, boy!" "Oh, Pale Heart exists, Mother... You cloned her, remember?" "... I... did no such thing! I..."
A pebble stuck out from the otherwise-perfect construction. Adrian leaned over and popped it back into place.
"Such a fool, Mother... You have so much power, and yet you squander it!... I renounce you, Arfoire; Pale Heart is my Mother! No... I am Pale Heart, reincarnated in this time of turmoil!"
The yellow cloth wrapped around the brown-haired young man's head drooped down, partially obscuring one eye.
"... You have no destiny other than what I chose for you, boy! Do you want to know the only reason I gave you three the book?" "... I don't particularly care... but fine, grace me with knowledge."
From both paths leading up to this highest point, voices grew louder and louder.
"You were to master the magic the tome contains, gather enough support, and then rise in rebellion against those disgusting CPUs... Sound familiar?" "Seems to ring a bell." "Grrrr... You've followed my outline to a 'T' so far... You wanna know how the story ends?" "Won't that spoil the fun?"
Through poorly laid traps, the CPUs and their allies had managed to survive. The hundreds of peasants had to still be following them, but obviously not fast enough... Oh well; they'd soon find themselves up here with the arrival of the enemy.
"... You and your brothers... die. You fail... spectacularly, even. Your little rebellion only serves to kick off a much greater conflict, one that WILL kill the goddesses. You three, however, will be remembered forever as buffoonish religious zealots who were only good at making noise... And you'll even fail at being a total mockery, since only the most devoted scholars would even care to record your exploits. You boys are destined to lose!"
So close... No where to run now. Though, if Adrian was going to run and hide, he would have done it long ago.
"... I don't care... I don't care. If I'm destined to fail, then I'll fail... But it won't be because you willed it, Arfoire; it will be due to MY own weakness! No matter what, I am solely responsible for my battles; no one else!"
This was the Yellow Bandanas' last stand. As soon as the CPUs came into direct view, the bells would toll for one side of this conflict... Adrian against the world; a confused and alone brown-haired young man versus the strongest women in the universe.
"... If you know you will fail, then why even fight!? Why!?"
The voices were close enough now that he could make out the girls' words. It was time.
"... Because I need to do this! I'm not fighting for you... Hell, at the end of the day, I'm not even fighting on Pale Heart's behalf... No, I'm doing this for me. Screw destiny, screw the odds... and screw YOU!"
For justice! For liberation! For Isara!
...
... For himself.
...
... Hm? Oh, sorry; just, uh, catching my breath. These chains are digging into what I assume would be my lungs, if I had any.
I... apologize if I haven't been as energetic lately... Being a narrator to all this 'madness' takes a toll on the mind; surely you understand? And besides... I feel like that mystery observer I mentioned is... gauging my performance, or something like that. He wants to be a creep, I might as well phone it in to give some form of protest...
Ugh... Why am I still here? Oh well, at least it's better than being... out there.
... D-Don't mind me! Hmm... I take it you've figured out the pattern by now? I'm sure you can guess where this chapter is going to end, right?
Let's not waste any time...
...
In Lowee, Ganache led Underling towards the wine cellar of some bland coffee shop, and the two entered its grungy recesses.
"Again, where the hell are we goin'?"
"Heh heh... Right here!"
Linda's eyebrow raised towards the cocky 'gentleman', and she quickly shot her eyes around the dank basement. "... Geo warned me about boys in these kinds of places. I gotta bust yer kneecaps, or are ya gonna tell me what's goin-"
"Hello, Linda."
A booming voice nearly caused the villain to leap out of her skin. "H-Huh!? W-Who said that!?" From the darkness, two piercing neon-blue glowing eyes shone through, and the green-haired girl could faintly see a massive black figure outlined in neon blue. "W-Wha... Is it really you?"
"Of course... It is I, fair Linda." Underling instantly raised a finger to speak, but she was just as quickly cut off. "The questions can come later. For now... we must save Magic, correct?"
"Aaaaah, y-y-y-yeah! R-Right!... So, er, what's the plan?"
Still somehow shrouded in the shadows, the giant robotic... thing made a sound as if it were chuckling. "Follow Ganache; he'll take you where you need to go. I'll meet you there... I can't just walk through the streets looking like this; surely you understand?"
The hooded villain nodded with a new sense of resolve. "Aye aye, CFW Judge, sir! I'll do whatever it takes!" Grrr...
"Heh heh... As loyal as I remember, fairest Linda. Then, make haste, child!"
With that, a slightly uncomfortable-looking Ganache bowed yet again, and led Underling outside the cellar, leaving... CFW Judge alone in the darkness. Ugh...
...
Elsewhere, about ten minutes later...
Here we are again at Lowee's Basilicom, which also apparently serves as Lady White Heart's... mansion? Yeah, that's not at the expense of tax-payer dollars at all.
*ding dong!* Huh? Basilicoms have standard doorbells!? Does that sound really only warrant asterisks? The hell?... Huh, w-well, that massive wall around the castle may have eaten all the budget that could've been used on original sound bites.
"Can someone get that?" Jade's voice called out from some room down the hall. Uni and Nepgear traded quick questioning looks as they sat on a sofa.
"Er... Is it really safe for us to answer the door? I mean, we're here to hide from any possible attacks," the young tsundere nonchalantly asked, bouncing a small red rubber ball against the wall. On a desk beside the couch, her cellphone vibrated. New text message?
The purple-haired candidate tilted her head in thought. "That's true... Y-You don't think someone dangerous is here, do you!?"
"... Nah, only an idiot would try to attack us in broad daylight... Unless he's another horsebird hunter."
*ding dong!* Again with the stock! Jade called out yet again. "Please, can someone get that!? It's probably one of my men reporting for duty. I'm in... the 'can' right now!"
Uni winced. "Ew... Alright, I'll do it." Jumping up from the piece of furniture, the candidate innocently skipped to the front door. A curious Nepgear also followed; frankly, this was the most 'exciting' thing to happen all day.
The tsundere's delicate hand twisted the doorknob...
Twist, twist, twist... pull.
...
... The message on Uni's cellphone would remain unread...
SHARES:
Planeptune- 12%
Lastation- 17%
Lowee- 23%
Leanbox- 17%
(Yellow Bandanas)- 31%
NEXT TIME: The Chaos Awakens