I'm proud of this title.


Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

The Last Station


Soldier rallied the team, pushing them into packing and gearing up. The mercenaries prepared themselves for anything they could find in Lastation - More robots, powerful enemies, maybe even a hostile CPU.

They grabbed as much as they could carry, not knowing how long this 'war' would last. It was just them going into the enemy nation. There would be no army supporting them, no actual structure or supply lines. No trenches or fortifications.

Wait.

"That's the crappiest war I've ever been on!"

Soldier cried out as he caught up to the events. This war that Neptune got him riled up over wasn't war at all! Neptune just wanted to go to Lastation's Basilicom and... TALK! It would turn into a small skirmish at best. They might not even have a chance to fight…

He has been lied to…

The cold hard truth washed over the mercenary. They weren't there to fight at all, rather this would turn into a peaceful meeting without death and violence. Yes, their Re;Spawn lay broken but it wouldn't make a difference. Lastation was far outside their Re;Spawn's range, it wouldn't work anyway. They need to bring their E.R.S.S.

But as Engineer went to fetch their Emergency Re;Spawn System, he found out that it has been broken as well. The infiltrators managed to find the E.R.S.S. and smash the whole device to pieces.

The machines have stripped them of their strongest card. The one thing that allowed them to win all of their battles.

"...Darn." Engineer said. "Guess all we have left are Reanimators."

Their primary safety net gone, their emergency one was destroyed as well. Now they could only rely on their last line of defense. And neither IF nor Compa had it. If they died then that was it for them.

"Doc, do we have some spare Reanimators lyin' around? We could finally give them to our girls."

Medic thought for a moment, putting his finger to his lips. After a few seconds of deliberation he grinned and clapped his hands. He clapped his hands twice, and with each clap a Reanimator just materialized itself into existence. The doctor smiled at his work, and showed it to Engineer. "Look!" He said, like a child showing something to their parents.

With his mind blank for its protection, Engineer took one Reanimator and examined it closely. The device was as new as it could get. No scratched paint, no dents and not calibrated machinery. It was a brand new Reanimator, ready to be attached to someone. And Medic basically pulled two of them out of his arse.

Engineer had questions. "How?"

And Medic had answers. "I'm God now, my colleague."

...Which didn't really answer anything, but hold on, if he could spawn new items out of the ether, perhaps he could just magically fix the Re;Spawn? It would help a lot. "So… can you fix that?" Engineer pointed at the broken E.R.S.S.

Medic looked at the broken machine, and walked away. "'Scuse me for a moment." The German God raised an index finger to his colleague and walked to the corner of the room, all while Engineer watched him with interest and intrigue. What was he trying to do?

Medic's eyes turned blank, unfocused and lost their light. He raised his head to the ceiling and loudly asked "Uhh Frau Magnavox... Can I?"

From Engineer's point of view, Medic received no answer. There was only silence. Medic however seemed to receive a response… somehow. His arms went limp, his shoulders dropped and his face frowned. "...Vhy?"

...Whatever this 'Magnavox' was saying, only Medic could hear it. His teammate seemed to give up on persuading his patron though, and returned with grave news.

"Sorry to say, but I'm not allowed to do zhat. Zhe Frau Magnavox vants to see us fight vithout Re;Spawn."

"Well, then Frau Magnavox can go fuck herself!" Soldier exclaimed.

Engineer agreed with his teammate, with no Re;Spawn protecting them Engineer would rather not fight at all. Engineer grumbled to himself as he went back to work. If an almighty God can't be arsed to do it then Engineer will fix it.

...The mercenary took one glance at the destroyed machine and he couldn't help but to sigh. Even if he could fix the problem, he certainly couldn't do it today. The damage was too extensive and the machine too complex. It would take him weeks, if not months of working to get E.R.S.S fixed. Not to mention the main Re;Spawn...

There was no going around it. If the grace of a deity wouldn't help then the only thing they had left were their Reanimators.

But besides the problem with Re;Spawn, there was another problem they needed to face. How were they actually going to get to Lastation?

There were no useables boats in the port, so they couldn't go through the ocean. Planes bore a risk of interception, and after last time the mercs weren't so willing to trust a plane. The CPUs meanwhile couldn't carry them. There were too few of them and the distance too great.

In another room others were already discussing a way to solve this problem. They were joined by Neptune, who loudly announced her presence. "Alright, all taken care of!" The CPU of Planeptune grinned proudly, as if she fixed all of the problems in the world.

"You got our transport?" IF asked.

"Nope." Neptune said. Proudly dashing away IF's hopes. "But I mobilized the Basilicom to work. We're free to go whenever we want."

...At least she did… something. Even if it was pushing the work onto others. "Couldn't we just ask Merasmus to transport us, or something?" Neptune asked.

"The wizard is tired. He can't help." Heavy shook his head.

Spy turned towards Noire. "...How did you get here?"

"I… flew." Noire said. "But I don't we can do that here."

Considering that their options were to either go through the Gamindustri Graveyard or the ocean, Spy didn't doubt her. One was dangerous and the other didn't allow any breaks mid-flight. The same way of transport just wasn't feasible, especially since they only had three CPUs here. Only two of them they could fully trust.

But if that was the problem...

An idea was born inside Spy's mind. "I… will disagree with that."

The eyes turned to him. "Well? What do you have?" Sniper asked.

Spy didn't actually have a solution, but they weren't thinking about all of the cards they have in their hand. The merc tapped his cigarette against the ashtray, letting the burnt remains fall off. "Lowee."

Instead of focusing on getting there from Planeptune, which was currently recovering, they could go to Lowee. Blanc's nation was fully recovered from the Killachines and their magic would give them way more options.

Also Mina, Rom and Ram deserved to know about what happened to Histoire.

"We can go from Lowee." Spy said.

They had flying magical carriages. Buildings made out of bricks that look like gingerbread. Their magic allows them to recombine atoms. And it was a bit closer to Lastation. They didn't need to think about getting from Planeptune to Lastation when they could think about how to get from Lowee to Lastation. A similar question but way easier to answer!

Not only that but the most direct path was through dry, safer land. A land that wasn't named the Graveyard. And if Lastation has put any defenses to prepare itself for Planeptune's retaliation, an assault from Lowee should have been more unexpected.

And they already have a teleporter set up there. They can get between Lowee and Planeptune within an instant.

"...How the hell did I forget about it." Blanc grimaced. "Yeah, we could go through there."

"That might actually work, yeah." IF agreed.

"Nein, I have a better way!"

And the whole discussion came to a crashing halt once Medic joined them, abruptly popping into existence in front of their eyes. The German God sat cross-legged on the table in-between them, so that he could be surrounded by everyone within the meeting.

The reactions were mixed.

"Gaaah! Where did you come from!" Neptune pointed at Medic.

"Yikes!" Compa became spooked.

Demoman stumbled back, tripping himself and falling onto the ground. A few of the mercs also flinched at Medic's sudden appearance.

The God was amused by his teammate's reactions, so much it actually stopped him from saying what he meant to say. There was no person by this table that wasn't surprised by a man suddenly appearing in front of them.

"Get off the table, you uncultured neanderthal."

Medic became less amused when Spy pushed him off, making the ultimate absolute holy prime apex GAWD fall head-first onto the floor.

...

The author needs more adjectives to describe our lord and savior. Please post your submissions in the reviews or private messages. The first ten thousand people will be visited by Medic and granted pleasant dreams involving a bunch of harmless oranges.

"Ugh." Medic grunted as he pushed himself onto his feet. "Fine." He pushed up his glasses. "Anyvay, I could take all of you. Right now. To vherever ve vant."

"Really? How?" Scout asked.

"Vith zhe powers of God!" Medic exclaimed, jumping from a place to place. To an outsider's view it looked like Medic suddenly split and was in two places at once.

"Yes, we already know you're a god." IF deadpanned. "It's getting old."

Medic corrected her. "I'm just a god, I'm zhe God. Capital G und zhe."

IF simply rolled her eyes.

Out of curiosity and intrigue Demoman poked one of the two Medics. The catastrophe that would occur was surprising even to their almighty being. Medic crashed into Demoman's hand, putting up a force of a few thousand kilonewtons. The force of the impact was stronger than a car driving on a highway.

Demoman's hand was crushed and it flew off, almost becoming severed. The limb took the rest of the body with it, bringing Demoman onto the floor. Medic meanwhile lost control and crashed through the wall… or several. The series of holes in the walls went all the way to the outside world.

It was an abrupt chaos. It ended as quickly as it started, leaving the witnesses to stare in confusion and bafflement. IF, Compa, not even the mercenaries or Neptune knew what just happened. One moment there was a confusing peace, the next there was blood on the floor, broken walls and Demoman screaming in agony in the corner of the room.

"What in the Sam Hilly just happened here?"

Engineer and Soldier rejoined them from his attempts at fixing the Re;Spawn. Others turned around to look at him. Their gazes passive and neutral, not a shred of shock or any other emotion was plastered on their face.

Soldier put a hand on Engineer's shoulder. "The Rebirth of Christ, son. The Rebirth of Christ."

"What?" Engineer said.

"What?" Compa and IF followed.

"wat" Neptune said.

"What?" Spy and Sniper said.

"What?" Soldier said.

The attention shifted from Engineer to Soldier, as people around him tried to figure out what he meant by that. Soldier meanwhile didn't know why people were suddenly staring at him. Engineer pushed Soldier's hands off him.

Then Medic popped back into existence, looking pristine. As if nothing happened in that moment. The holes in the walls were still there though, and Compa was tending to the injured Demoman.

"V-Vait! I just realized!"

Medic shouted from behind the group, making them jump. No one knew how he got here and he didn't give them an opportunity to ask. He clutched his head and cried out. "Histoire iz still in Planeptune!"

"What?!"

Chaos erupted. Neptune, Scout and Compa cried out in shock. IF slammed her hands on the table. "Where is she?"

"Vhile I don't know exactly vhere, I can say vith confidence that she's still in zhis city."

"How do you know that?" Demoman asked.

"Vell, if ve are contemplating about how ve are going to get to zhe Lastation. Zhen how vould they get to Lastation? I have destroyed zheir Carrier Tanks, they vould need a teleporter to get out!"

Spy's eyes widened as even he, in this moment of stress, has forgotten this crucial fact. Only they have access to the teleportation hardware. Lastation doesn't have it. With the Carrier Tanks gone, the only port in Planeptune destroyed and the whole nation paralyzed, they don't have any means of getting out of here.

"Zhey are stuck here." Medic finished.

"Doesn't Gray Mann have his own Engineers?" Sniper said, pointing at Engineer for emphasis. "They can have teleporters.

"Did you see any Engineers during zhe invasion?" Medic asked. "Or any Engineer's buildings?"

"I seen a Giant Engineer." Sniper shrugged.

"But he didn't build anything!"

Cogs in IF's mind started working overtime. "Even so, if they have any buildings they would need to hide it. The most probable place would be the underground, otherwise they wouldn't even be able to get out of the lockdown area. The thing is that we actually have surveillance all over the place. Cameras and motion sensors. Hold on, I'll make a quick check." IF pulled out one of her phones and started typing on it.

Engineer looked over her shoulder, watching how she moved from one camera's feedback to another. "You can check the footage from here?" He asked.

The brunette gave him only a short glance before going back to staring at her phone. "I'm a certified A-Ranked Guild member, I'm a friend of a CPU and I'm also an honorary member of Basilicom staff. My rank comes with a few perks."

Her word carried a lot of weight in Planeptune and she had access to basically everything in the nation. Histoire trusted her more than she trusted Neptune.

IF noticed something and stopped pressing. What was on the screen wasn't what she noticed, as her finger already moved two cameras before her brain caught up. The brunette went back and her features hardened.

"There."

There was a hole in one of the walls, and inside that hole was an active teleporter. It was unmistakably the same device she and the mercenaries were using all this time to move around. It even had the same red color.

"...I found a teleporter. It's not ours, right?"

It had the same color as theirs, but the mercs never told them about it. And even then why would the mercenaries need a teleporter in Planeptune's underground tunnels? Engineer shifted his face closer to the screen, and IF moved away so he could see better.

"Yup… that's not mine."

He took off his helmet and scratched his head, at the same time the rest of the team gathered to look.

"Never been there."

"Not ours."

"Nuh-uh."

Well. At least they had a lead.

IF noted the location of the camera, before checking the rest. One lead was good but there was a chance it was unrelated to Histoire's kidnappers. The rest of the mercenaries patiently waited for IF to finish the check, however besides the teleporter they found there was nothing else noteworthy.

But the tunnels around the coast were completely unusable. Too many bodies in one place.

"Okay guys, we're going to check out that teleporter."


"Okay, it's… here."

IF turned to her right and lo and behold, the mysterious hole and the teleporter was right there. It also led to a much bigger room, something that wasn't noticeable due to dim light and angle. There were a lot of electronics inside, with a radio sitting on a table. The walls were lined up with guns and two couches were in the middle of the room.

There were also three other people hiding behind said couches, keeping their guns pointed at IF.

"...Oh."

They pressed the triggers, releasing a volley of shotgun fire. IF quickly rushed behind the wall while Medic simply appeared in front of the bullets and caught the bullets with his hands. "Guten tag." Zhe God greeted them while juggling the caught bullets.

The goons stared at Medic in shock, before firing another volley. The bullets hit where Medic once stood, as the mercenary moved a meter to the left. Without moving a limb.

They aimed their guns at Medic once more, only for the rest of the team to flood in. Their gunfire was useless as Compa activated the Electro Shield, protecting her teammates from harm. At the same time nothing protected those people from the mercenaries, and were gunned down immediately.

"Hah! You're just a bunch of sissies!" Soldier spat out.

IF moved out of cover and joined the mercenaries. She saw the three men lying dead on the floor, their guns kicked aside. The Guild agent didn't expect to find someone here, much less already prepared to shoot.

The fact they were people and not robots were even more surprising.

Spy took a glance at the men they've killed. Trench coats and fedoras, Mann Co. weapons and a teleporter. It was an easy guess who they were. "Hmm… Miss Pauling's men?"

"They're… dead." Noire said, looking down at the bodies. Right. This was the first time she saw them actually kill someone. "You actually killed them."

"Yes." Spy nodded, turning his gaze at the Lastation CPU. "But remember, they fired first."

Blanc put her hand on Noire's shoulders. "We can argue about morals later. First we need to find Histoire." She told them. "Any clues? Leads?"

"That's the only place I could find on the surveillance." IF said.

"We can go through the teleporter?" Scout motioned towards the building in question. "Seems like a pretty big lead."

"But we're looking for robots, not Miss Pauling." Sniper told him. "'Sides, remember how dangerous using teleporters can be?"

It was hilariously easy for a single enemy to camp a teleporter, killing the unsuspecting travelers and cutting off reinforcements. Not only that but they have no idea where that teleporter was leading to.

"Zhen let me check!" Medic volunteered himself. "I can teleport und get back before you can even blink."

"But what if they didn't even go through that teleporter?" Compa said. "Miss Pauling and Gray Mann are enemies, right?"

So since they found one side, that meant the other side shouldn't be here. If they were looking for Gray Mann's machines then looking where Miss Pauling's men were was a waste of time.

"But Miss Pauling could also have done it. That's basically what she's good at." Noire said.

And the fact they've actually found some of her people shifted suspicion on her even more. How would Robo-Spies even break out of Planeptune's lockdown?

"What do you mean?" Compa asked.

"Ask yourself this; how would those machines even get there? Specifically to your home? How did they know that Histoire was there?" Noire said.

They found bodies of machines, yes. But how did they even find out where was Histoire? Why didn't they go to the Basilicom? They couldn't go from there to the merc's hotel, as the teleporter over there was destroyed. They had to know where she was from the start.

"If they look like Mr. Spy… maybe they could have used invisibility and disguises?" Compa proposed.

"We have a solid thirty-meter wall without any gates!" IF shook her head. "Invisibility and disguise can't trick a solid wall. They must have went through underground tunnels!"

"But how would they even know that you have tunnels going under the wall?" Noire asked.

"I… have no idea." IF mused, gears in her head working. "Medic, go on. What's on the other side of that teleporter?"

"Zhe forest in Lastation."

"Mhm." IF nodded… only to freeze a moment later. "W-Wait, how do you know?" She hasn't seen him actually going through the teleporter, Medic was standing by her side this entire time.

"I already vent through zhere to check." Medic deadpanned.

He did? "Oh."

"So Noire is suspecting that someone else have nepped Histy, huh?" Neptune grinned at Noire.

"Yes." Noire actually agreed. "I said I had two suspects before but you didn't let me finish. While Kei's actions are suspicious, yes. Don't you think this seems a bit strange that they kidnapped Histoire in the merc's house? How would we even know to look elsewhere?"

"You know, that's a good point." Blanc said. "But the same thing would apply to the other guy. Who is it, by the way?"

"Miss Pauling." Noire said. "I heard from Kei and others that she and her people specialize in stealth and manipulation."

"But why would Miss Pauling even do it?"

"That… I don't know."

Spy and Sniper had theories why she would do that, but would Miss Pauling even be so petty? Would she be so petty to actually kidnap Histoire because they didn't return to the Administrator? Would Miss Pauling be so petty as to invade their new home just because they didn't return to them?

"In any case, we have no leads and a way to Lastation." IF said. "We can deal with Kei and then think of our next move. If Histoire is still in Planeptune, then we will eventually find her. If they somehow took her to Lastation then we will find her once we deal with Kei."

"Then onwards to Lastation!" Neptune dramatically pointed at the teleporter, before jumping onto it. "Onto the last dungeon!" The CPU of Planeptune disappeared and the teleporter quickly recharged, allowing the next person to teleport.

Sniper put a hand on Medic's shoulder. "You were wrong. I blinked and you weren't there."

"Oh, shush."


Samantha sensed… something.

"Hmm?"

She stopped what she was doing, which was figuring out what to do next, and put her attention on that approaching feeling of dread. The thing she sensed felt like shares, but that couldn't be any of the CPUs. None of them had enough shares to do something like that.

"Is it just me, or can you guys sense something?" Samantha asked.

Her question was mostly directed at Fay, but the opinion of the rest was also helpful. Nisa was confused, while Uni and Magic frowned.

Fay's eyes snapped wide open.

"...Oh." The blonde fairy mumbled.

"There is someone." Magic nodded. "Right outside."

"These shares aren't normal." Uni said. "They kinda feel like you." She pointed at Samantha.

They all fell silent, alert for any sound that might appear.

And they heard them: Footsteps. Shouting. Multiple voices, all coming from the outside.

"What? Where are we? Where did that teleporter send us?!" A loud and angry voice shouted.

"Hmm… Vell, look at zhat. Ve are in Lastation. Und apparently Frau Magnavox vants me to do something here."

Samantha and Fay's eyes widened in shock.

Magnavox?! This guy just said Magnavox?! Did he know her? She didn't tell them anything about this. What was going on? Fay looked at her partner, and noted a bead of sweat running down her cheek. Samantha turned around to face everyone in the room, and put a finger on her mouth. They were to be quiet.

Fay recalled what happened earlier. The sudden headache that Sam had, the seal on her mind acting up. They've angered Magnavox, and she sent troops to do… something. They didn't know what yet.

Samantha summoned the Fury, turning it into a small knife. The short blade would make it easier to fight in tight quarters. She also summoned Kindness to her other hand. The metal bracer materialized itself with less noise than what you would do by breathing.

"Oh, a sidequest? What's the reward?" A cheerful and enthusiastic voice cheered.

"Vell… I'm not sure. But my target is right inside."

Samantha looked at Fay and made a sign with her hand, silently telling her to go get into the Fury. If they were truly sent by Magnavox, then Samantha could afford no chances. They couldn't hold back. If Magnavox wanted to talk she could summon them through different means.

And if they were just to talk, then it was their fault for spooking them.

The room started to glow as Fay returned to the Fury. Uni and Nisa, who never saw anything like that, audibly gasped at the display. Uni quickly covered her mouth but it was too late. Now they could only hope that they haven't heard anything.

The gems decorating the Fury were glowing as Fay activated the weapon, allowing Samantha to use it to its full potential. She didn't know what to expect but at the very least she'll get the first hit. Engage the enemy on her terms.

"...This seems like a trap." A mature voice said. It's accent a bit french.

"Of course zhis is a trap. Zhat is a trapdoor."

Samantha finally recognized those voices.

Medic, Spy, Neptune and Soldier. The CPU of Planeptune and the mercenaries she sent into this world. They were here, in Lastation… at Magnavox's command.

What was she planning?

The hatch loudly creaked, ceasing all thoughts and actions. The doors were open and the mercenaries could step inside. They could come to her.

After they descended the stairs they could see the entire room. There weren't any places to hide and wait, at best Samantha could jump at them from the corner. She would need to be faster than a trigger-happy mercenary, otherwise she would just get shot.

The Overseer glanced at her arm, where a small doll was attached to her bicep. Her Emergency Puppet… Victoria… Was this her time to shine?

Hopefully not.

"I'm going down!" Medic cheerfully proclaimed. His feet made as much noise as possible, as if either warning or taunting Samantha. Heavy followed behind him, and Soldier lined up to go as well. Medic however stopped them both.

"Please, zhis is between me und her."

Heavy looked Medic into the eyes, and the two of them engaged in a silent conversation.

"We are team, doc. They are setting ambush there."

"I know, friend. I am prepared."

Heavy put a hand on Medic's shoulder.

"If you die then we'll only have Compa. They won't give us a chance to get you back.

Medic brushed him off. "I am aware, however Frau Magnavox controls my actions now, und she tells me to go zhere alone."

Any further discussion was cut off as light flickered between them. Medic has created a barrier separating him from the outside. Heavy slammed his fist on the barrier, looking at his teammate in disapproval. The barrier held strong, even as Heavy slammed it again and again.

Heavy glared at him.

"You're stupid."

Medic turned his back and descended the stairs. His mind was blank as he willingly stepped into Samantha's trap.

"Executing: Thunderbird Wing."

Samantha jumped out of hiding, moving faster than light. She hit the wall on the opposite side, planting her feet into the stony walls. Her barrier acted up, not liking the punishment it was getting. From that position she sprung right at Medic, her knife poised at his head.

His eyes couldn't react fast enough, his gaze was where Samantha was an instant ago. The Overseer put everything into this strike. The sharpness of her weapon, her insane speed and the weight of her body. It was not a question if the Fury would penetrate the skull. It was the question if Samantha would simply go through Medic's body, as in that moment she was moving faster than cars on a highway.

The whole exchange didn't last even a tenth of a second.

And it ended with Samantha's defeat.

The same silver light appeared between Medic and Samantha, and a barrier manifested in Samantha's trajectory. The Overseer couldn't do anything to change or stop her course, not at a distance as small as here. Her barrier acted once more as Samantha splattered herself all over the barrier, while Medic stared in amusement.

It happened so fast that the outsiders couldn't see what happened - only the aftermath of the event. The opening blow that Samantha wanted to take was used against her, and Medic had an upper hand.

Medic looked down at Samantha sprawled form. "Hello zhere. You are Samantha Neikan, correct?" The German God said.

CFW Magic summoned a barrier to protect the Overseer but it was too late, as both Medic and Samantha disappeared with a thunderbolt. The light blinded the onlookers while the crashing sound deafened them. They were all effectively stunned.


They were back in True Celestia but not in Samantha's domain, Magnavox's domain. It looked just like Samantha's domain, but here Samantha held no power.

The True Goddess was waiting for them there, once they appeared Magnavox grabbed Samantha's shoulder and slapped her before she could say anything. Her barrier broke after just that one half-assed blow. She then forced Fay out of the Fury and slapped not once, but twice. The Fairy staggered and fell onto the floor.

With the two perpetrators on the floor, Magnavox walked up to Medic and slapped him as well. This blow was significantly weaker than the previous one, but it still surprised Medic. "Vhy me?"

"I was still mad." Magnavox said, patting him on the shoulder. "You have done your work well. Your contract has been fulfilled."

With those words said, Magnavox stripped Medic from his powers, wrestling the silver crystal from his very souls. She gave him neither time nor opportunity to argue the details of their deal, immediately sending him back to Gamindustri once he was reduced to his previous state.

He was brought back by lighting, placed on a patch of grass behind the rest of his team. After his team recovered they immediately ran to him. They saw confusion and shock plastered on his face, dazed movements, and he stopped giving off that vibe of power he once had. The shares he emitted were lower as well.

He saw them approach, but their faces didn't register within his mind. He heard them but their voice fell on deaf ears. They didn't matter within Medic's world. All that mattered was the returning feeling of powerlessness.

Magnavox said she will give him power, but she never said he will keep it. She tricked him using the exact words of their deal. That barrier he put up to protect himself already accounted to the 'beat them up' part.

One small mistake cost him so much power. He could have been an actual deity, worshipped by men and women for his limitless power.

Medic gripped his head and screamed, scaring those around him.

And in that moment the trapdoor exploded, and CFW Magic walked out into the open. Her eyes locked onto Medic and he knew she was pissed. Apparently Samantha and Magic had a deal, for something very important for the CFW.

...Funny, he could remember everything Magnavox gave him about Samantha. She took away his power but left alone the knowledge.

"Where is she?" CFW Magic said.

The mercenaries pointed their weapons at her but hesitated. In their previous battles with a CFW they've died a lot and their victory was brought only thanks to their Re;Spawn System or someone helping them out.

They certainly won't be able to fight CFW Magic.

But at the same time it didn't seem like CFW Magic would allow them to run away.

The scythe-wielding CFW flew towards them. Towards Medic. The mercenaries opened fire, only for pink shields to block them. The last of the Felons was unfazed by the mercenaries' gunfire, and her gaze was murderous. Her sole eye was focused only on the man in the lab coat, ignoring anything else.

The CPUs transformed to stop her, but like the mercenaries they were powerless as well. Pink domes surrounded the CPUs, keeping them immobile and unable to do anything.

For every second CFW Magic neared them, the mercenaries were taking a step back. They scattered and looked for an opening, an opportunity to deal harm onto their opponent. But there was none. CFW Magic kept herself protected from all angles, she kept the CPUs locked within unbreakable barriers.

Samantha told her to not fight them. That they were now on their side. But now they took Samantha from her. Their chance to bring back Uzume was taken away. By them.

CFW Magic reached the one that had wrested her only chance, and grabbed his throat. He struggled underneath her grasp, but she was stronger. He tried to stab her with his weapon but she tore it away. His friends and allies weren't able to help him, as her barrier protected them - giving Magic all the time in the world to get her answer, while Medic was powerless to resist her.

"Where is she?"


Kei put the phone to her ear… and waited. Impatience was covered by her mask, but inside Kei wished that Vert would hurry. Time was of the essence, and she was their last card. However she also had to maintain her mask of calmness. Panic won't help anything.

Finally the CPU of Leanbox has answered. "Yes, Kei?"

"Uni and Nisa haven't reported to me in a while." Kei reported. "How far away are you?"

"I'm almost there, but I'll need to take a break before I can fight."

Kei withheld a scowl, a break meant more wasted time. More wasted time meant that more time Uni and Nisa could be in danger. Uni and Nisa won't respond, neither would the members of Strike-1. Kei needed to know what was going on over there, now. And she only had Vert who could do that.

At the same time the CPU of Leanbox won't be able to fight whatever was there when exhausted. She has flown all the way here from Leanbox, without taking a break. She must've pushed herself to limit.

So, Kei tightly gripped her sleeve and accepted the situation. Not because she liked it, but because she was forced to. "...I see. I'll try to contact them again. Goodbye."

She could only hope and pray that Uni and Nisa were okay.

"Good luck."

Taking a deep breath, Kei hanged up.

And the moment she did so, something stabbed her in the back. The Oracle of Lastation screamed, but her mouth was covered up - muffling her cries of pain. Kei panicked as strong arms wrapped themselves around her, restraining her hands.

She was assaulted by not one, but three people. And more of them appeared, emerging out of thin air. Each of them was wearing the same outfit - a trench coat and a fedora.

Panic turned into adrenaline, and in a moment of clarity Kei realized she needed to fight. There was an alarm button hidden underneath her desk, she just needed to get at least one of her hands free to press it.

She channeled her SP, preparing herself to cast a spell. And to her horror - Kei realized she couldn't. Her magic wouldn't listen to her commands. Never in her life she experienced something like that. Kei tried again and again to cast even one spell, something to call an alarm and summon the security, while her body grew weaker with every second.

The knife in her back was ripped out, sending out more pain into the brain. She cried, she screamed, she eventually tried to bite the gloved hand that gagged her. The man didn't even flinch as she put all of her fading strength into her jaw.

She felt cold, she felt weak… She was growing tired.

She was scared.

Kei didn't want to die. She fought. She struggled. But all of it was for naught. She was losing strength. The button was right there, but she couldn't do a thing. Her arms were restrained. Her legs were tied up. She couldn't scream for help. She couldn't fight for her life. Kei was dying, and her brain slowly caught up to this fact.

As her vision blurred and her strength was giving up, she saw the last person appearing before her. Unlike the others, she looked different. She had black hair and was wearing a purple dress. Kei recognized her from Gray Mann's intel; Miss Pauling.

Kei died bleeding to death in her own office, assassinated by Miss Pauling's men.

And once the deed was done, their chief took her face. Becoming Kei and seizing their best chance to end it all.

The main army was in Planeptune.

The CPUs and their friends were sent elsewhere.

...No one was there to protect Gray Mann.

It was their golden opportunity.


Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

The Last Station


You thought Magic was a friend? How about now?

I had "the Last Station" pun in my mind… for YEARS. Ever since I made my mind to end the story in Lastation I had myself set on that title. I just had to do it at this point.

While this is a bit shorter than the last few, this is just a build-up.

Stay tuned because this is the end of the line, our last station is here. We are in our last few chapters before I'm off to write epilogues. We are ending this story this year. No buts.

Man, it was a trip. Writing this story is a joy, but my next project should be even better.

Responses:

- Mad Android

I'm glad you liked my take on Neptune. The poor girl gets no breaks and it gets on her psyche.

Vert and Hale… Vert will appear soon, but Saxton Hale is too busy to join. You can see a mention of him and Hatty in chapter 63 (P.V.M.)

As for the RED team learning about Gray Mann's intentions...

...I don't see Gray Mann staying for long enough for the mercs to reach him.

- AngelTheDragon1992

Glad you enjoyed it.

- Cooldude101011

If you're still reading this, can you tell me why exactly you don't like this story?

- Harmless Orange