Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Doing What is Necessary

Miss Pauling, wearing Kei's face, turned off her phone and hid it in her pocket. Her breath was heavy, not out of exhaustion but from anticipation. The ending to this war was close, and they were already on the verge of victory.

Concealing the knife and the gun, Miss Pauling walked through the halls of the Basilicom. She greeted and was greeted by Kei's coworkers, who scrambled all around to contain the chaos of her own doing.

None of them realized the forgery. The wolf in sheep's clothing. The imposter was among them, and they were none the wiser.

Her men were left behind to dispose the body, leaving only a few to support her. They were concealed but always watching, waiting for her call. She marched with purpose in her steps, perfectly imitating the real Kei.

They knew where their target was. It was just a matter of time. No one suspected a thing, and by the time someone realized it would be too late. The guards saluted her as she passed them. Coworkers were too busy with the situation they caused. Anyone else was just not led here. The hallways were almost empty.

Nobody noticed the snake hiding among them, reeling up to strike.

She stopped by the doors of her target's room. The only obstacle that was left between the assassin, and her prey. The doors were unlocked, and the assassin entered the room. Inside she saw her target, her enemy and nemesis - Gray Mann.

Completely unprotected. Isolated and scared. This was their golden opportunity to end the war.

Miss Pauling marched trimphally towards the unsuspecting Gray Mann. Her hand on her gun.

His back was to her. She couldn't see his hands. This was a perfect moment. One bullet was all it would take, a second one to ensure his death. And she packed a six-shooter.

And that's where things went wrong.

Because the sound of uncloaking she heard didn't belong to someone of her own squad, and she realized it too late.

She opened fire, but her enemy was faster. A bullet struck her side, another bullet struck her arm. The pain and the bullet threw her aim way off course, and her own shot missed widely - hitting the far corner of the room.

There were two Robo-Spies hiding in the corner of the room, with more uncloaking around her. Suddenly she and her men were surrounded, while Gray Mann had more robots in front of him - shielding him from gunfire.

Even if her aim was perfect, Miss Pauling wouldn't have killed him. Gray Mann had a card up his sleeve.

"I knew it was a good idea to keep some of my guards detached from the network." The old man said. There was tiredness in his voice. Exhaustion. He looked Miss Pauling right in the eye. "Did you kill her? All of that. This world, Planeptune, my army and Kei. All of that just to kill me?"

Miss Pauling didn't answer, she tried again and again. Rapidly pressing the trigger in hopes that she'll succeed, that this golden opportunity won't go to waste.

But the Robo-Spies loaded them with bullets. And soon Miss Pauling was reduced to bloody swisscheese. Her friends too, were taken. Gray Mann was untouched. Once again they've failed. Another assassination foiled.

Gray Mann released another sigh, just as tired as the previous one. "So you were hiding underneath our noses." He said to himself, resigning what all of this meant.

The Basilicom was infiltrated, and his enemy was in Lastation. Not Leanbox. Not Planeptune or Lowee. This entire time they were right underneath his nose, plotting, scheming. God knows what else. They were played a fool. The whole city could be in her grasp.

But this also gave him an opportunity. He knew where they were, and there was no bad PR holding him back. This wasn't a world where he had his company racking him fat stacks of cash to fuel his army. This was a clear board. An empty battlefield where both sides were free to do anything they needed to destroy the other.

It was time for him to make a move.

Gray Mann pulled out his phone, augmented to send voice and text messages between the worlds. "I'm going back. Prepare the Fat Man."

It was one simple order, but a significant one. He will not allow them to take over Lastation.

He would rather give them a crater.

.

The mercenaries and others were hiding behind a wall, waiting for something to happen - bracing themselves for another blow. When several seconds passed with silence, Demoman finally asked an important question.

"So… Any ideas?"

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either they stay here and fight a CPU, even if she was just a Candidate, or leave and be attacked from god knows where by an unknown amount of enemies outside, most likely surrounding the building.

Compa had one idea "Me and Mr. Sniper can take out some of-"

"Don't kill Uni." Nisa cut her off.

The discussion stopped right there, as others turned their gazes onto the blue-haired heroine. Curiosity, indifference or annoyance on their faces.

IF was one of few that sent her a worried look, Compa was the other. "We won't kill her." The Guild agent reassured, however it didn't work. Nisa glared at IF, jabbing a finger in her direction.

"You will. I know you guys. Even if an enemy was already subdued you'll kill them anyway, because it's easier for you."

She still remembered that day. They had those ASIC goons beaten, unconscious, not a threat anymore. And yet Spy still killed them anyway. Because it was easier than letting them live. If they come in contact with Uni… it will go the same way. They'll kill her because it was easier than letting her live.

She'll not allow them to touch Uni.

And before any of them could get a word in, Nisa ran out of the room to get a headstart - meet Uni first, restrain her, and then protect her. She won't allow them to harm Uni.

"Nisa, wait!" IF reached out to stop Nisa, but she was too slow. Her friend was out of her reach and already by the doors. A sniper bullet hit the wall near her head. She was lucky that missed, otherwise that would've been a really awkward moment. Nisa didn't wait nor look back, just left through the doors and shut them close.

In the hallway she could already hear Uni walking up the stairs. Her friend wasn't really trying to be stealthy. Nisa ran up to the stairs and jumped to surprise her. The blue-haired girl was met with her friend, in her HDD form, waiting and ready for her. Nisa's sprint left a lot of noise which gave Uni time to brace herself.

Uni had a shotgun pointed at Nisa. The fact Nisa was already mid-air meant that she only had one option.

"Justice kick!"

The others heard a crash, signifying that these two were already fighting. IF reared to go after Nisa, but Demoman held her shoulder. The merc actually put down his half-empty bottle of whiskey, sighing as alcohol numbed his consciousness - however that was far from what he was used to.

"I'll make sure that she doesn' hurt her 'elf." Demoman volunteered. His hands wrapped themselves around the handle of the possessed sword, and he felt his consciousness being pushed away from his body. Not entirely, but enough for the invader to have an effect on his movements.

This girl was stupid, acting on her emotions. She needed someone to watch over her… On the other hand, he couldn't just abandon his own team. Not without asking at least. "Guys, will ya be fine for yerself?"

"Can't say…" Sniper shrugged. "We don't know what other tricks they have up their sleeve. Stay safe out there."

He had his team's permission, now he could go out there and play babysitter.

"Thanks lad, you guys keep up as well!"

Compa gave him an overheal as he went, a helpful gift that will help him stay alive while batting against someone comparable to Nepgear.

...This was actually his first time fighting a CPU. They had some spars before, but never an actual serious battle. What kind of magical BS should he expect? His fight against Hilda taught him that dropping his weapon was a dumb idea even if he needed to shave off a second or two.

Demoman reached the doors and a bullet struck him as he left. He shouted from pain, but he wasn't dead - The bullet didn't hit his head, but he no longer was overhealed. The merc crouched behind the doorway, hiding everything but his open palm from view. "Compa?"

Compa pulled out the Crusader's Crossbow and fired at his palm, bringing him back to full. While he wasn't overhealed anymore, he had to make do with what he had. Demoman charged screaming at the two fighting girls.

.

For someone who prefered to fight with a gun, Uni knew how to handle herself in melee.

Even when Nisa ambushed her, Uni didn't panic. She ducked underneath her kick and the wall cracked as the heroine crashed into it. This didn't dissuade her. Nisa clutched the wall and stared right into Uni's eyes. "Snap out of it, Uni!"

Uni didn't listen, instead she aimed her gun at Nisa. There was no hesitation. No shaking hands. Just a pure crazy look of some addicted druggie who was told to do it for her next fix. She pressed the trigger and the recoil made the gun crash against her shoulder - as a volley of buckshot neared Nisa, who was already descending to avoid harm.

Then they heard a yell, and Uni was taken by surprise as Demoman charged from behind, his sword already raised above his head.

His roar startled the CPU and she quickly changed targets to the mercenary - while he was already in range. His attacks came fast, but they were very telegraphed. Easy to avoid despite their speed. This was still enough to force her to dodge.

Nisa felt fear upon seeing her friend being assaulted by a man with a sword. What she saw was a man going for the kill, despite her direct orders to not do that. "No, you idiot!" She shouted and jumped, pouncing not at Uni but at Demoman.

The merc was surprised when 44 kilograms of flesh and bone came crashing into him. But this was such insignificant weight that it only staggered the merc a little, not bringing him down like Nisa desired. Nonetheless she rolled with it. "I told you not to kill her!"

Demoman grit his teeth and tried to push Nisa off. "Bloody hell, lass!" She wrapped herself around his arm, preventing him from moving. It was an awful moment, a horrible situation to be in. Nisa was intentionally slowing him down, making both of them easy pickings for Uni.

The Eyelander was sheathed and the Grenade Launcher came out. He heard Nisa gasp as he pointed his weapon at the CPU Candidate. "Nooo!" She let him go only to reach out for the gun. Demoman kept her away as he aimed his weapon and fired at Uni.

The projectile flew exactly where he wanted. Close to Uni, enough to force her to move to avoid getting herself blown up, but not in center mass - where Uni would have a harder time avoiding. Demoman soon after felt his cheek being punched. Not by Uni, but by Nisa. The blow didn't hurt that much, but Nisa was still fighting him - trying to wrestle out his grenade launcher.

"You shot her, you idiot! Go away!"

It became a game of tug-of-war as Nisa wrapped her hands around his Grenade Launcher, pulling the weapon while also kicking him at the same time. He saw that Uni was already lining up a shot. Aiming at both of them. He needed to act quickly.

Demoman allowed Nisa to drag him. The Heroine was surprised at the sudden lack of resistance as the mercenary was quickly descending down the stairs - dragging her as well.

They barged into a room, as fast as he could to break the line of sight between them and Uni.

"Gah!" He was too late, Uni already got one shot in. The buckshot ripped his side apart, but his enhancements prevented bleeding or any lethal damage. He was hurt, injured, but still able to fight.

Demoman threw Nisa onto the ground. The Heroine yelped as her back violently crashed against the floor. "You want to kill both of us, girlie?!" He yelled at her, nursing the gun injury left by the Candidate. "You don't just jump at your teammates! That's how your enemies getcha!"

Nisa, despite her butt hurting, only felt rage as Demoman just called Uni her opponent. "Enemy?! You're my enemy! You tried to murder her with a sword!"

The sword, to Nisa's surprise, actually started speaking. "You call those half-assed swings and complete disregard of stealth an attempt to murder? We were distracting her."

"You shot her and came at her with a sword! You almost took her head off!"

Demoman threw his hands up. "She wanted ta blow a hole in ya with 'er gun! We saved your life!"

"I didn't ask for your help!"

*BOOM*

The argument between a blue-haired woman and a mercenary with a talking sword came to an interruption. The CPU Candidate of Lastation got impatient very quickly and shot the lock off, the barrier between them was now loose - perfect to be kicked out of the way.

Demoman ducked and dived as Uni took aim, Nisa also ducked and hid as bullets went flying towards them. The heroine of Justice screamed as a bullet grazed her shoulder and she clung to the injury. Uni pumped the mechanism and aimed it at Demoman, only for the merc to kick her in the stomach.

Uni staggered back and Demo got onto his feet. The blade of Eyelander immediately went swinging, narrow controlled swings and jabs to take account of the limited space. With so little room Demoman couldn't swing his blade properly, but Uni was still attempting to dodge and evade - which was good.

And then something struck the back of his head, as Nisa grabbed the nearest object and threw it at him. Not at Uni. At him. This girl was willing to sabotage and make things more difficult just so he 'wouldn't kill her' despite him having zero motivation to do so. No one paid him to kill her.

"Bloody-"

Demoman's words were cut off as Uni pounced onto the opening, raising her leg high to strike his face. The mercenary spun around and saw stars upon the impact. That kick was much stronger than what Nisa threw at him. He actually felt that one.

Uni aimed at his back and what would be a finishing blow was prevented by the same thing that enabled it. Nisa rushed at Uni and grabbed her gun with her right hand, while the left one struck Uni's cheek.

Right hook was followed by a left one, and Uni avoided the third and finishing blow. She jabbed her gun into Nisa's leg, before smashing the handle against her face. Nisa fell down with a grunt, with a gun aim at her face.

With a loud roar Demoman swung his sword upwards - knocking the gun out of Uni's hands. Another swing was blocked by Uni's bare hand. Demoman's eye widened as his weapon was stopped. Uni stomped her foot on Nisa's stomach, pulled out her knife and jabbed it at Demoman's face. The blade came close, but not close enough. Demoman blocked her hand with his own forearm, and put enough strength behind it to stop the Candidate.

Nisa recovered from the blow and grabbed Uni's foot. The Candidate's eyes widened as now she was in a precarious and vulnerable position. With her foot immobilized, it would be easier for Demoman to push her down.

Teamwork of two overcame the might of one, as Uni's back and head struck the floor. Now she was the one lying down, while Nisa and Demoman stood above her.

Demoman didn't do anything, but Nisa nonetheless put her hand in front of him - trying to stop the nothing he was doing. She looked him in the eye, and Demoman shrugged. His focus was more on Uni, who was attempting to stand up.

"Don't do anything." Nisa told him as she pushed Uni down and straddled on top of her. Both of her hands were holding down Uni's arms - preventing her from grabbing a weapon. Uni's legs couldn't reach her and Nisa had a way better angle to keep Uni down than for her to stand up.

"Uni, it's me, Nisa! I know you can snap out of it!"

The girl pleaded with her friend, but there was no reaction. Uni wasn't listening.

"Please, Uni. Fight it! I know you're strong enough to beat it!"

Uni continued to struggle against Nisa, trying to grab another knife to free herself. Nisa held on strong.

"I know you're still there inside, Uni. You can do it! Just fight it!"

If the Eyelander had a physical body, he would be covering his face from second-hand embarrassment. Nisa however didn't care about what others thought, and continued to talk with her friend until she stopped trying to kill them.

As Demoman watched, the hairs on his neck stood out, and the iconic sound of the cloak watch reached his ears. There was a person behind him - with a gun held in their hands.

.

Blanc huffed and crossed her arms, looking over the burnt and still-burning trees and grass. Everywhere except their own little safe-haven was on fire or already charred to a crisp.

"Well, what now? Find Uni?"

Blanc didn't even want to think about the cost of the damages. Even if they needed fire to bring them back, this was obviously too excessive. There were better, more effective ways to do that.

Fay yawned and nodded. It was getting late and she hasn't slept yet. As powerful as she was, Fay was still prone to exhaustion and sleep deprivation. "Yes, we need to make sure she doesn't die. However, we also need to find whatever is messing with our SP. You can still fly, right?"

"Uh-huh." The CPU of Lowee nodded. "What do we look for, anyway?"

Fay actually had no idea. So she didn't say anything.

Magic however had an answer. "ASIC actually developed special kinds of BITs that block SP. I'm certain this is what they're using here."

Blank, dry stares were sent her way. Noire's eyebrows rose in shock and surprise. "Why were you developing something like that?"

The felon shrugged and gave them a smile. A smile that didn't reassure anyone one bit. "It was our contingency plan. For you, for the mercenaries, for anything that could be… problematic."

The CPUs were off put at how casually Magic just admitted they were developing weapons specifically to counter them. The fact Samantha made them change sides proved to be an even bigger boon than previously expected. Already CFW Magic proved that she could defeat all of them without trouble - how powerful would she be if she came prepared? "Speaking of that. I do remember another thing about Neptulium."

Blanc felt her stomach drop at the name, but she forced the feeling down. "Out with it, what is it?"

"Do you remember CFW Trick?"

The CPU frowned. "The bastard with a fetish for little girls? I do. What about it?"

"Remember how his knives could hurt you? They were coated with Neptulium."

The frown intensified as Blanc realized where Magic was leading her. "They might have something like that."

The other CPUs were clueless, and Fay was also intrigued. Blanc filled them in. "If you coat a blade in Neptulium it can hurt us. Actually hurt us." She stressed.

"This sounds ridiculous." Noire said.

"It's not. Bastard stabbed my hand with it." Blanc sighed. "It hurt, I bled and I felt like I was losing control of myself."

"It also works with bullets." Magic helpfully supplied, making Blanc cover her face.

"Fucking hell…" The CPU swore.

Neptune and Vert frowned. "So we need to be careful as we search, we should stay together."

"I think I'll split up." Magic stretched. "This doesn't work on me, so I can afford going out alone."

"...Really?" Vert said dryly. "You're that confident?"

"I'm that confident." CFW Magic nodded, before giving them a smug smile. "I even tested them on myself. Neptulium has zero effect on me."

"Good for you." Vert said bemusedly.

"Sounds like a plan." Fay nodded. "Then, I'll look for Uni."

Out of everyone gathered here, Fay was the only one without flight capacities or other mobility options that didn't require equipment. Her Thunderbird Wing was blocked alongside other abilities. While her Hammer Space had many mobility-enhancing equipment, Fay felt it would be better if she just checked on Uni instead.

...Getting her out of the effects of Neptulium will be a problem, considering Fay won't be able to just haphazardly throw her into the flames and wait.

"I want to go too." Noire volunteered to go too, making her distrust clear. "I don't want you to burn my sister as well."

"You can fly but I can't." Fay pointed to herself. "You will be better off looking for the BITs. Relax, I know I can't do the same thing to her as I did to you."

The two of them stared at each other, not saying a word. Noire didn't like how Fay was preventing her from seeing her sister, but duty called… It was a choice between being a CPU or a sister. A choice Noire couldn't make.

"If something happens to her, I'll make you pay."

Fay nodded, understanding and accepting the responsibility. Vert was so happy to hear that Samantha and her friends were losing credibility. She might actually get their help to arrest them later.

"Okay, so I'll go find Uni, while the rest of you go look for BITs. What do they look like, anyway?"

"Wait." Neptune raised her hand to interrupt. "What about Samantha? Where is she?"

"We don't need to worry about her, she's safe." Fay said. "Anyway, the BITs… Magic?"

"Spherical mechanoid monsters, similar to those Battle Scanners but with different paint and… things added onto it."

"Things added onto it." Noire nodded. "Very descriptive."

Magic didn't feel like playing along with Noire's sarcasm. "Shut up."

It was now Vert's turn to speak. "How many of them can be there anyway? Will we need to destroy every one? What's their range?"

She gave a valid question. Depending on how many of those BITs these men have brought, it could be outright impossible to destroy everything. It was like finding hidden collectibles - you were bound to miss one or two… or thirty. Unless you were following a guide that outright showed where they were hidden.

Magic smiled. "We're in luck actually. These BITs… they don't really like the waves sent by the SP blocking device, it's lethal to them. If you use two or more BITs at once then they both will fry each other to death."

Neptune tilted her head. "So... there's only one?"

"So there's only one."

That made everything so much easier. One BIT to find was significantly easier than finding more. "Unfortunately they can have quite a bit of range. The furthest we managed to achieve was one and half square kilometers."

Or exactly 0.5791532 square miles according to some random site the author sought to find after putting "square kilometers to square miles" in Duckduckgo.

In any case that… that was some distance to cover. Basically the entire forest. Fay's face darkened just imagining how many hiding spaces they could hide one metallic ball. The answer was many.

"Oh boy." The fairy sighed.

"Once this is over, I want to take a look at the other contingency measures you have prepared." Blanc stated firmly. "By the way. We'll all need glasses to protect ourselves from Neptulium."

That request was easily fulfilled. Fay extended her hand, palm up, and four completely identical pairs of goggles appeared on her palm. Blanc had questions.

"Do you seriously hoard everything you can get your hands on?" She and the other CPUs grabbed a pair, immediately putting them on their faces. These goggles had a belt to wrap them tightly around the head. They also didn't obstruct vision. They were perfect for flying.

Fay shrugged and gave them a smile. "Yes. We do. Stuff is like condoms: Better to have it and not use it, than to need it and not have it."

"Oooo~" Neptune made a sound at the mere implication of explicit stuff while Blanc just sighed and accepted the fact at its face value. No need to argue with the weird hoarder lady. They have better things to do.

Blanc nodded. "Okay, then the rest of us- and Magic" that word came out harder than it should've been "will look for that friggin 'BIT. Anything more we should know?"

Fay thought for a moment, before giving them a shrug. "They probably won't be happy if you find it. Be ready for anything?"

Blanc scratched the corner of her mouth. "That was useless advice, but okay."

With nothing more left to say, the CPUs and the last CFW took off. They immediately split up, each going in a different direction. Whether it was wise or dumb should probably be discussed beforehand… But eh, they were immortal and invincible. The goggles will protect them from getting corrupted, and even if they might not be bullet-proof anymore, they were still resistant enough.

So Fay summoned a gun and jogged to the last location where she saw the CPU Candidate of Lastation… soon hearing gunfire and explosions coming out of that place. That made her run to danger faster as something unexpected was happening.

.

Demoman spun around. The Eyelander cut through the man's flesh and bone, cleanly severing the head. It fell onto the ground, with its headless body quickly following it.

The merc raised an eyebrow at the quick and easy kill, before he realized that Nisa was looking at him… And she wasn't happy with what she saw.

Demoman had a goofy, sheepish smile as he turned around to look at Nisa. He knew he did something he shouldn't, however he felt danger and reacted appropriately to save his own life. That man held a gun pointed at him, so the merc got him first.

"Heads~" The cursed blade whispered, giving the merc some of its power.

Nisa, as expected, was not happy to see a severed head underneath his feet, the blood staining the blade, and a headless man falling to his knees. Even with Uni still struggling underneath her, Nisa made her irritation clear. "This is exactly what is pissing me off. You always go for the kill first, not even try to look for another way!"

"You're annoying." Eyelander said.

"And you're a murderer!" The Heroine spat back and turned back to Uni. "Do you not value any life beyond your own? Is that it? Is your love for money and booze so strong you would destroy families?"

Despite staring at Uni's blank face, the questions were directed at the mercenary behind him. They were from different worlds, both literally and metaphorically. One wanted to uphold justice, while the other didn't care about anything but getting paid.

Demoman said nothing. He didn't know what to say to someone who basically hated his guts. Eyelander on the other hand, was more than willing to continue the conversation. "The world is a harsh place, girl, be it Earth or Gamindustri. Some people cannot be reasoned with."

Nisa rolled her eyes at the most useless response she heard. "That... " Uni was starting to overpower Nisa, her hands were starting to curl and reach out towards the Heroine. In a few moments she'll be free, and Nisa will have to fight her friend again. "That doesn't mean we should all kill each other and make the world even worse!"

Just because the world was a harsh place didn't mean people should just abandon all laws and morals. That's barbaric. The only thing she will dare to agree with was the fact there were people who didn't listen to words, but there were ways to take care of them that didn't involve killing. "There are prisons, rehabilitation facilities. We can help people learn about their problem, and give them a chance to change."

Demoman stepped in and helped her to bind her down. Nisa glared at the merc but he didn't care, Uni was almost free… Until the second pair of hands and muscle helped to pin her down. "I'm just keeping her down, lass, settle down already."

Nisa narrowed her eyes but said nothing, as Demoman did exactly what he said. His arms and body were pinning Uni's right hand and torso, allowing Nisa to focus on keeping the rest of her upper torso steady.

"Then why didn't you give us a chance?" The Eyelander continued. "You were hostile to us right from the start."

By her own logic, Nisa should've forgiven the mercs after learning that they stopped killing. That they changed into better members of society. But instead she gave them the cold shoulder instead.

"Because you're one of those people that cannot be reasoned with. You said Blanc didn't like when you killed someone, and you did it anyway."

"That was a case of self-defense. He had a gun pointed at us. We were obliged to defend our, and your life. Besides, they Re;Spawn."

"You could've disarmed him, knocked him out, injure him or many other things. You couldn't know that this particular guy could Re;Spawn like you, and yet you went straight for the kill!"

They were all experienced fighters, capable of not panicking when threatened. They had to know moves that could not-lethally take someone out of the fight, or at least get rid of their weapon.

"You didn't change, at all. You're the same as before, but this time the CPU just has you on a leash."

A more pragmatic reason to not kill would be the ability to interrogate the captives. Samantha Neikan just told them that their boss was in Lastation - they could've extracted information out of that person and learned where their base was.

But nooo, let's just mindlessly kill everyone!

"That is why I don't think I'll ever, ever, like you. I regret joining you when I had a chance."

Nisa felt sick just being in the same room as him. Her mind imagined what sort of atrocity he would do to her friend if she wasn't here to intervene.

"You went away pretty quickly anyway." The Eyelander said.

"I should've left even earlier!" Nisa shouted back. "I should've never joined you even for a moment! At the very least I wouldn't have the displeasure of meeting someone like you!"

Demoman winced at the harsh words.

What could you say to someone like her?

.

"The CPUs have broken free. They're wearing glasses. Uni is still with us."

"All units this is Actual. Silver bullets on. The CPUs are against us. I repeat, the Plan has failed! Light 'em up!"

.

Flying above the trees, the CPUs scanned the area below them. Flames haven't reached this area. They were back to seeing healthy greenery once more… at least for this moment. While there wasn't any wind carrying the heat and embers, the flames were too big to just die on their own. For the forest to be saved someone needed to intervene, and there was not a sign of firefighters yet.

The CPUs were scattered, but still within each other's vision. They wanted to cover as much distance while also not venturing out on their own - in case the enemy truly had a weapon against them.

And as a bullet struck Purple Heart's leg, the answer was yes. They did have means of inflicting harm on a CPU.

"-Woah!?"

Other CPUs became alarmed at her friend's shout, and quickly hid themselves. Flashes of light were visible from the ground in front of them - the source of gunfire. Vert landed next to Neptune and crouched down.

"Are you alright?"

"Aaah. Aah." The CPU moaned in pain. Vert took that as no. She gently took Neptune's hand, which was covering the wound. The projectile penetrated her skin and injured the flesh underneath. To Vert's surprise the injury was even leaking blood - as if Neptune was a mortal. "Ahh. What is- B-Blood?" Neptune looked at her hands, finding crimson covering her palms.

"We will have to wrap it in something." They didn't have any medical supplies. Fay didn't give them any, nor did they ask. "Can you stand or fly?" Vert asked.

She helped Neptune back onto her feet. She almost fell again when Neptune put her weight onto her injured leg, prompting Vert to catch her again. Neptune however managed to lift herself a short distance above the ground with little trouble. "I can fly." She nodded.

While Vert helped Neptune, Blanc and Noire were moving in on the threat - Weaving from right to left, the CPUs of Lastation and Lowee dashed from tree to tree. Adrenaline made it possible for them to see glimpses of silver that were the bullets flying at her. They came from one direction, and they packed enough punch to penetrate wood.

They advanced towards it, carefully, watching all of their sides for any hidden enemies waiting for them. There weren't any, but that didn't appease them.

Noire flew alongside the tree's bark - using it as cover. She dashed from tree to tree, changing altitudes whenever she dashed out of cover. Blanc on the other hand chopped down a tree and lifted it - using it both as a camouflage and a shield.

The two of them approached from different angles, forcing the gun to pick and choose… Until firing simply stopped.

Once Noire and Blanc got close enough to see their goal, obscured by camouflage netting, no more bullets were coming their way. The assailants must've given up and retreated - giving Blanc and Noire an opportunity to investigate.

Blanc landed first, and she saw camouflage netting covering everything, hiding stuff underneath. Neptune ripped it away and revealed… a gun.

"A machine gun?"

A light machine gun lied on the ground - abandoned by the shooter. The design was nothing Blanc recognized, but she did notice the ammunition belt going from the ammo box attached to the bottom of the gun, into the chamber itself. The casing of the bullets were yellow, like typical ammunition, but the projectile itself was silver. Worse, she heard a faint and dimmed chorus - the sound was suppressed by something and Blanc wasn't feeling any different. It was probably thanks to the glasses.

Noire landed next to her. Her eyes were also on the gun. "I… What is this thing?"

"Probably made in the Merc's world." Blanc said. Besides the gun there were other things scattered around the nest; like boxes, similar to those loaded into the gun, or wrappers from a fast food joint. The brand "Crummy's Burgers" was something Blanc didn't recognize as local to Gamindustri.

Blanc felt sick as she found jars full of warm, yellow liquid and a couple of thermoses. Noire didn't know what was inside of them yet, but the jars were most likely not for drinking. Disgusting.

These people have been here for a while, they were prepared.

They were right behind her.

Blanc and Noire spun around, their weapons already between them and their opponent. Noire felt bullets strike her weapon, followed by a curse from the guy that attacked her. He turned tail and ran, but Blanc was faster. She easily caught up to him and brought him down with her weapon.

She however wasn't prepared or ready for another man waiting behind the tree - with his shotgun already pointed at the CPU.

He fired and a silver slug penetrated her side. Blanc shouted out of pain. Noire shouted Blanc's name. The man pumped the mechanism and was ready to fire again, but Noire's sword already cut him down. The flat side of her blade collided with his back, knocking him down. His gun dropped away and he reached out to grab it.

Noire kicked it away and pointed her sword at him. She glanced at Blanc and saw her loudly cursing while keeping the other man down.

"Where's the SP blocking device? What is going on here? Are you with Miss Pauling?" She asked him.

The man which Noire captured was wearing a tan trench coat and multiple fedoras of varying colors. The other one, which Blanc was pinning down, was wearing a camo trench coat and a fedora. For some reason they really like dressing up like a school shooter.

The man in a tan trench coat looked at Noire and spat on her boots. "Screw you."

That was rude. But before Noire could do anything she heard an audible snap coming out of both of them. The assailants went limp shortly afterwards, dead and Re;Spawning. Blanc made a surprised sound.

"What the?! Don't you fucking die!"

Blanc shouted obscenities at the wind, both due to pain and because her captive was, quite literally, disappearing.

These men… They've killed themselves? So that they won't be able to leak any information?

"We should go back."

With Neptune and Blanc hit, they weren't in shape to continue their search. They had to return. The mercenaries were hiding in the building - they could heal Blanc and Neptune.

The CPU of Lowee huffed as she rose back onto her own feet. Her hand touched the injury and Noire could hear Blanc's annoyed groan as blood started to flow. No fear or terror. Just annoyance.

"This stupid day sucks…" Blanc mumbled to herself.

Noire was inclined to agree. This stupid day indeed sucked for everyone.

.

Demoman and Nisa still sat on Uni, preventing her from moving.

The CPU Candidate was disarmed, and each of her weapons chucked out of the window. Now broken glass joined the blood and corpses on the floor. Her struggles have diminished but no one, not even Nisa, trusted her enough to let her free. Currently the Candidate had her eyes closed. She wasn't asleep, though.

They heard gunfire and explosions coming from outside, and also from inside the building. The mercs must've engaged whoever was attacking them from the outside.

"So, what now?"

Nisa scoffed and didn't say anything. Neither Demoman nor Eyelander has made any progress with her. They were just… Too different. Not compatible.

Uni suddenly relaxed, her eyes slowly opening. Her posture changed and the Eyelander no longer sensed aggression from her. She was confused.

"Ugh… Uaah...?"

Her moans came out as if just woken up from a deep slumber. Despite not actually falling asleep Uni felt tired, confused… and sore.

Nisa was looking at her within an instant. "Uni?! Are you alright?"

"I'm sore," The Candidate answered. "and I remember everything I did. Sorry for all I did… Some men gave me more of that shiny crap." A blink, two even, before her gaze settled on Demoman sitting on her arm and leg. "I... Haven't killed anyone, right?"

The merc smiled and stood up, letting Uni free. "Nah. Yer fine. Welcome back."

He offered her a hand, wanting to raise her to her feet. But Nisa got in front of him and did it herself. Trust was minimal, and pettiness she had in spades. She would deny him giving even basic courtesy.

"I'm glad you're okay. I was so worried."

Demoman was not amused. Being mad at him was fine, he could understand that. But she didn't trust him even breathing at the Candidate.

An explosion shook the room they were in, destroying windows that have been yet spared the destruction. It was a reminder that, even with Uni brought back, they were still under attack - and their assailants were out for their blood.

"Anyway, we got more work to do." The Eyelander said. "Can you girls still fight? We will need to defend ourselves."

The heroine's features hardened, and once again she was in Demoman's way. "By that… You don't mean."

"They won't negotiate, girl. They came here to kill us."

Uni's eyes widened while Nisa continued to stare at the mercenary. "I won't let them kill, but you're also not killing them either."

"You're starting to get greedy, girl. Your friend is one thing, these men another. They won't hesitate to kill you, these are men that cannot be reasoned with."

"Then I'll beat them. I'll make them not able to fight anymore, but I won't kill them. I won't stoop down to your level."

The Eyelander chuckled. "You will be dying on the streets with your ideali-" He was cut off as Nisa simply turned away towards the window. Demoman and Uni rushed to stop her as Nisa jumped out of the window into the fray.

She landed on top of the tree, and immediately jumped onto the next one - as bullets riddled her previous spot. Her opponents saw her approaching, they knew she was there and among them.

But they didn't know how hard she'd kick their ass.

She fell from a branch and kicked off the side of the tree. Her knee collided with the gut of her first victim. The first criminal she'll punish. The night sky and dark clothing helped her blend in, making them not notice her just until she was right up in their faces - her most preferable distance.

The man grunted and swore as her attack and weight sent both of them onto the ground, but Nisa recovered faster. She kicked his gun aside before sending another kick as he was getting up - hitting the side of his head.

"Hey you!"

A man shouted at her, giving her a warning to hide behind a tree before bullets ruptured the bark. The man that shot her was now shouting for back-up. Men clad in trench coats and fedoras ceased firing at the mercenaries and instead focused on her.

If anything, she was an ample distraction for the mercenaries. Giving them less enemies to worry about. Nisa had no weapon nor SP, she only had her strength and agility. That had to be enough.

The opponents surrounded and circled the tree she was hiding behind. Anywhere she would go, she would be met with a bullet to the head. But these men didn't have time nor patience to wait, so two of them neared her hiding spot.

Only to find it empty.

Nisa dropped from above, landing on top of a person. Another was swiftly disarmed and beaten into the tree. Others, hearing grunts and sounds of pain made by their comrades, have opened fire. Most of the bullets hit the bark and stopped, as pine trees can be surprisingly effective cover. However some of the gunfire went around the trees.

She once again jumped onto the tree, landing on top of the branch. From below she saw those that she beat up get up and grab their weapons - as if she just hadn't beat them into next week.

Her bad position was rectified by the arrival of backup. A bomb landed at their feet, detonating into an explosion that launched in different directions. Nisa looked back at the building and saw Demoman firing a Stickybomb Launcher with a wide grin. At the same time Uni was holding his Grenade Launcher, launching more explosives at the men fighting her.

Nisa felt fury and annoyance at the help. "Stop! I can handle this!"

She didn't want help, especially from someone that didn't know the meaning of non-lethal force. She could handle herself just fine.

A man took aim and fired, but Nisa was no longer on the same branch. Her legs carried her far onto another tree, managing to shock and impress her opponent. "The fuck?!"

He was struck by another well placed sticky bomb, blown up to pieces.

Nisa heard the explosion and simply grew more annoyed - especially when she saw severed limbs flying around being taken over to the Re;Spawn System. She jumped onto another tree to avoid more gunfire, as her opponents realized she had no weapon - therefore it was preferable to cover themselves from the building, not her.

"Ah!"

In a moment of carelessness born from fighting for her life, Nisa misjudged how much weight her next tree's branch could take. The answer was 'definitely not enough', and the branch broke as she landed on it.

She had no other choice but to take a painful fall onto the ground.

The only thing she felt was pain, as her body crashed into the ground completely unprepared for landing. One silver lining was the fact she had the same tree between her and her enemies - preventing them from taking an easy shot.

Nisa stood up, but her eyes widened as more pain came from her leg. Her foot was bent sideways - which annihilated her ankle.

She would not be able to move like this.

"Get 'er!" Shouted a male, unknown voice. Probably belonging to one of those people in trench coats.

Footsteps came closer before an explosion reached her ears, followed by several screams of pain. Right, Demoman and Uni were still there and launching explosives to 'cover' her.

Nisa crawled towards a tree and considered her options. She could hop around on one leg, which would significantly cut her mobility, and would hurt a lot. Or she could bite down her pride and go back to the mercenaries to get healed. Something like that would take only a few seconds and she would be left in a pristine condition - ready to kick more ass.

...She still has one leg to move. That's plenty enough.

Nisa stood up. This task was long, hard and simply thinking of moving her injured leg made it hurt. The woes of her body however were ignored as Nisa was simply too stubborn to give up, and instead she leaned out of the tree and looked around.

Her enemies were more focused on trying to kill Demoman and Uni, as they simply did not allow anyone from getting close to Nisa. The heroine's eyes looked around and saw the men she beat up with them. These men were bionically enhanced like the mercenaries. They were tougher than a normal person, capable of surviving long falls. Blunt force trauma was nothing for them, and Nisa could only dish out blunt force trauma.

His head snapped in her direction and for a moment their eyes met.

Then he snapped his gun at her.

Nisa's eyes widened and she threw her body back, barely a moment later a bunch of bullets went where she once was. Some even chipped the bark of the tree she was hiding behind.

She wasn't safe however, as there was a man charging at her with a knife. The fact she was lying down with a broken ankle meant this fight wasn't boding well for her. He reached her and sent a kick to her head. Nisa screamed from pain as her head was thrown aside.

Then he crouched and moved his knife downwards. There was no hesitation in his movements, no time spared thinking about the consequences of his own actions. He just wanted to kill her and was fully committed to do it. No negotiations, no talking, no reason, just pure bloodlust. Just like the mercenaries.

She caught the hand holding the knife before it reached her, stopping the blade in its path. But death wouldn't be so easily swayed, as the man still continued to push the dagger further towards her neck. The two of them fought, death and life matched to find out which one would come victorious… and Nisa was losing this struggle.

Despite her best efforts the knife ever so slowly inched forward. Nisa looked the man in the eye, silently pleading mercy upon herself. The man's eyes were cold and his expression bore faint signs of a bloodthirsty smile. He was enjoying her struggle. If he kept this up the knife would be plunged in her neck within a moment or two. Nisa, despite all of her training and exercise, couldn't match the sheer strength of an enhanced man.

Then with a loud boom the man above her exploded into a shower of gore, blood and bone.

Nisa closed her eyes as, to her horror, she felt warmth of the blood washing over her. The body was thrown aside, bearing huge holes in his torso. The tree was completely annihilated and she had no idea if something happened even behind the tree.

"You okay?"

Fay crouched next to her, wielding a futuristic assault rifle which Nisa hasn't ever seen before. It had a bulky, yet sleek frame with two pairs of blue cylinders poking from underneath, glowing blue. Nisa spotted a small print "Sabretooth" on its side, and a small tag with "AP" stuck onto the magazine.

Fay was using Armor Piercing rounds on unarmored people.

"Where is Uni?"

Nisa pointed in the direction of the building. Fay leaned out and leaned back in as bullets started going her way.

Fay returned fire when Nisa suddenly grabbed her leg. "Don't… kill them."

Fay shook her head. "Cannot do. These people must die, they respawn though."

The blonde fairy went back to shooting. Nisa expected her ears to be deafened by the usual sound of gunfire but Fay's weapon… had a different sound. Quieter and sounded more like a flinging something at high speed rather than a miniature explosion. A magnetic rifle?

Nisa's grip on ankle intensified, hoping that would stop Fay from killing even more people. Was she the only one that didn't wish for bloodshed? Was she the only decent person here? Even Uni was firing explosives back at their enemies, the traitor.

"Why?" Nisa asked.

Fay ducked back and reloaded her gun. The new magazine simply appeared in her hands. "Why what?"

"Why does everyone want to kill each other?"

"There are conflicts that cannot be settled with words. You need to use a different language, like violence."

"Violence… is not a language."

"It is the only universal language. One that cannot be refused."

Using words and wanting peace is good, but not everyone will understand what you're saying, or care even if they understand. However there's not a person that won't understand a punch to the face.

Fay took a deep breath and steeled herself. "You stay here, you're injured. Make yourself small and don't move."

She ripped herself free from Nisa's grip. "Wait!" Nisa called out to Fay, but Fay didn't listen. She ran out of hiding, her weapon roaring as bullets were sent in the direction of trenchcoat-clad people. Bullets that were meant to kill, not subdue. Nisa punched the ground at her own uselessness. Her own inability to step in and do something was costing people's lives. Lives that could be redeemed.

Make yourself small and don't move, treating her like a liability.

Fuck. That.

Rising to her feet for the third time, Nisa was 'blessed' with an overwhelming urge to just curl up and cry. She had accidently stepped on her broken foot, which hurt so badly that the heroine fell again with a cry. "Aah!" Her high pitched cry was drowned out by the sound of gunfire. Men killing other men, Fay killing everyone in her path. People were dying and she couldn't stop it.

"They respawn though."

Right… No matter how much you kill them they'll just come back.

But then why wasn't the man next to her disappearing? Why does the Re;Spawn System not take him away?

Why were they all dead?

.

Magic leered down at her prey.

Pinned to the tree by her own hand, the last of the Felons stared down the commander of this whole operation. Having used the last of the Battle Scanners, her luck has found a mischievous rat.

In her hand was a BIT, the source of their troubles. Magic crushed it with her own hand. "These toys aren't for you, you know."

She hadn't felt any different at first, prompting her to wonder if there were - in fact - more than one BIT in the area. But with a quick and easy check that was springing up a barrier around them, her SP worked. She had her abilities once more, and there was Miss Pauling's goon in her hands.

It was the end. Samantha's plan can now proceed.

"All units; status black. I repeat. To all units; status black!"

"You're isolated here. No radio waves will go out."

He glared at her. That's all he could do.

Then he stabbed her with a Neptulium-coated knife, prompting a chuckle. "Hoohoo, how unfortunate. I'm not a CPU, this doesn't work on me."

"What are you, then?"

"Blessed."

Magic threw him onto the ground and with a quick swing of her scythe, ended his life. The blade of her weapon was buried in the back of his head - not destroying it entirely, but damaging the chip. This man was now dead, and here came the fun part.

Placing a mark on someone meant you could "sense" them anywhere they were. If they were on the other side of Gamindustri, you would be able to know their exact location. There was no escaping that.

But what if you mark a dead body? The answer is simple, the mark will stay but usually that would be useless. The corpse can't move. There was no reason to mark a dead body… Unless said body was to be sent elsewhere to be revived, by a stationary machine hidden somewhere in Lastation.

And so Samantha devised a simple plan to find Miss Pauling's base. Kill someone, mark the body and see where it ends up after being taken by the Re;Spawn System.

And after a few seconds, CFW Magic had her answer. Now she knew the exact location of their base and their Re;Spawn system.

The Reaper has found her prey.

.

With the combined efforts of the mercenaries and Fay, Miss Pauling's men were being pushed back. Flanked by a powerful enemy while fighting a fortified position was not a good idea, and so the order to retreat was given. The survivors turned on their watches and fled to the shadows… others were left behind. Their bodies decorated the ground, never disappearing to the Re;Spawn System.

With no one left to shoot, Uni felt it was safe enough to give Demoman his weapon back. "Thank you. I'm going to check on Nisa."

"Aye! Stay safe out there, some of them might still be there."

Uni gave the merc a thumbs up as she jumped out of the window. Flight immediately caught her, protecting her from the forces of gravity. The CPU Candidate flew towards her friend. She was behind the same tree she was before… Her face on the ground, fists balled up and punching the grass around her.

Uni crouched down by her friend. "Nisa? What's wrong?"

Nisa stirred at her voice and raised her head. She looked as if she gave up. Depressed and sad. Her eyes were also puffed up and red - she must've been crying. "Is it your-" Uni glanced at her ankle, noting it bent in the wrong way. "Oh. Hold on, I'll go get-"

"No, don't." Nisa said. "Don't call anyone…"

Uni frowned, considering calling a medic against her wishes.

She didn't. Instead Uni sat down next to her friend. "What's wrong?"

"I'm doing good, right?" Nisa asked. "Trying to save people, even if they're bad. That's good, right?"

Uni blinked, eventually nodding. "Uhh… Yeah, I think that's good." She eventually had to ask for more though. That question came out of left field. "Why?"

"People don't deserve to be indiscriminately killed." Nisa said. "They have a right to a fair trial, no matter who they are. If they are criminals… we will just put them to prison, right?"

Trials and prisons were created for a reason, so that people stop killing themselves like barbarians. So that people could be redeemed and do better… or at least keep the dangerous people away.

"Mhm." Uni hummed. "Yup."

"So then why couldn't we just… arrest these people." Nisa motioned towards the dozen or so bodies scattered around the trees. "We didn't need to kill anyone. Fay and the others could've disarmed and forced them to surrender."

"Ah..." Uni sucked some air. "That would be… pretty hard."

"How so?"

"It would be dangerous for us."

"Aaah!?"

Both Uni and Nisa jumped in fright as Fay joined the conversation, appearing next to them like some sort of ninja. Neither of them knew how long the blonde fairy was sitting there, and Fay just waited for them to stop being shocked.

Once the shock and terror settled and diminished, Fay continued. "There's something like 'too dangerous to be taken alive'. In some scenarios police officers or Guild members are forced to kill the criminal for various reasons: Mainly because simply apprehending them carries way more risk to the innocent or themselves. I know you don't want to kill people, but you have to think about you and your friends' lives."

Fay reached out to Nisa, helping her onto her own feet. Nisa found herself being carried by her, and led towards the building where Compa waited.

"You can't help anyone if you're dead or injured. You, me, the mercs, we're not omnipotent. Sometimes you have to do what's safe. And besides… If we didn't kill them, they would've hurt more innocent people. Don't forget what they did to Kei, what they did to Planeptune. These people don't deserve pity."

"Think, Nisa. Would you rather save a criminal, or an innocent?"

Fay left Nisa to dwell on that question.

To kill was the easy way out, but conversely, to do the right thing was hard and dangerous. A slip was inevitable, as she made hers today and nearly paid the ultimate price for it. Maybe she failed today because she was too weak, but was it really even possible to become strong enough? Even Goddesses can lose, and she was no Goddess. Who would protect the innocent if she, or others like her, fail? Was it truly moral to risk the life of innocents to protect a criminal's? Was her dream to save everyone really nothing more than a dream?

Nisa didn't know the answer, and a part of her was afraid of what it may be.

.

Miss Pauling returned annoyed, angry and outraged. She walked up to the wall and punched it. It hurt, but she was too angry to care.

"We had him!" She yelled. "God damnit, we had him!"

He was vulnerable and isolated, while they finally had a way to remove everyone that protected him… Not everyone apparently, as he pulled out some BS at the last moment.

Besides her, other members of her squad were also Re;Spawning… and people who were participating in the other assignment. "Hey, Brad." She called out to one of them. "How are things on your end?"

"Badly." He huffed. "We got the CPUs, but our target and CFW Magic are too powerful even for them. The BIT helped, but not too much… It's a total failure." He sighed. "We're trying to at least bag some of those morons and their friends."

A disastrous day, then. The preparations went smoothly, phase one and two went swimmingly… but they failed at the last and most important moment. But that's fine. It was their first major operation in this new world, and even then they've made huge progress. Lastation is in chaos, ripe for taking and-

The building shook. The vibrations kicked dust, tipped over some empty bottles, and surprised people inside. The conversations were silenced as they all looked around in confusion… Until an alarm bell rang out a moment later - signifying they were under attack.

"Evacuate the building!" Miss Pauling ordered, but her men didn't get a chance to carry it out - as the ceiling of the Resupply room exploded, creating a hole for their worst nightmare to come through - A scythe wielding reaper with long, bright pink hair.

"Well, well, well…" CFW Magic descended onto the floor, looking around the room. "This room looks uglier than I expected."

Her eyes fell on Miss Pauling, and her grin widened. "Ah, you're here too. Lucky me~"

Miss Pauling turned invisible but CFW Magic already had a mark on her - she couldn't hide. And as Magic charged at her, reaching out for her neck, Miss Pauling couldn't run either. CFW Magic slammed Miss Pauling against the wall, with her neck being squeezed by the Felon. However Magic didn't want to kill her yet, she had other plans.

Miss Pauling's goons tried to break her free; either by firing their weapons at Magic's back, or trying to attack her with various melee weapons - Unfortunately to them she was immune to damage from such mundane means. Even when some of them were using Neptulium-coated weapons and projectiles, they just bounced off her skin.

"What... are you…!?" Miss Pauling managed to croak out.

CFW Magic stared deep into her eyes, ignoring the other twenty or so people that were trying to kill her. "You've been a thorn in my side for a long time."

A thin streak of pink appeared behind CFW Magic. It was a barrier, but this one wasn't here to protect. It was there to kill.

CFW Magic launched it at great speed, and Miss Pauling watched how the barrier cut everyone in half with zero effort. In a single moment they were alone in the room, with all other spectators dead. Their bodies returned to the Re;Spawn System, leaving the assistant of the Administrator alone with the leader of ASIC.

Their base ceased to exist.

Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Doing What is Necessary

Finally.

I have done... something with the whole Nisa hates mercs and killing thing. I couldn't actually have any of the mercs to take over Fay's role, as Nisa would simply not listen to their words. Uni and Noire are also not the kind of characters to murder their enemies "because they have to" or because it would've been easier. Fay was an easy choice. The fact she barely had any screen time until now helped.

Also Nisa is actually very short and light.

In fact all of the Neptunia characters are very short and light.

However, by the time I noticed that fact it was too late for the "smol girls" jokes. So I just didn't do anything with this.

And also I googled if guns can actually penetrate a tree and I found a video of a guy doing just that, and fun fact: Nothing but a .50 cal penetrated the tree, and even then it was hard to actually hit the target as bullets were reflected and left at wrong angles.

Miss Pauling's men do not wield a .50 cal weapon.

Moral of the story: Trees are pretty good cover, unless you're facing a sniper.

The next chapter will be… different. Now that the Miss Pauling fight is over I can finally move onto something I've been scratching my head for a long time.

- Harmless Orange