The Console Wars

by BlackNoire

The CPUs are at each other's throats, but not in Celestia but in Gameinudstri. This is not done from Neptune's perspective or any CPU for that matter. A male arrives in Gamindsutri who appears to be from somewhere else. All is not as it seems as this is not from the Neptunia universe but a general gaming universe. This is a fanfic unlike any other. Rated M for violence.

148. The fight inside Parliament

Chapter 148: The fight inside parliament

Note: Readers please listen to original UK Big Brother Theme while reading this:

We're still in the parliament building, the exact same dreaded place with which that nasty Neptune wishes to try and use as part of her act as our new leader, in an attempt to mock us into admitting that she's won, despite her rigging it. She has announced her victory in this nightmare, with her acceptance speech as the so called true goddess, and her plans of hell, insanity, suffering and madness. Now is her execution of it not least of which for us to die while watching our worlds die with us, and to fall to such tyranny and despair.

I say this considering the chances that our side has, considering the numbers along with the armaments of both sides, and that's if we do have weapons at all, let alone weapons of a decent specification for what we're after here.

We cannot falter here though, not with us looking to see what weapons we've managed to acquire before the speech has begun at least. As it turns out we do have some guns, though we're unsure if it'll be enough. Not with the amount of them that we have, compared to what they'll no doubt have, and then there's also other issues such as ammo being enough for a few clips, and the weapons themselves in which they're all pistols, in which they won't be able to as much damage compared to what they have which will be various two handed weapons.

While at least we'll have cover and we know where the enemy reinforcements will come from, even if I wonder if that will make any sort of difference, that doesn't bring much reassurance. I worry that the cover won't protect us from their gunfire, and that there's nothing to stop them from swarming in.

Worse than this, this cover is only one to two sides depending on where the enemies are behind us, there's also the seats nearby in another section filled with people who are supposed to represent the other nations. While I don't see them with weapons, I have no doubt it'll be concealed, and having to deal with them when there's so many of them will be difficult to say the least.

Annoyingly though, while I have the thought of just shooting Neptune in the head, since she'll still be sat up and about to send troops in, my HUD tells me that I'll need to kill her party in this nightmare as well, and it just won't be possible here since they'll just take cover. My gut tells me that even with their numbers and fire power, they'll just flee for safety before re-entering once we've been killed or captured. The trouble is it will be difficult if not impossible to work out where, and so all that can be done is to hope that we can get a shot at at least one them that will wound them to slow them down, and despite it being really doubtful, we could follow their trail of blood, capture them, and find the others.

Of course, right now we can only wait in our positions and to make every shot count as we wait for them to come to us, even though we really need to be pushing through their waves and hunt them all down. As we exchange looks, our doom appears inevitable, as it's a struggle to see how we can leave this massive room alive with what we have right now, but if we have to go down, it will be of course with us fighting to the last person, and ensure that every bullet we fire will hit an enemy soldier.

We wait for what appears to be our final battle for our lives, as I hear Neptune boastfully and with plenty of smug and arrogance give the order for troops to come in, only for them to fire but while I hear gunfire, it doesn't appear to be heading in our direction.

It could be that the nasty rotten Planeptune CPEwwww wishes to execute fellow Lastations and Britannians first, such that the last thing we know of is that our friends have died, to show that everything we love and stand for dies with us. Maybe she wishes to try and do more physiological damage by reducing our numbers even further before showing us stuff to horrify us, which will probably be the death of our nation in numerous ways before executing us.

I fear that it's most probably the case, and yet it's most frustrating that there's no way for me to find out without exposing myself too much. All we can do is to keep looking at our side nearest the walkway, and look at the other people on the other side to see if they intend to shoot. They appear to be hiding like us, though could that be to conceal themselves from our section as best they can?

Just as I predicted, they would try and shoot us, but we shot them first and manage to kill them all on the row on the other side to us. As a result I'm confident that we won't have to worry about one side as much with regards whether they can take us out from there, but there's still the entrances both front and back, and there's also the other flank where they can get us in which there's more of them, but as if this isn't bad enough there is also the issue of pursuing Neptune and co, and ultimately taking them down.

My gut tells me that they have fled at this point, and so all that can be done is to go through where they must have gone, even if it means having to fight through all these enemies that they'll no doubt try and throw at us, and even if it means that there's no way of knowing for sure where they're going, not to mention having to abandon most of the allies here to clear out the enemies in this room, and to prevent enemy reinforcements coming in. At least it's a nightmare though and there's the fact that I know that they would be understanding since they'll be helping to bring our nemesis down by keeping the enemy at bay here. All that can be done is to get out of here alive and just hope that Neptune and her nasty gang can be tracked, whether by their blood literally being spilt or through other means.

With this in mind, we will have to take a brave peek, to see if at least there are no more enemies on our side by the entrances to this large room at the front and the back. While we would be exposed to enemy fire for a long time as we head from our position to the enemy desk, we have no other choice if we are to maintain pursuit.

At first I thought that as far as those entrances were concerned it's clear, but then there's a couple of enemies with MP5s forcing us to take cover again. Nuts, we'll just to have to wait for a few seconds before the guards aren't looking at us directly. Perhaps they haven't even noticed we're there, but nevertheless we'll still have to take them out if we are to get to the desks of the Planeptune leaders.

We peek out again, but rather than a couple of guards being there, we notice a couple of adult females with long brown hair and a large brown leaf tying a small amount of it, with trench coats, shorts and boots. While the shorts and boots are the same colour that being black, one of the females wears a pink trench coat, while the other wears a purple trench coat. The one with the pink trench coat is armed with claws while the other is armed with an M1911 pistol.

Hmmmm. I can't help but wonder whether IF has a few personal guards in this nightmare, and they are it, and both them and her are trying to provide cover for their comrades, and keep us in this main room for as long as possible. It doesn't surprise me, in the series IF was considered Noire 2 and perhaps they see her as the most expendable, but then again there could be more of them who will remain in this room or in this building to keep us away from them.

There's no time for that now, as we quickly fire our shots at them noticing that they're a fair distance away, and that the female with the pistol is having to reload, which is a nice stroke of luck.

This proves to be enough for before they are able to fight back they fall to the ground dead, though we do have to find cover to reload again, feeling dread at our low ammunition and the exchanged looks says more than words ever could. It dawns on us that along with time being against us, there is also the concern of being able to survive any engagements that occur while we're cornered, especially with the limited ammunition that we have. We need to get to the desk where at least the enemy will not think to notice us there, well we can only hope. From there we can ambush them and make our shots count even if they're not many. Furthermore while there is the risk of being exposed by the enemy, it shouldn't be too long before we can crawl by our desks and away from the line of sight, that being at those entrances to the front of us would provide. We can also crawl there in hope that they won't notice us, and perhaps even take the ammunition from the fallen female who resembles IF in terms of appearance. Even if it doesn't work it's a lot better than holding out here.

Our group in which there are 5 of us including myself, Noire and Uni after informing them of and them agreeing to my plan, head out with us crawling, only for me to pick up an Ithaca shotgun which is a pump action shotgun, with a 4 round magazine capacity along with enough shells for a few clips. This being from a third IF guard who has a yellow trench coat, she must have been shot by our allies behind us which pleases me, as hopefully they can provide extra cover for us. After this weapon is picked up, Noire picks up an M1911 pistol and dishes out clips for this gun to Uni, and the other two allied soldiers who have come with us.

While another 2 guards with MP5s show up by the entrance, they don't appear to have noticed us, especially not when one of them gets shot in the head, forcing the other guard to focus fire on the soldier who did the deed, before dying as well by the same soldier. My gut tells me we have a sniper on our side with a great vantage point which pleases us no end and brings smiles of relief to our faces, as perhaps the situation for our allies here fighting the enemies in the room and keeping more enemies at bay, is not as grim as we thought at first. Even so there's no way of knowing how well defended the desks are, and if there is still chance of catching up with the rest of the vile gang of Neptune's.

With all these thoughts no doubt running through our heads as it is with mine, there's no time to waste as we crawl as quickly as we can around the other side of the desks and along it, until we're at about the centre of the desks in our section, only for us to then crawl to the other side. I whisper to my companions the plan which would be to peek over the other side to see what's on the other side, while Noire and a Britannian/Lastation soldier take one side of this desk and Uni and the other soldier take the other side of the same desk, and we ambush them together.

Interestingly enough, there are definitely people hiding on the other side, at least one and it's IF as I can hear her speak on her phone that she always seems to have, then again it could be a recording. In any case we look around from where we are, for any potential enemies particularly from the row of desks that are significantly far away from where we began in here, only to find that there's no one, perhaps because they are either dead or hiding trying to fight our forces. It's the same for up above as I look to see if there are any enemies there, since this room can be viewed from up above, and is surrounded by a huge feature forming a makeshift barrier, only to find that there are no enemies whatsoever. Whether they are too busy, or have been killed or unable to access there, it's hard to say, but either way it's such a relief considering the advantage they would have from up there. I then move my head closer to the desk so I can hear it clearer over the noise of gunfire.

"The situation appears to be bad. The enemy has a sniper and gunner and they appear to be massacring our forces here. Any reinforcements that are currently being sent in here appear to have no effect. We need more reinforcements and more tougher ones at that right now… No I don't know if the brats are dead. Where are you Nep? Outside? OK how is Plutia she's not in too much pain I hope….. Uh huh….. ok good. Not with you? She is outside too right? No? I suppose that shot will have slowed her down. She's at the stairs heading to the car park? OK well as long as she can get out of here that's all that matters, but what about me, the one who's been with you for all this time? What about extra reinforcements? If you say so Neptune, ok bye." IF yells in the phone over the gunfire due to how loud it is, and perhaps despite it being their nightmare the phones aren't ideal with regards the quality of reception.

I see smiles on the faces of our allied soldiers as we hear the dread in IF's voice, though we are cautious as to whether it's actually her and not a recording. It turns out that the odds of us surviving in this room at least, weren't so bad after all. Furthermore, while this would only be IF not someone higher assuming she's there, it's still nice how we're close to taking her down considering the significance of her in any case, and while it's still a nightmare, it still means we have an opportunity to defeat her once again, and to avenge what happened in those stupid games where IF was with Neptune and Compa and defeated my CPUs repeatedly.

While I can't be sure of what IF has done in the world we came from due to amnesia, the fact that she serves the purple haired witch, and contributes significantly to their schemes including the one right now means she has to be taken down. The situation is also amusing in that it seems, that IF feels abandoned right now, no doubt due to her not exactly fitting the Planeptune mould so to speak, considering the way she was in contrast to the others, and the way she was treated from what I remember of the series. Maybe it's because she's not as stupid as Neptune or as lazy, and yet pragmatism dictates that they need someone competent to carry out their nefarious plans.

The thing is, while it would be nice to pounce on her, get her to surrender and interrogate her, even if she's on her own and abandoned, would she defect and be able to provide us any more useful information? And if she wouldn't, would we not end up playing into their hands as they have more time to get away and perform many nefarious acts. No doubt they have a backup plan which would cause equal devastation and are attempting to carry it out.

Then there is also the fact that while the room looks relatively secure from what we've seen, there's no way of knowing what's outside, specifically the other side of the entrances to this section of the room, in fact we don't even know if there's anyone with IF, or behind the desks behind the one we're next to. Furthermore we don't know if it's actually her and not just a recording that's been triggered, though even if it's a nightmare it's hard to believe they'd time it like that considering that would need surveillance and they don't appear to be acting as though we're being watched.

Never the less, we can only take out IF quickly, and find a way of fighting our way out and get ourselves in a position where we can chase Plutia down, and ultimately capture her and hopefully be able to get her to reveal information, considering that this is a nightmare that they're in control of after all. I guess we'll have to consider being able to kill IF in this nightmare satisfaction, considering that's one more for us, and for the nasty maker IF to experience dying by us after being abandoned to us. Still no matter how satisfying it would be to take out a lapdog of Neptune, a neglected but nevertheless enthusiastic player in the nefarious plans of Planeptune, (well I say that though I can't be sure how willing IF is in the worlds I've been in, and there's no way of knowing now), we have to be careful in dealing with this.

The thing is though, I'm deeply concerned that this could be a trap, and it's really such that while the situation may not be going well for them, IF is with a significant number of guards and could perhaps be speaking on her phone to lull us into a false sense of security, and make us believe that we can just ambush her and take her out. I don't intend to let my guard down and neither does my allies, but nevertheless if we are to get out and pursue those cronies, we need to get through IF and any guards that she has remaining.

I say that but there is the issue as to whether Plutia really is heading to the car park and is she actually wounded, since there is no independent confirmation to what IF has said, but the thing is we have no other leads and would it make any difference if we're to go to where we suspect Plutia to be, as opposed to fighting our way out considering the resistance and traps there'll be? It would be nice to find evidence of it, but I can't be sure if we will and even if we do will it be real or fake? Regardless we can only deal with what's front of us, and we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it so to speak, and with this in mind I try and think of a strategy to take out IF.

While we can surround the desk we are next to on 3 sides, there is the concern that they could be waiting for us to show up, then there is also the concern that there are enemies hiding behind desks nearby that are closer to the exit, not to mention enemies that enter through that entrance if they manage to survive the gun fire. We can only do our best with this, and hope that we can conceal ourselves while shooting from cover, and the enemies at the desks behind this one, will have to expose themselves to try and get us. I give the order for us to do this with me at the centre, carefully peeking above the desk to see where the enemies are, only to find that there are none there, but that doesn't mean that they're not there since they could be hiding underneath. Meanwhile Noire and a soldier leans their guns on the left and shoots, while Uni and another soldier does the same on the right.

Just as I figured, while IF who's armed with the same shot gun I have, tries to fire back forcing our allies to retreat away to the side of the desk that I'm at, I see a couple of enemy soldiers with Thompson sub machine guns with drum magazines pop out, and try and shoot at where they were, but they got shot down before they're able to shoot through the desk which would kill those behind it. I peek again from the same place to see if any more enemies approach and while they do from the entrance they too get shot down. I couldn't help but notice that they carried sawn off shotguns, and they are dressed in the same way as the ones armed with the Thompsons.

They remind me of Gust only they wear different headbands consisting of different animal ears, large woolly gloves of different colours with different animal designs, as well as different pastel coloured dresses with buttons on them, and a pouch. The dresses cover the shoulders and appear to go to at least the thighs, spanning outwards there like a skirt and has white ruffles at each end, be it the shoulders and the neck in which there's a collar there. They certainly resemble that scheming, conniving thieving Gust that's for sure. My gut is telling me that she'll be nearby and that it's best not to underestimate her.

Just as those Gust wannabes get shot down, IF tries to flee but I gun her down in the back with the shotgun killing her instantly, though not before she yells in excruciating pain from the shots which is only fitting, considering her complicity in the horrors both known and unknown that Neptune and the rest of her cronies has done, not to mention the irony of being effectively stabbed in the back but then being shot in the back. While it's nice to see her fall here, there's a lot more to go, and the frustrating thing is, is that my gut is telling me that there are enemy soldiers with significant armaments hiding behind the desks nearest to the entrance that we wish to go to. They'll need to be taken out as quickly as possible and without any of us dying but how to do so.

There's only one side in which firing at them would work, while going over would risk exposure to the other side, and the side nearest the entrance would result in us dying. Worse still is that we have neither the numbers, nor the fire power to defeat them since they'll know to have their guns pointed in that direction.

At least it's not long afterwards before I come up with an idea, and that is considering we have two shot guns curtesy of IF, and they'll be hiding behind a desk made of wood, we can just shoot the desk at specific parts and hopefully the penetration from the shotgun shots will kill them. We can attack from a certain spot and then retreat away before they have a chance to react, and we can hopefully find a good way of taking those guys out as well.

I quickly grab the shot gun near IF, along with some shells and give them to Noire. Along with this, I pick up the MP5s from the dead enemies that we just killed along with some clips, and gave them to Uni and the two soldiers with us. Next, I get those with the MP5s to move away without being spotted, and to take cover as best they can, then me and Noire will go to specific locations and will then open fire at one of the desks.

It's hard for us to know whether any of them have been killed despite making a good few holes in the desk, spacing them out where we suspect that there's an enemy hiding behind it. Nevertheless, we fire four shells each which is the maximum amount of shells that these guns hold, before moving away and reloading, predicting that the enemies will come out and respond, but to do so carefully since their comrades have died from exposing themselves at that area.

It is then that I notice my allies taking out the enemies who tried to pursue us both from the desk we shot at and the one opposite to it. Me and Noire then while crouched go around the large desk at the side where the damaged desk is, and shoot at enemies that were attempting to advance, so that they would be able to pursue us and kill us on the other side. The thing is even now it's hard to know if this part is clear, and yet the only way to know for sure is to see for ourselves, even if that does risk us getting killed in the process. But the problem is we can't exit this place until we know for certain.

There's nothing else for it but to look for ourselves, and to do so in such a manner that ensures no casualties or at least minimal ones. I soon realise that if we all look together as a group one desk at a time, we'll stand a better chance of survival, and there's also the fact that we should have taken out at least a significant portion of the enemy troops with my tactics.

Hopefully this should work, especially since while there are allied troops here, they're still busy and will be busy for a long time, in fact if anything I fear whether it's only a matter of time before there's no longer the man power or fire power to keep them at bay, and will be able to swarm in. We'll need to be quick if we are to get our hands on Plutia assuming IF was telling the truth, for while she would be wounded in that scenario, she'll be treated by her allies and it's likely not to take long for her to get to safety, and be difficult to trace if not impossible in this nightmare. But even if she's not there or she's gone, we still need to get out as quickly as we can, and get to safety so we can regroup and take them all down.

With these thoughts and concerns in mind, we check each of these desks as quickly and as carefully as possible, and find that there's no enemies there at all. An immense relief as the area is now clear and as a bonus, there are weapons for us to pick up, in which we do so especially considering our guts tells us that the enemy has the area surrounding the entrance secure, and are waiting for people like us to come out. They must know it's chaos in there, and the time it's taking is an indication that they're not winning, and it could be inevitable that we would break out, but since this is Neptune and a nightmare, they could be just sending in relatively token forces to make us think we can win.

Note: Readers please listen to Time Crisis 5 Stage 1 Part 2 While reading this:

We spray and pray at the potential enemies from cover at the entrance to outside this room, our sub machine guns providing immense fire power for a significant amount of time. Amazingly despite the amount of damage that it would have done, they fire back at us albeit I get the impression that it's not with as much fire power. Nevertheless we feel it's best to take cover as they do so especially as we're having to reload. We return fire, and with us being confident that we will have either took out some of them, that some of them are having to reload or both, some of us peek out from cover to see what enemies they are and this includes myself.

Along with seeing that the corridor has walls made of a distinct colour resembling light coloured wood, and carpets of a similar shade, I notice a small trail of blood coming from the entrance and stopping at one side, suggesting Plutia's blood and it stopping because of receiving medical attention. While that is more evidence, it would be better if we can see her for ourselves. After seeing this I quickly look at the enemies in front who are hiding by a makeshift barricade, spanning the width of this corridor of trollies, crates and boxes. Amongst them is Gust who with an apparently determined face is pouring a large spherical beaker of liquid into another one of the same size, the colours are purple and pink.

I have no idea what those liquids are or what the intended purpose is. I can only guess it's either going to make them more powerful, or it's a deadly weapon to use against us, probably the latter considering the setting that we're in. Regardless she must not use that concoction and so I shoot the beaker causing the glass to shatter and the liquid to spill, forming a pinkie purple gas that rises up and covers a significant portion of that barricade where Gust was.

They no longer fire at us, presumably because of them having to deal with this liquid that's unknown to us. I wonder what is happening to them as I can vaguely hear them coughing intensely and groan, is it meant to be a smoke screen or something worse? In any case it's nice for us to have distracted them in this way, and this from their tactic backfiring on them. It's even nicer how it's happening to a con artist, a scammer, and an enthusiastic employee of the rotten CPEwww and her cronies. Again though like with IF just because it's going well right now, that does not mean we cannot let our guard down. Even with this predicament they have albeit we cannot be sure of its effects, we cannot be certain that there are no enemies there.

After sharing glances of smiles and chuckles, we can only spray and pray again, for a short while before peeking to see if any enemies come out, even if that takes a significant amount of time, and we'll have to approach the barricade without cover eventually. At least there is a sign pointing to stairs to the car park and it shouldn't be too far away, though going down the stairs can also be a challenge considering the enemies from each floor, as well as the enemies on the stairs themselves. Like I said before though, we'll have to deal with it when we get there, and can only respond depending on the enemy numbers and deployment. If there aren't too many flights then it won't be as difficult to deal with, but this depends on the layout of the parliament in this nightmare of theirs.

Interestingly enough, I notice Nisa who appears to be enraged popping out with a Browning Automatic Rifle, forcing us to take cover as she fires back. She stops firing but then I can hear her yelling.

"How dare you vile villains slay my super side kick Gust and in an evil manner. The super heroine of justice, will avenge her death and shall vanquish you with my dual wielding pistols of justice. Ahhhhh!" The supervillain yells and speaks in her distinctive tone.

Ah Nisa always the idiot, giving away her tactics like that, or are they fake? But at any rate we will need to take her down if we're to proceed, and the only way is to spray and pray while peeking if we can. Plus which even if she was armed with pistols it could be game over if she reaches us, considering it's probable she'll take a fair amount of punishment before falling. To determine if she is in fact charging or merely shooting from cover, I go prone on the floor and peek my head out only to see that she's running and she's quite fast.

In response, I shoot her in the legs hoping that the bullets will hurt her to prevent her running as quickly. Not only does it result in her slowing down, but in stopping entirely as the shots force her to trip up, and she's lying in absolute agony screaming her head off, enraged. She tries to fire her pistols at us, but the low capacity ammunition means she has to reload quickly and it's then that she gets taken out in little time, yelling in frustration and pain while she dies.

Though it's great for the fraudulent Nisa to be taken out so soon after Gust, especially considering her complicity and enthusiasm for Neptune's nasty projects, I have a feeling that the next bit won't be easy, not when there'll be no cover and no knowledge of enemy troop deployment, before we are forced into an engagement with them. That will be challenging enough let alone going down the stairs where there'll no doubt be enemies around every corner, and plenty of them on each floor who are close to the stairs.

Never the less, it's a challenge that we accept and it's a challenge that we'll do our best to beat. Considering that there's no gunfire from the corridor and after peeking, there doesn't appear to be anyone there but gas which is slowly but surely disappearing, and we have spread and prayed it a fair number of times with doing it again for good measure. We crouch to the height of the barricades and move towards it as quickly as we can away from the gas, looking at doors that we go past and even have some of us look behind and aim our guns repeatedly in case they try to attack us from them.

We do this repeatedly and while for a fair amount of time there are no doors opened, we keep doing it, and eventually one of the doors open and so I wait with my gun pointing towards the door knowing that they'll try and sneak up on us. They in fact attempt to, and it isn't long before a couple of them step out as quietly as they can and I mow them down before they can do anything.

With his Thompson, one of our soldiers lies prone next to me to provide support, in case more of them try that trick, but then nothing happens and yet I can hear gunfire behind me. I therefore decide to leave him there looking in this direction and reinforce my allies behind me.

My allies are lying prone with determined and calm faces, and holding their hands high to attack the enemy troops who are on the other side of the barricade. Suddenly, I see a bunch of enemies armed with MP5s rushing on the right hand side, and with my help we managed to mow them down before they had a chance to react. They've come from the stairs, we must be really close, but it is annoying that just as I dreaded we're pinned down and Plutia must have already gotten away by now, that is assuming she has been wounded.

It's annoying how there's no way of knowing yet again of the enemy presence on the other side of the makeshift barricades, and yet they need to be dealt with if we are to access the stairs, in which I can imagine they've held back in case we wish to enter them in hopes of ambushing us. The problem is, is being able to deal with them but then I have an idea which can work now that the gas has completely gone now, at least it looks like it. This is to focus fire on a particular area to get them to fire in response, while we sneak into the staircase section and clear out the enemy there. By now our ally with the Thompson has moved back to us still focussed on our rear, only to find that no enemies have since attempted to try and attack us there.

As part of the tactic, two of us will wield two sub machine guns in each hand and fire while concealing some of the guns, so that they think it's four soldiers concentrated, and meanwhile the other three will crawl to the stairs being careful to take out any enemies that are in wait for us. It'll be me and the soldier already facing the enemy who will perform this task, and it's quite an unnerving one since there is a big risk of us getting shot by the enemy, or dying from the now invisible gas if it can do that. I can only hope that when we fire it will force them to hide, and that when they do return fire, we can side roll our way to the other side where the stairs are, and be gone before they're in a position to shoot at us accurately.

I guess here goes nothing, as we quietly crawl to that place, going through where the gas was without incident, indicating that it's gone completely, before we fire our sub machine guns with round after round being fired ever so quickly, only for it to end abruptly. We then side roll as quickly as we can as bullets hit the area we were at just previously. Amazingly it is such that if we were one or two seconds slower at side rolling, we would have been dead, but at least they only seem to be shooting at that side for now. I say that but by the time we got to the middle of the corridor, they've stopped firing making me wonder what they're going to do next, and it's unfortunate that we can only keep side rolling towards the stairs.

Interestingly enough, we get about to three quarters of the way before noticing Uni firing at the enemy and mowing them all down. While this action will have stopped them from seeing us and killing us, it will have brought attention to us, and so bearing in mind that it will take time for more of them to show up, or even for them to pluck the courage and to expose themselves in exchange for seeing exactly where we are, we quickly get up, run to the stair case before diving quickly, knowing that Noire has already cleared the surrounding area to the entrance to this floor via the stair case, from her location just outside as she keeps her eyes on both below and above with a confident smile.

The pair of us manage to get to the stairs without a scratch and the 5 of us are together, all in one piece, exchanging looks of relief. We reload our weapons while thinking of a strategy of defeating the enemies without being taken out, along with ensuring that we don't get ambushed from behind. The plan can only be to find out exactly what's down there, and so we'll have to get the best look we can at the flight of stairs below us and therefore determine how many there are and where they are.

I notice a group of them lying on the floor with their MP5s pointed upwards, but then I notice one of them with his gun pointed in my direction. I quickly duck down as he was about to fire, and it's such a relief as a second or two slower, and I would have been dead which would have proved disastrous to say the very least. This doesn't bode well for they know we're here and will be engaging them, and while I know their exact location, that's only assuming that they have stayed put and I can't be sure if any of us would be able to hear them move.

The problem is knowing where they're pointing their guns, and there's no way of me finding out without them knowing, which would defeat the purpose since they'll likely adjust where they point them. All that can be done is to spray and pray at different sections for a short while before retreating back, and repeat until they don't fire back. It's not ideal since them not firing back doesn't mean that they're dead, but I have no other means of engaging them without risking any deaths, then there is the issue of time assuming of course Plutia is still here, and it's taking a long time for her to get to the car because of her wound.

While the two soldiers with us keep their guns pointed at the upper flight of stairs, and to the entrance to this part of the stairs, me, Noire and Uni quietly while crouched move to certain parts of this flight of stairs without being seen. When in position, we fire at different parts of the staircase below for a little while before retreating again.

We wait for a few seconds after having retreated but even then there hasn't been any gun fire nor has anyone tried to come up. We wait for a few more seconds again, nothing. While it's an indication that they've died we need to be sure, and despite the risk of getting shot, I take a peek on the other flight of stairs as best as I can, ensuring that I don't get shot, or at least I can duck quickly enough to survive. After looking as thorough as I dare considering the longer the peek the more likely I'll get spotted, I come to the conclusion that they're dead.

At least that's one flight of stairs taken care of, but then there's more to get through. Yet I cannot think about that right now, and can only deal with one flight at a time. We move down this flight of stairs only stopping at the point where one would turn to go to the next flight, suspecting that there are enemies down there waiting for us. In fact with it being where the floor below is, there's bound to be plenty of enemies there, and I can just predict that the enemies there are waiting for us.

The only response to this can be to spray and pray from cover for a little while before they shoot back, and hope that this will take them out by the door, or at least get them away from the door. We do so and while after firing we don't hear any gunfire coming from downstairs, they try to ambush us by rushing and killing us while we reload. It's only due to the large size of the magazine of our Thompson sub machine guns, and the fact that we didn't fire every bullet that we could fire back, in fact we prepared for them to charge at us, and could just aim our guns at a specific location where they'd have to go past if they were to have a go at that tactic. Even then although we've stopped that attack, I feel as though it's only barely and my gut tells me that they'll try again as I notice looks of relief and concern.

This is infuriating that even with us being on a staircase, getting past this entrance to the floor below will be difficult due to the amount of troops there, especially in a quick time. We can only hope that we can spray and pray again, this time at that entrance, and keep them away long enough so that I can see what enemies are at the flight of stairs next to the ones we're at that goes downstairs.

Here goes nothing, at least we have the fire power to do this, and so I get 3 of our group to fire at the entrance from cover, covering as wide an area as possible while I sneak downstairs and do my best to see where the enemy is at the other flight of stairs, doing so as quickly as possible since the guns don't last long when firing even with the magazine sizes that we have. I don't see anyone at the section closest to the floor, but that could mean that there's enemies further down, and so I spray and pray down there and have to hope I get them.

I don't feel that I'll have any more time to check, and so we'll have to retreat and reload before doing the same tactic of having concentrated fire on the entrance, this time we'll have to check and with some cover, I'll have to jump from one part of the stair case to another, and ensure that I keep enemy troops at bay while the rest of us make the same jump, which hopefully can be done without incident.

We spray and pray again as thorough as possible and I notice a good number of soldiers on the flight of stairs dead, no doubt trying to ambush us. With no time wasted and with some cover, I rush to the middle of the stairs and quickly grab the rails and lift my legs so that my feet touch them. Next I jump off the rails leaping across to the other side, hoping that there are no enemies that would ambush me, since I had to throw my gun to the other side, along with hoping that I can land properly since it's dangerous and there's a risk to a serious injury, which can severely affect my ability to fight.

I land crouched and without incident, and I quickly pick up my gun and lie down so that the enemy in the entrance don't see me hopefully. I crawl down a little bit at a time, while keeping my weapon aimed at the stairs below me, suspecting enemies to come up, as I am waiting for my allies to reinforce me, though it will be a while since they'll have to reload and get that cover fire going again.

At least no enemies go up though it's still tense as it's just me on my own with my weapons even if it'll be for a short while before Noire and Uni join me, as it's agreed that the two soldiers will keep the enemy off our backs, upon knowing that it's just another flight of stairs before we get to the ground floor, more specifically, the car park in which there's a slim chance that Plutia will be there, though it'll definitely be heavily guarded.

Despite the dread and concerns of facing that, I cannot think about that right now, and while there are other concerns running through my head with regards the enemy being kept at bay at the first floor, no one attacking me, not to mention the Lastation rulers making the jump safely and to time it appropriately so that they don't get seen, in which it makes it all feel like a long while, I can only focus and take out any enemies that I see in front of me.

Eventually, the Lastation CPU and CPU Candidate do make it to the same flight of stairs that I'm on without injury, and the covering fire is still going on. We exchange smiles of relief and joy, and while it's unfortunate that we are having to leave two of our soldiers behind to keep the enemy at bay, and they are likely to fall eventually, this is a nightmare of Neptune's and as long as it leads to us taking her and her crew down, then it'll be worth it.

We take it in turns to carefully go down the stairs by a few steps with cover, occasionally looking back to see if there are any enemies from the first floor who know we're here, and wish to ambush us only to find there aren't, and eventually we reach the bottom of this flight of stairs before having to turn around and go down to the ground floor.

My gut tells me that there'll be enemies at the bottom of those stairs waiting for us, and while we can spray and pray even if it was to work, we will have alerted the enemies in the car park but then again would that make any difference, since they'll be guarding it regardless, and they'll be eager to get Plutia out of there pursuers or no pursuers. There's no other way, we don't have any silent means of taking them down, and so we just spray and pray from cover for a short, while waiting to see if they will return fire or come up to attack us. Nothing.

We then peek to see if there are any enemies there, nothing but a few dead bodies. In fact no one from the parking lot has come in, there's a door with a window and it's shut. There is the area next to the stairs and under the stairs and so we spray and pray from cover at those areas before checking them thoroughly and carefully, only to find that there's nothing there and again no one came out from the door, which is quite odd but then again they may not wish to throw away troops, and instead keep them in the parking lot.

This is it now, the car park itself where if we can get through it we can escape by car hopefully, and either pursue Plutia or at least find a safe location, find all of our allies we can, and regroup and find and defeat the enemy. Then again even if we get out of the car park alive there'll still be masses of enemies to pursue us no doubt, and I have no doubt that the car park itself will be heavily fortified with all weapons pointed at the door. All we can do is to have a peek through the window and see where the enemies are and if Plutia is still there.

Just as I had wondered and confirming what that nasty maker IF said, Plutia is in fact in the car park and right now she is getting in one of the cars despite being in serious agony, and there's guards all over the place with their guns pointed at us. I was hoping to look to see where the nearest car is and how easy would it be to get to it, but with the car Plutia's in ready to go, there's no time to have a proper look if we are to stop her and buy enough time, so that we can adequately pursue her and ultimately take her out, even if we're heavily outnumbered here.

Saying that the odds are great and stacked against us, and that it appears impossible is an understatement, and yet we'll have to act now and do our best and hope that it will be enough, for Plutia is our only lead right now to tracking Team Planeptune, and it's about to slip away and with it our only chance of succeeding in this nightmare, especially since there would be nothing to stop their nefarious plans from becoming a reality.

At least hopefully they won't be able to enter parliament for a while, not while there's still fighting going on in there, and the fact that we're on the loose, but that is of little comfort if they can do intense damage elsewhere. Furthermore while they won't be able to capture us alive and execute us in a way they desire right now, or may not even be able to kill us at all, how bothered would they be especially as they may not be bothered at all, or it could be that they just need to succeed in their plans to ultimately defeat us, whatever they are and however long it takes to be carried out. I dread to think how that would play out, knowing that their insane destructive mayhem that would be their policies would be a reality, no doubt it's their point.

Perhaps that's their intention right now, to have all this doom looming upon us with what would happen if we were to fail, and our chances of failure being high, along with being forced to act quickly reducing our ability to perform our actions competently, which would have increased our chances of success. At least before they have failed and we can only rely on our abilities as usual to ensure they fail again as we begin to attack, struggling to think of how to proceed in this area, knowing that Plutia is about to escape, and even if the car gets stopped, they'll get her in a new car and drive off, and with that, no knowledge of where they are or where they're headed, all while providing cover to make tracking her difficult if not impossible.

Well we can only not let it get to us, in fact take pride in the fact that they have to put all of this in to try and break us, after failing to break us before repeatedly as we begin the attack, hoping that even if there's no proper strategy now, there'll be one soon.