Chapter 150: Plutia can't escape

Note: Before chapter 150 I wish to inform you readers that this chapter includes a torture scene which I've indicated with: … in the centre of the page to indicate the beginning and end of it, this is case you aren't into that sort of thing.

I've been in this nightmare for what feels like too many chapters for me to count, and it's only now that myself, Noire and Uni are chasing Plutia, and even then this is the third chapter in this pursuit. It definitely feels like it as it's been a long chase to get to a position where we can see her, and it's been a long chase in our cars where now if we're not careful we could lose her, and yet keeping up with her will be a challenge, as no doubt with this being the crucial stage of this pursuit, it will be back to being on foot again where we'll be pursuing her either down an alley, or in a building in which either way, it will be full of guards armed to the teeth with orders of taking us out so that they can get away.

I am successful in shooting the tyre which will force them to get out, but I barely managed to perform this task concerning me significantly, and there's still the issue of catching up to them and seeing where exactly they will head now in their attempts to evade us, which so far they have failed but could succeed soon if we're not careful, especially with enemies no doubt rushing to the scene, to protect their arrogant and corrupt leaders.

I accelerate the car as best as I could towards their car, while noticing that I'm driving past a grand hotel which appears to reach the junction that I'm heading, making my gut think that they'll be heading inside there. As it turns out, they have left the car and are going up what appears to be an emergency staircase on the side of the building, though it's a nice looking staircase of glass.

Note: Readers please listen to Live and Let Die Trespassers will be eaten soundtrack while reading this:

I quickly shoot at their legs in an attempt to slow them down, as I find that with approaching enemies be it on foot or in the buildings surrounding us or in cars, I'm having to drive away and attempt to enter the hotel, in hopes that we can get into a room inside, and work our way towards them, as at least we can keep the enemy at bay better there than out in the open. While there is the concern of losing them, at least their wounds will slow them down, and it's better for us to be alive and not know where they are than to be dead, because at least if we're alive there may be a way of finding them, even if it's difficult, plus which we could have the advantage of planning, surprise and possibly even numbers if we can find any allies that we can rescue.

It is now that there are a few cars chasing us, be it on our tail or from where we came, and they are of the same make as the ones that have been pursuing us in the previous chapter. At least I manage albeit barely, to shoot some of the tyres of the cars in front so that I'm able to drive around the cars, and into the hotel itself, in which I hope that with what's happening outside, they won't suspect us to be in the hotel at least for a short while, and that as a result, we will have some element of surprise at least.

I manage to drive through, crashing through the grand revolving doors in which they're glass with gold frames and gold handlebars, and quickly take out the unsuspecting enemies in which for now there isn't many before pressing the breaks and steering the car, such that we can get out of the car without as much exposure to the enemies pursuing us.

Along with looking for enemies that will no doubt be numerous and approach our location in an attempt to kill us, in which I try not to think about that tragic scenario despite it being a massive concern running through my head, I also look around for places to take cover, and as I get my bearing in this new place, I notice the facilities on this floor.

I notice an elegant reception to the left with a white marble desk, and a cabinet containing keys to different rooms. To the side of the reception there is a lift and to the front of us down the hall, are stairs covered in a gold coloured carpet, and the stairs and floors are made of marble, and I notice the walls being made of a similar material and have massive portraits of people wearing distinctive clothing, of a time long ago and of a place that is fairly familiar in that while I don't believe I've originated from there, and if anything it's far from where I believe to be from, I wouldn't say it's on the other side of the planet, and perhaps it's possible that it's in the same part of the world.

On the right side there is an entrance to a bar, and next to it, is a restaurant, along with a casino and gaming arcade. To the left side a fair distance away from the lift and reception, are entrances to a swimming pool, sauna, spa, along with a gym, sports ring for boxing, wrestling and other sports and next door is a shopping mall.

The unfortunate thing is that this place would look really nice and grand, had it not been for the fact that it's currently in a dilapidated condition, no doubt due to the current occupiers who have trashed and vandalised the place. In fact I notice a sign over the reception saying it's called Neptune's Pudding Hotel, with pudding being named after Neptune's favourite food perhaps.

While at first I thought it's an attempt to break me, as I like seeing places that look really nice, grand and full of different fun things, and it's sad to see it get wrecked and destroyed, I realise that while they may have predicted us being here, they may have not and perhaps this is the Planeptune way. Their way being that they don't value such things, and have no interest in taking pride of what they have; then again their leaders don't even care about the welfare of people at a basic level, so why would they care about this. I have no doubt that this is done out of jealousy, for the fact that there are others that do better than them.

With this said, while the people here wishes to do these acts of vandalism, I don't believe every person in Planeptune wants to do this sort of thing, and instead wishes to care about what they have and could get, through hard work but are forced not to, due to coercion and threats, not to mention avoid being brainwashed that must have happened to the majority of the populace, and being forced to go along with it out of appeasement. No doubt they just as I would wish the leader of them can be gone, and Planeptune would be a much more prosperous and better place. Speaking of which, I wonder where are the owners and the original staff of this hotel are, if they ever existed in this nightmare, I hope they're ok but unfortunately they're probably not.

At least this here is just a nightmare, even if it's not a pretty sight, and if it were to be real, we can just at least try and liberate the place with reinforcements, and have it restored to its former glory, perhaps find ways of providing investment so that the place and the people can continually improve themselves, so that they can live longer and happier and healthier lives and have more things to enjoy.

At any rate, there is no time to look at the state of the place, only to gather information to plan our next move, as we look for enemies only to find them coming from upstairs and outside, in which we manage to take cover and deal with them without too much trouble, and in my case I manage to pick up a few AK74us from reception, in which they're all heavily customised with taped magazines that appear to carry much more bullets in each clip, and have ACOG scopes, and a colour scheme consisting of different desserts, not to mention being able to do more damage than the weapon I had.

We need to head for the stairs for not only they'll be somewhere in the hotel above the ground floor, there should be less points of attack, even though we've only been attacked in two places so far. This I can't help but notice since that's more places they could attack us from, but then again it's probable that they don't care about those facilities, and have trashed them to the point that it's useless, and use other areas for their needs and wants instead. Furthermore they don't seem to be well versed in tactics unlike my side, just like in anything that can help their own out, even so, I cannot afford to underestimate them or drop my guard.

While providing each other cover from the enemies that repeatedly come to us from the same locations only for them to get shot down, I handed my allies the new weapons before heading upstairs, knowing that the cover isn't as much at the moment which concerns me, as the enemy could ambush from the bannister at the upper floor when we go up the stairs. In fact as a precaution we fire some rounds at the bannister and it does kill some of the enemies there.

We reach the stairs, consistently firing at the bannisters to the side of the stairs, and opposite the stairs, as well as above the car to keep the enemies away, while going up at a speed which balances speed and caution, ensuring that we don't get shot at while maintaining pursuit, even if we do not know exactly where Plutia and her gang are, only knowing that their movements on foot will be slow due to the wounds that we have inflicted upon them.

Upon reaching the top we fire at the bannister and cars again, while looking at the side to see if there are doors to rooms there, only to find that there are not and is probably along the corridor in front, which makes it easier as there is one less place we would have to look out for as we advance. We also shoot at the bannister on the stairs above, to keep the enemies away from trying to ambush us from above.

We keep doing this for a short while, only to find that no enemies seem to be coming out at least for now, and that perhaps we're taking too long in keeping the enemy away to ensure we can advance to the next position. The thing is while we've shot at the bannister for this floor many times, in hopes of taking out enemies next to it, I still get the feeling that there are still enemies nearby, waiting for us to strike lying on the stained yellow carpet, not to mention loads of enemies on the rest of the floor who are ready to pounce on our location at the appropriate moment, or the enemies on the ground floor, the upper floors, or even outside for that matter.

For the purpose of preventing them from moving in on us, we fire at the same places again, only for me to fire from cover at the area next to the stairs, doing my best to ensure that no matter where the enemy would choose to position themselves on the landing next to the stairs, they wouldn't survive.

We quickly reload and hoping that my mowing down from cover was enough, we rush out on the landing which leads to as I suspected a corridor going two opposite directions left and right, along with a staircase going upstairs next to the landing. Before we could get far though, while the enemies on the landing are all dead, and there appears to be a significant number of them in which their shirts have Neptune's face with some desert next to it, and their hats appear to be purple side caps, enemies from upstairs attempt to rush to the bannister to shoot us, but it's only thanks to Noire and Uni noticing that the enemies get mowed down before they even have a chance to fire against us.

Suddenly as if on cue, after the Lastation goddesses have fired at the bannister, covering the area on the floor above us as best as they can to ensure no enemies hiding there can survive that attack, I hear footsteps approaching from this floor, forcing us to go prone as we mow down any enemy that comes into view, and even fire at a section of the wall, such that any enemies hiding from view that could poke their gun out to shoot at us would get shot.

We quickly reload and it's nice to have weaponry that has lots of bullets and a quick reload, and are very effective against them, compared to some of the previous weaponry that we've had to use. It does makes me wonder though, if they are meant to be an elite unit of Neptune's, and this hotel is meant to be one of their command centres considering the troop presence here and in the area. I say this but they don't appear to be that elite to me, not when their tactic is to try and charge in with their numbers and be cannon fodder for our newly acquired weapons.

It's interesting to note that while we feel less at risk from being attacked from above or below, due to the increased distance they'll have to travel to get to us via those points, I have no doubt that there's still plenty of enemies on this floor, who will attempt to take us out, and we need to take them out if we are able to keep up the pursuit.

At least the fact that while there are 3 of us and 4 locations the enemy can approach us, of the 4 places, two have only one possible spot they can be at, and even then it will take a fair amount of time to reach those places, will make the situation less annoying. Furthermore if one of us were able to stand at a certain place, they can look quickly at the two points, since they both involve using the same staircase be it from below or above, and below, the person guarding should be able to see the enemy arriving and they won't suspect our presence until it's too late.

The thing is I quickly realise that we have no definite knowledge as to Plutia's whereabouts, since we were forced to head into the hotel and abandon our line of sight of her. There's no way of knowing where in the building they are, if it all they are in this building since they could have left it, but would they know we're inside taking a diversion in pursuing them? Once again we have to hope that they're still on the stairs or at least in the building due to the wounds, or at the very least that if they're not in here at all, that there are prisoners who can fight for us once we have freed them.

It's not a nice situation to be in, but I cannot think about that for now. All we can do is to clear out the enemies on this floor so that we can head for the stairs and see if they're on them, even if there is the issue of what to do if they're not there? While at first I was concerned that the enemies in the long corridor on this floor, in which I've no doubt are connected to hotel rooms, will be able to see the person in our trio engaging the enemies on the side opposite them, I quickly realised that with us keeping them at bay they won't.

We open fire from cover, doing our best to spray as large of an area as we can before peeking only for me to find that along with all the soldiers there dying in which there's a fair amount of them, I can see Plutia and her vile escorts going up the stairs outside. I shoot the glass door through which I can see the stairs, at where their legs are in an attempt to slow them down further which I manage to do even if once again it was a close thing.

To say that this is a relief would be a major understatement, for while chasing them to the stairs would not be practical due to the guards outside who would ambush us, we can still maintain pursuit using the stairs inside, and hopefully they'll continue to go up and head for the roof where from there, we'll catch them and hopefully the only enemies that could get us will be on that roof and downstairs, and not roofs of surrounding buildings.

Even if they choose to go down stairs, I'm confident that we can see them either on those stairs or enter one of the floors, and catch them enroute. Furthermore even if they're not on the stairs at all there's still a good chance they'd be in the building somewhere considering how further high up they are, and how much slower they can travel.

The thing is, there is the issue of fighting our way up the stairs, in which we'll need to be focused on those enemies up the stairs to break through, and yet this will mean that our flank will be more exposed, and we can only rely on the hope that the enemies in this floor have been killed. Nevertheless having to go for two of us dealing with the enemies above, and one to guard our flank is a concerning prospect when there'll be many enemies up there that will need to be dealt with quickly, if we are to have any chance of capturing that vile sadist.

Note: Readers please listen to Goldeneye Run, Shoot and Jump OST while reading this:

With all of this in mind, we move to position slowly but surely moving up the stairs, in which I couldn't help but notice that the carpet is now light blue instead of yellow and open fire at the bannister directly above us, suspecting enemies to be hiding alongside it, waiting for us to go up the stairs so that we can be ambushed.

Unlike last time, the enemy doesn't attempt to get up and shoot at us, but we continue to shoot at the bannister in hopes of covering the entire landing there. Even with us doing this, there is still nothing, and by now we are almost halfway to the top of this flight of stairs. Maybe they have retreated away from the stairs, and wish to ambush us when we get to a certain point of the stairs.

In response to this potential tactic of theirs, we turn and I and Noire look up while Uni continues looking down, keeping an eye out for any enemies who have yet to show up from down there. I and my Lastation CPU notice the enemy waiting there and yet they've not noticed us, and so we quickly load a fresh magazine into our weapons before opening fire and mowing them down.

I notice some of them attempt to get up so that they can either rush to us and shoot us or shoot us from standing up, but they fail and get shot at, while some retreat away from there, hiding by the stairs as this staircase goes all the way to the roof. This proves to be no good for them as we just shoot the staircase above, and we can hear the screams of pain and death as the bullets punch through the stairs to hit them.

Despite driving them away twice in this floor, we still predict that they'll attempt an ambush, and so we crouch going up the stairs facing where they will no doubt intend to attack, with the intention of making it harder for them to hit.

Just as planned they try again, in which they rush to the area so that they can kill us, but with them only being able to access the area at certain points, we can just aim there and shoot any enemy that moves. Eventually after who knows how many we have killed, the enemy stop coming perhaps knowing that this tactic will not work, or that they have all been killed. Still, even with this success there's still the concern that there are more enemies here, and there's still the issue of time even if Plutia and her group are heavily wounded, and must find it agonising to go up each step. Perhaps they are waiting to be carried by soldiers, which would still take a long time for them.

Wondering if there are enemies on the stairs above us that are waiting for us to be at the landing, me and Noire shoot at the edge of the stairs above us, only to find that afterwards there are thuds, and yells of pain. We fire a bit more before realising that they can just move away.

We then with much caution, move up the stairs to the landing, noticing that no enemies have since come out in an attempt to attack us, but even with this, there's still a sense of unease as it's tempting to relax and just move on, but there's still the issue of enemies from upstairs who could attack, and so we'll have to shoot at the bannister and ensure that either the enemies there die, or retreat away so that we'll be clear to advance to the corridor, and fight any remaining enemies here that wish to take their chances in taking us on.

The thing is we attack the bannister, only to find that there's nothing but just as we were about to approach the corridor carefully, I notice on the stairs above us, are enemies lying prone waiting for their chance to strike, and so the three of us stop moving, and we engage those troops, and do our best to ensure that they're cleared away. I then exchange glances of relief to my female allies in being able to discover them and act accordingly.

It appears that they have either retreated or have been killed, and not only this, but the enemy on this floor didn't attempt to reinforce their allies and now there's silence, no gunfire whatsoever. That doesn't mean that we're safe here though, as the enemy could attempt to ambush us again here, and so we'll have to keep our eye out for the enemy, and like the floor below, we head for the corridors after Uni checks that the stairs to the upper floor is clear, and keeps her eye on both there and the stairs to the floor below.

At first, I don't notice anything at all, just a corridor leading to a glass door which allows access to emergency stairs, and to the right side of the corridors are doors to rooms, along with a door to the lift in the centre. At this point I grow concerned again, as now I don't know for certain if Plutia is still on the stairs, and yet I realise that while I could check the stairs, there is concern that I could get shot either by outside or from the rooms, as there's no way of knowing without checking each one and risk getting shot, and while I am not alone, there's not enough of us to provide the cover for what's needed right now, and for me to not get ambushed as I check each room.

This only leaves two choices: to carry on upstairs in hopes that they're heading there, or to guess which floor they're on and therefore whereabouts they would be, neither of them are ideal as this could lead to time being lost looking in the wrong place. It's too bad that they don't appear to have radios as I could pretend to be one of their soldiers and find out the location of Plutia.

Suddenly, I then see and hear some of the doors open and rather than risk firing around the door due to having to risk exposing myself, to be able to shoot at the door and the area around it properly, I quickly retreat. Then I hear a loud bang which came from upstairs and I look to see that my Lastation allies are alright, relieving me no end. It must have been a flash bang which the enemy have tried to use but got shot instead.

After which, I shoot around the corner without looking, trying to cover the corridor as best as I could predicting that the enemy thinks that we've been hit by a flash bang or at least we're distracted. I fire for a while before reloading and because I want there to be no enemies in the corridor before I make a move, I peek to see if the enemies that have tried to attack have been killed. In an interesting development, not only have the enemies there have been killed, but I then see on the stairs outside some legs going up, that of a soldier and they're walking slowly, presumably carrying Plutia in which I shoot at the legs, which should delay them in their attempt to get the cronies on the roof.

While I'm pleased that they're still going upstairs, and I've managed to slow them down, the fact that they have soldiers carrying them could speed them up, and my worry is being able to catch them, and then there's also the issue of what enemies will be on the roof, and what means does the vile sadist have to evade us from there. I can't think about that right now, just need to get to the roof, observe what's there and deal with it appropriately.

Note: Readers please listen to Goldeneye Bunker 2 (Remastered) OST while reading this:

While of course we'll need to be quicker in getting up there and going through the enemies there, being able to do so will be a challenge. Perhaps if somehow I could go up to the roof on my own, while the Lastation goddesses secure our routes, I can stall Plutia and deal with some of the enemies there, before my allies can reinforce me. But it's being able to get such an opportunity as right now Uni is continually firing at the enemies that are apparently trying to rush us from upstairs. The annoying thing is that while I and Noire would like to help, we can't be certain that the corridors and the floors below don't have any soldiers who would wish to attack us, and so we have to keep our eyes out for them.

Thinking about this though, it makes me wonder if maybe I should help Uni right now, since the enemies in the corridors appear to be cleared, and there appears to be none coming from the ground floor right now, though there have been times when the enemy would come up the stairs and get taken out thanks to us seeing them coming. In contrast though, there are a seemingly massive number of enemies upstairs, and time is against us.

Perhaps if I can provide help for a short while, then we can get upstairs to the next floor in a quicker time, maybe I can alternate between dealing with upstairs and our flank. With the options weighed up in my mind, I take the risk and assist our CPU Candidate in taking out enemies that come to the top of the stairs, and it turns out to be a wise tactic since I shoot an enemy who would have killed the Lastation CPU Candidate had I not been there, as she needed to reload her gun at that time, yet again exchanging glances of relief.

My presence makes such a difference as my assistance means that I can take out enemies, as they run on the landing to get to the top of the stairs. This is great as this saves the need to have a gun pointed at the top of the stairs, and we can change our positions such that I and Uni can be at the bottom part of the stairs taking out the enemies in the landing above, while Noire can be further at the bottom protecting our flank. While there's still the concern of being ambushed from enemies at the bottom of the stairs, we should be able to move up soon, and this will be even better for us, as the enemies will end up in a chokepoint at the bottom of the stairs.

Eventually, it becomes clear that this seemingly endless wave of enemies charging in to kill us is dropping, and we're finally able to move up the stairs, in which I notice the carpet to be a regular blue shade neither dark nor light, carefully checking every part of our current area to see if it's clear only for it to be so, and this includes the stairs going up and the landing, but not the corridor to the rooms of this floor. Though I'm concerned about possible enemies coming from below, I'm optimistic that my Lastation CPUs will not only be able to check enough times, but to ensure the corridors are clear in a quick enough time, such that they can go up the stairs and guard the flank.

With my thoughts in mind, from where I am, I carefully check at the different parts of the stair case to see if there are any enemies coming up the stairs only to find that there are not, before I then jump over the bannister, to grab hold of the bottom of this flight of stairs in which I notice it being coloured a dark blue. Once I'm there, I quickly go up the stairs while hanging on as best as I can to see if there any there enemies up there, only to find none before I go back down again so that there's less of a chance that I get spotted by enemies at the top of the stairs, then climb over the bannister and land on the stairs as quietly as possible.

Excellent, now I can advance up these stairs, while Noire and Uni can mop up the floor I was at and join me soon hopefully. The thing is the stairs lead up to an area, and while this suggests that we've reached the roof, and this room should allow access to the roof, the stairs lead to a junction, and this means that I could get flanked by the enemy.

It's annoying that I cannot afford to wait for my allies, since every second that's wasted is another second that Plutia can use to get closer to evading us, which I've no doubt they have the means to help her escape here, even with the condition that she's in.

I can only check by going prone and having a little peek on each side. I just know that I'm going to get shot, but I can't spray and pray since I could give my position away, and get rushed by the enemy in which there'll no doubt be masses of them. At least there's the chance that while they'll hear gunfire, they'll expect us to be in a rush and perhaps may not think to look low, and instead look higher up so that if we're to rush in we'd get shot. If I can just scan the area part by part, and move quickly away at the first sight of trouble then while I'll have to think of what to do next, I'll have bought myself some time.

Well here goes nothing, I move slowly and peek further and further on one side of the room, only to find no one there at all. In fact I see a glass door which opens out to some sort of bar or venue with elegant chairs and tables covered in a white cloth, along with the bar area also being covered in the same cloth, and a large dance floor and electronic equipment for musicians and karoake. All this appears to be under a white party tent.

While there doesn't appear to be any enemies here, I am concerned that any enemies on the roof could use this area to hide, which will make it difficult for us to take them down, and in the end we could be forced to spray and pray from cover while the vile sadist makes her get away.

No time to think about that right now, I need to go to the other side of the room, and repeat the same quiet slow checking process while I'm prone, to see if this room is free from enemies, before looking around outside from inside the room to see where the enemies are, and seeing the exact situation concerning our vile target who needs to be captured, if we're to have any chance of getting out of this nightmare.

For once there is an area where there's no enemies at all, but perhaps they're nearby but aren't aware of my presence here, or possibly the enemies that were here, are occupied with down below. Maybe the enemies on the roof are busy offering Plutia protection, maybe it's both, but it does make a change, though as usual I cannot afford to let my guard down as it feels that I'm getting so close to being able to capture Plutia.

Maybe the enemy is in fact aware of us possibly making it up here, and just have enemies on either side of the area the doors overlook, ready to attack us in a pincer attack should we come out. It would not be ideal to say the very least for me to have to focus on two fronts away from each other, but there's no other choice.

I can only peek from the facilities in front so that at least I have some idea of what I'm up against. The peek turns out to be bittersweet, for while I can see Plutia, Histoire and Peashy badly hurt being carried along the roof to the helicopter, which I think is a Sikorsky HH-52A painted in purple, and is a helicopter big enough to transport people but small enough to fit on the landing pad, and it's a fair distance away, there's little time for me to stop them especially with how there's a significant number of guards there escorting them, and having their guns aimed at my area and other places which must be the lift.

My concern is that even if I shoot the carriers, I could be forced to spray and pray and either end up not preventing their escape, or worse killing them. While I could shoot the rotors of the helicopter so that they cannot escape, there is a risk of killing them and that helicopter would be useful for us if we can capture it, as it will allow a great getaway once the interrogation can be finished.

I then look to the opposite side away from the facilities in front to see what enemies there are, and if there's anything that could help me in any way at all. If anything though, it ends up being something just as alarming, as there a group of soldiers armed guarding a group of prisoners who are tied up, blind folded and appear to be roughed up at the very least. It's hard to know what's happened to them.

Judging by their torn dirty clothes they must be the owners or staff or both of this hotel, I feel bad for them and wish I could liberate this hotel and avenge their suffering, no doubt caused by the orders of the vile sadist.

The trouble is I have to make a decision immediately, while Plutia could get away if not deal with, the hostages could be killed or worse, and while this is a nightmare and capturing that sadist is more important, as it will allows us to get out of here to pursue Nepgear and Neptune, where ultimately we can leave the nightmare, I still feel bad for them and feel that they deserve help, to experience freedom once again, as well as to gain justice for what has happened.

It is then upon closer inspection that there is still a fair distance for the carriers of our targets to get to the chopper, and even if I wouldn't be able to see them if they were to hide, they wouldn't be able to move as quickly, furthermore Noire and Uni could soon arrive to help me. Furthermore there aren't many soldiers guarding the hostages, as the getaway of a few of their leaders is more important than a few hostages in which they would like to interrogate, perhaps the hostages can be freed and armed to help us, or at least provide a distraction for the enemy.

Weighing up the advantages and disadvantages as well as bearing the thoughts I just come up with in my mind, I have decided that I will attack the guards guarding the hostages before attempting to take out the sadist and her guards, in hopes that I can at least stall them long enough so that eventually we can capture her, and that they won't be any reinforcements be it land or air, and even if there was that we can deal with them easily, and even if helicopters will come, the tent can provide cover. I quickly practice aiming at the guards and turning my gun to shoot the enemies on the other side as I wish to do this attack as quickly as possible, so I can get as many of them as possible.

Soon afterwards, I attempt the attack doing the actions I rehearsed as fast I can, barely registering that I've killed all the guards that were by the hostages, before I then engage the enemy in which I only managed to take out one of the carriers before having to retreat, as my gut told me that they knew where I was, and it proved to be correct as any longer then I would have been shot and seeing this make me breathe in relief.

I am deeply concerned now as the enemy are now relentlessly firing at my position and I have had to retreat since these bullets can penetrate through walls and kill whoever is behind it. Annoyingly I have no idea of where Plutia is now, and now doubt she is well on her way to the helicopter, and is hidden amongst guards protecting her as there are no objects that can be used as makeshift cover, which at least helps me and any potential ally of mine in this firefight, even if not much.

Along with hoping that I can overcome this issue, I also hope that the hostages don't get killed by the remaining guards, and can only rely on the fact that I like to think they wouldn't think to do it, and just focus on me, and have to try and think that even if they get killed and it would be awful if they do, then at least it can provide me with a small amount of cover.

I notice that the enemies are only shooting at head or chest height and that I could crawl through and attack again, even if it would be risky, as I'd be slower and therefore easier to hit. I attempt this, and I take out the enemies closer to the helicopter with head shots, to help avoid killing Plutia and company for now, and even noticing a few carriers being killed which should delay them, but then I feel that I have to retreat back, and once again that was a close one, in fact even closer than usual.

This is no good, there's too many of them for me to take out, and it'll only be a matter of time before the helicopter takes off, and we'll have no way out for ourselves and we'll have to face the seemingly inevitable demise of ourselves due to the number of enemies in this hotel, who can be easily reinforced from outside.

The enemy stops firing eventually, but then I hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and while it could be Noire or Uni or both, I can't be sure since they could have been killed downstairs, and the remaining enemies could have come up to finish me off.

Knowing that the enemy could be rushing to my position from the roof, and that I'll have nowhere to hide or find cover to deal with them both, I call out Noire and Uni's name only for them to reply to me quickly, giving me some reassurance that my allies are coming. This is more than reassurance though, it's help in being able to take out the enemy protecting the vile sadist.

With this help, and the fact that there's another area we can attack them from before having to retreat, we remain optimistic, and me and the Lastation CPU head there and attack them again, trying to attack guards in front of where we suspect the carriers to be, and are successful in taking a fair number of the carriers out which should delay them again, before having to retreat back away from the gunfire that came our way. The annoying thing is that we've run out of places to attack them, in which they wouldn't already be looking at it, and there are still a significant number of them and they can still carry the targets to the chopper and get away.

Before we can think of a response to the enemy, they stop firing but then I can hear them rushing towards us and in response we take cover by the stairs, waiting for them to approach. I'm so pleased they're doing this because then if they bring in lots of their troops, then we can just mow them down before they have a chance to fire, and then Plutia will hopefully not have any protection.

Interesting, as I believe that this tactic is being used because they don't feel that they're able to hold us off for long enough, due to the consistent harassment that we do, and they feel that this will buy them time, as they think their numbers would overwhelm us or at least force us to retreat. Interesting that it's this tactic in a supposed desperate attempt to defeat us, will be what defeats them here.

The Lastation CPU Candidate continues to watch over the stairs, and Myself and my CPU position ourselves such that we can mow them down without being exposed too much and being as inconspicuous as possible, hoping that while we'll have the advantage, that none of these enemies notice us and shoot us before it's too late. While we did think about retreating down the stairs and ambushing them there, in which that would be better since they wouldn't even be looking at our direction if they were to rush down the stairs, they could just stop in this room and if they do, then they'll have the advantage.

Soon the enemy attempts to rush into this room, and we can see them about to open the door. But with them having to open the door, we open fire mowing them down and shooting the walls where we suspect them to be, since they'll be huddled there in an attempt to get in. The enemy shoots the glass door, but then we shoot where we suspect the enemies to be at in response. After this there's more enemies trying to rush through the door, but they get mowed down before firing a shot.

Eventually, there's no more of them trying to come in, and there's no attempts to shoot at us either. The thing is we can't help but wonder if there are still enemy soldiers on the roof waiting for us to come out, and that they're there in case their comrades have failed to kill us. This situation concerns us deeply as we have to find out, but how to do so quickly without the risk of being shot down, as the concern of Plutia trying to escape during their tactic, plagues our minds deeply.

We can only peek in a place we least suspect them to look, and upon doing so, we can't see any more soldiers at all though they could be hiding. Along with there being no soldiers there's no sign of Plutia, Peashy or Histoire being carried, only a large number of dead bodies. They must be in the helicopter and it's then that I look at it that I then see pilots about to get into the cockpit area so we shoot at them before they can enter and therefore take off.

Enemies from the helicopter immediately try to engage us but they get shot quickly as we figured there'd be some soldiers inside. Yet again we grow concerned as we need to get there and secure the area if we are to interrogate them, and there is a fair chance that we could get ambushed by enemies on the roof, or maybe even from lower floors, or roofs of nearby buildings, then there's helicopters though at least they would be spotted and we can retreat and take our new captives before they arrive.

At least the sadist and her allies are not going anywhere, which means that while enemy reinforcements can still come, we should have more time now to get to our targets, and get the information that we need.

I keep my eye on the helicopter to ensure that no one tries to take our targets away, while Noire goes and secure the area by first carefully checking the area where the hostages are so that there are no enemy ambushes. Next, she frees one of the hostages with the intention that that freed hostage frees the others, before checking the rest of the roof carefully for any other enemies only to find none. It's too bad that while there are no enemies here for now, it doesn't mean that there won't be any enemies attempting to attack us when we interrogate Plutia.

This is the thing that concerns me right now, to be able to watch everywhere and the vile trio as we interrogate them. At least the freed owners and staff could be our lookouts and if able, willing and brave enough they could be our soldiers, even if I cannot be sure of what experience and ability that they have. I suppose another concern I have, is that when it's clear that the enemy are here and have us surrounded, would we be able to get the chopper working for us to get away in time?

Hmmm, maybe my concerns this time are groundless as I notice the people Noire rescued arming themselves with guns and rushing over to different parts of the roof, and guarding them calmly and with determination. In any case we can only focus on the objective at hand, and deal with that problem when it comes, well I say when, it may not even happen. It's not long before the Lastation CPU has a close look at the helicopter, and informs me via body language that Plutia, Histoire and Peashy are inside, there are no guards and they're ready for their interrogation. Oh finally, I have been waiting chapters for this, as I'm sure you lot have as well.

With much enthusiasm, I rush over and accompany my waifu to the helicopter as does Uni and another one of our new allies, with big smiles on our lips as finally we have our hands on of the Planeptune CPEwwws, in fact the sadist herself Plutia, and while thoughts run through our mind that with this being a nightmare can we make her talk, she has suffered nevertheless from pain in her legs, and if we can threaten them with enough pain or inflict them with it to show we're not bluffing, then she'll tell us what we need to know. It's unfortunate that we do not have the equipment nor the time for something proper like the last time I remember all those chapters ago ,which was one of my memories I had of where we came from before arriving in Gameindustri, but we can improvise.

…

"Nowhere left to go Plutia, your escorts have failed you." Noire speaks in a smug confident tone.

Upon seeing us armed and knowing their predicament, a look of dread appear on their faces especially Plutia's.

"Please, I I'm sure you know Neptune never implied I'd torture anyone if she was to be lead…uh" The sadist pleads in desperation only interrupted by Noire punching her face repeatedly really hard.

After some excellent punches, the Planeptune CPEww's face is rather bloody, especially her nose which appears broken, and her eyes are now both black. I wonder if she fancies us deep inside, as it does remind me of how animes would depict strong attraction to another person by bloody noses.

I then take over the interrogation and after being given some electric shears for shaving by Miss Lastation, which she found on a table in the function area, I drag the body of the sadist to the edge of the roof in which there's a wall of reasonable height, reassuring me that it's unlikely to get ambushed, especially as we're away from the entrance side of the hotel.

"Where's Neptune, where's Nepgear, and what are they planning right now? Tell me everything you know about their plans." I say with menace, making my tone clear to her what will happen if she doesn't tell us what we need to hear.

"I…I just handle the tasks they give me.. I have no idea on any of your questions." The sadist begs pleading with us.

Oh Plutia you're such a liar, don't you know it does you no good to lie to us. Suddenly though, I heard gunshots which came from the helicopter. I quickly look behind me only to see Noire and Uni dragging Peashy by her legs, and was told by them that she tried to shoot them with a concealed pistol, only for her to fail and get a shot hand instead.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation." The Lastation CPU says calmly and with smugness and confidence in her voice.

After which Miss Lastation, with her aviator sunglasses and thick big hair, effortlessly throws Peashy off the roof, and she screams her head off before landing on the top of a yellow car, with a loud thud and shattered glass, causing her such unimaginable pain, no doubt worse than what we had. Hopefully the fact that she'll be in pain for a long time before she dies, will help the vile sadist to answer our questions in an improved way.

"You Britannians what about your sense of fair play?" The vile sadist pleads sounding ever so frightened.

I then bash Plutia's back of her head hard against the wall, before sitting on her pathetic awful boobies, and with my feet push towards her neck so that she chokes and struggles to breathe, being careful that I don't kill her, but make her feel uncomfortable and in serious pain. Meanwhile I have in my left hand the shears which I begin cutting her hair, and doing it close so that her scalp bleeds, and have my weapon in my right hand ready to fire at her.

"Funny how you and your colleagues slag this nation off and talk of nothing but it's so called deserved destruction, and yet it's only now when you're compromised, that you try and appeal to our values that makes this nation great. I'd say this is fair play in any case, since you're a sadist who tortures countless innocent people including children and other living beings, in unbelievably cruel ways just for your amusement, and you're getting your due punishment right now. Maybe you shouldn't dish it out if you can't take it. Now where is Neptune, where is Nepgear, what are they planning right now, and tell me everything about their plans. Tell me now or do we have to inflict more pain on you, because we can and will do it?" Noire says with aggression and determination, intimidating the sadist no end.

"Nepgear… will be in the airfield….. Nearest to this hotel tonight, I think…. Ah I think Neptune may be with her…. but I can't be sure ooh." Plutia says struggling to speak, even though I've eased the pressure off.

"What about their plans?" I ask her calmly in a disapproving tone since she's only providing some information at best.

"I swear… I swear I don't know, they haven't told me anything since we had to split up." The sadist breathes heavily in absolute fear and dread.

I don't believe that bit and so I finish off cutting her ugly hair, and put pressure on her neck again causing her to really struggle with breathing and her face shows absolute pain and agony.

"Really, you're one of the Planeptune CPEwwws, a highly valued friend of Neptune's, and she hasn't told you anything about her plans, just that she may be in an airfield? Do you not think it important to find out where she'll be or how to contact her at least? You know as well as I do that her goal is to conquer and terrorise this land, what we want to know is how she is going to do it?" I ask her with more aggression in my voice frightening her with it, reminding me that it's such a contrast to the silly series with regards who fears who.

"Please I haven't had chance to speak to her, she may not have a plan yet… Perhaps Nepgear knows…uh." She pleads even more, begging for this to stop, even though it won't until she gives the correct answer.

I find that hard to believe that she wouldn't have a plan in case her session in parliament fails, considering whom she's dealing with here, especially with all the troops and escorts, not to mention that this is a nightmare of theirs. What about the likelihood of her still being able to rely on certain components to still pull that plan off? I guess though what difference does it make, stopping her is the main thing, and at least we have a location, just need to get out of here and gather any equipment and troops we can to capture Nepgear and Neptune if they're there.

Suddenly I see Plutia attempt to stab me with a knife concealed in her back but I notice and shoot her hand forcing her to drop the knife before shooting her legs again, causing her to scream loudly in even more pain, and she's even sobbing at the situation.

"Oh Neptune will have a plan after all we've seen here, but whatever that plan is, it will be stopped just as it's always been, and she'll fall here just like you will." I say with determination and confidence as well as smugness, in that I've seen through her plan and now I'm going to enjoy what I'm about to do.

Because of her pathetic attempt at killing me, I throw her off the roof where she lands on the bonnet of the same car that Peashy is lying on, enjoying her screams as she fall and lands in agonising pain, while shooting her legs as she falls and even when she lands. I then shoot her in the boobies as well for good measure

…

"That was fun, I can see why a certain character in a certain game in a certain series enjoys doing that." Noire says in a casual smug way with a hint of flirtation towards me, before giving me a high five in appreciation which is wonderful, especially after all we've been through.

"Yeah definitely, it's a pity she couldn't answer as well as she could, but that's Plutia having to have Sadies done to her to remind her how horrible it is." I say casually as I shoot a grenade from a grenade launcher I have attached to an AK74U that I still have, causing them to scream in fear of suffering from more pain only for there to be an explosion from that car in which they're both dead, just like the car.

Note: Readers please listen to Who Am I soundtrack 3 Unreleased while reading this:

Now only Histoire remains here looking upset and depressed but why I can't be sure. She is one who I think about with regards a certain aspect every time I've seen her, and have wanted to speak to her one on one to find out for certain. Interesting how it's now in a nightmare that I will get to speak to her. This concerns her loyalty, as despite her clearly being part of the Planeptune group and being the supposed oracle, the supposed handler of Neptune, is she a reluctant or an enthusiastic participant? I say handler as I've not seen anything to suggest it, but is that intentional or not, has it always been this way?

It would be interesting that if there was a turning point when did it happen, and if so would it be possible to see the event unfold as a memory, or even how much of an affect did Histoire have on the Planeptune CPUs, with regards the events that have shaped all of our lives, not that it would excuse their behaviour by any means?

I have less memory of her compared to the others, and from that I can only remember her being with them. Weird since I know in the series I can remember the oracle's lecturing and attempt at control, but it wasn't often that it happened, and there's also the issue that why Neptune remains the way she is, where is the proof of Neptune working hard in her duties as CPU? It was never there. Here is even worse as I never get the impression that Histoire is actually against what the CPUs are doing, perhaps she cannot show any signs of disapproval.

Why has she never defected from where we came from, is it because she's unable to or was she unwilling? Does she feel responsible for this? Is she bothered about it? Come to think of it would she be able to defect here since this is a nightmare of Neptune's and perhaps Histoire is with them in our waking world and cannot escape? Which makes me think that if she can't defect here despite wanting to, then she has to keep up this pretence until we free her, meaning we won't get to know of her true opinion of this right now, but then again with all the times we've defeated the Planeptune CPEwwws, she's never defected, or is that due to a relatively recent change of heart, or even she believes that they can be reformed and it's taken too long for her to realise that they're irredeemable.

Regardless, at least we may be able to find out something here, and we need to finish off here if we're to escape with the helicopter and prepare for our capture of the Planeptune sisters.

"Now Histoire, I have questions to ask of you. Along with what do you know about their plans and whether Neptune will be at that airfield tonight, I would also like to know will you die here for your CPEwwws, or have you always been a reluctant participant, no longer able to control them and feel absolute shame that these are the ones you raised, and yet you cannot disassociate with them, with what they've done no matter how much horror they do?" I ask calmly but with a similar tone to Plutia in an attempt to make it clear that we are not be messed with.

I can sense that what I said bothers the oracle judging by her facial expressions and body language. I also sense that she's unsure of what to say, and is struggling to think of an answer, or possibly an answer that will satisfy us, no doubt due to pressure from Neptune or some other reason. She certainly appears fearful but of whom I can't be sure. Suddenly though she speaks.

"I can try and find out whether Neptune will be with Nepgear, and where they'll be going after meeting at the airfield. I'll need to access the radio in the cockpit in the helicopter to do so. I'll also need to think long and hard about the latter question as well, since it's something I've been thinking as well for a long time." The oracle says as calmly as she can, hoping that this will be the right answer.

Because this could answer my question about loyalty and the information is more important right now, especially since there's no way to free Histoire and know for sure without potential interference from the purple haired moron, I allow her to do so, but the three of us position ourselves such that the oracle knows that one wrong move or phrase will kill her. Perhaps if we sort this out and the oracle will not betray us, then we could probe her for more info concerning her thoughts with regards her relationship with Neptune and her sisters.

We position ourselves with Uni in the cockpit with Histoire, I in the helicopter itself and Noire outside next to where the oracle will sit with our weapons pointed at her such that she'll die instantly if she says the wrong thing, as we cannot afford to reveal we're on to them.

"Nepgear this is Histoire come in Nepgear." Histoire says calmly and casually to try not to arouse suspicion.

"Hi Histoire this is Nepgear speaking, how is it going with your evasion of Black?" The Planeptune CPU Candidate replies calmly with a hint of concern in her voice, due to what's happening as far as she's aware.

"I'm in the helicopter and I'm waiting for Plutia, we're in rough shape. Have the reinforcements from the hotels surrounding the airfield arrived yet?" The oracle replies in the same tone trying to keep cool despite the situation.

"Not yet, they're still sorting out deployment, but they should be there before night-time." The CPU Candidate replies in the same tone.

"Will Neptune be meeting with you or has she cancelled it, and wishes to rearrange it at somewhere else?" Histoire asks as calm as she can considering the circumstances.

"She should be there, I think we'll be flying off to some mysterious location, and to discuss our new plans in more detail considering what happened in parliament today." The candidate says in the same tone, confirming my theories with regards Neptune having a backup plan.

Hmmm maybe Histoire wishes to defect after all considering that we know that Neptune should be there, and that they're supposed to get reinforcements from the surrounding hotels, if we can capture them then it will be a huge advantage. The thing is she could be getting Nepgear to give information which would become false, in an attempt to confuse us as she could be just pretending to be pretending to be on their side, when in reality she is actually on their side and is waiting for the right moment to betray us. We'll just have to wait and see, but keep our guard up at all times.

"I hope you can make it there, and rethink your plans as I won't be able to make it. I have been compr…" The oracle speaks with dread knowing what is about to happen.

We kill her as we don't wish for her to tell the Planeptune Candidate that she's compromised and therefore that she will know that we know of their plan, and will have to adapt it accordingly. The thing is with the sudden death of Histoire by a gunshot to the head, will she take it to mean that we've surrounded her just, or that we were with her the whole time? Regardless we'll just have to rely on the information we have and assume the worst, and hope that if Neptune won't be at the airfield then Nepgear will be at least, and if not then we can find some information that will inform us of their whereabouts.

Somehow, while I can't be certain considering the circumstances whether Histoire genuinely is enthusiastic with Neptune's plans and all that, even though I predicted this event here would happen, I believe it's best to assume she's still an enemy of ours. I come to that conclusion considering her lack of defection or stopping Team Planeptune when possible, especially as it would have been at one point, and I get the sense that her dread was in no longer being able to help in the nightmare, even though I question what her role would have been in here had she not have just been killed here?

At least we can leave now though, and have information to help lead us to the rest of the rotten group. As for the hotel we've fought in for most of the chapter, due to wanting to help out our freed allies, but not having the numbers or the time, we have promised them some reinforcements ASAP to liberate the hotel, which we will get by tuning the radio on the helicopter to frequencies that our allies use and ensure it cannot be hacked, and get the necessary troops and equipment, needed to carry out the next phase of our plan: this being the liberation of hotels and the capturing of the airfield so we can get our hands on the Planeptune sisters, and this will begin as soon as Nepgear is no longer on the radio.

Hopefully with our friendly guards not reporting any signs of enemy soldiers approaching the roof, and them not seeing us take the helicopter, we can fly away to safety before abandoning it and if there's any spare time obtaining some R and R, rest and relaxation which we could do with considering what we've been through, and what we will go through as even if the information will still be correct, we cannot be sure what exactly we'll be up against, and we'll need to capture Nepgear and find out Neptune's location and any plans she has, if we are to leave this nightmare and be able to live to fight another day.

While it's one down, two to go, I feel it won't be over soon just yet, not if I know them, and how they'll fight so hard to fulfil their terrible plans, and so we must fight even harder to put a stop to them. At least right now, while we have to keep an eye out for enemies that could shoot us down, I'm confident it's unlikely and while we can't drop our guard, we can at least relax a bit as we don't have to move our bodies quickly now, and can sit down and watch the views, and discuss tactics that we would like to do, only to notice that while there are no signs of enemies, the sun appears to be ready to set at any minute.