Chapter 104 - Phantom's Legacy
"Does the name Bryan Williams ring a bell?"
(Upon hearing that name, Gero froze and remembered all the memories connected to Bryan Williams also known as Phantom. He remembered his foster father's death and their fight to the death two years ago in Korea. Gero was stunned for a second and tried his best to calm down)
"Hmm, sorry but that's the first time I've heard that name.."
"Is that so? I thought for sure you'd be familiar with it."
"Why would you think that?"
"Well I mean, it's the name of the man that you killed two years ago in Korea, am I right?"
(Gero abruptly stood up from the bar and stepped back a few steps. His breathing got heavier and his heart started beating faster. Gero grabbed his katana and was ready to draw it. Charlotte just remained seated and looked at Gero with a serious expression)
"H-How did you know about that?! Who are you?!"
"I believe I had already told you my full name last time? I guess I'll introduce myself properly now, my name is Charlotte Artura Georgina, the disciple of Bryan Williams, the man you killed!"
(Once more Gero was shocked upon hearing she was Phantom's disciple. He remembered the last words of Phantom on that bridge the night he killed him. With his dying breath, Phantom asked Gero to not kill his disciple)
"Y-You are, his disciple? H-How could the princess of Britain be that man's disciple?!"
"Is that so hard to believe?"
(Gero then drew his katana from its scabbard and readied himself. But after a few seconds his vision got all blurry and his head started to spin. His body got all wobbly and slowly lost his balance)
"W-What is happening? What d-did you do to m-me?!"
"I was really surprised it took so long for the drug to work."
"Y-You spiked my drink? Shit, it was a good drink too."
"Oh I didn't, he did."
(Charlotte pointed at the bartender and it was actually Agent Joules from MI6. The other people at the bar that was left in the bar were actually members of MI6 as well and started to stand up and point their weapons at Gero as he fell down on his knees. The drug that he ingested also had a paralyzing effect which made him unable to lift his arm. Charlotte stood up from her chair and walked up towards Gero. It was only for a moment but when Gero looked at Charlotte he saw an image of Phantom smiling down on him while standing right next to the princess. Gero was done smacked on the back of his head by one of the agents and knocked him out cold)
"Put him in the truck and let's move." Charlotte ordered
"Yes, your majesty!"
"Grab his phone and call a taxi. Pay the taxi driver to bring the phone to the opposite direction we're going. If his people find out he's missing then that should be enough to put some distance between us in case they decide to track his location via his phone." Agent Joules ordered
"What about his weapon?"
"Bring it along, I still need it for something I have planned later." Charlotte said
(They then carried the unconscious body of Gero into the truck and drove off out of the Semisphere. Back at the JNST war room, the team was having a meeting about their recent practice match with Germany and didn't know what had happened to Gero until Erika received a call from Nana)
"Hello Nana! What's up?"
"Erika-sama, where are you right now?" Nana asked
"In our war room with the team, why?"
"Oh I see, I was just wondering if the young master's phone was stolen by someone. I tried calling him but there was no answer. The signal from his phone just left the Semisphere just now."
"What?! Are you sure?!"
"Yes, is there something wrong? Is the young master there?"
"Hold a second. I'm going to have to call you back."
(Erika then ran out of their war room as fast as she could and headed for the bar that Gero went to. The team noticed her rushing out of the room and got worried. She arrived at the bar which was empty as expected so she called Nana again)
"Nana, is the signal still on the move?"
"Yes, from the speed the signal is moving it appears to be in a vehicle."
"Ok, keep tracking the signal and check the drone footage above Semisphere again and take note of all vehicles that left from the location the signal of the phone came from in the last half hour." Erika ordered
"What's happening Erika-sama?" Nana asked
"Gero was taken."
"What?! How?! By who?!"
"I don't know but we're going to find out. Get Team 1 ready for a fight."
"Roger!"
(Erika then ran again and this time she was headed for the war room of the British Team but this time she was very pissed. She was pissed off not because Gero was taken but because she let it happen under her nose and blamed herself. She dialed the number of General Nehanda who was the commanding officer of the African Special Forces)
"Hello General Nehanda? We have a grave situation, I need all the troops and equipment you can spare."
"Of course ma'am, I'll get the men ready asap." the general answered
"Thank you, I'll contact you again soon."
(Erika then grabbed an earpiece communicator from her pocket and put it in her left ear. She then clicked on the button and it started a call to the other RYOBU members in the team that also had the earpiece communicator. Assam and the others placed the earpiece communicator in their ears and answered Erika's call)
"Assemble on me at the British Team's war room. Gero was taken, possibly by Pandora, we have to move quickly."
"Roger!"
[Semisphere - British Team War Room]
(Erika and the rest of the RYOBU Team then arrived at the war room of the British Team. Erika kicked down the door and surprised everyone inside.)
"Is Barrett here?!" Erika shouted
"Ms. Erika!? What's the matter?" Barrett was surprised
(Erika then walked towards the Tank Meister and grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall)
"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" Victoria shouted
"Please tell me you're not part of this!" Erika interrogated
"P-Part of what?! I haven't got the faintest idea of what you're talking about!"
(Some of the British Tankers rushed to help their coach but Takashi, Ono and Kal got in their way. They tried to start a brawl but the three defended themselves with ease and knocked the tankers on their asses)
"Tell me why your princess abducted Gero! Right now!" Erika shouted
"What?! S-Sir Gero and the princess?!"
(Erika then knew right away that Barrett didn't know anything based on his reaction and his voice. She then turned her attention to Victoria who was the second possible culprit she deduced since she was always with the princess)
"So it's you?"
"You better get the hell out of here before I-"
(Victoria was suddenly grabbed by the neck by Erika and lifted her up. She started to choke and tried to break away from Erika but she was too strong)
"I'm going to ask again, if you don't answer me honestly, I swear to God, I will kill everybody in your team."
(She knew that Erika wasn't bluffing and she felt the intense bloodlust coming from her. She asked the entire team of the British Tankery Team to leave the room before she spoke. Erika let her go and she quickly told them everything that happened. She told them about MI6, Bryan Williams, the Queen and the princess' plan)
"Oh my fucking God, out of 8 billion people in the world that could've been the disciple of Phantom, it had to be the princess of Britain.." Erika said with an irritated and surprised voice
"Phantom?" Victoria asked
"I hate to break it to you but the teacher of the princess isn't the great person she'd hoped to be." Takashi said
"The man named, Bryan Williams, was a murderer and was part of a global terrorist organization." Assam said
"What?! But the agents of MI6 said-"
"And you believed them?! Why didn't you tell me about this?!" Barrett shouted
"Charlotte made me swear to not speak of this to anyone. They said it was an order from the Queen so I thought for sure it was real."
"Yeah, well they lied and you fell for it. Now the life of a man whose life is much more important than any of our lives here is in grave danger! You fucking idiots!" Kal shouted
"Grave danger? They were only going to arrest him!"
"No, they'll definitely kill him. We're losing time talking here, Erika-san. Give us orders." Assam said
"Suit up and gear up. Prepare the HMV and regroup in 10 minutes." Erika ordered
"Roger!"
"What do you want me to do, Ms. Erika?" Barrett asked
"Watch over our team and inform Captain Chouno of the situation. Lockdown the entire Semisphere. Nobody else gets in or out. Do not trust anybody else, even the other Tank Meisters until the situation has settled down. Contact anyone you know in the British government and ask if they really sent MI6 agents here."
"Will do. I'm so sorry for my incompetence and endangering the life of Sir Gero! If something happens to him I'll gladly pay with my life!" Barrett bowed
"There's no need for that. Gero won't die easily, you know how lucky he can be. And it's not your fault. It's mine. See you soon."
"Good hunting!"
(Erika and her team are now suiting and gearing up. They took their weapons and prepared themselves for the fight. Loaded their ammo and equipment into their HMV or High Mobility Vehicle and started the engine. Erika then contacted Hana and General Nehanda again to give them orders)
"Erika-sama? I've gathered Team 1 as ordered!" Nana said
"Good, what did you see at the surveillance drone above the Semisphere?"
"Three vehicles were spotted leaving the bar that the young master was last seen in. Two of the vehicles, one jeep and one truck, headed through the desert at the opposite direction of the third vehicle, a taxi, which had the young master's phone signal headed for the airport."
"Understood, put Lt. Sanada on the line."
"Lt. Sanada here, Erika-sama! What's the plan?"
"Use the Little Birds and take Team 1 to follow Target 1 which is Gero's phone signal as fast as possible. It'll probably be a decoy but we'll track it just to be sure. I'll be taking Team 2 and track Target 2 which are the other two vehicles through the desert. Once you confirm what Target 1 is, head to our position right away."
"Roger that!"
"General Nehanda, please tell me you have good news!"
"I was able to gather two teams, they were the previous special forces teams you trained last year."
"What about equipment?"
"All I could get in short notice were two Badger IFVs since the other vehicles both air and land have already been dispatched to other sectors because of the tournament, forgive me."
"No, that's amazing to be able to get that much with little time, we owe you big time."
"Have you forgotten ma'am? We were the ones that owed you! This is nothing compared to what you have done for our country!" Nehanda smiled
"Thank you General, tell the teams to mount up and head to the coordinates my team will send. Have them standby at a safe distance and wait for my signal." Erika ordered
"As you command!"
(Erika then headed to the war room of their team and called on Kaede, Mika, Kay and Darjeeling to inform them of the situation. After hearing what Erika had to say, they got very worried and scared for Gero. They were more surprised when Erika suddenly apologized to them)
"I'm so sorry that this happened! This all happened because of my carelessness!" Erika bows
"Please lift your head up Erika-san, you couldn't have possibly known that this would happen!" Kaede said
"I sensed something wrong about Charlotte when she told us about the meeting. I ignored it out of respect for her but clearly I should've stuck to my gut and gone along with Gero to the bar."
"Will you and your team go looking for him?" Mika asked
"Yes, we are about to leave now."
"Is there anything we could do to help?" Darjeeling asked
"There must be something, anything! I don't want to be useless to him!" Kay said
"I know you all must want to help him the most, but this situation is different, we don't know who we are up against, it might be Pandora or it might be a different kind of threat. There is no proper plan this time and I can't guarantee your safety if you come along. So I must ask you all to stay here to look after and protect the team."
"Will he be alright? He's going to be fine, right?"
"He's our Bakatora, remember? He'll be smiling like he always does and laugh it all off!" Erika smiled
"You're the only one we can trust with this Erika, please save him!" Darjeeling begged
"We will bring him back no matter what, I swear upon my life that I will bring him back!"
(After reassuring the ladies, Erika then headed to her team and geared up. They boarded their HMV but before Erika drove she had to confirm something to her team)
"I know you guys have trained for three years for this, and I also know that this is not your first real mission. But this time the stakes and risks are higher. There are a lot of unknowns and time is against us. So I need a no-bullshit answer from all of you now. CAN YOU KILL?" Erika asked with a serious tone
(Her team looked directly at her eyes and answered confidently)
"WE CAN!"
"Alright then, let's go and get my Bakatora back!"
[Abandoned Desert City - Sahara Desert]
(Charlotte and the MI6 arrived at an abandoned desert city where they had to resupply and refuel. There were a total of 15 agents plus Gero and Charlotte. They dismounted their vehicles and did what they had to do. Gero had a bag over his head and both his hands and feet were tied. They were just passing time when they got surprised when Gero suddenly started talking)
"Can I get some water? My lips have been dry the whole trip."
"How the bloody hell are you awake already? That drug should've knocked you out for hours!" Agent Bowe said
"I have a high tolerance for those kinds of drugs you see. My body has been trained for situations like these since I was a kid where I would be drugged and kidnapped."
"Some childhood you had.."
"Oh you have no idea.."
(Charlotte then grabbed a bottle of water from the supplies and gave Gero a sip since his hands were tied.)
"I'm guessing we're in an abandoned desert city. You guys hid some supplies here and are now resupplying before continuing on."
"Lucky guess.."
"I gotta ask cause I'm very curious, are you guys from the British government? The fact that the princess is here means you have some connections to them right?"
"That's enough chit chat from you!" Agent Joules shouted
"Might as well knock me out again or cut off my tongue cause there's no way I'm shutting up."
"Fine then, you wouldn't need your tongue anymore anyways.."
(Agent Joules pried open Gero's mouth and Agent Bowe took out his knife and was about to cut off Gero's tongue but Charlotte stepped in and stopped them)
"That's enough! Untie him!" Charlotte ordered
"I beg your pardon, your majesty?"
"I said untie him but keep your weapons aimed at him. If he tries to run then shoot him in the leg."
(Gero's binds were cut as ordered and was confused until Charlotte threw his katana by his feet. This made the agents get cautious and aimed their G36C rifles swiftly at Gero)
"Pick it up.."
"First you untie me then give me a weapon. You're really bad at this kidnapping thing princess."
"Shut up and pick it up."
(Gero then picked up his katana and attached it to his belt. Charlotte then unsheathed her sabre and threw her glove at Gero again)
"Really? A duel?"
"Agent Bowe, you don't mind if this terrorist loses a limb or two as long as we can arrest him right?" Charlotte asked
"Yes that's perfectly fine, your majesty!"
"You heard him, in this duel, if you win you get to keep your limbs. However, if you were to lose, I will cut off all your limbs and carry you back to England in a bloody suitcase."
"Wow, that's grim even for you, are you really the princess Charlotte that I met a couple of days ago? What makes you think I won't use this sword and kill everyone here except for you. Then ride back to the Semisphere to contact your mother and tell her what a naughty little princess you've been. Then continue on with our practice matches as if nothing happened?"
"That's because if you do then it's all over for the careers of your comrades. They'll find out that you are a terrorist and your friends and loved ones will all be considered accomplices and dragged into a chaotic life of trying to prove themselves innocent."
"I can't believe you're really buying into this terrorist bullshit. I'll bet you a million euros that every single one of these self-proclaimed MI6 muppets aren't really agents."
"Shut your damn mouth! Don't listen to his lies, your majesty!" an agent said
"Don't worry, I know that this was an order from the Queen so I believe you. Make it two million and I'll take that bet!"
"From the Queen huh? Alright, I'll play along."
(Gero then picked up Charlotte's glove that was thrown at him as a sign of accepting the challenge to a duel. Gero then unsheathed his katana from its scabbard and got ready for the fight)
"First one to beg for one's life will be the loser."
"I won't beg though but fine by me."
"Nobody will dare to interfere with this fight! That's an order!" Charlotte shouted
"Yes, your majesty!" the agents responded
(Gero and Charlotte then stopped moving and started to observe one another trying to figure out each other's weaknesses. With just their eye contact with each other the both lunged forward and started their duel. Meanwhile, RYOBU's Team 1 had caught up to their target which was a taxi that had Gero's phone signal. The MH-6M Little Bird was being piloted by Lt. Sanada and he landed the chopper just in front of the taxi forcing it to stop while the AH-6M Little Bird was on a holding pattern to provide air cover and was being piloted by Sgt. Sakurai. The rest of the team then dismounted and approached the taxi with their weapons. The taxi driver then cooperated by putting his hands up and was terrified.)
"Sitrep?" Lt. Sanada asked
"We got Gero-sama's phone! The taxi driver said that some people paid him to bring the phone to the airport and slip it into one of the bags of the passengers." Cpl. Kaito reported
"Erika-sama was right, this was just a decoy and they wanted us to chase this signal all the way to another country!" PFC Shun said
"What do we do with the driver? They might come after him once they find out he wasn't able to do his job. He's also a witness since he saw the faces of the people that took Gero-sama!" PFC Nana said
"We'll take him with us for now and drop him off at the nearest police stations to be safe. Turn off Gero-sama's phone and let's go! Nana, inform Erika-sama that we'll be taking a detour before heading towards their position." Lt. Sanada ordered
"Roger!"
[Somewhere in the Sahara Desert]
(Erika and her team were going through the desert in the cold of night when they received a call from Nana)
"Nana? What's your situation?" Erika asked
"We got the young master's phone and the taxi driver is innocent. We're taking him to a police station for safety before heading to the rendezvous point!"
"Copy that, keep me updated."
"Erika-san! I'm now connected to the live feed from the UAV drone in the vicinity. Target 2 has stopped at an abandoned city. They're currently at the center of the city and..eh?!" Assam reacted
"What's wrong?!"
"It appears Gero-kun and the princess are fighting!"
"Fighting? Did he manage to get away from the kidnappers?"
"No..the others are watching them..I think they're having a duel right now."
"A duel? What the hell is going on!?" Kal reacted
"Who's winning?" Alisa asked
"Right now, the princess is winning.."
"Damn it! Going to speed up a lot more! Hold on!" Erika shouted
(Erika then stepped on the gas and their HMV accelerated even more. Just as Assam had said, Gero is currently being beaten by Charlotte in swordsmanship. His body was covered in wounds from Charlotte's sabre.)
"I hope this isn't all you can do White Tiger of Japan." Charlotte taunted
"May I remind you that you drugged me a while ago so I'm not exactly in my best condition."
"Making excuses, are we now?"
"Nope, I'm simply stating that the fact that I still have my arms and legs even with a big handicap is saying something, princess."
(Charlotte then lunged forward and started swinging her sabre wounding Gero even more. Gero has been on the defensive the whole time because all of his attacks have been perfectly dodged by Charlotte then ended up being counter-attacked)
"Can't you let me hit you at least once!"
"Your sword will never reach me!"
(Both of them continued their sword fight but Gero was getting used to Charlotte's speed. The princess made a right diagonal swing aiming for Gero's left arm but was blocked by Gero's katana. He then pushed her sabre upwards causing her to lose balance so Gero aimed for her left arm as well. But Charlotte once again predicted this move and ducked low to dodge his swing. Charlotte then closed the distance after dodging and aimed for Gero's right leg this time but Gero was waiting for this. Gero then used his left hand and grabbed the scabbard of his katana and swung hard and fast to parry Charlotte's swing. The princess did not see this coming and was caught off guard. Gero then rotated his body and did a fast spin kick and landed a direct hit on Charlotte's right abdomen. The kick sent her across the sand and gasping for air in pain)
"Finally, a solid hit, my sword may not reach you but my foot definitely did."
"H-How dare you!" Charlotte shouted
"Phantom really trained you well. He was able to tone your body so that you can maximize that innate talent of yours."
"Phantom?"
"Oh you didn't know? Phantom was the nickname of your teacher, Bryan Williams, during and after his service."
"Don't you ever say that name in front of me! You don't get to say his name!" Charlotte shouted
"I guess he didn't train you enough if you get riled up this easily.."
(Charlotte then charged Gero with immense killing intent and she forgot about arresting him. She was now consumed by rage and thought nothing else except for killing him. Usually this would make her movements predictable but it was the opposite. Her moves became sharper and faster which Gero did not expect. Gero was on the defensive again and every attempt he made to counter attack did not bear fruit.)
"Shit, this is bad! Should I use Sacred Possession? No, I might lose control again and accidentally kill her. I've got to think of something else to get out of this in one piece.." Gero said in his thoughts
"What the hell are you thinking about so deeply you bastard!?"
(Charlotte then landed a powerful left hook on Gero's face which stunned him for a bit. She then swung her sabre and cut Gero from his lower right abdomen up to his left shoulder. The cut wasn't too deep but it was still bleeding a lot and made him fall on his knees. Charlotte then heard the agents cheering for her and telling her to cut off a leg and an arm. Meanwhile at the outskirts of the deserted village, Erika and her team had finally arrived at the village undetected wearing night-vision goggles. One of the agents was standing guard and after a few seconds he was grabbed from behind and stabbed in the neck by Erika with her knife)
"Wasn't he an MI6 agent? Wouldn't that spell trouble for us if we killed them?" Klara asked
"Barrett contacted me a while ago and confirmed that the British government never sent any agents here. Everyone here is hostile except for Gero and the South African Special Forces."
"What about the princess?"
"Let me handle her so just focus on the others."
"Roger!"
(On the other side of the village, the South African Special Forces has arrived led by Lt. Amari. The two Badger IFVs were standing by near the village and waiting for Erika's signal.)
"Lt. Erika, we just entered the village on the south side and neutralized one hostile." Lt. Amari radioed
"Understood, engage all hostiles except for the princess of Britain. Rendezvous at the city center. Out."
"Copy that! Move out! Quietly!" Lt. Amari ordered
(Back at the center of the city, Charlotte was now approaching Gero with the intent to kill him)
"I think that's enough, your majesty, anymore and he might bleed to death." Agent Joules said
"Don't worry, I won't let that happen. Because I'll behead him before he bleeds out."
(Charlotte now stood in front of Gero readying her sabre. This moment was almost the same as the time the White Tiger was about to behead Phantom on that bridge in Korea. Only this time it is Phantom's disciple that was about to behead the White Tiger.)
"Any last words?" Charlotte asked
"That's funny, I remember asking the same thing to Phantom before I killed him.."
"You asked me if I was really the person you met a couple of days ago, the answer is yes, I am. My name is Charlotte Artura Georgina, I am the Princess of Britain, daughter of the Queen, the next in line to the throne, and I am the disciple of Bryan Williams, I am his Legacy!"
"His legacy huh? Do you want to know what he said to me with his dying breath?"
"What?"
(Gero then saw behind the princess that Agent Bowe was aiming his G36C rifle towards Charlotte)
"He asked me not to kill you.."
(Charlotte was surprised by this then Gero suddenly stood up and grabbed Charlotte by her shoulders and pushed her to the side. Agent Bowe fired his rifle and hit Gero on his right shoulder. The bullet went through and Gero fell on the sand in pain. Erika and the others heard the shot and got very worried so they hurried up their pace)
"Stand down! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Charlotte shouted
"I'm sorry but I can't have you kill him. He's our trade goods after all.." Agent Bowe smiled
"What? So you were aiming for me?"
"Was it that obvious?"
"How dare you point and fire your weapons at me! I'm the princess of-"
"Yeah, we really don't care who you are and what happens to you. All we care about is that asshole shot over there." Agent Joules pointed at Gero
"In case you still haven't realized, we're really not agents from MI6. We were just acting all this time but we got pretty tired of it so decided to stop." Bowe revealed
"W-What? S-So you lied and tricked me?!"
"It's not our fault you were this stupid. We were really surprised this worked! We just had to say that it was an order coming from your mother, the Queen, and you believed it right away!"
"You bastard!"
(Charlotte charged at Bowe attempting to stab him with her sabre but she was suddenly shot by a taser gun from behind by another person. It sent electric shocks throughout her body for five seconds before she tumbled to the ground)
"Don't worry princess, we're not going to kill you just yet. For playing a big part in this mission of ours, I'll let you witness what's going to happen next."
(Multiple vehicles suddenly arrived from the other side of the city center. The lead vehicle stopped right in front of Bowe and the person that came out of the jeep was an African male carrying an AK-47 and a machete. Charlotte did not know who that person was but Gero did. The African male that arrived was, Abu Usaamah, the new leader of the terrorist group called Boko Haram)
Coming Up Next : Chapter 105 - Bloodstained Desert
Author's Note :
Hi everyone! Here's the chapter and sorry about the delay! Gero was captured and was forced into a duel by Charlotte! But the evil truth has revealed itself at the end and real terrorists have now arrived! Boko Haram is a real world terrorist organization by the way for those that are wondering! Will Erika and the others reach Gero in time? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
In this chapter you all witnessed how Erika has grown throughout the years of experience. She is not Gero's second-in-command for nothing with her leadership skills and decision making in the field! You'll see her and the other in action next chapter so see you there! Stay safe everyone!