NIKKE Xenoverse

Mission 10: Snow Blind Part 6

The Next Day…

"So, this is where we need to go?" Ryu asked as he points to the map and a circle was marked where he was pointing.

"Correct. That's the last place where the Pilgrim was spotted. It's also where a large group of Raptures have been seen last… It's likely she is clearing them out herself," Ludmilla told him as she glanced at him. Ryu looked the map over carefully and raised an eyebrow as he sees a weird red X on the map in the northern most region of the map. Ludmilla also glanced at the map and then up at Ryu.

"I advise going there. There's a weird looking pitch black hole that is perpetually open there… It almost looks like a black hole," Ludmilla said as she points to the X.

"Black hole? Do you have a picture of this black hole?" Melina asked as she came up besides Ludmilla.

"I have it! Here, take a look!" Alice said excitedly as she took out a pink phone out of her coat pocket and went through her photo gallery and pulled up the picture. It looked similar to the crack in the sky that Suskian fell from, almost in shape and size. But, this crack was larger than the one he fell from.

"Wait! That's the same type of crack that Suskian fell out of!" Anis said in shock, "Same shape!"

"That's what I fell out of? Jeez, that looks dangerous…" Suskian said as he looked at the picture Alice had.

"No doubt about it. This confirms the Demon Realm faction indeed came from Suskian's realm," Rapi said as she stood beside him, "No that we didn't believe him… But, seeing that… It helps a lot. Alice, Ludmilla, can I get a copy of that to show to my superior?"

"Alice, honey. If you would be so kind to send that to Rapi," Ludmilla said.

"Yes, my Queen!" Alice smiled and sent Rapi a screenshot of the portal to Rapi's phone.

"Did you see anything come out of it?" Suskian asked Ludmilla as he turned to her. Ludmilla hummed and looked away, as if she was trying to remember.

"I… Don't know. Unfortunately, it was nighttime… So, if anything came out of it… We wouldn't have seen anything. But, I do remember feeling… Nauseous at something coming out of the portal and feeling like something was glaring at me," Ludmilla said seriously as she looked up.

"…My Queen, something did come out of the portal. It was riding a black horse," Alice told her as she turned to Ludmilla, "I was gonna take another photo, but it was too dark to see. Then, you pulled me away and we ran out of there. It was scary because I thought I heard footsteps coming after us."

"Footsteps? What did they sound like?" Suskian asked her.

"Soft gallops? I don't know?" Alice said in confusion as question marks appeared above her head. Suskian and Melina glanced at each other and went silent.

"Gallops… Like horse gallops?" Melina asked as Suskian pulls out his phone and searched up the sounds of horse gallops, "Something like this?" Suskian played the sound and Alice gasped while nodding her head.

"Yes, that's it!" Alice said as she points to the phone.

"…It's likely you heard a horse chasing you 2. That honestly narrows it down to you 2 encountering a Night's Calvary…" Melina said.

"Or you had Yuki chasing you 2 on Torrent," Suskian said calmly as he leaned on the table. The room went quiet at this.

"Did you happen to take a look at who chased you?" Melina asked the Unlimited squad.

"No. I didn't bother to look. My priority was getting Alice to safety away from whoever was giving me a bad feeling," Ludmilla said calmly.

"I did… The figure was definitely riding something. It was also wearing what looked like black armor and held a black stick with a pointy edge," Alice said as she nods her head. Melina quickly picks up a pen and began drawing what looked like a knight in black armor on top of a black horse. She shows Alice the picture and Alice paled, nodding her head while staring at the picture.

"That's definitely it."

"…Night's Calvary," Melina and Suskian said at the same time.

"That's a field captain in the Lands Between," Melina said seriously, "A human enemy. No wonder you ran. You never sensed malice like that before, have you? They continue to follow the previous Elden Lord's commands, no matter what."

"Night's Calvary operate primarily at night, and are extremely powerful. Their captain, Sigur, fought Yuki when she was still a Tarnished and she killed him, from what she told me of her adventures in the Lands Between," Suskian said as he stared at the others, "If this goes anywhere, that means it's one of 2 things: Yuki lied about killing Sigur… Which I highly doubt… Or-"

"Dakimu brought him and his army back to life somehow," Melina said seriously.

"This… Just got even more annoying," Launch said as she rubbed her face in annoyance.

"No kidding," Suskian said as he stood up, "Let's hope Snow White hasn't encountered any of these guys… Or worse… They haven't been grafted with Rapture tech."

"Let's not bring that energy into the world, please," Theresa said seriously as she shook her head.

"We need a vacation after this," Anis grumbled as she shook her head. There were murmurs of agreement all around.

"…Suskian, I have a suggestion," Rapi said as she pulls Suskian to the side.

"What do you have?" Suskian asked.

"…Our NIMPH would have us refuse to combat humans, right? Well, what if… We found a way around that?" Rapi asked, "I know Selene found a way to implant Mihara's memories back into her brain after it was erased briefly… Could she somehow… Shut off the part of the NIMPH that allows us to not harm humans?" Suskian stared at Rapi for a few seconds, unsure how to answer that. He then brought out his visor and turned tit on.

"Selene… Are you there?" Suskian asked.

"I heard everything. It's… Possible. But, I don't think I can just spam it. I don't have the faintest clue how the NIMPH works. I just winged it with Mihara and got lucky there were no side effects. The NIMPH is very intricate in design… I would need to test it on you, Rapi… If you are willing to do that," Selene said as she appeared as a hologram in the visor and Rapi's eyes turned blue.

"…I'll do it. I want to be able to protect the Commander… And Suskian if any threat comes their way," Rapi said calmly and Selene sighed.

"For now, we will need to put an asterisk on this conversation until we get back to the Outpost. If we tried it now, who knows what can happen?" Selene said seriously.

"That's a fair point. I don't want to hurt Rapi in any way that can be preventable," Suskian agreed.

"Understood. Thanks for listening, Selene," Rapi said as she nods her head.

"Anything for a friend," Selene smiled and went offline. Suskian took off his visor and puts it away.

"Okay, so for now… If a Night's Calvary show up, we run. We can't handle it… I can, but if there are more than one, we bail," Suskian said seriously as he walked over to the group with Rapi at his side.

"We should head out. The Pilgrim is on her way to the meet up spot at any moment," Ludmilla said seriously as she picks up the map.

[-]

An Hour Later; North Of The Research Lab

"How we doing, Loona?" Bradley called up to Loona, who was sniffing the air with her wolf snout.

"I don't smell anything peculiar or any Rapture scents nearby," Loona called.

"Nor do I sense anything, Sweetie," Yuni called to Suskian as she looked around.

"It's OK, Yuni. Keep it up, okay? According to the map, we should be almost to the meet up spot," Suskian said as he looked over Alice's shoulder as she had the map in her hands opened up.

"This doesn't make any sense. I expected us to run into SOMETHING out here," Anis called as she stared out at the snowy fields around them. Loona and Yuni both stopped at that moment, which alerted the group and they also stopped a few feet behind them.

"Yuni, Loona? What is it?" Bradley asked them.

"I'm picking up something… It smells like a Nikke," Loona said seriously as she glanced back at the others.

"A Nikke? Out here? That's odd… Unless it's…" Neon said as she glanced at Ryu.

"How far ahead of us?" Bradley asked seriously.

"A couple dozen yards ahead of us, northeast," Loona said seriously, "I'll go ahead and scout it out." Loona morphed into a black and silver wolf and got on all fours.

"…That's something you don't see every day," Mihara said in surprise. Loona glanced back at the group and nods her head before rushing off.

"Yuni, follow her!" Suskian called to Yuni and she nods her head before running after Loona.

"…Will they be okay?" Mihara asked as she glanced at Suskian.

"…Yes," Bradley answered for Suskian, "Loona is one of the best trackers in the Ark. If anything needs to be found, Loona is on the case."

"Yuni isn't no slouch in tracking, either. They'll find whatever is out there," Suskian said as he nods his head, "Let's move in the same di-" Suskian then stopped as he heard something in the distance. It sounded like Yuni's scream. He immediately flew ahead as the sounds of explosions were heard.

"Yuni?!" Mihara called as she ran after Suskian. The group followed behind them in a rush.

They arrived a few minutes later to see a chaotic sight… Yuni was protecting Loona as Loona was nursing a broken leg and there was a crater nearby them with smoke billowing into the air. Dozens of Raptures were firing on them and Yuni was firing off rockets from her rocket launcher at the Raptures.

"Contact!" Rapi called. Suskian immediately went in ato protect Yuni as more gunfire rained down on Yuni, putting up a red Ki shield to protect Yuni and Loona.

"They're taking on too much heat! Cut it down!" IF yelled as she took charge.

"What happened?" Suskian asked Yuni.

"It was a trap! They had a dead Nikke laying down on the ground with an explosive strapped to it! We walked into a trap!" Yuni told him in a panic.

"Hey, hey! It's okay… I'm not letting anything happen to you, Yuni… Promise. You either, Loona…" Suskian told them as he held Yuni close to him. Yuni looked at him and then past him, her face morphing to one of horror.

"SUSKIAN, BEHIND YOU!" Melina and IF yelled at the same time. Suskian glanced back to see Chatterbox standing over them with arms raised.

"You gotta be KIDDING!" Suskian yelled as he held up the shield with more force… But, he just noticed something horrifying. There was a pitch black aura surrounding Chatterbox and the power he exuded was higher than their last encounter. He slammed his fists down on the shield and broke it apart instantly, forcing Suskian and Yuni back down onto the ground. Suskian instantly wad knocked out on impact with the ground.

"NO! SUSKIAN!" Rapi yelled in horror as she rushed in.

"Rapi, STOP!" Ryu yelled in shock as he was about to rush in. Chatterbox laughs as he picks up Suskian and Yuni and ran off. Rapi charged after him in a rage and panic, leaving the others to handle the Raptures.

[-]

20 Minutes Later…

Suskian awakens to see Rapi over him, administering first aid to Yuni by bandaging Yuni's torso and glancing over behind her to see Chatterbox glaring down at them. Suskian groaned and rubbed his head while shaking his head.

"Ugh… Well, that went well… Where are we?" Suskian asked. Yuni hugs Suskian tightly and flinched in pain at her fractured torso.

"Glad you're awake," Rapi told him softly and glanced back at Chatterbox, "He captured you because he had some things to talk about with you personally… I'm not gonna let him hurt you, promise…"

"I know, Rapi. How are you feeling, Yuni?" Suskian asked.

"Chest hurts… But, I'm okay," Yuni said as she sat next to him. Suskian glared at Chatterbox, who looked impatient but was sitting still.

"Well? What do you want?" Suskian asked Chatterbox, "I see you're enchanted with Demon Realm Magic… Did Dakimu give you that?"

"I ask the questions, primate," Chatterbox ordered as he looked over the group. Rapi instantly raised her gun and pointed it right at Chatterbox's face, a deadly glare in her eyes.

"Call him that again, and I shoot your eye out," Rapi threatened.

"I can take your senses away, you know…" Yuni told him seriously as she glared at Chatterbox. Suskian held up a hand to them, telling them to stand down.

"It's okay. I'm good… What do you want, you blight of nature?" Suskian asked as he glanced at them and then stared at Chatterbox.

"This Time Patrol. What is it? What interests them about this time stream?" Chatterbox asked, unfazed by the threats. Suskian raised an eyebrow at this and blinked a few times before answering.

"Nothing. I am only here on accident because of my battle with Demigra," Suskian said and Chatterbox smirked at that, "Know what? How about this? I answer a question, you answer a question. That sounds fair? We both get what we want." Chatterbox laughed at that and both Rapi and Yuni were about to react.

"You are an interesting human… And, you're the first human to match me in combat. Fine, you do deserve that much," Chatterbox said as he cracked his neck.

"How long has the Demon Realm faction been in this world?" Suskian asked him and Chatterbox hummed before answering.

"About 2 years. Dakimu is the most recent member of the faction, coming here when you showed up… Alongside the spirit of Lord Demigra," Chatterbox said and Suskian's blood boiled as he got a dark look on his face. Both Yuni and Rapi looked shell-shocked at the news.

"2… Years?" Yuni said in shock, "How?! We never knew…"

"It's likely you didn't. They hid pretty well, apparently. Explains how the Night's Calvary showed up out of that portal when Alice and Ludmilla went exploring," Suskian told them as he glanced at them.

"Then, what is your goal, boy? Do you intend to stop us?" Chatterbox asked as he leaned in close to Suskian. Suskian stared up at Chatterbox with a defiant look.

"Of course. The Demon Realm is not supposed to be in this world in the first place. I intend to send them packing back to their world, even if it's by myself," Suskian said seriously, "And, I intend to get Yuki back, because she is still my comrade, mentor, and friend. I'll fix things with her… But, I need her back first." Chatterbox laughed as he stood up and cracked his back.

"Good luck! They won't let someone powerful like her go so easily!" Chatterbox laughs as he points to Suskian. Suskian stared at Chatterbox, wondering what to ask next.

"I have something to ask, then," Rapi said seriously as she walked up beside Suskian with Yuni following behind her, "What is your end goal? What do you intend to do with everything if you wipe out all of humanity?"

"That's a secret, rust bucket. I don't have to answer that. My Queen is the only one who knows that one," Chatterbox told her.

"…What else do you want to know?" Suskian asked seriously.

"You intentionally held back in our last battle. I can tell… And, I want to know why," Chatterbox said to Suskian as he stared at the hybrid Saiyan.

"I'm stronger than I look. I hold back because I don't wanna destroy more than I can protect," Suskian told him seriously. Chatterbox laughed at this and stopped after a minute.

"Is that all? I find that disgustingly noble for your kind, from what the others say about the Saiyan race. Lady Nihilister would LOVE to meet you," Chatterbox told Suskian as he glared down at him. Rapi, Yuni, and Suskian stared in confusion at him as he stood back and cracked his neck again.

"Hmm… But, she is usually not bothered with stuff like this… Oh well. I was tasked to bring you to her to meet her, so what does it matter anyway…?"

"She?" Suskian said in confusion.

"Don't worry about it. I have no more questions. It's time to move," Chatterbox told them, his form imposing over them. He grabs at them but was knocked back by a large white beam that sailed over their heads. Suskian widened his eyes as Chatterbox yelled in pain and sailed backwards from the recoil of the shot. He glanced behind them and smirked.

"Sorry I'm late. Got held up by bad company," a voice called to them as Snow White rushed up to them with her anti ship rifle in her hands, "Everyone okay?"

"For the most part," Suskian said as he nods to Snow White, "Thanks again for the assist."

"Hell, don't mention it. Did you come out here to find me?" she asked them and he nods his head, "We'll talk when I'm done blasting this creature into bits."

"We can help," Rapi said seriously. Snow White glanced at Yuni, who has a serious loom on her pained face.

"You sure? She looks…" Snow White said and Yuni shook her head.

"I'm fine. I'm not letting Sweetie get hurt," Yuni said as she held her rocket launcher in her hands.

"Then, you stick to me. Snow White, Rapi… You're the front lines," Suskian said as he glanced at them.

"Roger/On it," Snow White and Rapi said at the same time.

"It's been a while since I took orders from a Commander… Feels nostalgic," Snow White mused as she smirked at Suskian, "Alright! Encounter." Rapi and Snow White charged in as Yuni and Suskian hung back while Chatterbox, who was recovering from the attack, roared and charged at them.

"I WILL TEAR YOU APART, PILGRIM!" Chatterbox roared in rage as he lunged at Snow White and Rapi.

End Mission 11

TO BE CONTINUED…