Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Court in Session

"Good day, Oracle Histoire. I know that you, the CPU Candidate and your new… Secret Service will be watching this so I shall cut to the chase."

"I want the CPU Candidate, those 2 kids who freed her, and those men who've been assaulting our facilities to go to this location shown on the screen."

"Why, you ask? Well…"

The camera recording CFW Magic started panning clockwise, showing the bluish rocky walls of a cave with a campfire illuminating the scenery. When the cameras stopped, the sight caused numerous audiences (mostly the girls) to gasp.

Even in dim light, the familiar black-cable-tentacle-thingies were clearly visible in the footage. They were wrapped around a person, but their identity was entirely covered with cloth, like someone just threw a blanket onto their head and then wrapped them all up with tentacles. The only skin shown was from the hole made for breathing, but that alone isn't much of a clue…

"You can't see who, but I don't think I need to tell you what she is."

"You have until midnight to go there and defeat everyone inside. Win, and the CPU is yours. Should you fail however, we'll execute her. Even if she can't die, there are fates worse than death. Good luck."

After this ominous threat the footage stopped and a replay button appeared in its place.

The reactions varied, some present were pale. The Demoman for example was one of the more spooked mercenaries. "That's very bad, aye, lads?" There were also a few who stayed silent, wordlessly soaking the information, like Heavy Weapons Guy, Sniper and Histoire.

And then there's Scout…

"I didn' know Cyclops's sister was a prostitute." The Bostonian jokingly commented, noting the eyepatch on Magic. "Oi!" An offended Demoman called out. Histoire and IF stared at him in disbelief, and Spy simply rolled his eyes.

"Forget it, Scout. There is no amount of money in the world enough to get you laid."

"Spy I swear you'll wake up with a Boston Basher up yer ass someday!" Scout angrily growled, pointing at the Frenchie who feigned surprise on his face, barely suppressing the shit-eating grin from plastering all over his French smelly face.

"Oh Scout, I didn't know you wanted to see me in that way." He replied mockingly, getting the young merc to grit his teeth in anger.

On a side note, the Boston Basher is a bloodstained wooden club covered with spikes and reinforced with metal bands. I leave the image of that being inserted anywhere to your own imagination.

Their bickering amused Falcom, who was trying to keep a straight face while staying on topic. "This can't be anything but a trap, right?"

"And ya think it's anythin' else, Sheila?" Sniper retorted with passive face, completely ignoring Scout throwing death threats around. He knows the spook and how Scout usually reacts to his taunts, it's an everyday thing to him. "Hard to make it any less obvious, short of outright sayin' it."

"I guess so…"

"N-Neptune…" That name quietly left Nepgear's lips. She's hoping that it's her sister under that cloth. This is her chance after all, a chance to save her sister! To try and atone for her uselessness that day when CFW Magic effortlessly defeated all the other CPUs and she simply watched from behind…

IF noticed her friend being quiet while staring at the touchwall. "You feeling alright there, Gear?" The Guild agent asked, tapping the lilac-haired girl on the shoulder and making her perk up a little.

"H-Huh? Oh… Y-Yeah. I was just thinking…"

"About Nep, Right?" The CPU Candidate nodded at brunette's assumption.

"Yeah. I still can hardly believe it was me and not my sister who was rescued."

"Please tell me you're NOT going to just whine about that again…" IF deadpanned, her annoyance level rising due to her friend… Like she can't just finally accept the reality and move on!

A faint, knowing smirk appeared on Nepgear's face though. Oh if she only knew… However Nepgear's chance to answer was interrupted by Engineer's shout who had enough of his team's stupid argument.

"Enough fellas! Now's not the time for y'all getting at each other throats!"

Scout turned his head towards the Texan who tried to stop their argument, burning holes into his skull with his glare. The youngest merc kept his glare for few moments before sighing, announcing defeat. "Fine…"

Suddenly Soldier stood up, knocking down the chair he was sitting on. Everyone turned towards him as he began his usual shouting tirade. "Okay ladies and gentleman! We're imposing martial law!" The American proudly marched across the room until he was right in front of the group. Turning to face them, he started his speech by pointing at Falcom. "Falcom, you're on reserves! Remember to lock the doors right after we leave!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Fairy! You go tell Medic to haul his Nazi-German ass and that Nurse back here this instant!"

"I already did that."

"That's an order! Trap or not, we're going there and we're taking as many of these commie bastards with us as we can! Then we'll be back for dinner at about seventeen-oh-hundred, I'm cooking."

"No! Soldier!" White as a sheet, Scout couldn't help but yelp in fright as he remembered the disturbing realization back at the warehouses.

"What was that, son?" The self-proclaimed 'leader' of the mercenaries fully turned towards the Scout and started treading towards him before he could do much more than widen his eyes. "You got a problem with my cooking, is that right!?" The 100% triggered Soldier wrapped his hands around poor Scout's neck, choking him. The merc struggled to break free but his senior's vice-grip was just too strong to break. "You young'uns today don't know what's true American cooking! Were you not assigned to my team all of you would stuff yourself with that fast food trash and become a disgrace to the perfect American figure! I! WILL! NOT! TOLERATE! THAT!" He yelled, saliva spouting from his mouth and landing onto Scout's face. The other American couldn't notice it because Soldier was shaking him so hard that his neck might snap at any second. "That's it! Starting today you'll have a double serving of my healthy meals! Then you're to burn the calories with 3 times your usual training routine!"

As the crazed patriot shouted more and more mindless orders, IF and Histoire were deciding between stopping him and helping Scout or not doing anything out of fear of being on the receiving end of Soldier's wrath.

The fairy finally understood how Neptune must have felt every time she got lectured by her… Or the general idea at least, she certainly wasn't THIS violent.

Fortunately for him, the group had guests.

"Did we miss something?"

Everyone turned towards the doorway where 2 purple robe-clad Basilicom workers stood with a very confused Compa and a Medic who was wondering where did he go so wrong to get such a retarded team… Fortunately, it didn't take long to get them up to speed, Histoire had already explained most of the details on the way back. So with a now calmer group and Scout's demise averted the group could move onto the planning phase.

Right as they started, Falcom repeated her question. "Mind telling me why I can't come with you? I can take care of myself, you know." She felt slightly offended by the mercs no including her for no reason. She could be useful in this battle.

"Sorreh lassie, but it's better if ya stayed outta this one." Demoman apologized.

"Indeed." The Spy added, "We don't know what to expect and you're not connected to the Respawn system, if anything happens to you then that's it." He explained, and the redhead had little to argue with. "Speaking of which, what might we expect from this… invitation?"

"It could be anything, from an army of ASIC warriors to even a CFW. I would suggest preparing for a long and hard fight." Histoire advised.

"Heavy no fear tiny ASIC babies. Or CFW." The Russian retorted.

"But how we will free the CPU? Those tentacles holding Nep-Nep are still going to be a problem." Compa inquired, raising a good point. Even if the situation in Planeptune is much better than before the mercs arrived, they still don't have enough Shares to create another Sharicite. Histoire realized this predicament already, but decided securing Neptune in the first place, or whoever that CPU is, was the bigger priority…

"Actually, why should we believe that a CPU is really held there at all?" The Spy's reasoning voice brought everyone back to reality. "Army or not, why would they give us any chance to recapture someone so valuable? They could've moved their hostage as soon as the video was done. It may not even be a CPU, it could be anyone locked in the same way."

"Spy's got a great point there. The ASIC could even use our own strategy against us, and strike when we're busy." IF agreed, placing her hand on her hip and asked with a raised eyebrow. "So what should we do? Should more of us stay here and man the fort?"

"Negatory! They invited us, so let's give 'em a surprise!" Soldier disagreed, rubbing his chin and chuckling as an idea came to him.

"But, why falling for such an obvious trap?" The brunette argued, again not getting what the thick-headed merc was planning.

"Why? 'Cus that's the easiest way to get as many of those maggots as we can!

"Haa?" Nope. IF still won't get it, an entirely reasonable response. Why take such a huge risk just to get couple more kills? It comes as no surprise that the girls have since stopped caring about the merc's bloody methods at this point, as long it's effective and no civilians will get caught in the crossfire.

"Maybe I'll explain." Engineer took the spotlight with the confused girls as his audience. The Texan cleared his throat. "What Sol means is to use their trap against them. We know where they'll be, and they think they have the advantage so they'll be less careful. All we need is a plan to turn that in our favor."

"In other worlds you want to use the ASIC's ambush… to create your own ambush. Do I have it right?" Histoire asked, her index finger reflexively rubbing her cheek in attempt to grasp what they're planning.

"Dehphenih ihf dath wohhiht." Pyro answered with a shrug, though as usual its response made no sense to any non-mercenaries.

"Close, but no cigar. We do that only when it's worth it, otherwise we focus on our objectives." Sniper stated professionally, his face bearing no expression.

Suddenly the Demolition Man raised his hand with sheepish expression. "Oi lads. Mind if me cut in for a sec?" The group silenced and looked at him expectedly. "So can I?" The scot repeated, not knowing that the group's silence meant that they gave him their consent.

"Yes. Go ahead…" Spy groaned, not expecting anything constructive from the drunkard…

"What's on your mind, Demoman?" Histoire agreed with a much friendlier voice.

"So I been thinkin'. Shouldn' we have some sort of plan B in case things go kaboom?"

Few people (that were capable of thinking) considered this before that point. A plan B would be certainly a good idea, the mercenaries remembered their last fight with the CFW and it didn't end pretty.

"Plan B…" Nepgear repeated, her mind pondering what they'd do if their counter-trap backfired and they were simply overwhelmed. Some sort of escape plan? She didn't like the thought, anything that implied running away and abandoning Neptune- No. There's no Neptune in that building. Spy's right, stop deluding yourself! But… what if…?

"Aye! Like the 'Suicide Command' so Nepgear won't get captured when we're eatin' lead."

"'Suicide Command'-ah!" Spy facepalmed, completely forgetting about this. "Well that's embarrassing."

IF and Nepgear gulped at the same time, they heard the mercs mention that a couple of times but none of them questioned it, and the mercenaries genuinely forgot that these girls don't know how to execute that.

Hah! Execute, suicide. Get it?

"Suicide… command?" Falcom slowly repeated. That did not sound fun.

"Yah! It's really simple, just think 'kill' three times then-" The bone-snapping sound was clear to everyone. The mercenary himself froze mid-sentence, his hand still hanging in the air. Spy, being such a jerk and asshole (aren't those two the same thing?), pushed his cadaver with his index finger, making it comically fall off the chair and onto the ground.

"The Black Scottish Cyclops… now extinct!" He added mockingly.

"That wasn't funny, Spy." Histoire just sighed. She's not liking the fact she's getting used to people spontaneously dying around her…

Even at night, Planeptune was bright, the light coming from various advertisement holograms or neon lights. Kinda like in Kong King. There wasn't a cloud in sight, allowing everyone to see the moon's beauty, though Planeptune's light pollution prevented the other stars from being seen. It was surprising for the Mercs that despite the night, crowds on the sidewalks were still large and it was hard to move. Or it would be hard to navigate, had they not parted the crowds like Moses crossing the red sea.

Nepgear awkwardly walked down the streets; even after all this time she still wasn't even getting used to the attention she's receiving. Afterall, before Neptune was captured, Nepgear was just as much a shut-in as her older sibling. While the CPU Candidate tried to wave once in a while to the watching crowd, IF and Compa were much less awkward, the former ignoring the passersby altogether and the latter greeting them much more naturally.

Like IF, most of the mercenaries ignored the public, focusing only on intimidating them away from the CPU Candidate. No one wants to mess with a guy who carrier a rocket launcher or minigun after all. The exceptions were Spy and Scout, the former disguised as Falcom and did wave once in a while to keep up his act, and the latter tried to take the attention of a few girls until he was (rather embarrassingly) dragged away by Soldier. The mercs did wear a few hats and other trinkets like beards or glasses to protect their identity, but that didn't mean the public didn't recognize their unique figures, expect Spy due to his disguise.

Once outside the city, the coordinates led the group deep into the Virtua Forest. There were cases where the group briefly got lost and they had to use the N-Gear's GPS to find the right way. Monsters weren't much of a problem, like on their first day in Gamindustri the mercenaries were swift in taking down potential threats, Demolition Man even took this as an opportunity to collect heads for his Eyelander. The longest battle took less than 3 seconds and that was against a lone Fenrir (a wolf bigger than Heavy with claws as long as IF's Katars).

The monster had fled immediately, but not without losing a few limbs to Svetlana's (Heavy's Tomislav) fire.

It had recently rained there so the path was mildly muddy, but that was a mere annoyance, even to Spy since he took a pair of one of his less favored shoes.

By the time they arrived, it was nearly past the deadline. The rendezvous point was a small clearing in the forest, illuminated only by the moonlight, with a beaten path going straight through it and ending at an entrance to the cave, presumably where the ASIC is holding their captive. There was also a small pond in the centre, the stagnant water dirty from the mud and a few small rocks sprouting here and there.

"This doesn't scream 'Boss fight' at all." IF sarcastically commented. With her hand on her hip the brunette faced her lilac-haired friend. "You better transform now, Gear. We dunno what we'll face here."

Before she could do such a thing, a gloved hand was placed on her shoulder. Nepgear faced the fake Falcom with confused gaze. "Before you transform and reveal us all, lemme scout a bit."

Nepgear had no chance to reply as Spy ran ahead, with an activated Dead Ringer in his left hand.

Seeing their Spy taking Scout's role as the first one to die, Engineer let the dispenser build and clapped down his hands. "Alright boys! Last minute preparations! Pyro, mind givin' me your head for a sec?" After those words were spoken, the mercs performed their last minute check-ups. Looking if their guns were fully loaded and how they're standing in reserve ammo. The firebug, being the cancerous little bitch as it is, took the Degreaser and Reserve Shooter combo, with the Powerjack as its melee.

So that's why…

"There you go! Much obliged." The Texan thanked with amusement, he had put his own rubber glove on top of Pyro's head like a hat, giving him the 'Respectless Rubber Glove'. Nepgear freaked out when she saw the state his hand was in. "E-Engineer!? W-What's with your hand!?"

The Texan shrugged and took out his Widowmaker (a futuristic, tan shotgun styled after the Widowmaker TX from Deus Ex) "I went through some… upgrades." He responded with an evil smirk, and satisfied with the state of his weapon the merc looked around for a good spot for the teleporter. He found it inside a densely placed bushed close to the road.

Nepgear had never seen his mechanical hand revealed before, so she was staring at him in equal parts horror and fascination. Compa being Compa was oblivious to everything and IF wasn't even surprised anymore.

In her peripheral vision, IF spotted Scout taking out a can of Bonk! from his bag and putting it into his pocket for easier access. The gears in her head recalled a certain moment.

'Weird, she isn't moving or reacting at all! What's happened to her- Wait. This isn't affecting her, it's me! Just what the heck did Scout give me!?'

"Hey, Scout." The brunette addressed without a second thought, the Bostonian in question glancing over.

"Yo, what's up?"

Passing the point of no return, the Guild agent voiced her request. "Can you pass me one of those Bonks?" Scout did as requested and wordlessly threw her one can before going back to his own equipment check.

Nepgear however, couldn't help but to ask. She and Compa were oblivious to its attributes after all. "Huh? Are you thirsty, IF?"

IF simply pocketed the radioactive juice in her inner pocket. "Nah, just thought it might be useful."

With the team ready, all that was needed was Spy's return, which he did a few minutes later. "Either they're very patient, or it's actually safe." He reported with a frown. "Although the cave is barricaded so we won't get in without a few explosives." Frenchie looked at his Scottish teammate, who reloaded his Quickiebomb Launcher (A black, sleek stickybomb launcher with a wooden foregrip and stock, and a belt wrapped around the drum-shaped magazine. A piston-like wooden and metal charging handle sits above the base of the stock, directly attached to the back of the barrel.)

"Okay men, listen up!" The group turned towards their Soldier for the last 'speech' before going in. "George Washington never lost! Jesus never lost! Patton never lost! If winning's good enough for those war heroes, it's damn well good enough for us! You are about to become someone's new worst nightmare, do you hear me?! Let's crush 'em!"

With Purple Sister in the air and a protective circle around Medic and Compa. The group slowly but surely traversed the open area, keeping an eye out for everything. The only person not present was Sniper who stayed behind and from the top of the tree kept watch over his teammates with the Machina (A futuristic rail gun with a fluted barrel and a soft grip, again styled after the Longsword 202 ERASER from Deus Ex).

As expected, the clearing wasn't that clear at all.

However, not even the mercenaries could predict the direction of the attack.

The first spilled blood belonged to Medic, cut perfectly clean in half. The group jumped away and scattered in fright, guns' barrels being pointed everywhere as the mud where Medic once stood started to turn red…

At the same time, Nepgear caught sight of a painfully bright pink blur going through the forest and towards the Sniper. Before she could react, CFW Magic had already cut down the tree Sniper climbed on in one strike. The Australian managed to land fairly unharmed as the ASIC Leader took to the sky, undetected by everyone but the Purple Sister and the Australian who kept looking for his fallen weapon. "Well if it isn't Nepgear? I must say, this new look doesn't suit you."

Purple Sister easily blocked the diagonal cut made at her, but CFW Magic successfully took a follow-up jab into her stomach, forcing the air out of her lungs and then grounded the CPU Candidate by batting her away with the scythe's side, making her crash in the midst of the group.

"You're late." CFW Magic descended enough for her voice to reach everyone's ears. "It was boring waiting for you. Fortunately the person with me was willing to wait a few more minutes."

"'The person with you?'?" IF repeated, helping Nepgear off the ground.

Her response was CFW Judge decloaking right in front of her.

"So you really did survive that too, huh!? Good, GOOD! Now I can have my revenge!" He placed the blood-stained silver axe onto his shoulder.

Having worked with Mann Co. technology for several years, the mercs could recognize their technology just by a simple glace.

This…

…Isn't their technology. But it's damn similar.

"I see you're fine as well. Changed your look too." Spy remarked. Referencing to the new silver color of Judge's armor.

"Well then, I guess I can leave you boys alone now. Play nice, and remember the deal." With that, CFW Magic flew off into the horizon, leaving the Judge to play with his new little toys.

"Mwhahahaha! Yes, and I need someone to test my new upgrades, thanks for coming by."

While everyone else was pondering how to take down the metal menace again, Nepgear felt… strange, staring up at the titan. Now that she isn't so confused like in the Gamindustri Graveyard and she can finally see the CFW Judge in person…

She almost wanted to drop her weapon right there and beg the robot to let her dismantle him…

Fortunately the rational side of her head reminded her about the imprisoned Neptune potentially present, but there's still something wrong…

Why's there a choir singing from the CFW? What purpose does that serve? And why is it slowly driving her crazy!? It's something about that silver metal coating his chassis, the alluring sheen, it's calling out to her. She must have it. She can't let anyone else have it!

It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! It's hers! AND ONLY HERS! NO ONE WILL TAKE THE PRECIOUS FROM HER! NO ONE!

G-Goodness what was that…? This sudden feeling of greed…

Trying to keep whatever that was away by constantly reminding herself about saving Neptune, the CPU Candidate questioned. "W-Where are you holding Neptune?" She tried to keep her voice level and authoritative even though her mind screamed to lash out at Judge now and claim the precious for herself.

The ASIC looked at her and laughed. "Ahahahaha! You want the CPU, right? Well she's here, but you have go through me first! Let's see how long you'll last without your precious Medic."

The weird sound coming from below him made him reconsider those words. "Huh?" The robot looked down to check what the cause was…

…And a freshly-revived Medic jumped into his vision, shooting through his right eye with the Crusader's Crossbow and ran with Compa towards the safety of their group while Judge recoiled in pain. "Did that sting? Saw-ry!" The merc taunted, fleeing behind Heavy.

Nepgear took that as a cue to charge in and stab her gunblade onto Judge's chest piece (since all it did was put a small dent on the surface) and shoot a high powered laser into him point-blank. However it didn't do much more than knock him back a few centimeters away.

When IF neared her childhood friend, she raised her hand to high-five the Nurse for a successful and great play. "Nice one Compa! Good thing he didn't see you standing behind him." Filled with glee, Compa healed Pyro with the Quick-Fix. The mumbling abomination charged in forward with his fires spewing.

"Oh, now you've REALLY done it!" Judge growled, taking out the invading syringe and throwing it away. The glass protecting the lens was destroyed but the lens themselves were fine.

He ignored Engineer who's circled him and hid a red toolbox inside some high grass, the ASIC leader blocking another blow from Nepgear with his axe being held with just his right hand (to his surprise the CPU Candidate nearly forced herself right through the block), the left one punching Pyromaniac away while its fires did nothing to Judge's armor.

A hail of bullets and rockets attacked his lower section from the side, irritating Judge enough to point the barrel on his left arm at the small group of Soldier, Heavy and Medic. "One in the pipe!" Heavy could only widen his eyes before he and Soldier were blown to smithereens by the high-speed rocket. Fortunately Medic was unharmed and was in the process of reviving his Russian meatshield.

And that's unacceptable. Knocking away the CPU Candidate and ignoring Engineer's peashooter (The Combat Mini-Sentry) and the fully-charged Machina's bullets to the head, dangerously close to his eyes, the mighty Judge charged towards the German with intention of finishing him off, his strong armor soaking everything up.

But Spy had other plans. Figuring out that the Judge needed to be stopped before their Medic gets chopped off, Frenchie threw his Electro-Sapper at the hulking giant, the device soaring through the air with the speed of a pissed-off Powerpuff Girl. The Sapper glued itself to one of Judge's thrusters and managed to do its job of slowing him down, but much less that it used to. It was easy for the robotic titan to crush and destroy the device, but nonetheless it was enough for the German to revive his Russian meatshield and start retreating, forced to leave their American companion dead and in the middle of Re:Spawn. "I see. So that's how you're doing it." The ASIC leader commented after seeing the Reanimation in process.

Seeing that their target has rockets now, the group put a little bit more distance, except those close range oriented or more agile classes, like Pyro and Scout. "Scared, huh? C'mon, don't run now!"

"Okay!"

Despite her training, the siren song of the silver metal caused Nepgear to attack recklessly again and again, even though every strike were all easily blocked by the current owner of the precious. "That's all? Even when you do look stronger you're just as pathetic as before!" The machine mocked, causing a vein to appear on Nepgear's forehead.

Meanwhile at the Basilicom, the spectating Falcom and Histoire frowned in confusion. They knew Nepgear was normally a lot more cautious than this and wondered what was causing this kind of suicidally reckless behavior…

With Judge distracted, Demoman, Spy, Engineer, IF and Compa ran towards the barricaded entrance of the cave. There'll be no point of fighting further if they manage to rescue the CPU beforehand. IF looked behind her to check if Judge was still occupied with the others, and thankfully he was.

Scout used Nepgear's distraction and fully charged Soda Popper's 'hype' (A broken Force-A-Nature repaired with several black bands and outfitted with slit barrels. A can of Crit-a-Cola is fitted underneath.) to jump multiple times and land onto the titan's shoulder, Demoman's flashbang in his hand. "Hey! Watch yo eyes, guys!"

The onslaught momentarily ceased (with an exception of that annoying Mini-Sentry…) when the blinding light filled the entire battlefield.

However after the light has faded and it was safe to uncover their eyes, Nepgear was knocked onto the ground by a headless Scout landing on top of her, and Judge looming right over her. Scout's Reanimator emitted an Electro Shield around it. Suggesting that Judge tried to destroy it…

"You really think I'll fall for this old trick for the third time!? HA! Pathetic!"

The ASIC Leader stabbed his axe's spike into Nepgear's gut, penetrating Scout's body in the process as well. The attack didn't pierce her processor unit, but the sheer force cracked it and pushed the air out of her lungs, taking a chunk of her health as well.

When Judge raised his axe for another strike, time slowed down and the world became darker…

IF discarded the can of Bonk!, leaving it hovering in the air. The Guild agent grimaced from the sickly sweet taste, but this and the bile rising in her stomach didn't impede her run towards the CPU Candidate. She carried the lilac-haired girl bridal-style away from her near-killer and, after being satisfied with the distance, she placed her onto the ground, placing her weapon next to her.

IF was about to regroup with Spy when she thought up a certain idea.

She ran back to CFW Judge and was about to get under him and attack the Anti-Gravity Engine, but she failed to realize that the world was getting brighter and time was resuming its own pace.

That proved to be a fatal mistake.

Sniper grimaced. No matter where he aims his bullets have no effect. Head? Nope. The eyes? Same thing, they just bounce off. And anywhere else on the body is armor so thick and hard it would make a Giant Robo-Heavy jealous. (That's what she said.)

Time to go like a true Australian would go…

But first, he needs to prepare…

At the same time, Medic couldn't be happier when the ubercharge meter finally hit 100%. He had dropped the previous charge due to CFW Judge's ambush, but fortunately managed to save a small part of it thanks to the Vita Saw, the kick start even if small had saved a lifetime to get the Über fully charged.

Just then the teleporter activated and Soldier with the Beggar's Bazooka and Concheror rejoined the battle, giving Medic a stern glare while getting overhealed by the German. "Thanks, doc." Sarcasm dripped from his mouth.

"Oh, stop crying and charge. I got zhe Über!" Doctor rolled his eyes and slightly raised his Medi-Gun.

An evil grin grew on the American's face at the news.

At the same time as all that was going on…

"Faster, you Scottish drunken wretch! Judge will soon notice us!" Spy hurried up, looking over his shoulder to check if the robot is coming. Luckily Nepgear was keeping him busy while Scout snuck behind him and used the Soda Popper's Hype to get onto his shoulder.

"Gah! Curse that bloody small clip!" Demoman cursed, pulling the charging handle and shooting another sticky bomb onto the wooden barricade.

"Flashbang." "Cover your eyes!" Spy and IF warned, the former much calmer than the latter. "Ugh… We should have taken Pyro, it could get us through that thing quicker than you could." The Frenchie commented after the light died down. His constant disappointment was something that Demoman was really starting to get fed up with…

Suddenly Engineer's PDA started beeping, the Texan pulling it out to see what's wrong and clicked his tongue. "Darn it, sentry's running outta lead. Be right back, boys."

Engie turned around but Spy pulled him by his shoulder. "Wait. Place a teleporter here first."

Engineer looked at him in surprise. "Ya know I'll have to destroy the one I already placed?"

"Yes." Spy shrugged. "But we can't really carry the CPU through the field with Judge around, can we?"

The Texan saw his point, nodding as he looked around for a good spot, but then he noticed that someone has disappeared. "Huh? Where's IF?"

Surprised Spy and Compa turned around and noticed that the Guild agent disappeared, only an empty can of Bonk! left where she once stood…

Back in the present, instead of finishing off that pathetic Candidate once and for all, Judge's axe hit the blue instead. It turns out it belonged to IF's coat. The Guild agent yelped from the sudden tug and fell down, hitting her head on the axe's handle.

"Huh!? Where's the Candidate!? What happened!?" Judge roared, searching around for his previous target and finding it a few meters away from him, back in her human form and clenching her chest in pain.

Satisfied by the outcome, the CFW was about to pull out his axe, before realizing who he managed to hit instead.

IF panicked, realizing too late that the Bonk had worn off. The Guild agent tried to free her coat but all it did was make the hole bigger. She was about to (with a pained heart) discard it when Judge's mighty hand gripped her tight. "Well, well, well. Thanks for dropping by!" IF struggled against his grip but the resistance was futile as the mechanical giant started clenching his arm to crush his hostage.

"Incoming!" "Attack!"

Heavy and Soldier charged with Pyro and Medic behind them. The Russian jumped forward and spun up the Tomislav mid-air, spraying a hail of lead towards the titan. Like his comrade, Soldier loaded up 3 rockets into his launcher's chamber and released them all at once. The explosive barrage hit the robot's shoulder, chest and one of his thrusters.

Judge's response was pointing his left arm (the one holding IF) and firing another rocket at the group. This time the mercs were ready. Not even a second after Judge pointed his barrel, Pyro released a stream of compressed air from his flamethrower while Medic simultaneously deployed the Electro-Shield. Thanks to the strong blast of air, the rocket turned 180 degrees and exploded against the Judge instead!

The firebug thumbed up with a sarcastic "Fink fhu." while the German cursed under his breath, realizing that he just wasted the shield. Eh, at least he could burn a few of Judge's circuits…

The explosion of his own rocket, with help from the Tomislav's fire, was strong enough to knock the CFW onto his back and release IF from his hold. For a moment the Guild agent rolled onto the ground before skidding to a halt where in a dazed stance she slowly raised herself onto her feet and stumbled off to check on Gear.

As the brunette started to get closer, she felt pangs of panic grow upon seeing Nepgear's state. The Candidate's hand grasped her bleeding chest in pain, tears leaking through her closed eyes. Engineer came into her view and without hesitation picked her up bridal-style, just like IF did under the effects of Bonk! And the Texan shouted at her as he run. "Pick up the pace, IF. We're gettin' her to Compa!"

The brunette's stumbling turned into the jog, the daze from the explosion fading. She checked behind her to see how Heavy and the others were faring.

Back in the cave, Spy nearly crushed his cigarette in anger, his right eye started twitching as well.

Everyone present were baffled by the fact that the wooden barricade managed to survive the explosion. Even if it did damage the barricade it was not enough, they need to be fast or Judge will find out and get them.

Demoman cursed the Quickiebomb Launcher's laughably small clip, taking a big swig of rum labeled the 'Scottish Handshake' and began planting new sets of bombs under the effects of his ancestors' liquor.

At the same time, in the depths of Virtua Forest, Sniper traveled alone through the wilderness. The sounds of warfare told him that the battle was still going on but that doesn't mean he can take his time. He needs to do it quickly, but if he does what he wants TOO quickly it could spell disaster too…

Years of living in the wild has taught him well, but what he's going to do today is the riskiest thing he has ever done…

Well. It's not like he can do anything else, might as well try something new.

Back in the battle, Judge slowly hoisted himself upright, using his axe as a support. He definitely felt that… The Mercs' onslaught was relentless as ever but it didn't do much, even Medic's attempt to force his shield into Judge's body were fruitless. But that one reflect with his own rocket hurt like hell. "Okay. Now I'm pissed!"

Not wanting to be fed with his own medicine again, CFW Judge decided to end them rightly in the old-fashioned way. He raised his axe with the pommel facing down.

Medic realized where this was going and quickly activated the ÜberCharge, connecting the beam to each of his present teammates briefly as they scattered. Though they weren't fast enough and the Judge's famous 'Judgment Time' hit everyone, the simultaneous flash of invincibility saved them from death, blowing them all across the field instead.

It left a slight problem however.

Medic was caught in the explosion as well.

Judge's rage started to peak when again his ultimate attack, capable of downing even Ancient Dragons in a single strike, was completely nullified by mere mortals. No matter how big the urge was to roar in anger, The Graveyard Guardian suppressed it.

After all, the Medic is now all alone, without anyone close enough to help him.

He hovered towards the German while he was in the middle of standing up. Medic saw the tip of the axe closing in and he ducked underneath it, his hand instinctively going to his melee weapon before remembering it'd do little to nothing against armor that's resisted Heavy and Soldier's barrage.

Instead, as the Judge attacked with an overhead slash during his brief moment of hesitation, Medic narrowly dodged out of the way, and the ASIC Leader got his axe buried in the wet ground. This time Medic went for his crossbow and released a single syringe aimed at the robot's right eye, but unfortunately missed the hole he did before by millimeters…

Not wasting time to retrieve the buried weapon, CFW Judge went in for the grab. Medic had no way to avoid it and ended up being trapped in his iron grip.

"Jeez, finally. What took so long and why's the teleporter on freakin' level… one?" Scout's complaint died down after seeing Compa healing Nepgear with IF doubled over, bile covering her face and the dirt in front of her as she proceeded to puke out more of her breakfast. The CPU Candidate sat on the dryer part of grass, breathing deeply. "Are they okay?" He asked in concern.

"Yes, she'll be fine. Now go and keep Judge busy. We need more time to open the cave." Spy shooed him with a hit of annoyance.

"Okay~" Scout breathed out, checking his pockets for that Bonk! he hid and finding it there.

After taking a few steps forward the Bostonian stopped and turned around to face Spy. "What about you, Spy? You're doin' nothing here, why not go and distract Judge too?" He questioned, putting his hands on his hips.

The spook looked at him as if he was stupid, with a sigh he explained. "When Demoman blows up the barricade, I am to go in there first and check for traps. Nepgear is injured and IF appears to have drunk an entire can of Bonk in one go." "Ouch." "Compa is taking care of them and Engineer is busy upgrading the teleporter. Only you have nothing to do here and that's why you're going alone."

Scout was busy wincing when Spy mentioned IF drinking an entire can of Bonk. Not even he gulps it down, taking small sips instead. Scout was about to go and help his team when he remembered one last thing. "Oi, have ya seen Snipes? He didn't runaway did he?"

Just now Spy realized that Sniper disappeared…

Thinking it's time to cut down the population, Judge turned around to face the rest of this little assault team. Medic kept in his right hand. "You see the guy I got?" He mocked, slightly shaking the German as if to show him to the public.

Then he broke his neck by twisting it 180 degrees. And he did again and again. Rotating it like he was some sort of pepper mill. He got quickly tired of it and unceremoniously dropped the cadaver onto the ground. On a side note, he did it all while the mercs fruitlessly pelted him with explosives and lead.

As an added insult to them CFW Judge ignored their attack by turning his back towards them and took time to retrieve his weapon.

"You know, this is starting to get boring. Let's play a different game!"

Activating his own cloak, the ASIC Leader turned this into a psychological battle. Heavy continued firing blindly, hoping to see the faint silhouette when struck like with Mann Co.'s cloak technology, but saw no such thing…

Suddenly, Pyro was beheaded. Its severed head bounced off Heavy's shoulder as he stared at the now-decloaked CFW, his axe already thrusting down at the Russian.

Heavy Weapons Guy's muscles didn't make much resistance for the spiky end of the axe.

With his teammates dead, Judge directed his gaze towards the last standing Soldier. The American dropped his bazooka and pulled out the mighty, mythical, god slaying, legendary, The Frying Pan.

The titan chuckled in amusement. "Pwhehehe, a frying pan against my axe? You really have a death wish!"

"I am going to claw my way down your throat and tear out your very soul!" Soldier threatened, pointing his weapon of mass murder at The Graveyard Guardian. The CFW laughed even harder at the supposed threat.

"What'll you do? Cook me a dinner!?"

Soldier kept his guard and waited for the robot to attack, except the robot was too busy laughing at the absurdity. A sudden baseball to the face brought him back to reality. "Hey! Dumbass!" Scout grinned a grin as cocky as his voice, sending another Sandman ball straight into Judge's face when his head turned to face him. "What are you lookin at?!"

"Oh? The feisty one is back for mor- GAH DAMN YOU!" Third ball to the face later, the enraged ASIC Leader charged towards the Bostonian, entirely ignoring the dumbfounded Soldier. Scout faked a yawn and waited for him with an opened Bonk! in his hand and a Sandman in the other.

The merc took a small sip of his drink when Judge's axe was coming to meet him.

Judge's broad horizontal swing hit the air, Scout dodging it while faking a scream like in Meet the Scout. Then he jumped and grabbed Judge's exposed wing, climbing onto him. The owner of that wing started turning violently, like a bull on the rodeo.

Soldier saw the chance Scout delivered to him and grinned. Charging forward the patriot used conveniently placed rocks as a stepping stone and jumped right into Judge's face. He was too busy trying to get Scout off him to notice Soldier before it was too late and received a critical smack to the face.

The patriot landed safely on his feet and turned with a satisfied smirk while his target started to spasm violently, impeding any movement. Scout noticed this, as did the Soldier, and Judge obviously felt that. The two mercs exchanged looks with wide shit-eating grins.

Critical hits are effective.

After the crit effect died down, Judge's eyes turned a faint hue of red in anger. "ENOUGH GAMES!" Disregarding the trace amounts of his self-control left in his processor, Judge fired a rocket at Soldier point-blank. Getting himself caught in the explosion as well.

The rocket's splash knocked back the CFW, however he was prepared for it so it didn't do much else. Scout however, lost his grip and fell head-first. The Graveyard Guardian stopped joking around and finished the Bostonian with an explosive.

There's no overkill in his book.

With everyone around him dead, Judge searched for the remaining enemies and froze in realization. The titan snapped towards the barricaded cave and sure enough, spotted the other mercenaries attempting to break through it. "No. You. Fucking! DON'T!" Judge roared, activating his thrusters and started flying higher. Time for death from above.

Suddenly the loud sound of a didgeridoo's tune (yes, that's an instrument. Go Google it) pierced the air. Everyone heard that but Judge didn't care and the mercs had more important matters to focus on. Only Histoire and Falcom wondered what it was.

"Giddy-up boys! Judge's com-!" Engineer's warning was short-lived by Judge's rocket blasting him to pieces. Those little bastards are even faster than the Direct Hit's rockets!

The enraged CFW glared at the group. Firing rockets from above in their general direction, he didn't even need to aim because splash damage will do the job for him. "You think you're so smart, huh!? Thinking I'm gonna fall for this, right!? All of you motherfuckers are fucking dead!"

Pyro managed to reflect one of those rockets, but the hail came too fast and they were too spread out for it to defend its team from everything, and soon it died as well. Same was with Medic who due to being freshly respawned didn't have the Electro Shield ready.

Rocket after rocket, with his endless supply the explosive barrage was as relentless as Sasha's fire, many rockets hitting nothing but the explosions sending havoc among the mercenaries. One of them destroyed the teleporter, another killed Engineer and destroyed the Mini-Sentry he just placed.

The sound of the didgeridoo was getting closer, but it didn't stop Judge's running amok.

Histoire and Falcom could only watch in horror when the roster rapidly counted everyone as dead. The damage was too high for even Spy with an activated Dead Ringer to survive that. In panic, Compa helped Nepgear and IF to hide behind the tree until the attack subsides.

The sound of the didgeridoo stopped, followed by the very audible sound of footsteps right behind the CFW Judge. And there were many of them.

The Graveyard Guardian finally turned around to see what tried to sneak up on him, even if no attempts at stealth were made.

A shirtless Sniper with a sloppy looking hairdo, similar to a mullet, tied back by a red knotted bandana named 'Your Worst Nightmare'. The merc was riding a freakin Fenrir, with two other wolfs at his side a little in front of him. He was carrying the didgeridoo and an enormous Bowie knife with a serrated spine, a small hole near the back of the blade, and a wooden handle with a gold pommel and guard. "You big head wanker!" The Australian yelled, pointing his favorite weapon for close combat at the robot and dropping the instrument onto the ground.

The Fenrirs simultaneously jumped high into the air, and the ASIC Leader was forced to raise his axe to defend himself, the monsters biting hard into the handle and won't let go. "W-What!? Get off me you damn mutts!" He shook his axe but the wolf's iron grip held true, their claws on hind legs scraping his thrusters in search of support.

While the CFW was busy with those two, the third one jumped too. The Judge could only watch as the Bushman threw a mason jar filled with a certain golden fluid straight into his face. "Jarate!" The mighty titan was covered in piss.

Then he jumped alongside his Fenrir at Judge's torso. The sheer weight was too much for his thrusters to handle and all of them descended.

"Take that! Ya trashy! Mentally defective! Rocket-chuckin'! No hopper!" Sniper took a firm grip on Judge's check piece, his other hand stabbed the robot in the head with the blade, each hit briefly paralyzing the robot due to the non-stop critical hits caused by the dreaded Jarate/Bushwacka combo. In addition the wolf just under him started to rip and tear the armor with its sharp and sturdy fangs and teeth.

However, Sniper's Moment of Glory was interrupted by all of them crashing into the ground in front of the cave. The shockwave destroyed the remains of the barricade and allowed free entrance. Sniper didn't realize that with each stab Judge's thrusters grew weaker and weaker, making their fall faster and faster.

Compa and Nepgear meekly peeked out of their hiding place, trying to check what just happened. What they saw was CFW Judge lying on the ground, bodies of Fenrirs around him. The ASIC Leader was tearing a Sniper's body apart limb by limb, letting the blood stain his armor.

Nepgear's great surge of greed was overridden by fear. It's just her and Compa now, IF was unable to fight due to Bonk! overdose and the mercenaries were dead, there's even no teleporter for them to get back here. Even if she could fight with Compa, Judge still has that rocket launcher in his arm. He can just easily kill Compa and then Nepgear will have no chance of winning this fight!

Does that mean…

They… lost?

CFW Judge slowly raised himself up, taking in the great scenery of death and destruction. At the same time Nepgear felt her knees go out. Even with the Re:Spawn System, this could be her only chance to save Neptune. Even if she can cheat death, it would take her back to Planeptune, and if that happens then she'll lose Neptune forever!

The Graveyard Guardian's laugh was very audible to the girls, the ASIC roaring in victory for everyone to hear. "GRAHAHAHAHAHA! Send more men! Send entire armies! I will DESTROY THEM ALL!" He declared to the heavens. After his amusement died down and Judge lowered his head, he spotted them, the lilac and creamy pink hair peeking behind the tree. The eyes of his remaining victims widened and they went back to hiding.

"Time for the dessert." Judge 'grinned' and cloaked. He's not done yet.

"W-What should we do? H-He saw us!" Compa asked, panic rising in her voice. Unfortunately Nepgear's mind went blank from panic. She was just as helpless as the Nurse is.

"Run…" IF said weakly, the Guild agent propelled herself upwards, leaning on the tree for support. "Damn Bonk…! Why now?" The Guild agent cursed.

"H-Huh?" Let out the lilac-haired teen in confusion.

"Damnit, just leave me here and run away!" IF snapped angrily, glaring daggers at the Candidate. They already lost, and the Guild agent is in no shape to move or fight. All they could do was for Compa and Nepgear to run away while IF tries to… entertain the ASIC Leader and buy some time, even a second would be sufficient.

"B-But, we can't leave you-" Whatever Compa tried to say, she was interrupted by a sudden axe thrown like a javelin at her. The Nurse released the most bone-chilling shriek of agony Histoire and Falcom ever heard. It'll surely burn into their memories, and the fact all they could do was uselessly watch while Nepgear and her friends were at Judge's mercy only made it worse.

The busty blonde was impaled by the tip of Judge's axe, which also kept her pinned to the ground. In panic she thrashed and tried to remove the weapon but stopped doing that when it just made the pain worse.

Nepgear paled after seeing one of her best friends in complete agony, her screams didn't help the fact. The same thing made IF forget about her sickness as well, the Guild agent breaking through the shock first to run to her childhood friend. But something strong grabbed her by her hair and pulled the brunette away, the same done to Nepgear. "I've finally got you, weaklings!" CFW Judge raised both girls to his eye level. His armor was dented, scratched and dirty in everywhere, one red eye completely destroyed thanks to Sniper's bold assault. His thrusters and Anti-Gravity Engine were on the verge of shutting down.

But he was fine.

Much finer than his opponents…

"Ohh, finally I can have my revenge! You hear? Today's the day you wish you were never born!"

"My… hair. Let go!" IF winced, grasping the hurting locks.

"It… hurts… Neptune… help…" Nepgear whined.

Meanwhile Judge wondered just what sort of torture he should do. He didn't want to kill them so fast afterall, that would be a huge waste of stress relief. "What should I do, what should I do? Aha!" The CFW's gaze focused on a small pond in the center. "Perfect."

Compa gradually calmed down (well, as much as an impaled person could), the Nano-Machines dulling the pain and stopping blood loss helped in the process. The tears were still there of course, she's still crying, but the voices of despair coming from her friends momentarily stopped the tears.

Her vision was getting blurry, but Compa could see CFW Judge hovering off with Nepgear and IF in his hands, towards the pond, and then…

Falcom took it hard, slowly lowering the laptop's screen so they don't have to see Judge 'playing' with Nepgear and IF…

And if Falcom took it hard, then Histoire was on the verge of committing seppuku. The Fairy had her face silently buried in her hands, unable to bring herself to see it.

Nepgear and IF thrashed violently, their bodies panicking over suddenly losing oxygen, but no matter how much they struggled, their torturer won't give them the live-giving air just yet.

Then after a few moments, their heads were raised above the water level. Both girls simultaneously and violently began coughing water. This moment took less than 3 seconds before their faces were again submerged into muddy water, dirtying their hair, clothes and faces.

Rinse and repeat. The Graveyard Guardian couldn't be happier watching them suffer. If not for the fact that they would die or at least lose conscious and stop struggling the ASIC Leader would keep their heads in water all the time. But he doesn't want to kill them just yet, he wants to see them suffer for as long as possible!

But because life is such a bitch, he just had to be interrupted.

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALE!" Something crashed right behind the CFW. Without hiding his annoyance he let the girls breathe for a moment as he turned around to check what it was.

Two more people he didn't recognized were standing in the small newly-created crater. Well, the only one standing was a shirtless overly muscular man with strangely shaped chest hair. The other person was a female with a purple office dress, glasses and a weird red wizard hat… She's carried over the man's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Where in the name of wild bears is that great brawl I just sensed!?" The muscular man roared, looking around and letting the woman drop onto the ground. The newcomer looked around and spotted the ASIC Leader. Pointing at him he called out. "Hey, you! There was a fight here just now, right?"

"Who the hell are you?" Judge questioned. Annoyed that this mortal dared to interrupt his stress relief. The strongman pointed his thumb at himself and introduced himself in a loud, clear voice. "The name's Saxton Hale! Australian! CEO of Mann Co.! And a mann who's asking you a question, so you better answer it!" Saxton finished by pointing back at the Judge.

"Help…" Judge silenced Nepgear by putting her face back into the water.

"Damn it, Hale we got no time for this." The female stood up, adjusting her glasses and the hat.

"Shush, Miss Pudding. I'm asking something here." Hale put his finger on her lips, then he wiped it off her shoulder.

"Hale, it's Miss Pauling. Get it right!" She corrected, much more venomously. "And we're here to find the mercenaries, not fight with…" Miss Pauling's foot rested on a certain thing, that thing was in fact, Sniper's Reanimator. Then her eyes rested on the machine right in front of them, seeing that it bore very visible marks of recent fight. Adding two and two together she patted the CEO on his shoulder "Nevermind." Miss Pauling pulled out a magazine with a witch on the front page. And single-handedly opened it, her free hand suddenly started emitting green particles. "Go, get 'im!"

The CEO didn't need to be asked twice.

Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Court in Session

Well, well, well. Now that's a cliffhanger, I bet you didn't see THAT one coming.

I wonder how many Nepgear and IF fans wants to drown me right now. Or Compa's fans to stab me. I guess probably a lot.

Also, no. the P.S.A. Was just a joke. Don't take it so seriously… also Nepgear didn't went all crazy on Judge because he's a robot and Nepgear loves robots, there's completely different reason for that.

Responses:

- Reasonably Firm Eggs

Actually I feel great. The comments on reddit weren't actually that bad. (And being former admin on TF2 server makes you grow a thick skin towards that.)

- jiffcef

A big ass battle with CFW Judge and near ending of the first act. How's that?

- Piggyslayer1235

To be honest I got something planned for Pyrovision, but that's going to be revealed later.

- gladeo25

Nope.

- BreadNotDead

Compa, an adorable ball of cuteness that being clumsy even adds to it. Such innocent person would never harm a fly. In reality she would harm it, but she wouldn't realize that she just killed another being. Just like with Pyro, except all that mental insanity.

Also, duct tape is known for fixing things that aren't supposed to move. So why the hell not bones too?

- Samdama95

For the former wait till next chapter. The latter… holy crap. Noire would either kill Medic or be forever in his debt, or just be a total tsundere.

- Harmless Orange.