A fire dragon?

….

Inside eden.

Anis: *sigh* finally....all that walking was killing me.

Neon: *exhaleeee* I'm so tired…..

Rapi:...*exhale*...at least we made it here.

Papillon: Honey, are you hurt? Let me kiss your boo-boos and make it all better.

Varakiel: I'm fine.

Neon:....Mwwwah!

Papillon: Ech! Why are you kissing my forehead?!

Neon: you just said you should kiss boo-boos to make them better. I figured there was something wrong with your brain, so I thought a smooch there might help.

Papillon:...very funny.

Varakiel: haha, i am glad all you get along so well. And we are lucky that their tests were that easy isn't~?

Rapi: Easy for you, they didn't know how capable you were.

Neon: yeah, i didn't expect for us to also have to take a test on our way here too.

Varakiel: *giggle* i believe harran was in a hurry to make noah rush to our location and make you take their test haha, i would have liked to see her face.

Anis: Now that I think about it….yeah! Hahaha.

Rapi: yet again people underestimate our commander, *smile* (so this is what he wants to achieve in the ark…no something better…a place where we can coexist without being under control)

Varakiel: hm? What is it? Did you see something funny?

Rapi: *shake* I just thought of something.

Varakiel: oh.

Papillon: You do realize that since we accepted their proposal, we're aligning ourselves with that psychopath johan, don't you?

Rapi: !!

Anis: !!

Neon: hmm…what if he calls raptures while we are on the way?

Varakiel: hahah, don't worry next time he tries that.

*click*

Varakiel: I am taking his arm for me.

Varakiel says as he makes the sword on his back sound.

Anis:.....

Neon: stealing someone's limbs, are you a rapture commander?

Varakiel: *chuckle* hahaha.

….

Soon after.

Dorothy approaches the squad.

Dorothy: I've been told that you've agreed to our proposition?

Varakiel: Yes, we all agree.

Dorothy: excellent. I have good news for you as well. I was successful in persuading Cecil about our deal. The operation to exterminate the heretic will take place tomorrow.

Varakiel: Huh, I thought Johan would be harder to convince.

Dorothy: *shake* I felt it would be easier to sway cecil. Usually, when Cecil makes a decision, then Johan typically agrees. Slight disagreements are commonplace during operations such as this, but I'll be there to mediate should any such instances occur, so there's no need to worry. As a gesture of trust, allow me to bestow this upon you.

Dorothy hands over a storage device.

Dorothy: the creation method of vapaus. Make sure you use it to bring a new future to the ark.

Varakiel:....*smile* Thank you dorothy. *bows*

Varakiel bows to dorothy.

Varakiel: I promise, I will give it my all to help everyone in eden.

Dorothy: (just like him...) *nod* thank you comman…i mean varakiel.

Varakiel: *nod*

Anis: Do you really believe in us that much? We could run off in the middle of the night and take it along with us and there's nothing you could do to stop us.

Dorothy: It's hard to explain. But…none of you seem like someone who would do such a thing. And your commander reminds me of someone, someone who I will never forget.

Varakiel: I see…leave it to us.

Dorothy: Also, if something like that were to happen, we have a tracker who can take to the skies and reach mach speed. I assure you, she always nabs her prey.

Varakiel: woah, mach speed!? Now that's something. *nod* *nod*

Dorothy: Of course here in Eden we are the best of the best. I knew I could count on you. You mustn't be nervous about tomorrow's operation. We may have never won against a heretic…

Varakiel: But you have never lost either, haha. Is time to break that cycle then.

Dorothy: *nod* now that we've got an ace up our sleeve, i'm certain that victory is within our grasp.

…..

Next day.

Cecil: initiating operation. The goal of this operation is to execute the heretic known as Nihilister. Commencing elva particle purification sequence to aid with scanning….53.58%....28.77%...1.49%...purifaction complete. Using scan data and past engagement experience to track the enemy's current position. The expected coordinates have been sent to both commander's terminals. She'll be taking to the skies and moving fast, so don't daily.

Varakiel: So this heretic can fly?

Cecil: That's right. Nihilister's nomme de guerre is fire dragon. When in flight, she resembles the creature of legend, and spouts scorching flames from her mouth.

Varakiel: So a dragon…..this is going to be fun!!

Neon: oh dear, the master switch was flipped on…

Papillon: How on earth are we supposed to catch her then?

Neon: with anti-aircraft guns, maybe?

Papillon: what good will bullets do against a fire-breathing dragon… I'm just a lieutenant, how can you expect me to catch that thing? I'll only end up being extra crispy.

Johan:...

Neon: you could at least try not to look so pathetic.

Anis: It'll be fine. We've been to hell and back and lived to tell the tale.

Neon: Now that I think about it, you could say that my guns have been used in hell itself, cool!

Varakiel: But don't underestimate her, unlike modernia, this heretic has been around for a lot of time, she won't doubt like modernia.

Rapi: That is true commander.

Anis: Right.

Neon: roger.

Isabel: What a sordid bunch… are you going to be fine working with them, commander?

Johan:...

…

flashback~

Cecil: What will you do, johan? As long as this ends with a heretic on the ground, I don't care. Whether you choose to follow dorothy's advice is up to you, so long as we achieve our goal

…

Johan: no. we'll proceed like this is an individual operation.

Noah: Perfect, I won't have to do all the heavy lifting for those dimwits. Or I might end up as a shish kebab.

Neon: what are you going on about?

Noah: none of you have ever gone up against nihilister. Once we piss her off, this entire area will become scorched earth in seconds. If you stand there with your finger up your ass, don't count on me coming to save you. Got it?

Anis: hey, don't think you're all that and a bag of chips just 'cause you went head-to-head with her a few times.

Neon: if we'd had five previous encounters, we could fight with our eyes closed.

Varakiel: Is everyone going to be okay?

Dorothy: We'll be just fine. They may not be the most cordial bunch, but everyone here is the best of the best.

Varakiel: alright…..but still….a dragon huh...her name is nihilister huh?...*smirk* (i want her)

Gnome: (....*shrug* *shake*)

Gnome shrugs while she shakes her head in disappointment.

Lily: ( well, his favorite type is dragon so no wonder gnome-chan…)

…..

Johan: noah, deploy the shield at the designated point.

Noah: roger.

Johan: Isabel, go airborne. Wait 10 seconds, then fire off a round.

Isabel: Yes, commander.

Johan: Harran, are the biochemical charges good to go?

Harran: ready to activate on your command.

Johan:.....Dorothy, now!

*Tang!!*

As the raptures are distracted by Dorothy's diversion, they are slowly hemmed into Noah's shield, at the same time, Harran unleashes her biochemical weapons.

*Kreaaaahhhh!*

Meanwhile, Isabel strikes from above.

Cecil:...enemy neutralized.

Anis: sure, but at what cost? I've never been one for scorched earth tactics.

Neon: our primary target is Nihilister, not random raptures. Shouldn't we be trying to conserve our energy?

Noah: That may be necessary for you, but not for us. If you couldn't tell by this point, let me spell it out for you. There's no place for any of you in this team. We don't have any room for any pencil pushers, who are going to get their brains splattered on the wall while they stand there soiling their shorts. Have I made myself clear?

Anis: crystal. But if that's how you feel, why'd you bring us on in the first place?

Dorothy:...commander, we have to be rational about this. When we face nihilister, we will need their help. We should try and cooperate with each other.

Johan: no. I won't have it. I don't know how you or Cecil think these clowns figure into this operation, but for me, all they're here for is to fire vapaus.

Varakiel: And who said I was going to use vapaus?

Johan:...vapaus is the entire reason this operation exists. By refusing to use it, you're intentionally sabotaging our operation.

Cecil:...johan. Nihisliter is moving again. If she gets any further, we won't be able to track her. We can settle this later.

Anis: your move, pal.

Neon: We could always go home.

Johan: bah!

Johan storms forward.

Rapi: I'll assume that the operation is still on.

Varakiel: Yep, we are just messing with him for what he did back in the institute.

Harran:...

Noah:....

Isabel:...

Dorothy: I knew it was something like that..

Cecil: Yep, he looked for it.

…..

Johan:....stop. Nihilister was here.

Varakiel: Now that's scorched land.

Varakiel was a massive flaming crater in the distance.

Anis: such power…

Neon: what do you think she was aiming for?

Rapi: It could be a warning. One meant for us.

Dorothy: That would make sense.

Varakiel: that or a challenge signal, "come after me, if you dare"

Dorothy: That as well, the way we're tracking her, there's no way she hasn't noticed. If we're going to work together on this operation, I think now is the time to discuss our next course of action.

Johan:...cecil.

Cecil: Yes, I'm listening.

Johan: Excuse me for a moment.

*click*

Johan turns the communications device off.

Rapi: !!

Anis: What are you doing?

Johan: varakiel, you should go back.

Varakiel: oh, I didn't know you cared about me that much~.

Johan: I shouldn't have to explain this to a fellow commander. You lack the conviction necessary to see this mission to completion. We can't have someone like you bringing down the team.

Varakiel: I said I wasn't going to shoot the bullet. Never said I wouldn't fight nihilister.

Johan: don't be ridiculous. You have the ability to take her down with one shot instantly, yet you would allow her to continue attacking? Do you realize how much damage she could inflict upon your allies? You're putting the entire operation in Jeopardy. Do you really have what it takes to pull off this mission?

Varakiel: How about you?

*kreee!*

Rapi: visual confirmation on a rapture. Single unit.

Anis: this is why you never turn off your comlink!

*Slice*

*thud*

Johan:....!

Noah: !!

Isabel: !!

Harran:....

Dorothy:....

Varakiel was behind Johan, and a sliced in half rapture. 

Varakiel: it seems you don't understand my dear commander, the reason i am not using vapaus is simple, i don't need it *smile*

*cling* 

Varakiel sheets his blade back.

Varakiel: I might not have an arm, but that doesn't mean I have become weaker.

Papillon: What was that? I thought I was hallucinating yesterday, is the commander a human right?

Rapi: yes.

Anis: yep.

Neon: 100% or well…80% because his missing arm?

Varakiel: I didn't tell you before but, the first time we faced modernia, we didn't use vapaus.

Johan:...

Varakiel: surprised? Haha, why should you? You're quite strong yourself.

*pat*

Varakiel puts his hand on Johan's shoulder.

Varakiel: But you're not the only commander with tricks up his sleeve~.

Johan:....I see, so you're some kind of super soldier from the ark.

Varakiel: not from the ark, but close enough.

Johan: not from the ark?

Varakiel: Yep, I live in the ark but i wasn't born there. Now can you keep going where you left? I am thrilled to know what you wanted to say!

Johan:.....

Varakiel: No matter what you say, I won't listen, because I have made my choice. I am fighting, just how nikkes have done over 50 years.

Dorothy: commander, there's no time for this. We could run into Nihilister at any moment. I recommend that we re-establish communications with our operator immediately,

Johan:...fine. I can see your resolve is unbreakable and you back it up with your strength. But how far are you willing to go? What can your body made of flesh possibly contribute that will turn the tide? 

Varakiel: what you have seen is only the beginning, and my commanding skills are no joke either.

Johan: commanding…good answer…fine you can talk the talk, but we'll see soon enough if you can walk the walk. If you can't, I'll hand you over to Mihilister myself.

Varakiel: oh? Would you!? That would take away the trouble of looking for her~.

Johan:.....

Anis: *chuckle*

Neon: *chuckle*

Rapi:...

Papillon:...

Rapi's and papillon's mouth slightly bends up.

…..

Neon: rapi…what are master and johan doing exactly?

Rapi: let's just say it's…a battle of wits, designed to put the commander to the test. When Johan posits a hypothetical battle scenario, the commander must respond by detailing how he would direct us.

Papillon: So they've just gone back-and-forth this entire time? That's it? They've been at it for hours already.

Johan: Nihilister is flying low in the sky at 120m after firing a wing missile. What do you do?

Varakiel: nothing i already told isabel the amount of missiles and the trajectory they will take before nihilister took flight and tell her to change their trajectory. After that I tell Noah to redirect the missiles she captured with her shield and send them back to sender.

Noah: Wait, can I actually do that?

Varakiel: if you practice enough in softening your shields it might be possible.

Johan:....after descending 50m, nihilister fires her flamethrower, incinerating rapi and noah in the vanguard. 

Varakiel: not possible, because i instructed them to excavate holes underground on the battle field while nihilister was distracted by us. Which they use to hide from Nihilister flames.

Johan:...

Varakiel: While nihilister is shooting her flame breath, i will ask neon and anis to prepare to take down her machine guns with explosive rounds, while Dorothy proceeds to take down his fuel storage.

Johan: you're heading towards an area with increased elva particles density.

Varakiel: I told Cecil to purge the particles 3 times every 15 minutes, where Harran and Papillon are going to take care of them. Harran will use beacons on her crows to attract their attention while Papillon takes down the units.

Johan:.....Very Impressive.

Neon: brutal. Rapi was the first one to bite the dust.

Rapi:...

Anis: It is kinda intriguing though.

Neon: what is?

Anis: I've never seen the commander speaking so passionately with another human being before. Usually, it's just issuing short orders to subordinates or exchanging a few words here and there. But now, this johan guy is giving him a challenge to his knowledge.

Neon: yeah, almost makes it worth being the first one to die, right rapi?

Rapi:...sure, I suppose. But I lived in the commander's scenario.

Anis: That's true.

….

Johan: 3 failures. 17 draws. 80 wins. Unbelievable.

Varakiel: told you~.

Dorothy: I need a moment commander. Aren't these results actually statistically impossible? Typically no one ever passes the test at all.

Johan: 80 wins of a 100....

Varakiel: and 17 where we can fight another day. I actually won 97 times, while the last 3 fight i died and wasn't able to keep commanding

Johan:...these were all hypothetical scenarios anyway.

Dorothy: But that's still a success of 97% and we don't know if we could have lived in the last 3 so i like to think he had a success rate of 100%. Those 3 defeats came from the start and they were consecutive.

Johan:....

Papillon: hey! You've got a whole lotta nerve busting honey's chops like this! Honey's a big deal in the ark. Even the CEOs of the big three and the higher-ups in the central government are fans. They're total fanboys. You've got no right treating someone with a reputation like that so poorly.

Neon:..!! That's right. Master works under the direct supervision of the deputy chief.

Anis: yeah, a real rising star.

Varakiel:....*Sighhhhhhhh* 

Isabel: Now you've all gone and done it. The commander despises anything that has to do with the ark.

Johan:..... Noah, Isabel, harran. I need a moment alone.

Johan leaves in a hurry.

Papillon: Sorry, I was just trying to explain things to them. I guess I just made it worse…

Varakiel: *shake* we all make mistakes papillon, don't worry, what you said is no lie….wait i actually have fans?

Dorothy:.....i agree, it's no one's fault. I can still salvage this. I'll talk to him.

Dorothy follows johan.

….

Johan:....

Dorothy: commander. Do you really intend to exclude them from the operation?

Johan: absolutely. They're a bunch of pathetic greenhorns. They've got heart, I'll give 'em that, but that doesn't amount to much. I was foolish to believe they could be of any help to us.

Dorothy: How can you say that? Varakiel has already proven that he's more than capable, they could be the perfect shield.

Johan:...what? 

Dorothy: This is all you have to do. We draw nihilister to us, by releasing a signal. Given how aggressive she has been in the past, this shouldn't be too difficult. Then we send the counters out under the protest of conducting surveillance, and have them encounter her first. No matter how hard they hit her, she'll just keep recovering. Eventually , they'll realize they have no choice but to use vapaus if they want to make it out alive. Once that infernal commander no longer has any compunction about using vapaus, that's when we move in. not only will we defeat nihilister. But if the counters manage to survive, they'll consider us their saviors.

Johan: So that's it. That's why you brought them along.

Dorothy of course. We loan out the vapaus crafting method, and in exchange, force the counter to do all the dirty work. Not a bad plan, if you ask me.

Johan:...I feel sick.

Dorothy: Why, something wrong? Is this all reminding you of your time in the ark? Ah yes, how could i be so thoughtless? I've made you relive your past trauma. I'm so terribly sorry.

Johan: i wonder, if they could see the monster you really are, would that commander still be so fervent about liberating the nikkes?

Dorothy: most likely. These righteous times…they're all like that.

….

Johan and Dorothy walk back.

Johan:....

Dorothy:....

Varakiel: Feeling better, super star? Haha.

Anis: haha, how'd it go?

Dorothy: I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Varakiel: Great, let's keep pursuing that nihilister.

*beep*

Johan re-establishes connection with cecil.

Cecil:....you call that "a moment"? Seems you have a rather loose definition of what a moment means….

Johan:..!!

Cecil: Has being out in the field warped your perception of time? Are you out there at light speed without me knowing? If not, then pray tell, what exactly possessed you to go dark for so long?

Johan:...

Cecil: Johan, do you read? Come in.

Varakiel approaches Johan from behind.

Varakiel: I am sorry I just challenged Johan to a fight of command and he's still in shock about my results hahaha!

Cecil: Oh? Really?

Varakiel: 80 wins, 17 draws, 3 loses.

Cecil:....is that a joke right?

Varakiel: Why not ask him ?

Cecil: johan?

Johan:.....is true.

Cecil: i can't believe it, no wonder, you got crushed by your own pride, serves you right,

Rapi:...

Neon: wow.

Anis: even hard cases like him get chewed out from time to time.

…..