Alright, it's time to put the lemons aside and advance the main story for real this time.
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I awoke the next morning with Alice humming away while sleeping.
"Commander..." She said as she held my arm. "...please...don't leave me."
I slightly moved to pull her in for a hug and she put her arms around me quickly. She's probably still dreaming. But then she opened her eyes and saw my face right away, making her blush.
"Morning, my sweet beautiful bunny." I said. "You wanted to feel safe?"
"Yes. Stay close to me, please."
"I won't let you go, until you're completely happy."
We shared a kiss as we embraced each other closely. Unfortunately, the morning snuggle was cut short when I heard the alarm on my phone go off. I grabbed it, only to then see an incoming call from Malcolm appear. I had to answer the call, no room for argument here.
"Hello, Malcolm, I wasn't expecting this." I answered.
"Yes. Good morning, Y/N. Apologies for the sudden call, but we have a situation that requires yours and the girls immediate attention. Please report to my office after breakfast. We're applying finishing touches to an upcoming task."
"Understood, we'll be on our way soon."
He ended the call and I had to get out of bed...looks like Rapi's day with me will have to wait.
"Commander?" Alice asked.
"Sorry, Alice, but we gotta have breakfast and get ready. Make sure you're prepared before we have to leave afterwards."
"Okay. But can I...kiss you once more?"
I smiled and gave her a kiss before I changed into my usual clothes and went downstairs to make breakfast for the girls who all turned up to sit with me and helping Alice settle into the group. A harem of six girls sounds amazing right now. Maybe I can squeeze in one more someday.
After breakfast was done, me and the six girls made our way to the HQ building and took the elevator to the CEO's office, where Malcolm and Ingrid were waiting for us.
"Good morning, mister." Malcolm greeted. "How are things now that a few days have passed?"
"Pretty busy ever since this I got involved in this." I replied. "I also had a sixth Nikke summoned who's joined me."
"Good. That means you have more than enough to assign you with this mission." Ingrid said.
Malcolm cleared his throat as he stood up and switched on a giant monitor showing a world map.
"Yesterday evening, one of our military outposts detected a power surge from inside Mount Rushmore. As you may be aware, it is a famous landmark. But it's also where we have two military bases that are loyal to the TIA."
"We sent out a summoner and his own small force of Nikkes who are loyal to him. They reported that they found the source of the power surge, but then there were gunshots and the feed was cut off." Ingrid said. "You are to travel to Mount Rushmore, find the recon team and investigate the source of the power surge."
"Woah, this is starting to sound like our old dimension." Anis responded.
"Is it only the six of us going?" Rapi asked.
"Yes, but you won't be going over there blind." Malcolm replied. "From today onward, you'll have your own intelligence officer who will provide you with whatever information is available on the field at all times. Shifty?"
"Yes, sir." Shifty saluted, smiling at us. "I'll provide as much as assistance as I can."
"So we get to work with you again, just like old times." Neon said.
"Yeah! Now I feel even more pumped up!" Anis added.
Rapi nodded with a smile. "It'll be good to work together once again."
"When will we be leaving?" I asked.
"Your departure will be in half an hour from now." Ingrid replied. "Get yourselves prepared and dress well, you'll need your battle outfits ready for the mission ahead."
"Got it, we'll see if we can find any news when we get there."
Malcolm nodded. "Good. I wish you luck out there...and one more thing. Shifty, do you have the uniform ready?"
"Yes, sir. I have it right here." She replied before handing me a military outfit. "The two maids, Ade and Soda designed these for you. They should be comfortable for you to fit in."
I accepted the outfit. "Sweet, tell them I said thanks."
"Will do. I'll be waiting for you by the helipad on the top floor of HQ."
The seven of us left the building and walked back to the house. I changed into my new uniform and the girls switched to their default outfits. I didn't have anything on me, weapon-wise, which I suppose it's fine since I'm a summoner, not an official commander of sorts.
Besides, I'd rather make love and not war...if you know what I mean, hehe...
After preparing as much as we could, we left the house and made our way to HQ, where the receptionist gave us directions to the elevator that took us to the top floor, number thirty. Stepping out, a large chin-hook helicopter was waiting and Shifty was there too.
We made our way to the helicopter and hopped on board with her, strapping ourselves in tight as the side doors closed firmly and the helicopter lifted off the ground, leaving the HQ base and out of the isolated city around it.
As we were on our way, I took the chance to look at Rapi.
"Say, Rapi?"
"What is it?" She asked.
"Looks like our day together is gonna be a busy one." I replied. "I wish it could've been more peaceful."
"It's alright, Commander. I have a feeling this is going to be a date worth remembering."
I held her hand. "I can believe that too."
"Hey, lovebirds, save that for the bedroom." Anis teased.
"Excuse me if I'm butting in, but are you already in a relationship?" Shifty asked.
"Yep, with all six of us." Yuni replied. "And we're not gonna let him go."
"Ah ha ha ha...oh dear."
I saw Neon pouting a little, I took her hand and kissed it, making her blush a little.
"You see, he does his best to pay attention to all of us." Mihara said.
"Yes. Commander loves us all very much." Alice added.
"Oh my, then I'm happy for all of you." Shifty replied, happily. "It's so wonderful to see you girls find love in this world. I hope I can find someone special too."
Well, I had to admit, I was tempted, but she's not a Nikke. So maybe it's better to leave it be and see if some other guy gets lucky. Yeah, I may seem like one of those harem hunters, but even I wouldn't dare try to forget the rules of the bro-code!
Eventually, we arrived at the military outpost near Mount Rushmore, and the chopper landed on top of a helipad. The side doors opened and we got ourselves out before seeing two soldiers coming up to us.
"Summoner L/N." One of them spoke as they saluted. "We're grateful for your assistance in this mission. Please follow us to the briefing room."
I saluted in response. "Yes, soldiers. Lead the way."
We followed them away from the helipad and into a futuristic radar facility. One of the soldiers spoke to Shifty who had to get ready in setting up communications, while we followed the other solider who brought us to a briefing room.
"Lieutenant Groves, HQ's new task force is here."
"Excellent work, you may leave, solider." A burly guy replied.
The solider left and I walked up to the guy who shook my hand.
"So you're the new summoner I heard from." He spoke. "I'm Lieutenant Darren Groves, and I'm in command of operations across both sides of Dakota."
"Yes. I'm summoner Y/N L/N. Though I guess I might come across as a commander since I look like one."
"Indeed, but you won't be the one doing the fighting. I see you've brought the Nikkes along, I'm sure you realize that you will need them if you're planning to win."
"Indeed. Their moral and support for each other is my top priority. Do you have any details to share?"
"Yes. Come over to this table."
He showed me a few satellite photos of Mount Rushmore as well as a map of the area with several markings on it.
"The location of the previous Summoner and his small team of Nikkes were last seen near the foot of Mount Rushmore. They mentioned that they came across the source of the power surge and that it was unusual. But then our radio line with them caught several noises of gunshots before we lost contact with them." He explained. "I don't want to assume the worst, but we must find out what is going on over there and shut them down if the threat is revealed."
"Right, so where will my team deploy?" I asked.
"We have two military bases established that are both to the bottom West and East of Rushmore. Both bases have two choke points in case we need to defend ourselves. So far though, we have yet to engage in combat but-"
Suddenly, siren noises went off across the outpost.
WARNING! Hostile presence approaching from the West! Commence defensive formation!
"Dammit! Looks like we're about to enter battle."
Darren flipped a switch and the screen showed footage of soldiers rushing over to the choke points.
"Orders, lieutenant?" I asked.
"Get your team to the choke point on the West side position, my men will cover the East side!"
"Got it, we're on our way. Let's move, girls."
Rapi nodded. "We're right with you, Commander."
We rushed out of the briefing room and out of the radar facility where the soldiers escorted us to the choke point which was one of the entrances to the west base. There were a few walls and sandbag nests, so I had Rapi, Neon and Mihara deployed in the middle, Anis and Yuni on either side with their explosive weapons at the ready, and Alice at the back with her sniper rifle. As for me, I was at a very safe position from behind and above where they were.
*Kzzz*"Commander, can you hear me?"
"It's me, Shifty. Looks like you're online."
*Kzzz*"Yes. I've established communications with your uniforms radio. The signal is at full pelt, so I can stay on you at all times."
"Good, let's get ready to play defense."
Suddenly, we started hearing faint footsteps before the first sign of our enemy showed up.
"Look sharp, girls. Incoming!"
I was ready to predict that the enemy would be raptures or corrupt soldiers, but what we saw was NOT expected at all...they weren't even human, they were more like mutated humans. This freaked out the girls and they started firing.
"What on earth were they?!" Neon asked in shock.
"Those...were definitely NOT raptures!" Anis replied.
Rapi remained focused as she reloaded her gun. "Worry about that later. We need to protect the base and our Commander at all costs!"
The girls kept on firing as more of those insects showed up while I put headphones on to dampen the noises. And getting a better look, I could see that they were like those mutated humans from a game...what the sci-fi bullshit is this?! How can this even be possible?!
"Huh?" I found a pair of binoculars in the uniform pocket and took it out. "Wait, I spot a flying drone behind the monsters."
*Kzzz* "That drone must be sending out a wave signal. Take it out, quickly!"
"Alice, can you make the shot?"
She hummed as she aimed her rifle at the drone. "Found it, taking the shot!"
I looked through the binoculars and the drone shook before exploding.
"Nice shot, Alice!"
"Thanks, Commander."
*Kzzt* "Summoner L/N? That drone you took out was sending a distress signal to the enemy, they won't be able to launch another attack without it."
"Good to hear, Graves. But this is only the start."
*Kzzt* Agreed. My men on the East base found a drone and took it out as well. We've held the line, but remain vigilant."
I looked on ahead and saw another attack wave. "Watch out, more drones are flying in."
Rapi gasped. "Theses drones are..."
"Raptures!" Mihara confirmed. "...but what are they doing here?"
"That's what I wanna know!" Anis said. "How are they able to be in this world?"
They focused on shooting them all down and the second wave was done.
*Kzzz* "Be careful, the enemy is about to launch a combined attack wave as a final attempt."
"Got it, Shifty." I replied.
Both drones and mutants approached, but my girls were strong enough to stop them from getting any closer. It was all quiet for a moment once again.
*Kzzz* "Summoner! We've detected another power surge. You and your team will need to travel to the foot of Mount Rushmore at once."
"Alright, we're moving out."
We grabbed our gear and rushed out of the base, heading onwards as we got closer to Mount Rushmore until we reached the broken down entrance gate. As we walked past it and moved closer to the monument, we suddenly heard faint screeches from afar.
"Ah! I'm scared!" Alice yelled as she hugged me.
"It's okay, Alice! I'm right here." I replied. "As long as I'm here, you can find your bravery and you can do it."
"Thank you..." She pulled away and refocused.
"Good thing we have you here." Anis said. "You're going out of your way to prove that I don't regret this a lot, aren't you?"
"That's because I mean what I said about wanting to care for you all as much as you protect me." I replied, putting my arm around her.
She could only grin happily.
We heard another screech, but it was closer that time.
"Crap! We need to take them down and keep pushing forward."
The girls carried on with playing defense and going on the offence everytime we encountered a few mutants and drones. We then reached the mountain part of Rushmore and found a bunker entrance where the door was snapped off, due to the hinges that were left on.
"Commander?" Rapi asked.
"Yeah, this must be where the previous team went." I replied. "Weapons loaded, girls. This could get tense quickly."
"Oh, I wish I could release some tension quickly myself." Yuni said. "But blasting them away will do for now."
We walked inside the bunker and downwards to where we came across a large underground entrance hall. But the features were almost off-putting, broken walls, bent doors, blood stains, broken bodies, a few dead mutants and destroyed drones.
"Looks like there was a massive battle down here, but they weren't able to hold out." I said.
"No sign of the previous team yet." Neon added. "Master, do you think they..."
"It might be possible, but let's keep searching."
We walked around the area and finding nothing that was of interest until we came across a barricaded door and we could hear a few people chatting.
"Hello?! Is anyone on the other side?" I called.
"Is that the reinforcements?" One of them responded. "Hmph! They took their time!"
"Are you the new guy I heard about?" A guy asked from the other side.
"Yes, and I have my team with me, we'll get you-"
I was interrupted when I heard a vile screech not far from us. It was a large flying drone with a pair of machine guns which sent out a wave signal and a large mutated beast showed up.
"HOLY SHIT!" Anis yelled.
"A mutant beast?!" Neon squealed.
"Looks like we found the source of the attack." Rapi said. "Everyone, get ready to fire!"
"Defend the door at all costs!" I ordered.
I could only look on as the girls found their courage and fought bravely against the giant beast. And seeing them up close, I could tell that they were fully focused and somewhat strong as enemy reinforcements showed up. But those reinforcements could not break through to us.
After the large drone was shot down, the glowing aura around the mutated beast faded away. As if it was now much weaker, allowing my girls to finish it off as it roared one more time before it finally fell down. Though Yuni and Anis wanted to be sure as they blew it to pieces with their weapons.
With the 'boss battle' over as I phrased it, I went back to the door and the guy moved the barricade away, letting me and the girls in to see their faces.
"I can't believe it, dude! We're saved!" The guy spoke. "Thanks so much, man!"
"No probs. So you're the one who went missing?" I asked.
"Yeah, the name's Edward and these two Nikkes are my girls."
I then looked at them, and they were familiar faces too.
"Honoured to meet you, fellow summoner. I am Helm and I always look forward to the day where I go on a voyage with Edward."
"And I am Privaty. Edward's second loyal Nikke. He is someone I made an exception for, when I told him if he wants to be with me."
'Awww no way! He got Helm and Privaty?! Lucky son of a...I mean, good for him.'
"I thought I recognized a voice." Rapi said. "It's been a while, Helm, Privaty."
"Yes indeed, how's life treating you?" Helm asked.
"Very well, thanks to my Commander."
The others had their chance to exchange fond greetings before we moved on.
"Honoured to meet you both." I replied. "We came here, because of a report you were trying to send to lieutenant Groves."
"Oh right. You better come with us, there's a bio room beyond here." Edward replied. "We believe this is where the power surge originated from."
We followed them past the small room which was more like a locker room, and then down a flight of stairs before passing through a hallway and entering a large bio room. There were rows upon rows of bio tanks, big enough to house a person or a large animal at least.
"We're not sure why there's a bio lab here, but we theorize it has something to do with the master tank over there." Helm said, pointing to one that was blocked off by a wall.
"We were worried once we saw it, well they were actually." Privaty added. "But it's not like I was worried about Edward or anything."
The guy chuckled. "You say that, but I know how much you deeply care for me."
She blushed. "Sh-shut up!"
"Let me have a look." I pressed a button on the wall.
I stood back and we all watched the wall move to one side, revealing a larger bio tank and there was a person floating inside, but the appearance shook me to my core.
That body...that silver hair...she looks just like...
'Marian?!'
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DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUUUUN! Yeah, sorry for the cliffhanger, but I wanted to try it this once.
Next time! A full explanation is shared and Marian joins the team.