I could hear ambient sounds around me. The sounds of something flowing and the occasional clink of metal could be heard. I opened my eyes to see some sort of fabric covering my field of view. Eventually, after a while of waiting, my vision was restored due to the obstruction from before being removed. I took a quick look around to see that I was in a basement of some sort, evident by the fact that there were pipes along the walls and ceiling. Two soldiers stood before me, both originating from Planeptune's military. I was held to the wall by steel wrist restraints, making it impossible to move any more than a few feet.

-"Get comfy kid, you're going to be here for a long time." One of them said before they both exited the room.

     I heard the echoes of a short conversation between the soldiers and someone else in the hallway. After they were finished talking, I waited for a few minutes before I heard the heavy door's locks open again. I couldn't see who entered because of the dim lighting but I could make out a very small female silhouette float inside and start doing...something in the darkness of the room. Whoever was there continued what they were doing until I cleared my throat to speak.

-"*cough* Hello there." I said politely.

     The figure only turned its head slightly before facing forward again. After a few moments of silence, I heard the silhouette speak up.

-"Hello." The figure responded.

-"Can you come closer? I can't see you clearly in the dim lighting." I asked.

-"...No...no I cannot..."

-"Why not?"

-"...Because you're not supposed to be here."

-"What do you mean?"

-"Because you're supposed to be with us, not against us."

-"Huh?"

-"Do you truly believe Anonydeath to be your leader? No...He has deceived you and everyone that even remotely approaches that "Yellow Heart" person."

-"But Yellow Heart and Anonydeath ARE our leaders. I cannot understand why you believe he has ill intentions."

-"He is nothing but evil and darkness." The figure said as it turned to face me.

-"YOU are the darkness! Anonydeath and Yellow Heart together form a light! You seek to deceive me!"

-"Speak for yourself, I just hope that one day we'll be able to fix this mess. Oh, and by the way, I'd get ready if I were you." The floating figure said as it departed.

-"Ready?" I asked myself.

     After a couple minutes of waiting, I finally saw what I was getting ready for. Iris Heart entered the room, weapon in hand. Was she going to execute me? Torture me? Whatever, I knew that this was gonna bite me in the ass sooner or later. I guess I deserve this. She walked in front of me and used one hand to raise my chin.

-"Oh don't look so down sweetie~. You and I are going to have a LOT of fun together~." She said.

-"Go ahead, I deserve this anyway." I said in a sad tone.

-"Well, let's see if we can perk you up by using one of the many tools Histy has so generously let me borrow~."

     As she pulled out the first instrument of torture, I take a moment to remember my safe-word. I just hope that this goes smoothly.

...

...

...

R̵̷̡u̕͘͝͠b̨͘͜y̷̴͘͝ ̶̕͟P̷̛.̛̀̕O͜͡҉͝.̧̧́͝͡V̷̴͝.̶̢́̕  

Pr͡ima̸҉r̡͢͝y҉̢ ̸Ç̛ơ̶r̀͠e̡.̷.͢҉.̵CR̸͘I̵͡TI̴͡C̀À͢L̸͝
A̢tt҉em͞pting ̀P̶r̴o͟t̕o͞c̵ol ̡4: #̕͟$̸̴͘͢͠&҉̨̧̛@͘͜͟%͢҉

M̕aįn ̷sy͠st҉e͜ms͘.͡.̡.Dama̧gęd̴
Ǫcula҉r͘ ҉system̷s͟..́.Reaćt͢i̶vatińg̶
Ne̵uŗal̡ ̡L̛ink̕..̛.Se̸v̷e̶r͘e҉d ͢
Up̛ho͢ld͏ Pr͞o͝tocol҉ 1̴: ̴Link̛ ͞t͠o ̧Pi̕ĺot̸

A̸͞t̡͜t͟e͏̧͡m̢p͝t̵͝i̷n̛͡g͘͠ ̶̕t̴͟o ͏͡r̴͟e̷͡ró͜u̷̕t́͢e̶ ́h͡y̴͘d̡ra̴͟ų̸ĺ̴ìc̶͟ ̵c̵͞o͡҉n̡͏̡ţ̵r̸͟o̵҉͞l̸͞..͝.͏Suc̵̵҉c̀͏e͢͝ss̶̸

Mo҉v̧e͡m͏e̵n͞t̶̵ ̷̕log..̨̨.́r͜e̛s̶t͞o̷͟re̢d͘͞  

Ś̸̴t̢͘aņd̴i҉́n̸̕͢g҉ ͞st́̕͢a̸̸b̛́ì̵li͟t͜͞͏y a͏̡́c͏͏h͞i͘e͡v͟e͡d̴̶̴

R҉̵e͠͏͜b͜oơ҉̛t̶̨҉i̡̢n͞g ̵͢ş̀͏e͞con̸͘da̧͠r͏̧y̢ ͢s̵y̡̕͝ś͞te̷͠ms͡...

Da̧mage r̨e͟p҉or͜t̡.̴.̵.͠a͟s̢s̡e͡ss̛ed   

Righ̛t̵ ̶a̸rm̢.̀..͠m̢is̴s͞ing
Left ar̵m̀...ope̷r̨a̵t̴ioņa͝l͘
͞Ri̢gh͠t͟ leg..̢.̢D̡àm̡a̢ged
Le̶ft l͏eg͘...25%̛ fu̶n͘ctiònaĺ
̴To͟r̢so̵...pu̸n͞çtu͏red
̶H҉ea͡d...50̢% op͝era̕tion̴al
we͢apóns̴.̧..̡o̴p͜tima̸l͘
͜ar͏mo̴r.̴..̵píerced͞
sca̶n҉ņe̶r.͏.̧.̕o̶ff͠l̕i҉ne̶  

at͡t̸emp͟ti̷ng͠ to͜ trįang̴ul͞at͘e̴ ̶P̛ilot̨.̕..  

Sc̕a͜n̸ne͠r͞ d̢amàged,͘ ̀mus̸t fin͜d̕ ͏a̶l̨t͡er͟nate͘ ͞metho͡d...͡  

C҉o͝n̕n͢éc͏tin͠g t͞o͜ ͏o̷rbi̧t͜a̴l ̀s͟a̕te͝llité...̨C͟onne̴c̶t̡e̷d  

B̕io̢-͠m̢et͠ric̕ ̶s͝ig͘n̶atu͝ŗe̡ ̕conf̕ir̀med̴, Pilo̧t loc̛a҉te҉d  

C͘aļc̸ul͢at͡inģ ̢f̀àst͏e͠s͢ţ poss͠ìb̀l̸e̸ ro̢ute..͡.D͝on͘è  

E̡xp͝e͟cted a͘r͡rivaļ i͟n̕...T̶̛͠ m̶inu͞s̕͜ ̷3̶͜ ̶́h̕ou̶ŕs̸̀  

Nanuk P.O.V.

     1 HOUR LATER

     I was put through everything she had on the table. I was smacked around, whipped, cut, burned...it was painful. But I had a small hope. There's two possibilities for the future, either I get a golden opportunity and book it away from this place or Ruby locates me and I get a rescue. All I had to do was wait for the chances to arise. 

30 MINUTES LATER

I had the chance. While the guard was walking away, I managed to grab his key from his belt. Once he left the room, I unlocked myself and made my way towards the door...the golden opportunity. Which would prove to be a far more difficult task than I thought. I'm wounded, I could barely stand, bleeding and limping. How would I get out of here? Wait, it's not just about me getting out of here, it's about escaping with Yellow Heart too. How would I grab her from the security of Planeptune? I'll figure something out. As I exited, I took a rifle on the stand next to me and started making my way towards the other cell blocks and containment units. After some searching, I wasn't able to find her anywhere. Wait, was she hurt when she crashed into the ground? I should check the medical station just in case. I walked towards the treatment center, avoiding detection along the way. My pain was gradually decreasing due to my body's natural healing. I wasn't bleeding anymore at least. I soon arrived to the medical station and peeked in the doors and windows. She wasn't here either! Where is she? I thought about where they would take Yellow Heart after capture...perhaps...maximum security? I should check anyway. I don't exactly know where maximum security is so I took a moment to study the map of the Basilicom on the wall. According to this map, maximum security is situated 50 floors underground. I'd have to take the service lift to go that deep. I quickly located the cargo elevator and descended. After 5 minutes of waiting, the doors finally opened. Either that elevator is really slow or I'm really deep underground. I looked through the bulletproof glass of the cells and saw that everyone was either in the corners of their rooms or chanting some sort of ritual. Would Yellow Heart really be kept down here? I started to have doubt that she was down here but I kept looking nonetheless. 

30 MINUTES LATER

-"Not here either...is she even IN this fucking place at all?! Or has she broken free already? She is pretty strong after all. Alright, I'll head to the nearest Eden outpost and scan for CPU's in Planeptune." I said, making a plan.

     I got onto the service elevator again and rose back to the surface. Something I took note of was the lack of security. Probably because Planeptune just depleted their manpower in that attack they performed. I noticed on my way out that there was a note on the sliding door.

-"All remaining security, report to either Nanuk's cell (basement) or guard Neptune's room while our guest recovers."
-Histoire

-"Guest?..." I said to myself.

     My eyes suddenly snapped open when I realized who was their "guest". I bolted for Histoire's room as displayed on the map. Once I arrived, it was clear that the military was running on limited resources. Three guards, two simple sentries and a reinforcement on the door.

     Nothing I can't handle. I pulled out my E.M.P. grenade and threw it at the sentries. They shut down instantly. I quickly shot the other guards down after, granted it was hard to aim because of my wounds but I managed. I placed a breaching charge on the reinforced door and blew it open. I ran in quickly and pulled out my rifle. I pointed my weapon at two more guards inside the room and shot them down. I walked over to the occupied bed. I took off the sheets to see Yellow Heart sleeping in it. Wait, they had her in here and not in some sort of prison or containment facility? Why? There doesn't seem to be any injuries other than a few bruises and she is more than capable of wrecking this whole room if she wanted to, so why didn't she? Whatever, I don't have time to wonder. I picked her up and started walking towards the nearest exit. I was almost there. Once I was out of the Basilicom, I could run, I could hide, I could call for pickup. But I was stopped, the sounds of shotguns being cocked and magazines being loaded could be heard behind me. I heard a voice eventually.

-"Halt!" A soldier said to me.

     I turned around to see three soldiers in front of me. One with a shotgun, one with an assault rifle and another with a revolver.

-"Put her down!" The same soldier said.

     I did as instructed and one of them retrieved her. He started to walk away with her, something I could not allow.

-"Now stay still." He said as he approached my back.

     I waited until he was directly behind me and slammed the back of my head into his face before grabbing him and holding him in front of me. The guy with the shotgun tried to shoot me but shot his friend instead. After shielding myself, I aimed and popped him in the head. I turned the corner to see the one carrying Yellow Heart running. I chased him through hallways, stairs, rooms until eventually I was gaining on him. We were both running in a long and narrow hallway with no places to turn. He reached the end of the hall and was about to turn the corner when something amazing happened.

R҉u̵b̸y ͟P̧.͞Ǫ.̧V̶.  

P̡i͟l͢ot ̛d̸e̵t͏e̢c̷t̀e̡d͜ b͢eh̢in͟d̵ ͡w̢a̛l̕l..́.

Hostíle so͠l̀dier ́ca̴rr͘y̛i̴ng̛ ̷prec҉io̴us͏ ca͜ŗg͡o ͝d͘e͞tęc͡te̶d̡ ͝b̢ehind wa͢ll..͠.

͞D̀emól̶it̨i̢on̨ necès͞sar̡y.͘..

̨W̵a̢ll dést̷r҉uctio̧n..͏.c͜oḿplet̛e 

H͏ost͠ile ̛s͟òl̢d̕i̴er̵:͏ g̵r̸a͟b͞b̵ed

͞P̴̷͠r͟ecio̕us̨ ̨car͡go: s͘e͟c͞u̧re̕d͟

Pil̶ot̷:͏ wou̕nd̵e͜d̷

H̛os͠ti̢l͡e sol͞d̸ier҉ ͟s̨ta̷tus͝: er̸a̴d̸ic҉a̢t̨e͘d

P̢r̡eci͜ou̸s̡ c͏arg͡o̢ ̀stat̛us:̴ h́ea͞ĺthy  

Ev̶ac҉ua̢t̢i̡o͢n̶ ͞r̕e̷comm̵ènded̡

͠P̕i͠lot͡ ̡re̛qu͢ir̴ès me̷d̶i͝cal̴ assįstan͢c̨e̵

-"Whoa Ruby, what's wrong with your voice? It's all garbled." P̧i͝lot͘ a̴s̸ke̡d̨.

-"C͠rít̢ic͏al ͏ḑa͟m͜age r̢esu̴lte͠d̡ ̶i͘n ͜s̸o̧m̢e̢ ͟sys̸te͠ms m̨al̕func̴t̛ion̶i͘n̸g͠. P҉erso͜n̴ąl̷it̡y ch̶i̶p̢: ͟of̵f͏li͘ne ͝f̵or ̵t̢he mo̶m͠e̛n͏t" Ruby responded.

Nanuk P.O.V.

     Ruby was in pretty bad shape, arm missing and most movement was restricted. I picked up Yellow Heart and walked through the hole in the wall. I was about to start the journey home when Ruby spoke.

-"P̀ilot, I s̷ùgg̕est́ ̵you ̨p̶u̷t̸ ͟Y̸e͏ll̢ow̷ He͟ar͡t̢ in͢ the͘ ͝Pi̷l̕o̷t͟ s̶eat͢ ̶f̷o̧r̨ t̵he m̵o҉m̛en̢t. I̸t ͝wo̷ul̷d ̨ĺi̷g̸h͝t̕en͡ ͞th̀e ҉w̡ei̡gh̛t́ f̶o̡r t̛h̨e ͞jou͝r̡ney҉ ąn͡d̴ I do have҉ th̨e̷ ͘spac̛e ͡avai͡l̨ablè." Ruby suggested.

-"Good idea." I said.

-"T̵h͞an̡k̷ ͘y͠o͡u Pi̸lot."

     Ruby opened the Pilot seat plates and I put Yellow Heart in a sitting position inside. Once she was strapped in and secure, Ruby closed the plates and we started our journey. We have a long road ahead of us. It would take us a while to get back to the closest outpost from here so I better stay awake.

4 HOURS LATER

R̕ub̨y̴ ͞Ṕ.O͞.͘V͘.͜  

Maín͢ ̵c͢o͡mpu̢t̸in̸g̡ systeḿ:̴ ̕r͠es̸t̴ored͢  

Pilot status: exhausted, needs rest soon

Calculating possibilities...done

-"Pilot, my scans indicate you are tired and need to rest." Ruby told Pilot.

-"Nah, nah I'm...fine." Pilot responds, tired.

-"I have some possibilities." Ruby proposed to Pilot.

-"And what are those?" Pilot asks.

-"Option A: You ride on top of my head and rest. Option B: You squeeze into the Pilot seat with Yellow Heart and sleep with her." Ruby proposes.

-"Oh yeah, speaking of that, how is she?" Pilot asks.

-"Scanning...vital signs are stable, Yellow Heart is healthy and is sleeping. Brainwave activity is surprisingly high, however." Ruby answers.

Pilot appears to be thinking about something, I shall wait for what he has to say.

Nanuk P.O.V.

     Which should I choose? If I go on top, she'll have her space but I'll have to stay awake. If I go in with her, it'll be a lot more cramped but I'd actually be able to sleep. I was cut off mid-thought by Ruby.

-"Pilot, massive rain storm approaching. We are out of time, you must embark now." Ruby said.

-"Alright then." I said as Ruby opened the plates.

     Guess I have no choice then, here we go. I got in and surprisingly, I could fit inside without much pressure. I mean, both of us were pretty much against each other but at least we both have our space. I took a look through the ocular systems to check on the storm outside, it was really coming down.

     I was just about to close my eyes to sleep until I felt something bump my shoulder. I looked to the side to see that Yellow Heart was resting her head on my shoulder, using it as some sort of pillow. I guess it's okay for now, I mean, nobody's watching us. I never noticed until now but with Ruby's internal temperature balancing system mixed with Yellow Heart's immense body heat, I've become pretty hot. It's reached a point where Yellow Heart has so much power that her body isn't physically capable of containing it, so it's dispersed naturally by body heat. Humans also emit natural body heat but Yellow Heart emits heat at 15 times that of a normal human. In fact scientists have predicted that Yellow Heart can be exposed to an environment of -120°C before feeling even the slightest bit cold. Nobody knows how she's so resilient though. Share energy only increases the strength of the person, not increase their resistance. I don't know if it was me not paying attention, or my constant admiration of Yellow Heart but eventually, I started to become very tired. I closed my eyes as I took the opportunity and took Yellow Heart's hand in mine. Now that I think of it, we never got to spend time together that WASN'T being monitored by somebody and Ruby is A.I. so neither us nor her mind it. I let my mind slip away as I thought about having some alone time with Yellow Heart for once.

R̵u̕҉b̧͞y P.O.V.

Pilot status: aslee̶p ́w͘ith̵ ͡Y͏èllòw͞ ̢He͜art

M͟ai҉n͏ ̵co͜mp̀utin͠g ̸s͝yst͡em ͠b̴ei̴n̵g͜ ̴s̴lig̀ḩtly͏ diśt̴u̧rbèd ͞by h͜e̕a̷vy ͢do̕ẁǹfall  

Di̶s̢tàn̢ce̛ ͟t͟o ̕clo͟sest̡ ͘ou̕tp͠o̴śt̷: ̧5́00 m͘ȩtęr͞s̷  

Dow̵npou̵r̢ ̢l̡i̶m͞i̷tin̷g̷ ́òc̡ular͜ s̶y̨s͘t͞ém͟s̷  

Spotlight pointe̷̛̕d͡ ͏͢at̷̸̴ ̡̕R̨u̶b̴y̴͠

-"Halt! Name and order number!" Friendly Eden soldier requests.

-"R̛u͝by, I͏'̴m car̸r̡ying̛ ̛pr͢ec̶i͜o͠u͠s͝ ͏cargo an̵ḑ my̢ P҉ilo͝t͝ w҉ho i̶s i̡n n̸ee̡d̵ of ͜ ͘me͜di͡cal͏ ̕a͜ssista͏nc̵e̢"Ruby responds

-"Ruby!...*inaudible*...open the gates!" Friendly Eden soldier declares.

W҉ak͝ing͠ ͢up ͜Pìl͢ơt̸  

Nanuk P.O.V.

-"Pilot, friendly forces require you to show yourself to them." Ruby said, abruptly waking me up.

-"Open up." I said, still groggy from the sleep.

     I stepped out of Ruby and showed my face to the soldier at the Eden outpost. The gates soon opened after that and we called for a pickup from Anonydeath. 

-"Anonydeath, sir, are you there?" I asked.

-"Wait, Nanuk? Nanuk is that you!?" Anonydeath said, surprised.

-"Yes sir, it's me." 

-"Thank the maker! Nanuk, I thought you were killed! I sent out search teams and they couldn't find you or Yellow Heart! I had to mark you both as M.I.A.! If you didn't contact me in three days, I'd have to put you both as "presumed dead"! And you know how much I LOVE writing death reports." He said sarcastically.

-"Yes sir, I know. But we're fine. All of us, Ruby, the Titan, Yellow Heart and myself are all safe now. We're at outpost 117, can we get a ride home?"

-"Unfortunately, you picked the worst time to get back on the radar Nanuk. The weather is too extreme to send anything out there. I'm sorry but you'll have to wait until this storm passes over. On the bright side, it'll give you and Yellow Heart time to rest and recover!"

-"I guess there's that. I guess I'll see you soon then?"

-"I'll be sure to send transport for you and the Titan as soon as I can. Until then though, sit tight Nanuk!" He said as he hung up.

I went back to Ruby who was still in control of the Titan and still being repaired by engineers.

-"Well, looks like we got at least a couple hours to waste." I said.

-"Pilot, I recommend you get to the nearest medical ray and heal yourself. We will have better odds of surviving that way. In the meantime, I'll stay here and wait until my repairs are finished." Ruby said.

-"Alright, sounds good. See ya later." 

-"The probability that I will acquire visual contact with you in the near future is high, yes."

-"*chuckle* typical A.I.." I said as I left the repair bay.

     I made my way to medical ray 07 and stayed in it for a minute or so just to be sure that everything's good. After that, I went into my quarters, room #47. I went inside, got out of my armor, brushed my teeth and was about to get into bed when I noticed that there was someone else already in it...staring at me attentively. Yellow Heart. Embarrassed about being in nothing but my underwear and not sure what to do, I just stood there waiting for something to happen. Eventually after a while of staring, she spoke up.

-"What is that blocking your legs? Are they some kind of shorts?" She asked.

-"Uhhh...yeah...sure, let's go with that." I said.

-"*yawn* I was waiting for you to get here! Now we can cuddle allllll night!" She said happily with a pleasant smile on her face.