AN: This part is a bit short, but the next one should prove to be a bit longer. This chapter in general is related to a date night scenario, and we'll see how well that goes for them over the course of the chapter. :)

Chapter 82.1: Operation: Fiance Shock and Awe

The train pulled into the station at Valkovia a few hours after the incident. During the time on the train Rhea had been forced to continue to deal with the fallout from her accidental overshare. Unfortunately, another problem had occurred on her way to see her fiancé.

A loud emasculated scream echoed through the air as the train doors opened. Rhea was the first to reach the platform from her section, but not long afterward a large man with bull horns growing from his head staggered out of the train. He clutched at his injured manhood and cried out high-pitched promises of pain and death toward Rhea, before falling to his knees.

The elf maiden tossed her hair over her shoulder then strolled off from the scene as though nothing had happened. She had needed that. Crushing the hopes and dreams of a train pervert had greatly improved her mood.

It did not take long before she spied her boys. Scott and Herbert stood next to each other, each of them smiling warmly in their own fashion. Herbert's smile was a bit subdued due to his rodent features, but it was obvious that he was happy to see her.

She strolled over to where they stood, but then took a surprised step back when Scott called out, "Battery! Attention!"

Scott and Herbert stood up straight, arms at their sides. "Present... Arms!"

The silly duo saluted Rhea in unison. Scott spoke up. "Welcome home lady ma'am sir."

Rhea laughed warmly then stood up straight and returned the salute. "Carry on!"

"Oh, I shall." said Scott before rushing forward to scoop her up in his arms.

Herbert crossed his front legs over his chest and chittered a little in amusement. These two were always fun to watch.

Scott spun around in a circle with Rhea in his arms then kissed her softly. They stayed that way for a while before she mentioned the fact that he could put her down.

"Request denied." said Scott. He hefted her into his arms in a princess carry then turned off toward the sidewalk.

Herbert ran over and climbed up his back till he reached his shoulder. "Battery! Forward, march!"

Rhea laughed again as her ridiculous fiancé marched off toward the exit to the train station. A thought occurred to her before they reached the sidewalk at the exit. "I thought it was company forward and all that?"

"I'm an artillery man. We have batteries instead of companies." said Scott lightly.

He pivoted smartly and turned off down the sidewalk, Rhea still held like a princess. She spoke up again a short distance later, a sweet smile on her lips. "You can't seriously intend to carry me like this the entire way."

Scott nodded his head. "You're right. This will never work."

Rhea quirked her eyebrow slightly but before she could say anything, Scott cried out, "Double Time! March!" and took off at a steady running pace. Rhea cried out in surprise then clung to him a little. Herbert was forced to grip Scott's shoulder tight to avoid falling off.

He raced down the sidewalk as quickly as he could while avoiding the other pedestrians. Rhea could not help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

The blue haired artillery sorcerer weaved through the sidewalk crowd with practiced ease. However, after turning a corner he only narrowly avoided running into an enforcer patrol.

"Battery! Halt!" cried Scott without any concern for how he looked. He came to a stop and stood at attention.

"Hey, what's the rush, citizen?" asked one of the black armored men.

"I am on my way to begin an important campaign."

"Military campaign." the men glanced to each other then back to the blue haired man holding an elf maiden in his arms.

"What campaign?"

Scott lifted Rhea up a bit and she giggled in response. "Operation: Fiancé Shock and Awe."

The men stood there stone-faced for a moment then grins broke out on their faces. "Carry on citizen." the one on the left said before they both stepped to the side.

"Battery! Forward, March!" cried Scott before he took off at a steady march once more. Once he was past the enforcers he called out double-time and ran off toward his mission objective once more.

"Wonder what unit he's with?" asked the enforcer on the left.

"With that hair? He's probably from one of the Lunarian regiments." said the enforcer on the right.

"Ah, a sorcerer... Makes sense."

Despite the distance, Rhea's laughter echoed through the air to such an extent that the men could still hear her. The enforcer on the right called out, "Give her hell soldier!"

The enforcers looked to each other then laughed again. While Scott retreated into the distance the enforcer on the left said. "Hey, I'm hungry. Want to hit up the sandwich shop?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Greelak is supposed to be getting in a new shipment of explosive ordinance soon, too." said the enforcer on the right.

"Think it's come in, yet?" asked the enforcer on the left, his eyes wide with the possibilities.

They stared at each other for a moment then their grins returned. "Let's go!" they cried simultaneously, before running off to find a proper sandwich perhaps a few quality hand grenades.

Three hours later, up in the hotel room that the group shared, Herbert did his best to concentrate on the task at hand. He carefully slipped a bead along a bit of braided leather. He was close to finished with his handicraft, would have been done with it already if not for a last minute bit of inspiration.

As he carefully threaded the bead, he was forced to put his whole concentration into the creation. Unfortunately a loud cry echoed through the room that caused the bead to fly out of his hand. "Boom! Ar-tillery!" shouted Scott. Rhea's ridiculous laughter continued to echo through the room as operation fiancé shock and awe continued into its second hour.

Herbert stared at the door to their room with a flat expression for a moment then sighed. Briefly he toyed with the idea of trying to work on the helmet again, but another loud cry convinced him that it would be useless for the day. "Who's your king of battle?"

"That's some big ordinance you have there, lieutenant!" exclaimed Rhea, getting in on the act.

"That's one hundred fifty-five millimeters of freedom and democracy, ma'am!" cried out Scott in an overly serious tone.

Rhea said something that the wall muffled slightly. Scott's much louder response was a cheeky, "I'm an officer and a pervert."

Herbert's mouth dropped open a little then he made a slight gagging noise. He tossed the braided leather down then headed toward the balcony. It took a little time and effort, but he managed to open the sliding door enough to squeeze through. The voices were muffled enough now that he could at least concentrate on his dance practice. The little rodent was glad that they were spending quality time together, but must they me so noisy about it?

Time passed, as it often did. Eventually, Operation: Fiancé Shock and Awe became Operation: Hold on, I Have to Pee. This new campaign eventually led to Scott and Rhea coming up for air long enough to want to shower and get dinner.

Rhea walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel and a smile the bespoke absolute bliss. Scott walked out not long after, wearing the same outfit. He made a joke about how their outfits matched that caused Rhea to reach up and pat him on the cheek.

In response Scott reached down, gripped her by her impertinent rear and pulled her close. They shared a sweet lingering kiss for a moment, before breaking apart to get dressed.

Once they left the bedroom, Scott and Rhea were greeted to the sight of Herbert standing on a platter of food. "What? Where did this come from?"

Herbert pointed to a slip of paper nearby. After reading it Scott blinked then looked down at the happily eating rodent. "How could you have possibly ordered room service? Do they speak Grassrat?"

The little professional dancer shrugged his shoulders then offered Scott a slice of cantaloupe, which Scott declined. "We were planning to head out to eat. Do you want to come?"

Herbert shook his head then made a shooing motion toward them. It was as though he was telling them to go have fun.

Rhea and Scott said goodbye to their companion and set out to find dinner and romance. Herbert sighed a happy little rodent sigh then finished up a slice of fruit before he wandered back over to his helmet. Maybe he would be able to get a little work done now.