"Doctor, W has withdrawn all the Reunion forces ahead. As long as we pass through this next street, we'll be out of Chernobog safely."
Seeing that the Doctor wasn't responding, Scout leaned in and whispered a reminder.
W hadn't gone back on her word. She truly had withdrawn her troops without interference.
"Mhm, good,"
Jay nodded to Scout, then added calmly,
"But before we leave... there's one more person I want to bring back with us."
The surrounding Rhodes Island members blinked in confusion.
"Bring someone back?"
"Who?"
"Doctor, who are you talking about?"
Amiya even glanced around at their group. The mission had gone relatively smoothly. Though some were injured, not a single operator had been left behind in Chernobog. Who else could he possibly mean?
"Wait here, everyone. I'll be back in a moment."
Jay didn't explain further. He strode forward and shouted toward the receding figure of W.
"W! Hold up!"
"Hm? You're calling me, Doctor?"
W turned around with a look of mild annoyance.
To her, the amnesiac Doctor had lost all value. She'd planned to check back only after he potentially regained his memories.
"I'm busy. If it's nothing important, I'm leaving."
"You're not going anywhere."
Jay stood tall, hands clasped behind his back, voice firm and commanding.
W chuckled.
"Doctor, are you trying to be funny? Or are you pretending to be amnesiac just to answer my questions now?"
Jay shook his head with a faint smile.
"No jokes. And I still won't be answering your questions."
"Then what is it you do want?"
She sounded increasingly impatient.
Jay slowly raised a hand and whispered,
"Heaven's Chains."
Clink… clink… clink...
A golden chain shimmered into existence in midair. It danced unnaturally, twisting with eerie precision, and wrapped itself tightly around the unsuspecting W.
"Wh-What the hell?!"
W gasped in disbelief.
She had never expected the Doctor to suddenly chain her up out of nowhere.
A seasoned mercenary like W instantly reacted, dodging to the side the moment the chain appeared. But the chain bent in midair, almost as if it had a will of its own, and still managed to coil around her.
What was going on with this Doctor? Aside from his infamous low-blow tactics, he'd somehow mastered chain-based Originium Arts too?!
"You think a simple chain can hold me? Dream on!"
W struggled fiercely. But to her horror, the more she fought back, the tighter the chains wound around her. Even her hands, which had instinctively reached for her grenades, were now locked down.
"You won't escape Heaven's Chains so easily,"
Jay said with a devilish grin.
"Mmphh mmmphhhh!"
By now, W was fully wrapped in shimmering chains, like a glittering golden mummy. She couldn't even speak properly anymore.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Jay tossed the bound W over his shoulder and casually jogged back to the stunned Rhodes Island group.
"Alright, let's move out! We're leaving the city!"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Doctor?! What are you doing this time?!
The Rhodes Island operators had already been preparing to leave in peace. W had backed off. There was no need for further conflict.
So why did the Doctor suddenly decide to kidnap W?!
Was he trying to piss off Reunion on purpose?!
"W-Wait, did they just take W hostage?!"
"This is bad! We have to get her back!"
Even if they disliked W's personality, Reunion couldn't just sit by while one of their own got taken.
But their retreat had taken them too far. Even after turning back, they couldn't catch up with Rhodes Island in time.
"Nearl! Take the prisoner!"
Jay hurled the trussed-up W like a sack of potatoes to Nearl.
Though she didn't fully understand his intentions, Nearl didn't hesitate. She hoisted W over her shoulder and began running for the city outskirts.
"Everyone, fall back! Now! That's an order!"
With Chernobog's edge in sight, Jay turned to face a nearby intersection. Activating his Jade Barrier, he stood his ground alone as Reunion forces gave chase.
"I am the Doctor of Rhodes Island!" he shouted. "If anyone here wants to be the first to get kicked in the nuts, step forward!"
"Wait, WHAT?!"
"Holy he's serious again?!"
All the male Reunion troops visibly flinched, some even instinctively covered their groins.
Jay didn't waste time. After intimidating the advancing enemies just enough to buy time, he rejoined the main group.
With W now a hostage, Reunion's casters and snipers dared not open fire. Their melee troops, afraid of the Doctor's infamy (and Scout's cover fire), advanced with extreme caution.
Soon, Rhodes Island made it safely out of Chernobog. Reunion stopped pursuing.
"Everyone, sound off! No one left behind, right?"
The communications operator sent the signal to their extraction team, while Amiya moved through the ranks helping the medics check injuries.
Despite the chaos, no one had been lost. It was a dangerous but ultimately successful retreat.
"Phew… that final escape was seriously intense."
Nearl dropped W unceremoniously onto the ground. She then sat down to rest with Dobermann, Ace, Scout, and the others.
Everyone was still trying to wrap their heads around what the Doctor had just done.
They could've left peacefully. So why kidnap a Reunion officer at the last minute and almost cause a full-blown skirmish?
"Heh… I'm sure the Doctor had a reason,"
Scout chuckled knowingly.
"If I'm right, capturing W will bring more long-term value to Rhodes Island than the danger we just faced. And considering no one was hurt in the end… maybe it was all part of his plan."
"This was part of the Doctor's calculations?!"
"If so… then the Doctor is terrifyingly brilliant…"
Even those still confused nodded slowly, swayed by Scout's confidence.
"Mmph! Sc...ou...let...me...go...mmph!"
W, still bound at Nearl's feet, squirmed and protested through clenched chains.
Scout gave a helpless smile.
"Sorry, W. The Doctor's the one who caught you. Our deal never included rescuing you from him."
"You! Aaaaarghhh !"
Her furious, muffled screams echoed across the open sky.