Chapter 2: They Keep Coming!

Tears welled up in Ikaros' eyes. Her hoodie slid off of her shoulders and her wings blazed a sky blue color. Her reactor was under copious amounts of stress, yet she didn't shut down. She simply looked into the sky.

"Where, where is my master?" Ikaros whispered.

Her clothes were quickly replaced with her angeloid armor. Then, as quick as the armor appeared, it disappeared. Ikaros continued to glitch and cry for several minutes.

"Alpha...?"

Ikaros stopped glitching and looked into the dark expanse of her home. She maintained a laser focus as she studied the hall. Nothing. She began to rise.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, you might get hurt."

She stopped and tried to find where the sound was coming from. She activated her sound wave detection system. Echoes reverberated around the entire house. Yet there was one place that seemed unusually active.

"Target locked. Artemis, fire."

A pair of projectiles emerged from her wings and sped towards where Tomoki's room was. The building exploded in spectacular fashion. Ikaros immediately flew straight to it. She prepared Hephaestus and inspected the charred remains of her masters room. She was surprised to find a girl in considerably suggestive clothes. There was just one issue.

She had wings.

"Identify yourself." Ikaros said coldly.

"Heh...haha...fine. I am Battle-Class Angeloid, type Omicron: Hera!" The girl dropped her cloaking measures and rushed Ikaros.

"Aegis, engage!" The shield protected her from Hera's attack, and sent her gliding into the backyard. Ikaros followed closely behind.

"Where is my master?" Ikaros exclaimed. Hera ignored the question and attempted to rush Ikaros again. Ikaros noticed this time that Hera brandished a kukri at her hip when she rushed. Ikaros side-stepped to avoid the attack and countered with a chop to her spine. Hera collapsed but rapidly recovered, but was met with the barrel of a cannon. Ikaros had activated Hephaestus and had the gun aimed to kill.

"I am going to ask again. Where is my master?" Hera simply smiled.

"We've taken him to the Synapse." While this would've prompted serious distress out of Ikaros usually, this time Ikaros didn't even flinch. Hera was lying to her.

"I grow tired of your games, Hera. This is your final warning. Tell me where Master is."

"So you can see through them that easily, huh?" Hera sighed. "Then I guess I'll just have to leave." With this, Hera shot concentrated beams into Ikaros' eyes, temporarily blinding her. Hera flew away and reinstated her cloaking measures. Ikaros rubbed her eyes wildly until she could finally see. She looked around but could not find the enemy angeloid anywhere. She frantically searched the area around the house, but upon finding nothing, she admitted defeat. She decided to return to Sugata to find guidance on the matter.

"Interesting. Based on what you've told me I've gathered this. Battle-Class Angeloid, type Omicron, Hera. Third generation angeloid. Capable of immense speed. Weapon of choice: kukri. Can cause temporary blindness. Has rudimentary cloaking skills, yet can be quieter than snow. Expected battle strategy, silent assassination." Sugata explained.

"How do I defeat her, Sugata?" Ikaros inquired.

"Take her away from places to hide, and she can't surprise you. Her hand to hand combat skills will likely be superior, but ranged attacks will work in your favor. As for the blindness, how long did you say it lasted?"

"Around 5 seconds."

"Deploy Aegis to its maximum size. She won't be able to escape, then after your vision has returned she will likely have no where to go." Ikaros bowed.

"Thank you again Sugata. I will bring Master home." Ikaros spread her wings and launched into the air. Sugata adjusted his glasses and watched her fly away.

"I know you will, Ikaros," he said quietly.

Ikaros flew around Sorami City for an hour, trying to find somewhere with enough space around it that Hera would be easier to fight. She decided that the best place would be the plains in front of the old cherry blossom tree. She landed in front of it and glided her hand across its bark.

"I will get you back Master. Mark my words." Ikaros then turned away from the tree.

"Hera! Come fight me!" she screamed into the sky. She took a battle stance and activated her Uranus Queen mode. She remained unwavering and focused. Finally, Hera appeared and began to converse with Ikaros.

"You know Alpha, I don't understand. How can you leave the comfortable haven of Synapse for this shithole of a planet? You could reach your full potential, Alpha! You can do so much more!" Hera proclaimed.

"Then why hasn't the Synapse created something that can defeat me yet?"

Hera stopped, dumbfounded.

"Earth is better than the Synapse in every way. My master loves me and I love him. Death is not a norm here. We strive to help one another. We have fun. You may not know what fun is, Hera, and that deeply saddens me. It is a wonderful feeling. You still have a chance to live here. We don't have to fight." Hera clenched her teeth and fists.

"N-no... Master said that Earth was a terrible place that corrupts angeloids and makes them disobedient..."

"There is something that you and your master have in common."

"What's that?"

"You both lie. Earth is one of the best places in the universe. Everyone here appreciates each other. My master's chivalry toward us has actually grown into obedience without force or animosity."

"Alpha..." Hera looked at the ground then shook her head. "This is enough talking! I have to complete my mission!" Hera started to run toward Ikaros, with her kukri shining in the light of the setting sun. Ikaros dodged and gave Hera a jab to the rib. Hera yelped and regained her composure.

"Do you know what they call my blade? They call it Excalibur!" Hera's kukri then glowed in a golden light, as it extended into a gleaming longsword. She wasted no time in swinging the newly extended blade toward Ikaros. Ikaros activated Aegis and deflected the attack. She proceeded to activate Hephaestus and fire a powerful blast toward Hera. Hera nearly dodged it, but her leg fell victim to the beam's strength. Hera's leg had disintegrated and left her only able to fly. Ikaros took to the air and fired round after round of Artemis missiles at Hera, connecting nearly every time. Hera frantically tried to swipe at Ikaros with Excalibur, but she was simply too slow for her. Suddenly, one of the Artemis missiles hit home hard enough to send her careening back to the ground below. Ikaros chased after Hera's unconscious body, and as it hit the ground, Ikaros pinned her down.

"Hera, please. There is no reason for this. You can still be saved. Master would never see you as an enemy, you just need to stand down!" Ikaros pleaded. Hera's eyes started to tear up.

"Alpha, I want to say yes. I want to go with you. But I can't do it. I haven't seen any proof of what you're saying is true. I can't just believe that my master would lie to me. I will however give you the location of your master and friends. I will remain here on Earth and search for examples of what you say as being true. Maybe then I'll take you up on your offer. But if I see more than three counter examples, I will return to my mission."

"Very well. Where is my master?"

"He's hidden in a secret room inside of a waterfall, with the rest of your friends. Go to him."

"I hope we can come to peaceful terms, Hera"

"As do I."

Ikaros flew to the waterfall Hera directed her to. Upon its discovery, she fired Artemis at it until she heard the familiar sound of her master's voice.

"Ah, what the hell?!" he exclaimed.

"Master, I have come to save you," Ikaros informed him. After telling everyone what happened, the group returned to Tomoki's house. Tomoki and Ikaros went up to his room.

"Master, I have something to tell you," Ikaros said.

"Let me hear it!" Tomoki replied.

"Master, I love you. You are the only human that I could ever love, and I want to be with you forever. I will never leave your side."

"Ikaros, I love you too." The two looked into each other's eyes for quite a while. Eventually, Ikaros leaped up and hugged Tomoki. Tomoki returned the hug and turned Ikaros' face toward him. Ikaros used this opportunity to kiss him passionately. After they separated, Ikaros gave Tomoki a light smile, and a short, cute laugh. Her reactor didn't hurt anymore.

Life is as it should be.

Man, I love how this is turning out. By the way, If you guys catch any typos anywhere, please don't hesitate to message me! I like to have my writing clean and legible. Also, if you ever want to simply talk about the story or anything else, I'm always available to message! Again, please review, it really motivates me to continue writing better and better, and it helps the story grow!