I Don't Get Paid Enough For This Shit
Author's Notes:
Jesus Christ, it's annoying, changing the line spacing to exactly the way I like it. It's so frustrating. Anyways, hopefully this chapter won't be as hard to write as the last one. I have an entire weekend to finish rewriting IDGPE and chapters 2 and 6 of Parallel Worlds and SxD respectively. I'm probably going to put IDGPE's rewrite on hold, since chapter 6+ is average in quality. And I'll just say this to who ever haven't read chapter 5 for this fic:
The original Chapter 5 sucks. A lot.
Now regarding my new narrative style:
I frequently switch between first and third person now. To be honest, I have no idea why I do this. Usually, I'd stick with simply first person, but there are some things first person can't completely fill such as how the entire crew feels without having a weird line like:
I walked around the ship and talked to the crew. They weren't happy with the arrangements that the cafeteria made and preferred the original.
And one fault of that is that I have to make the character walk around and talk. What if he was in a dire situation? What if he was the ship captain and he doesn't like conversing with his men? Of course I could just have a line that was like:
I heard the two over there talking. They didn't like the new additions that I made to the engine room and it seems none of my crew like it as well.
That just sounds weird. I have no absolute justification on switching between first and third person. Some times it's just easier one way, at times it's more comfortable, etc.
On another note, after reading too much gabriel blessing, I stopped typing dialogue like this:
"(Talk talk)"
"(talk talk talk)"
But I now write more like this:
"(talk talk)" (Name) said
"(talk talk talk)" (name said)
It's infuriating at times, and I'm planning on cutting me some slack this chapter.
Right now, as I edit this author's note, I'm eating this...as my mom says it... "Rice mixed in with baking soda, add a little sugar and leave it for a few days" plus coconut "milk" pieces mixed in. How does it taste? Weird, it leaves this weird taste in your mouth but it's also surprisingly sweet. It also helps with intestinal parasites, since I'm living in Cambodia right now; there are a lot of worms here.
Life tip: Frequently take parasite pills, you may and probably do have worms in your gut.
Disclaimer: I own NONE of the SONGS that have been mentioned in this chapter. I also recommend you listen to them when they pop up. All MGR Revengence songs mentioned are the short ones from the OST unless stated otherwise.
P.S.
I don't know Japanese. But you should have guessed that by now.
Chapter 4: War-Games
It's been a while since we've rendezvoused with the Freedom. Even then, it didn't feel all that special. Basically, the entire scene went like this: we've arrived back at base, we got pats on the back, and Cortana began studying Infinite Stratos tech and the rest of the group split. Aile immediately went to the hanger to get a new Pelican. She's been modifying the bonkers out of her new ride or "girl" as she likes to call it. Onyx and Ellis went back to their platoon, Hell-Storm. We barely talk with Onyx and Ellis gives us a few greeting words here and there. Ichika and Rosa, we've met a lot more often, usually at War Games. It usually consists of us beating the shit out of the two and then me tea-bagging one of the two. Speaking of Spartans, there are about three thousand UNSC personnel here. There's probably more, but I'm rounding it off at that. A thousand of them are staff. They serve us food; clean the hallways, repair damage to the ship, maintain the ship, maintain everything else, and help Cortana, the usual. The other two thousand plus are military, obviously. Over half of the military personnel are Marines. Within those marines, two thirds of them are fresh from boot camp, the rest are veterans in the Human-Covenant war. Most of the ODSTs are veterans as well and the Spartan-IVs are mostly pre-ODSTs and pre-Marines. There are a few Spartan-IIIs in there, a few, three hundred tops.
The techs and hackers in the staff have recently been able to hack into the internet, this world's internet anyways. It gave Cortana so much information, but demanded that we run an anti-virus scan at every five minute interval to scrape the cookies and virus that somehow latched onto the Freedom's mainframe. It shouldn't be a problem either, we have a second AI in the Freedom, but we haven't met him/her yet. Ah and of course, how could I forget, and because we're connected to the internet, a large portion of the internet is now on the Freedom's hard drive. When I asked around or hacked around, I found that, that portion is actually porn. Well, I guess if you're on a military ship you can only bring so many magazines. I wouldn't know because my sex drive is suppressed.
Well, part of it was also very useful information and documentaries about Infinite Stratos. You see, in 2015, the IS's first combat capabilities were tested. It had destroyed or stopped two thousand three hundred forty one missiles, two hundred seven fighter jets, seven cruisers, five aircraft carriers and eight satellites and somehow avoided human casualties, a feat not even a Spartan could manage with just our equipment. And somehow, I was able to climb up behind one and got her into an arm lock and subsequently knocked her out. What a lackluster.
"Jesus Christ, these graphics are amazing- not." I sighed and leaned further back into my chair, completely bored. In my new helmet and armor, I finished watching a shitty American Television show. It was probably the most interesting thing since school. Now, I resorted to shouting random thsings when staff or military personnel walked by. I need to get a life. Lucky for me, a massive War Games match: Military Simulation was about to begin – in two hours. "I need to find something else to waste my time with." I sighed pathetically.
"Never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down! Never gonna- fuck this, I'm bored to hell!" I prematurely smashed my fist into my knee and immediately stood up straight. I was going to go meet Cortana. There has got to be something better for me to do, or I swear I will kill something. I paced down the boxy corridors, bypassing staff and occasionally stopping by near a lounge to take a short break. This is what happens when you try to travel across a seven kilometer long ship that is two kilometers wide. Seriously though, how did the USA, Japan or any other country with a satellite or Google Maps not find us yet? We're metaphorically waving a freaking flare around in the middle of the night and shouting, "Here I am, come kill me and take all my stuff please!" Either they're blind or they haven't noticed us yet which I find very, very unlikely.
"Cortana, I'm bored!" I shouted as I entered her de-facto lab. There were mechanical arms everywhere and a pedestal containing her Data Chip. I could see her avatar, naked, purple and has cybernetic lines running across her body. She turned towards me and gave me a sassy look, folding her arms.
"What can I do for you?" She asked.
"Got any weapons I can test out?" I replied, eager.
"Sadly no, unless you count my prototype IS as one." I could see that flash in her eyes, but I was too excited to tell.
"Prototype, oh for the love of god 'lemme play with it!" I began maneuvering around the room like a monkey, trying to find her 'IS'.
"Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme." I repeated as if I was in a trance. Finally, the AI gave in and deactivated the cloaking field surrounding her pet project. It looked bulky but it was an IS, in shape anyways.
"I can't complete it since I don't have the resources available to make a flight unit, shields and a stronger fusion core. At the moment, I have a weak fusion core installed in the IS and some essentials such as bipedal locomotion, combat programs, lock-on features and some other interesting things that humans should have thought of but didn't." I turned towards her.
"Such as," I asked.
"Artificial wings that can accelerate a person to several times mach speed." She answered. I whistled.
"How fast can this thing go?" I asked, turning back to the mech. "Three times mach speed, four times mach speed," I shuttered at my next thought, "Five times mach speed?"
"Try 70 kilometers per hour."
"Why that was disappointing." I nearly cried.
"With your augments I mean, 70 clicks an hour. It won't stress out your body as much as the MJOLNIR does and it has somewhat decent shielding and weapon strength." She explained. "However, it lacks the Reactive Crystal layer and your MJOLNIR's regenerating shields during active combat. I'm still trying to figure out a method of allowing you to wear your armor under the Infinite Stratos."
"Then I'd have two layers of shielding that may or may not attempt to cancel each other out, a very sensitive exoskeleton and my combat capabilities would increase two fold yet again." I ended. "Yeah, I like that. When can I have it ready for a test run?"
"Never, this is specifically made for AI control, in other words: me. I'll have yours and John's ready when I complete my hypothesis and perfect the UNSC's newest exoskeleton." Her smile turned into a grin.
"So, what are we going to call them?" I asked.
"The suit specifically or rename the actual line of equipment?" Cortana specified.
"The suit," I verified. Cortana paused for a moment.
"How about the Swallow," She asked. "I've specialized this for all form of ranges, excluding close quarters, and made this unit specifically for speed."
"Sounds nice, then this IS will be called [The Swallow]?" I said. Her holographic avatar nodded. "Then just get your own physical body implanted into the IS and you'll have a medium to interact through."
"Sounds like fun." She commented. I gave her a thumb up and turned around. The door opened for me. I could hear the sounds of sparks and blowtorches behind me.
I hurriedly went and got a snake at the mess hall, a club sandwich. I questioned them on the condition of the supplies; they said that we'd have plenty to last several years, which was a relief. The Shadow of Intent's own ration supply is none of my business, but I don't want any Jackals running around human cities and eating...us. Dear god, that rolls off the tongue weirdly. I walked up to the water fountain and took a sip, enough to satisfy and fill me up. Hopefully it won't all come out during War Games. Speaking of which, I should get going.
I walked all the way to the simulator room. I'm still laminating over the fact that they don't have any form of HSTs (High Speed Transports) in seven kilometer long ship. It's stupid, imagine being in the middle of space warfare and all the crew members were in the mess hall. Now I know there are multiple cafeterias all around the ship, but still, their posts are probably 20-30 meters away! Hell, total walking time would probably be one entire kilometer. That crew member will have to run all the way from the cafeteria to their post and then engage in combat knowing that they've spent an entire hour trying to find their way in this maze of a ship during combat. That's an entire hour the ship was vulnerable and we probably would have died by then.
After walking for what seemed like hours, I finally arrived at the simulation room. The nearest technician led me to a table-bed thing. It looked like the animus from Assassin's Creed crossed with a bed, and when I say crossed with a bed, I mean it just has cushions and is slanted to give you a sitting posture. How do I know Assassin's Creed? I found it when I was wandering the Internet and found the 21st century YouTube. Yes, even in 2552, we have an intergalactic YouTube. That aside, they hooked up my armor to the animus-bed or the War Games simulator. I could see my armor's specs and variant appear on the screen to my left. It read my armor variant, my software version, my "Mark" and my UNSC ID which was MCPOS000. John's would be MCPOS117.
"MJOLNIR Assault Armor Mark VI, Mark VI variant, software version: 9.013, ID: MCPOS000," It read. It gave me a wireframe layout of my MJOLNIR Mark VI, which was identical to John's in everyway except for the battle scars. Well, mine was black and red while his was olive green and I have a combat vest with a close quarters weapon system in it. He doesn't.
"Excuse me, Master Chief, sir?" I turned to the tech in question and gave him a Sonic stare. Which was basically a really creepy stare named after me. "I'll need to insert this into your helmet." He held up the successor to the USB with several cables attached to it. Sighing, I sat up straight and lowered my head. He injected- inserted the USB into my helmet. It felt like ice cold water was being flushed down my spine. I quivered for a moment before lying back down.
"Now, I'm going to administer a drug that will send you into a sleep-state. Since our War Game terminals are full, we're going to use your helmet and armor as a terminal. However, you may feel mild pain during the match." He said. I gave him an uneasy nod. I didn't like that "mild pain" bit. I can tell he's trying to assure that this wouldn't hurt, not one bit. I see your plan boy; don't think I'll come out of this unscathed. Well, it's obvious I'm not going to come out of this unscathed. This is a fucking War Game, of course I'm not going to come out of here unscathed and possibly broken.
"Uh...now what," I asked reluctantly.
"Now, we wait for the drugs to kick in, sorry for the wait. Would you like it if I played some music to help you sleep?" The tech asked politely.
"Ah, yes, that would be helpful. Could you search my suit's data base for a song called 'Asu e no Houkou'," The young boy looked at me; his face told me that he was confused. "It means Roar toward Tomorrow, it should look like this," I quickly snatched his data pad and switched it over to sketch mode. I drew the lines, "未来への咆哮" or the song title in Japanese.
"Oh, please wait for a moment." I waited for about two seconds. Then awesome music began playing in my ears. I smiled.
"That's better." I said.
"If you need anything, please call me." The tech gave me a friendly smile before turning around and tending to other Spartans. I guess the simulator rooms were completely full; I'm just in the lobby right now with a makeshift sim-emulator for this very purpose.
I exhaled deeply. My eyes quickly began to get heavy. I had trouble keeping them open. A large yawn stretched my facial muscles and seemed to tire me out even more. My vision started to get blurry. I blinked. Then I blinked again. Then I didn't have the willpower to open my eyes. I was fully conscious, completely aware of everything. My mind was still active, my body however was relaxing. My hearing blurred, my senses numbed. I couldn't feel a thing. Summoning up the last of my strength, I mumbled the words, "Link Start." Then fell into a soon-to-be painful sleep.
"Welcome, MCPO Spartan-000 to the United Nations Space Command Destroyer-Class ship, Freedom's third War Games MMOSG or Massively Multiplayer Online Simulator Game." The female announcer said in fluent English. "Today, we will be simulating a war between two factions. Unlike previous War Games, you will be able to pick a wide variety of weapons, ranging from FURY Tactical Nukes to melee weapons such as the Katana or Chinese Falchions."
Interesting, that means I can kill more people by throwing shards of metal at them and somehow penetrate their armor with it. I can use Spartan time to aim with melee weapons and hit exposed body parts.
"The scenario for this War Game is: Complete Dominion. You have seven control points you must capture and secure. There are three on each side and one in the center. After you secure all the control points, you must search and destroy all remaining enemies. If you lose a control point to an enemy, they will be able to respawn and the game will continue. The time limit for this match is seven hours." She continued.
"Oh fun," I said sarcastically.
"Please pick your in-game character representation and loadout." A screen appeared before me. Well, the first choice I am going to take is,
"Unicorn horn, yeah. I'll go with a black-red FOTUS helmet and crimson visor; I'll stick with my MJOLNIR Mark VI body and leg armor but change my shoulder pads to the Hayabusa shoulder pads please. And have a red mark run down the shoulder pad, if you may." I answered. "For my loadout, I'll go with a BR85HB SR Battle Rifle and a Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol. Also, I'd like two Long Swords or two Katanas if I can't get the long sword."
"Very well, you will appear in battle with a Black-Red FOTUS Helmet with a crimson visor, the MJOLNIR Mark VI body and leg armor you're currently wearing but with the exception of the shoulder pads which will be changed to MJOLNIR Mark VI Hayabusa Shoulder pads. Also, the weapons you will be carrying are: the BR85HB SR Battle Rifle, Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol and dual Katanas?" The announcer asked for verification.
"I'd prefer long swords, but that's okay." I sighed.
"You're order is taken, please note, your Katanas as well as every other player's unique melee weapon will be hidden. When you want to summon your melee weapon, please mentally command it. Also, abiding with UNSC regulation, you will be equipped with at least one Close Quarter Weapon System-"
"Actually, I'd also like the combat knives to be inserted into my shoulder pads, boots and two into my chest armor." I added.
"Pardon me, Master Chief?" She sounded confused for a moment.
"There's a slot in my previous MJOLNIR Mark V that allowed me to quickly withdraw a combat knife from my shoulder pads, and I also had a strap on each boot that held one combat knife. Also, my current vest holds two combat knives as well. It should let me quickly confused the enemy and kill them with a moment's notice." I explained. I was given a loud "ah," in response.
I heard a few mumbles over the chat before she returned to me, "Very well, Captain Edward has allowed it; however, other Spartans will now be given this choice to achieve perfect equilibrium."
"I don't care. I'm game breaker for this team." I retorted.
"With all due respect, Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-000, your acquaintance, I'm sure you know him, is on the opposing team. Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 if I remember correctly." I whistled.
"Well, this is going to be an interesting match." That guy has all the luck. He haz all ze luckz. As I like to say in unusually bad grammar and spelling.
"I agree completely sir! Anyways, thank you for joining this year's annual War Game. I will be looking forward to the results!" She chirped cheerfully.
"Leave it to me to make this the most awkward match you'll ever see, or the best. I wonder if War Games can handle graphic images." I mumbled to myself.
"Actually, we've altered the Simulator's graphics engine especially for this day! It was altered to help our new recruits sensitize themselves to blood and gore." The announcer replied.
"Uh...that was kind of creepy," I commented. "I mean, you replied to that in such a carefree and cheerful tone that... you know what, I'm not even going to ask."
"Please don't ask, enjoy the game!"
And then, I was thrown into what looked like a lobby. There were several Spartans surrounding a holo-table, strategizing. I quickly looked at my armor. It was customized alright. I looked at my surroundings. This building was very dull, no colors what so ever. I was a few meters away from the outside, and all I could see were moon rocks. I could feel the weightlessness as well. Outside, there was a wide arsenal of vehicles: M12 LRVs, M274 ULATVs, M808B Scorpion MBTs, and three M312 Heavy Recovery Vehicles, M-145D Mobile Artillery Assault Platforms, I think you get it. There are probably more vehicles and even Covenant vehicles in other areas.
"They weren't joking when they said 'Massive'; it feels like an actual warzone, how exciting." I grinned madly and joined the others. My weapons were placed on their respective magnetic hoisters, ready to be withdrawn at a moment's notice. More people began spawning in and I could tell they were excited. Some were fidgety, others repeated a certain behavior, and others kept it well hidden. One particular character was jumping up and down like an excited kid high on caffeine and sugar.
"-take the center control point. That should give us an advantage, allowing us to get to other control points quicker and more efficiently. It would also prevent us from wasting anymore spawn grenades." A tactician spoke. The holographic diagram moved at every motion he waved his hand in, following his every command.
"The enemy probably has the same idea," I interjected. "The only way from stopping this from becoming a bloodbath is if we capture the control point quickly and efficiently, can we do that?"
"Unlikely, all the control points in the theater has automated base defenses and the center control point is the most heavily guarded. We'll need to send in an infiltration team to disable the guns on our side and then we'll send in air support." He explained. I nodded, seeing is plan but there was another flaw.
"We'll also be completely surrounded if we manage to somehow lose all out control points. This is a death trap." I grimaced.
"I know, but the profits are too high. What do you propose?" The strategists stared at me, giving me an uneasy feeling.
"I'd do something radical. We'd still attempt to take the center control point but only to prevent the opposition from gaining a strategic advantage. Instead, we should get guerilla forces to hit and run at several of their spawn camps and base defenses, while another larger group can attack the enemy control points. That should keep the heat off the distraction forces and draw the enemy back. It would also annoy them, and possibly draw forces from all over the map, letting us strike quick and snatch a control point or two away from them." I said.
"That's a very aggressive tactic." One of them commented.
"It is. It would work best if the distraction team was in the center of everything, in a very unfavorable position. It also has to be quite large. I don't know what we're doing with all the vehicles here, but I can tell from this: only air vehicles can get to the center control point."
Yeah, the map was designed to be a mirror match. The top half is identical but mirrored in the lower half, they're perfectly symmetrical. There are small outposts that we can capture that are littered throughout the entire map and they're all controlled by a single control point or to a lesser degree, a spawn camp. If an enemy loses its control point, all of its outposts will cease to function; however, if you captured a spawn camp, you'll gain control of one or two outposts in that area. However, you'll need a mainframe to link up to in order to do that and mainframes are located in control points. There are seven major control points. One on the furthest south and north and two are facing opposite from each other on the side of the map. The ones furthest north and south are presumably our "main base". They're linked to each other with a series of underground corridors that have entrance points inside the control point main building. It's a faster route, but you could get lost easily.
The center control point was a massive tower. Its mainframe is situated on the very top, that's where we begin the hack. We can travel to the top using an anti-gravity elevator in the center. That's probably where most of the conflict will be as well. It is separated into three sections, each section containing an uneven amount of floors. The lowest section contains passages that lead to an elevator that will take you to the lowest section/top floor. There, you can take a small anti-gravity lift on the perimeter of the building to the middle section-lowest floor. There, you will have to fight your way up through a series of maze-like corridors until you reach the middle of the middle section. That's where the anti-gravity elevator is located. There are several destinations to for the lift, one has just been covered. The other three are: an aircraft hanger, helipad and spawn camp, an armory and another large amount of spawn camps, and the mainframe with three spawn camps. Unlike the outside, we can only spawn inside the center control point if we capture the lowest floor's spawn camps which then you'll have to fight your way back up to the gravity elevator or with spawn grenades which are basically smoke grenades.
"This is going to take a while isn't it?" I sighed.
"Probably, anyone you know on the enemy team?" One of the tacticians asked.
"Yes," I replied in a very disappointed voice. "His name is Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 or the Master Chief."
The entire room was silent for once. Every stopped what they were doing stared at me. Their piercing stares sent chills up my spine. The atmosphere suddenly got a lot colder as the stares progressed. Finally, when one of them finally gathered the courage to make a comment, it worsened the mood even more, "Oh shit."
"Hey Kuuga," I heard my name get called out. "You aren't going to participate in the War Game?" He said the War Game; looks like the annual spam-fest has begun.
"Sorry, not my thing," I replied with a small laugh. I heard a low whine come from the guy as he left, mumbling something about 'the best in the squad'. Come on, I'm not that good. I was currently cleaning our squad's personal armory, on orders from my company's captain. It was also my duty to maintain all the weapons in the armory, orders from my squad captain.
To be honest, I'd like to participate in the game as well, but I know I'd get completely destroyed by artillery fire and sniper rounds. That's always how it ends for me. I think I gained a subconscious sixth sense that allows me to predict where artillery is going to land before they hit and where snipers are before they kill me. Another solution is that I'm just being a hypocrite and I don't have a subconscious sixth sense and I'm just extremely suspicious and that suspicion allowed me to dodge all those artillery rounds and kill all those snipers. Nonetheless, it amazed everyone the first time it happened.
I rubbed my nose with the top of my finger furiously. When did I get a cold? The MJOLNIR Mark VII's internal temperature regulation should have kept me warm throughout the trip. Did I catch it here? No, that's impossible; we've only just arrived a few days ago. Maybe before... no, then the symptoms would have surfaced during the trip or early when we arrived at base. I grabbed another tissue and blew my nose. Oddly enough, no yellow snot appeared on the white tissue. In fact, it wasn't even remotely wet. And why do I smell perfume? On top all of that, I feel very dizzy.
Everything seemed to swirl around me. I walked into a wall, my heart leapt into my throat. Falling onto my knees, I could barely gasp for air.
"Help, someone help!" My voice came out in a low cracking sound, like an old man's. "Something weird is going on!"
"Ichika, what's wrong?" I felt a hand grasp my shoulder. I couldn't identify the voice, it seemed so far away.
I took in a deep breath of air, it sounded so painful. Then, I began to cough and gag. I placed my hands around my throat; it literally feels like my heart is in my neck right now. I nearly expelled everything I ate that day before I was abruptly thrown into an unfamiliar room, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. I was also wearing a uniform I didn't recognize. It was primarily white with a few notices of blue, black and red.
"So is this what heaven looks like?" I commented. "Color me disappointed."
"Ichika-san, you can speak English?" I heard someone ask in a foreigner's accent of Japanese.
"Never mind, this is some kind of weird dream and my secret fetishes are finally being revealed to me- where the hell am I?" I cursed, throwing the desk in front of me onto the floor and abruptly stomping out the room.
"W-wait Ichika-kun, what are you doing?" The oldest in the room, presumably an instructor or something, called out to me. Why was she speaking in such a familiar tone? I have never met any of these people before. An older woman stood in my way. She had long black hair and a very threatening glare. Her eyes were a deep red color, some might say blood red. It certainly wasn't a blood color, it was simply very red.
"Ichika, what the hell are you doing?" She asked, again, in a familiar tone. Hell, she even threw the honorific out; who the hell does she think she is?
"Out of my way," I replied, pushing her away. Surprisingly, she took the blunt of my shove and responded with an overhead strike with...a clipboard? My hands instinctively raised into the air, one to blink the strike, the other to subdue the foe. Two strikes landed in the woman's abdomen and massive chest, but I underestimated the force of her clipboard attack. I think I broke a bone.
"Oh, you're going to challenge me now eh?" Her smile was that of a demon's. I think I need new pants. I quickly regained composure and grabbed her clipboard arm, twisted my body around and abruptly bent my back down. The woman somehow countered, getting under my throw and instead threw me, out the window. I think I still have one of my armaments with me, a gravity lift.
I raised my hands in defense as I plunged out the second or third floor. Shards of glass imbedded themselves into my forearm. The pain was negligible, but the fall wasn't. My body flipped and smashed onto the pavement, back first. I don't even feel my augments right now; it's as if they never existed. I did feel an energy shield materialize at the last moment, but I think I broke a rib or two, or none and I just feel like shit. I turned around, my legs and forearms supported me as I tried to get up. Some blood dripped out my blood as I reached for my mouth. My forearms were completely covered with glass splinters on one end, and my back was probably littered with glass shards.
"Fuck me," I managed out as I coughed out a mouthful of blood. Did one of my internal organs rupture or something?
"Ichika, are you alright?" That same woman spoke to me, sounding somewhat concerned.
"You threw me out the fucking window from the third floor; do I look alright to you?" I replied in Japanese as I tried to claw the glass shards out of my arms.
"You started it, why didn't you activate your [Byakushiki]?" I turned back towards her.
"What the fuck is a 'White Expression'?" I cursed in English and turned my back on her and began limping away. Hell, this hurts; it hurts a lot for a dream. This is a really fucked up dream, who are these people? No, wait, this can't be a dream. I was working in the armory a moment ago, now I'm here. This isn't possible. Did I somehow get thrown across space time to-?
"Oh shit." My mouth widened as I began to realize what was going on. I took off the top of this uniform and checked my body. It wasn't as trained or developed as I remembered, in fact, this body looks like wet noodles. My arms weren't this thin and I believe I had a six-pack.
"Uh Ichika-san," I whirled around then froze. "I you're trying to look cool and all, but please put your shirt back on. It's embarrassing all the girls."
"Uwah!" I threw my arm in a wide arc around my body and fell ass first on the floor. "What the fuck, what the fuck!"
"I-Ichika-san?" She replied, shocked.
"You're supposed to be in a coma, in complete shock! What the fuck how'd you-?" My arm suddenly glowed and transformed, my entire body changed and this exoskeleton appeared on it. "What the fuck? Where am I? Who the hell are you? What's going on, shit, shit, shit!"
I jumped onto my feet and ran away, tripping over my own...legs. I felt light; it completely threw off my sense of balance. In fact, you could say I was floating. I could imagine flying right now. And so, my body began to hover.
"Mother of-?" I cut myself off and regained composure. I decided to gather as much information as possible. It seems like I can control this machine's flight controls with mental commands. I gave the command of rising, and so I rose. Could I project weapons as well? A list of weapons appeared in front of me. Actually, it was just two appeared, Yukihira and this claw weapon. From quickly skimming across its specs, I realized it was a directed energy weapon, used mainly for anti-shield purposes and heavy melee attacks. Yukihira is also an anti-shield weapon.
"Quickly, shoot him down!" My combat senses kicked in. I ignored the flare of pain in my arms as I dodged two energy rounds. The apparition was confirmed that it was not an apparition, that it was of flesh and blood, and it was obviously shooting me in a blue sniper-centric Infinite Stratos and that I was also in an Infinite Stratos.
"He dodged two of my rounds like it was nothing!" She sounded shocked, Cecilia Alcott, the one in the coma.
"Weapon: Yukihira," I said and the blade appeared in my right hand. The claw was already on my left hand. I could either fight in a two handed style and negate my long ranged weapon, or fight with a dual wielding like combat style. It seems like the latter is a better choice since it has more pros than cons.
"This is Spartan O513 Kuuga, engaging the enemy!" I shouted before, launching myself towards the ghost. Several more Infinite Stratos users appeared before me. I quickly analyzed their armaments.
One of them was a short-medium ranged user, wielding an SMG or a type or rifle. It looks like she has no melee weapons on her. Another is a sword user, wielding two katanas. There was a black one; she had a massive rail gun on her shoulder and likely some hidden weapons. There was a light blue one; she wielded a spear of some sort. Lastly, there was one with two Chinese scimitars and a pair of strangely shaped hovering spherical objects.
I prioritized the sniper first. I should take her out in one hit. I forced myself to deactivate the flight propulsion system and clenched my left fist. I let the energy claw build up in strength as I slipped into the water. Then, I reactivated the flight systems, emerging from the water and creating a large splash. Any energy weapon should weaken in strength before hitting me. I advanced forward, placing the sword Yukihira on my left side, preparing for a strike. The area around me was being bombarded by a hail of bullets and lasers. I delve into the water again, before rising up just before the shore and smashing the Katana into the concrete pavement. A massive shard broke off into many pieces; this should give me minor protection from bullets and lasers.
The twin Chinese scimitar and dual wielding Katana girls swung both their blades at me. I grimaced and did a boost jump, leaping over their attacks before canceling my jump and landing just in front of the sniper. I clenched my left hand and forcefully smashed it into the girl's chest. A pleasurable moan leaked from her mouth, but was quickly silenced by the sound of an explosion. The wind quickly dragged the smoke away and the girl was seen several meters away, out of her IS and lying on the ground, unconscious. I quickly turned around to meet the others.
"Prioritize ranged weaponry above all else, maneuver around melee weapons," I mumbled to myself. The next one is the rifle wielder. I quickly grabbed my blade with my left hand and swung it up to parry an attack by the scimitar wielder then lowered my arms and swung up again to parry the katana wielder. I did another boost jump into the air and landed in between the other two ranged IS users. The black one had an energy spear in her hand. I kicked her arm out of my way before turning the slash at the rifle wielder with the Yukihira katana, horizontally. Then, I lurched forward and chained the attack with a diagonal slash, down up. Then, I spun around; stabbing the blade behind me but it seemed to be blocked by an object. I looked down. From her mechanized hand, there was a small screwdriver or spearhead-thing that blocked the sword. I frowned visibly and raised my energy claw forward and fired a few times and boost jumping back, eventually breaking the spear head and impaling the IS. The girl's mech disappeared as well.
I looked up to face the black IS. Suddenly, an onslaught of wires restrained me and lifted me into the air. The black Infinite Stratos girl smiled, her arms folded.
"You're not Ichika and you fight a lot better than him." She commented. I let out a cry as two unknown attacks nailed me in the back.
"Give Ichika back!" I turned around and saw the one with the Chinese blades shouting at me.
"What are you talking about, I am Ichika!" I pulled the wire with my right arm and cut the wires on my left and used the claw arm to pull the black IS toward me. I twisted my right arm around the wire so it had a good hold on my mech's arm and pulled further. She was eventually dragged towards me. Her energy blades appeared out from her hands. I quickly slashed the claw downwards, cutting off the rope restraining my right arm. Her energy weapon was the main priority now. I allowed my claw to charge up as I parried her energy blade strikes with Yukihira. Her attacks were swift and relentless. My parries eventually turned into a full on sword spin. I was quickly spinning my sword and whipping it forward and pulling it back in a desperate attempt to block her strikes. Soon, my claw charged and I pushed it against her chest, releasing all the built up energy.
She plummeted into the ground, creating a small crater. I landed on top her and pinned her down with my legs. Yukihira raised high, I was about to stab her before my IS ceased to move. I could see this weird wave emanate from her IS. I grunted, forcing my body to move.
"Resistance is futile, give up!" She shouted. I spat on her. The slob of spit landed on her face and she screamed. That broke her concentration and I rapidly fired my Energy Claw into her armor until her IS was gone.
I stood up and breathed deeply. I turned around and three ISes stood in my path. The one closest was the dual wielding Katana user and the Chinese sword user. The one furthest back seemed to analyze me; she wielded a spear that looked like its tip was made out of energy. I looked around my HUD for any reference to shielding or armor levels. To my lower left, I could see the words "shield points" and "497". I presumed I had 497 shield points left.
"Shit," I cursed. I was still a rookie in my squad, having little to no combat experience outside War Games. In fact, I think only my Spartan-IV training and instincts let me survive this long. Eventually, my beginner's luck will run out, and I'm going to get captured and either dissected or interrogated. Either way, I needed to escape, quickly.
I whirled around. My feet left the ground. Then I got hit by explosives. So many of them that I was flung around like a rag doll.
"Wah!" I managed to cry out before I hit the ground face first in front of my opponents. My shield strength was all but gone and I could feel blood leaking out from an internal wound. My IS had disappeared and the girls surrounded me.
"Ara-ara, what a shame," The one I presumed attacked me, the spear user, said in disappointment. "Too bad, but I am surprised at how long he managed to dodge all my water particles."
I coughed, hard and turned around, lying on my back. I tried to get up, but a foot pinned me down by my chest. I squirmed, trying to get the foot off me, but my body ached and I had no more energy left inside me. The older woman looked down on me, in disbelief or anger, probably both. It was a face I knew I won't forget.
"What are you trying to pull off, Ichika?" I smashed my fist into her unsuspecting knee cap, but it was surprisingly strong. Sure it surprised her and made her step on my neck instead. She pushed down on my throat, and I gagged. Grabbing her by the ankle, I tried to pull her leg off. She looked pissed. The woman kicked me across the face, making me roll over a few times before picking me up by the collar. Then, she started smashing her fist into my stomach. It was definite, she was pissed.
"You hit like a pussy," I retorted, stumbling back. My vision was red and that weird feeling was hitting me again.
"Ichika doesn't speak English as well as you do." She noted.
"Took you that long to figure out? Fuck you," I flipped her off, stumbling near the edge of the island. "Let me tell you something, I have no idea what the fuck is going on and I am not telling you jack shit whether you like it or not." I spat out.
"You demon, give my childhood friend back this instant!" The Katana wielder shouted. I stared at her for a moment, analyzing her face. Now, I've noticed some of the students here I recognize. I decided to give her a tidbit.
"So, what's your name again?" I blurted out. She ignored me and I decided to search through my memories for her name. "Shinonono Houki, right?" I asked reluctantly.
"Ha-ha..." I gave her a weak laugh. The older woman in the middle quickly ran up towards me. Instincts demanded fight or flight and apparently, I chose fight. I quickly spun around and smashed the sole of my foot against her striking hand and promptly leapt back a few feet before taking into a sprint. The attempt was most likely futile, but it was worth a try.
"Bah, my throat is dry." I grimaced as my vision began to swirl. It was happening again. Luckily, I made it to a "safe" place or a place without anyone chasing me. I lay down against the side of the cement building, sure they wouldn't find me.
"Shit, I'm beat." It was an interesting experience, fighting in an Infinite Stratos. I'm sure Cortana would love to hear about it. In fact, I think I'll tell her my little experience. "I wonder how Sonic would react; he'd probably go piss off insane."
Why does it feel like I'm dying?
"You're so dead you little shit." A voice said from behind. Her voice seemed so dull and plain. I could barely hear what she was saying. I chuckled.
"What's so funny you piece of shit?"
"You have impeccable timing; I was just about to warp out as well." I said sarcastically. Well, it can't be considered sarcasm if the event actually occurred, but to her, I suspect my body just suddenly went limp as if it died.
I suddenly found myself in the nurse's room, surrounded by medics and nurses alike as well as some of my squad members. They looked shocked when my eyes suddenly burst open. I feel like shit as well.
"Take it easy, we just found you unconscious in the armory. Are you alright?" I just stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. Do I look alright to you?
"I just had...the weirdest experience." I looked to the side and found a platter of sandwiches. "I'll tell you over lunch; I'm absolutely famished."
Meanwhile, right after Ichika's little adventure, the War Game match had begun.
"Teams Alpha and Beta take control points A and B, when you're done, come assist us in the tower. Delta, Gamma and Theta, you're on enemy harassment. Teams Fortress and Tower, you're with me. Ninja squad, you're supporting us. Team Omega and Zeta, you're our best; I want you to assist in denying the enemy passage to the grav-lift. When Fortress, Tower and I have made it up the grav-lift, I want you to stay behind and give us some time. Everyone else, move out to where you're needed the most or help quench the flames! Make sure to stop by friendly control points and secure the database!" The de facto team leader, Red Leader 1, ordered. The Spartan-II, Sonic nodded and raced to a M274 ULATV Mongoose. One squad member joined him on the back seat. Sonic quickly drove off to control point A, where Alpha was heading. The control points on the enemy team were D, E and F, D being the enemy's main base. G was reserved for the massive tower in the middle of the map.
He reached control point A and spotted two "Blue" soldiers enter the building. They still had black or white armor, but their faction was identified by the Blue or red mark on both their arms and thigh. The passenger on Sonic's bitch seat took aim and fired two accurate shots. Each round from his M365 DMR hit, but failed to take the shields down. The Spartan-II dismounted his four-wheeled bike and entered the room, only to be ambushed by the same two Spartans. Obviously, the Spartan-II foresaw this and already had his Combat Knives out. He quickly plunged one into the helmet of one of the Spartan-IVs. Then, as the other one was distracted, he quickly smashed his foot into the Spartan-IV's abdomen, throwing against a wall where he rushed in and slit the man's throat.
"Double Kill," the game announced.
He quickly started hacking into the database. His fingers moved at lightning speed as he aggressively attempted to hack into the database. Finally, after about thirty seconds, the database was hacked and the base belonged to Red team. He set up several firewalls to temporarily protect the control point from any successful hacking attempts. Two red blimps appeared on his radar. Sonic quickly switched to his BR85HB and aimed it at the entrance right of him. The two predicted attackers came, and the Spartan fired two bursts out of his Battle Rifle before dropping and kicking the gun in front of them then rushing in with a knife and slitting their throats.
He clenched the blade between his index finger and thumb, making sure not to touch the blade and wiped the blood off. He sheathed his blade then shook his hand so the blood would come off. The Spartan exited the building and found that some defensive turrets have activated and the base began pumping out grunts or "Bots". These bots acted as a defensive offensive, they'll attack the enemy control points and hack into them but the base will not switch over to their team, instead they'll become inactive or "neutral". The Spartan walked over to the Mongoose and met light resistance as he rode to towards the center control tower.
"Shit, The Master Chief is here, I repeat: The Master Chief is here!" The side of Sonic's HUD showed a glowing box with the words: Alpha 01 inside.
"Red-Leader 1, this is Crimson Fist, I am moving to engage MCPO Spartan-117, acknowledge?" He said.
"Affirmative Crimson Fist, The Master Chief is the greatest threat to the distraction team, intercept and destroy him, if you can." Red-Leader 1 replied. "Red-Leader 1 out,"
The Spartan-II drove to a contesting elevator point. He sprinted down the corridor but paused just before the elevator. He peaked out from the rock walls and spotted two Blues standing on top a small squad of dead reds. Sonic unsheathed his combat knife and rushed in, slitting one's neck. The other one had time to react but the Spartan quickly pulled his gun away and stabbed him up the chin. With all hostiles cleared, he went up the elevator and into the fire. The next floor was hell. The corridors were falling apart and he spotted tens of hundreds of Spartans in the floor. One unlucky fellow bumped into him. The Spartan-II's reflexes kicked in and he swiftly broke his neck before the guy even noticed the Spartan.
The corridors were like a maze of rooms. Most of them were cafes, meeting rooms or the occasional medical supply rooms. Sonic found two or three armories, they were usually occupied. The walls were a dull gold color with wood-brown hinges at the bottom. They were inadequately lit and paper littered the floor. Usually, the lights were either hanging from the ceiling or not working entirely. The floor was a mat, a brown one with numerous Spartan boot-steps all over them. The corridors were also very, very bloody. Bodies piled up one after another, internal fluid drenched the sides and there were three walls made out of bodies. Mostly Red bodies, however, that unnerved the Spartan, slightly.
He had somewhat heavy resistance when going through them. Occasionally, he'd find a small encampment with sandbags and a spawn grenade placed there. They told him they were holding the line and ambushing any Blues that come through. He also passed by enemy and friendly alike spawn camps. Sonic finally made his way to the gravity lift room, a cylindrical room with the glowing blue light in the middle. The Spartan stepped in and was lifted into the sky. He was soon going through a glass tube leading up. He could also see the battle from there, a magnificent view. The blue and red bots seemed to be fighting at a standstill and the Spartans didn't have much luck either.
Sonic finally reached the massive gravity lift room. It was in complete chaos. Teams Omega and Zeta were doing their best, holding the gravity lift, but more and more were leaking through with each passing moment. The room was completely flat with support pillars holding up the roof. They were the only set indestructible objects in the room and therefore, used as cover the most. There were sandbags and piles of bodies that people do use, but were usually always ineffective against the power of the SRS99-S5AM Sniper Rifle. It was an anti-armor, round after all.
"M-Master Chief sir!" A Spartan-IV saluted the MCPO.
"What, Master Chief?! Where?!" His companion panicked and stood up, getting shot in the head by a sniper.
"That idiot," He cursed. "The Chief is nearing our defensive line. He's closer to our side and Blue team is making a hell of a shield for us over there. The Snipers won't shoot if Blues are in the way, so you have a clear shot at the Chief."
"Also, take this," He handed the Spartan-II a cylindrical object. "You'll need it."
"Hold the line; don't let any more Blues get through. I'll stall the Chief long enough for our team to capture the database." Sonic replied, taking the weapon out of the Spartan-IV's hand.
"Give 'em hell sir!"
"Jesus fucking Christ, there's a lot of people here." I cursed as I finished off a Blue. I was in the middle of this half of the room right now, in the middle of the battlefield. There are numerous Reds and Blues engaging in melee combat right now, either using Combat Knives or using their fists, either way, it's a blood festival here. My hands were soaked with blood; you could almost say they were crimson. The room was circular with half of the team on one side of the room. In between, there are either people running out and engaging in melee combat, soldiers in old formations such as the "testudo" formation. It consists of a block of infantry. The men on the perimeter have shields facing outwards, blocking sword or arrows and the block of infantry in the center have their shields face up to block arrow barrages. It's effective; however the block moves very slowly and is easily flanked.
I passed such a formation created by Blues. They had absolutely way of defending themselves from me and if a grenade got under their hard light shields, the entire formation would be screwed. Therefore, I primed a plasma grenade and threw it just before the squadron. The ones in the front walked over it, and exploded in a magnificent blue flame.
I sprinted across the battlefield, dodging around every blue that got in my way. They were annoying. I did a small jump into the air to check the distance between me and the gravity lift. I wasn't too far away from it, but I could see John close to it. He was surrounded by Team Omega while Zeta was holding back the rushing blues. Team Omega was almost done; their spawn grenade was about to self destruct. It's time to do my job, I guess. I leapt again, this time my foot was extended and I was on a set course towards an unsuspecting Spartan-II.
Or he did expect me, John did a 180 degree turn and kicked my foot away, parrying me and made me land behind him. The guys from Omega looked surprised and was about to attack before they spotted the red line around my arm.
"MCPO Spartan – Zero-Zero-Zero, engaging top priority hostile!" I announced, as a Katana appeared in my hand. I felt two sheaths appear on my back, one slightly heavier than the other. "Leave the Master Chief to me,"
"Sir yes sir!"
"Sonic," John calmly said my name. "I didn't expect you to be here. I thought you of all people would be smart enough to know that with me here, you'll have a hell of a lot better chance of capturing the control points out there."
"Of course I know, but I won't argue about the strategic importance of this control point." I replied, sliding my foot forward. There was still a full circle around is, mostly consisting of smart Blues and Reds knowing not to interfere with the two Spartan-IIs. One Blue ran up towards me from the side, screaming his head off, his Combat Knife raised up high. I reacted, stepping backwards, twisting my body to one side and slashing the Katana with my body. The Blue's torso was suddenly disconnected from his lower body.
"Idiot," I cursed, turning back to John, but he was already in the air. In his hand was a Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer: a gravity hammer.
I immediately hopped back, avoiding the devastating explosion that came out as the hammer smashed into the ground. John stepped forward and swung the hammer in a wide arc, I ducked under it. I saw his back, completely exposed and took my chance. Katana raised, I was about to let it down before my body instantly reacted. The Gravity Hammer came back and I forced my head down, dodging the hammer, barely, but my blade broke in the process.
I cursed myself and let the hammer come back again. This time I spun around and lowered my body. I kicked the shaft of the Hammer and the one-hit kill weapon was in the air. I ducked forward, shoving my knee into the Spartan-II's chest then bringing it down in between his legs. John stepped back and I kicked with the heel of my other foot, into his chin, forcing him back even more. The Gravity Hammer came back down and I grabbed it before it could touch the ground. I swung it in a wide arc behind my body and I forced it down, vertically onto the Spartan-II.
I anticipate his next move though. John stepped in forward and lifted both his arms into a cross shape, blocking the Hammer by the shaft and had the explosion occur behind him.
"You lucky son of a-!" The Spartan-II yanked the Hammer out from my hands and shoved the end of it into my gut, throwing me several meters back. Fortunately, my shields held, and I was left relatively unscathed. I lay flat on my back and struggled to get up. I felt horrible, that was a nasty hit. Looking up, I saw John swing his hammer around and threw it into Zeta's defensive line. That area shattered as five of Team Zeta was sent into the vortex and was sent up.
"God damn it!" I cursed as I unsheathed my second Katana. I stood up and cut a full 360 degrees around me, sending everyone in a two meter radius flying backwards. Ignoring the massive force rushing from behind me, as stated by my radar, I charged head on into John, whose back was turned. I heard "The Only Thing I Know For Real", a song from Metal Gear Rising Revengence that I had recently downloaded from the Internet, play as both my feet smashed into the back of MCPO Spartan-117.
I did a side flip off John and back onto my feet as he was sent right into the vortex. I grunted and jumped in right after him, into the blue light. The Spartan smashed into a piece of debris, probably from the second firefight occurring up there. The tube up was a cylinder in shape, expected. I leapt off scrap metal and flew into John, intent on impaling him. He slapped the sword away from him with his hand and two Chinese Falchions appeared in his hands. I jumped off the side of the cylindrical tube and towards John, who did the same. We clashed in the air momentarily before being sent back by the kinetic force of our blades. I felt the previous Katana, broken by John's Hammer; reappear on my back, completely fixed. I unsheathed it and noticed one of the "sword" icons in my helmet disappear; only five remained.
We stared at each other for the rest of the time up the gravity lift. When the third section was reached, the database, I noticed that there was absolutely no Blues here, just Red-Leader and teams Fortress and Tower. We arrived in a dome shaped room, and I didn't actually see the three mentioned, only on radar. The dome shaped room has numerous computers and machines in there. Behind me was the exit to the database room, presumably.
We clashed again. I swung my blades furiously and parried his attacks. Quickly dashing back, I used my new space to rush at him and flip in mid-air, using my blades to attack the back of his head. Of course, he blocked it and ducked, spinning around and slashing low. I rolled out of the surprise attack and John took that moment to escape. He ran out the dome and I chased him, jumping off a wall and the wall opposite of that one to quickly maneuver out.
I saw the Spartan run forward, towards another exit. That led to an open area where allied troops could drop in, only when the tower is under their control. I saw John drop something, which I immediately knew was a spawn grenade. Numerous Blues spawned in, I cut them all down and chased after the run-away Spartan. I chased John all the way to the database room, where he was squaring off in CQC with five members of Team Tower and Fortress, all of them where handled easily.
I threw the blade at John, who noticed it and blocked it with both this Falchions, but they shattered in the process, as well as my blade. I brought my blade down on the Spartan-II but he caught it in between his palm and snapped it like a twig. I dropped the blade and raised my foot into his gut, but John used his knee to block it. I stepped in forward and thrust my opposite fist at his face, but again, he dodged it. It seemed like he was predicting my moves. I slid my forward foot behind John's legs and twisted my body with my leg and used all that momentum to power my hook punch into John's abdomen. As expected, he tripped over my hidden foot and was hit by my hook punch, but he lifted his own legs in the process, hitting me in the back of my head.
I rolled forward, cursing again. When I turned around, the Chief was two seconds away from smashing his fist into my face. I quickly dropped my body and grabbed his head with my legs, throwing him onto the floor. I whirled around and John's Falchions were back, so were mine, however, I only had three blades left. I picked my side arm over my melee capabilities as I drew my Plasma Pistol and began firing at the MCPO, taking him by surprise as his own blades were out. They were heavily damaged but before they could melt completely, my pistol overheated. Cursing myself, I unsheathed my Katanas yet again and did a butterfly flip with my arms extended.
My blades grazed John's armor, but cut through his swords easily. I swung the blades again in a horizontal arc. Weaponless, John was forced back. I raced up towards the Spartan-II and cut my blades in an X shape. I missed him by an inch, but my blades cut his shields apart. Falchions appeared in his hands again, this was his last batch. Our blades clashed once more. I was thrusting my blades at John who was parrying them but had no room for counter-attacks. A few more seconds into the battle, and I released my grip on my blades. I threw my foot into his abdomen and crossed my arms, grabbing the Katanas out of the air and slashing out, in an X shape again.
My blades broke on impact with John's armor sadly. I should have known. I grabbed my Combat Knives from my pauldrons and quickly moved them to block the assaulting Spartan's blades. He made a minor mistake however, moving both his Falchions in parallel; he allowed them to be blocked by one of my combat knives. I quickly bent the arm and got close to John and began stabbing my knife at his exposed Titanium Nanocomposite suit. It shrugged off two of my stabs but I could clearly see a small wound as it began to tear. John lifted his knee and my forearm smashed into his kneecap.
I grunted. Pain flared in my right forearm as I pulled both my arms together and twisted my body to give a weird yet effective side knee to John's ribcage. He stumbled back and I fully extended my leg, but the Spartan-II ducked under it and grabbed my leg. I used his arm as support as I jumped with my other leg and smashed the sole of my foot into John's head and side-flipped off him. I quickly sheathed my Combat Knives and dodged a lunge from John. I grabbed my Katana's sheathe and violently pushed him back. Placing the Katana on my left side at my waist, I waited for John's next move. My right hand grip was firm on the hilt of the single-edged blade.
I probably don't need to tell you this, but during the entire fight, we were in Spartan-time. So, I probably don't have to tell you that in this "pause" we were currently in, it, from the outside, seemed like a millisecond before either of us moved. Seeing as John wasn't going to budge an inch, I dashed in like a snake and quickly drew my blade, smashing the hilt into John's exposed chest and penetrating his shields. The Spartan had no time to react as I drew out my final Katana and sliced his arms off. Blood leaked from the wound and I didn't even hear a reaction from John. As expected from a Spartan.
I moved my back leg forward, pass my front leg and twisted my body when I was behind John. He looked shocked as he quickly twisted his neck to watch me give the finishing blow.
"They don't call me the Crimson Fisted Demon for no reason." I hissed as I effectively decapitated John.
Everyone who has survived my onslaught feared me even more than John, even in the Covenant. While John might be better known, I wasn't given the designation: Ultra-Hyper Lethal for any reason, and this was why.
"Execution Kill"
But, no such luck occurred. When the game ended John's team or Blue team won by a small margin. We lost by two points, two points. I guess his exceptional luck won this time. To bad it didn't help him when I decapitated the guy. We did clash at other times, but most of the time it was him or me getting the sneak on each other. We either assassinated each other or fought to a stand still. I was better at John in creativity and 1v1 combat. Even if it was 5 on 1, I could still take John on and the other Spartan-IIs, if they didn't have the MJOLNIR equipped.
If it weren't for me, a lot more Spartan-IIs would have died and they would also be considerably weaker. Whether they liked it or not, I have improved the conventional Spartan-IIs by a considerable amount. If I wasn't here, they wouldn't have trained harder to make up for me, then train harder to beat me. I passed by John, who seemed to be rubbing his arms and neck.
"Must have hurt," I chirped.
"It did, a lot." He replied, groaning. "How did you do that?"
"Did what? My quick-step," I asked.
"Yeah, how did you do that on that last bit?"
I thought back to the deciding moment, humming as I thought. "Well, first I quickly dashed towards you and smashed the hilt of my Katana thrice into your stomach, stunning you." He nodded. "Then I unsheathed my blade completely and cut off your right arm and then your left arm."
"Right," John noted.
"Then I moved my left leg past my right leg and twisted my body around completely so my entire body was facing you. I stood up straight, aimed the blade at your exposed neck, and then cut." I summed up.
"You make it sound so easy." He commented.
"It is if my Spartan time is faster than yours." I laughed.
"That is weird. I checked your MJOLNIR's combat records and then your brain's combat record and you seemed to be moving faster than all of us in your Spartan Time." He reminded.
"Yeah," I agreed. I was about to say something but Rosa quickly burst into the room, panting heavily. She was in her UNSC Fatigues, wait, no bra?
"Sonic sir," She cried out. Her eyes were puffy, as if she had been recently crying. "You need to go see Ichika. I think he did something, stupid."
"What now?" I groaned but quickly threw away my carelessness when I saw the urgency in her eyes. "John, let's go."
"Roger,"
Again, no fucking inter-ship traveling thingy! I kicked- politely opened the door to Ichika's room. He was in the nursery, of course, ravaging his food. His arms looked injured and he looked like he had just come out of a massive battle.
"What is it this time?" I asked.
"Well, I may or may not have become your reality thingy, uh, casualty conductor." He said, laughing. An unsuspecting punch nailed him in the face. I then grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up against the wall.
"Are you fucking with me boy?" I hissed.
"N-no sir,"
"Well good, because you better now pray you're not a Casualty Conductor." I dropped him back onto the bed. "Did you synchronize with your alternate reality counterpart?"
"I think so, yeah." Ichika scratched his head.
"Let me guess, he was a boy and was piloting an IS, right?" He nodded, shocked and confused at my knowledge. "I read it off an old newspaper. You should be past your first year there, I think." I sighed and stepped back a bit.
"How did you use the IS?" I questioned.
"Mental commands mostly. You command it with your brain to move up and it will, tell it to go down, and it will, tell it to fly forward automatically and it will. It's easier to think it though, like for example, 'I need to go down' then you'll go down and when you reach your destination, you would know that you'll go forward, and the IS will go forward for you. However, combat and actual movement is all physical with slight assistance from the machine itself. You can summon weapons by mental commands as well." He explained.
"And you probably figured this all out during combat, right?" I asked.
"Yes sir,"
"Congratulations, you are now probably superior to your alternate reality counterpart." I sighed. "Who did you fight?"
"Charlotte Dunois, Cecilia Alcott, Shinonono Houki, Lingyen Huang, Tatenashi Sarashiki, Kanzashi Sarashiki and Laura Bodewig," He answered.
"I'll just pretend I know where you got those names." I sighed.
"I met most of them at school, but..." I could see the pained expression in his eyes. "Charlotte died, Cecilia is hospitalized from having her legs cut off by an Energy Sword, Houki, I don't know what happened to her, Rin or Lingyen is fighting in the UNSC Marines, Tatenashi and Kanzashi are school principals and Laura, I think she became a Spartan-III."
"Dark,"
"Yeah, what happens if I was a casualty conductor?" Ichika asked, staring into my helmet.
"Well first off, Charlotte would die; Cecilia would be hospitalized from having her legs cut off, Houki, I don't know what would happen to her, Rin would be fighting in the military, Tatenashi and Kanzashi would become school principals and Laura would become a super soldier." I said, smiling.
"What the fuck?"
"I told you, information from our universe would seep into this universe since ours is 'heavier'. We have more stuff going on." I explained. "Best hope you're not a casualty conductor."
"I'll drop by later and I'll give you a radio. I want to you keep it with you at all times, it is of the upmost urgency." I ordered.
"Yes sir," Ichika saluted me. I returned his salute and left him to his recovery.
I was already a healthy distance away from the Spartan-IV when I realized I had forgotten to ask the kid about what happened there, the most important piece of information. I could ask him later. First off, I need to get a portable radio. I know his MJOLNIR has its own radio frequencies, but I find the standard issue UNSC portable radios to be far more efficient and reliable since they have a range of over 20 kilometers. We're not that far from Tokyo to be honest and if Ichika were to synchronize with his alternate reality counterpart, he should be able to keep one item on him.
"Ugh, this is why I hate Dimension Travel." I cursed as I lay on my bed, tired. I think I'll catch some R the War Game was tiring, not physically but mentally. I can't think straight and my body feels weird. It's probably because of all the nerve cells in my body that have been lured into a false sense of harm. I was blown up, cut to pieces, smashed, all types of horrendous deaths have occurred to me in the War Game, usually from John though. My brain must be telling my nerves to replicate themselves but the nerves must be signaling back to the brain telling it that it can't replicate anymore. Fucking human anatomy, it's so complicated.
How did I over look this? I should have known! I gritted my teeth in frustration as remembered the newspaper. Orimura Ichika, his family name might be different, but he is the only male in this world that can pilot an Infinite Stratos. That would mean Kuuga Ichika would have had to synchronize with Orimura to be able to pilot an IS. We need to monitor the Academy more often, and what the hell is Phantom Task?
Also, the IS mechs, so annoying. From all the YouTube videos I have watched on Infinite Stratos battles, my current conclusion is that they would match at least five of our Spartan-IVs, but either John or I can take on at least two. Their mobility poses a significant problem however; they can move in all three Dimensions at extremely fast speeds, mach 3 or mach 4 I believe. They have the potential of completely annihilating the entire UNSC Freedom right now if every single IS were to attack us. Not only are we unprepared, we have no combat strategy against them and the ISes have "allz zeh combat strategiez".
They are the perfect anti-army weapons. They can stop entire battalions of tanks and take massive punishment due to their shields. They can annihilate an entire squad of infantry in a blink of an eye. They can rival aircraft in speed and slap it out of the sky with ease and with their calculated capabilities; they could easily destroy the UNSC Freedom and Covenant Shadow of Intent. The only sad advantage we have however is that we are more experienced in Energy Shielding and how to combat them. Their energy shields should not hold to Covenant Plasma weaponry. If they do, we're boned, oh we're so boned.
"Tch, diligent as always," I turned around. I was in my "dream world", a completely black space with no stars and no light source. If there's something there, you can see it and the laws of physics don't apply here. "Infinite Stratos, why are they such a pain?"
The being – a male – clad in silvery white armor scoffed at me. His arms folded. His medieval-like armor clinked as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. The being coined the name: Juggernaut. He's also a Berserker, but Juggernaut Sonic's endurance level is so damn high, he could easily shrug off a Super MAC round. Of course, he's just imaginary. Another...personality, you could say.
"Why are you here, Jugger?" I asked. He's the worst conversationalist in the world, worse than Broly from Dragon Ball. Any conversation, whose topic is completely unrelated, could somehow change into a conversation about sex or murder. I'm not talking about maiming, stabbing, death, murders, I'm talking about hardcore, "I'll shove a grenade down your throat and watch it explode" gore kind of murder, the worst kinds.
"I'm here to talk." He replied.
"You can't fool me, I sense an ulterior motive." I grimaced.
"Oh? What would I gain from harming you here?" He asked rhetorically. Of course, you aren't supposed to answer these kinds of questions, but I did.
"For pleasure," I replied. "Get to the point; you're ruining my nap time."
"Aw, am I, little Spartan want to sleep? Well don't let me keep you waiting, go ahead and sleep." He taunted. "Go ahead, sleep."
"This is why I hate you,"
"Then you shouldn't have created me you piece of shit!" He suddenly shouted. "I swear to the MDB, I will fucking get out of here and fucking murder your piece of shit ass!" See what I mean? The walking tank in a metal can rushed towards me, barely giving me any time to react. His hand was grasped around my face and his thumbs were pressing on my eyes. Then, he pressed harder. Then even harder, then when my eyes should have imploded, I woke up, sweaty in my own bed.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose and left for a shower.
"Master Chief, how may I help you?" The Captain of the ship asked me.
"You called for me sir?" I replied, shifting my stance into a more formal position.
"Ah yes," He looked like he wasn't paying much attention. Captain Edward turned around and brought up some text on the holo-table. It was floating in the air and small enough so nobody could read it. "Read this and give me your thoughts on it."
I stepped forward, not asking a question and began reading its contents.
"Dear Mr. President,
It would seem that we have an opponent more fearsome than that of Phantom Task; while they have an objective, these things that I am about to inform you of, do not. Just recently, Tabane Shinonono has relayed a message to us and the world powers. Sendou Yukari, one of the IS pilots that we have recently and temporarily hired from the IS academy, has undergone a very traumatic experience. She claimed to have been drugged and possible abused, but that's not what I'm here to tell you. Ms. Shinonono had looked through her IS's Black Box, the storage unit that holds visual record of everything the IS has gone through."
I paused. We've been found out this quickly? We were so careless. I clenched my knuckles in a fit of rage and frustration. I continued reading; this nagging feeling continues to bother me.
"The Infinite Stratos tells a far different tale, however. Indeed, she was drugged, but only in the end and she also seemed to undergo a very heavy hypnotic experience. Getting to the point, during the JSDF's attempt at capturing a possible sighting of Phantom Task, they've found something else: beings of advanced technological superiority. We aren't sure if they're human or alien, but they are humanoid. They wear heavy armor and is capable of taking down a single IS with just one man. We do not know the extent of their abilities but I highly advise we take our anti-IS force and respond immediately.
Intelligence Officer,
Victor Miles"
"I'm done," I told my commanding officer.
"Well? What do you think?" He asked, turning towards me.
"They're overreacting, as always. I was surprised however to learn that they've learned of our existence." I grimaced under my helmet. "I suggest we prepare for battle immediately and inform the Shadow of Intent as well."
"They don't know where we are though," Edward stated. He let out a tired breath. "And we can't move either. We don't have any stealth capabilities, none of our ships do and neither does the Covenant."
"Actually, if the Black Box can record audio footage, they should already know where we are since we've been talking about it right in front of her." I said. The words "black box" does not roll off my tongue.
"Shit, that complicates things." Edward rubbed his temples with his thumbs, thinking. "I guess we inform the crew?"
"That would be the proper course of action." I replied.
"In that case, we'll have an announcement at 6PM, during sunset. I want you and the other Master Chief here by then." The Captain ordered.
"Yes sir!" I saluted him. He waved his hand at me, dismissing me. I turned around and exited the premise. I have another appointment with Cortana. She said she wanted to show something to me. I could only anticipate, a new weapon, a new software update? With all the Forerunner information she's assimilated, I wouldn't be surprised if she had made a Forerunner Combat Skin. However, that might be neigh impossible.
"Cortana," I said as the door in front of me slid open. "You called for me?"
"Ah, one second John," She said, finishing up her project. In the corner of the room, I could see something that vaguely resembles an IS. She wasn't working on that, but there were weapon parts in piles all around the room and a completed set on a workbench.
I walked up to the workbench and examined the weapons.
"A revolver, an automatic shotgun, modified knives and an arm bracer?" I turned towards Cortana, giving her a hidden perplexed look. "Cortana, what is this?"
"The arm bracer is for Sonic, it isn't completed yet, but it's for him." She set a few more weapons on the table. These were Magnums but they were clearly modified. The barrel was larger and had LED-Lights in them. There were also magnets in there and, in plain view; a battery pack was stuck on the hammer, giving it an uncharacteristic bulge.
"I modified an M6H for this experiment, it worked. The Combat Knife has active plasma running through its blade. The revolver, I've taken from this world's Internet. I upped the power, made it lighter and simpler. It should be much easier to reload as well, since the revolver barrel is detachable. The shotgun is as you said, automatic. I lessened its spread however to focus more on its range." Cortana explained.
"What's the arm bracer for?" I asked, still eyeing the strange object.
"It's an Energy Barrier and can create a sustaining Energy Shield. It can also be condensed to use less energy and can deflect several blows from an Energy Sword." Cortana said. "But, it's incomplete."
"Of course," I stared back at the IS at the back of the room. "And that is?"
"My own personal IS," I could hear pride in her voice as she said that. "The Swallow,"
"The Swallow," I repeated. "Flight and agility?"
"Yes, a lady hates it if she's too fat," She teased.
"You're no lady; you're a fox in sheep's clothing." I retorted sarcastically.
"John that was mean!" She whined, puffing her avatar's cheeks. "Anyways, could you test the efficiency of these weapons please?"
"Sure," I sighed. It was going to be another one of those days.
Author's Note:
If you had read the previous chapter 4, there should be a "Ghost" POV here. Well there isn't. Why? I got bored of the chapter and I'm already 2k words more than I should be.
There have been a lot of changes to this chapter, but its fine since it won't impact the story too much. Yes, I was planning on giving the UNSC and Covenant Infinite Stratoses. Why? Because they'll need it in the long run. A lot. No seriously.
Anyways, surprisingly, not much has changed drastically. I haven't introduced Jimaree yet, but that's okay. He's a side character and I have too many characters to manage so I'm cutting him out for now. Yes, he still exists, but he won't be interacting much with Sonic or John.
Differences between this and original:
It isn't all that rushed!
No breaking the 4th wall!
Ichika actually fights in an IS!
THE UNSC GET'S AN IS!
The fight scene was 100x more epic! In my mind anyways.
It is 2k words longer!
PROPER FUCKING GRAMMAR!
Shows how much experience topples training!
Shows how vastly superior Spartans would be in Infinite Stratoses!
I INTRODUCED JUGGERNAUT SONIC ONE CHAPTER EARLY!
No ghost introduction.
No new character introduction.
Opinions
This is by far the most fun I've had writing. It might have gotten tedious in the end, but hell that was fun. I did rush the ending since the Ghost ending was so hard to do and I lost a little bit of spirit. The fight was hell of fun to write as well. I could get up and try to do some moves to make sure whatever I was typing is humanly possible. Too bad I didn't get to use much gore words. That would have been really fun. Jesus, I'm evil.
Yeah, I made Sonic "stronger" than John. No, in actuality, Sonic only won because he had the better Spartan Time. John is superior in strength and luck, but Sonic excels (compared to him) in technique. They're about the same in speed.
Now since this is over, I can finally get working on Chapter 9. Chapter 5 is TERRIBLE, mind you. I had absolutely no typing spirit when I was writing that down. I had no ideas and I just wanted it over. Chapter 7 is similar, since I had no idea how to progress the story, it became a filler chapter. Chapter 6 will be rewritten soon and I will be making edits to chapter 5 so that the plot can link up together.
Thanks
Sonicfanx1
Edit 1: 09/02/2014 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Posted remake.
