Disclaimer: Can't spell rage without Age, and no I still don't own Muv-Luv. If I do then I'd already have a sequel out of a loop where no one dies, and they live happily ever after.

Edited: 6/5/19 for formatting.

Chapter 3

Shirogane Takeru

Every step he took brought back waves of memories, good and bad. He remembered the elevator system being torn asunder by the BETA, the PX blew apart by desperate S-11s. His trip down to the simulation room was spent in absolute silence, with him shadowing Yuuko-sensei's every move and Kasumi showing his. Stepping inside the large hanger, his mind slipped, and for a second he was fending off hordes of BETA with just a pistol; his vision blared red. Shaking his head back to reality, he wiped away a single tear threatening to escape his eyes. The room was exactly as he'd remembered it, except for its occupants. In front of the command post stood two familiar figures, and it'd be impossible for Takeru not to recognize his former instructor and captain.

Without warning, he found himself reliving their deaths. Isumi's sacrifice during Operation 21st, Marimo-chan's scattered brain accompanied with a sickening crunching sound. He might have gotten over some of their later demises, but their first deaths burnt themselves into his mind, never fading. His eyes watered, the feeling of hopelessness returned; he had the power to control time, and yet he couldn't protect those dearest to him. The dam of emotion was contained as Kasumi squeezed Takeru's hands to return him to reality. Not wanting to worry her too much, he lightly squeezed it back before making his way over to the three adults. Yuuko-sensei had already introduced him to the duo as they didn't question his presence anymore.

"You're Shirogane Takeru?" Captain Isumi was the first to greet him with a firm handshake. "I'm here today to observe your TSF evaluation."

"And I'm Sergeant Jinguuji, I will be directly scoring your tests." Marimo-chan was the next to introduce herself with a slight nod.

"And you know me. Professor Kouzuki." Yuuko-sensei didn't want to miss out on the conversation as she clapped his back.

"Thank you for your time. I will not disappoint you." Controlling his urge to say anything embarrassing, Takeru opted for a simple reply. "Which pod will I be using?"

"You will be using Pod 09." Your fortified suit is over there. You will begin your evaluation in 5 minutes." Isumi was already halfway inside the command room when she answered him.

Wearing a fortified suit again, Takeru could feel the rush of battle returning to him. Pod 09 is a specially-commissioned simulation pod, designed only for top tier Eishis with almost no difference from being inside a real TSF. His only chance at using Pod 09 had been during loops where he flaunted his piloting prowess and got drafted into the Royal Guards. Yuuko-sensei was determined to prove him wrong, and he was more than ready to show her up, especially with Marimo-chan and the Captain here. Sitting inside a TSF's cockpit, he felt at home, like this is what he was born to do, and in a sense, it is his only use in this world. Getting himself familiar with the control of a Fubuki instead of his normal Takemikazuchi, Takeru connected his suit to the machine and waited for the start command. It wasn't long before the voice of Yuuko-sensei ring through the comm.

"Running Training Course B-5. Thirty seconds"

"Wait! B-5!? Are you sure he can handle it?" Captain Isumi was clearly not amused with Yuuko-sensei's selection.

"That's what he claimed. We'll see" The professor was dismissive at best with her reply.

"That's a last stand scenario. You said he's fought BETA before, but he can't be older than 18, you can't give him a squad mission when it's just him." Marimo-chan offered a slightly more convincing case, only to be met with the same fate.

"We'll see."

Takeru was watching the countdown on the screen. 10 seconds. The world around him turned to a hazy blur. Tunnel vision has proven quite useful over the years when it comes to desperate battle, and it only took 11 burned-down-Yokohama for him to learn how to force himself into that mindset. 5 seconds. His hands wrapped comfortably around the control, head tilted slightly forward. He knew what this course is, he'd done it no less than 5000 times, and more than half of it by himself. Compared to the hell raised on Kashgar that day, this simulation seems like child play. 3. 2. 1. "Simulation started," a robotic voice rang out and the scenery on the screen before him changed. He flicked his wrist forward.

Jinguuji Marimo

Today was a strange day. The first thing Marimo noticed about today was the weather. She trusted meteorologists as much as the next person, but a military-grade forecast has never predicted heavy rain for such a sunny day, until today. The second thing about today was the racket at the front gate. Some random boy, no older than 18, turned up and start talking casually to the guards. She's not a nosy person by nature, but something about him caught her interest. Even amateurs could tell he was military from a glance. The stance, the physique, and as she moved closer, the speech pattern. And if her days in the IJA was anything to go by, this boy was at least a Major. She was going to be late for the morning roll-call, but a mysterious young Major in civilian clothes is slightly more pressing than being a few minutes late. From her hiding place, she could hear only small parts of the conversation, but the way the boy delivered those parts is nothing short of amazing. "Classified." A statement made in a matter-of-fact tone that is deprived of emotion and leaving no room for discussion. Only two people in her life have been able to use that tone, Yuuko and now this boy. So he's here to see Yuuko about something.

This observation would have earned her a "DUH" medal if not for the summon Yuuko delivered moments after. She never agrees to meet with anyone. Marimo pivoted back against the wall to get out of sight of the trio advancing towards the main building, and as she looks at the mystery guest walking away, another realization hit. He knows this place. Confirming that her recent eavesdrop will not be discovered, she strolled quickly across the field, 4 minutes late for roll-call.

She would have written down today as strange in her diary if that was the end of it. Alas, her complacency and her program were shaken up not an hour later when Captain Isumi walked up.

"Morning Jinguuji-sensei, the professor calls for you."

"Morning Captain. Please tell her I'm in the middle of a drill." Marimo saluted back before casting her eyes over the squad again.

"The professor has made this top priority. You are to cancel all training today."

Marimo had never experienced whiplash of such magnitude as when she turned back at Isumi's statement. Cancel training? With the CCSE only weeks away?. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Marimo signaled Sakaki over.

"Sakaki, training is canceled for today. But I expect you all to keep going as if I'm here. Slack off, and you'll regret it."

"Yes, ma'am! But may I ask why so suddenly?"

"I'd love to answer that, but I don't know why either. Professor Kouzuki came up with something, and I'm needed there. Dismissed!" Turning back from the field, Marimo matched up her pace with her former student.

"You have any idea why this is so urgent?"

"The only thing I got out of the professor was that your TSF training skill is needed," Isumi answered with a note of disappointment. "And in the middle of a squad meeting too."

Silence felled upon the two as Marimo can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with that mysterious boy. Entering the simulation chamber, Marimo noted that her old friend Yuuko was in a confusing mood. She seemed grim and serious but at the same time, slightly happier than usual. Yuuko was quick to rise and signaled them to follow her into the command center. As they get situated, she began to speak.

"A soldier came to our base this morning and boasted about his piloting skill. So I invited two of our best Eishis to see how well his claim holds up. And if it does, how good he is against our best. His name is Shirogane Takeru, an introduction will be dealt with later."

Marimo knew this tone. Concise and to-the-point. Yuuko was serious about this. So it is about him. Marimo understood her friend's plan: throw the boy into the hardest simulation, and if he does beat it, have him fight against them. A simple plan that can't fail. Even if an Eishi is good enough to pass all their training courses, going against either Isumi or her would ensure his demise in less than 5 minutes. That boy might be a Major, but Isumi's the best of the best. She was dragged out of her musing when she saw the boy walked through the door...with a girl in tow? And not just any girl. Marimo recognized the small girl with the bunny ears from the few rare times she was at Yuuko's lab. The girl seemed so shy and yet here she was following a boy she'd just met.

Isumi stepped forward to introduce her role as spectator, which he acknowledged with a handshake and a smile. Marimo stayed back behind her student and nod slightly.

"And I'm Sergeant Jinguuji, I will be directly scoring your tests." He responded with a nod back and a warm smile.

As she walked back inside the command post, she heard Yuuko jumping in for her part and Isumi giving him instructions. Pod 09, huh? Yuuko is pulling out all stops today. Yuuko walked back in with Isumi and threw Marimo a glance, one that she understood immediately, "Watch him closely." A screen appeared in front of them, and the face of the mysterious boy appeared. He seemed calm, an observation supported by his vitals. Marimo concluded that either he doesn't know what he's getting himself into or he's experienced. A second look at his face would have her concluding that he felt a lot more composed inside a cockpit than outside one. But that is a ridiculous notion, so it was quickly discarded. Nodding to Yuuko that her preliminary observation has been done, Marimo sat back and prepared herself.

"Running Training Course B-5. Thirty seconds."

No sooner had Yuuko finished her announcement did Isumi jumped up in surprise, and Marimo knew precisely why. B-courses are designed for squads of at least 5 members, not for solo performance. B-5 is a last stand simulation where optimally a team of at least 8 would be trying to hold off a Corps-sized BETA herd for as long as possible, with their score being their time. The Valkyries, the best squad of this base, had run this mission days earlier and managed to hold the current record of 3 hours and 34 minutes before they were overrun.

This boy, no matter how good, would be lucky to survive the first 30 seconds, which is filled with laser barrage and charging Destroyers. After Yuuko dismissively waved away Isumi's objection, Marimo decided to make a more logical rebuttal to her outrageous plan to traumatize a teenager, only to also be waved away. Defeated, she resigned herself to watching the massacre that was about to unfold, and unfold it did.

As expected, the pilot-view was filled with blinding laser as soon as the countdown finished. For a good ten seconds, there was nothing but blaring alarm and a white field of view from inside the cockpit. 2 of the 9 Valkyries has died during this first barrage. Marimo glanced over at her control panel and frowned. He was not dead, that much was surprising. But the more concerning fact is that his heart rate and adrenaline level didn't even rise during that phase. Even Isumi and Hayase, the two best Valkyries, had their heart rate jumped to over 150, and yet this boy maintained his as if he was just taking a morning walk. Perhaps the recording unit malfunction. Marimo justified the inhuman calmness of this specimen before her eyes as machine errors, until she looked at his profile on the screen.

Serenity is the only word she could think of that would describe his expression. No creased eyebrows, no beads of sweat, not even a tense muscle! He just dodged more than 500 pin-pointed laser beams, and he looked bored to sleep! One final camera to check. The battlefield is battered, charred and ruined. The spot where once stood a TSF now a giant crater of sizzling rocks. The lines of Destroyers immediately charged forward after the barrage, looking to ram any lucky survivors. Their dedicated assault was met with air as their trajectory failed to find purchase on a TSF body.

Suddenly, blood splattered the screen, and the first Laser-class felled. The next 2 hour was going to be burned forever into Marimo's mind.

Shirogane Takeru

He's at a considerable disadvantage. The last time he did this, he had the XM3 OS on a Takemikazuchi. Now, he has the old OS on a Fubuki. His famed mobility has been reduced by at least 30%, and his damage output by 25%. This course opens up with a barrage of half a thousand laser at exactly where he stands. He has less than half a second window to get out of there on getting turned to coal. Typically, he would have considered dancing through the lasers, but with his lowered speed, it would end as well as standing still. The charging Destroyers are also a concern once he survived the laser, and so in that split moment, before pure energy enveloped his cockpit, he boosted up.

Jinguuji Marimo

If the BETA has any emotion other than blood lust, Marimo was confident they would be confused right now. Their easy target is now cutting apart their back line like a hot knife through butter. The accelerating speed with which the BETA, small and large, was cut down almost made her forget that humanity was losing against them for the past 30 years. The Destroyers seemed to have realized their blunder as they slowly turn back for another charge. The Grapplers rushed as fast as they could to preserve their artillery, only to be met with depleted uranium or a blade. The Laser-classes was sitting ducks for the rain of bullets from this death machine after their shots. The Fort-class put up a fight until they were cut down methodically and efficiently with a sword. The swarming red sea of Tank-class had many close encounters with the TSF until it jumped and greeted their advance with a few well-placed 120mm shells. The battle was a bloodshed, and not one drop of it belongs to this teenage boy. Marimo was speechless, and if the deathly silence and furious scribbling of pen on paper next to her was anything to go by, so was Captain Isumi.

Shirogane Takeru

As he cut down the few last Laser-class, he could have laughed. Thousands of years of hatred and pain drove and blades and trained his guns. He has no more concepts of what he's consciously doing, his arms are moving on auto-pilot. He let out a quiet chuckle at how fast they are dying in front of him. Such fragile creatures, and yet how could they have brought him, a god among man, so much pain. A Grappler swung its arms down at him, he dodged sideways and blasted its head off with a burst of 36mm bullets. A Fort-class almost jumped on him, only to find its legs hitting solid ground and its underside cut wide open as the TSF moved on to lay waste to the returning hoards of Destroyers. He was completely calm, his mind sedated by the fight in front of him, leaving no room for reminiscence. The weight of his friends' deaths lessened so slightly as his blade cut through a row of Soldier-class. The throbbing pain of his memories suppressed as a barrage of 120mm shells blew apart a swarm of Tank-class. He reveled in the carnage in front of him. This is him now. He has found his true self, after all this time. If it takes him being Death to save his friends, then he will make damn sure the BETA regret ever existing. This is for all of you. And with that, he pushed his joystick forward once more.

Jinguuji Marimo

The scene inside the command center was deafening. Yuuko was leaning back in her chair, lips drew into a thin line, and eyes boring into the screen in front of her. Isumi was frantically alternating between staring admiringly at the movement of the Fubuki and writing in her notepad as if she could capture every action on the field. Marimo was, for the umpteenth time that day, confused.

As a former Eishi and now an instructor, she wanted to take every movement of that TSF and frame it in her room. For all her years, she had never seen anyone, let alone herself, performed any maneuvers that came close to the elegance and deliberation she was witnessing now. That virtual Fubuki on the screen wasn't fighting the hordes of BETA coming at it from every side, it was dancing a ballet with death and destruction. She saw the control logs being updated real-time next to her. Not a single wasted movement. Every flick of the wrist, every sweep of the guns, and every swing of the blades was either to evade certain death or to serve out certain death to the BETA.

Yet, as Jinguuji Marimo, she knew that behind those beyond text-book perfect movement was a teenage boy. And even if he had been born with a TSF controller in his hands and had fought BETA since birth, it is impossible for him to be this...god-like. She knew from her vast experience as someone inside the cockpit and someone outside one, this boy was not human. She wasn't even sure a god could be on this level. The one thing she was certain as the system announced his completion, the first completion of this course, in 1 hour and 58 minutes, that she might even feel pity for the BETA if this is what's coming after them.

A/N: Hi, I'm back again. I'll try to pump out one more chapter before the end of Easter break, which is tomorrow. I'm not sure how to tackle fight scenes really well so I'm opting for POV changes to make up for the lack of descriptive gore. Maybe I'll write some BETA gore when I decide on how to do

bluefish1945: Thank you for your review. I like the going back theme that a lot of other author had done, but I want Kasumi as an explanation as to the sudden power jump from Alternative and this loop.

DarkManta: You've asked and I've delivered my friend. The next 2 (potentially 3) chapters are here