"So where are we going, anyway?" Ryuko inquired as she, Satsuki, and Gamagori exited the Honnouji Academy premises.
"We're regrouping with the others at the Soichiro Kiyruin/Isshin Matoi Museum" Satsuki replied.
"Ah, that ol' ship" Ryuko said. She looked back and saw that they were being pursued by multiple vehicles filled with Nonon's minions. "Shit, we're being chased, can't this thing go any faster."
"This is as fast as it goes" said Gamagori from the controls.
"Stay calm, we're almost there" Satsuki said, spotting their destination in the distance.
One of the vehicles sped up right beside them, its passengers ready to attack. Gamagori steered the DTR to the right, slamming into the vehicle's side, breaking the driver's side window in the process. Satsuki took advantage of this and kicked the driver in the face, which caused the vehicle to veer off the road and crash. The other vehicles were still a good distance behind them.
Just as one was about to catch up with them, the sound of something moving at a high velocity pieced the air, and the ground beneath the vehicle exploded. "Good, they got the weaponry working", Satsuki said, as their destination approached them. Ryuko looked up to see the S.S. Naked Sun arrive on the scene.
After Ragyo's defeat, the S.S. Naked Sun was converted into a museum in honor of Satsuki and Ryuko's late father. Even still, it ran perfectly and still functioned extremely well. After all, it wasn't actually that old of a ship. Despite it now being a museum, the ships engines were still often used, as one of the museum's most popular attractions was having it take-off for a short flight a few times every week. Of course, the museum also housed another popular attraction, one that would be vital in the upcoming battles: the Scissor Blades.
The ship hovered lower too the ground and extended a ramp, allowing the DTR that carried Ryuko, Satsuki, and Gamagori entrance. After getting off the machine, the three of them raced to the bridge, where they found everyone else already at their stations. Sanageyama ordered the weapon operators to fire at the remaining vehicles. Mikigami sat in the captain's chair, but moved once he saw Satsuki enter; he knew who the students of Honnouji Academy were most loyal to. Satsuki took her place in the seat, and looked at the crew with pride.
They didn't have much time to catch their breath, though. "Something is approaching us fast", Inumuta said from the surveillance station, "it's probably airborne."
Within a matter of seconds, that something was on top of them, accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream. "Don't you dare trespass on my domain, the sky belongs to me!" the hostility in Nonon's voice was palpable, sending shivers down everyone's spine.
There was the sound on an explosion, and a second later the alarms went off. "Part of the hull has just been damaged" Inumuta reported. "This is bad, she did a lot of damage in just an instance."
"Everyone fire at her!" commanded Sanageyama. All the ship's turrets turned towards Nonon and began blasting away. Several missiles were launched at her as well. All the projectiles veered off course before reaching her, scattering every direction. There was another explosion and the ship rumbled. "The hull has taken even more damage, and we've lost some of our turrets" came Inumuta's voice. "We have to get out of here."
"Something tells me she won't let us leave" said Ryuko. Then something caught her eye. "Hey do those jetpacks still work?
"Yes" replied Mikisugi. "Why?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
Not bothering with an answer, Ryuko grabbed a jetpack, then went to the Scissor Blade exhibit and retrieved the twin weapons. "Alright, open an exit for me" she barked after getting the blades.
"Wait, you can't be serious…" said Mikisugi, his suspicions confirmed.
"Oh, I am. I'm gonna knock Little Miss Pink-head down a few notches. Besides, how else are we gonna get out of this mess?" Ryuko responded with a half-committed smile that showed she was uncertain of this idea herself. She was still going to do it, though.
"Head to the hanger, you can launch from there" Inumuta told her. She exited the bridge and headed down the hall toward the hanger. Once she reached the entrance to the hanger, she heard someone calling her name.
"Ryuko-chan?" came the voice of her hyperactive best friend. Ryuko sighed in relief, she had been separated from the girl once the action went down. "Hey, Mako" she responded.
"Ryuko-chan, I was so worried. The concert was nice at first, but then it suddenly became scary, Nonon-sempai was acting all evil, and I had no idea what was going on, and then I got separated from you, and then we evacuated but I didn't see you and I told Satsuki-chan, and she and Gamagori-sempai-"
"Came and got me, I know I was there" Ryuko interrupted, she knew there wouldn't be an end if she didn't stop Mako. "I'm glad to see you're alright, I was worried too." The hyperactive goofball immediately jumped onto her, embracing her as she did.
"Alright, you gotta let go Mako. I'm going out there to teach her a lesson" Ryuko said pushing to escape her friends embrace. "Don't worry, I'll be back after I give her a thrashing."
"Yeah, go and beat her up" Mako cheered, "…but not too bad, she is Satsuki's friend, our friend."
Ryuko chuckled. "Yeah, I'll try" she said as the hanger doors opened. She felt any anxiety about doing what she was about to do fade away. She had a whole ship of people to protect, there was no room for self-doubt. Besides, she had to pay Nonon back for earlier.
She took off and headed straight for her pink-haired adversary. "Hey band-brat, we've got a score to settle", she yelled a challenge at the music club president.
"Heh, haven't had enough, huh?" Nonon eagerly accepted her challenge. "That's okay, I'll be more than happy to smash your thick skull so you get the message this time." She fired a volley of projectiles shaped like musical notes at Ryuko.
Ryuko weaved back and forth as she dodged the volley of shots, making sure she wasn't hit by a single one. She knew she was at a disadvantage here, and that a single careless mistake would send her plummeting to the ground below. She zoomed towards Nonon, ready to strike. However, when she was almost in striking range, the air around her started vibrating violently and threw her off course.
"Ha, you're never going to touch me" Nonon spat before firing another volley.
'Damn, that's why none of the ships projectiles could get to her' Ryuko thought to herself as she dodged the volley. Nonon had essentially created an invisible shield of air around her by causing the molecules around her to vibrate furiously. Ryuko braced herself for a second attempt, if there was anything that could get through Nonon's defense, it was a life-fiber infused being wielding two ever-sharp blades.
She turned the knob on the jetpack, and blasted toward Nonon at full speed. When she was about the same distance from Nonon as before, she felt the violent vibrations yet again. The pain was excruciating. Ryuko felt like her head was about to explode; every bone in her body felt like it was going to break. Still, she pressed on in spite of the pain until she was finally close enough to hit the other girl. She struck with both blades, and sliced through one of Nonon's wings.
The vibrating stopped, and Nonon went into a freefall. Ryuko heard a beeping from her jetpack, looked at her its gauge and flew back to the ship; her jetpack was almost out of fuel. When Ryuko got back to the bridge, she saw that Nonon had somehow reached the ground unscathed. Countless band members gathered around her.
"We have to retreat for now" Satsuki said.
"What?!" Ryuko barked at her.
"Think about it. The S.S. Naked Sun has received quite a bit of damage, and we are carrying a lot of students who have no means to defend themselves. Continuing to battle under these circumstances would be negligible" Satsuki said sternly. Ryuko held her tongue, she couldn't come up with a reasonable response. She knew Satsuki was correct.
From the ground, Nonon watched as the Naked Sun flew off into the distance. "Heh, run while you can, but you'll never escape from us in the end" she said as she watched. Then she got into a vehicle and had headed back to the recently conquered Honnouji Academy. Preparations had to be made for the Life-Fibers future plans.