Chapter 6: Praetorian vs. Blue Tears vs. Byakushiki
"The fight starts in ten minutes, all fighters please suit up by then," Chifuyu Orimura said over the PA system. Jaune said; he had just gotten his rather tight fitting latex suit (mostly silver with yellow trim), and was heading to the launch hangar.
Walking to it, he didn't see anyone in the hallways to his hangar, leaving him slightly off put. Of course he hadn't made any friends due to his training, detention, and Cecilia blurting out what happened with the pickle sandwich, but still, he no doubt believed that Ichika and Cecilia would have their own supporters. It weighed on his mind, having no one backing him up except those blackmailing him to be here, but could you call that back-up?
Stepping into the hangar, Jaune was pleasantly surprised to see Maya in the hangar, looking at the Praetorian.
"My, I've never seen an IS this physically armored before," Maya said upon seeing Jaune enter. "But I see a distinct lack of any ranged firepower."
"That's because the engineering team back in Italy didn't have time to come up with one for the Praetorian when I was found," Jaune replied. "That said, I hope the loss in speed and maneuverability this suit is supposed to have suffered isn't going to hamper me."
"It might, but it depends on who is attacking you," Maya answered. "But I suppose with this amount of protection you could potentially defend against most attacks, but some of the IS can use artillery grade firepower."
"So long as Cecilia or Ichika doesn't bring in an anti-tank cannon, I should be fine," Jaune said, keeping his worry down.
"Hmm, I not so sure, as the match ends when one of the combatants is reduced to 25% or lower," Maya said. "And even repeated weak attacks will drain your energy. So I wouldn't risk prolonging the fight."
"I agree, yet I know I'm not going to be the most mobile of the three," Jaune said. "So I have to outlast the others, hope that they focus on one another and largely ignore me, and sweep in and finish the fight." Maya nodded.
"Sounds like a good plan, just be prepared to throw that plan out should they choose to focus you down," Maya replied. Jaune sighed, knowing more than likely that was what they were going to do.
Approaching the Praetorian, Jaune strapped himself in, with the Praetorian sealing itself once he was secured in. He began going through the pre-flight diagnostic checks, making sure his energy was optimal, there were no hiccups in the system that could impede his upcoming fight, and in general pumping himself up for the upcoming fight.
"Hey Jaune, why didn't your IS go into its inactive form when you finish practicing?" Maya inquired. Jaune raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, what is it supposed to be in its inactive form?" Jaune asked, turning the helmet to look at Maya. Maya shrugged.
"It depends on the IS, some take the form of an ear ring, some a wrist band, others a belt or something, but in general it can be worn by the operator when not in use," Maya informed Jaune.
"Ah, perhaps the engineers hadn't gotten around to making the inactive form?" Jaune suggested.
"Perhaps, but all IS that I know have an inactive form," Maya said. "But perhaps you weren't informed of it by accident. When the fight is over, come back and we'll see if we can find it."
"Gotcha, and my checks are complete, so wish me luck," Jaune said. Maya smiled weakly at him.
"Um…okay, good luck?" Jaune face faulted.
"Have you no faith in me?"
"It's not that I don't think you can win in 1 v 1, but 1 v 2, yeah, I don't see you succeeding without luck on your side, and your track record with luck isn't great…"
"I get it, I must admit my luck is shitty," Jaune replied. "Well, here goes nothing!"
Unclamping the Praetorian from its support frame, Jaune gunned the engines, darting forward until he was in the air in the middle of a large coliseum, reminding him of the ones he read about that appear in Mistral back on Remnant that huntsmen would test their mettle in. The bleachers could easily accommodate thousands of people, and it was very large, able to hold a pretty intense battle.
That was until you noted that the combat would most likely take to the skies, and the weapons were significantly more powerful than anything anyone could carry on their person. Then you note the shield generators to protect the spectators, the cameras everywhere to notice the fight regardless of where it goes, and the bunker-like command room that oversaw the main fighting ground.
"Oh Arc, are you ready to be put in your place?" came the arrogant voice of Cecilia Alcott. Jaune turned and saw that his roommate was her blue IS with 4 bits floating behind her. She herself wore a hand band with a crystal in the middle, and a blue and black latex suit. however in her hand was a massive sniper rifle that made Jaune cringe; it could probably take out a tank just fine.
"Oi, I get first rights to put him in his place!" shouted Ichika, who came out in a white, gold, and blue Is with seemingly a pair of wings behind him. Jaune noted the sword in Ichika's hand, and began debating who to attack first.
If that sword was all Ichika had, then taking him out would be his best bet as regardless how you look at it, a sword will always be bested by a sword and shield combo. But if it wasn't, then he could be poking a sleeping bear and be in a world of pain.
"What gives you that right peasant?" Cecilia demanded. "Mr. Arc needs to be punished for his insults to English cuisine and to pay for throwing the sandwich onto Ms. Orimura, and that duty shall fall to me!"
Jaune saw Ichika narrow his eyes onto him. He had a bad feeling about this.
"So what if we hold off fighting each other to punish Jaune together?" Ichika suggested. Jaune gripped his sword tightly; no way in hell he was going down without a fight!
"Fine, but only until he is knocked out of the fight," Cecilia agreed. Jaune only had a second before the two angered students began their fight against him, despite not getting the all clear to begin by Ms. Orimura. Here's hoping she doesn't hold it against me for defending myself, Jaune thought to himself.
As Cecilia and her diamond bits began to fire upon him, Jaune began moving to evade, only to have to raise his shield as Ichika slams his blade into it.
"I'll make you pay for what you did to my sister!" Ichika vows as he raises his blade again, aiming to take a strike against Jaune's side. Jaune daftly moves left, only to notice the Praetorian is hit by one of Cecilia. Damn it, she is quite good with her rifle, to avoid hitting Ichika while aiming for me!
Jaune was tempted to charge forward, but Ichika began relentlessly wailing on him. Jaune parries and blocks each strike, but he feels himself giving ground, getting farther and farther from Cecilia. He couldn't afford to get too far to chase down Cecilia otherwise he will be defeated easily!
Focus on the White Knight, then pursue the Blue Sniper! The thought came to him, followed by another one. Strike from the left in a cleaving motioning! Jaune follows the thoughts through, ignoring the burning sensation in his right hand.
Ichika, who had Jaune on the defense, was taken aback by the strike, hastily back pedaling to avoid getting hit. What the hell, he thought. I had him on the ropes, so where the hell did he come up with the idea to hit my weak side?
Jaune didn't allow Ichika any more time to think, as Jaune shifted from gripping his shield to having it rest behind his wrist, allowing him to two hand his sword. Jaune began thrusting rapidly, forcing Ichika to back up more often than parry. Whilst Ichika didn't know why Jaune was attacking like such, the blonde listened to his thoughts, knowing that it was all but a means to an end.
"Damn it, why the constant thrusting?!" Ichika shouted. Ichika may have some knowledge in kendo, but that had plenty of swinging and thrusting was reserved for ending fights, not the main form of attack. Ichika therefore was shocked when the blonde finally spoke.
"It's not about taking you out," Jaune said. Ichika was about to ask what he meant when he felt something impact him from behind. Ichika's eyes widen in realization; Jaune was backing him in front of Cecilia, thus making her shots hit him instead of Jaune.
"You coward, quit hiding behind your fellow peasant!" Cecilia shouted out in frustration. She fired a barrage of heat-seeking missiles at Jaune. Taken aback by the surprise ordnance, Jaune didn't have time to react, but the Praetorian did. Launching flares, the Praetorian focused all energy to shields to protect Jaune from any that came after him.
While most of the missiles were indeed thrown off target, two managed to land on Jaune. One hit his shield, thus doing minimal damage, but the other hit him in the chest, knocking him back away from Ichika and open to fire from Cecilia.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Jaune shouted as he went to gripping his shield with his right hand, the burning sensation beginning to overwhelm him. He tried to think of a way not to lose, but couldn't come up with one. His plan to get close to Cecilia via a back stepping Ichika had failed, and now he was open to attack.
Block the incoming fire and advance slowly, keeping your shield towards the Blue Sniper, a thought came through. Jaune grunted; it would have to do. Jaune brought his shield to cover his entire front, with the Praetorian using sensors within the shield to give him sight of his opponents. Jaune slowly advance, hearing pings and dings off his shield as Cecilia and her bits fired fruitlessly into it. Jaune made it relatively close to her when Ichika came barreling down onto him, his sword raised high above his head.
Fall back and focus on the White Knight, let him fall into the hail of fire the Blue Sniper is unleashing. Then counter with an upward slash across his left and finish him with a thrust! The thought almost exploded into his head, and Jaune, feeling tired and noticing his energy reserves were at 60%, went through with the plan.
Jaune flew back, but at the speeds Ichika was going, the Japanese male was unable to redirect his course out of the line of fire, getting pelted with numerous shots from Cecilia. The Japanese male turned his head to shout at the british girl, but she screamed, forcing him to look back and saw Jaune about to slash him when he was exposed.
"You're not going to win this Arc!" Ichika shouted, trying to get his blade in-between himself and Jaune's gladius. Jaune ignored the proclamation, instead focusing on delivering his blow. The Praetorian enhanced Jaune blow by redirecting power to the servo motors in the arm, allowing the swing to go faster and punch harder.
Ichika, through sheer luck, managed to block the swing, but it was still a lot of force. He was forced off center, unable to get into a position of power quickly. Jaune exploited this moment of weakness, rearing back his arm for a powerful thrust.
"It's over for you!" Jaune declared, feeling something envelop him and the Praetorian. His gladius began to glow with energy, and feeling emboldened, Jaune thrusted into the Byakushiki, decimating the Byakushiki's shield as easily as a hot knife through butter.
"Ichika Orimura is out by shield depletion," came the voice of Ms. Orimura. Jaune smiled for a moment, only to get drawn back into reality as he felt his right hand flare in pain. Quickly recognizing something was wrong, Jaune darted away from his position, only to realize he had now the undivided attention of Cecilia Alcott, who had launched over a dozen missiles, had her bits move away from her and began unleashing all the fire she could onto him.
Jaune moved as quickly as he could, raising his shield to protect him from the bit's fire, dumping flares left and right to get the missiles off his tail, and tried to close to within striking range of Cecilia. However, the amount of fire coming in, even with the power being diverted to defenses again, was whittling down the shield energy, which sat precariously at 40% and dropping.
In addition, despite how much Jaune was pushing the Praetorian toward Cecilia, her Blue Tears was simply too fast for him to catch up to. Jaune grimaced in realization; without any means to attack Cecilia at range, he would never be able to attack her if she kept moving. He patched himself over to the control room overlooking the match.
"Ms. Orimura, I'm forefieting," Jaune said. "As it is, there is no way for me to close the distance to Cecilia without losing. Therefore, dragging this fight out is a simply an exercise of futility." He heard the elder Orimura hum in contemplation.
"Very well then Arc, at least you recognize when it's futile to continue fighting. But if you do forfeit-dumbass pay attention!"
Jaune was about to ask what that was about when he saw several new missiles heading straight for his face. He sweat dropped in realization; Oum damn it all to hell. The Praetorian was rocked by a series of explosions, and Jaune's head hit the side of his helmet, which in combination with the concussive force of the explosions and the constant ringing in his ear, knocked him out.
"Ugh," Jaune groaned, his eyes wearily opening. In addition, the ringing in his ear was continuing somehow, and his right hand felt like it had been pressed into a waffle iron. He sighed, turning his head to see Cecilia, Ichika, and Chifuyu standing next to the hospital bed he was in.
"You know, I've never seen such a chaotic fight at this Academy before," Chifuyu commented. "Friendly fire, 2 on 1, and firing upon a clearly surrendering person, I don't think this compares to any fights before. All of the above happened before sure, but not in the same match."
Ichika and Cecilia looked abashed, clearly concerned for how their teacher was going to react to the fight that just happened. Jaune meanwhile was still suffering from being knocked out and therefore didn't have any tact in his response.
"So what does that mean for us?" Jaune asked. Chifuyu chuckled.
"Overall, nothing; it was a fight and things like this happen. However, you two-" she pointed at Ichika and Cecilia- "Didn't even wait for me to announce the beginning of the fight, and therefore will be forced to submit a 3000 word essay on the importance of waiting before engaging in a tournament style fight, along with 40 hours of flight time in the trainer IS frame and not your personal ISs." She then turned to Jaune.
"You meanwhile will simply continue your sentence in the kitchens, only with one less week due to taking out Mr. Orimura," Chifuyu said. Jaune gave a weak grin and raised his right hand.
"Yay," Jaune weakly cheered. However, he was oblivious to the looks of shock on Cecilia's, Ichika's and Chifuyu's face. They all wondered why the hell it looked like Jaune's hand was dipped in a deep fryer for a couple of seconds. Chifuyu gave a pointed look to Cecilia and Ichika, nonverbally instructing them to keep silent about what they saw. They quickly nodded.
"Anyway, I've lessons to look over, so you rest Mr. Arc. I expect you in class tomorrow, so don't you dare show up late."
"Aye Ms. Orimura," Jaune said. He didn't even get to say anything to his opponents as when he laid back down, he fell right back asleep.
Author's Note: And that's a wrap! We finally get to see the fight between Jaune, Cecilia, and Ichika, and it was different from the fight between Ichika and Cecilia. Ichika didn't use his plasma sword, as he wasn't thinking, merely reacting, and Cecilia got to put Jaune down. The reason for this is similar to how I see how a heavily armored centurion facing off against a horse archer. Sure, if the centurion only needs to hold ground then it would win, but if he has to chase down the horse archer, he will lose as he lacks the mobility and range to stop the horse archer from getting away and pelting him with arrows.
Now I'm not going to cover the reviews as I'm sick with a sore throat and wrote this chapter whilst sick so I'm pretty tired. But I will cover a few questions brought up in the reviews, as most of the reviews were about this chapter's fight scene and thus answered already.
-Harem route for Jaune: No harems for Jaune in this story. I have thought about have Jaune also pairing up with Laura Bodewig, but I will see what you guys think. But the others are too close to Ichika (Rin and Houki), will predominately hang out with Ichika (Charlotte), and some are getting the stick of JUSTICE (that freaking Mary-Sue Tatenashi) out of this story.
-Jaune's Cooking: Huh, possibly will happen, might be a future punishment for the poor blonde bastard.
-Mr. Coltello and Senator Armstrong: Yes, a guest brought this up, but I could conceivably add a character like Armstrong to the story as an associate of Mr. Coltello. But will I; maybe. I have to give this some thought.
So until next time, please read, review, follow, favorite, and I'll catch you guys next time.