Team 1's Phantom, shortly after…
Rukia
The moment we passed through the rift, we began to experience difficulties. Since the rift was freshly made the energy had not stabilized, and it sent a surge through our ship. The hardware in my helmet suddenly went haywire, causing severe interference to my visor, so I was forced to take it off in order to see.
"We're losing power! That surge was an EMP!" the pilot yelled.
I'm no alien tech expert, but even I could tell that the sudden frantic beeping and flashing lights that went off was not a good sign. The side doors opened, and I saw a large building and runway down below us. Hearing the engines begin to die, I immediately ran over to the Elite piloting our ship.
"Pilot! Do you think you can land us down there?" I yelled.
The Elite glanced over to his side. "Barely, we have lost much our energy! Tell the others to prepare!" he ordered.
I nodded and went back to the passenger platform to inform everyone. We all took hold of the handles that hung from the ceiling, and I watched as the ground quickly drew close.
"Brace yourselves!" the pilot yelled.
I held on with everything I had as our ship met the earth (or whatever planet this was, as we were in a different world now). We skidded violently down the runway for a few moments before we finally came to a stop. I coughed for a few moments to clear my lungs of all the dust we had kicked up.
"(cough) Is (cough) everyone alright?" I said.
"Been better…" Renji muttered in annoyance.
"I've had worse landings." said Natsuki.
"We're okay!" Mato confirmed.
The Elite pilot staggered out of the cockpit, using the wall for support. I walked over to give him a hand, but he pushed it aside.
"It is only a few bruises. I endured much worse during the flood war." the pilot said, standing up straight.
We all decided to gather outside the ship. Outside, I got a good view of our surroundings. We had landed on the runway I saw earlier, and nearby stood a tall building that almost resembled a school. A tall, thin building with a spiral like structure built around it stood in the distance. Surprisingly, there was no one to be seen. I quickly realized why the area was deserted when I saw pillars of smoke rising from somewhere beyond the building. Is there anywhere that hasn't been stained by battle? I wondered as I shared my discovery with the group.
"It seems the flames of war burn brightly these days…Very well, go and investigate while I tend to repairs. Don't worry, I will be fine on my own." said the pilot.
"We'll come back as soon as we can." I promised.
Taking my rifle off my back and putting my helmet back on, I lead the others inside the nearby building. On the way in, I noticed a sign reading 'IS Academy'. At least now I knew where we were. As we walked through the building we passed several civilians who were headed in the opposite direction. A few of them stopped to stare at us before running again. Soon enough we were outside the first building and into what looked like a dormitory. Like with Garderobe, there were only female students. A green haired woman with glasses suddenly noticed us and almost fainted had I not caught her before she hit the floor.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
The woman seemed to snap out of her shock at the sound of my voice.
"Are you…one of them?" she asked me.
"Them?"
"The cyborgs. You're not one of them, are you?"
"No, I'm a person. Just flesh and blood." I took off my helmet to show her.
A wave of relief passed over her face at the sight of mine. "Thank goodness. I'm Yamada, a teacher at this school." she extended her hand.
"Rukia." I said, shaking it.
"You don't look like you're from around here, are you travellers from a different world?"
"Yes. Has someone else like us been here before?"
"Yes. A young boy named Rex, he came here not too long ago."
"As interesting as that is, I couldn't help but notice your school is in danger. Does it have anything to do with those cyborgs you mentioned?"
Yamada nodded. "They showed up a little while ago and started blasting everything in sight. I recognized one of them as Silver Gospel, an unmanned IS unit that some of my students fought some time ago."
"IS?"
"Oh that's right, you're not from around here. An IS, or Infinite Stratos, is a sort of advanced mechanized battle-suit. Normally only women can use them-"
"That explains the lack of male students."
"-but there are two males who can use an IS. Or, I guess I should say one now…"
Yamada's gaze dropped to the floor. She didn't have to explain to me the meaning of her words.
"I see. I'm sorry Ms. Yamada." I said. "Now then, I suggest you get your students to safety, and point us in the direction of those cyborgs."
"Of course. Follow that hallway to the coliseum, they were there last time I checked. Please hurry, some of my students left to fight the cyborgs and I haven't heard back from them."
I nodded, and my allies ran in the indicated direction. A few moments later, the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard through the walls. We were getting close to the coliseum. Soon we were standing in the bleachers of a large arena, and I stopped in my tracks as I observed the battle before us. On one end of the arena, a young girl with long silver hair and an eye patch was piloting a suit of black armor with a single shoulder mounted cannon. The girl's cannon was firing non-stop at something that moved too fast for me to identify, while she tried to hold her own against a gargantuan knight wielding a huge spiked mace. A bloody mass of blue metal and blonde hair lay crumpled near her. On the other side of the arena, a girl with reddish blonde hair and violet eyes was piloting an orange armor and held a pair of sub-machine guns, which she fired at a silver suit of armor, with glowing metal wings, most likely Silver Gospel. Before I could try to help either of the girls, a silver and blue metal man with mandible like mouth pieces materialized in front of me.
"Target acquired." the man said.
I pointed my rifle at his head. The man quickly reached out and grabbed the barrel of my gun. In a flash, the barrel froze completely solid, and the man broke off the frozen fragment. I dropped what remained of my firearm and leapt back.
"Split up! Help the girls below!" I said. The others split off, leaving me to handle the cyborg in front of me.
"Who are you?" I demanded, hand already at the hilt of my sword.
"I am designated as Sub-Zero." answered the cyborg. "If we are to duel, then let us do so with only our physical abilities. No weapons."
I was hesitant to accept his challenge, seeing as how he was completely metal and the fingerless gloves I wore offered little more protection than my bare hands. But I was not about to go back on my words. I am not weak, I can defeat him.
"Very well, I accept." I said, raising my fists.
Sub-Zero nodded and took his own stance. I made the first move, striking out with my left fist. Sub-Zero blocked the strike and quickly countered with a spinning kick. I ducked under the strike and threw an uppercut at him. I struck his chin, causing him to stumble and fall back a bit. Ignoring the throbbing sensation from striking solid metal, I resumed my advance and lunged at him. This time Sub-Zero crouched down with one foot forward. Suddenly, he surged forward, propelled by a sheet of slippery ice he formed beneath his feet. I was too far into my lunge to dodge the blow, and his foot smacked into mine, throwing me to the ground. He turned around leapt into the air, preparing to launch himself down at me. I rolled to the side in time to avoid having my ribs crushed, and was on my feet again. Before he could ready himself, I jumped feet first at him, using flash step to propel myself and increase the force of the blow. Sub-Zero was taken off his feet, but quickly rose back to his fighting posture.
"You fight well." he said.
"As do you." I responded.
I quickly glanced to the side to check on my comrades. Renji was engaged in a sword duel with a pink haired woman whose weapon resembled Miyu's. Natsuki had summoned Duran, her robot wolf Child and was having him fire at a massive 12ft tall demonic humanoid beast with large horns, mechanical legs, and some sort of rocket launcher built in place of its right arm. The silver haired girl from before lay embedded in a wall, slumped over. Crimson liquid was flowing down from where she was stuck. Dammit, they were too late! I thought angrily to myself. I noticed Yomi and Mato were facing off with the knight with the huge mace, and so far they seemed to be holding their own. Mai and Tate were teaming up with the girl in the orange mech-suit to fight back against Silver Gospel. Well, at least we saved one of them…
"Do not lose focus." Sub-Zero said, snapping me back to my own battle.
I looked back at the cyborg in time to feel his metal fist slam into my gut. I backed away slightly, coughing up some blood from the blow.
"Damn…" I muttered.
Shrugging off the immense pain in my stomach, I raised my fists in preparation for the next attack. Sub-Zero immediately rushed forward, projecting a blast of misty white energy at me. The blast connected, and suddenly every inch of my body was frozen in ice. Because of this, I was unable to prevent him from forming a large broadsword out of ice and slashing me across the chest with it, breaking both the weapon and my casing in the process. I clutched at the freshly made wound, and the scent of blood soon permeated the air.
"I thought (pant) you said no weapons." I managed.
"That sword is part of my physical abilities. As is the blast which froze you." he responded simply.
An idea crossed my mind, and I couldn't help but smile. "So, as long as it's a physical ability, anything goes?"
"Correct."
"Alright then…"
I flash stepped directly in front of him, and placed two of my fingers against his forehead. Before he could realize my intention, I spoke the command word.
"Hado 4: Byakurai!" (pale lightning)
A deadly bolt of lightning flew from my finger, blowing a hole through the cyborg's head and causing him to short circuit. Sub-Zero fell to the ground in a heap of scorched metal. Although I hadn't originally planned on using kido, I had still beaten him. I didn't have time to enjoy my victory though, the others still needed my help. Drawing my sword, I quickly went to Renji's side. He was struggling against his opponent, a woman with pink hair and pink eyes with a golden sword in place of her right arm. I blocked a strike from the woman as I appeared before Renji.
"What took you so long?" Renji grumbled.
"I was in a fist fight. Remind me to take up martial arts when we get back." I replied.
Even with my help, it was still difficult to defeat the cyborg woman. But, after several injuries and power attacks, the enemy at last succumbed to our strength and shut down. After making certain that she was dead, (you never know with cyborgs) Mato and Yomi came over to join us. They had defeated Mordekaiser (he identified himself during their battle) after exerting the same amount of effort it took for me and Renji to defeat the pink haired woman. I suddenly felt something tighten around my waist, pulling my arms against my sides. I saw the same thing happen to Mato, and then both of us were swiftly lifted off the ground toward the bleachers.
"Rukia!" Renji called after me.
While I was struggling to break out of my invisible bonds, the one responsible for the attack revealed themselves. My bonds, chains, became visible as I was brought face to face with a familiar lavender haired woman with a mask over her eyes.
"Rider!" I shouted to the woman.
She smirked in response. "So you remember me, Rukia Kuchiki."
"What the hell are you doing here? Trying to assassinate me again?"
"No. Don't you remember what I said the first time we fought? I want to know if you are as big a threat to us as I had perceived. Besides, the master's prize was here as well, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone." She glanced over at Mato, who was trying to free herself.
"Your master wants Mato? What for? And who is your master?"
Rider silenced me by tightening the chains. "I have already said too much. Now, hold still. This will only take a moment."
Rider then took off her eye mask, revealing a pair of pale lavender eyes that made me freeze at the sight of them. Petrified by her gaze, I was unable to stop her from cupping the side of both Mato's face and my own as she drew us close. She stared directly into our eyes for a moment, then all of a sudden her eyes went wide with shock and fear.
"W-what is this?!" Rider stammered. "No! I-it can't be possible! What are you?!"
In her moment of fear, she had allowed the chains to loosen enough for me to stick one of my hands out at her.
"Hado 31: Shakkaho!" (red flame cannon) I yelled.
At my command, a ball of explosive red energy burst from my open hand, exploding right as it struck the ground in front of Rider. The strange woman was knocked off her feet, causing her to drop the chains and allowing Mato and I to move freely. Both of us drew our swords and readied them for battle. Rider stared at us in absolute horror.
"No, get away!" she cried before vanishing away.
Mato and I gave each other a glance of confusion.
"What was that all about?" Mato asked.
"No idea." I answered honestly.
"Rukia! Mato!" came Renji and Yomi's voices.
I turned to see them running towards us, long with the blonde girl in the orange mech-suit.
"Are you alright?" Renji asked, putting his hands on my shoulders.
"Yes, I managed to get us free. Rider escaped, but from the way she acted towards me and Mato, I don't think she'll be bothering us anytime soon."
"(sigh) thank goodness."
"So, who's the girl in the mech-suit?"
The blonde girl walked up to me. Her mech disappeared, leaving only a flight suit behind. She smiled and extended her hand toward me.
"Bonjour, I am Charlotte Dunois." the girl said. Her accent told me she was French.
"I am Rukia, Rukia Kuchiki." I said, taking her hand and shaking it lightly.
"I thank you and your friends for coming and helping me, I wouldn't have lasted much longer without you."
"It's the least we can do. I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner…"
I glanced down at the arena below. Natsuki was inspecting the silver haired girl. She gave a thumbs up before attempting to pull her out of the wall.
"It looks like Laura is still alive!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"Thank god, I had thought she was killed." I said, relieved. So we were able to save both after all.
Then I realized something. We were still missing a couple members of our team.
"Dunois-"
"Please, call me Charlotte."
"Okay. Charlotte, where are Tate and Mai? They were the two who were helping you."
Charlotte's gaze dropped to the floor. "I'm afraid they died while protecting me. They took Gospel with them."
The French girl pointed to where she had fought the unmanned IS. Mai and Tate lay near a scorched mass of metal, small platters of blood all around them. We had saved this world, as well as two of its heroes, but at the cost of two of our own.
Renji swore before turning to the rest of us.
"So, who's going to tell Mikoto?"
Fury's Fortress, shortly after...
Fury
I walked along the aisles of the chapel, searching for anything that could be done to improve one of the few rooms in my fortress I actually cared for. I couldn't help but smile as I looked over the altar that I was sure I would soon be visiting, with my chosen one by my side.
"Daydreaming again, are we?"
My smile instantly vanished the moment his voice went through my mind.
"So what if I am? I'm allowed to dream, you know."
"You really got a thing for this chick, don't you? I can practically smell your arousal. Hehehehehehehehe!"
I clenched my fists. "If you were in someone elses body, I would seriously punch the fuck out of you right now."
Before Satan could make another wisecrack remark, the doors to the chapel burst open. Rider frantically ran through the open doors and over to me. She looked terrified, and I was wondering why that was seeing as how I hadn't done anything to her. Yet.
"Master! There is something of great importance that I must tell you!" Rider spoke.
"Calm down Rider. Just tell me what you need to tell me."
"That girl, the one with sapphire eyes, you can't have her!"
I paused for a moment before allowing a hint of anger to appear on my face. "What?" I spoke slowly.
"Master, I captured her and another girl, and I looked into their souls and saw their future. Master, that girl will destroy you! She-"
I silenced Rider when my hand closed around her throat. "Are you telling me, that you had her within your grasp, and then let her go?"
"Mas...ter...she'll...kill...you..." Rider wheezed.
"I should crush you for your insolence!"
I was about to burn her, incinerate this fool who was trying to sway me from my deepest desire, but then an idea came across my mind. I smiled wickedly as I loosened my grip on Rider's throat.
"Rider, I have a proposition for you. Would you like to hear it?" I asked.
She weakly nodded her head.
"I am willing to give you another chance, if you will help me...'test' something. Otherwise, I'll just roast you and send your soul back to oblivion. So, what do you say?"
I loosened my grip a bit more so she could speak clearly.
"I...accept...master..." she said slowly.
"I knew you'd come around." I released my grip on her, dropping her to the floor. "Now go to my quarters, I will give you your 'assignment' there."
Trembling, Rider weakly got up and left for my room. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as I walked down the halls of my fortress towards the courtyard.
"That was unexpected. I thought for sure you were gonna cook her." said Satan. "So what do you plan to do with her? Is she gonna be your sex slave or something? I know I'd make that piece of ass mine if I had the chance! Hehehe!"
"Not quite. I want to try 'that' on her before I use it on Mato. Just in case there are any complications I need to take care of."
"Oh, I see now. So, you're gonna try it out on her?"
"Yes."
"And what if it works? What will you do if you end up having a 'spare'?"
"You shouldn't speak of things like that as if they were meaningless. If it works, then you will not be allowed to touch it. Got it?"
"Whatever. Not like I need another one anyway."
"Glad we understand each other."
I had now reached the courtyard. Many of my servants were gathered here, either talking, fighting, or drinking. I stepped into the center of the courtyard so that my voice would not be drowned under all the chatter.
"General Wrath!" I called.
White Steel Wrath quietly emerged from the crowd and approached me. "Yes, master Fury?"
"I have a task for you."
"What are your orders?"
"It seems that some of our strongest warriors were eliminated in a recent attack. Those fools think that by joining forces with one another they stand a chance."
"And what would you have me do?"
"Take your vanguard and teach them a lesson. Kill their strongest warrior. I don't suppose I have to explain who that would be?"
A smile crept onto Wrath's face. "Of course not, master. In fact, one of my vanguard has a vendetta of sorts with him, as do I."
"All the more reason not to fail then."
"When should we leave?"
I gave him the most sinister smile I could muster before answering. "Immediately."
A/N: Dun dun duuuuuuuuuun! Lol hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I would like it if I could get up to at least 5 reviews either before or during chapter 10, but if I get them soon I will work as much as possible ot get chapter 10 done asap. Till next time! DarkNovelist out.