Iron Stratos

by Kratos1989

Infinite Stratos (IS) has been considered as the ultimate weapon known to the world. But when several unknown units started appearing, Orimura Ichika will experience first hand if someone has come to challenge that strength. My own Original Character, in an alternate universe. After Volume 7. Possible Integration of Volume 8 onwards. Rated T for some cursing.

11. Chapter 10: Conference Arc Part 2

Author's Notes:

Hey Guys, here's the new chapter for the conference arc. Sorry for the super long wait, but I had a fair number of issues with real life and writer's block, not to mention the internet being very unstable in my area.

This chapter has to be one of the longest I have written so far, and I ironed out the details as best as possible, so hope you guys enjoyed it. I tried to at least finished it before the end of Christmas! (Which is actually a few minutes here!)

Without further ado, let's start the chapter!

---

= Chapter Start =

Part 1

Houki sighed as she idly twirled her fork in the bowl of pasta, not caring much for it taking on an appearance of muddled squid with bits of sauce sticking on it. She had a really rough week to say the least.

She was currently sitting alone at the table nearest to the window in the cafeteria. Given that Chifuyu had to go to the conference with Ichika, classes under her were temporarily assigned to other staff, or were given study breaks to keep them occupied. For Houki's case, the class took the opportunity to take a break from the absolutely intense lessons that Chifuyu had come up for the past couple of weeks. It was just as well they got a break; she could really use it to get her thoughts in order.

Sometime after the hijacking incident, the security system of IS Academy got severely compromised by an unknown hacker, leaving it wide open for attacks or unhindered espionage. To fix it, they had to dive into the virtual world to find and stop the hacker. However, it would seemed that the hacker was prepared for such an intrusion and created some virtual reality trap that made them stuck in some weird fantasy regarding their desires. It ended up having to get Ichika to dive after them and rescue them individually, exposing him to the type of fantasies they have about him.

Houki grabbed her head with both her hands, her face blushing heavily from the memory of that scene. She never felt so embarrassed at herself in her entire life! He had to see her behaving so nicely towards his fake self, see her at her most vulnerable state! Not to mention all the things she said to him as well?!

Ichika must think of her as weird woman; after all, he was actively avoiding her and the others for a little over a week now. How is she ever going to get his attention now?!

"Oui, Earth to Houki, anyone at home?" A voice thankfully broke her thoughts of self-loathing as she turned her ashen face to see Rin with her hands on her hips and a raised eyebrow. Behind her stood Cecilia, Charlotte and Laura who were looking at her with a wary eye.

"Oh it's you guys." Houki hastily straightened herself on her seat. Last thing she needed was to show her devastated side to them. "Free time for your class too?" She asked Rin in an attempt to dispel the mood.

"Yup, class got cancelled." Rin drew the chair on Houki's right side and sat on it. "Seems like the teachers were not in the mood to teach the students anything, what with this conference going on the repairs of the Academy still going on."

"Indeed, sometimes I get the feeling Orimura-Sensei is the real boss around here." Cecilia shuddered as she sat down on Rin's side. The others had similar reactions at the thought of Chifuyu being the true boss of IS Academy. It may not be such an impossible thing, her being a shadow-boss that controlled the workings of the academy. "Well in any case, with many of the facilities damaged from that Golem attack, there isn't much we can do about the situation."

Houki nodded lightly while sighing heavily. "It feels so odd without Ichika around."

"I agree." Charlotte gave her reply as she stretched her arms above her head. "It is just not the same feeling when he's not around. He has not been hanging around us for quite a while now."

"Yeah, but I think that may partially be due to that incident from before." Rin's words made everyone pause for a moment, before collectively slamming their heads loudly, unintentionally attracting those near them and making them wonder what were they doing.

The others were also a little traumatised at the memories of their virtual adventure. To them, they were extremely ashamed at the fact that not only were they caught up in their own fantasies, Ichika ended up seeing them in such a situation.

"Haha, honestly Ichika should not be hiding from us!" Rin tried to make herself forget that trauma by mentally pushing the blame to the boy while trying to laugh it off.

"Honestly, Ichika-san should be more open about it!" Cecilia said while placing a hand over her heart while throwing her head back haughtily. "I for one have no problems whatsoever about my dream. I dare say that he overreacted to it."

"Hmm, that's rather interesting to hear." A voice attracted their attention to their side, only to find to their absolute horror, a certain blue-haired president standing near their table, fanning herself while carrying a smile that could rival the most mischievous of cats around. "Why don't you tell me more about it?"

"Err, there's nothing to talk about, really!" Cecilia tried to laugh it off but failed to make it sound convincing now with her confidence waning.

"Oh, it that so?" Tateneshi's smile grew wider as she came over and sat at their table. "But from what I heard from Kanzashi, it seems you girls have some really naughty dreams about Ichika. So spill it, and don't leave out any juicy details."

'Damn it, she told her sister about it?!' The five girls paled at that thought. Tateneshi must have noticed their expressions, as she lazily waved her left hand. "Oh, if you are wondering, Kanzashi did not give out that information willingly without a little persuasion, as Laura and Houki would know very well."

Houki and Laura shuddered at those words, remembering the type of punishment she enjoyed inflicting on the two of them. Suddenly they do not feel that angry at Kanzashi, rather they felt sympathy for the fellow comrade in pain.

"So then…" Tateneshi bared her teeth mischievously as she looked at the slightly panicking girls. "Tell me all about it."

---

Tatenshi let out a soft whistle as she looked at the now depressed girls resting their heads on the table. "Woah, Kanzashi was being generous when she told me that. I did not realize how imaginative you girls were towards him."

"Please don't remind us about it!" Houki groaned as she clutched her head again to relieve the increasing headache that was pounding inside. She was already regretting the fact she got herself caught so easily and exposing Ichika to that dream sequence, but now that Tateneshi found out about it, she would never hear the end of it!

"Hmm, though that said, Houki's seems to be the most tamed of the lot." Tateneshi flashed Houki a sympathetic smile before turning to the others. "You girls on the other hand…" She mockingly shook her head while wagging her finger. "Onee-san is so shocked at her juniors being so naughty."

"This is coming from a lady who parades in a swimsuit apron costume?" Cecilia asked flatly while glaring at her. She did not forget that incident when she followed Ichika to his room only to find her in that scanty costume. The others nodded their agreement as they glared at their rival.

"Ara, but Onee-san is being honest with herself when she teases Ichika-kun." Tateneshi flicked open her fan to show the words 'Honesty Wins!' "And besides, it is always so much fun to see Ichika's expressions when he gets embarrassed." She let out a light laugh as she remembered all the different reactions Ichika made every time she appeared before him with an odd costume or pulled a big prank on him.

"…"

All the girls stared at Tatenshi with one resounding thought in their heads.

'She is definitely the second biggest obstacle to defeat!'

Before they could say anything about her, the loud voice of a news anchor from a television set interrupted them.

"And onto other news, the conference at the Twin Towers in Central Tokyo is now underway. There has been a lot of speculations about the contents of such a meeting, given the great number of CEOs and IS representatives that are participating in this." The news anchor said while a screen showing an aerial view of the towers was displayed at her side. "What can be confirmed is the apparent sighting of Orimura Ichika and Orimura Chifuyu entering the building. This suggests that their involvement in the hijacking of Airbus 9012 carrying the CEOs and members of the IS Council may be related to this conference."

"There is also the rumours relating to the unusual incidents that have occurred over the past few weeks, regarding the appearances of unusual IS units that have appeared in those incidents."

"Well, things seem to be picking up now." Tateneshi commented while watching the news reporter continuing to talk about the conference at the towers. "I guess Ichika and Orimura Sensei should be there by now."

"It's a little strange that we did not get called up." Cecilia pointed out while frowning. "I mean, we are technically the representatives of our countries, so why were we not called up?"

"Correction, you girls are representative cadets." Tateneshi emphasized that last word as she turned around to face them. "As it stands, you girls are not yet ready for the tasks at hand. Especially for Houki, since your IS Unit is not exactly government-sanctioned." Houki lightly bit her lip as she heard that explanation.

"By the way, I meant to ask something." Tateneshi leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "I have heard about the supposed hijacking of the airbus, and the other incidents regarding those machines, but I have not attained enough information about them. I did not ask earlier on due to the recent attacks here, but could you tell me what really happened on that mission?"

"Sure." For the next few minutes, the girls took turns to explain about their mission, occasionally putting in a word or two as another explained. Tateneshi listened without interrupting them at all, while gaining a notable frown that grew more pronounced.

"So it would seem that this 'Master' has some interest in the current state of matters around the world, and decided to take things into his own hands." Tateneshi lightly tapped her chin with her fan as she contemplated the info she heard. "But the idea that these machines have some sort of artificial intelligence for interaction is certainly intriguing. I would not mind meeting one of them."

"All I know is, the next time I see JetStream, I am so going to wreck it big time!" Rin slammed her fist in her open palm while growling. The other four girls nodded in agreement as they remembered their interactions with the red unit. That machine was so going to get it from them!

---

(Halfway around the world)

[M17: Whoa!]

"What's the matter, JetStream? Your data readings just went a little wacky. Did you gain damage from your mission?"

[M17: I'm not quite sure Master. I detect no damage in my circuitry and I am still functioning within safety parameters. I think this is the digital equivalent of "feeling chills down my spine"]

"Huh?"

---

(Back in IS Academy)

"Well, putting your troubles to one side, what have you girls found out about these machines?" Tateneshi asked as she tried to calm the girls down.

"Not much on that department, I'm afraid we know just about as much as you." Charlotte replied as she took out her PDA and fiddled with it before placing it on the table and pressing a button, displaying the information on a holographic screen for all to view. "What I can say is that everyone has many theories about them, and none are good enough for a reason on their own."

"Well that's a problem." Tateneshi turned to Houki with a raised eyebrow. "And you are sure that Professor Tabane does not have anything to do with this?" Houki nodded while looking down with a sigh.

Shortly after their rescue from the virtual world, they got word of another incident with the units, regarding the attempted kidnapping of the French President's daughter. They barely got any information regarding the unit that stopped it, so they each decided to turn to their respective contacts to try and glean some from them. Houki went for the direct option: calling the most likely person in the entire world who could have built those machines in the first place, aka her sister.

Except the answer she got was not something they wanted to hear. Houki may hate her sister dearly for creating the IS and separating her from Ichika in the past, but she still understood her sister's mannerisms and thoughts enough to get the idea that Tabane was not the person who built those units at all.

But that only left the glaring question: who did built those machines and for what reasons?

"Well, it's not like we can do anything else other than speculate at this point." Tatenshi shrugged as she leaned back on her chair, lightly tilting its back legs. "For now, we will just monitor the situation and pray that nothing too serious comes up."

"Hmm…" Rin hummed as she lightly chewed on a small sticky of candy she got from the cafeteria lady. "But still, is there really no other way for us to know anything about them?" She turned to face Tateneshi while removing the candy from her mouth. "How about your connections? After all you are more connected than the rest of us, right?" The others nodded to show their agreement.

Actually, the part about her connections referred more to Tateneshi's status as an IS Representative rather than her family ties with the secret organization she was leading, since they do not know about it yet. Nevertheless, they were correct in assuming she has more connections than them. Being the only true Representative of Russia in the academy, she had more contacts with the officials than anyone else, apart from Chifuyu.

But in this case, they drew a blank, as evidenced by Tatenshi as she shook her head. "Afraid I can't help much in that sense. Most of my contacts don't know much about this issue to begin with, and the few who do know are not telling me. They have a suspicion that it could be someone from our side that is doing all of this, so they are withholding the information to avoid eavesdropping."

"Why would they think that?" Charlotte asked while taking a sip of the lemonade she ordered.

"Well, think along these points. Firstly, the person to do this type of thing would have to have a huge amount of resources in order to create these machines. Secondly, the person has to have some knowledge on what was going on in the world to coordinate these type of attacks. Thirdly, most of these attacks seemed to be targeting mostly at situations where the committee or the UN cannot interfere without major repercussions."

"So in short, they think that someone from the IS Council could be carrying out vigilante work by using these machines to deal with the world matters?" Laura voiced out her thoughts with her military mind-set in full swing. "It would make sense, considering the amount of scandal and backlash that could happen if the committee were to use force for some of these events. So rather than have the entire group compromised, one person goes about creating this units and masquerade as someone completely un-associated with the IS Council."

"But can we be sure of that?" Cecilia asked while putting placing her right elbow on her left hand and wagging her finger. "Given that the machines keep calling someone their 'master', everyone assumes that there's only one person doing all of this. But what if it is actually an organization doing this?"

"That's also what some of my contacts believe." Tateneshi nodded at her reply. "They feel that this 'Master' is the leader of an organization which has the resources to reverse-engineer IS Technology to create these machines, while having an intelligence network that could monitor all the events happening around the world."

"This is starting to sound like something from a science fiction action movie." Charlotte shook her head while sighing. "What next, a billionaire coming along dressed as a bat?"

"Why not? Clarissa said that this world has many heroes hiding in disguise." Laura mentioned while crossing her arms and nodding her head. When no reply was given, she turned to see the others looking at her with a flat expression. "What?" She asked while looking at all of them.

"Erm Laura, I think you and I got to have a very long talk about your friend and your knowledge based from comics." Charlotte commented in a manner that suggests she had wanted to have an opportunity to do so for a long while.

"Huh? What's wrong with my information?" Laura tilted her head to the side as she raised her visible eyebrow.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but comics are not the right source of information for day to day activities." Charlotte replied while the other nodded in agreement. "For one thing, a lady doesn't go around calling a male her "wife"; that's usually meant for the females while the males are the grooms."

"Why, he is my wife so it is only natural that I call him in such a way." Laura's steadfast declaration only succeeded in making the girls feel the urge to throw a tsukkomi at her at that point.

"Laura, seriously, stop calling Ichika-san in such a manner, you are basically emasculating him with that title!" Cecilia started scolding Laura for her persistence in using that moniker for Ichika.

"You girls are just jealous that I have gone further with him." Laura crossed her arms as she declared with much relish. That did little good for the situation when the other girls in the area heard her declaration and decided to voice their own opinions.

"Damn it, the Personal IS users are flaunting their monopoly over Ichika-kun!"

"That's not fair, give us a chance!"

"That's right, you girls are going down!"

Tateneshi sighed as she ignored the girls' escalating quarrelling and turned her attention to the screen, with one thought in her mind.

'I wonder what Ichika is doing right now?'

---

Ichika held his breath as he listened carefully for the sounds of stomping feet passed by him slowly. He could honestly say this was the most terrifying experience of his entire life; not even the battle with the Black Golems or the fight with the rampaging Silver Gospel made him this fearful for his life.

It had been a long and arduous battle to survive. He had to scuffle through thick mobs and stalkers, jump through security barricades, and slip past downright dirty tricksters. It took a large amount of cunning, insight and a fair amount of luck to get through all that crap. He had to use all of his trickery and strength garnered from his months in IS Academy to get to this spot in order to think of some plans to get him to safety.

And all these was just so he could escape the onslaught of people coming after him.

How did he end up in such a situation, you might ask?

Well, it started right as he entered the lobby of the towers. People got excited and started to come to him, only to be fended off by Chifuyu with her famous death glare. That did not deter some of the more determined CEOs and representatives, who kept up the momentum of approaching him and trying to get him to try out some of their products or to sign on as one of their test pilots. They temporarily halted their attempts when the conference started, occasionally trying to get a quick word with him during short breaks.

Then, when the break came, he got greeted by Ellen and her teammates, who were eager to meet him. What started as a friendly conversation and an innocent request for a selfie soon turned into a bit of a tussle as the other female details came along and started to compete with them for the chance to stand next to him for self-shots. Chifuyu was unable to help him since she was getting mobbed by her own fan-club and CEOs who were trying to woo her.

It only got worse when he ran into a group of journalists who were waiting outside of the room for an interview, thus making himself seen by a few of them, and to his absolute horror, called more of their friends on the action. They started to overwhelm him with questions regarding his status as a candidate and other personal matters, quickly going to questions that were borderline embarrassing for him, such as his relationship status with some of the known representative cadets in the Academy.

In the end, he had to run all over the entire tower just to find one decent hiding spot that could protect him from them for even a second, which he finally did with this small meeting room on the twentieth floor. It also helped that the room had a "Don't Disturb. Meeting in Session" Sign on the door hook outside, so it ensured that no one tried to disturb the people inside.

Honestly, he had a difficult time deciding which group of people was worse: the group of journalists who were particularly desperate to get a story, the CEOs and representatives who want him to be their test subject for their latest technology, or the onslaught of women who want to body pile him for some reason.

"…"

On second thought, he would put getting chased by a group of crazy women just a tad above getting harassed by a group of over-zealous CEOs, followed shortly by the group of journalists out for blood.

Now that he was sure he was safe, he leaned against the wall and took the moment to catch his breath while thinking over the contents of the conference over the past couple of hours.

That was a very informative conference for him to be in, that was very certain. For one thing, he was finally able to meet some of the members of the IS Council that made the decision of giving him the position of a representative in the first place, some were nice people like an old man affectionately called "Grandpa Abraham", others not so much.

There was also the fortune of finding out about many of the different companies that were involved with the manufacturing of IS parts and matters that would no doubt be essential for him to understand sooner or later, such as the supposed 4th Mondo Grosso coming up.

But of course, all that paled when it came to the real reason for the conference: The subject regarding the mysterious machines.

At the very least he was finally able to get some information about those units, and how this whole mess started. He had gotten a general idea from his participation of the rescue mission, but to actually see the footage of the various incidents that showcased the type of firepower and capabilities of the different units, it honestly put things into perspective for him. He did know that the units had to be advanced enough to keep up with the IS models that were out there, but he did not know how far advanced they were; if anything, they may actually be on the same level if not greater than them right now!

"JJJJJJIIIIII…"

But then that only begged the question as to why the machines were built in the first place. It did not make sense whatsoever that the inventor would just send them out to stop terrorists and crime without any reason. Why else would they be equipped with such a formidable arsenal?

Unless if it was Tabane, since she would no doubt do this sort of thing on a whim. But Houki already cleared her out of the list, so to speak. They may be estranged, but Houki understood her sister enough that she did not do it.

Then again, Tabane has a way of keeping secrets from everyone, even her sister, so the jury was still out for her.

"JJJJJIIIIIIIIIIIII…"

But still, it does not help with the current situation. Everyone was going around demanding answers and making accusations at each other. Furthermore, based on what he had gathered, many of the companies were considering to capture one of the units to study it and in the worst case scenario, at least to him, try to reverse-engineer the technology.

"JJJJJJJJJJJJJIIIIIIIIII….."

In the end it's not like their actions were not welcomed; many of the younger representatives had mentioned privately that they were extremely grateful for the interventions, since many of the crimes took place in countries where they were not allowed to exert any influence without repercussions, so they could not get though without issues popping up. That was however not a sentiment shared by some of the hard-liner representatives who were positively livid at the situation, given that these attacks seemed to have shaken the faith of the general populace who felt that their respective governments and the IC Council were not doing enough to ensure the peace of the world, and that their support was now going to the vigilante doing all of this.

What would be the right response for the situation?

"JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII…."

And what on earth was making that damn noise?!

He raised his head to see what the thing that was making that sound was, only to stop short of openly gawking at it.

Resting on top of the desk near the window was a small round object that stood out of the entire room with its bright orange colour in startling contrast with the dark furniture. It was roughly the size of a small basketball, with a line going around its circumference. There were two flaps at the sides that were flushed smoothly to the surface, and it had two small LED bulbs which were positioned in such a way it was staring at him. Coupled with the line and the flaps, Ichika could only guess he was looking at the face of the little robot with the flaps acting as ears.

Perhaps it could see him staring back, because it started to move the side flaps and the lights from its eyes started blinking. "HELLO!" It greeted with a high pitched voice.

"Err, hello?" Ichika stared at it for a while before asking "Who are you?" Actually, he wanted to ask what it was, but thought it was a little rude to do so.

"I'm Haro. Nice to meet you." It responded back while flapping its ears.

"Err, nice to meet you too." Ichika could only scratch his head in confusion at the sight of the unusually cheerful robot. Clearly he must be really exhausted to be seeing something that should belong to an anime series, there was no other way to explain. "Why are you here?"

"Haro is playing Hide and Seek." It replied back simply, before starting to bounce lightly off the table and made its way to him. "Haro wants to explore, so Haro is moving around the towers!"

"Hmmm…" Ichika could only lightly shake his head as the little ball reached him and just bounce in front while looking at him, occasionally spinning in the air. "Err, don't suppose whoever built you got the patent to do so? I mean, I'm sure you are breaking some copyright laws right now."

"Haro has no idea what you are talking about." The little robot replied as it landed lightly on his head. Despite his doubts about the little fellow inside his head, he noted that it was a lot lighter than it looked, as though it was made with light but durable plastic. "It's not like Haro belongs to some group that creates TV shows on giant robots and little helpers."

"Okay, that right there, sounds so much like you are breaking the copyright law." Ichika said while raising an eyebrow. Before Haro could put in a word, they got interrupted by someone calling out from outside.

"Haro, where are you?" A voice could be heard calling out to it. "AH!" The little robot flapped its sides while lightly squirming on Ichika's head, to his slight discomfort. "Mr Craig, Mr Craig!"

'Craig?' The name stuck to Ichika's mind for a while, making him wonder where he had heard it from. He got his answer when the door opened and a guy walked into the room, stopping just a few metres as he turned to face them.

Now Ichika had met some of the CEOs and representatives of the different companies, and had seen others of different ages, but the man before him had to be third youngest person he had seen in this place. Dressed simply in a white polo shirt and black pants, he had a dark blazer donned on him with what looked like a gold emblem with the words "AT" on it, supposedly the logo of his company. He looked to be approaching his early twenties with lightly brown hair with a tinge of gold at the sides, and his slightly tanned skin with well-built frame suggests that he did a fair amount of exercising outdoors. His face looked slightly hardened and thinned, as though he had a habit of working through long nights without stopping, but it looked oddly natural to him, and there was a feeling of liveliness from him.

But perhaps the first thing people would notice would have to be his Heterochromia eyes of the most unusual sort; the right eye was a dark emerald green, with a dark iris that made one think of a black polished stone, overall giving a soothing impression. His left eye however was a shocking amber, with the iris resembling that of a cat's, and the general feeling Ichika got was one being peered through to his soul, as if he was being examined from the inside out.

Never before did Ichika feel he met someone as unusual as the man before him, it was weird in the sense that the person before him could give a somewhat contradictory presence so naturally; on the one hand, he felt friendly enough to talk, yet at the same time it was as though he was judging everyone with a somewhat cold rationality.

And right now, that person was currently standing in front of him with a frown directed at the little robot on his head.

"Haro, there you are! What have I told you about running off on your own?" The guy scolded Haro who promptly jumped off Ichika's head and bounced its way back to the table, landing softly on the top while turning towards the man.

"Mr Craig, you found me!" Haro said cheerfully as the lights from its LED 'eyes' blinked on and off. Something which did not deter the expression on the man's face.

"Now Haro, I hope you did not do anything embarrassing to the young man." The man frowned while wagging a finger. For a moment, Ichika struggled to keep himself from laughing at the sight of a young man only a few years older than him scolding the robot. It gave the impression that he was a father scolding a young boy for running off. "You know you can't always wander around unsupervised, you might end up getting into trouble."

"I did not, Mr Craig." Haro said while looking downwards and its flaps dropping in a manner that suggested it was very sorry for what it had done. "I'm sorry for wandering off."

"Well, as long as you understand that's fine." The man eased off on his expression and, after lightly grabbing it, rested it on his right palm. "And at least you are safe. The last thing I need is for those people to break you apart for your circuits or whatever crazy ass reason they give."

"I will stick around Mr Craig!" Haro flapped its ear while giving an energetic reply.

"Okay then." With a flick of his wrist, he lightly threw Haro up in the air, where it hung for a short while, then with some flapping of its sides, landed lightly on his head. After that, the guy turned around to study Ichika with a pondering eye.

"Ah…" Ichika hesitated to speak to the person in front of him. Based on what he had known about this conference, there were plenty of foreigners that came to discuss matters. This man clearly had features that spoke of his American upbringing, coupled with the accent while talking to the robot, and Ichika was not too proficient with his other languages. He remembered his small study sessions with Cecilia and Charlotte to practise his English and French, and sad to say, he was so bad at it that at one point he accidentally said a rude word to the both of them.

Getting punched in the face with a pile driver or shot with a rifle are very good reminders to practise his foreign vocabulary.

Before he could react, the man before him bowed his head slightly and started to speak with slightly strained Japanese. "I thank you for taking care of Haro, he tends to wander around without warning. I hope he has not cause too much trouble?"

Icika stared at the guy for a while in surprise. This was a personal first for him; most of the foreign representatives he met, discounting the girls at the Academy, tend to speak with simple English in order to converse with him, and he felt extremely awkward when trying to converse with them in return, so this was new for him.

"Did I say something rude?" The man slightly panicked at the look on Ichika's face. "My Japanese is a little rusty."

"Oh no, it's not that." Ichika hastily assured the man as he replied. "It's just that most people often talked to me in English and I had to reply them back in the same way. So this is a little refreshing. Perhaps you want to continue in English?"

The man paused before slowly nodding. "For now, but if needed, I can converse with you in Japanese if necessary."

"Okay, that's a deal." Ichika smiled before pausing. "Erm, isn't it uncomfortable for him to be on top of your head?" Ichika pointed while raising any eyebrow at the sight that seemed to be a regular thing for the man. "Oh he's actually very light, so it's not really an issue. I have also gotten used to him doing this all the time. Besides, if I did try to get him off, well…" The guy paused as he lifted his eyes to gesture to the little robot.

"Special place. Hmph!" Haro rolled upwards to give the impression of it sticking its chest (or lack of) out with its head up high. "Like he says." The guy replied with a smile as he offered his hand. "The name is Michael Craig. Nice to meet you." The guy greeted Ichika, who shook his hand lightly.

"Michael Craig, the CEO for AS-Thor Industries, if I am not mistaken?" Ichika asked as he let go from the handshake. "You heard of me? I'm flattered." The guy scratched his cheek unconsciously. "Most people don't know about me, I'm the new guy of the block so to speak."

"I have heard a little about you." Ichika recalled the conversation he had with Ellen earlier about the hijacking. From what he heard, one of the terrorists was trying to find this man in order to perform an operation for his sister. Ichika also recalled someone announcing his name when he came to the conference. "You are the one who actually creates prosthetics and artificial organs by combining bioengineering with the mechanics derived from IS Frames. Your work has been given a lot of praises."

"Yup, that's about the general information about me." Michael nodded in agreement. "Then again, I don't really go outside too often apart from these occasions, so I guess not many people know me too well." He added that part with a slightly rueful chuckle. "Don't believe I caught your name?" Michael frowned as he stopped his laugh.

"Oh yes, where are my manners?" IChika chided himself as he bowed forward. "Orimura Ichika, pleasure to meet you, Craig-san."

"Oh, so you are that guy. Thought you looked familiar." Michael grinned at him with a look of recognition on his face. "The one a few guys said to be the 'Last Hope of Man all over the world.'"

"Yeah, that is still a little weird for me." Ichika let out a weak chuckle as he scratched his head a little from embarrassment. Honestly, no matter how many times he heard that, he still felt that people were exaggerating about him a lot. "I mean, isn't it a little much to call me that?"

"Well, it is not quite far-fetched in some sense." Micahel shrugged as he started explaining. "As you can very well tell, the current status of the world is such that the females do have greater authority than men, so this is a huge shift in ideology, work practices, and even the manner chores are done at home. There are even places where you can't just go into a fancy restaurant without buying a tuxedo if you are a guy. While most females managed to strike a balance with their male counterparts, there are still some who tend to push their boundaries a little too much."

Ichika nodded as he recalled the incident where an old lady ordered him to pick up her clothes during his short trip with Charlotte. There were some females who started to abuse their newfound power and freedom to such extent, they believed that everything they say was to be obeyed at all costs, or else the males risk getting arrested. He had also seen some form of it during the conference, where some of the female politicians pushed their cases further, while blithely ignoring their male partners despite their cases being equal if not greater issues. And he was deeply familiar with the restaurant example from his time with Houki.

"As you can imagine, there are a few guys who do not like that at all. There are those who take it to the extreme, believing that the 'natural order', if you would, should be brought back to males at all costs." Michael used his hands to do the quote gesture for emphasis. "So you will have some who used rather extreme methods to try and get back that position, even if it meant innocent lives could get involved."

"And of course the predicted result of their efforts getting stumped is guaranteed. No matter how many times they try, you can't get around the fact that the greatest weapon ever built can only be used by females. So with your appearance." Michael gestured with his finger to get the point through, "It's easy to understand that there are many guys out there who are extremely grateful that there is one guy out there who can pilot an IS. Even if you are currently the only one who can pilot it, it stands to reason that there is still a chance for males to get back some strength."

"But still, that does not really warrant me to be such a rare case?" Ichika squirmed at the description Michael gave to him about his status.

"Look at this on two points. If we looked at it scientifically, the fact you can pilot an IS suggests that something in your blood may be the key to let more men pilot these units. We have yet to unlock the full properties of the core as it is, so we can't really determine what its internal workings are that restricts itself to be used by females." Michael started to take up a lecturing pose as he started to list out the reasons Ichika was famous for. Inwardly, Ichika thought he would fit right in as a teacher of the Academy.

"One other reason that people would think that genetics may be a key factor is your relation with Miss Orimura, your sister. Some of us have heard about the supposed relationship she shared with Professor Tabane, so there is the possibility that Tabane may have used genetics in her creation of the IS, and thus your usage of the machine could be traced to your genetic coding, since you do share the same trait as your sister."

"I suppose that could be the case, but I highly doubt that." Ichika gave his opinion about that bit of information. "For one thing, I have known other students who have sisters of the same blood group and type, but the IS would reject them immediately, if not have a lower compatibility than them."

"Yup, and that leads to a second theory, which admittedly is not an exact science." Michael said while absentmindedly playing with Haro on his head.

"What would that theory be?" Ichika listened attentively. It was not often he got a chance to listen to an expert in the field of IS research talk about the supposed theories regarding the mechanics of IS, and he must as well get whatever information to deal with his own unit.

"Mentality." Michael said that one word with a slightly flat and unenthusiastic tone.

"Huh?"

'Okay, not quite the answer I was expecting.'

"Yeah, that's why I said it's not an exact science, but hear me out a second." Michael stopped poking Haro and looked at Ichika. "The idea for that theory is that women have a different mental state from men that could handle the handling of the machine. For example, the general indication that men are more aggressive than women has been ingrained in history for as long as the Stone Age, and if you compare how the two sexes handle certain operations or equipment, generally it would be the females that seem more conservative."

"For that part, I wonder." Ichika muttered as he recalled his experiences with Houki and the rest with very painful reminders:

Getting chased by Houki with a Katana.

Getting shot at by Cecilia's Starlight Rifle.

Nearly getting skewered by Rin's Souten Gagetsu.

Getting the scary smile from the 'Angel of Death' Charlotte while she's pointing her Assault rifles at him.

Nearly strangled by a naked Laura in bed.

And finally getting his ass royally kicked around by Tateneshi.

Yeah, definitely not conservative.

"I guess I might have accidentally reminded you of some painful memories." Michael's voice broke his thoughts, making him look up to see the guy looking at him with a slightly apologetic expression. It would seem that his expressions showed up on his face again.

"Haha, it is nothing." Ichika tried to dispel the situation by laughing it off. "But how does it relate to IS?"

"Well, think about all your friends at IS Academy." Michael once again adopt a lecturing pose, with his index finger in the air. "Now, most would probably start out with standard equipment based on their initial specs of their machines, but any additional weaponry that came after would be slightly influenced based on their fighting styles and personalities. This is what makes each unit unique, even more so for units which achieve Second Shift." Michael pointed at Ichika again to emphasise the next point. "If I'm not mistaken, you gained a secondary weapon after going into Second Shift right?"

"Yup, the Setsura." Ichika nodded as he thought to the time he attained Second Shift. "It is a shield-blaster combo type right?" Michaal continued his explanations after seeing Ichika nod in confirmation. "You were originally a close-combat user, but gained a weapon that allows you to switch between a blaster and a shield. I believe you must have felt frustration that you could not equip yourself with other weaponry, while for the shield…" He paused while frowning at him before continuing. "My guess is you have a desire to protect someone."

"Y ~ yeah, that's right." Ichika stuttered as he looked at the guy with disbelief. This guy guessed spot-on about his frustrations with his suit and his insecurities about protecting his friends and Chifuyu. He had an idea that Setsura was formed partially due to him handling Charlotte's rifle in the past, thus creating the blaster part. The shield part however felt more natural to him, as if it was something that made him feel whole after gaining it.

"The Silver Gospel, piloted by Natasha Fairs, also went into Second Shift to protect her. Based on what I have studied about the system, it is safe to see that mentality plays a role in the relationship with the pilot and their units." Michael let out a mysterious smile. "I guess you have a pretty good relationship with yours."

Ichika absentmindedly rubbed the back of his head while blushing lightly. Once again, Michael guessed spot-on about his unit. Though their meeting was brief, he did feel that he had a good connection with his unit, if that odd dream with the little girl and a female knight were of any indication.

"Thus, you gained a power that could save a lot of people if used correctly. And hey, as a side bonus, you get to surround yourself with a harem of girls, heh?"

"PFFFT?!" For that remark, Ichika nearly choked on air and spit alone as he glanced at the teasing smirk donning Michael's face. Seems like the guy could hide a teasing streak very well.

Not Tateneshi level, but close.

"Still, I'm not sure if that is really a good thing in some ways." Ichika sighed to get back his breath as he took a seat on the chair. "Don't get me wrong; seeing what I can do with an IS, I can understand the good points about it, but does it really make me all that special?"

"Well, can't disagree on that part." Michael took a seat as well while grabbing Haro off his head and gently placing him on the table. "As I have said, there are women out there who enjoyed the new freedom and power the IS have given them, and they definitely do not want that power taken away from them. The idea that a male could pilot a unit would mean that their status could be taken away in the future. Maybe not tomorrow or for the next few years, but the possibility is still there."

"Hmmm…" Ichika crossed his arms as he frowned at that titbit of information. He had not really thought about that part, but then again, his only experience with the girls' reactions were back in the academy; even then, they warmed up to him quickly after just a few days. Out of all of his friends, Cecilia may have been the most extreme given her status as a Representative Cadet, but she mellowed out in the end.

"So what would you do?" His thoughts got interrupted by Michael who was studying him with a look that suggested that Ichika was now being tested for something he did not know about. It was mildly unsettling, given the amber eye that was staring back with such intensity.

"What do you mean?" Ichika asked with a note of hesitation.

"Well, I told you about the current situation with the world, how the women are able to walk more freely while the men in the world are being treated poorly by some of the more extreme cases. Do you believe that we men should be subjected to such a manner? What do you think? With your IS, you can easily challenge them. With your position, what would you do in this case?" Michael asked with an oddly focused look on him.

Ichika frowned as he looked at the man studying him. Chifuyu had warned him before about some men who would try to influence him into thinking the world was better to be handled by men once more, or worse, using force to bring back control. Indeed, he had met quite a few before and more so for this conference; many of the younger male CEOs and representatives had tried to sway him in such a manner.

Yet, for some reason, this was not the same feeling being exulted by Michael; it was as though Michael was purposely using this style to see his reaction. Even the explanations he gave were not laced with scorn or anger about the current affairs.

Well, time for his own version of investigation.

"What's your take on this?" Ichika asked Michael, whose only response was the raising of an eyebrow. "I mean, you keep saying about my position and the views of the world, but what about your opinions on this matter?" Ichika clarified his questioning for him, who nodded to show his understanding.

"Well, I'm somewhat neutral on this matter." Michael leaned back as he considered how to express his opinion. "To begin with, my department was geared more towards bioengineering and medicine when I first started working, and we only started branching out to the IS-Research Field a few years back. Even then, I and my partner did not really invest too much time and money on it. It was only due to our ties with the military that we had to do research on them. So professionally, the research on IS has benefited me in terms of thinking up new designs for my work."

"Personally, there are pros and cons to the fact that only woman can use the IS and thus wield the power that came with it." He paused as he tried to gather his thoughts. "I guess for the pros, the only way I can put it is that women get a better chance at life now than 10 years ago."

"Why do you say that?" Ichika asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"Well, if I am to list out the more extreme versions for this situation, take India or Pakistan for example. For as far back as one might remember, women were not given enough rights to be alongside men, despite women contributing more to society than most men there. It also did not help them much when the law does not do anything to help them in the event a criminal act was committed against them; more often than not, they would be the ones to get convicted. Even the human rights society had limited success with giving them assistance for such matters."

"Naturally, with the coming of the Infinite Stratos, the rules got overhauled big time. Now in those countries, women get the better treatment and with the human rights group working overtime, women have a better shot at life without fearing people scorning them for something they either did not commit or were a victim of a crime."

"Well I guess that would be the good side of having IS." Ichika remarked while nodding.

"Yeah, but of course there are always two sides of a coin for situations like this." Michael let out a soft sigh as he looked out of the window briefly. "Imagine this: If you have been wronged for so long and you feel so helpless and angry at the world, what would you do if you suddenly gain the power to change the world at the flick of your fingers?"

"Err..." Ichika could only stare at him with an expression that could only be described as disbelief. Honestly, he had a hard time imagining such a concept, but if he were in such a situation and suddenly gained a power to do it…

Michael nodded at the other expression that Ichika made, as though he understood what went through his head. "Yeah, you can imagine the absolute chaos that could come about with such a thing. And the sad part of this story is that it is in some ways happening right now. And it's also affecting how things are done in smaller areas, like child custody and marriage issues."

"But surely there is something for the guys, right?"

"There is some, but if you look at the demographics and statistics of the those situations, you find that only a small handful of those situations are genuinely bad enough to have the kid given to the mother, such as child abuse or spouse abuse." Michael started explaining while poking Haro at its side. "Many of the women in question felt that men would not make good role models for the kids, so they would just take them away without even consulting with their husbands. More often than not, the child in question would be caught in the mix, because with the current status as it is, many would think that women should always be obeyed, and that tends to be problematic in the long run."

Ichika frowned again as he recalled some of the situations he and his male friends had encountered in the past. Although his female friends were decent girls, other girls on the hand were displaying that type of behaviour around them. More often than not, his male friends bemoaned the situation they were in, that previously they did not have so much animosity around them.

"Now that you have heard my views, what are yours?" Michael had once again adopted the unusual expression as he asked that question. "What would you do in the current state of matters?"

"… I don't know." Ichika gave that honest answer after thinking it through. "I can't give any answer to such a case. But I do feel that perhaps with some of the issues that came about from the IS, it would be best to fix them with the proper methods, even if it would take a long time to do so. "

"Proper methods being?"

"Proper negotiations with those who do value the newfound power and freedom. I know there are a few women who do not mind sharing that power with men, but the problem stems from the fact that there are those, as you have said, who do not want to lose that power, so they will probably be against the idea."

"What if they don't want to do so? Would you use force?"

"If I have a choice, I would rather not. But if their decisions were to get my friends and family hurt in any way, I will do whatever it takes to make them see otherwise." Ichika gave that answer with a determined face.

The tension in the room felt extremely heavy as Michael continued looking at him with a serious eye. Slowly, his expression relaxed to give a light smile, as though satisfied of Ichika's reply. "Hmmm, a little clichéd, but it would suffice for now, I suppose. Thank you for your answer."

"Ah, it's fine." Ichika shook his head and let out a tired smile. "I guess I never really thought fully on these matters. I spent so much time trying to play catch up with everyone, I did not consider how the males around the world would feel."

"Well, don't beat your head too much on it." Michael waved his hand slightly. "Truthfully, I just wanted to see for myself the type of person you are, rather than base my thoughts around half-baked rumours. At the very least, I now know you do think about these matters, even if you did not give them much thought."

'That explains the questions he was asking.' Ichika thought privately. "So how did I do?"

"Honestly, you would need to think more on these matters, since you are approaching a crossroads of sorts very soon, and you would need to decide what to do with your future." Michael paused while giving a very serious look, once again giving the feeling that he was looking directly into Ichika's soul. "No matter how much you want to deny it, you are currently in a position that many men would want to be in, a place of power where you could change the very balance that the IS has created in the past decade. How you deal with this will affect the scales of balance, whichever direction it get tilted would decide the fate of the world, and that I am not exaggerating."

Ichika could only gulp loudly as he nodded lightly in return. He had considered it before, but being told point-blank by someone apart from his sister really put things into perspective. He understood the fact he was in possession of one of the most powerful weapons around; he understood that he was currently in a position of power that was normally dominated by women; and also, he was currently in a situation whereby much of his actions will influence the society in general, but he did not think far enough that it could affect the entire world and the years to come.

He really should consider taking a break from the IS world and consider his future options for this matter.

"Now that we got that settled, let's head downstairs for some food. All that conference discussions and this talk is making me hungry for some chicken, maybe sushi if I can stomach it." Michael smiled as he stood up, Ichika following shortly with slight hesitation on his part. "What do you say, Haro?" Michael turned to the little robot that was still on the table before pausing. "Haro?"

"JJJJJJJJIIIIIIIII" Haro hummed as it stared rather intensely at the gauntlet on Ichika's hand. "Haro is rather interested with that it seems." Michael raised an eyebrow as he took a look at it. "A rather unusual accessory if you ask me."

"Actually this is my IS standby form." Ichika raised his arm and pulled back the sleeve for him to see, grateful for the interruption to his thoughts. "It just takes the form of a gauntlet for me. Guess the idea about the mentality bit gets a plus now." Ichika added with a joking smile.

"Wait, your IS being Byakushiki, right?" Michael clarified while frowning at the device on Ichika's arm with a thoughtful expression. "That would mean…" Michael mumbled before turning to Haro. "Haro, what is the state of his unit?"

"Damage detected, damage detected!" Haro announced while flapping its sides. "Sub system showing abnormal damage networks and internal data corruption. Defects in leg armour and flight system are also apparent!"

"Huh?" Ichika could only stare at the little robot with a look of surprise. Despite the repairs done by the Kuromochi staff, because he ran off in the middle of the repairs, there were still small bits that were needed to be fixed, mainly the internal system. How on earth could this little fellow tell that his unit was damaged by looking at it?

His expression must have shown, because Michael gestured with his hand towards the little robot. "Haro is actually a compact helper that checks any IS equipment and frames for any irregularities that could potentially harm the pilot in any way. He has a small built in scanner that can detect anything issues from mechanical to software, and he has not made any errors in his judgement." Michael said with a small amount of pride in his words.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." Ichika gave his praises as he looked at Haro eagerly flapping its sides, as though it was pleased at the complements. "We could use some of that back in the Academy."

"But how come you did not get it checked out?" Michale raised an eyebrow at Ichika. "Surely the repair staff at your sponsor company should have been able to detect those problems, and even if you did not have time, the repair crew back at IS Academy should have helped out a little."

"Haha, I did get my unit repaired a few times, but... Let's just say a lot of crap happened during my time at the Academy." Ichika could only give that ambiguous answer as he thought of all the craziness that had happened. Boy, was that the biggest understatement he had given ever.

"Well…" Michael paused with a pondering thought. "If you like, I could give a quick look-over for your machine. At the least, you would know what to repair later."

"Really, that would be nice." Ichika felt a little relieved that someone could explain all the crazy technicalities about his suit that was so problematic, and who better than someone who is an active member of the IS Committee. "Please look after me."

Michael stared at him with a small expression of disbelief before blurting out his thoughts. "You really trust people easily, don't you?"

"Huh?"

---

Chifuyu let out a low guttural growl as she lightly stomped through the corridors to find her brother. She was feeling really stressed out from all that attention from those CEOs and representatives, and it did not help that they cut her off from getting to Ichika as he was driven away by his own fan club of sorts. By the time she got away from them, Ichika had disappeared somewhere in the building, so now she was combing the building to find him.

As she finished sweeping the 4th floor of the building, she thought back to the conference she was in a couple of hours ago and the information she got from the representatives. One of the matters that hit her the most was regarding the unusual equipment that the terrorists used to subdue the security guards on the plane and against the IS pilots during the rescue mission. The clean-up crew were able to find the remains of the device used to jam their machines and bought it back for analysis. From there, they realized that the terrorists had to have some help from someone in order to scale it down from its original size and to use such a device so effectively.

They have already checked the captured terrorists and concluded that none of them would have the proper training to use the equipment effectively; even the two that have Degrees in Engineering and R&D would have issues trying to scale down the original room-size equipment to the current luggage size without destroying major components.

For the time being, a few of the CEOs were hoping to get some information by using the sister of one of the terrorists as leverage, exchanging the information for the heart transplant. This was a matter that made quite a few of the others a little apprehensive; not only could the information provided by the man be false, but the potential fallout if the general population found out of their methods would be disastrous.

There was another matter that occupied her mind. The individual strikes made by the unmanned machines were increasing in frequency, yet for all involved, there has yet to be any confirmation as to the reasons for those attacks aside from them being places of conflict or major crimes taking place. There were possibilities that those places could be linked to some other terrorist groups but they could not get any clues about that.

A smaller aspect of that matter included the names that Ichika got from the machines. Possibility of individuality aside, the fact that the machines were labelled with numbers was what attracted her attention. Chifuyu doubted that many of the CEOs had focused on that seemingly irrelevant detail in favour of more important parts like the firepower they possessed; the units named Jetstream and Dual referred themselves by their numbers, while 'Raptor' was identified through the message log that was in Ichika's suit.

Mark 12, Mark 17 and Mark 23.

Did that mean there were currently 23 units in total? Or perhaps there were more than 23 built by the mysterious 'Master'?

Not sure which option was the better choice.

But predominantly on her mind was the matter that was discussed with the CEOs who surrounded her during the break. It seemed her fears were coming true regarding Ichika's position as a possible Representative Cadet; many were thinking of using this meeting to try and make it official in order to get him to their side and in turn, their countries, and they figured that doing so in the conference would ensure that everyone would agree to do so.

It was times like this, she actually wished she could bring out Kurazakura from the IS Academy basement and force their decisions. Granted, there were a few who would listen to her requests, but the ones who won't were the main contenders to deal with. One of biggest contenders around was a man called Maverick Kane, someone she had the misfortune to meet after the 1st Mondo Grasso. The man was very influential among the military circles, and somehow that influence got stronger after the arrival of the Infinite Stratos. He was one of the few who would get the final say in certain matters, and more often than not, it always goes in his favour.

If he decides to push the matter during the conference, what would happen to Ichika?

"Oh, Chifyu is that you?" A voice broke her thoughts, prompting her to turn around to see a woman dressed in light office clothing that showed off her long slender legs waving lightly to her. "Mrs Anderson?" Chifuyu blinked before easing her expression to one more favourable for the situation. "It is good to see you again."

"Oh, it is also nice to see you too, my dear." The woman beamed back at her happily, temporarily making Chifuyu feel a lot less tensed in the situation. "I also told you to call me Annie." The woman pouted cutely that nearly made Chifuyu want to laugh in those rare moments. Instead, Chifuyu smiled back while shaking hands with her, recalling the first time she met her.

It was during her first year as an IS pilot that she met Mrs Anderson during a global meeting that decided the Mondo Grasso tournament. At the time, she was hiding from the CEOs who were head-hunting her, and the group of men who were trying to court her, when she bumped into Annie who helped her get away from the others. After that, they occasionally bumped into each other and discussed various matters, sometimes important, other times mundane. To Chifuyu, Annie was one of the very small handful of people whom she could open up to.

"How have you been?" Chifuyu asked after taking back her hand. "I apologise for not being in contact for a while."

"Oh, it's fine. Being an instructor at the Academy cannot be an easy job with all of those hyperactive girls around." Annie replied back easily. "It's probably more stressful for you now that your brother is there. I would think that keeping your brother in check with all those girls there must be an insane workout for you."

"You have no idea." Chifuyu let out a tired sigh at the memories of all that has happened in the past few months. Honestly, if she were to get a dollar for every moment she got stressed out by Ichika, she would probably get double her monthly salary within a week.

"As for me, Ha~~" Now it was Annie's turn to sigh tiredly. "Let's just say that business is getting a little rough with recent events. This conference is taking up more time than needed, and there's still a ton of paperwork to be done." Chifuyu could only offer sympathetic smile at her as she recalled her paperwork back at the Academy. "And lately, it seems that some of the representatives are getting a little aggressive with me and my girls."

"Do you want me to deal with them?" Chifuyu offered while scowling. She was more than aware of the type of men who kept courting her since her high school years, and the numbers only increased after she became the Brunhilde. She had also seen how brazen some of the men were towards Annie after her husband passed away, and on occasion, "persuaded" them to back off.

Looks like it was time to get a bit more physical for their punishments.

"Ah, my dear! I know you mean well, but I would think that your idea of telling them off is a tad overkill." Annie replied with a raised eyebrow as she looked at her. Apparently Annie could tell that whatever Chifuyu planned to do those men was not going to be a nice one.

"Mrs Anderson!" A voice brought their attention to a blonde woman in dark clothes walking towards them while waving, followed by a white-haired man who was supposedly someone from a security detail based on the markings on the case he was carrying.

"Ah, Catherine. I hoped you did not have to wait too long for me." Annie said as the blonde woman came closer.

"Nope, I am okay. I have someone to keep me company." Catherine motioned towards the young man with her. "I believe the two of you have met before?"

"Yes we have." Annie beamed as she turned towards the white haired man. "It is good to see you again, Mr Bolt."

"Likewise, Mrs Anderson." The man replied while extending a hand to shake. "Thank you for your time regarding the conference. My boss was trying to keep things going, but your presence really helped out."

"Oh, I would do what I can for the young man!" Annie let out such a cheerful chuckle that Chifuyu unconsciously raised an eyebrow at her response. She never knew her to have such an expression or emotion towards any other person apart from her husband, so it had to be someone very dear to her.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Annie waved her hand towards Chifuyu. "This young lady is Chifuyu Orimura. My dear this is Jack Bolt, one of the heads of security for a dear friend of mine."

"Chifuyu Orimura?" Jack Bolt frowned before his eyes widened. "As in the first Brunhilde?!" He turned to her, who had her usual poker face on. "I see, a pleasure to meet you face to face, Miss Orimura." He let out a hand for her to shake, which she accept after a moment to check him out.

'Unusual eyes he has.' Chifuyu noted as she took back her hand. Most men she had met would either have wandering eyes all over her, or those that merely spoke half-truths. Yet this person was neither; if anything, it made her think of one from her time at Germany.

The eyes of a soldier or a mercenary.

"Hey everybody, what's going on?" A voice from the other side of the corridor drew their attention to two men who were coming to their slide. The one who called out to them was a black-haired man dressed simply in a T-shirt and long dark pants with a big smile on his face, the man following him closely behind was a grey-haired man dressed in a light brown suit with a polo-shirt inside.

"Ah, Douvin, Gibbs, how nice to see you." Catherine let out another smile as she greeted them. "But I think you are in the wrong place for the buffet. It is down by the lobby."

"We know that, but we are trying to get some coffee. No offense for the catering staff working here, but the coffee does not seem strong enough for the both of us." Douvin said that easily. He turned to look at the people next to her. "I don't think we have been introduced to them."

"Allow me then." Annie motioned with her hand to the individuals as she introduced one at a time. "This is Douvin Roma, the representative of Kamiya Industries, and Leeroy Anthony Gibbs from EXCOM Dynamics. I believed you have already met Mr Bolt? This is my head of security, Catherine Beal, and Chifuyu Orimura."

"Pleasure to meet you all, especially you Miss Orimura." Douvin said while nodding his head to Chifuyu. Turning to Jack, he said this "And nice to see you again. Hope your son enjoyed the toy I sent him last month."

"Oh yeah, he has not stopped praising it." Jack gave a wry smile as though he had heard quite an earful about it. "It took us a while to get him away from the toy."

"Yeah, figured he would like it. What boy does not like combining robots?" Douvin let out a loud chuckle at that. "So where is Michael? I did not get the chance to greet him earlier."

"Actually, I'm trying to find my boss." Jack let out a tired sigh, as though this had happened before a few times. "Some of the guys were trying to rope him in for some silly talk about 'joint-cooperation' job or to talk about the ladies in the area, no offence to you." He added with a slight nod to the women in the area. "Certainly not helped when some of the female representatives were trying to lure him to their group and those journalists keep trying to interview him, so he had to hide for a while."

"Well, Michael has always been a tiny bit shy when it comes to the ladies and cameras." Gibbs remarked while Douvin nodded with a light smirk on his face. "So, how are you going to find him? This is a pretty big tower, and Michael can move fast when he wants to get away from the press."

"Haro." Jack replied simply while taking out a small device from his pocket.

"Haro?" Catherine tilted her head in confusion.

"His little robot helper, you can't help but notice the little fellow when it's around." Douvin explained while nodding. "If I recall, the little fellow has a mini tracker on it because it keeps wandering around alone every now and then, and since it sticks around Michael most of the time, we should be able to locate them."

"Even if they are not really together, as long as they are close, I can find them quickly." Jack flipped a switch and a loud beep echoed from it. "Well how do you like that? He's on this level. And he's with my boss too."

"Oh, that is nice." Annie said cheerfully. "So where is he?" Jack moved his tracker in a sweeping motion before stopping at a nearby room. "Right around there."

"YYYEEE~~YYYOOOOOIIII!"

Everyone got startled at the loud shout and turned to each other. "Okay, what the heck just happened?" Douvin asked with an eyebrow raised. That question got answered soon enough.

"Wait, I'm not sure if that is supposed to go there wahhhh?!"

"Come on, it can't hurt that much, it's only a prick."

"But still that WOOAAHHH! Okay, that does not go there man!"

"Dude, the more you struggle, the more it will hurt."

"Wait a bloody AHHAHAHAH! Please be gentle!"

"You have got to relax, or perhaps you want to me insert this more slowly so that you don't feel too much pain?"

"AHH! That still hurts!"

"Seriously, what did I just say? It is a tight fit after all."

"YEEYOYO!"

"…."

The reactions on everyone's faces spoke greatly of the conversation that they had just overheard; Catherine and Annie were blushing red in the face, Gibbs was raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Douvin was clutching his stomach while futilely stifling a laugh with his other hand, and Jack was lightly palming his face with a resigned look on his face.

Chifuyu on the other hand…

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT IDIOT DOING?!"

---

Ichika was feeling a little embarrassed at this point.

After Michael offered to check his machine, Ichika decided to let him do so, with the whole matter starting with a small bunch of paperwork; as Michael explained, there had been a few cases where people try to accuse one another for espionage or sabotage, and he made it a habit to bring a few papers that showed that he had no intentions to steal any technology or to sabotage any IS equipment, along with a tape recorder to prove the case. After letting him look through the papers and answering whatever questions he had about the conditions, the both of them signed the papers before they started examining his IS.

The first thing that Ichika did was to materialize the armour on his arms, since Michael asked him to show the parts which would most likely be used all the time, followed by the legs, the bits of armour that were damaged, the partially deployed wings (given the room size, Ichika had to deploy the ones that took the most damage), and finally the core system. During the process, Ichika was asked a fair number of questions regarding the nature of some of his damages, something which Ichika was finding a lot more difficult to explain than his inability to understand the rudimentary bits about his unit.

Michael seemed to know from the start that Ichika was not telling the full truth, but decided not to question him for the moment, instead going on to tell him about the different aspects of known units and how he should not be thinking and treating Byakushiki the same as them. And he did point out something that Ichika had missed initially; the fact that his weapons took up all the available slots for weaponry meant that they were drawing on more power than necessary, further evidenced by the relatively weak armour he had despite going into Second Shift. After going through the checking, they decided, with more paper work involved, to manually check certain parts of the core to ensure his suit was at least functionally properly.

And that was when things got a little weird for Ichika. Michael warned him that he might feel an occasional prick due to his connection with Byakushiki. What he didn't mention was said pricks happening in places he really did not want them at. And that led to the very funny situation they were in right now.

"So, you always carry around your tools?" Ichika spoke to liven up the mood that had settled as Michael concentrated on his screen. He had seen others like Charlotte or Laura concentrating extremely hard, and he had seen Kagaribi 'unusual' style of working, but to see a CEO being extremely focused to the point he was almost machine-like was nerve-wrecking for some reason.

"Rule number 16 in my rule book. Always bring a spare monitoring kit." Michael spoke for the first time in a long time while holding a handheld device in one hand, and a needle probe with a wire attached to the device in his right. "In my line of work, I need to be prepared for any sudden changes and repairs for certain representatives who are under my care. Granted, I don't have my other equipment, so this is more of a quick check-up."

"Seriously though, is it supposed to happen like this?" Ichika asked with a sceptical tone as he stared at his arms covered in armour and his hyper-sensors deployed, with a few wires attached to him.

"Yeah, if anything, this is less than the ones the other pilots have to endure for their tests." Michael said as he turned towards and started to place the needle probe on certain sections of his armour. "Don't forget, you are the first male pilot, so I have to take a few more steps to ensure I don't accidentally damage your suit, or I'll never hear the end from the others."

"That may be the case but... WHOOAOO! Okay, seriously that did not just appear at that spot!" Ichika shuddered as he felt a jolt of electricity going down his spine and to a spot he was seriously hoping it did not appear.

"Just bear with it a little longer." Michael fiddled with his controls a little more, before unplugging the wires. "Okay, all good. You can deactivate your system."

"All right." Ichika mentally motioned to deactivate the unit, noting that the system was going a lot faster after the check-up. "So what's the diagnosis?"

"Well, based on what I have seen, you have a lot of software crashes and hardware that needs replacement." Michael said as he kept his tools in the small kit he had brought along with him. "Most of the hardware parts can be replaced back at the Academy, but for the more intricate bits of your system, it would be best to go to your sponsor to do this."

"Regarding the software bit, there is not much I can do, considering you are the only male pilot around, I can't do the more complex repairs without my equipment, so the best I can do is to remove the old security patches that remained in your system. You should be experiencing faster speeds right now."

"Yeah, I am noticing it now. Thanks" Ichika nodded while giving his thanks.

"No problem." Michael placed the last of his equipment inside the bag and zipped it up. "Glad I could help a little. Though I would appreciate it if you could handle your sister, Chifuyu Orimura."

"Ha? Why's that?" Ichika asked confusedly, only to be compounded when Michael looked at him flatly. "Because I don't think your sister might take the same view as us if she finds out that I looked at your suit without her supervision." Ichika was about to reply when he got interrupted by Haro, who was idly sitting around quietly.

"Mr Craig, watch out!"

"Ha?" Michael turned around only to hastily bring his head back to avoid a kick being delivered to the face by a very terrifying Chifuyu. "WOAH! Time out here!" Michael yelled while barely dodging Chifuyu's kicks and punches that were being delivered with full force.

"I'm going to gut you up!" Chifuyu threw a straight right at Michael, just missing his face by an inch and embedding her fist into the wall. Without slowing down, she twisted her body to deliver a spinning kick into his stomach, sending him crashing into the table. She pulled her fist out of the wall and stood menacingly in front of him while cracking her fingers. "Time for you to go to hell."

"Wait, Nee-san! He's not the enemy!" Ichika tried to stop Chifuyu a little too late as she raised her hand in a karate-chop and sent him towards the down man. At the last moment, someone jumped forward to stop her hand just an inch from crushing Michael's head.

"I will prefer it if you don't attack my boss." A white-haired individual said calmly while restraining her hand from hitting Michael. As a response, Chifuyu immediately swung her restrained arm to the side, causing him to stumble lightly. Not leaving him a chance to retaliate, she kicked high at his head, only to hit the silver case that he used to barely block her attack, causing him to lose his grip and left it flying in the air to hit the wall.

"Okay, that's being a little excessive." The man undid his jacket to reveal a combat knife buckled to his belt. Nimbly dodging her punches, he drew the knife and held it reversed in his right hand.

"Whoa, time out, Jack!" Michael who just got up from the floor paled as he saw the man getting ready to fight Chifuyu. "She is just mistaken!"

"Sorry boss, I'm afraid I can't do that." The man readied the knife in his hand. "And I don't think she is going to let up either." Chifuyu proved him right by throwing a straight left at his chest which he blocked perfectly with his left, before he retaliated by swing his right leg at her. She countered by grabbing the leg under her arm and quickly delivering a punch to the knee joint to break his leg. Jack quickly saw what she intended to do and jumped high, twisting his body to get out of her hold. Losing her grip on his leg, Chifuyu released him and jumped back in time to avoid a drop kick, resulting in the floor having a small crack from the impact. As Jack stumbled from the fall, Chifuyu took the chance to grab his left arm and twist it behind, using her free arm to put pressure on his elbow joint, ready to break it if needed.

"I will be taking this left arm then." Chifuyu said as she applied more pressure on the joint.

"Well if that's the case." Jack said while letting out a smirk. "Allow me to save you the trouble then." With a violent motion and a loud bone crunch, Jack dislocated his elbow and shoulder joints, taking Chifuyu by surprise. That momentary lapse caused to loosen her grip, thus allowing Jack to ambush her by grabbing her arm and using his dislocated arm to pull her in, managed to bring her close enough for him to strike with his knife. Just as the edge was about to meet flash, Chifuyu grabbed his neck with her free arm, effectively locking the two of them in a stalemate.

"You do know who you are up against, right?" Chifuyu growled while glaring at Jack.

"Yes, I do know." Jack replied back with ease as he stared back coolly. "But just because you are the Brunhilde, doesn't mean I can afford to back down. You attacked my boss, and anyone making a move against my boss in any way, I will personally cut them down with great prejudice." As if to emphasise on that point, he brought the edge of the blade closer, barely touching her neck. It was clear that if either one tried anything, they would not come out unscathed.

"Wait Chifuyu-nee! He's not the enemy!" Ichika tried to stop her tirade while panicking. "Michael was helping me check my systems, he was not trying to steal anything!"

"Jack, it's okay! I'm not hurt!" Michael too was trying to stop his bodyguard from attacking by pacifying him.

"Chifuyu, Mr Bolt, I would think that this confrontation is just a big misunderstanding." A voice brought their attention to a brown haired woman, who was looking at them very sternly. The fact that she was not smiling was something to note, but the odd feeling being exuded from her made everyone in the room feel pressured by her. "So, I'm sure you can apologise, right?" If her previous expression was scary, the faint smirk tugging at her mouth with her eyes closed was downright terrifying.

On her part, Chifuyu was not scared of her, but she knew Annie long enough to note that when she does that expression, it was best not to aggravate her further. She turn to glance at the white haired man, who had the similar expression as one who encountered one of Annie's tempers. Slowly and somewhat reluctantly, Chifuyu let down her arm to the side while Jack lowered his blade. After that with even more reluctance, they released their grip and took a few steps back.

"We got to get you a doctor, Jack!" The blond woman next to the earlier woman immediately stepped forward with a slightly green face as she looked at the twisted arm that was hanging limply on the side. "She does have a point." Ichika turned to see two men standing a small distance behind Annie. "That arm looks bad."

"Hmmm, don't worry." Jack looked at his dislocation with a somewhat bemused look before grabbing the arm with his working arm.

"Wait, you can't be …"

"CRACK! CRUNNCH!"

Most of the people apart from Chifuyu, the white-haired individual and Michael flinched at the sound of his arm being forcefully twisted back into position. After a few seconds, Jack slowly raised his arm and started to test the mobility.

"How's the joint?" Michael asked Jack while he flexed his arm to check the movements. "Seems to be okay, but it does not hurt to have an expert opinion." With that, Jack removed his glove, undid the buttons on his sleeve and pulled it back for all to see, causing Ichika to gape a little loudly while the older adults took a deep breath as they saw something they did not expect. Rather than an arm that would show a bit of bruising on the skin, they instead saw a bio-mechanical arm with a semi-translucent membrane that resembled skin in its colour tone, showing an unusual blend of natural and artificial muscles, with a hint of electrical devices and wiring just beneath the surface. At the wrist region, one could see a silvery joint serving as the connection between the forearm and his hand that looked a futuristic cross between a transparent mannequin and the Terminator's.

"Well, what do you think?" Jack asked while ignoring the looks that everyone else was giving.

"Hmm, it seems to be functioning properly." Michael gazed with a discerning eye as he touched the arm delicately. "But from what I can tell, she nearly forced the elbow joint to the limit, and your servos are definitely strained from that twisting and dislocation. Apart from that, your arm is functioning okay."

"Well, that's something to note." Jack remarked while pulling down the sleeve. "She does possess great strength, I was wondering if I needed to get a new arm."

"That's…" Ichika paused as he try to swallow what he had just seen. "Is that…"

"Yup, this is a bio-mechanical arm created by As-Thor Industries." Jack explained as he buttoned up the sleeve and slipped on the black gloves. "For this version, it is a 'Security-Type Civilian' Model, designed for those in the security protection jobs, like yours truly."

"Hmm, new model huh?" Douvin mused as he looked at the arm. "Think I preferred the older one, had a more intimidating look to it."

"Enough!" Chifuyu hissed as she glared at Michael. "You have precisely 10 seconds to explain why you were messing with Ichika's IS, before I bash your head into the next room."

"I think I can guess." Jack sighed as he turned to Michael. "You realized something was wrong with his equipment and decided to fix it for free, and in the process, start creating a situation that could be interpreted in many wrong ways, correct?"

"Hahaha…" Michael let out a weak chuckle while scratching his head. "Erm, oops?" Jack could only sigh in return. "Seriously boss, I know you occasionally want to help others for free, but this type of helping tends to get you into more trouble than needed. One of these days you are going your ass kicked big-time."

"I know, but I can't help it. I just want to help them you know." Michael grimaced under Jack's speech.

"Yes, and there is also a time and place to do so. Helping someone with their IS Units is one thing, helping out the only male pilot known in the entire history of IS, in the middle of a conference where every single corporation and faction are more than likely to use this opportunity to push their advantage while trying to crush you and the company, is a totally different ball-game." Jack said that in a somewhat merciless manner.

"…" Michael could only stare before letting out a defeated sigh. It was clear that they had this talk quite often, and that the young CEO listened to what his elders say at times. Ichika would have said something to help him, but he was having a bit of a lecture himself by Chifuyu, who was looking a little murderous right now.

"Ichika, you and I are going to have a very long talk after this." Chifuyu growled as she stared at him with very angry eyes. Ichika gulped at the prospect of her very long lecture.

The atmosphere got a little heavy, so the young woman with the brown hair and long legs clapped her hand softly to dispel the mood.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, I guess we should introduce ourselves." She turned to Ichika while giving off a gentle smile. "My name is Anita Anderson. You may call me Annie if you like." She held out her hand to shake as she announced herself.

"Ah, Orimura Ichika. Pleasure to meet you." Ichika hesitated as he took her hand and shook it. Now that the adrenaline from earlier wore off, he only just noticed how attractive the woman was in front of him. Dressed in a very simple but functional office clothing of a light brown, she had a figure that was extremely eye-catching which was further accentuated with her height, thus showcasing her very slender legs to the world. Her long wavy hair went past her shoulders, thus letting the ends float at times when she moved her slightly and giving her a somewhat unique presence.

'Man, she's beautiful!' Ichika thoughts went haywire as he tried to focus on her face rather than her body or her legs, and somewhat failing in his attempts. The woman giggled at his expression, as if she knew his thoughts and was amused by his reactions.

"I~chi~ka." Chifuyu said his name out with very slow intent. "You better not be having any bad thoughts."

"Yeah, you might want to hold off there kid." Douvin said with an almost serious tone, ruined somewhat by the amused smirk at seeing this interaction. "She is married."

"Yes, I understand that!" Ichika said that in a slightly higher tone than normal as he tried to dispel the situation, only for Annie and the blond woman to giggle even further. 'So she is married. I see, yet for some unusual reason, why do I feel jealous towards the guy who managed to marry her?!' Ichika thought in his head as he tried to maintain his composure.

"This is Catherine Beal, one of my personal guards." The blonde woman smiled at him while shaking his hand. "And this is Douvin Roma, and Leeroy Anthony Gibbs." The two man nodded their heads towards him. "And I guess I do not really need to introduce Michael." She waved her hand towards the young American. "As for the young gentleman next to him, that would be Jack Bolt, one of his guards."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Orimura." Jack let out his hand which Ichika took to shake, noting the grip to be a lot harder but not uncomfortable, likely due to having another mechanical arm underneath the clothes. "Though I imagine the meeting could have been under better circumstances."

"Now that introductions are done, why don't we clear the misunderstanding?" Annie turned to Michael with an expression that was a cross between a frown and a cute pout. "Michael, did you really try to help him without thinking about the situation?"

"Well, it's just that during our conversation, Haro detected something was wrong with his unit. So I offered to do a check on it." Michael explained with a very sheepish expression. "But during the initial checks, there were a lot of inconsistences with his system, and one thing led to another…" He paused while looking to the sides and scratching his cheek. "Next thing I know, I was fixing some of the smaller issues while finding out the bigger ones that turned up."

"I see." Annie and the other two CEOs nodded their heads as if they are familiar with his behaviour for this type of situation. "But still, you should control that habit of yours."

"That's right." Douvin said with another mischievous smirk on his face. "Last thing we need is a repeat of the 'Pierre Party' incident, heh?"

"Please, sir, don't remind me about that." Michael groaned as he lowered his head even further in despair. Ichika could only looked at them in puzzlement, wondering what could have happened on that day but decided not to ask.

"Now that is done." Annie turned to Chifuyu who was still sporting a murderous expression towards Michael. "My dear, he means well, so please don't be so harsh on him." Chifuyu took a quick glance at her before taking a long look at Michael, then with a motion that looked like she was yielding, adopted a decidedly less murderous expression.

"Since we are on the topic." Gibbs who has been silent for the conversation up to now started talking. "I don't suppose you could tell us about the issues you found out, considering the amount of trouble it got you into."

"Well…" Michael gazed to Ichika, who in turn looked at Chifuyu, who directed her glare back at Michael. This was going to be a problem for both parties.

"Chifuyu, I believe that Douvin and Gibbs are very trustworthy people. They have helped me out many times before." Annie once again tried to defuse the situation. "And as I said, Michael is also trustworthy. He is one who always keeps his word about keeping confidential secrets, so you can be assured that he would not spread the information around."

"… Fine. But first sign I see that is not good, I'm pulling out of this conference." Chifuyu crossed her arms and scowled very deeply. "That would do my dear." Annie turned to Ichika with a smile. "Of course it is also up to you Mr Orimura."

"Ah it is okay." Ichika mentally sighed in relief at Chifuyu letting him off this time round. He turned to Michael with a slightly apologetic expression. "Why don't we stick to the ones everyone might know?"

"Agreed." Michael nodded as he picked up the device that he dropped earlier and fiddled with the controls. "I'm sure everyone has known about his power issues right?" He continued after seeing the CEOs nodding. "Well, the main reasons for those come from his armaments, both draw an absurd amount of power from the core that it can barely keep up with the demand."

"That would be related to that feature called the 'Fold-Out Armour', right?" Douvin asked while turning to glance at Chifuyu to see if she would reject. Apart from a deepening frown, she did not stop the enquiry.

"Ah right, you have also heard about that feature?" Michael paused while thinking carefully what to say next. "Okay, if that's the case, then this explanation may be crossing the line somewhat, but it's the only way to justify the reason. What I found was the armour actively drawing out the energy from the suit to the point that the unit had to shut down many of its own features to compensate for the attack power, thus having a weaker defence."

"Wait, shut down its own defences just to have more offense?" Douvin raised any eyebrow in disbelief. "But that would mean…"

"Yup, it is as you think." Michael pointed to Ichika to emphasise his words. "What we thought about the armour taking up the expansion slots was half true; the suit is essentially undergoing self-preservation to ensure that the unit has more power to fight and compute the necessary functions. The expansion slots were locked off to ensure that the weapons had enough power to be usable."

Ichika looked at his gauntlet during Michael's explanation, nodding and frowning at the same time. In some ways, it did explain why his slots were being taken up by Yukihira. Everyone assumed that it was just the power requirements that did it, but if what Michael said was true, that meant that his suit was trying to ensure his safety by removing all unnecessary functions and slots to compensate.

He was seriously going to need some help with the power control; he can't depend on Byakushiki too long to deal with this issue.

"But you know, now that I'm looking at your machine specs, there are some serious issues with your unit." Michael frowned as he swiped the screen with his finger. "I mean, aside from the power fluctuations, there is some damage on your armour in places there should not be any, your gyro system is off-sync, and your IS core is showing some major wear and tear." He looked at Ichika with a somewhat annoyed look that spoke volumes of his displeasure at the mishandling of an IS unit. "What the heck did you do during your time at the academy, go against the Mike Tyson of IS or something?"

"Erm…" Ichika struggled to keep his face as straight as possible while trying to think of a suitable reply, if only to avoid looking at Chifuyu who was silently glaring at him. Considering many of the incidents had him at the center of it all, he was under strict orders to not tell anyone about them. So he could only shrug and give the answer: "I had a very interesting life at the academy."

Michael let out an undignified snort as he returned to the screen, clearly not believing Ichika but decided to let him off the hook. "It must have been a hell of a life. If I didn't know any better, I would say you probably went against some final boss machine like a big-ass robot with more weapons than you can count on both hands."

"Hahaha, now what would make you think that?" Ichika laughed nervously while looking to the side, now feeling the increased intensity of Chifuyu's glare that made some of the other people around her back away from her. He was going to need to work on his poker face more.

Thankfully for him, Michal was too busy to notice his expression as he typed a bit more on his mini-keypad, before tearing off a piece of paper that got printed from the device and hand it over to Ichika. "Here you go, a list of repairs to be done for your machine. Take it to your sponsors or your repair team back in the Academy, they should be able to handle it."

"Hmm, for a moment, I thought you would offer to repair my suit." Ichika said as he took the paper and pocketed it in his trousers.

"Normally I would, but considering the reaction I got from her just for checking your suit …" Michael rubbed his neck nervously while glancing at the offender who merely glared back at him. "I think I better not push my luck."

"Haha, sorry about her."

"Nope, it is still partially my fault that I asked to check your suit without your guardian's permission." Michael turned to Chifuyu with a determined expression. "I believe this is the proper of apologising in Japan." With that, he bowed very low towards Chifuyu. "I am very sorry for making you worried for your brother."

There was a slightly tensed moment as Chifuyu looked at him with narrowed eyes, as if she were studying him for any signs of dishonesty. Then, with a soft sigh and her expression changed to one less wary of the person in front of her, she held out her hand to him, who hesitated for a moment before reaching out his hand and shaking hers.

And for good reason it seemed, for it was obvious based on the brief expression of discomfort shown on Michael's face and the glint in her eyes that Chifuyu was putting a lot of strength in her grip.

"So, is there anything I need to look out for regarding the repairs of my unit?" Ichika asked after seeing the two release their hands.

"Well, there are quite a number I should say, but I have printed most of them on the list." Michael pointed to the list in his pocket while subtly massaging his hand. "Though there are some key bits you should be aware of."

"Them being?" Ichika asked with a slightly worried expression regarding his machine. Michael opened his mouth before pausing for a moment to glance at Chifuyu, who merely waved her hand to give her approval to speak. She must have trusted the current group of people enough to talk about the machine specs of his unit.

"Well, for one thing, you seriously need to consider getting your power settings properly adjusted; from what I have seen, you have been experiencing extreme fluctuations in your weaponry, thus making you lose a large amount of power in a very short time. Also, your gyro system needs to be regularly tuned for you to fly properly. From what I have checked, you seemed to be using only the bare minimum just for flight."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, the most crucial thing is your core. I'm not sure of the type of fights you have, but you really need to take it easy on your machine. Your core is quite close to breaking, and you know how hard it is to get a new core right?" Michael explained with a slightly flat tone towards the end. Ichika could only let out a flustered chuckle at that.

"My advice to you: get those fixes, and get that core monitored with the laser sensory calibrator at your place. Ideally, do not go into combat or undergo vigorous training for a week or two. Light training such as basic movements or minor weight lifting is fine, provided you don't move around too much."

"Okay, I think that can be done." Ichika nodded while taking a look at Chifuyu, who merely gave a shrug on her part. She may not like the man but she would take whatever advice given if it involved her brother. He turned back to find Michael peering at his device while frowning. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Yeah, I meant to ask earlier, but did you insert some illegal program in your unit by chance?" Michael asked without looking away from the device. "What? I never included any program" Ichika blinked at that question.

"Because there is something in your system that is stuck to the core system, and it is unusually stubborn in resisting my access to it." Michael turned the screen towards him and Chifuyu to show them. "I have never seen such an unusual algorithm in my life, this is actively changing your IS Structure from the inside out."

"Wha~?" Ichika leaned forward together with Chifuyu who dropped her suspicious expression and opted for a frown as they looked at the screen to view the data streaming across it. Immediately he could see what Michael meant; to the untrained eye, it was endless streams of useless data going in all four directions, but having the basics hammered into him by Chifuyu, Ichika could tell there was something very unusual about the coding. One string was randomly dispersing in all directions, alternating its colours as it went along, while another was meandering around the other strings like a headless snake.

"It cannot be a virus, can it?" Ichika asked without thinking properly, but Michael shook his head as if guessing his thoughts. "As everyone can attest, a virus can't take place inside the operating system of an IS, the first encryption layer would crush it on the spot, let alone the other 10 security layers it has to pass through." He paused as he turned back the screen, frowning as he watched the code stream by. "Though there is a way to insert a virus."

"Seriously?" Ichika blinked in surprise.

"Quite simply, put the virus before the completion of the IS." Michael replied as he fiddled with the controls. "Most people don't realise this, but there have been a few cases whereby a researcher with the technical skills can actually place a virus in the system during the assembly of the IS unit in question. The only reason why it does not immediately remove the virus is because it registers it as part of the system originally, so only a reboot would make it re-analyse its coding and find the virus."

"That's a little scary when you think about it." Ichika commented as he digested the information.

"Well, you should not have to worry too much. As I said, due to the encryptions, the virus is normally stuck in one spot, unable to wreck much havoc. With that in mind, it is still an issue if someone manages to insert a code directly to the core."

"Then is it a virus or a program?" Chifuyu asked with a notable irritation in her tone.

"Well, no matter how you look at this, this seems more of a monitoring signal or tracker than a virus. If I had to describe this…" Michael paused with a frown. "I would say that there is something unusual going on inside your core."

At that point, Ichika noted how the older CEOs in the room looked to each other with a startled look before rearranging their expressions to look curious. He wondered if there was some meaning to it, but the next words Michael said temporarily put that thought on the back-burner.

"Let's see who is monitoring you then." With that, Michael pulled up an antenna from his console and started typing furiously on the keyboard. "Resetting IP Address, reconnecting and rerouting of servers, creating mirror firewalls…" Michael muttered as he steadily worked his way through the systems. "Back-tracing the signal now." With that, he pressed a button, prompting a long list of commands to appear on the screen with a mini-map display in the corner.

"Okay, the signal is bouncing around the signal towers of Tokyo. Now going to Thailand, stopping over at Bangkok, and oh! Look at that, going all the way to Hawaii." Michael kept typing furiously on the keypad while keeping his eyes glued to the screen. "Damn, whoever wrote this program is seriously good in covering their tracks; damn thing keeps getting off track!"

"Must be one determined bastard, to have a signal stuck to him this long." Douvin remarked as he watched the exchange over Michael's shoulder. "The fact that someone is trying to hack the boy's unit is a little disconcerting."

"That's a light way of putting it." Michael replied back as he typed even faster to keep up the trace. "Almost there…."

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

"Ah come on!" Michael swore as the device displayed error messages stating the signal was lost. "Damn it, I was this close!"

"But do you have a general area?" Gibbs asked as he leaned over his shoulder to get a peek.

"I lost the trail around the Jilin Province of China." Michael replied as he tried to regain some data that could point a general location. "But I take my hat off to whoever designed this program, because this person left behind several false trails for anyone trying to back-trace the signal. I nearly lost track of the signal, but managed to isolate the channels and find this one weak signal from the rest. But that point, it seemed that I ended up getting the attention of whoever was monitoring his suit, cause the signal got cut off at that point."

"I see, but the fact someone could stop your tracing is a little astonishing. You are usually able to retrieve the location quite quickly." Douvin remarked as he pondered the information.

"Yeah, sorry I can't find out more." Michael let down his head in disappointment.

"Smack!"

Ichika could only stare as the old man with the grey man raised his hand and smacked the back of Michael's head hard. That was so random that he could not process it quickly.

"OUUIII! The hell was that for?!" Michael rubbed the spot where Gibbs hit it as he asked.

"Rule number 6." Gibbs merely gave that reply while folding his arms. Ichika could only tilt his head in confusion at that random answer.

"Never say sorry, for it is a sign of weakness." Michael said as he massaged the sore spot. "Got it boss." He stopped for a moment as he pondered what he said, then spoke with a slightly embarrassed tone, "Don't suppose you are going to let this down by any chance?"

"Nope, not in the slightest." Gibbs said with a teasing smile on his face. Before Michael could retort, his device started to let out a buzzing sound while the screen started to fade inconsistently. "Oh crap, please don't wreck my baby!" Michael groaned as he attempted to reboot the device. That only made the situation worse, as the device started displaying an unusual screensaver with a loud voice.

"HAHAHA! YOU CANNOT CATCH ME!

HAHAHA! YOU CANNOT CATCH ME!

HAHAHA! YOU CANNOT CATCH ME!"

The message repeated continuously in an annoyingly girly voice, with a caricature of a girl's face sticking her tongue out with bunny ears giving a peace sign and one eye closed.

"Err, what?" Michael could only blinked in mild surprise at the unusual screensaver on his device. "Who the hell is this person?"

"…"

Ichika slowly turned his head to Chifuyu, who was lightly massaging her head while letting out a soft sigh. There was only one person in the entire world with that type of expertise and personality who could make Chifuyu this annoyed.

"I'm guessing this is someone you know?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow as he watched their expressions from his side.

"Unfortunately, yes." Ichika could only bowed his head in apology as he thought about the amount of trouble he had given just to get his suit fixed. "Someone we definitely know all too well."

"By chance we know that person?" Michael frowned as he tried to remove the virus that was screwing up his device. "I would like to have a little chat with this person for screwing up my device!"

"Tabane." Ichika said that with his head lowered even further. That made everyone turn their heads towards him; even Michael stopped fiddling his device to stare at him.

"Tabane, as in Shinonono Tabane, creator of IS Tabane?" Michael said in a slightly flat tone.

"Yes, that Tabane." Ichika replied in a very tired tone.

"Okay ~~, this is a very awkward situation." Jack muttered as he shook his head in disbelief. "So the big shot herself is keeping tabs on you huh?"

"Yeah, seems to be the case." Ichika could only reply lamely at that. Before anyone else could throw in a remark, the device started playing a different tune.

"HAHAHA! YOU CANNOT CATCH ME!

TOO BAD! BYE BYE!"

"BZZTT! BOOM!"

"Whoa!" Michael let out a shout as the device fizzed and let out a few sparks as it smoked. "HOT, HOT, HOT!" Michael yelped while juggling the malfunctioning device in his hands, before rushing out of the room. "Where's the toilet?! I need to save the dataaaaaa?!"

"Wait for me, Mr Craig!" Haro chimed as it bounced after him immediately. With that, he and Haro disappeared down the corridor with everyone staring in silence, until someone broke the silence.

"Well, that was something." Douvin remarked while shrugging.

"I will have to apologise to him for getting his device banged up." Ichika said with an apologetic expression. "Hmph! Then he shouldn't try to pry through your IS then." Chifuyu folded her arms with a slightly sadistic smile on her face.

"Michael was only doing his part, he did not have any bad intentions." Jack let off a bit of bloodlust as he turned to Chifuyu. "So I would prefer it that you can at least cut him some slack."

"And what are you going to do about it if I don't, huh?" Chifuyu countered with a death glare of her own. Before Ichika could think of something to distract her, someone else beat him to it.

"Smack!" "Smack!"

"What the?!" The both of them swore as Gibbs used both his hands and smacked the both of them in the head. "What the hell you do that for?" Chifuyu gave a glare at Gibbs, who merely responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Rule number 18: It is better to ask forgiveness than to seek permission." Gibbs gave that reply as he looked coolly at her. "I know Michael long enough that he does not do things that would endanger others unless in the worst of situations and that he would always try to find the best possible solution. Also, he is too honest at times that it is painful for us to see that. So when he says he is merely trying to fix Ichika's unit, he is doing so with good intentions, even if he should have thought about it more carefully. So just let it go."

Chifuyu looked at him with a complicated expression, before turning her head aside with an "Hmph!" uttered softly.

"Still, at least it does cover some questions that we wanted answered." Douvin said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Though I am not quite sure about Professor Tabane keeping tabs on you. Maybe she is curious as to why you can pilot the unit?"

"That may be the case." Ichika glanced at Chifuyu as he said this. Knowing Tabane, she was probably just monitoring him just to make sure that nothing happens to him. When it came to him, Chifuyu and Houki, she was extremely intensive in her 'caring'.

"Well, I guess we have seen enough for the day." Gibbs said as he made his way to the door. "Shall we head down now? Time is almost up for the break."

"Guess so." Douvin yawned as he turned to Ichika. "Allow me to say that you may end up in a lot of these boring conferences and meetings in the future. My advice: get lots of entertainment ready."

"Ha-ha." Ichika let out a tired laugh at his words. "Is it really going to be that problematic?"

"Oh yeah." Douvin nodded. "I can safely say that nothing exciting ever happens at any conference, ever."

"BBBOOOMM!"

---

Part 2

[Master, it would seem that once again, your gut feeling has nailed it quite nicely.]

"Sigh, just when I was in the mood to go out for some burgers, this has to turn up."

[Well, at least Bow-Rider and Dual have arrived at the towers, and Impersonator has managed to hide his presence without alerting the terrorists. He is currently relaying the information and status to them as we speak.]

"Still not feeling very happy about this. It would seem that your gut feeling was spot on as well."

[Indeed, and I must profess, this does not make me feel any better as well. Considering the fact that you are in the middle of the chaos unfolding there, there is a limit you can do without compromising your identity.]

"Sigh! Fine, time for some damage control. Since Bow-Rider has the blaster attachment, tell him to take point at one of the taller buildings in the area, and make sure the safety is on with the limiter at 10%."

[Not 15%?]

"I tweaked the settings of the blaster just the other day, and it has a little too much power overflowing as a side-effect. I only want particular targets stopped, not the entire district destroyed."

[Understood, 10% it shall be. It seems that are some terrorists guarding the parameter of the Towers. Shall I position Dual closer to them?]

"Yes please, he is more mobile at the moment. He should still have the suppression pack on him from his previous mission, so he can take point at either the offices next to the Tower Parks, or at the Sky Tower a few blocks away. If he can get an opportunity to take them out quickly before the enforcers come, he can do so. Where is Impersonator's current location?"

[Currently at the 30th floor of the Northern Tower. He is monitoring the terrorists as we speak. Shall I ask him to take down the nearest group?]

"Yeah, get him to do it without anyone noticing. Since the conference only started a few hours ago, people are probably still a little wary of outsiders, especially now with the terrorists running around. Last thing we want is for people to wonder how a man is going around tearing off limbs so easily."

[Understood. He has also offered to keep an eye out for Orimura Ichika. Shall we let him?]

"… Only if he is close enough to do so. As it is, I think the best thing he can do is to eliminate the terrorists that are inside for now, but if he can find Ichika, he can do so discreetly."

[That shall be arranged. Do you wish for additional support?]

"We already have the three of them handling the situation, and frankly, with Dual equipped with the suppression package added to the mix, it might be a tad overkill to bring in the rest."

[Understood. Anything else, Master?]

"Yeah, prepare some aspirin when this is done. I am so going to need it when I come back from this craziness."

[Understood, extra strong coming right up.]

---

Cynthia could honestly say that she was having a really bad time at work.

For a while after the hijacking, she was forced to undergo many procedural check-ups to ensure she was not too injured or traumatized to do her duties. She knew that this was procedure to do so, but it was utterly boring for her to be stuck doing nothing. The only reason she bothered to stick around for so long was that Annie persuaded her to stay on with Villian's insistence. Honestly she could not remember the last time the quiet girl was this stubborn in her life.

After the check-ups, she had to assist in the security setups at the Towers for the conference, a very tedious and laborious task given the number of spying equipment and the spies that started to infiltrate the conference well before the conference, making their work more tedious than needed. It certainly was a sight to see Catherine going ballistic at someone after the twelfth spy was identified.

Oh, but that's not all. Since she was involved with the whole "Attacked by a terrorist, then get saved by a Flying Armour with witty Personality Issues", she got dragged into the talks so that the representatives could understand the machines even better. She did not like being involved with the conference as it was, but the fact that she had to talk to those who had less than noble intentions for the information, and especially to the males who have less than innocent thoughts towards her, Annie and the others, she was feeling considerably short-tempered.

At least there were some people who were nice enough for her temper to be manageable. Apart from Genaro, there were people like 'Grandpa Abraham' whom she could get along with quite well; many were worried about her experience and tried to offer some simple comforts like a drink or even a chat to alleviate her worries.

And of course, there was always Villian by her side to help her out.

She was extremely worried for Villian during the time she was attacked by Sanchez and her subsequent stay in the hospital, but it seemed that she was able to stay safe. Cynthia admit that when it came to people with very relaxing personalities, Villian really knows how to be extremely gentle to people, even those who may have bad intentions to her. So at least this conference was a little more bearable.

Now, it would have been perfect if not for the party crashers that came in during the tea-break for the conference.

The first sign of trouble was a few people running down the corridor with rather terrified expressions, knocking down others in their haste. The second indication were the sounds of gunfire that echo through the corridor, followed by an explosion that erupted from the furthest room. That alone got every guard in the area up on their feet and ready their side-arms and other equipment in the nick of time, as some people dressed in clothes belonging to the catering staff and covered in body armour came running towards them with rifles firing at them.

Now the atrium that was serving as the buffet area was now completely destroyed, with the white columns completely blackened from the series of grenades thrown in the area and whatever blocks of walls was now serving as the protection against the terrorists that were shooting at them.

"Well, as least we are earning our pay-checks." Cynthia muttered loudly as she looked with her battle sensors. Her appearance had changed in a matter of seconds from her security outfit to her battle plug-suit adorned on her. The dark red latex was wrapped tightly around her body, emphasising her assets and figure rather sharply, and they are only accentuated further with the bits of armour that covered her chest and other major parts of the body. The exoskeleton attached to her was the latest product manufactured by RAD-IS Corporations, and it was fitted to suit her fighting style involving brute force, as shown with her weapons of choice: a .50 BMG Sniper Rifle, a laser turret capable of firing 300 rounds per second, a semi-automatic rifle capable of firing 100 .45 calibre rounds per second, two plasma swords and one pair of mini pile-drivers attached to her arms for close combat use.

"On the bright side, we won't be bored." Another guard with her exo-suit replied while holding up twin rifles in her hands.

"Oh sure, that will be unfortunate." Cynthia said as she took aim at a soldier and fired a round, causing the man to collapse to the ground. Turning to the side, she spoke in a more gentle voice "How are you holding up, Villian?"

The quiet girl nodded while covering her head as per Cynthia's instructions. She was with her when the whole situation went crazy and Cynthia was hard-pressed into finding a safe spot to keep Villian out of harm's way. Unfortunately the situation became so volatile that Villian was forced to follow Cynthia so that she can keep an eye on her.

"Stay put." Cynthia raised her rifle while trying to use her most 'manly' voice. "I'll be back." Despite the situation, Villian put her hands down and gave her a raised eyebrow, while the other guards near them rolled their eyes. "What, I always wanted to say that." Cynthia replied in a joking manner. Before anyone else could respond, a soft clunking sound drew their attention to a round object that bounced off the ground and was heading towards them.

"SHIT! Grenade!" Cynthia threw her arms around Villian and activated her shields just as it detonated, sending them and the other guards flying into the air in all directions hitting the ground hard. Coughing and breathing heavily, Cynthia gingerly raised herself from the ground and loosened her grip on Villian. "Are you okay?"

"EEErrrr…" Villian let out a groan as her head lightly bobbed sideways with her eyes being unfocused. It seemed she got a slight concussion but apart from that, no injuries.

"Well then, girlies~ let's just stop fooling around and just surrender already!" One of the terrorists drawled as he propped his weapon on his shoulder. "I really do not want to shoot pretty girls."

"Oh Geez. How nice of them." Cynthia said flatly as she and a few of the guards least affected by the explosion got up to face them with the weapons armed and ready. Just as long as nothing escalated the situation, they would be at a stalemate.

"Damn, that girl is stacked!" One of the guys commented after laying his eyes on Cynthia.

"Crack!" A sound could be heard from Cynthia as she gripped her weapon harder.

"No kidding, she has one fine rack indeed!" Another man agreed with notable enthusiasm.

"Crack, CRACK!" More sounds were heard from her who was now shaking visibly with agitation.

"Oh yeah, her ass is pretty good too."

"CRACK, CRACK, CRACCCK!" More sounds were heard from her as her weapons were notably letting out sounds of getting crushed in her grip.

"Cyn~ Cynthia…" Villian stammered as Cynthia started to let out a hollow crackle that got some of the guards near her to back away from her slowly. Ever since her encounter with JetStream, Cynthia's tolerance against sexual harassment of any type seemed to have dropped to an all-time low, and there had been a few close calls whereby she nearly obliterated the offender in question. Now in this type of volatile situation, the only conclusion would be…

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU ALLLLLLL!"

Yup, that would be the one.

"What the fuck!" The terrorists cursed as they dodged for cover as Cynthia let loose a barrage of bullets and protons blasts at them while laugh manically. "The hell is her problem?!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Cyntha let out a maniacal laugh as she went about shooting everything that moved. "I am going to kill every one of you men for being so naughty! HAHAHAHAHA!"

And on that day onwards, in the event that would be known as the "Scorched Towers", a mini-myth was born regarding a black-haired woman who would shoot men at the slightest hint of bad intentions towards women.

---

"What was that?" Annie asked worriedly as she stood up from the ground she had fallen on.

"Something that blew up?" Douvin remarked as he used the chair to pull himself up. "Whatever that was, it had to be close for us to feel it."

"That, or it is a seriously big explosion to do that." Gibbs got up and brushed himself of the dust. "Whatever the case, we should be getting an alarm anytime now."

"BAAP! BAAP! BAAP!" Right on cue, the emergency alarms blared into life, with the lights flashing red in quick succession and the speakers replaying the emergency message. [To all personnel, this is an emergency. Please move to the nearest exit in an orderly manner.]

"Well, that's our cue to leave the premise." Chifuyu said as she looked to Ichika. "Okay, time to get up Ichika." She grabbed his hand and pulled him up the floor where he had fallen due to the explosion. "You better get your head in gear, or we are going to get a lot of problems."

"Right, thanks Chifuyu-nee." Ichika thanked her as he straightened himself properly. "How about Michael-san? Shouldn't we get him?"

"I'll find him, you guys head to the lobby where the people should be gathered." Jack said as he made his way to the door, but before he could get anywhere near it, the door flew off its hinges and, barely missing his head by the smallest margin, hit the wall at the far end of the room.

"Holy Shit!" Jack dodged out of the way while grabbing his sidearm from the case. That turn out to be a good thing as a hail of bullets suddenly shot through the smoke and into the room. "Everybody get down!" Gibbs dragged Douvin down while lifting the marble table to provide a little cover from the table, Catherine helping him out while covering for Annie. Chifuyu immediately dragged Ichika to the wall and lifted a smaller marble table to use it as cover.

"Ichika, you have special permission to use Byakushiki, so deal with them!" Chifuyu yelled over the rapid of bullets heading their way. Ichika nodded and immediately activated Setsura and Yukihira alongside his basic armour, mentally thankful that Michael was able to fix some of the system. Using the cannon mode, he fired off a few shots into the smoke before immediately switching to shield mode to protect the others from the other shots.

"Thanks, kid!" Douvin said as he grabbed a bottle of alcohol that got dislodged from the nearby mini-fridge and stuffed a piece of cloth torn from his shirt into the mouth, before lighting it up with a lighter and threw it right at the offenders. He must have got his target head on, as with a bright flare, the doorway got covered in flames, and the sounds of guns firing were replaced with anguished yelling as 2 figures went into the room and rolled on the ground trying to put out the flames.

"Thank you very much!" Catherine said as she pressed a button on a bracelet and her body starts to glow brightly, dispersing shortly after and leaving in a set of clothing from her civilian wear. She was now dressed in a similar style as Houki and the others, only hers covered the entire body, and the equipment she bared was certainly not standard IS equipment. The metallic exoskeleton ran along her spine and down her limbs, with armour covering her limbs and her vital areas, and a head sensor similar to his with a green crystal in the center. Her equipment consisted of plasma blades attached to her hip and a pair of rifles held in her arms, followed by a mini blaster behind her left shoulder.

"What the? She is a pilot too?!" Ichika asked in great surprise as he continued to shoot at the doorway.

"Close but not quite. That's her 'Battle Integration System' Suit, otherwise known as BIS." Jack explained as he came to their end. "The suit was designed to be a mass-production model for typical use, but since it does not utilise an IS core, its capabilities are underwhelming. Still, when push comes to shove like now, you will be glad she has one on your side."

"I'll take your word for it then." Ichika said as more shots were into the room. "Right now we can really use all the firepower we can get!"

"Ask and you shall receive!" With that, Catherine pointed both of her rifles and let loose her shots at them, effectively clearing the area of opposition quickly. "Okay, let's get moving!" Chifuyu grabbed Ichika by the arm and effortlessly dragged him out of the room with the other following suit. Upon exiting the room, he saw the bodies of downed soldiers at the doorway. Unconsciously, he flinched at seeing their expressions of pain and the blood on their clothes. They were still alive, that was evident from the rising and falling of their chests, but the fact that he had to shoot them was something he really did not enjoy.

This was practically a warzone, and he was neck deep in it.

"RRROOOAAARR!"

Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks as they heard that sound that echoed from the corridor. "Erm, don't suppose that was someone's stomach rumbling?" Douvin tried to inject some humour into his quivering tone that was laden with fear.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but no, not our stomachs." Gibbs said as he held up the rifle with a grim tone. Then after a while, some metallic stomping could be heard in the distance. "Whatever it is, it sounds big."

"Not to mention it sounds like it's coming this way!" Catherine hissed as the sounds of the stomping got louder and faster with each passing second. Then with a loud crash, the wall a few feet in front of them collapsed in front of them, and a big metallic limb swung wildly at them.

"INCOMING!" Jack and Catherine pushed Ichika and the others into the nearest room in the nick of time as the limb hit one of the columns in the area and smashed it completely, sending debris in the area they previously stood at. The resulting momentum and collapsing debris forced them to the ground and covered in the slabs of drywall and concrete.

"Cough! Is everyone all right?" Douvin choked slightly on the dust as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Ochi~ pain…" Catherine groaned as she dragged herself up and tried to lift Annie who was looking a little dazed from the action. Gibbs just grunted as he got up and dusted himself. Chifuyu stood up immediately and brought Ichika up by the arm. "Are you okay, Ichika?"

"Apart from dizziness and a headache, I'm in one piece." Ichika stumbled slightly as he tried to stand on his legs, with the room seemingly spinning wildly in his eyes. He shut them quickly and stomped hard on his feet to get the feeling of vomiting down.

"I think now would be a good time to move." Jack said as he took stock of where they were. It would seemed that they have stumbled into one of the smaller conference halls that was closed for refurbishment, with doors leading to smaller rooms for the more private groups at the side. It was roughly 10 floors deep and at least 1 full level of the tower's width. The scaffolding that was nearest to them was practically on the edge of toppling over them due to the earlier attack.

"Yes, let's do that." Douvin said as he pointed to the nearest exit. "That should get us to the outside, we can get help from there." And at that point, as if to defy his words, the enemy came knocking.

"BOOOMMM!"

Everyone ducked for cover as the wall around the exit got obliterated by the giant limb that pierced through it with great force, sending dust and debris scattering. As soon as the dust settled, everyone looked at the source of their problems.

"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me." Douvin groaned in desperation.

In front of them was something that Ichika could only call a spider tank; it was roughly 6 feet tall, with 6 metallic limbs that spread out evenly from its main body, each ending with a sharp edge at the end to smash walls easily. The main body was completely covered in white armoured plating with black stripes at the sides, and it had two antennas sticking out of its right side and 3 red cameras mounted on a rotatable dome. Mounted on the left was a missile container and a .45 calibre railgun, with a mini turret on its right, and finally a huge calibre cannon mounted on the underside of the frame.

"Ohhhh shit." Douvin cursed as he looked at the machine that was blocking their path to freedom. "Okay, Plan B failed. Anyone got a plan D by any chance?"

"From the way it is looking at us, Plan D will be to survive this onslaught." Jack held onto his case tighter as the machine rotated its cameras at them and started to position itself to align the weapons.

"Not if we take the first shot!" Catherine raised her rifles and directed all her firepower at the machine. That did little to deter it, as the physical rounds barely scrapped the surface while her energy rounds bounced off the armour like there was a reflective barrier around it, making them hit the surrounding walls without harming it. If anything, it seemed to have made it angry, judging from the red flashing from its cameras.

"Think you may have pissed it off." Jack voiced out everyone's opinion as it started to arm the turrets.

"I'm going!" Ichika stepped out while activating all the functions of Byakushiki to take on the robot. Granted he was not in an open area, but the size of this auditorium was still big enough to allow for limited flight, and he was definitely going to need it.

"Be careful, okay!" Chifuyu yelled as she grabbed a few steel rods for her own use. Granted they were not like her usual weapons, but she would definitely be able to do something with them. "No problem!" Ichika pushed off the ground at full force and flew right past the spider robot, getting its attention by firing off a few rounds from Setsura. That definitely did the trick, as it abandoned the CEOs and Chifuyu completely, and started firing a few rounds at Ichika.

'That's right, keep your eyes on me!' Ichika alternated firing a few shots and using his shield to block off the shots, occasionally using Yukihira to take down shots that could potentially bypass his defence. He was having a harder time dealing with the machine than he thought, given the low ceiling of the auditorium, but he was still able to maneuverer quickly in the air.

'Okay, got it on one spot.' Ichika thought as he got it lined up for a quick strike from Yukihira. 'Good thing it is slow moving, so I can hit it hard!'

"RRROOAARR!" The machine let out another defying roar, and to his absolute shock, rushed at him with a speed and nimbleness that would not be expected of its size and shape. Before he could react, the machine appeared right in front of him and lifted one of its limbs to hit him.

'Fast!' Ichika raised his shields in time as the limb slammed into it with enough force to send him hurtling to the ground. He barely activated his boosters in time to right himself and land with his legs hitting the ground hard enough to make a small crater when he saw the spider robot charging in front at full sprint.

"Well, this just keeps getting better and better!" Ichika grumbled as he dodged to the side and took a quick swing at the offending limb coming his way. The best it did was to temporarily remove the energy shield that was covering the body and put a scratch on the armour, and the end result was making the machine swing another of its limbs straight at him. Unable to dodge on time, Ichika took the full force of it on his arm and ended up slamming into the wall a few feet behind him.

"GAHHKK!" Ichika coughed out blood as he tried to move his body out of the damaged wall. A sound resembling a tank round being loaded drew his attention to the machine which had pointed the cannon straight at him and the barrel starting to glow very brightly. 'Oh shit!' Ichika panicked as he dematerialised his wings to get out of the hole he made. He needed more time!

"Incoming, Ichika!" A yell came from the side, followed by a black figure leaping into the air and landing nimbly on the back of the spider robot. Without hesitation, Chifuyu jabbed one end of the steel rod into one of the cameras, causing it to short out somewhere and missed its aim in time, as the round shot out and destroyed the room next to Ichika.

"Don't mind us, we are party-crashing!" Jack said as he came along brandishing a couple of sub-machine guns from his case and started to go between the legs and aiming his rounds at the joints. That seemed to be a prominent weak spot as the machine started to move more erratically to get away from him. "Now would be a good time to get rid of some of its weapons people!" Jack grunted as he nimbly sidestepped to avoid getting crushed by the machine.

"Okay then!" Ichika immediately activated Ignition Boost and charged straight at it. With a yell, he swung Yukihira in a wide arc, cutting the cannon right at the stump and, without stopping, continued to slash the underbelly of the machine, causing it to react very badly and start thrashing around like a wounded animal.

"Watch out for the missiles!" Douvin's shout could not have come at a better time as the machine started to fire off stinger missiles in its attempt to kill everyone in the area. Most of it got shot down by Jack or Catherine, the few that got through ended up being cut up by Ichika as he avoided the rounds aimed at him.

"I'll deal with the missiles!" Jack leaped on the limb that was aimed at him and with a perfect landing, stood next to the missile pod and railgun. "Let's relieve you of your weaponry!" Jack grabbed the barrel of the railgun and started to pull hard with his cybernetic arms. With a great groan, the barrel started to bend and with a final tug, snapped at the joint. "AAAHHHHH!" Jack jammed the broken barrel into the missile pod, damaging its access pod, before taking out a grenade he took from one of the down terrorists and forced it down a gap in the missile pod. Chifuyu did her part by jabbing other steel rods at the mini-gun, making it jammed in its rotation.

"Everyone take cover!" Jack and Chifuyu jumped off the machine and hid behind some of the concrete debris, just as the grenade went off, setting off the damaged missiles in the process and blowing off a huge chunk of the machine's side and taking away the shield power. "All yours kid!" Jack bellowed as the machine started to stagger from the amount of damage it took.

"Time we end this!" Ichika activated Ignition Boost again to push the machine towards one of the rooms, crashing it into the room before landing on top of it and with a loud yell, thrusted the Yukihira deep into the top of the machine. The machine let out its final mechanical roar before collapsing into a crippled heap, with its red cameras flicking to blackness.

Ichika let out a sigh of relief as he deactivated the Yukihira and jumped off the machine. That was pretty intense, almost as intense as the Black Golems he had to face a few months back. Thankfully, this machine was mostly brawn and no brains.

"Ichika, are you okay?" Chifuyu asked as she made her way through the wreckage, followed shortly by the others. "Yeah, I'm fine, but how is everyone else?" Ichika turned to the others. "Oh, the usual. Getting caught up in stupid meetings, stupid situations, and trying not to get killed in the process." Douvin replied as he gave a relaxed shrug.

'He sure is carefree.' Ichika shook his head slightly as he thought. At any rate, at least they got rid of their biggest obstacle. Now they could escape and get some help from the outside.

"RRRRIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!"

"AAHHH!" Ichika grabbed his head in agony as the unusual wailing screeched through his head and pain shot through his body like a thousand needles was stabbing him all at the same time. He doubled over and hit his head against the ground repeatedly in his craze to get rid of the pain.

"Ichika!" Chifuyu tried to grab his shoulders to stop him, only to get a violent electrical shock from Byakushiki as it started to let out electricity erratically. Then before their eyes, the armour started to shift itself all over the place, making Ichika topple over due to the in-balance from the weight. In the midst of it, Ichika was still screaming in pain with his eyes starting to bleed heavily.

"Ichika, turn it off!" Chifuyu made another attempt to grab hold of him and was successful this time. Ignoring the electricity coursing through her body, she held Ichika's head in her gaze. "Ichika, listen to me! You have to shut Byakushiki off before it completely breaks apart and takes you with it!" For a while, his eyes seemed to clear and looked at her closely. Then with a violent spasm, his screams went an octave higher as Byakushiki started to twist and shift pieces of its armour erratically.

"ICHIKA!"

---

'It Hurts! Chifuyu-nee it hurts!' Ichika screamed in his mind as he tried his best to ignore the pain to no avail. It felt like a steel rod that was heated red-hot was being pushed slowly through his spine, sending heat and pain to his head and extremities with extreme prejudice. It was taking all of his willpower to stay conscious and he was slowly losing the fight.

'Somebody, anybody! Please stop this pain!'

[My master!]

A voice echoed through his brain, temporarily giving him relief from the pain and clarity to focus on it. That voice sounded very familiar to him for some reason.

[Hang on, master! I'll save you!]

---

Chifuyu was cursing herself as she tried to find the override switch on Byakushiki so that she can forcefully shut it off. She heard about the effects of [Overload Corruption] before, but this was totally new and utterly horrifying experience to see her brother in this state.

"Get it off!" Chifuyu screamed as she found the switch and forced the lever down. But that did not deactivate the suit, rather it caused Byakushiki to start breaking apart at the joints and making Ichika scream more in agony as the jagged ends hit his body. "Ichika, don't you dare die on me!" Chifuyu ignored the pain of getting pierced by the sharp corners of Byakushiki as she attempted to rip the armour out of him.

Suddenly, with a huge flash of light, his unit glowed white and disappeared in a shower of bright sparks, leaving behind Ichika with a bloody face and a stained uniform. "HAH! HAH! HAH! COUGH! HAH!" Ichika panted and choked slightly as he took in the oxygen deeply and his spasms started to subside enough to remain relatively still.

"Is the kid okay?" Douvin asked as he came to the side and used his coat to prop up Ichika's head.

"Pulse is a little weak, but he is stable." Gibbs replied as he placed his finger on Ichika's neck. "However he is not going to be able to fight any time soon."

"Was it a Disruption Wave that caused his unit to malfunction?" Jack asked as he looked at the bipedal machine. "If that is the case, there's a possibility that the other pilots may be in the similar situation."

"But my suit is still functional." Catherine motioned to herself. "Is this like the [Corruption Overload]?"

"Perhaps the proper version, one that affects only Infinite Stratos, and not the knockoffs like the BIS Suits." Gibbs said as he looked at the gauntlet that showed a few cracks on it. "Whatever the case, his suit is unable to function efficiently."

"Never mind all of that, he needs a doctor now!" Chiifuyu seethed with rage as she tried to rouse Ichike from his state. "I recall seeing a clinic around this level. We can get whatever supplies to help him out, or the least to stop the bleeding." Jack pointed in the general direction where he recalled the area. Before the others could react, the sounds of guns being armed turned their attention to the group of people who were pointing their weapons at them.

"Good day, ladies and gentlemen. I hope I did not interrupt anything." The foremost man said as he looked at them coolly. "I would like you to come with us, so please do not resist." The men with him focused much of their attention on Catherine and Jack who were still holding on to their weapons while looking very agitated at them.

"Hey, those two over there?" One of the man pointed the rifle at Chifuyu and Ichika. "Aren't they the ones we are supposed to be on the lookout for?"

"Hmm…" The man looked at them for a while as he took out a device and switched it on. He then alternated his eyes between the screen and them, supposedly to confirm their identities based on the manner he looked at each of them. He paused as he looked at Annie with a look of disbelief and actually hit the device as if to check if it was working properly, before giving a resigned shrug and continued to Chifuyu and Ichika. After a while, he nodded and kept the device.

"You are right, those two are the Brunhilde and the male pilot."

At his words, the group of men gave a look of intense surprise and scrutiny at Ichika and Chifuyu. It seemed that they were told to watch out for them if they happened to find them.

"Boss said that if we found them, we should be contacting him right?" One of them asked the man supposedly in charge of this group. Before he could reply, the radio on his hip let out a static sound, before a voice blared out from it.

"All units respond, what is the status of your groups?" A man's voice blared through the radio. "Good timing." The man commented as he took the radio and pressed the intercom button. "Boss, this is Unit E, reporting from the auditorium at South Tower. We have found some of the stranglers. Our battle bot is totalled but the jammer is still active, so the IS pilots are still unable to use their Stratos units."

"Excellent, Unit E." The voice crackled through the radio. "Bring them to the other area and search for any others. The battle bot would be recovered later."

"Another thing boss." The man turned his attention to Chifuyu and Ichika. "The first Brunhilde and the boy are here as well."

"?! The boy, meaning Orimura Ichika?!" The tone of surprise was evident through the radio.

"Yes boss, it also seems that the boy got injured fighting the battle bot and is suffering the side effects from the jammer." The man replied as he took stock of Ichika's injuries. "As it is, he could use some medical aid as soon as possible."

"Bring him in now, he will get the treatment while we have our little chat. We can't let the guest of honour be in such a state." The man behind the operation said with a notable tone of satisfaction at the chance given. "And the Brunhilde?" The man asked again while looking at Chifuyu who was clearly restraining herself from going after him when she heard the conversation between the two.

"Leave her alone for the time being. The boy is the top priority." The boss gave that simple reply.

"Roger." The man gave that reply and motioned the two soldiers closest to him to grab Ichika. But before they could get close to him, Chifuyu quickly grabbed the arm of the nearest soldier and with great force and absolute ease, slammed him into the other soldier like he was a ragged doll.

"Stop them!" The soldiers pointed the guns at her only to get distracted by Jack and Catherine, who managed to get behind them and take them out with whatever weapons on them. Gibbs and Douvin did their part by tackling the others to the ground and grabbing their weapons to use against them. They were more or less clearing out the majority of the room when the lead soldier decided to take matters into his own hands.

Quickly dodging the shots by Catherine and Chifuyu's human tossing, he made his way to Annie who was attempting to get Ichika to a safe corner, thus letting her guard down and letting him come around and ambush her from behind. A muffled scream brought the others' attention towards the two of them as he held on tightly and pointed a gun to her head.

"Drop the weapons, or she will be having another hole to breathe through." The soldier nudged the gun a little closer into Annie's head. "Now."

Catherine scowled before disabling her BIS weaponry and armour, while the others dropped the guns, allowing the soldiers to drag them to the ground and restrain them. In the case with Chifuyu, she was surrounded with the soldiers pointing their rifles at her limbs and major organs, standing a fair distance away from her.

Seeing the group subdued, the man turned his attention to the two who were still on the ground. "The two of you get up already! The boss wants to see the boy quickly and get his injuries fixed." The man barked orders at the two who were trying to get up from the attack Chifuyu inflicted on them.

"Easy for you to say. You did not get thrown like a rag doll." One of them groaned as he dragged himself to Ichika and grabbed him by the shoulder, lifting him and placing his arm around him so that he could carry him. Ichika groaned lightly from the exertion, making the man pause for a moment before moving him towards the doorway slowly and gently.

"What are you going to do with him?" Chifuyu asked with a hint of irritation as she watched Ichika getting moved away from her.

"He is the guest of honour, we are going to give him some treatment before my boss has a chat with him." The man gave that reply as he started to move alongside with Annie firmly in his grip. "Rest assured he would be given the best treatment, after all." He paused as he looked briefly at Ichika. "He is the only male pilot, and it would be a shame if he falls. We will have our revenge, and he's the key to it."

"CANNONBALL!"

"WHAT THE?!" The soldier yelled in pain as an orange ball came crashing into the back of his head, causing him to loosen his grip on Annie and fall to the ground. Without losing momentum, the ball continued to bounce all over the room and hitting the other terrorists accurately at their heads or their bodies. The man carrying Ichika tried to dodge, but like a homing missile, it adjusted itself and crashed right into his head, causing him to fall with Ichika to the ground.

"Damn it!" The last person who got hit swung his rifle widely and by the nearest of margin, hit the flying object at the edge and caused it to veer off course and hit the white machine hard, making it lose it momentum and bounced lightly on the ground. The soldier quickly pointed the rifle at the ball, only to pause in surprise. "What the?"

"Dizzy~~~" Haro let out a weird sound as it lightly swayed left and right while turning on its axis. Despite the situation, everyone just stared at the little robot for a while with a dumbstruck expression, not knowing how to react. One soldier got over it quickly and pointed his rifle at it. "Don't know, don't care; just shoot it!"

"Ale~?" Haro seemed to have recovered from the attack in time to hear that, because the next moment it immediately started bouncing while yelling in a shrill voice, just as the soldier started shooting at it. "WAHHH!" Haro jumped haphazardly in the air and landed just underneath the white robot, taking refuge underneath all the armour.

"Damn that little thing!" The soldier cursed as he started to reload the rifle. That moment gave Chifuyu and Catherine an opportunity to take out the guards closest to them while they were distracted. Chifuyu immediately grabbed the arm of the guard on her right and threw him into the guards in front of her, before doing a spinning kick on another, sending him flying into another group. That gave Catherine enough time to reactivate her BIS suit and take down the rest of the guards in their way. The man panicked and pointed the gun at Annie.

"Don't even think about it! Drop them now, or else she will taste some lea..!"

Before the soldier could finish his sentence, he felt a few taps to his shoulder, making him turn around to face Michael with a playful smirk on his face and a group of men in black suits behind him.

"KNOCK-KNOCK!"

"CRASH!"

The guy did not have time to react as Michael delivered a straight right to the face, sending him flying to the desk. Gibbs and Douvin did not waste time in using that moment to tackle the other man to the ground, while the men behind Michael rushed forward to take down the others.

"Nice of you to drop by, Michael." Gibbs remarked as he forced the struggling man on his stomach and let Douvin handle the task of securing his arms and legs.

"Yeah, well good thing I was stuck in the toilet when they came." Michael remarked as he helped Ichika off the ground and placed on the nearest chair. "Damn machine broke the walls around the door, so it took me a while to clear the rubble and drag my ass out of the place. It was my luck when they came along." He motioned to the men busily tying up the other two. "They have been trying find you for a while, Douvin."

"Oh." Douvin could only said that lamely while facing his head of security who was looking at him like a teacher ready to lecture a naughty boy. Michael did not comment on it as he turned to look at the machine. "Haro, you can come out now."

Haro peeked out from behind a leg, before lightly bouncing its way to Michael. "You okay?" Michael asked as he picked the robot up. "All Okay!" Haro chimed while flapping its ears eagerly. "Good to know." Michael placed it on his head where it wriggled happily before turning to face Ichika. "That looks very serious" He frowned as he looked at the streaks of dried blood on his face and clothes. "Ichika, wake up man." Michael lightly tapped Ichika's cheek to rouse him from his dizziness. When that did not work, he reached into his pockets and pulled out a small bottle with white pellets, uncorked it and put the spout near Ichika's nose.

"COUGH! HRK! OH GOD!" Ichika started choking and sputtering the moment he took a deep breath of it. "What on earth is that smell?!"

"Smelting Salts. Always keep a bottle on me just in case." Michael replied as he corked it and placed it back inside his clothes. "Considering how some of the meetings are so boring, I needed some stimulant to wake up."

"Well that's something a bit too drastic if you ask me." Ichika coughed one last time before taking another deep breath to steady himself. Thanks to that scent, Ichika was more or less conscious enough to move, though severely weakened by the attack. "So how are you and Byakushiki feeling right now?" Michael said as he motioned towards his blood stained shirt.

"I'm fine, just a little banged up, but now I have a problem." Ichika said lamely as he held up his Gauntlet. "It seems that my IS got knocked out by that spider robot. Don't suppose you can fix it by any chance?"

"Seriously?" Michael frowned as he peered at his device. "Hmm, the settings are still there, and there is power going through the circuits. Haro, what do you think?"

"Disruption Wave, Disruption Wave!" Haro announced as it flapped its ears. "Primary readings matched wavelengths with those collected from Corruption Overload."

"That again?" Ichika groaned as he took that in. Seriously, what was with everyone these days trying to either kill him or disarm his unit in such a violent manner?! This was becoming utterly insane!

"Mrs Anderson, are you harmed in any way?" Michael turned to Anita with a slightly worried expression. "Oh, I'm fine dear, thank you for your concern." Anita showed her smile to ease him of his worries.

"Well, if you say so." Michael reached behind his jacket and pulled out a couple of small first-aid kits. "I found these two on the way, figured you guys would need it just in case."

"That's great, thanks." Douvin replied as he returned from his chat with his security head, looking thankful that he was getting away from him quickly. Michael handed one over to him, and started to open the second to treat Ichika before turning to Jack. "Any injuries or damages I need to know?"

"Nope, I am functioning properly." Jack said while flexing his fingers and joints to test the mobility. "It's safe to say that I can handle the upcoming fights, provided they are not packing too much heat."

"Maybe so, but please hold off on that. I really do not want to explain to Rosemary how you end up in a firefight." Michael said with a slight grimace at the prospect of explaining to Jack's wife of the situation. Jack nodded with a similar expression on his face.

"And Gibbs, Miss Beal?" He turned to the other two. "We are fine, but I am really in need of some coffee after this." Gibbs said grumpily and Catherine nodding with a similar expression of annoyance at the situation. Michael then turned to the last person in the room. "I trust you are okay, Miss Orimura?"

"Don't need to worry about me." Chifuyu gave that reply while glaring at him, who only responded with a shrug as he turned to look at the others again while she took the opportunity to move towards Ichika to check on him and use the kit on him. It seemed that he was taking in stride the attitude that Chifuyu was displaying towards him and decided to concentrate on other matters.

"Okay then, what do we have here?" Michael frowned as he stood in front of the downed machine. Using a sleeve, he wiped the portion that was smeared with dirt and gun residue to see the words imprinted on the steel. "Special Operations Bipedal External Operations and Terrain Robotics." He read the name off the wording and paused before giving another shrug. "Let's just call it Spider Bots."

"Well, this is a bit of conundrum." Douvin said as he looked out of the window and holding his cell-phone. "It would seem that something is jamming our signals, I can't get anyone right now."

"Radio is not working either." Douvin's Head of Security quipped as he looked to his radio. "All I am getting is static."

"So in short, we have one possible [Corruption Overload], and a signal disruptor in the general area." Michael said as he crossed his arms. "Question is, why now?"

At that point, some of the CEOs turned their attention towards Ichika, making him feel like withering under their attention. "You think they may be after me?" He asked with a slight bit of apprehension in his tone.

"Well you are the only male pilot in existence, and the possibility of figuring out what allows to you to pilot the suit would make a tempting for many, but I doubt it is the only reason." Michael said as he tried his phone with no success. "My guess: this is just a typical terrorist hostage situation, with you as the accidental bonus mixed in if you don't mind me saying."

"If so, you have the worst luck for your first conference." Jack shrugged as he grabbed his case from the ground and came to his side. "No kidding." Michael turned to Jack with a serious look. "Mind briefing me what went down?" Jack nodded and took him aside to update him while the others continue to check themselves for injuries.

"Well, at least we stop this lot." Douvin remarked dully. "But I doubt that's all of them."

"You think?" Gibbs said flatly as he pointed out of the window. "What was your first clue? The big machines taking a walk at the patio? Or the soldiers bringing along heavy artillery?"

Everyone took a look outside the window and much to their discomfort, saw a volley of soldiers coming out of trucks with the same Spider Bots following in droves. Wherever they past, much of the structure was damaged, and there were bodies strewn lifelessly on the ground.

"Oh my god!" Catherine grabbed her mouth in horror as she heaved heavily. "They are just going around killing everyone on sight!"

"This is definitely an issue." Douvin gritted his teeth in frustration. "I'm going in to check on our ammo with George, we definitely going to need to conserve the ammo." He turned and started to walk towards the guards who were busily tying up the terrorists with whatever they found in the room.

"Catherine, how is your exosuit holding up?" Annie turned to face Catherine, who was still staring at the scene in front of her in a horrified daze. "Catherine!" Annie called in a louder voice while lightly shaking her. "Huh?" Catherine looked at her for a while, before shaking her head to get her mind back in the game. "My suit is not damaged, but I am running a little low on energy cells. I should be able to last for another hour or so, with careful handling."

"Jack, how about you?" Michael used this moment to ask his guard about his condition as they came back to them.

"My arms are functioning properly, so I still have the capacity to handle most of the attacks. But currently most of my equipment is still at the security storage room, since they have yet to be fully authenticated by the Chief of Staff. So as it is, I only have my main weapon and a few sides. My sidearm is loaded but I only have 1 spare clip with me." Jack relayed the status with a somewhat annoyed look when talking about the person who did not check his equipment thoroughly.

"Well, I guess for weapons, we can always take the ones that the terrorists have on them, but that won't get us too far." Michael tapped his chin thoughtfully. "As for what I have on me, I only have my digital readout kit, and maybe a few electrical clips I could modify for protection, but they won't be too effective. The most I can do is to hack the system and monitor the situation through cameras, or bypass security to get us through places."

"Then how about Leeroy-san?" Ichika gazed at Gibbs who was listening to their conversation in silence.

"Well, for that part…" Michael turned to Gibbs with a somewhat knowing expression. "I don't suppose Rule Number 9 is in effect for you?" Gibbs smiled in response as he laid his hands on his belt.

"Rule Number 9?" Catherine questioned them.

"Rule number 9: Never go anywhere…" Gibbs pulled the buckle off the belt to reveal a bladed edge concealed within the leather "Without a knife".

"How many knifes do you have on your body?" Catherine shook her head in slight exasperation. "We already have to remove 10 from your clothes, your shoes and even your PDA cover!"

"And that's why he is always the guy with the backup plan." Michael gave a resigned smirk at her reaction, before turning to the white-haired man. "So, what next Gibbs? As it stands, Miss Beal has her BIS Suit which is running low on power, Mr Douvin's guards have their firearms but possibly down on ammunition, Jack has some of his equipment still, you have your knives and I have my devices to hack past the gates for a while, and of course we have the Brunhilde on our side, but this is going to be tough. Not to mention that Ichika is a very tempting target for anyone after him right now. No offense again to you." He added while turning to him.

"Nope, you have a point." Ichika sighed as he looked dejectedly at his Gauntlet. He barely got his equipment fixed and it ended up being rendered useless by the stupid Disruption Wave again! Damn, what was with his luck lately?!

"Well, considering the situation…" Gibbs paused as he looked out the window. "Rule Number 15 and 40."

"That bad, huh?" Michael remarked with a grimace.

"What?" Ichika titled his head in confusion. He was really clueless with their discussion.

"Rule Number 15: Always work as a team." Douvin replied as he came back from restraining the terrorists. "Gibbs always has a list of rules that he uses for all his work. From what I know, it stemmed from his time with the Marines." He explained after glancing at Ichika's expressions. "I will give you a quick overview; he has roughly 50 rules in total, and the ones from number 40 onwards are reserved for emergencies. Rule number 40 states that if you feel someone is after you, chances are very good that they are."

"Yeah, and currently, we are being chased." Michael stated as he turned to face the four terrorists who were currently struggling against their bounds. "For what reason, that we have yet to know."

"Well, in that case…" Chifuyu cracked her fingers slowly with a slightly disturbing smile. "Why don't we ask these fine gentlemen about it?"

"Why, that is a nice idea." Gibbs twirled the blade in his fingers as he faced the terrorists who seemed to only realise their current predicament. "Let's ask them, shall we?"

"Mr Craig, Mr Orimura, can I ask you two to step outside for a short while?" Annie asked with a smile and closed eyes. "This won't take long."

"Err." Ichika could only blink while facing Annie. For some unusual reason, her smile reminded him of Charlotte's version when she's pissed, only for this case, he felt Charlotte's paled in comparison to Annie's.

"Are you sure?" Michael voiced out as he helped Ichika up from the chair while looking at the terrorists. "You guys could use some help."

"Oh, I think we got this." Gibbs said as he grabbed both their shoulders and turned them towards the door. "You guys wait outside with the guards, just make sure that no one comes our way." With that, he grabbed the doors and shut it, locking it from the inside. For a while they stood just outside the door while the rest of Douvin's security detail went to the door or the hole leading to the corridor. Then with a huff, Michael turned around and started moving.

"What are you doing?" Ichika asked as he noticed Craig walking towards the downed Spider Bot. "Looking for answers my way." Michael climbed the wreckage and pulled off a loose piece of its cover before digging inside. "If I know how this thing works, we might be able to get around its defences and perhaps get your IS working properly."

"Oh, in that case, let me pitch in." Ichika came to him and started to pull off the lighter pieces of the spider bot. "I'm just wondering how the heck this thing got through the doorway."

"From the hole it made, I say it burrowed its way from the bottom of the building." Michael continued to pull off the sheets of mangled metal and throw it off the side. "What I want to know is how something like this got past security. From what I was told, they had scanned the towers and the surrounding buildings in a three block radius for any sort of weaponry that could be stored in advance, and we have the army coming in to help us with this."

"That could only mean two things I suppose. Either they just brought this fellow in near the general area, or it has already been here for a while now." Michael frowned as he paused to see which parts of the machine was salvageable. "If the latter is the case, then we have a problem."

"That being?"

"It had to be an inside job." Michael said as he resumed the job of tearing apart the insides of the machine. "Someone had to give them access for to the inner buildings because the security is tight; even if they try to change their clothing, the identification systems would have flagged any unknown personnel from the start."

"That definitely is something we really do not need at the moment." Ichika grimaced at the idea of someone being a traitor at this conference, there was enough going on as it is without other problems thrown into the mix.

"Ah, here we go!" Ichika turned to see Michael wearing a big smile as he yanked a couple of devices from the body and leapt down from the wreckage. He held them out for him to see. "Here's the source of all our current problems."

Ichika stepped forward to look at them, with a few of the more curious guards nearest to them turning their heads to see what Michael held in his hands. Being held up in his right was something that resembled an old hand-held radio from WW2, with an exceptionally thick antenna attached to the grey casing and a few lights blinking at the side. In contrast, the device held in Michael's hand was smaller device that looked more of a futuristic PDA with a smaller screen and some wires dangling from its end where it remained connected with the body.

"What are they?" Ichika asked as he touched the device with antenna warily.

"The two devices that are screwing up all our electronics." Placing the device with the antenna on the table, he turned the smaller device over in his hand and fiddled with it. "If I'm correct, this one is the device stopping our means of communications." With a plier, he cracked open the casing and yanked out a few wires, making the device fizzle and died out.

"There, that ought to do the trick." Michael said as he turned to one of the guards closest to them. The guard took that as a cue to test his theory and took out his phone to dial a number. For a moment there was a flat tone, then to everyone's joy, the call connected and started ringing, then with a click, the voice of the receiver came through.

"You have reached the Tokyo Police Department. What is your emergency?"

"Hello, can you hear us? We are trapped in the Tokyo Towers and the others have been taken hostage." The man started to relay the situation while the others silently cheered to ensure his conversation was not derailed. Looking pleased with the results, Michael placed the device on the table and picked up the bulkier item, turning it over now on its back and fiddling with the screws.

"Then what of that?" Ichika asked as he noted the frown that was appearing on Michael's face.

"Unless I'm much mistaken, this is the one that is causing your problems." Michael gave that reply as he took a screwdriver and attempted to remove the cover carefully.

"Wait, so that bulky thing is [Corruption Overload]?" Ichika asked as he looked at the device with a puzzled look. "I expected it to be a lot bigger, considering the last time I encountered one."

"Well, you are right on that point." Michael got the last screw out and with a bit of force, pried open the cover to reveal a tangle of wires and a mishmash of circuit boards. "From the looks of things, this is just a receiver broadcasting the signal from the real one."

"Now, how to disable it?"

"Don't supposed we could just break it?" Ichika shrugged while commenting offhandedly. He was admittedly a little out of touch with all the technological aspects of all the equipment, and he ended up giving out such a lame answer.

What he did not expect was Michael to look up with a glitter in his eyes.

"Yeah, there is that option." Setting it down on the ground, he motioned to Haro with a smile. "Oh Haro, would you mind doing the honours?"

"OK!" Haro replied cheerfully as it lightly bounced to the device. Then with a bigger jump, it soared right in the air and landed hard on the device, breaking the innards into many pieces. The device started fizzing and sputtering, before the lights on the device dimmed off.

"There. Try your unit now." Michael smiled mischievously at Ichika who was staring at him with his mouth slightly open. Okay~~ he gathered that there were different types of CEOs and representatives of pilots, countries and companies from all over the world, and that they have their different methods of doing things, but what he just saw was something that he (rather reluctantly admitted) would do himself.

He certainly needed a moment to take in all of this later.

"Okay, let's see if it worked." Ichika decided to forget what he saw and raised his right arm. To be on the safe side, he decided to only activate the armour on his arm and Yukihira to test the waters. Last thing he needed was to get shocked again.

"Come on…" He muttered as he focused his attention on his arm. After a few tensed seconds, the gauntlet started to glow, then with a sudden lash of blinding light, the armour appeared with Yukihira's sealed form in his hand.

"Hey, it worked!" Ichika turned excitedly to Michael, only to switch to a curious expression when he saw him looking at his watch intensely. "Why are you staring at your watch?"

"Timing your activation and your holding period." Michael frowned as he replied. "Get ready for some sudden feedback."

"Huh?"

"FFZZTT! BUZZ!"

"WHOA!" Ichika winced as he experienced an electrical charge pass through his body while his armour started to let out large amounts of electricity, before disappearing in a big cloud of sparkling dust. "Wha~ what happened to Byakushiki?!" Ichika panicked as he looked at his gauntlet that was now displaying a red screen on its interface.

"I was afraid this might happen." Michael said grimly as he looked at him. "This happened with the other pilots I checked up whose units were affected by [Corruption Overload], all of their units went through the phase of induced-hibernation to protect themselves and their pilots."

"It isn't going to break down or anything, is it?" Ichika asked with great concern as he cradled the arm like it was a baby.

"All of them functioned fine, apart from the delays in activation and the lower power outputs." Michael paused for a moment before continuing in a very grim tone. "But the main issue is the stability of both the core and the frame. [Corruption Overload] works by sending out signals that disrupt the harmony between the core and the pilot, which in turns affects the frame since it is dependent on the core. The two of them end up going in opposite directions in terms of what the pilot is thinking, and thus the frame shuts down in trying to keep up with the core. As least, that was to be the case, but all the trials that were conducted have shown that the frame goes into shock trying to process all the information coming from the core, so the frame will shift the components erratically and potentially destroys itself from the outside in, and killing the pilot."

"Fortunately for your case, it is not that severe." Michael added hastily as he noted the frightened expression on Ichika's face. "Since yours was affected via a transmitter rather than the actual device, you were exposed to a lesser degree of it, and it seems that Byakushiki shut itself in time to save you, so for the time being, it seemed that your suit just needs a quick recharge and a break from the action to be operational."

"Really? That's great." Ichika relaxed as he heard that explanation. He was afraid he would never be able to use Byakushiki at all.

"Bear in mind though, your suit is already damaged beforehand, so you might want to let it rest as long as you can allow it, if only to give the core time to stabilize completely." Michael said as he picked up the pieces of the transmitter and set them on the table to examine. "Even more so now since your suit got exposed to a second dose of Corruption Overload, no matter how small it was."

"But he can still fight right?" One of the guards who was closest to them threw that question into the conversation.

"He can, but for now, he would need some help with it." Micahel let out a challenging smile. "So, think you guys can help protect him until his suit recovers properly?"

"No problem sir." The guard gave a reassuring nod. "After all, he is currently the pride of us men around the world. If we let the only man with the ability to pilot an IS Unit get hurt, we will be ashamed of ourselves. Right mates?"

"That's right! We will give it our all to protect our one hope in this world!" One man clenched his fist while showing a determined expression that was shared by the other guards around the room.

"That's how it is." Michael remarked cheerfully. "Well then, since they are giving it their all, I better buck up in restoring your system in time. Besides" He motioned with his thumb to the door. "I doubt that they are going to be done any time soon."

"Yeah, that's true." Ichika noted with a bit of surprise as he looked at the clock that survived the whole craziness from the fight. It was roughly 20 minutes since the whole thing started, yet it felt like hours to him. "Wonder if we can get anything from those guys?"

"Well, hopefully we can get some info and …" Michael paused while frowning. "Wait, why am I hearing church bells all of a sudden?"

"AAAAHHH! Oh my God! WHY THE HELL ARE THE EYES BLEEDING?!" A shrill scream came from the closed door behind them, startling the two and the security guards nearest to them violently. The two of them looked to the door with slightly pale faces while listening to the faint sounds of the terrorists whimpering.

"What the hell type of interrogation is going on in there?" Michael muttered while keeping a wary eye at the door. Ichika could only shake his head in reply, wondering how long it would take to get some answers.

He did not have to wait too long, as the doors opened a few minutes later, with the representatives and the security guards coming out slowly first and finishing with Chifuyu and Annie. Ichika made his way to Chifuyu quickly and asked "Have you found anything?"

"We got something all right." Chifuyu said it in a slightly grim tone; whatever news she got, it was definitely not comforting. "Let's just say that the situation is really annoying."

"So what is the issue about?" Michael turned to ask Jack only to pause for a second. "Err, Jack? Are you okay man?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, whatever makes you think I'm not?" Jack said it with a perfectly straight face. Well, almost straight, given the nervous twitching of his right eye.

"How do I say this? Earlier we overheard the screaming and so what I want to know is what happen inside…"

"Don't." Jack cut him off with that word.

"But…" Michael tried again only to be cut off.

"No, just no." Jack nearly let out a pained moan while grabbing Michael's shoulders.

"Yeah, but…"

"For the sake of both our sanities, PLEASE do not ask me what just happened!" Jack pleaded with him while looking like he had seen hell.

"… Okay, I won't ask?" Michael could only give that reply while alternating puzzled expressions between him and the older CEOs, who were notably standing a little further from the unusually cheerful Annie and the guards inside with them having a slightly wary expression towards her. Catherine for one was holding her hands together in prayer with a pale face, as though she was hoping for some repentance.

"Thank you." Jack let go and marched to the staircase with the others, leaving behind a puzzled Michael and a dumbfounded Ichika staring at each other. Michael turned his head to peer into the room and see what looked to be the nervous wrecks of the terrorists tied up in the room, each shivering uncontrollably.

"What the hell happened in there?"

---

"Okay, to summarise, there are at least 50 terrorists running around with heavy equipment and 10 feet tall spider bots, each fortified with enough artillery to take on a small army and a possible [Corruption Overload] to disable IS frames." Douvin said as the party went around hiding beside the different obstructions scattered in the wrecked building. "From what we gathered, the group are apparently some of the more extreme parties that reject the IS status in the world."

"Same old, same old." Gibbs muttered as he peaked around the pillar to check for enemies.

"Yeah, but their equipment is rather odd. I think these guys got some military backing. That or they have some seriously deep pockets to acquire those machines." Douvin frowned as he pondered on the information. "What did you find out about them, Mike?" He called out to Michael who was by Ichika's side using a nickname.

"From what I checked, Haro was right regarding the system that jammed the IS." Michael replied while taking out the component he removed from the machine. "But based on the sightings, I would say that this is a properly tuned version, since it only targeted the IS and not the exo-suits that Miss Beal has on her."

"So the other guards can use their equipment while the IS Representatives can't?"

"Yes, however this one I am holding seems to be more of a transmitter rather than the actual device." Michael said as he pointed to the antenna. "My guess is that they are using at least one [Corruption Overload] and using these transmitters to boost the signal to have a wider range."

Ichika listened to his explanation while checking Byakushiki's settings. As Michael had earlier theorised on the way, it seemed that unlike the hijacking incident, the effects were a lot less effective this time round, meaning he could actually force an emergency transformation if needed. But Michael did caution him that his core was still very unstable from the jamming, so he should consider letting the effects fade off before activating it to have a better performance. A forced activation was to be a last resort as it could potentially damage his core permanently.

"For the time being, we have a small advantage, with Miss Beal's battle suit and Ichika's Byakushiki, we can handle the heavier artillery from those machines, and with Mr Douvin's guards and the weapons from those guys, we can handle the soldiers, and of course, we have Miss Orimura." Michael gestured to Chifuyu. "The only thing we need to worry is finding the main jammer so that we can shut it down for the others to use their IS units."

"That should be okay, but I doubt it would be that simple." Annie said that with a frown. "Do you have any ideas?"

"I might have something." Michael pointed at the other Spider Bots visible from the window near them. "I checked this transmitter and found that its range is really short, roughly within a few hundred metres, so if they want to maintain the strength of the signals, they need to space themselves in intervals to get the signals. Also, based on their movements, they need to be strategically placed to maximise the effect."

"Then where do you think they are getting the signals from?" Chifuyu spoke for the first time since they left the room. She merely listened to their dialog for the most part, and talked to the others, but seemed pretty hostile towards Michael since that incident with Ichika. So the fact that she spoke to him was a bit of a surprise.

"Preferably in a central spot." Michael recovered quickly and gave his answer. "And considering the layout, my best guess is the Sky Courtyard at the 50th floor." He motioned with his finger to the extension between the two towers. "That is the best spot for anyone if they want to broadcast a signal and more, since there are some satellite dishes to help with the transmission of the signals."

"Hmm, then that settles it then." Douvin shrugged with a troubled smirk. "We are heading up then."

"And fast." Annie pointed outside a window, where they could see a few more armed soldiers running along the open away, ushering the captured civilians into the building while one of the Spider-Bots took its position at the doorway. "Looks like they are about to hunker down and get ready for a fight."

"This way then." Gibbs led the way down the corridor to the elevator, accompanied by a few of Douvin's guards taking point at different spots to check for enemies. Apart from the broken walls and furniture, they encountered nothing that hindered them.

At least, until they turned the corner and found themselves in front of a security gate.

"Damn!" Gibbs punched the shutters angrily. "We will need to find another route, but that means going in the line of fire with those guys."

"Let me try." Michael took out his kit and made his way to security box next to the gate. He quickly broke the covering and pulled out a few wires from the circuits. "I can try to bypass the security, I just need some help with the cabling behind this drywall."

"Guys, help him out." Douvin directed some of his guards to assist Michael in the security bypass while the others took positions around the corner to watch out for any enemies. Very quickly, two of the guards were able to break the drywall, while the others tugged and pulled at the trunking and cables to bring them out in the open.

"Thanks." Michael brought his cutters and made short work of the protective covering, exposing the wires. Then taking out a pair of metal clamps, he fastened them to the wires and started to fiddle with his controls. "This might take a while but I should be able to get the gates open."

"How long would you need then?" Chifuyu asked as she alternated her eyes between the corridor and Ichika.

"If no one comes knocking, a few seconds." Michael said as he pressed a button and the encryption started to break down.

"BOOOMM!"

The entire area shook violently as the floor of the corridor collapsed suddenly, making everyone standing stumble and fall to the ground. Before anyone else can react, bullets started flying in their general direction.

"Everybody get down!" George bellowed as he drew his firearm and retaliated, with the other guards following suit. That did little help as a robotic leg of the Spider-Bot protrude from the hole in the ground and swung at them, causing the roof to fall on them, all the while enemy fire was still present.

"Into the room!" Jack grabbed Michael by the collar and threw him into the room next to the gate. Ichika tried to buy the others by activating only the Setsura and deploying the shields to stop the rounds, before jumping back to avoid getting hit by the leg.

"Okay, so how long will it take this time?" Gibbs asked grimly as he grabbed the gun and returned fire a few times.

"The circuit is fried! One of the bullets hit the circuits!" Michael took a broken piece of steel and started breaking the drywall. "Good thing the drywalls here are quite thin, so I can grab the other set of cables to rewire them, but I really need to concentrate!"

"Well, if you don't mind me saying!" Douvin ducked as pieces of the ceiling rained all over them. "We are really running out of time!"

"Sir, I don't mean to discourage you all, but we are running out of ammunition!" One of the guards said as he scrambled into the room to avoid enemy fire. "This group has a bigger arsenal than the earlier ones, and got more body armour on them! We are taking too much fire on our side!"

"Damn!" Ichika cursed as he considered their situation. Looks like he would need to do an emergency activation after all…

"Don't do that yet!" His thoughts got interrupted by Michael who was now cutting different wires and criss-crossing them quickly. "I know what you are thinking, but you need to hold that off till later when we are dealing with the main controls!"

"But if I don't do something…" Ichika started to protest before he got derailed by Michael.

"Maybe so, but right now you are the ace in the hole against those guys! They still think that the IS units are down, so while their guard is down, you are the only one who can take them out!" Michael said urgently. "So hang on! I'm getting us out soon!"

"Okay, so how long do you need?" Jack asked with an almost emotionless tone. In an unusual sense, he was the only one who seemed peculiarly calm in this situation, to the point of being almost like a machine, as he sat on the floor next to Michael.

"I need at least 2 minutes to hotwire the circuits!" Michael fiddled with the wires while kneeling down to avoid the rubble from hitting his head.

"I see." Jack peeked outside and looked back at Michael, before clutching his case tightly. "You'll have 10 minutes." With that, he stood up and made his way outside to the enemy.

"Wait, are you crazy?!" Catherine gaped at him. "Those guys are packing more heat than the earlier ones, and unlike the others, they will not hesitate to kill you!"

"Good, so then I do not have to hold back myself." Jack replied back coolly as he undid his tie while walking. Catherine turned an incredulous expression towards Michael who was still fiddling with the security gate. "Why aren't you saying something?!"

"Jack, do you truly want to do this?" Michael asked as he cut two wires and connected them to his device. "No worries, Mr Craig." Jack said without stopping his pace. "I see, then here's my order to you." Michael paused for a second as he faced Jack with a serious expression. "You are to defeat them and come back alive. You have a family, so don't get killed. Understand, Jack Raiden?"

At that moment, Jack stopped while turning his head slightly to direct his eyes at him. For a while they looked at each other, ignoring the stares and chaos around them. Then with a chuckle and a confident smirk, Jack made his way out of the room while replying back to him.

"Yes, my Lord."

---

Stanley was known for many things, but words like 'afraid' and 'fear' were not something associated with him at all since he took part in the operations for his group. He took on military troops at Afghanistan, taken down US Navy ships, and at one point, nearly blew up the Embassy of Ukraine for their favouritism for women after the IS was introduced to the world.

Yes, the word 'fear' was never truly connected to him at all, yet that was something he felt towards the man who walked out of the room and looked at them coolly.

Maybe it was the manner he walked, being unusually calm in his strides as he came out of the wrecked room. Maybe it was his attitude, that silent but prominent flow of confidence exuding from him as he told the guards attacking them to go back into the room and leave the attacks to him.

No, those were not the reasons.

The real reason had to be the man's eyes, those cold eyes that were staring right back at him with a mixture of boredom and loathing, like he was reluctant to get involved with this fight in the first place.

"Before we get started." The white-haired man spoke as he faced them while clutching the silver case in his right hand while his left was inside his pocket. "Does anyone wish to get out of here?"

In response, Stanley and his fellow comrades directed their guns right at him, with the Spider Bot aiming its Gatling gun at him.

"… Okay then." The man took his hand out of the pocket holding onto a small circular device with a small crystal in the centre. "Let's get started then." He quickly threw the device to the ground just as Stanley and the others opened fire on him. Their shots never reached him as the crystal glowed brightly before a beam of light shot upwards and expanded, creating a wall of light that blocked their shots in the air.

'Damn, a force-field!' Stanley cursed his luck as he stopped to reload his rifle, only to pause and looked at the man who raised his case in front of him and pressed a button at the handle. The bottom of the case split open in the center, releasing a katana encased in its metallic scabbard that hovered a short way from the opening while being covered in static electricity. Without hesitation, the man grabbed the blade with his left, ignoring the electricity that started arcing around his arm. He threw the case to the side and grabbed the handle, slowly drawing out the sharp blade from its scabbard. Then with a swing that defied the laws of physics, he quickly slashed at the columns that supported the area, causing the hole to be covered up behind him and leaving him alone with them.

"Right." The man drawled as he held the blade with both hands. "Let's get this over with." And with that, a visor slide into place from behind, covering his left eye and give out a red glow.

---

"Are you sure he can handle them?" Ichika asked as he held up the wires that Michael asked him to take as he continue to fiddle with the security device.

"He can." Michael replied back sounding a little muffled due to him biting on a pair of tweezers as he used his hand to twist a couple of wires together. "Out of the whole security detail, he is one of three who has been with me the longest, so I know his strengths. Once he has seen what the enemy can do, he always sets his sights in destroying them."

"How can you be sure?" Catherine asked she helped him to plug in the chip that he modified into the circuits.

"He set a time limit for himself." Michael said as he took the pliers out of his mouth and used it to fit the last cable into place. "When he says 10 minutes, he means it."

Ichika wanted to say more, but contented himself with nodding his head. It was clear that Michael was placing a lot of faith in Jack's abilities despite his own personal doubts, they must have gone through this type of situations before to be this confident about him.

"Hopefully this works." Michael jammed the connecting wire into the circuit and pressed a button on his device. With a loud beep, the three red lights changed to green and the shutters went up.

"All right! Everyone get through quickly!" Michael urged them to go as he plugged out the wires and jabbed a piece of broken concrete into the circuit, short-circuiting the breaker, giving him barely enough time to scramble before the gates slammed shut.

"It won't hold them back for long." Michael said as he got to his feet. "Where's the elevator?"

"This way." Gibbs quickly made his way to the next corner and proceed to the elevator door that was a few feet away. Pressing the button to get the elevator down, he turned to the others. "For now we are fine, but we are really down on ammo. We have got to use this sparingly."

"Well if it is of any consolation, Michael is spot on with his guess about the location." Douvin peered out of the window. "I can see a whole of group of those armed fellows and at least 5 of those Spider Bots from where I am."

Ichika went to the window and looked to where the Sky Courtyard was supposed to be. The crown jewel of the Twin Towers, this was the construction built between the towers that served as an open courtyard and a bridge linking the two. With the intention to promote eco-sustainable energy, the framework were lined with solar panels covering the circumference of the structure, allowing them to get the sun's energy at all angles at any time apart from the rain clouds that obstruct it. Also, the heat from the towers' generators were recycled into electricity for the courtyard's use. With the glass panelling at the top, it boasts great views of the Tokyo skyline and the ocean front.

It was through the glass that Ichika could barely see some of the soldiers standing guard fully equipped with heavy artillery and body armour. Some of them were seen carrying around black boxes to one area that was out of his line of sight. Near them were at least two Spider Bots stationed at both ends of the courtyard, ensuring non intruders try to get past them.

"The lift is here. Let's get in." Gibbs said as the bell chimed and the doors opened. Quickly everyone squeezed into the elevator and Annie who was closest to the door pressed the button to go up.

"Oh, before I forget…" Michael turned to Ichika and handed him something. "This might be useful to you."

Ichika took the contraption that Michael handed to him with a look of confusion. And rightfully so; the device looked to be a jumbled cross of the two devices that Michael extracted from the Spider Bot earlier, with parts and wires sticking out in crudely made holes and the antenna sticking at an astute angle.

"What is it?" Ichika asked as he noted the only LED at the top and a single push-button.

"Well, if this works as intended…" Michael paused for a moment. "You could say that this is an [Overload Disruptor]."

"Overload Disruptor?" Annie frowned as she studied the device carefully. "Does that mean…"

"Yup, this is intended to cancel out the effects of [Corruption Overload], restoring the full capabilities and functionality to an IS unit, and to keep it operational under the influence." Michael explained as he noted the floors the elevator had passed. "This should ensure your fight remains uninhibited."

"Should?" Chifuyu echoed that word with a tone of distrust.

"Well, as you can imagine, I more or less made this thing out of a box of scraps and no proper equipment, so I could only made it functional for a short while." Michael explained carefully. "But I have proven that it works. Case in point." He turned to Ichika while pointing "Mind checking your power settings?"

"Err, sure?" Ichika fiddled with his controls before pausing in disbelief. "Wait a minute, I don't recall the bandwidth to be this high? And the damage is even lower than earlier!"

"That was because I was able to activate the device for a short while during that earlier skirmish. It managed to increase your bond with Byakushiki, thus overriding the effects of the Disruption Wave."

Douvin let out a whistle in amazement. "Nice, that is a pretty good device you made there." Unfortunately, that was not shared with Chifuyu who was actively glaring at him. "So you tried to activate an untested disruptor by using Ichika as a guinea pig? That could have gotten him shot!"

Michael's response was a blank expression as he answered flatly with a hint of annoyance. "Well geez, let's see. I had to work with subpar materials, in conditions which were extremely unfavourable, and I did not have the time and luxury to properly test this equipment with willing test subjects, and not to mention we were getting our asses shot. So sorry~~ if you have something else to complain about, we can talk about this after we get out of this. So pardon my language, Miss Brunhilde, but can you just shut the FUCK up for at least one minute so I can explain to him how to properly use this device without getting him killed?!"

The situation suddenly got extremely tense with the two of them now actively glaring at each other, looking like they want nothing more than to tear each other's throats. Ichika alternated his gaze between the two worryingly, wondering how to stop them from arguing. He was a little miffed that Michael was rude to Chifuyu, but he also understood that Chifuyu was being extremely biased towards Michael due to their earlier interactions. But could they not do this some other time?!

Evidently someone else thought that as well.

"SMACK!" "SMACK!"

"OUII!" Michael grimaced as he grabbed the spot where he got hit hard. Chifuyu also let out a quick curse as she rubbed her head lightly and turned to Gibbs who was looking at the two of them with a very angry expression.

"I do not care about the two of you wanting to kill each other, or whatever grudge match you want." Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "But right now we have important things to worry about, so lay off. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

Michael nodded quickly with a somewhat shamed and sheepish expression on his face, as though he was regretting losing his temper so easily. Chifuyu however continued to glare at Gibbs, who only responded with his own glare, not giving in an inch to her. Eventually, she let out a frustrated sigh and directed her attention towards the elevator doors without looking at the two of them.

Thankfully, the light chime of a bell signalled the arrival of their destination and the end to their current situation.

Even if it was temporary.

They exited the elevator quickly and made their way down the corridor heading to the Sky Courtyard. Along the way, Gibbs turned to Michael who still had a slightly sheepish expression on his face. "So what was it you wanted to warn the boy about the device?"

"Hmm?" Michael started as he tried to process Gibb's question. "Oh right, that." Turning to Ichika, he dropped his initial expression and replaced with a serious one. "There are some things you should know about this device Ichika, so you need to remember these."

"Firstly, the range on this device is extremely short, even if compared to the Disruption Device. Its range is roughly a couple of hundred metres, so you need to keep it on you at all times. Secondly, see these battery packs?" Michael pointed to the part that was haphazardly screwed and taped crudely to the side of the contraption. "I tried to put in as many of the batteries as I could crap to this thing, but apparently [Corruption Overload] relied on a mini kinetic reactor that was too big for this. So in theory it can last for twenty to thirty minutes, but considering this is just a prototype of sorts, best to think of its effectiveness lasting half the time."

"Okay." Ichika nodded grimly as he took in the information. "Anything else?"

"Yes, and this is possibly the most important point to make." Michael said sternly. "It is a one-time activation only."

"One time?" Ichika echoed those words.

"The one thing I could not fix was the timer that was attached to the disruptor, but I needed the conducting material to create a stable loop for the device to work properly. As a result, the device cannot be shut off the usual manner." Michael pointed to the button and LED. "In other words, the moment you pressed this button, the timer starts and it cannot be stopped. You have to finish whatever you need to do before the batteries get burned out. This LED will blink red to inform you that the disruptor is running out of power, so plan your attacks carefully."

Ichika nodded as he looked at the device seriously. This was 'Go Time!' as his buddy Dan would phrase it: Houki and the others were not here, many of the pilots was currently under siege from the Spider Bots, and the representatives were taken hostage. He really was on his own in this odd sense.

Perhaps it was because they were listening to Michael's explanation that everyone else failed to see where they were going and ended up in plain sight of a group of soldiers who were patrolling the area.

"Stop, stay where you are!" The soldiers directed the guns at them with deadly intent. The others' response was to take cover and open fire on them.

"Well, that escalated quickly." Catherine snarked as she activated her armour and proceeded to fire a few rounds at them.

"Well, what can I say? We are a very popular bunch of people." Douvin replied back in a deadpan manner. Michael did not comment on any of these as he turned to Ichika. "Get going, we'll handle this!"

"But you guys need help!" Ichika bellowed over the sounds of gunfire.

"The only way to get out of this safely is if we destroy the jamming signal! That way everyone can use their Stratos units!" Michael was about to say more when he stopped and paled at the same time. Before Ichika could react, Michael suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him across the corridor.

"Wait, what the hell you are doing to him?!" Chifuyu yelled at him after seeing what he did. Her question got an answer soon after in a very violent manner.

"BOOM!"

Ichika winced as a loud explosion rocked the corridor and sent the roof crumbling down on them. After staying still for a second, he opened his eyes slowly to find a huge pile of rubble separating him from the others.

"Chifuyu-nee!" Ichika scrambled to his feet and ran to the pile of rubble, hoping to find some way to dislodge the rubble. "Chifuyu-nee, are you alright?"

"Cough! We are fine!" Chifuyu's gruff voice came through the rubble muffled. "But we are separated by that blast."

"Thank goodness." Ichika let out a sigh of relief before pausing. "Michael-san, are you there?" He asked with panic in his tone, and for good reason. Michael was in the same area as he was when the explosion took place, and he barely had time to push him out of the way in time.

"Down here!" Ichika turned his head to a small opening in the ground where he thought he heard the voice. Going to it, he let out another relieved sigh as he watched Michael get up gingerly off the ground. "Michael-san, are you all right?"

"Apart from a few physical bruises and a bruised ego, I will live." Michael replied as he steadied himself on the wall. He winced as he tried to straighten his back. "Man, I'm going to be feeling sore in the morning." He grumbled in his American tonguw as he placed himself against the wall.

"What happened?"

"RPG, that's what happened." Michael replied back. "One of those soldiers got a little too eager at attacking us, thus the current situation. On the bright side, the explosion separates us from them. Bad news, we are all in different spots. As far as I can tell, I'm the only one who went down a level. You're on your own for this round Ichika."

"Don't worry about us kid." Douvin's muffled voice echoed from the other side of the rubble. "Just go and kick their asses for us. We should be able to hold them off."

"Are you sure?" Ichika asked on reflex.

"No time to talk, here comes reinforcements!" Michael hissed as the familiar sounds of the Spider Bots came roaring through their area. "As we said earlier, the only way we can get through this alive is you taking out the main jamming unit, so just go!"

Ichika could only stare at him with a torn expression. He understood the risks involved, but he could not leave them behind. Chifuyu aside, he was not sure about the CEOs being able to hold them off for long and be kept alive afterwards. After what seemed like a lifetime, he snarled and punched the ground.

"You better stay alive, got that!" Ichika yelled at him as he stood up.

"I will try my hardest then." Michael flashed a smile before looking down his end of the corridor. He started to wave his arms while yelling, "Hey! You guys looking for me?! Come and get some!" before turning around and started hightailing to the other end of the corridor. Ichika made his way to the elevator while hearing the sounds of stomping feet and mechanical legs coming after Michael.

Michael had a point in the end. He was the only one who could stop this craziness in the end.

---

[Master, can you hear me?]

"Cough! Yeah, I can hear you. I barely managed to take down a few of those soldiers on my side, but the Spider Bots are becoming a pain in the ass."

[Yes, the situation is now at Priority 1 Status. Shall we proceed with the execution?]

"Let's do this thing."

[Understood. All units at Towers, Master has given green light. Proceed with mission.]

[M30: Understood. Switching to combat mode. Bow-Rider commencing mission to shoot down the enemy.]

[M24: Affirmative. Impersonator commencing secondary mission to terminate the enemies within.]

[M12: Acknowledged. Dual going in to supress the enemy.]

[M17: Jetstream coming in hot.]

"What."

[M30: Did.]

[M24: You.]

[M12: Say.]

[M17: I will be coming along to crash the party. ETA 5 minutes.]

"…"

[Would you care for more painkillers, or perhaps something a lot stronger?]

"… A glass of gin, with two shots of vodka, and a few drops of ale."

[Understood. One drink being prepared for your cure of headaches.]

---

===== Author's Notes =====

And that's the end of this chapter.

Honestly, after reading a few of the comments and watching some Iron Man clips, I have quite a few ideas in my head that I needed to write them out and sort them carefully to get a general direction for the story. This was quite a long one to say the least.

Jetstream coming to crash the party, that's going to be a headache for some XD.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I will try to upload another soon!