Aye! Here's another one for all you lovely people. Hope you enjoy!

A/N: This chapter I will be writing characters' thoughts without the quotes just to see how it turns out. Please keep this in mind when reading this chapter :)

"Talking"

Thoughts

Decisions

"So, it's come to my attention that A; you turn over his son to us, and we let poor Hugh go B; his son comes to us willingly and we let his father go, or C; we come to the Academy and take him by force and the father dies," The mercenary blew some smoke before continuing, "Option B is the most favourable for both parties, so I suggest that Scott comes over to us willingly. I will not be revealing my location, so you need to find us before the law enforcement does; otherwise your father is going die. If you bring anyone else with you; your father will die. If the Academy teachers interfere; your father will die. And last but not least, if you do not come; your father will die. You have two days, if you do not arrive after those two days are up, you can kiss your father goodbye... Oh, and one last thing; the longer I have to wait, the more I brutally torture your father until he dies." After that last statement the mercenary put out his cigarette butt by placing it on Hughs hand, earning a weak, painful moan. He then grabbed his combat knife, raised it in the air and brought it down, chopping one of Hughs fingers off causing him to scream in pain before the broadcast was cut off.

Scott stood still looking at where the broadcast used to be. He was filled with terror and rage. Seeing his father so broken and beat up angered him, and it was clearly visible in his eyes. He looked like he was ready to kill the man he just saw on the broadcast. "You have the coordinates of their location?" Scott asked Phoenix.

"Yes. They're based in the U.S. From the satellite view it looks like they're in an abandoned warhouse just outside of a big city," the A.I explained.

"Good," Scott said before he turned to leave.

As he started to head for the exit of the school building, Cecilia grabbed his arm to stop him. "You're not planning to go alone are you?"

"I'd say going alone is my only option, but it's not. I'd like some help from my friends and maybe Chifuyu, but knowing her; she will keep us under lock and key, especially me for the time being," Scott explained.

Just as he removed Cecilia's hand from his arm a screen popped up in front of him. It was Chifuyu, "Stalker, there's something you need to see. Come down to the control room on the-" she stopped midsentence when she looked at Scott's expression.

"You've seen the broadcast that was just shown haven't you?" She inquired with knowing eyes. In response Scott gave a nod.

The Brunhilde sighed as she put a hand on her forehead, "Alright, how did you hack into the school system and how long ago?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Scott replied as he started walking again, Cecilia following close behind him.

"If you're planning on going to save your father alone, don't. We don't know if there's more than just one. So we need time to think of a plan, so I forbid you from leaving the Academy grounds until then," Chifuyu explained in a serious tone.

Scott grit his teeth in annoyance and anger, "So you want me to sit back on this again?" He asked in an angry tone.

"I'm not saying you need to sit back. We just need a plan before going out to save your father. Now, come down to the control room so we can all talk. I already told the others to come," Chifuyu replied before cutting the comm.

The boy clenched his fist as he turned around and walked past Cecilia, who stopped in her tracks when she saw his expression.

In the control room, all the students with personal IS' were sitting in a circle as they looked forward at the big holograhic screen currently replaying the broadcast played earlier.

"Now, that was broadcast thirty minutes ago to the entire Academy as a clear threat to hand over Scott to them," Chifuyu said after the replay finished. Most of the girls had their mouths covered in horror and couldn't look at the screen. Chifuyu had a stern look, while Yamada had a worried look as Ichika and Scott both had angry expressions.

"Um, Miss Orimura, how come we weren't able to see the broadcast throughout the halls then?" Charlottle inquired after regaining her composure.

"That's because I had Miss Yamada block the broadcast completely from all the open school servers and redirect it to the private ones," Chifuyu explained. "It was a personal message to threaten their target," she said as she looked toward Scott, who was having a hard time being patient as he tapped his fingers against his leg while in the seiza position.

"Why would they want Scott?" Ichika asked the question everyone in the room had on their minds.

Chifuyu looked towards her little brother, thinking of something to say, "Scott's father... must have something they want, but is refusing to tell them where it is. Thus, they want Scott now, believing that he'll know."

Scott scoffed, "Like I'd ever know. My father was just a scientist, he never told me about any of his work."

"Maybe it was for good reasons," Chifuyu suggested to Scott.

"So, do we have a plan of action to save Scott's father?" Houki inquired.

"As of right now, no. Miss Yamada is currently trying to find the origin of the broadcast as we speak," the Brunhilde answered.

Scott cleared his throat as he put his hand up before speaking, "Phoenix has already found out where the mercenary is hiding," he said before bringing up a hologram in the middle of the room. "They're in an abandoned warehouse in the U.S."

After Scott brought the hologram up, the big screen behind Miss Orimura had a voice comm appear on it, "I managed to find their location before the broadcast was cut off, but without me being there I can only show the building from a satellite's view. I'd need to get closer in person with Scott, so I'd able to scan the whole building to give a reading of how many people are inside," Phoenix explained.

"Ah, Phoenix. It's been awhile," Miss Orimura said without turning around, "You must've been the one who's been watching the school servers."

"Ahem, moving on from that. I do suggest that Scott and I tag along in this rescue mission, despite Scott's personal feelings. I will be of use to the team by scanning the building, giving us all the information we need," Phoenix suggested, deliberately avoiding Chifuyu's correct assumption.

"You're correct. You would definitely help increase the success of the mission, but with Scott having personal feelings with this mission, seeing as rescuing his father is the objective, I'd have to refuse. His emotions could get in the way and jeopardize the mission. Seeing as this is a real threat, one minstake could get any of the students I send over killed," As Chifuyu said that Scott grit his teeth in annoyance.

"Well, I tried," Phoenix said to Scott through his earpiece after disconnecting his open voice comm.

It was worth a shot...

"Excuse me Miss Orimura, but could you blame Scott for wanting to be a part of this mission? It is his father. If I were him, I'd want the same thing," Cecilia questioned. "Not to mention, whoever is going with him can keep him under control," she suggested.

"That's a valid suggestion, but before we get to that, let's go over who'll be assigned the mission."

Miss Orimura zoomed in on the hologram that Phoenix created from the satellite. The building was a small industrial warehouse about fifteen meters tall, fifty meters wide, and eighty meters long. There was a big door in the front to allow a forklift carry any cargo into the building, and a small backdoor. There were big, broken, dusty pane windows all along the top half of the warehouse. On the roof of the warehouse, there was a small broken window pane at the back. Off to the right side was a smaller building, an office of some sort that was also old and broken. That building only had one door and a few broken windows.

Chifuyu examined the building for a while before speaking, "We don't have much to go off. But since the building is fairly small, I'd like Shinonono and Orimura to be the ones to go. You two have melee based IS' which will come in handy for such a small area... When you get there I want you to do a quick look inside to try and find Hugh. We don't know how many people are guarding the place so be careful, and only incapacitate any threats you many come across," she explained.

Houki and Ichika both nodded before Miss Orimura continued, "If you have any questions, now's the time."

Houki raised her hand, "Is Scott tagging along?"

"No, I understand where he's coming from, but it's too dangerous for him to go. Instead, him and Phoenix will help you two from within this room. The mission will commence at the break of dawn. If that's all the questions you have, you may be dismissed," Chifuyu replied.

Her answer didn't sit too well with Scott as he got up and left the room.

Cecilia was about to leave as well when Miss Orimura called her over, "Cecilia, can I speak with you for a moment."

The british girl complied and walked over to her teacher, "Yes?"

"About Scott, I'd like you to keep an eye on him until the mission is completed. And tell me if he tries to do something," Chifuyu ordered.

Cecilia looked at Miss Orimura with a questioning look, "You believe Scott will try to do the mission on his own because you didn't give him permission to go?"

"Precisely. I'm worried he'll rush in alone and get himself killed."

"But if you anticipate that much, then why not just let him go on the mission in the first place?" Cecilia inquired.

"The reason I won't let him go on the mission is because the people who are holding Scott's father want Scott. If I were to send him in with Shinonono and Orimura, he might not only lose control of his emotions but also get captured. Not only that, but from what I saw on the mercenary, he's armed with live rounds for military grade weapons. If Shinonono and Orimura run out of shield energy they could get killed trying to save Hugh and him. Now, I want you to keep an eye on Scott, and if he tries to leave by himself: follow him and report back to me immediately."

Cecilia nodded her head, "Understood. I'll keep an eye on him."

David sighed out of boredom as he spun around in the dusty old chair of the office he was in. He stopped after a while and placed the butterfly knife he was playing with on the broken desk, "Corey, you set up a two mile radius of sensors around the warehouse already?"

The man standing behind David nodded, turning to look at him, "Yes. We'll know when someone is near if the sensors are tripped."

"Good, get your team to set up a defensive perimeter around the warehouse and take turns watching the skies in four hour shifts. Viktor's team needs to rest," David ordered as he got up, leaving the office through a door that lead to the warehouse as Corey gave his team orders through an earpiece.

Inside the warehouse was an 18 wheel semi-truck with a big trailer on the back, and closed crates spread across the first floor. David walked up a staircase to reach the second floor, "Viktor," he called out, a russian man in his late 30's who was adjusting a 9K38 Igla looked up from the table towards David, "You can order your team to come back. Corey's team will be taking over watch duty, in the meantime, let your men rest. Jacob's team is still watching over the inside of the warehouse, so there's no need to worry."

Viktor chuckled loudly, "Good, American men are weak. They've been complaining all day, saying they don't understand why they need to look out for flying robot machines. Russian strong, no complaints about assigned mission," he explained in a heavy russian accent before turning on his earpiece to notify his team, while David rolled his eyes due to the russian's comment.

"Yeah, yeah. Just inspect the rest of our arsenal and make sure all the weapons are clean," David ordered before opening another door that lead to the room Hugh was in. "Jacob, how's our guest doing?"

Another man in his early 30's, who had scars all over his face yawned while sitting in a chair directly in front of Hugh, "Asleep, somehow."

David raised an eyebrow as he came up from behind Hugh and looked at the camera behind Jacob, "You sure he's not dead?"

"No, the old man is still kicking. I thought he was dead at first, but he's just miraculously managed to fall asleep," Jacob explained.

"Well I'm bored, and need some entertainment, so let's wake him up, shall we?" David suggest with a grin.

"By all means, be my guest," Jacob said as he spread boths arms out as a welcoming gesture while standing up from his chair.

David smiled as he complied, slapping Hugh's bruised and bloodied face with the back of his hand gently, "Rise and shine beautiful."

Hugh lifted his head as he groaned in pain, "Now what is it? You already know I'm not going to say anything."

David smiled as he pulled the seat jacob was sitting in earlier up to Hugh and sat down, "Oh, I know that. I'm just here because I'm bored, so I've come to have some fun with you."

Jacob scoffed in amusement, "You're worse than me when it comes to entertainment, boss."

David ignored his subordinates comment, "Now, where do you want to start Hugh? The legs? The eyes? The ears, or mouth? Maybe the arms? Or the hands? Ooo, maybe the fingers again." He rhetorically asked with excitement in his voice.

Hugh looked at David with the one eye that wasn't swollen shut, "How is it you've become so twisted that you enjoy torture so much?"

"It used to my line of work back when I still worked for my government. I did it so much that I eventually started enjoying it," David explained in a calm, yet nonchalant voice. "Now, I guess we can work with your fingers again," he said before breaking one of Hugh's fingers by bending it too far back, creating a snapping noise followed by a cry of pain.

"That sound never gets old. Like music to my ears," David commented, causing Jacob to laugh.

"I'll leave you two alone to have your fun," Jacob said before leaving. He was about close the door when David called out to him, "Jacob, make sure Tyler and Robert's teams return to the warehouse. I have a feeling Hugh's son will be on his way here soon. I'd prefer it if we are fully prepared for when he arrives," he explained. Jacob nodded before shutting the rusty iron door behind him, leaving Hugh and David alone.

"You really think my son is going to come here on his own?" Hugh inquired with his head down, tired from lack of sleep as pain coursed through his entire body.

David gave a small chuckle, "I'd bet my life on it. I don't think any son or daughter in their right mind would leave their parents to die if it meant saving their own. They'd rather save their parents or die with them."

Scott was sitting in the cafeteria alone, eating the lunch he bought when he saw Cecilia walk up to him with her own tray of food.

The blonde sat across from him and started eating, unsure how to start a conversation, considering Scott had an ominous aura.

"So, you must not be happy with her orders, are you?" She inquired the obvious.

"Of course not. He's my father... I finally have the power to save my loved ones, to do something, and I'm being forced to do nothing. How do you think that feels?" He answered in a low, but angry tone.

"It must make you feel helpless," Cecilia replied as she lowered her head, knowing that feeling all too well.

The girl brought her head back up with a faint smile, "I... did my best to convince Miss Orimura to let you go on the rescue mission, but she was adamant about you staying here for your own safety," Cecilia explained.

Scott glanced up at Cecilia before continuing to eat his meal, "No surprise there. She swore to me that it's her job to keep us safe throughout the school year," he said the second half with distaste in his voice.

I feel like I'm a bird locked in a damn cage... He thought

"Are you planning on doing something to occupy yourself until the mission begins?" The british girl asked out of curosity.

"If sleep counts, then yes... But what about you?"

Cecilia was caught off guard and blurted out an answer, as she laughed nervously, hoping he'd believe her lie, "I, uh, was going to do some overnight training."

Scott looked at her carefully before finishing his meal, "Did Miss Orimura give you permission to, considering the arenas are closed after dark?" He casually inquired.

"Oh yes! She told me that it was a one-time thing after I explained to her that I wanted to improve my skills since the Academy has been a target lately," the girl explained after regaining her composure.

"That's wonderful. I hope everything goes well with your training. In the meantime I'll be sleeping until the mission begins," Scott said as he stood up, picking his tray up in the process, "Once it starts I'll be watching the entire operation... Anyways, I'm going to head back to the dorm," the boy said as he looked outside one of the cafeteria windows and saw the sun setting.

Scott returned his tray and left the cafeteria. Cecilia watched him leave as she finished her food, wondering why Chifuyu suspects he'd disobey orders and go off on his own. Sure, he may be a little emotional based off last encounter, but personal feelings aside, Scott seems like he's cool as a cucumber. He's also intelligent and strong, so one would believe he's reasonable and reliable. Not only that, he helped significantly in coordinating his classmates in the fight with the gospel. Judging from that fight alone, he was willing to risk his life to save his classmates, Cecilia's included. The british girl was at a loss as to why she needed to watch over him, he's more than capable of protecting himself. Nonetheless, Cecilia returned her tray of food and left the cafeteria to trail Scott back to his dorm room.

Scott was in his dorm room at his desk that was currently covered in metal used for IS parts. He was busy building gloves with materials he snagged from one of the maintenance rooms on his way to his room. It was night out, so Scott was doing his best to not wake his roommate or anyone else up.

Cecilia was leaning against the wall beside Scott's door to his room, listening in on what he was doing.

"Scott, there's someone watching us," Phoenix warned through his earpiece.

Who is it? Are they a threat?

"No, it's just Cecilia. She's been tailing you since the cafeteria," the A.I explained.

Why would she be spying on me? I never recall her ever worrying before.

"I have a feeling there's more to it than that," Phoenix commented, "She was probably ordered to spy on you."

By Chifuyu, huh? She's been getting in my way a lot lately.

"I don't blame Chifuyu. She seems genuinely worried about you, and therefore takes the necessary precautions to make sure you're safe."

But... she's just my teacher, why would she care so much about my well-being?

"Have you ever thought that she might know your father?" Phoenix inquired. "Now, this is just an assumption, but Chifuyu seems emotionally invested in this case as well. Earlier when she messaged you on the comms to go to the control center, her eye twitched slightly when you accused her of forcing you to do nothing. It's barely noticeable, even for me, but Chifuyu does seem to care about you, and possibly your father," he explained.

Scott finished constructing his gloves and put them on to see if they fit properly, flexing his hands repeatedly. The gloves were made of IS metal, and covered the back of his hands and fingers, leaving his palms exposed so he can properly grasp objects. Soft leather was underneath the metal to protect Scott's hands from any cuts or scratches from the metal. There was also a soft leather strap that wrapped around his wrist along with five smaller straps that wrapped around each finger to keep the glove in place.

So, you're saying that my father and Chifuyu might know each other?

"Yes... you see, lately while you've been asleep I have been looking through your past memories and..."

And?...

"There's a teenage girl in your memories that has a presence much like Chifuyu's. I can't say for sure since your memories of back then are hazy, but I believe that girl was Chifuyu," Phoenix finished.

What does that have to do with her knowing my father?

"Well if my assumption is correct, then your parents maintained Chifuyu's IS after Tabane disappeared from the world."

"Wait what?!" Scott said aloud. He realised he spoke and covered his mouth.

So you're telling me those dreams I've been having are actually memories?!

"Yes."

But that doesn't make sense. I was born and raised in Canada, so my parents maintaining Chifuyu's IS back then is impossible. She's lived in Japan all her life.

"She may have lived in Japan all her life, but can you truly believe that you've lived in Canada all your life? Say you're parents moved to Japan shortly after you were born, you wouldn't remember, would you?" Phoenix asked. "Not to mention your mother's tragedy. If that happened here in Japan while you were eleven, normally you'd remember where it happened, unless the pain and sorrow was too much for you that you repressed those details, and/or memories."

"Now, I can't say for sure but I do believe you've lived in Japan for a portion of your life. If I were able to access your memories from your mother's death I could comfirm it, but you've actually subconsciously repressed most of them. If you have lived in Japan for most of your life, it would explain why you're so fluent in Japanese," Phoenix continued, "Tell me something. How do you know Japanese?"

Scott furrowed his brows, My father taught me how to, but I don't remember why he did.

"See, doesn't that frustrate you? Why would your father teach you to speak Japanese if you've lived in Canada all your life. It just doesn't make sense to me."

Scott put his hands to his head in frustration, Quit it! You're forgetting what our current objective is. We can talk about this later. Now let's finish the work in front of us and head out.

"What about your friend Cecilia?" Phoenix inquired.

Scott sighed, We can deal with her later if she ends up following us.

Scott brought his hands up so they were in front of his face before a light appeared and the gloves vanished. Shortly after, the light appeared again and the gloves were back. This time though, they felt like they were like a second skin to Scott as they stuck to him, now that they were a part of his quantum shift.

"I find it intriguing that you've managed to create a separate quantum shift just for those," Phoenix commented.

Intriguing as it may be, it was a lot more difficult than I thought. This was all I could manage to have in the spare one I created. It's more like an extra weapon space for my IS, except it's the size for a human, not a machine.

"Well then, shall we get going?" Phoenix inquired as Scott looked over his shoulder to see Ichika still sleeping.

Yes. We don't have much time before the official mission begins, so let's get a nice headstart.

It's been nearly an hour since Cecilia had heard any movements within Scott's dorm room. She thought he went to sleep, but something about the eerie quietness gave her a bad feeling, so Cecilia quietly opened the door to check on Scott.

When she entered the room she noticed that he was no longer at the desk. She walked further in to see if he was sleeping in his bed, but didn't find anyone but Ichika. Cecilia checked the bathroom and didn't find anybody in it. When she came out and looked back into the room, she noticed the window beside Scott's bed was open and the curtains were blowing ever so slightly from the breeze outside.

Cecilia sighed in defeat as she felt the small breeze from outside, I guess I was wrong about the boy after all.

Hello, and welcome back! I think it's starting to get juicy here. But that's just me.

Stratos263 - *chuckles* you have no idea what I have in store for you my kind sir.

PearlTapioca - Scott has his own plans as you just saw. At the beginning of the chapter though, you did see him say that he'd rather fight this fight with his friends, but Chifuyu won't allow him.

TalonAlpha3 - You are correct. I believe if Scott were to actually 2v1 Houki and Cecilia, he'd win only by luck, seeing as both of his opponent are strong in their own right. Petty fights and near death situations aside, the party did go well. David, the mercenary, is just so fun to write, and there'll be more of him.

Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov - Trust me when I say "I don't mind late reviews." Any and all reviews are nice bits of motivation to keep going, no matter when I receive them. And I myself, as most of you know, review late. And yes, there will be a harem. Right now in these latest chapters I'm slowly setting up the first heroine (hm, I wonder who that could be?) Sorry if that sounded sarcastic, it was meant to be funny. I'll definitely return the favour next week if not this weekend.

CrimsonTheKing - His emotions is going to be a big part of the overall story. Currently though, Scott is outshining Ichika, which is okay in my opinion. But for those of you who don't like it when an OC outshines the original main character, fear not, I will be delving into Ichika's story later on. From there the two can share the pedestal. Also, if you haven't noticed already I love writing cliffhangers just as much I like reading them.

That is all for now. Fav, follow, review if you wish. Peace!