A/N: My apologies for the delay. I could give an excuse about how I spent long hours editing this until it was perfect, but in reality, War Thunder's Update 1.43 came out and I have been playing a lot of it lately. To those of you readers affected by this delay, I would like to tell you that I'm sorry. In return, this chapter is a bit longer than usual, and contains much plot! Ohyes, very much plot indeed!
Now that that's been said, I would like to say that all I know about radio communication prowords comes from Wikipedia, so if anyone more qualified than me spots a mistake, please alert me so that I can correct it. Also, this chapter refers to Agent Orimura: The Declassified Files (TDF) on multiple occasions. If you are confused by any acronyms or weapon designations that have not been mentioned in the fic proper, they should be defined in TDF.
Chapter 14
"Well, well, well... Looks like they're right on time!" A certain doctor exclaimed, her mechanical bunny-ears twitching as she did so.
"Are you sure this is the right course of action, Tabane-sama?" A second voice, this one younger, yet somehow sounding much older than the childish doctor's own.
"Right or not, it's too late to worry about it! Beam me up, Ku-chan!" Tabane replied.
"I am afraid, Tabane-sama, that true teleportation is still out of our grasp." Ku-chan, also known as Chloe Chronicle, replied, bemused.
"Aww..." Tabane pouted for a moment, but then perked up.
"Oh well! At least this means I get a front-row seat to the action!" The doctor cheered.
"Are you not at all concerned as to the outcome of this event?" Chloe asked.
"Of course not! Even after factoring some recently discovered variables, there is no way that this battle could end unfavorably for us! After all, Chi-chan will never lose!" Tabane replied.
"I see... So your calculations are based on faith?" Chloe asked as several silver pods exploded out of the ocean, arcing over the water on their path to shore. Tabane laughed in response.
"Faith has never been a factor when it comes to things like this." Tabane replied as she watched the eight Phantom Task IS suits approach the shore.
"Really? Then what will happen if Chifuyu loses?"
"Then Ikkun will come to rescue her! After all, in the event of her loss, she will be taken alive." As she spoke, Tabane's enhanced eyes zoomed in on the lead IS. It was painted a deep midnight blue, with silver embossing all over its wings and a long, black katana gripped in its right hand. In its left, it gripped a ranged weapon of some sort, likely plasma-based, judging from the design of the barrel. Its pilot was encased in an ornate suit of pilot armor, which covered much of her body but left her head and joints exposed. To most, it would have been considered beautiful, an excellent fusion of art and weapon. However, to Tabane...
"Hmm... I'm glad that one of my children isn't in that thing. That woman's sense of style is sooo outdated." Tabane commented as she inspected the other IS suits in the formation. Unlike their leader, these were all painted grey with a single red stripe running down through their pilot section. Where their leader's suit was sleek, predatory and elegant, these were hulking, boxy creations. In that manner at least, they bore a passing resemblance to the Infinite Arsenal.
"How do you know that?" Chloe asked, her voice still calm and dispassionate.
"It's one of the advantages of holding all the cards, Ku-chan!" Tabane replied as she sat back, content to watch the action take place.
The fear in Chifuyu's eyes lasted for barely a moment before it was replaced by grim determination.
"Maya, Shizune, once those pods land, I want you two to strafe the beaches." Chifuyu ordered as said pods arced down towards the beach, slamming hard into the sand moments later. With blood-curdling howls and shrieks, twisted monsters began to emerge from their transports, only for a hail of fire to meet them from above. Within moments, the beach was still again, rivulets of scarlet blood staining the white sand as it leaked out of the broken bodies of Dr. Meusel's monsters.
"All targets on the ground eliminated. We're rejoining you now." Maya reported as she ascended away from the bloody beach, Shizune Ayako, the assistant instructor of Class 1-2 following behind her. Down below, one of the many bodies that littered the beach blinked, before slowly crawling out from under its dead kin. No shrieking came from the mouth of Number 109 as it began to slowly, stealthily, make its way across the bloody sand, one eye glued to the sky in case the machines that had slaughtered its brethren chose that moment to return.
As luck would have it, no more fire raked the beach, and Number 109 soon made its way to the water, at which point it dove under, switching to its gills for breathing as it continued to crawl to safety, now hidden from the IS suits up above by the ocean waters.
Up above the lone survivor of the monster pack, the eight Phantom Task IS suits had just closed into firing range, and the first bolts of plasma were already speeding towards the Academy pilots, who avoided the long range shots, waiting all the while for the enemy to enter their own effective firing range. All too soon the distance was closed, with five of the enemy IS units choosing to close the distance, while the remaining three stayed back, blazing away with their own armaments and filling the air with a hail of plasma, railgun slugs and homing missiles.
"Form pairs! Do not engage the enemy alone!" Chifuyu ordered, seconds before Shizune was hit one too many times, her IS suit's shields flickering and failing, while a second plasma shot slammed into her Revive's right thruster, sending her spiraling to the ground.
"Damn..." Maya cursed as she linked up with Class 1-2's sole remaining instructor, Mizuki Akagi. Already the five remaining IS suits were nearly upon them, and Maya no longer needed her hyper-sensor to know that they were Golems rather than piloted IS suits.
"We'll target the one on the far right!" Maya pointed, and her partner nodded, drawing her Uchigane's sword in anticipation of combat. A black streak caused Maya to look away for a moment, and her eyes widened as she watched Chifuyu break formation, her own Uchigane on a direct intercept course with the enemy leader.
"Orimura-sensei? What are you doing?" Maya heard one of her fellow instructors cry out. There was no response.
"Damn it, looks like it's up to us to save her. Let's go!" Maya ordered, breaking formation and accelerating towards her designated target, her partner close behind her.
"Divide and conquer! Isolate your enemy and then destroy them!" One of the instructors behind her, likely Class 1-4's teacher, ordered as she too broke formation, but rather than head for the main enemy force, the two instructors of Class 1-4 climbed away from the fight.
"Here we go." Maya's partner said simply as she prepared to strike her target, only to peel away seconds later, just barely dodging the bright blue plume of plasma ejected from one of the Golem's arm mounted cannons.
"What the hell?" One of the other pilots called out, panic in her voice, but Maya didn't have time to worry about what was going on behind her, her focus being entirely on the plasma flamethrower equipped IS that was now engaged in a fierce duel with her own wingmate.
Dodging out of the way of a grey fist covered in crackling blue energy, courtesy of another Golem, Maya poured burst after burst of lead into the flamethrower Golem down below her.
"Maya! Behind you!" Mizuki's warning was the only thing that saved her from a plume of bright blue plasma from the second Golem that, even as he dodged, prepared for another swipe with its energy encased fist, four long blades now extended from its wrist, each one humming inaudibly as it vibrated.
"Mizuki! Switch!" Maya replied, falling under her opponent's fist while her partner rose up from below, landing a strike on the hostile IS suit's legs as Maya engaged the flamethrower IS below her, the red striped Golem turning to face her, both flamethrowers already spitting blue death at her. Flipping over the superheated stream, Maya fired a grenade, the projectile quickly being caught and detonated in a jet of fire. However, with one flamethrower diverted, Maya took the opportunity to fire a long burst from her rifle, the bullets all meeting their mark.
Maya had no time to revel in her small victory, however, as barely a second later another blast of blue fire nearly fried her, passing through where she had been mere moments before. All around her, the fight raged on, four Golems engaged in a furious melee against her fellow Instructors, while Chifuyu dueled the enemy leader up above. As the melee raged, the three Golems that had not charged with the rest were having problems of their own, as Class 1-4's instructors dove in on them, tying them up for the moment and preventing them from supporting their own allies.
Down below, on the already bloody beach, Shizune Ayako's IS burned.
As Maya and Mizuki fought a desperate battle against two Phantom Task Golems, Chifuyu had her own opponent to fight. Striking again and again, Chifuyu desperately tried to land a blow on the deep blue IS that danced around her with contemptuous ease.
"You have gotten soft since we last met, Chifuyu!" Reikou taunted as she parried the blows, her matte black Katana leaving a deep mark in Chifuyu's own mass produced blade whenever the two blades met. Chifuyu refused to dignify the woman with a response, and instead redoubled her efforts to get through her opponent's guard.
"How the mighty have fallen! You, who once laid me low with a single blow, now cannot even touch me! If I didn't see the potential you still had within you, I would be ashamed to call you my daughter." That certainly got a reaction from the younger Orimura.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance!" Chifuyu snarled back, quickly drawing and firing a pair of shots from her Uchigane's secondary pistol. Both shots hid a hexagonal shield that suddenly erupted from her opponent's arm, doing no damage.
"If you want me dead then fight! Or have you gotten so weak that you cannot even scratch your senile old mother?" Reikou taunted, blocking the next flurry of strikes.
"You lost the right to call yourself my mother the moment you tried to kill my infant brother!" Chifuyu raged, trying in vain to get through her opponent's guard. At the mention of Ichika, Reikou's mouth tightened, the smile that had been present on her face moments before vanishing in an instant. Chifuyu barely managed to block the incoming strike, the black blade biting deep into her own.
"You disappoint me, Orimura Chifuyu. I will have to discipline you once you return to the fold." Reikou replied, her voice ice cold. In response, Chifuyu laughed.
"Return? You honestly expect me to return?" Chifuyu laughed.
"Not at first, but I do expect that you will eventually see the light." Reikou replied. Chifuyu only laughed harder.
"Over my dead body." At that, Reikou sighed.
"I was hoping that resorting to such... Crude methods would be unnecessary, but apparently it is required." Removing one hand from her Katana, which was still locked with Chifuyu's own weapon, Reikou slowly drew the plasma carbine from where it resided on her hip. Then, she slowly pointed it downward. As blue light began to coalesce at the tip of its barrel, Chifuyu realized what her mother was planning. Swinging her blade down, she barely caught the plasma shot on the Katana's tip, melting and deforming the end of the blade. However, though it ruined her weapon, the move served its purpose, absorbing and dissipating the shot before it could slam into the defenseless buses below, where the few remaining Academy staff were desperately trying to prepare the students for evacuation.
"That was low, even for someone like you!" Chifuyu accused, assuming a position between her mother and the defenseless students below.
"Never sacrifice the height advantage in a fight!" Reikou scolded as she continued to fire, the plasma carbine's barrel glowing red as she attempted to hit her target. However, Chifuyu kept herself in the line of fire, deflecting what rounds she could with her sword, and absorbing the shots she couldn't with her IS suit's shields. The Uchigane's mass produced blade quickly warped and deformed from the heat, while her shields were dropping rapidly into the red zone, but still Chifuyu held firm.
"I will get through eventually, Chifuyu! Any deaths then will be on your head, not mine! After all, if you simply accept my offer and come home with me I will stop shooting and immediately order a retreat!" Reikou taunted as she continued firing.
"Over! My! Dead! Body!" Chifuyu ground out as she continued to absorb the fire, occasionally shooting back with her pistol as she did so. However, Chifuyu knew that her mother was right. Eventually, one of the shots would get through. Either her sword and shields would fail, or Reikou would get lucky and sneak a shot past her guard. However, the alternative was not an option either.
Salvation came from an unlikely source, as right when Chifuyu was steeling her conscience for the inevitable loss of innocent life, a large grey and red form slammed into Reikou from the side, followed close behind by a trio of well placed sniper rounds. One of those rounds must have hit its mark, as the Phantom Task Golem promptly exploded in a ball of blue-white fire. All that remained of the grey and red IS was a single, blackened leg spinning away into the distance. Striking while the iron was hot, Maya's Revive slammed into Reikou's IS in a perfect mid-air tackle.
"Leave my students alone you bitch!" Maya screamed as she drew her Revive's combat knife and began striking her opponent's shield. Her victory was short-lived, however, as Reikou quickly kicked her off, turning her full attention towards the green haired teacher.
That meant that Reikou was no longer paying attention to her daughter, and Chifuyu was quick to take advantage of the fact, attacking her mother from behind, her damaged sword still doing its duty as a club.
"Maya! Get back to the beach! The Golems are the real threat!" Chifuyu ordered. Maya looked at her as if she had gone mad, but decided that this was neither the time nor the place to argue and smoothly disengaged, heading back to assist her fellow teachers over the beach.
"How foolish of you to send away your ally away like that." Reikou chided as Chifuyu faced her.
"Once the Golems are gone, then we will all be able to attack you together. I can hold out long enough." Chifuyu replied.
"Do you want to bet?" Reikou asked.
"I've already staked my life on it." Chifuyu replied, and Reikou smiled.
"I see you still have the iron will I instilled in you... Now, let us see if you have the strength and skill to back it up!" With those words, Reikou struck, and with that blow, Chifuyu's blade finally gave out, Reikou's blow cleaving it in two.
"You have been disarmed, Chifuyu! Will you come quietly now?" Reikou asked.
"I still have my fists!" Chifuyu replied, and charged once more. The fight was far from over.
Tabane was far from the only party whose eyes were fixed on the battle raging over the beach. As plasma and lead screamed through the air up above, and frightened students were rushed onto buses for evacuation below, a pair of crimson eyes watched from afar.
"Excellent. Looks like the bait has engaged the enemy." Squall Meusel commented, drawing a raised eyebrow from Madoka, the black haired girl observing the battle through a partially deployed hyper-sensor beside her.
"You hear that M? Looks like dear old Reikou is nothing but bait today!" Autumn taunted from Squall's other side.
"Good. The old hag is finally of use." Madoka replied, causing Squall to raise her eyebrow in mild surprise.
"Oh? Are we getting a little rebellious there?" The blonde woman asked.
"Simply speaking the truth." Madoka replied, unfazed.
"Hmph. You Orimuras are all the same. Scheming, backstabbing, overengineered little nutcases the lot of you!" Autumn exclaimed.
"True on all counts, Autumn. Why hide what I am?" Madoka replied.
"That's a first. An Orimura admitting they have flaws." Squall commented, her eyes never leaving the aerial battle.
"Nobody is perfect. My mother taught me that all too well." Madoka responded.
"Really? Even your sister?" Squall asked, genuine curiosity seeping into her voice.
"Especially her." Madoka snarled.
"How so? Given how Reikou goes on and on about her, you would think the sun itself shines out of her ass!" Autumn asked.
"She's succumbed. She's the youngest Orimura to ever do so." Madoka replied simply.
"Really now? She didn't seem all that insane when she was accepting her second Mondo Grosso trophy. I thought that when you Orimuras went insane, you all turned into rabid animals that needed to be put down." Squall asked.
"Reikou fixed that problem in her generation. Now we just become raging psychopaths like Reikou up there." Madoka gestured towards the battle going on above them.
"You mean like you?" Autumn taunted once more.
"No. My modifications were minimal. I'm just a regular, natural psychopath." Madoka smiled coldly in response.
"I see." Squall replied simply.
"Say, Squall, what are we going to do when They arrive?" Autumn asked.
"Simple: We tail them, discover their base of operations, and relay its location back to HQ. We do that, and we spell the end of whatever clandestine organization is opposing us." Squall explained, not once ceasing her observation of the battle above. At that response, all three Phantom Task operatives in the clearing fell silent, their curiosity satisfied for the time being.
"Ichika! We've been flying over open ocean for over an hour now! Where are you leading us?" Laura demanded once again. The flight had been far from a silent one, as everyone save for Kanzashi had been asking the same question over and over again. Where were they going? What was going on? The answer to these questions was always the same.
"Everything will be explained in due time, perhaps when we are no longer being chased by terrorists." Ichika replied once again.
"That doesn't answer my question! Where are we going? If we were heading back to Japan we would have seen land by now!" Laura countered.
"Think about what you just said, Laura. Do you really think that leading forty-three hostile IS suits back to a hotel packed with defenseless students is the best course of action?" Ichika replied. Before Laura could formulate a response though, Cecilia's voice cut into the conversation.
"Ichika-san! There's another force dead ahead!" The blonde's panicked voice drew the attention of the entire group.
"Linking data now." Ori replied, and once again, Cecilia's hyper-sensor data appeared on his helmet HUD. The force was composed of nine visible IS suits, a large flying-wing that Ichika recognized as the Organization's IS Transport prototype, and the familiar silhouettes of twelve OXF-1 fighters.
"Don't worry, they're friendly." Ichika replied, which did not placate the girls around him in the least.
"How do you know that?" Laura challenged. Ichika did not respond, choosing instead to open communications with the incoming force. His helmet's speakers remained active this time around, allowing the pilots around him to finally listen in.
"TF-01, this is STS-01. We are at two-thirds strength and have six unaffiliated pilots with us, one of which is currently unable to fight. What are our orders, over?" Ichika asked, causing the other girls' questions to die in their throats.
"Copy that STS-01. Get your incapacitated pilot onboard the transport with a minder, then form up with us. Even factoring in the fighters, we're outnumbered almost two to one, so I have been authorized to request your assistance in this engagement, over." The orders were rapidly spoken, but Ichika understood them nonetheless.
"Copy that TF-01, Wilco." He replied, before turning to address his fellow IS Academy students.
"Kanzashi, you are to board the IS Transport midair. You will be returning to HQ with Natasha. Everyone else, form pairs and prepare for combat. Laura, form up with Charlotte. Cecilia, you are with Houki. Rin, you will be with me. Understood?" Ichika ordered. As per the usual, everyone except Kanzashi voiced their objections.
"Wait, what? Who the hell are you and what are you trying to do with me?" Natasha was the first to object.
"Ichika. I can understand involving me in combat, but everyone else? Out of all of us, I am likely the only one with any real military training! Are you really going to involve civilians in something like this?" Laura added her own objections to the list.
"Natasha, I am removing you from the combat zone, as you are in no way fit for combat. As for the issue of civilians, I am sure you all have read the IS Academy Charter. Do you all remember Special Article 13?" Ichika asked.
"Yes, but a formal request has not been filed!" Laura protested.
"True, but circumstances dictate otherwise. Now form up!" Ichika said as the Organization task force drew ever closer. As the vanguard of the formation approached, Kanzashi spoke up for the first time since Phantom Task had appeared.
"I guess this is goodbye. Stay safe out there." Kanzashi said, right before she separated from Ichika's formation and flew up to where the OXT-1 transport loomed overhead, its bay doors already open, and its cargo of trained IS pilots leaping out.
"You too, Kanzashi." Ichika replied as he led the remaining students in the opposite direction, linking up with the Second IS Wing that had just finished deploying their IS suits in midair.
"Nice weather we're having, eh Ichika-kun?" Yukari greeted as he formed up alongside her.
"I don't know, looks like a storm's on the horizon." Ichika replied. Up above them, the giant flying wing that transported the Second Wing into combat began to turn away, Kanzashi and Natasha safely onboard.
"Ichika-san, who is this?" Cecilia demanded. The girls around her nodded.
"You'll know that soon enough. For now, just refer to me as Commander." Yukari replied.
"Commander of what?" Laura asked.
"The Second IS Wing. Ichika, approximately what is our opponents' ETA?" Yukari asked in turn, changing the subject.
"Approximately ten minutes. They've had to fly pretty slowly in order to avoid leaving their Revives behind. What is our plan of attack?" Ichika replied.
"Good. Our current plan is for the fighters to make a single pass, targeting the enemy MPIS suits and hopefully eliminating them, and while the enemy is in disarray, dive in with our own forces. We have eighteen TIS suits with us, twenty-four if you count yourself and the student pilots. There are forty-three known enemy IS suits, twelve of which are Revives. If we can take those out, the odds will be much better, with only thirty-one enemies for us to fight. I expected more though... Didn't OPV-008 report a second wave of launches?" Yukari asked.
"They did, but 008 really did a number on the enemy submarine forces. The twenty or so IS suits that were launched in the second wave stayed back to rescue survivors from the two submarines that were successfully destroyed." Ichika replied.
"Wait a minute, are you crazy? Sending fighter jets against IS suits, even mass production units, is suicide!" Cecilia cut into the conversation. Yukari laughed in response.
"Ha! Don't let the pilots catch you saying that! These guys are trained for combat against IS suits, and have the equipment to match. Just watch, and you will see exactly what I'm talking about!" Yukari boasted.
"That reminds me, have they been networked?" Ichika asked, gesturing to the five Academy students that flew nervously around him.
"They have now." Yukari replied, and Ichika heard several gasps as the girls were entered into TF-01's battle network. As that occurred, the amount of comm chatter from the fighters ahead suddenly increased.
"Fighters are accelerating to attack speed. All flights are reporting target locks." Ori reported through the sudden increase in chatter.
"This is it." Ichika replied simply. There was no turning back now. The battle had begun.
"I guess this is really happening." Rin commented, her face showing only resignation at what was to come.
"Ichika, are we really going to do this?" Charlotte asked from where she flew at Laura's side.
"Looks like we are." Laura replied, her face set in a mask of grim determination.
"Laura, keep Charlotte covered. Houki, you are to do the same for Cecilia. Rin, stay close to me. Do not, repeat, do not under any circumstances engage an enemy alone. These people have more experience than any of us, and have TIS suits that are Second or Third Generation in terms of combat strength. I want no casualties, are we clear?" Ichika ordered, and the girls all nodded, a mix of fear and determination on their faces.
"Fox-One, Fox-One, Fox-One." The radio suddenly filled with comm chatter as missile after missile left its rack, the deadly warheads streaking towards their targets with inhuman precision. With his hyper-sensor zoomed in to the maximum, Ichika easily saw the missile trails converging on twelve separate targets, flying through a curtain of counterfire as the Phantom Task pilots tried their hardest to knock the deadly lances out of the sky. As Ichika looked on, several missiles were hit, either detonating prematurely or simply falling out of the sky, depending on where the lucky shot landed. However, for every missile that was destroyed, five others made it through, meeting their targets and exploding in bright blue bursts of energy. One Revive was hit by four warheads at once, the blue-white fire quickly overwhelming its shields and shattering its body. Ichika couldn't make out which of the charred and blackened pieces that fell out of the sky was once human, but he knew immediately that nothing could have survived the blast.
Throughout the Phantom Task formation that event repeated itself, as missile after missile met its mark. Of the twelve targeted Revives, only five remained after the first volley of missiles had done its work. However, the fighters had not yet done their worst to the enemy force, as more missiles streaked out from beneath their wings and fuselage, each fighter spreading its payload throughout the enemy formation. Enemy after enemy was hit, and the five remaining Revives fell out of the sky. Of the twelve downed enemy pilots, Ichika saw only two parachutes floating below the enemy formation. The Revives were far from the only targets of the second missile volley, but they were the only ones that went down. Of the missiles that slammed into the Golems, not a single one downed its mark, and not one warhead made it close enough to do any real damage to the hostile TIS forces.
Mere moments had passed between the second volley of missiles hitting their targets before the fighters had closed into cannon range, a river of blue fire pouring from the aircrafts' noses as the plasma cannons contained within opened fire, bathing their targets in a river of superheated death. They were not the only ones firing, however, as the Phantom Task forces returned fire with much greater precision than the fighters could ever dream of having, and as Ichika watched, several fighters flashed as their shields were overwhelmed. Two of those targeted fighters never pulled out of their dive, their burning airframes falling down, eventually splashing into the Pacific. One pilot managed to eject in time, while the other never had the chance, his plane's nose having been blown clean off. A third fighter went down to a Golem, exploding in midair as a particle beam punched clean through it. Finally, a fourth plane exploded as it slammed into the Golem it was pursuing, its pilot not pulling away in time. Neither Golem nor pilot made it out of that collision.
However, in spite of all the enemy's attempts to shoot them down, eight fighter craft managed to run the gauntlet of enemy fire, screaming through the Phantom Task formation and managing to claim two Golems in the process. Their job done, the Organization fighter craft leveled out and screamed away from the combat zone. However, Phantom Task did not pursue as Ichika had hoped. Instead, the enemy force continued on its heading, attempting to close the distance with their foes before the fighters could come around for another pass.
"Here they come!" Yukari called out, her OA-45 already spun up and ready to fire.
"Open fire!" Ichika ordered, taking aim and squeezing the trigger. Immediately, the multitude of gun barrels newly mounted into his IS suit's wings opened fire, sending a storm of plasma down at the hostile IS suits below them. Mixed in among this deadly hail was a swarm of knife missiles and explosive drones, the sheer volume of automated killers taxing Ori's control capability to the limit. Finally, precisely aimed railgun slugs flew at his chosen target, the hostile IS desperately weaving through the deadly storm that the Organization had created. On his left, Yukari blazed away as well, the loud buzz of her OA-45 rotary cannon almost completely drowning out the loud 'CRACK!' of her OA-124 carbine. On his right, Rin hesitantly opened fire with her own Impact Cannons. Too busy dodging to aim their return fire, the Phantom Task forces couldn't fight back at first, but as they closed the accuracy of their fire increased. One such shot slammed into the Infinite Arsenal, taking nearly 60 shield units with it, although the count started to slowly tick up again as the unit's shield regenerated. It was a grim reminder to Ichika, telling him that his ADS was disabled, and that this was indeed a fight to the death.
By the time they had finished closing, Phantom Task had lost its numerical advantage, with four of their less agile Golems having been shot out of the sky by the wall of fire that the Organization had put up. However, the most brutal part of the battle had only just begun, as Phantom Task's remaining pilots finally closed the gap, and the deadly aerial melee began. Beside him, Rin dove on one of the nearby Golems, her Soten Gagetsu in staff form, one of the weapon's edges glowing a bright pink as the subatomic edge was deployed. A single strike from the weapon was all it took, the brittle edge shattering into a shower of shield-piercing shrapnel that punched through the Golem's armor and into the artificial flesh beneath. The dead machine fell out of the sky as Rin activated the edge of her second blade, striking out at the closest enemy. However, her blade was easily parried, the brittle edge shattering early, causing its lethal shrapnel to dissipate early.
The TIS that blocked the blow gave Rin no time to recover as its pilot pressed the attack, the long scythe in its hands twirling as its wielder went on the offensive, Rin barely managing to fend off the older woman's offensive. An explosive drone to the back ended the woman's offensive, giving Rin a desperately needed opening. With Ichika pouring in fire from above and Rin landing blow after blow on her, the TIS' shields soon flashed and broke. However, that didn't seem to deter the Phantom Task pilot, who simply smiled and attacked again, driving Rin back once more. A scream from above drew Ichika's attention before he could move to support his partner. Looking up, he saw Cecilia desperately trying to fend off a four-armed TIS armed with two long scimitars. A loud explosion meant that she had fired all her missiles at point-blank range, a move that bought her barely a moment's pause. Searching around for Houki, Ichika saw her desperately trying to reach her partner, but the two Golems around her prevented her from doing so. Casting a quick glance down at Rin, who seemed to be just barely holding her own, he took aim at the enemy attacking Cecilia and fired a long burst from his railgun, before returning his attention to the battle below. He didn't see the first round shattering its target's shield, nor did he see the rest of them reduce the enemy IS suit's pilot to a scarlet pulp in her seat.
Barely noticing the TIS falling behind him, Ichika refocused his attention on his partner, only to be distracted once again by Ori's shouted warning. That warning allowed him to block the attack of the Golem that was coming in from behind him, its previous victim's blood splattered all over its armor. However, that victim had managed to inflict severe damage to the Golem's shields, meaning that a stream of plasma from Charlotte hitting it from behind quickly whittled down its shields, allowing Ichika to duck under its rotating blades and stab upwards with his plasma katar, the hot blade quickly melting through the Golem's armor and cooking the flesh beneath. His foe thus dealt with, Ichika looked down again, quickly finding Rin. The Chinese girl was alone now, her assailant nowhere in sight, but the Phantom Task pilot's fate was obvious thanks to the bright red stain on the Soten Gagetsu's blade. The bloody blade's wielder was not moving, and Ichika saw her face twisted in horror.
"Rin! Behind you!" That served to snap the girl out of her horrified state as another Golem dove in towards her. However, Yukari beat her to the punch, her customized Revive screaming in from above, thermal chainsword roaring as it met the Golem's shield, Rin's own strike landing a second later. The Golem tried desperately to disengage, but its efforts were in vain, as its shield broke and Yukari's weapon tore into its armor, at first releasing a spray of sparks and superheated metal, but that metal was soon joined by a gory fountain as the weapon's rotating blades met the soft flesh inside the shell. Satisfied that her opponent was dead, Yukari scanned her surroundings for her next opponent.
Up above, Houki had managed to eliminate one of the Golems assailing her, while the second was killed by stray fire from another nearby duel between two Organization pilots and a Phantom Task TIS. Taking aim at the TIS, Ichika fired off another burst of railgun slugs that distracted its pilot sufficiently to shift the duel in her opponents' favor. Forced on the defensive, it was only a matter of time before the pilot's time was up.
Scanning the area for his next target, Ichika watched as the tide of battle slowly but surely tipped in the favor of the Organization. While the two sides' numbers were equal when the melee started, it was clear that while they had equipment on par with that of their opponent, the Golems simply could not match a human in an IS suit in terms of skill. After all, they were ultimately animals, running off of pre-programmed instinct, allowing their opponents to easily outsmart them. They were slow to react, as Houki demonstrated as she sliced one in half with a strike that Ichika could have easily parried. They were stupid, as Charlotte and Laura demonstrated by catching one in an AIC field and eliminating it, despite their latest victim having watched another one of its brethren suffer the same fate. However, that did not mean that they were weak, as a pair of Golems demonstrated up above, one golem distracting their target while the second struck the pilot from behind, Ichika's warning serving only to allow the man to see the cause of his death.
Ichika's next target was decided for him as a TIS broke away from the melee going on just above him, diving in towards him. Firing as he dodged, Ichika beat a rapid retreat, knowing that his IS was poorly suited for close combat. However, his opponent was faster, and in spite of his maneuvering, she quickly caught up with him.
"To think that I would find the famous Orimura Ichika out here... It must be my lucky day!" The woman taunted as he desperately blocked and dodged her blows.
"I wouldn't say that. After all, less than half of your original forces remain. You once outnumbered us nearly two to one, and now the odds have turned against you." Ichika replied, gaining enough distance to snap off a quick burst.
"Most of our losses are Golems, and we can always make more." The woman replied offhandedly, ignoring the single hit Ichika had managed to score and pressing her attack.
"True, but you can't make them right this moment." Ichika replied, absorbing one blow and avoiding the rest, swapping out his long railgun for the more compact Ultramarine Storm as he did so.
"Heh, you're a smart kid. Of course, we'll see what those smarts are worth when I present your head to Reikou!" The woman replied, a manic grin on her face as she pressed her advantage, landing two more blows in rapid succession, absorbing a point-blank plasma volley as she did so.
"Reikou? I assume she is the mastermind behind this ambush? If so, then she really needs a lesson in tactics." Ichika replied.
"Ha! If only! No, Reikou has her own little mission today... Maybe I'll tell you before I kill you." The woman replied, a slice from one of her blades destroying Ichika's plasma rifle. However, that gave Ichika an opening, allowing him to rapidly close the distance and grab the hostile IS, pulling it so close that its blades were useless.
"Clever, but your planning needs work." The woman commented, a hidden pilebunker emerging from her wrist and slamming into Ichika's shields. A second blow from the weapon dropped Ichika's shields to the breaking point, but before the woman could finish the job, her head exploded, and Ichika felt the hypersonic round that did the deed crack past his own head. Looking around for his savior, he saw Laura turning away, a new target already in her sights. However, as Ichika took aim with his own gun, he realized that there were very few targets remaining. Only one Golem remained in the air, while the last four TIS suits staged a desperate last stand. Down below, the survivors that managed to eject from their fighters and IS suits fought their own battle, shooting at each other with pistols in the rare event that they could get close enough to identify friend or foe.
Finally, the reality of their situation seemed to dawn on the Phantom Task forces, and as one they attempted to disengage and flee, leaving their remaining Golem to cover their retreat. Two pilots managed to do so, gunning their impulse drives to the maximum as they attempted to escape. Two more TIS pilots failed to escape though, and fought to the bitter end against impossible odds. As for the two that managed to get away, they did not last long, as eight fighter suddenly dove on them from above, having climbed away while the IS pilots engaged in their melee. Spitting blue fire at the two beleaguered TIS suits, the fighters made pass after pass, losing another one of their number, but eventually the TIS suits' shields were worn down, and one at a time, the last two Phantom Task TIS suits fell out of the sky.
"Is... Is it over?" Charlotte's hesitant question broke through the post-battle silence.
"No. We still have survivors to rescue." Ichika replied, gesturing down towards the sea, where yellow rafts bobbed along the waves. Spotting one beneath him, Ichika dove towards it, only to hear gunshots as its occupant opened fire on him. The pistol rounds bounced uselessly off his shields as he came in for a closer look, and he marked the raft as hostile after spotting the Phantom Task pilot suit on its occupant. A few kilometers away, Charlotte was having better luck, the French girl pulling one of the downed fighter pilots out of the water.
A total of seven people were rescued this way, two of which were fighter pilots. As Ichika eventually flew back up emptyhanded, he looked over the Organization forces still in the air. Of the twelve fighters and eighteen Organization IS suits that had come to the rescue, seven fighters and nine IS suits remained. It was eerily quiet in the sky as the remaining Organization forces regrouped.
"Why..." Rin's voice was hollow, and as he looked over, Ichika saw that the girl's pilot suit was covered in blood, although whether it was from a Golem or an enemy pilot was not clear. Ichika was not given time to formulate a response, however, as Yukari spoke first.
"The five of you are to come with us immediately. The folks back at base want a word with you." The Japanese Wing Commander ordered. The girls just nodded at that, not even Laura protesting as the remaining Organization pilots surrounded them. Separated from his fellow students, Ichika flew up to Yukari, forming up alongside her.
"What is it, Ichika?" Yukari's voice was tired, lacking her usual exuberance.
"Has Phantom Task launched any other attacks lately?" Ichika asked.
"Yes, I believe that TF-02 was dispatched to take care of it." Yukari replied.
"Where was it? Because if one of the pilots I fought was correct, then a high ranking Phantom Task member might be involved." Ichika asked.
"Do you really want to know?" Yukari asked.
"Yes. Where did it happen?" Ichika asked.
"While you were away, a Phantom Task submarine attacked the beach where the rest of IS Academy's first-year students were staying. I don't know anything else though. All we can do is hope that TF-02 made it in time." Yukari replied softly.
The battle was going poorly. That much, Maya already knew. While she had managed to bring down the flamethrower armed Golem early on, and Mizuki had eventually taken down the claw-equipped Golem, but the situation was nonetheless grim. Both of Class 1-4's instructors had gone down over the ocean, their attempt at eliminating their targets having failed catastrophically. At that distance, Maya couldn't tell if they were alive or not. Class 1-3's assistant instructor had also gone down, having been killed by the Golem that Maya was now dueling. This particular Golem was armed with a pair of lightning casters, the deadly weapons firing medium ranged bolts of electricity that ate through shields and fried electronics with equal ease. To make matters worse, a pair of plasma blades had been installed under said lightning casters to form a pair of bayonets similar to the OA-23 Energy Katars that Ichika had on his own IS, only several times more powerful. It had been these bayonets that had taken out its previous opponent, and it was these weapons that even now tried to swat Maya out of the sky.
"Damn it TF-02! Where the hell are you?" Maya muttered. She was tired, both mentally and physically, while her opponent seemed immune to petty things like fatigue. As she weaved out of the way of one of the lightning caster's tracer beams, firing as she did so, Maya knew that she couldn't hold out for much longer.
Nearly a kilometer away, Chifuyu was having her own problems. Her Uchigane's pistol had long since been knocked away, and she knew better than to try and search for it mid-battle. Her sword was long broken, and her IS suit's shields had taken a beating. She was reduced to fighting with her suit's arms and legs, her left hand having been sliced clean off, while her right was a mangled mess. However, she was still fighting.
"Why do you continue to resist? You know that it is futile!" Reikou spoke from above her.
"Why not? I would take my own life before I surrender to you!" Chifuyu replied.
"The will is there, but the strength and skill is not. You take my patience with your childish games, Chifuyu." Reikou stated. Chifuyu opened her mouth to reply, only to suddenly spot something in the distance. As she looked on, several smaller objects detached from it, and sped towards Reikou.
"There is more to life than strength and skill!" Chifuyu shouted, surging forward and grabbing onto her mother, holding her IS still in the air.
"And what could that possibly be?" Reikou demanded, her face inches away from her daughter's own visage. In response, Chifuyu smiled.
"Cunning." With that word, the missiles met their mark. It felt as if she were in the center of a furnace, but Reikou's IS protected her from the majority of the blast. Even so, it was the most pain Chifuyu had ever felt in her life.
Moments after the missiles had struck, she let go and allowed the blast wave to carry her crippled Uchigane away from her mother, Reikou's own IS plummeting out of the sky. Dimly, Chifuyu noted that even her suit's wind shields had gone down, as the cold wind stung at her freshly burnt skin. Her Uchigane's last remaining thruster gave out as she approached the beach, and Chifuyu weakly braced for impact. Her crippled IS slammed into the sand moments later, sliding to a halt on its back, giving Chifuyu a front-row seat to what remained of the battle. However, as IS dueled Golem and fighters dumped ordinance into the ocean in their pursuit of a fleeing submarine, she let her eyes slide shut. The sun hurt, after all.
As Reikou fell out of the sky, her only thought was praise for her daughter. Chifuyu had been clever, to take advantage of circumstance in such a manner. Reckless, but clever nonetheless. Then, there was pain as her IS slammed into the ground, impacting so hard that Reikou was thrown out of her seat, coming down again moments later. Her head hit the ground, and then there was only darkness.
"They're here." Squall stated simply as the fighters screamed overhead, IS suits hot on their heels.
"They've already nailed Reikou... How long do you think the Golems will last?" Autumn asked.
"Minutes at most. If they couldn't take out instructors equipped with second-gen MP crap, then they most certainly can't stand against this." Squall replied.
"What do we do now?" Autumn asked.
"Once they're done playing with Reikou's golems, we are to follow them. If at any point they notice us, we are to disengage immediately. Information is useless unless we can deliver it safely." Squall replied, her IS, Golden Dawn, materializing around her, and Autumn deployed her Arachne moments later.
"What about Reikou?" Autumn asked, a hint of malice in her voice.
"Hmm... Well, M is using an MPIS, so she would only slow us down. Why don't we let her take care of it. Is that alright, M?" Squall asked. Madoka merely smiled in response.
"With pleasure." The black haired girl replied simply.
"Then get on with it." Squall ordered, and Madoka turned away, heading to where she saw her mother crash.
Reikou's eyes opened to the sound of footsteps.
"How the mighty have fallen... Pun intended." A familiar voice sounded out, and after a brief search for its source, Reikou's eyes came to rest on her younger daughter. She tried to move, but her legs would not respond, no matter how hard she tried. Her arms fared little better, only managing a slight twitch before they too gave out.
"What are you doing here Madoka?" Reikou rasped, her throat parched and burnt.
"That is a good question, Mother." Madoka replied, reaching into her coat and drawing out a gun.
"I thought I told you not to call me that." Reikou attempted to shout, but all it did was cause her to start coughing.
"You cannot change what you are... Mother." Madoka replied, relishing the rage that appeared in Reikou's sole remaining eye as she did so.
"Enough banter. What are you here for?" Reikou demanded. In response, Madoka activated the gun's laser sight, and the red point came to rest right between her mother's eyes.
"I see. You are here to kill me then." Reikou sighed.
"That is tempting... Myes, that is very tempting indeed..." Madoka spoke slowly.
"Then get it over with already!" Reikou rasped out, only to start coughing once again, causing pain to shoot through her body once more. In response, Madoka lowered the gun, and instead knelt by her mother. Her finger traced over one particularly large burn, the gentle trace soon becoming a painful scrape.
"You're hurt pretty badly." Madoka stated.
"Stop stating the obvious and get on with it!" Reikou rasped, causing Madoka to smile. Then, Madoka began to examine her mother's body, checking all over for injuries.
"Both your legs are broken, as is your spine. You are currently paralyzed from the waist down. One of your arms is broken as well, and your skin is rather badly burnt." Madoka replied once she finished her painful investigation.
"Tell me something I didn't know!" Reikou replied. In response, Madoka drew her gun once more.
"It is very tempting to just empty my magazine into your helpless body..." Madoka began.
"Then do it already! Make up your worthless mind!" Reikou hissed.
"... However, you are so badly injured that doing so would have no meaning. When I kill you, I want it to be in a manner that proves to you beyond all doubt that I am superior. Killing you know would be simple euthanasia... And if there is one thing you made sure to beat out of me, it was mercy." At that, Madoka smiled cruelly.
"Hmph. So you are just going to let me live after all." Reikou replied. In response, two gunshots rang out across the forest, startling what few animals that remained in the area after Reikou had crashed there.
"I will let you live, yes, but that does not mean I cannot have some fun first." Madoka smiled, stowing away her gun for the time being, while Reikou writhed in pain from the two new gunshot wounds in her broken arm. Then, Madoka picked up her injured mother and, with no particular care for her well being, began to drag her out of the forest.
"Know this, Mother. Your time is coming, but it is not yet your time to die."
Unknown to Madoka, the scent of blood had attracted another presence that now lurked in the forest, and that presence chose that moment to make itself known. With a soft growl, Number 109 made its presence known to the girl that callously dragged her mother through the forest.
Madoka expressed no fear when she turned to face the creature. She knew what it was, and even as the nine foot tall form of Number 109 strode out of the undergrowth towards her she did not flinch. Number 109 continued its advance, getting down on all fours and scuttling towards her. Reikou had long since passed out again, and was thus unaware of the monster that made its way towards her bleeding body.
Finally, Number 109 stopped, its face less than a foot away from Madoka's own. Leaning in, it sniffed her, and that was when Madoka acted. There were some advantages to doing all the dirty work under Squall. One of her jobs was to filter through messages, determining which ones were truly important and which ones weren't. Among the many messages that Squall received lay constant updates from Dr. Aaron Meusel, the scientist constantly boasting about his latest creation to his daughter. Madoka had read every one of those messages, and in one of them lay information about the monster that now stood before her.
Darting behind the creature's head, Madoka's hand came to rest on the back of the monster's cranium, her index finger quickly finding the tiny indentation in the back of the skull that was the key in controlling the beast. The small spine in that indentation punctured her finger, drawing blood, but Madoka simply smiled at the small pain. As soon as blood was drawn, the beast froze up. Several seconds passed as Dr. Meusel's engineering did its work, before the monster's face twisted into a sickening approximation of a grin. Madoka smiled in return. Number 109 was hers now. Patting the creature on the head, Madoka ordered it to follow her, but stay hidden. The creature simply nodded, and promptly disappeared into the surrounding foliage.
Madoka's smile widened. From what Dr. Meusel had said about it, Number 109 was unique in that its brain was particularly well developed. Out of all its brethren, it was the only one that could truly understand human speech. All others simply obeyed predefined commands, but when one spoke to Number 109, it listened, and it listened well.
Satisfied that her new pet was doing its duty, Madoka continued on her journey out of the forest, whistling tunelessly as she did so.
"Where are you taking us? What's going on?" Charlotte demanded as she was ushered through the metal halls of the hidden base. They had stowed away and surrendered their IS suits midflight, only to watch the pilot they had given them to fly away in an entirely different direction. They had been carried the rest of the way to the unassuming island, and an armed guard was waiting for them as soon as they arrived. Two men had taken Ichika away in one direction, while six more had surrounded her and the rest of the IS Academy students and had rapidly herded them through a labyrinth of tunnels. Charlotte could honestly say that this was the second most terrifying experience of her life, only surpassed by the battle they had participated in an hour earlier.
After what seemed like hours of navigating identical hallways, the group's journey finally came to an end in a small, unremarkable room. Within lay five chairs, and save for them, the only other feature present in the room was a second doorway opposite the one they came in through. Two guards took up positions around that door, while another two took up positions around the other. The last two guards stood against the wall opposite the chairs, faces impassive.
Exhausted both mentally and physically, Charlotte was grateful for the small comfort the chair provided, and quickly made herself comfortable. Laura sat beside her on the rightmost end of the row, while Houki sat in the center. Rin and Cecilia sat beyond her, and Charlotte gave the two girls a long, concerned look. Both girls were staring straight ahead, their eyes hollow. Charlotte didn't blame them. Given what they had just been through, she was more surprised that she wasn't doing the same.
"Combat Stress Reaction." Laura spoke up softly from beside her.
"What?" Charlotte asked, turning to the silver haired girl.
"They're suffering from CSR. Better known as Shell Shock. They'll likely need treatment soon." Laura replied, gesturing to where the two girls sat, hands shaking.
"What will happen if they don't get it?" Charlotte asked.
"Risk of PTSD, significant psychological trauma, and a plethora of other mental issues." Laura replied.
"Damn... What could have caused it? I mean, we fight in IS suits all the time!" Charlotte asked.
"Not like that..." Laura sighed before continuing, more to herself than to Charlotte. "Damn it Ichika, they were civilians! Why did you involve them in something like that?"
As Laura fell silent, Charlotte's mind was hard at work. Finally, she came to a decision. Working up the courage, she called out to one of the guards against the wall.
"Excuse me..." When one of the guards shifted his focus onto her, Charlotte continued.
"Is there anything you can do for them?" She asked, gesturing towards Cecilia and Rin.
"What is the problem?" The guard asked.
"I-I don't know... Laura said something about CSR, but... I just... The way they're staring, it isn't right! Please, just do something, anything!" Charlotte begged. The guards looked at each other, and one of them nodded. At that, the guard that spoke walked out of the room. Several minutes passed before he walked back in.
"Cecilia Alcott, Huang Lingyin, please follow me." The two girls stood up, and slowly made their way out of the room. The door shut behind them. Time slowed to a crawl once they left, the room remaining silent as the grave. After a while, the guard that led Cecilia and Rin out came back in. He was alone.
As the rest of the girls were being detained, Ichika had quickly found himself alone inside an individual debriefing room, also known as a more comfortable interrogation room.
"Are you aware of why you are here, Wing Commander Orimura?" An all too familiar voice asked. Evidently, he was speaking to the same man who recruited him.
"I am here due to my actions in the recent engagement with Phantom Task over the Pacific Ocean, where I deliberately forwent from keeping secrecy in order to assist TF-01 in the engagement." Ichika replied, his face impassive.
"What is your justification?" The voice asked simply.
"Would you like the full story or the condensed version?" Ichika asked.
"Take as much time as you need."
"Thank you." Ichika paused before he began to speak again.
"As you already know, I was dispatched alongside Sarashiki Kanzashi, Cecilia Alcott, Shinonono Houki, Huang Lingyin, Charlotte Dunois, and Laura Bodewig in order to engage the rogue IS known as the Silver Gospel. Before I had been dispatched, there had already been several close calls in regards to secrecy that forced the revealing of the AI designated Ori White. However, those were all taken care of." Ichika began.
"If I recall correctly, you sent a warning to the WSI tower that allowed them to shore up their cyberdefenses in time to resist a potentially devastating hacking attempt on the company's servers. All things considered, you handled that quite well." The voice cut in.
"That is correct. May I continue?"
"Go ahead."
"Thank you. Now, the interception of the Gospel was performed successfully, and after a short battle over the Pacific Ocean we were able to subdue the rogue IS. That was when secrecy was threatened. Three possible hostile contacts chose that moment to reveal themselves as Phantom Task submarines. At that point, the first potential breach in secrecy occurred when OPV-008 broke cover and opened fire on the enemy submersibles, scoring two confirmed kills before being sunk in turn."
"Are you now deflecting blame onto the now dead crew of OPV-008?" The voice interrupted once again.
"No, I am not. The crew of OPV-008 did what was expected of them and died in the line of duty. They bought me enough time to lead the students under my command out of any immediate danger. At that moment I had three obvious choices. First: I could return to the beach from where we launched. However, as that would mean leading a force of forty-three Phantom Task IS suits over a populated area, that was out of the question. Second: As the students under my command were capable of out-running the enemy force, we could theoretically have led them on a wild goose chase across the Pacific Ocean and eventually lost them. However, the choice was made for me when I was ordered to rendezvous with TF-01 at a set of provided co-ordinates. I was simply following orders when I led my fellow students towards our main task force."
"That is all well and good, but that does not explain why you conscripted civilians into joining the battle. The orders to join only applied to you and Miss Sarashiki, after all."
"TF-01 was composed of eighteen IS suits and twelve fighters. They were going up against forty-three hostile IS suits, eleven of which were TIS suits, and twenty more of which were probable TIS equivalents. Even with the Revives taken out of the equation, they still had nearly twice our number. Even with myself and the five people remaining under my command, our IS force took 50% casualties. Without our assistance, it could have been a lot worse. I therefore made the call to commit myself and the students under my command to the fight." Ichika finished.
"I see... I suppose your decision did save several lives on our side, but one question yet remains. How do we deal with the resulting breach of secrecy?" The voice asked.
"I would assume that you already have a solution prepared." Ichika replied.
"We have two possible solutions, in fact, and neither of them are particularly satisfactory. You must understand that this is not a problem that can be solved by a simple memory drug injection, or at least, not without causing a potentially lethal overdose. We cannot simply say that all five of them just fell asleep after beating the Gospel, that would be too convenient. They would ask questions, you understand? One way to avoid this is via an experimental treatment that would theoretically overwrite their memories with something more suitable, but this treatment is untested. It could lead to horrifying brain damage should it fail, and even if it succeeds, we have no evidence that it would stick. That is one possible solution." The voice explained.
"And the other?" Ichika asked, dreading the response.
"You will return with Miss Sarashiki, the sole survivors of a Phantom Task ambush. These five students will be detained, if not eliminated entirely." Ichika's eyes narrowed at that.
"So you are willing to effectively kill five teenage girls in order to maintain secrecy?" Ichika demanded.
"If it comes down to it, we will. However, you know these particular students very well. Do you have any... Alternative solutions to propose?"
For a long moment, Ichika was silent, his mind working hard to try and figure our some way to save his friends. Then, slowly, a plan began to form in his head.
"Well? Have you a solution? Our time is limited." Banishing the wave of self-loathing for what he was about to say, Ichika began to outline his idea.
"I propose induction."
"Only three of the students can be successfully inducted into our organization. Miss Bodewig's loyalties lie firmly with her home country, while Miss Shinonono's older sister is too much of a security risk. In addition, these five girls are an all-or-nothing deal. If one refuses, they all will."
"Not necessarily. I propose we approach them individually. Separate them and then recruit them alone. Cecilia can likely be brought in by mentioning her late father and his affiliation with us, while Charlotte can likely join after a careful explanation of how we saved her from her father. Rin and Houki can then be brought in by capitalizing on their relationship with me. That leaves Laura as the odd one out."
"Do you have a way of bringing her in as well?" The voice asked.
"No. As you said, her loyalties lie firmly with the German military. However, she does not have to know that her fellow pilots joined. When all the pilots have been interviewed, have them all meet up again. All of them will then say that they rejected our offer, regardless of the truth in that statement." Ichika replied.
"That would work for the moment, but Laura would soon notice how all her fellow pilots are making regular trips to WSI Tower, which she likely suspects is associated with us."
"That is why we will include her in those trips. All five girls will receive an offer from WSI, and all five will accept. When a mission comes up, all five will be given a 'choice' as to whether or not they will participate. Only, in Laura's case, that choice will be genuine, and if I know her, she will accept if everyone else does. Does that sound satisfactory?" Ichika asked.
"So make her a member in all but name... Clever. However, this does not address the problem of Miss Shinonono's older sister."
"I do not see it as a problem. Instead, this will give us a second member that is close to Doctor Tabane, and possibly give us a way to feed false information to her. She is already suspicious, and the best way to eliminate suspicion is to make her come to a false conclusion."
"I see. I believe we shall attempt this method before defaulting to one of the alternatives. You may leave now, Wing Commander Orimura... That is, unless you have any other suggestions to make."
"No sir." Ichika replied simply, standing up and turning to the door.
"It has been a pleasure speaking with you." Ichika ignored the voice's farewell as he left the room. He was too busy trying to desperately assure himself that he had done the right thing.
Laura's name was called first, the silver haired girl being ushered out of her seat and out of the room. Eventually, the guards that led her out returned, but she herself did not. Then, it was Charlotte's turn, and at the mention of her name the dull fear that gnawed at her turned into raw panic.
"W-Where are you taking me?" Charlotte tried to sound strong, but all that came out was a feeble plea. Neither guard responded, only gesturing once again for her to come with them.
With one guard in front and another behind, Charlotte was once again led through a labyrinth of corridors, soon coming to a stop before a nondescript door, one of the guards quickly opening it, gesturing for her to enter. Timidly, Charlotte did as she was asked.
The room itself was small and dark, lit only by the glow of a large screen. The door shut behind her, and Charlotte clearly heard the lock click.
"Hello, Miss Dunois." An unfamiliar voice, clearly modulated, broke the silence.
"W-Who are you? What is going on? Where am I?" The questions poured out one after another as what was left of Charlotte's composure began to break.
"Who I am is currently unimportant. You are currently in our organization's headquarters, and I am here to extend you an offer." The man replied.
"And just what is that offer?" Charlotte demanded.
"I am sure you can guess, but nonetheless I will explain. You see, Wing Commander Orimura has managed to pull some strings in your favor just now, and we have decided to give you an opportunity to join our organization as a full member."
"And what, if I may ask, would have happened to us if it weren't for Ichika-san's intervention?" Charlotte demanded.
"I believe that is better left unsaid. Now, what is your response?"
"No! I know for sure that Laura would have refused you, and I would rather join her in whatever cell you dumped her in instead of joining you!" Charlotte declared.
"Not even after all we've done for you?"
"What have you people ever done..." Charlotte trailed off as she realized what the voice was implying.
"Aero Infini... My father... You were Ichika's contacts, weren't you?" Charlotte's voice trembled at that realization.
"Correct. Aero Infini is our WSI equivalent in France. We have been assessing you for recruitment for some time now, Miss Dunois. This incident has simply forced us to accelerate our timetable."
"So Ichika's friendship was all just one big act?" Horror now laced Charlotte's voice.
"Of course not. There are much more efficient ways of gathering information than faking friendships. We simply believed that having a friendly face once you joined would help make your induction smoother. I see that this particular method leads to possible feelings of betrayal present in the recruit... We will have to revise this in the future." The voice commented.
"Whether Ichika is or isn't really my friend is immaterial. I still know that Laura refused you, and my earlier point still stands!" Charlotte replied. In response, the screen lit up, showing an image of Laura, Rin and Cecilia together in a separate room.
"You are correct in that Laura has refused our offer. Her loyalty to the German military is indeed commendable. However, she has also seen the necessity of keeping this organization hidden from the public, and thus will be released from custody alongside you. However, that is ultimately immaterial. What matters now is if you will join us or not. Will you join Ichika in defending the world from organizations like Phantom Task? Or will you refuse our generous offer like Laura?"
After a few moments passed, Charlotte sighed.
"Just what is Phantom Task?" She asked.
"A secret terrorist organization of a scale comparable to our own. Much like us, they possess the ability to manufacture IS cores, and possess a significant underwater navy. At the moment, we are the largest threat to their as-of-yet unknown agenda, and thus they have devoted a significant portion of their assets to eliminating us. I will not lie, Miss Dunois. If you are to join us, you may have to fight again. You may even have to kill again." At that, Charlotte shuddered, repressing the urge to vomit. The sight of the woman she had killed tumbling out of the sky, a hole burnt clean through her chest, was still fresh in her mind.
"However, you will be serving a noble cause. As a member of our organization, you will be part of the thin, grey line that keeps the light of the civilized world safe from those who would extinguish it. From terrorist plots to global conspiracies, you will be one of the brave few that keeps our world safe. The choice of whether or not to join us lies before you. I trust you will make the right decision."
It felt as if time itself stood still for the long moment that it took Charlotte to decide.
"I... I am in. What do I do now?" She asked.
"Good. You will receive more information upon your subsequent visit to WSI tower. However... Your first order is less than a pleasant one." The fear returned in force at that.
"What is it?" Charlotte asked, her voice trembling.
"Laura Bodewig has agreed to keep our secret under the assumption that both you and all your fellow students would have rejected our organization's offer. Both Recruits Alcott and Huang have told her that they have not accepted our offer. In the interests of maintaining secrecy and keeping your friend safe, you are to tell her the same."
"W-What?!" Charlotte exclaimed at that.
"It is unpleasant, but it is also necessary. So long as Laura keeps our secret, we will not have to do anything unpleasant to her in order to keep her compliant." At that, Charlotte nodded, hesitantly.
"What about Houki?" She asked.
"Miss Shinonono has just accepted our offer as well. All five of you will be given an offer from WSI in the coming days, and all five of you will accept. In Laura's case, we will be removing the tracers implanted in her machine by Dr. Tabane, and once we obtain approval from her superiors, we shall begin modifying her machine on a wider scale. As for the rest of you, modifications have already begun. Your IS suits will be updated to Organization minimal standard by the end of the day, and will be brought further up to date in the coming weeks. Now, unless you have anything else to say, you are dismissed." That was Charlotte's cue to stand up and leave. The two guards were waiting for her, and they quickly led her to another room. Inside, her fellow Academy students waited for her.
"Charlotte!" Laura exclaimed as she entered, running over to embrace her, tears of joy streaming from her sole uncovered eye. Returning the embrace wholeheartedly, Charlotte cried tears of her own, although not all of them were happy.
"Well? What did they offer you? What did you say?" Laura asked hesitantly.
Feeling sick to her stomach, Charlotte opened her mouth and lied to her best friend's face, her heart twisting as Laura smiled at her response.
A/N: And that's a wrap! Character development, plot development, and action galore, this chapter has everything you could possibly want! I eventually decided to split this chapter into two sections, as I believe the aftermath of all that just happened would take way too long to describe in this one. Now, as this particular chapter effectively finishes the Season 1 timeline, I would like to talk about my plans for the future of this story.
As usual, I hope you all enjoyed this particular story, and how I've chosen to depict some of the characters, Dr. Tabane for example. While I do believe that she is far from a good person, I don't want to turn her into a Moustache-twirling Saturday morning cartoon villain, or possibly a deranged maniac that only does stuff FOR TEH EVULZ, although both archetypes could certainly be adapted to fit her. Then again, I don't want to make her seem 'Misunderstood' and good all along! After all, she DID shoot an armageddon's worth of nukes at Japan as part of a publicity stunt.
Next comes Natasha Fairs. Honestly, she has so little screentime and characterization that I don't really know what to do with her. All we know about her person in canon is that she's blonde, well endowed, and kisses Ichika, before disappearing off the map entirely. I have a few plans, but they're still in the early stages of formation so I might just wing it if I can't think of anything good in time.
The Original Five (AKA Ichika's canon harem in the first season) are next on the list. Two of them have already gotten their first kill, and one other has seen Ichika kill someone rather messily directly in front of her. While I'm not planning on refocusing the fic to suddenly fixate on their emotional struggles, I don't want to gloss over it entirely and make it as if the event had never happened. This means reading up on my psychology, a subject where I have no experience in whatsoever save for what little I've read on Wikipedia. Man, writing fanfiction is a learning experience!
Laura in particular poses quite the issue in the coming chapters, as she is the only member of the Original 5 to reject the Organization's offer, and yet she believes that all her friends have done the same. I wonder, how long will it be before the secret gets out, and what will she do then? Her relationship with Ichika is already quite fragile, and the revelation could cause all sorts of issues down the road...
The issue of Laura leads into the topic of the Organization. When I first imagined it, I wanted to make something that is clearly morally ambiguous, believing that the end justifies the means. One that, if it was revealed and its secrets were brought to light, would certainly draw international reprisal. In short, instead of creating Your Friendly Neighborhood Agency, I wanted something akin to NERV, complete with secret conspiracies and goals. Have I succeeded? Maybe. I may have laid the grey on a little too thick there at the end, but for now it shall suffice.
Then of course there is Phantom Task. Right now it is pretty much your typical evil organization bent on world domination, full of schemers, rogues, killers, and all sorts of other nasty riff-raff for the Heroes to cut through! They even have the faceless redshirt corps down pat, as Golems aren't people, no sir-ee! Of course, I plan to possibly change that, but at the end of the day, they're the most obvious villains of this work.
Speaking of Phantom Task, I plan to expand Madoka and Reikou's roles in the coming chapters. I have decided to go with the Orimura Family Insanity trope that has been making round in the fandom, but hopefully I will take it in a different direction than the rest. Now that Reikou is a one-armed paraplegic, it's time to start plotting her fate. After all, giving her the Tin Man treatment and slowly cutting off bit after bit of her until all that remains is a brain in one of Dr. Meusel's jars isn't something I want to do. After all, as Reikou would say: "Either kill me or don't, make up your worthless mind!" i am not planning on redeeming her by any means, but I am still unsure as to whether she should be killed, and if so, who should kill her? Right now, I am in favor of Madoka doing the deed, if she chooses to do so. After all, she has the biggest bone to pick with her out of all her family. Madoka is a very interesting character to write, what with her being a stone cold psychopath with a pet abomination at her beck and call!
Speaking of Madoka, I would like to reward those of you who read the Author's Notes (Or cheated and skipped them), and write up this little scene! It's not really an Omake as it's perfectly canon, but still, I would like to end this chapter on a slightly more humorous note! Enjoy!
The sun had set completely by the time Squall and Autumn returned from their journey.
"Well? What did you find?" Madoka asked from where she stood, her mother's body, limp but still alive resting beside her.
"We've narrowed down the location considerably. They're likely based either in the Kuril islands or on the Kamchatka peninsula itself. Eastern China and Russia are also possible, but less likely." Squall replied as she landed.
"Couldn't you have narrowed it down any further?" Madoka demanded.
"Hmph! Like you could have done any better!" Autumn replied.
"Unfortunately, we were fired upon by a fishing vessel as we passed over the Sea of Okhotsk. We chose to make ourselves scarce before we drew any more unnecessary attention. My superiors will be satisfied." Squall replied, coming down to land. A flash of golden light later, and her IS was gone.
"I see you've recovered your mother..." Squall walked over, plucking a stick from a nearby tree. Reikou twitched slightly as the blonde cell commander poked her.
"She's still alive? That is... unexpected." She commented as Madoka smiled.
"I still have a use for her. Besides, I was never one for euthanasia." The black haired girl replied.
"Whatever. I couldn't care less about your mommy issues. Let's just get back to base. A warm bath sounds really good right about now!" Autumn replied, stretching. As she did so, Madoka snapped her fingers. At that signal, a giant form emerged from the nearby foliage, purring as Madoka scratched it behind the ears.
"What the hell is that thing?" Autumn exclaimed, and even Squall, who already knew of it, shuddered slightly.
"I don't know, but it followed me home! Can I keep it?" Madoka asked, smiling in a manner that, had her clothing not been stained with her mother's blood, could have been considered cute.
Now that that's done, I hope you all enjoyed the story so far! Until next time!