Here we go, time to resume back from the cliffhanger!

Note: This chapter will test your suspension of disbelief. Seriously. There are a few parts that are un-fucking-believable.

Chapter 23: No Place Like Home

"This is Orthun Kira, are any IS pilots operational?! Respond, please!" I cried out into the Pelican's radios, loaded for bear and a lot worse as I soared over the island, the sun setting at this point, turning the sky a near blood red, "Repeat, this is Orthun Kira, any IS pilots, please respond!"

I glanced out the window at the blazing fireball that was once known as IS Academy, which creepily blended in with the sky. Damnit, they should've kept this location confidential… but no, it's a whole international thing so no for that. Damnit…

"Kira, this is Madoka. No signs of anyone yet. That leaves two possibilities, either they all made it down to the shelters…"

"I know…" I nodded, then turned to the radio again, "Repeat, this is Orthun Kira broadcasting on all frequencies, any IS pilots, please respond! Come on… come on… someone has to be out there fighting though…"

"This is Gray King." Chifuyu?! Also, nice play on the old name 'White Knight'…

"Gray King, what is your location?! I have a full Pelican loaded for bear, ready for assistance!"

"I am at the northern end of the island. However, Response Team is around the East side. They need some help. Use Emergency Frequency 5, it's the most secure and rejects omni-frequency broadcasts." Huh, I didn't know that was possible.

"Roger that, Gray King." I nodded, a small smile coming to my lips as I banked the Pelican to the right, switching to the different frequency, "Response Team this is Orthun Kira."

"Kira?! Oh man, am I glad to hear from you!" Ichika? "We were out in the open when the attack hit, so we had to hold out to make sure everyone else got to the shelters safely. We've taken down one so far, but this other one has proven to be a real annoyance! But I think it's nearly gone, just a few more hits."

"Roger, Response Team leader," I primed the chaingun on this thing, hearing its whiiiiiir sound, "Coming in from the west, guns spinning up right now. I am loaded for bear, repeat, loaded for bear."

"Copy." Laura's voice came through, "Marking coordinates."

"Alright then," I nodded, a waypoint appearing on my HUD towards its location. I flew towards it, through a bit of smoke, but nothing much, before seeing the one they were stuck on. It was heavily based of Charlottes, no doubt copied from her updated model that came through that I recovered a while back, and came packing with several amounts of guns, "Target spotted. Firing danger close, repeat, danger close."

"Roger that."

"Apocalypse… now." With the pull of two sets of triggers I unleashed explosive and bullet hell upon the machine. Heh, take that!

Scans indicate that the target was taken out successfully.

"Response Team this is Orthun, move out and ensure area is secure. Stick together as a group, repeat, stick together as a group. Watch out for any additional bogeys."

"Copy that. Response Team, let's hoof it!" Well well, looks like Ichika might have some good leader material.

I swapped back to Chifuyu's frequency, "White Knight this is Orthun, Response Team has been helped. Any other things you need me to take care of?"

"Negative, Orthun. Although a ride to the main shelter location couldn't hurt." I fixated on her coordinates and flew over, landing nearby, and opened the hatch. I stepped out… to find Chifuyu standing triumphant over three Prototype units, in a student Uchigane suit. Holy crap, she really is the top IS pilot when pushed.

"Kira, I saw the Pelican land-" Madoka started as she flew in, screeching to a halt next to us, "Oh, hello Orimura-sensei."

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Chifuyu glared, pointing her sword at her, "Kira, these units weren't shielded. Tough, but still unshielded."

"Stage Two at this point…?" Madoka looked like she was running through memories, "Stage Two doesn't move out until two months from now." She then noted we didn't know anything, "Right. Stage Two of Project Prototype was mass producing automated IS-esque units without the shields to save money and energy, since it takes a lot of power to fully charge an IS' shield. You must really have them on the ropes if they're pushing out with them now."

"You got that right," I nodded, "Come on, we need to get to the shelter's entrance, make sure everyone's okay." E, I want a medical team down here from the Spartans, take what supplies we can spare before the final campaign.

Forwarding requests to Tabane. She'll want to be down here herself to help out as well.

Also, get Wolf Team down here, along with Jason. They'll want to know everyone's alright.

"Are you holding her in custody?" Chifuyu asked as we boarded the Pelican.

"Somewhat." I flipped a few switches, disengaging the landing gear and turning on the main engines, "Considering that she's had a lot of time around my equipment, and Phantom Task doesn't have counters towards everything I have, I find it safe to say that she's on our side. Besides, she hasn't complained about me not trusting her, which is one of the first telltale signs of a spy. Now, which way is the entrance?"

"South side."

"Got it."

Within a few hours Tabane, Wolf Team, and several Spartans had landed in Pelicans, bringing relief supplies. Minato called me and came in, offering free therapy to anyone who needed it, because seriously, this has been the fourth direct attack if I remember right, on IS Academy. Someone's bound to have nightmares at this point.

"Chi-chan!" Tabane tackle-hugged Chifuyu, "Oh thank goodness you're alright."

"Sorry I couldn't make it early," Shinjiro came in and freed Chifuyu from Tabane's grasp, "Duty called, and debriefing is lengthy."

"It's alright," she said, before Shinjiro pulled her into a hug.

I turned around and saw Romeo and Laura doing alright, helping out those who needed what could equate to field care: Bandaging, rudimentary slings until they the medics could see them.

"Casualties?" I dared to ask Mickey.

"…Thirty students so far, sir. Two teachers down." He regretfully said, looking down at the ground.

"Listen, it ain't your fault. If anything, I should've known better," I told him, "I know Phantom Task did this before, and should've been more prepared, and now, thirty students are dead because I wasn't." I slammed my head against the wall, "Damnit, I should've listened to my gut…"

"Sir, you have a message." Jason interrupted, passing me a phone.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"This is President-"

"Looks, Mr. President, I know I have that stupid meeting with the WLC, but right now, IS Academy just took a major hit and I'm helping them out. Tell the WLC I have better things to do."

"You can't just blow off the W-"

"Just did." I handed the phone to Jason, "If they call again, don't answer."

"Understood, sir." He nodded and proceeded to get back to the relief efforts, helping a second year with her new crutches, with the assistance of Charlotte and Cecilia.

As I turned around the massive shelter, which was a dull grey with bright flood lights, organized into massive rooms and hallways, almost like a hangar, you could see the damage of this attack. Last time it wasn't so bad, without any casualties if I recall right.

But today, people had been lost. Thirty two. Thirty two too many. And they were innocents too, not involved in this fight. And the worst part is that no one in the world is going to buy it, because they're too focused on the 'invincibility of the IS', and thinking that IS Academy could never be attacked like this. Hell, Five IS equivalents without shields took at least six personal IS users, and Chifuyu as well! What happens when the world gets attacked, if their plan is to strike with these? Every major city is at risk… and no one but those directly affected will listen. We do have a plan to deal with it though… but never on this level. I need to get back soon and rewrite everything from the ground up… Oh, it appears someone's done with Minato.

"Good to see you, Ichika," I greeted as he stepped out of Minato's room, "How bad did you get it?"

"I… I used to envy you, Kira," he sighed, "The greatest soldier in the world, as they would sometimes say, could tank it on the battlefield and all that, but then I found out something like this is commonplace for you…"

"Yeah," I swallowed hard, "It is."

"Tell me… does it ever get easier?"

"Never does."

"I see…" he nodded, "I always thought about being a soldier but honestly, I don't think I'm cut out for it. I mean… to see all this death all the time…"

"It's hard, right?"

"Definitely," he gave a sad grin, "See you around, Kira. I'm going to go… just… just be happy I'm alive."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Right back at you," he laughed, walking away.

I just stood there and took a few deep breaths, seeing how much this attack had broken this school. Hell, I hadn't thought about the consequences of me leaving for the base when I took off… could it have been a trap? Is that why it was so easy…? Damnit, I fell for the oldest one in the book! Wow, me of all people, falling for the old 'hey look a distraction' setup! I should've seen it right away… Man, I am getting way too overzealous with taking out Phantom Task… okay, let me ask myself, what would old, cold, logical Kira done?

He would've marched into the enemy base by now and curbstomped them. Well, that rules that out. I mean, I started getting cautious, not wanting to lose people, and even more so now, because I don't want people to lose any more than they have. Ugh, this stress is getting to me. There should be a way for me to relieve some stress…

I'm glad there was a recreational room and that it had a punching bag.

Or six, to be precise, because I had broken four of them by now with how hard I punched and how angry I was.

"HYAAAAGH!" I smashed the fifth punching bag with everything I had, sending it flying off the rig. The tiredness overcame me, and I keeled over, panting, reaching for my water bottle.

"Are you alright?" Tabane asked, coming over and sitting down next to me.

"I'm fine…" I breathed out as Tabane lifted my head and laid it on her lap, "You doing okay?"

"Yes… I'm glad that Chi-chan and the others are okay… but the fact we couldn't save everyone is still troubling me."

"Same here… if only… I had thought about it sooner… why the base was so easy to attack…"

"It isn't your fault, Ki-kun…"

"But it is partially my fault."

"…"

"It's true, right? Please don't say none of it is my fault. That would be a straight up lie."

"Okay, I won't say it."

"Thank you."

"Though you still saved lives today, Kira. Without the Spartans' supplies, a lot more people would've died."

"But it still wasn't enough."

"It was more than nothing."

"That's what counts, I suppose?"

"Yes."

"Hey, Ta-chan?"

"Yes, Ki-kun?"

"I'm feeling pretty good now, so I'm going to go give those world leaders a piece of my mind."

"You do that. Good luck."

"Time for a trip to Geneva."

"You're late." Several voices chimed as I walked in.

"No shit, Sherlock." I snarked, eliciting a few glares from the world leaders assembled here, "Besides, it's because IS Academy got attacked."

"Yes, by these… Prototype units, no? From this mysterious secret extremist organization 'Phantom Task'. Do you have proof they exist?" What the hell is this, Mass Effect? Where we clearly see the enemy yet dismiss them?

"Uh, duh? The Prototype units, video evidence of their fights, PT's plans for world domination, the twin attacks on IS Academy, a person who was in Phantom Task but joined us, and a few dozen destroyed bases with the same exact icon?"

"Then, where is this evidence?" The representative from Canada asked.

"Well," I had one of the projecting devices from E, which I turned on, having it point towards the wall behind me, as the room was organized into a massive semi-circle-pacman-thing, with the flat end behind me, "Anyways, I had to edit a bit out because it revealed some tech from the Spartans that we are very guarded about."

"If this technology is so good against the IS-"

"Because no one believes it? Because all of you still cling to the whole 'IS Supremacy' thing? Seriously, I know I've talked to a few of you before but you all said that the IS would be perfectly fine." I shrugged, causing some disorder.

"We will have order!" the chairman, an elderly man who was from who knows where, yelled, banging a gavel, "Mr. Orthun-"

"Kira. Just Kira."

"Mr. Orthun, it would be most beneficial if you showed the respect these people should have."

"Yeah, they're getting as much as I think they should." I replied, not missing a beat, "Anyways, as you can see here, it resembles Silent Zephyrs, but bears weaponry nothing like it. By the way, we have secured Silent Zephyrs, England-leader-person-because-I-can't-read-the-nam e-plate-from-here, and the pilot is safe. By the way, the one who stole it? Yeah, from Phantom Task. Don't worry, she's with us now, and don't complain about security risks since we've done a brain scan as well, with some heavy duty equipment. She's not lying. Anyways, look at this thing! It's taken down two Pelicans at this point, but is fully automated, from what we've seen might be a Dummy Plug System if any one of you remember Neon Genesis Evangelion.

"Now, it obviously is an IS because of its definitive shields here, that block even tank shells." I played the clip, which illustrated said fact, "And even the railguns on the Warthogs we have. And most conventional weaponry. Now, we do have Shield Pierce weaponry of our own, but honestly we can't mass produce it," That, and I'm not handing out the plans for the Spartan Laser.

"Perhaps we could-"

"Nope, sorry." Yes. I did just cut off the President of the United States, "Apologies for being rude, but seriously, I really would like to get back to the relief effort. We've done the first stage, but we still need to make sure everyone gets in contact with their families and all that. Now, I understand this isn't the actual reason I've been called here?"

"Yes," the chairman spoke, "Again, this committee would like to request that the names of the Spartans be given to their respective countries' leaders."

"Respectfully decline."

"Elaborate, please."

"Well, the whole thing behind the Spartans is helping with the mask. No one knows who you are, and it's very secretive. Besides, there are no doubt Phantom Task spies hiding out in your governments. I mean, how else would they know where your ISes are being kept, when they would be least guarded, or where they're traveling to and what roads to take?" I offered, "Giving you the names gives Phantom Task all of my operatives. Also, I thought I've stressed we're a private organization, but that doesn't mean that we're guns for hire."

"You're working in secrecy, hitting targets all the way across the globe. Doesn't that make you the same as Phantom Task?"

A dead pause filled the air, "You did not just say that."

The entire place was quiet as I started yelling, "You just compared me and the Spartans, who have been rounding up all of the stolen ISes, returning them, trying to ensure that they don't fulfill whatever scheme they've got going for them, to a terrorist organization that wants to radically change the world. I hope you realize that. You know what, I'm done. Besides, why should you worry? You've all got your precious little ISes to protect you."

"Orthun you will not leave this room until we have come to an agreement on how to deal with the Spartans!" the chairman yelled.

"Here's an option: Leave us alone."

"If the Spartans are as formidable as they are, then you will agree that there needs to be some sort of limit on them and their locations!"

"Yeah, we've got a limit. But we like to surpass them." I shrugged, "Besides, we pose no major threat to you. We're not some sort of group that tries to change everyone's ways by subverting everything inside a country. We just want to lead by example. Don't let the IS and the social changes it brought stop us from doing what is right just because they call us weak. That's our way. Can I go now?"

"No. The WLC has been organizing a treaty similar to the Alaska Treaty-"

"And you want to then have my Spartans in your armies as well? Hell no! Besides, we aren't fighting a war with any country! We're just taking out Phantom Task and then making sure none of the remnants come up again." I sighed, shaking my head, "Look, you let me do my thing, I let you do yours."

"Orthun, that isn't how it works."

"Then tell me how the hell it works! Because honestly, all I see here is a bunch of politicians trying to cash in on the Spartans like they did the IS! And look what that's done to the world!"

They began shouting at me and all that, in various languages.

Kira, are you sure we should be doing this?

E, I'm currently broadcasting this to all the Spartans and told them to call me should they feel I said anything that should be corrected. None so far.

"Order, order!" their chairman yelled, "Mr. Orthun, would you kindly refrain from slandering the names of the men and women gathered here today?"

"I can try. Though you see how well that's working."

"Are you saying you will not sign this treaty?"

"Let me see it first." I sighed as a man from the side handed me a clipboard, "Okay, so you want me to not only turn over the names of the Spartans, you also want to know their basic equipment setup and creation, like an IS. Declined. Particularly because the Spartans are much more dangerous than the IS in terms of outfitting. Besides, I have told my men not to give any information about their equipment whatsoever, and it would be hypocritical for me to do that. Besides, you guys would also start massing Spartans and then that would cause a total war.

"Second, you want for me to spread the Spartans throughout your armies, pretty much meaning that if a Spartan hails from a country, you want him there on your payroll. Declined. The Spartans are pretty much volunteers. We never conscripted anyone. We simply found people we thought were of good mindset for the Spartans and asked them discreetly if they wished to join. If they didn't, we simply asked them to not mention it. And yes, I do actually reward them and pay them using funds that I inherited, but other than that, not really an official job in a recordbook. I mean, yeah, I'd consider being a Spartan a full time job for some of us, but moving on.

"Third, you want there to be a female population in the Spartans. Well, you already have your IS brigades, the Spartans are the male counterpart. I do want equality, but I'll have to respectfully decline that, because the Spartans, again, are the male counterpart to the IS.

"Fourth… you know what, no. I 'm done. I've already vetoed most of your paper here." I sighed, "Look, we can all agree to disagree, no?"

"Read the final part."

"Let's see… Oh, if Kira Orthun will not agree to compromise whatsoever, we will have him as a wanted criminal for war crimes in all countries Spartan activity has been confirmed. Yeeeeeah we do tend to leave a bit of a mess every now and then. I think we did have that one open firefight… Good times."

Kira, we should think about this carefully. While we've located Phantom Task's main base, this will make things harder to mobilize the Spartans.

I see… E, prepare a text message to all Spartans.

Copy that.

Spartans, do you want me to negotiate or do you want me to walk away here?

Message sent.

Thirty seconds later I got hundreds of replies. All saying pretty much the same thing.

"I will take upon the sins of my men." I mumbled in the silent hall, "I refuse to sign, on one condition. It is only me who is hunted and none of the Spartans I command."

"All the more easier then," several commented. Indeed, it would be easier to hunt down one man.

Though the fun thing is, they can't interfere on IS Academy's island. It would be bad press on one part, to storm an island that was already hit, but to try to capture me while I'm helping others. Not to mention that no governments can interfere with IS Academy. Chifuyu is sure as hell going to make sure of that.

I suddenly got a call, and ignored all the commotion, "Hello there?"

"Orthun, I'm watching your broadcast." Oh, hello there Chifyu, "Are you sure about this?"

"Well, yeah. One, I am not going to use my men as a shield so I can do things without harassment from the world." I said rather loudly, not caring for all the objections going on, "Two, I probably should've been a hell of a lot more careful with Spartan Ops around the world. Three, I would consider myself as the leader of the Spartans, and will gladly do something like this to help my men, even if it means banishment."

"I see."

"Anyways," I shut off the call, "I'm out of here. Let's bounce."

Before they could call in security, I smiled as my IS formed itself and E whisked us away to IS Academy via SlipSpace.

"I don't believe it. You, a hero of man, shunned from every country because you wouldn't give them access to Spartan tech that can be produced more easily than IS tech, which in the long run would ruin everyone?" Ichika asked incredulously.

"Eyup." I sighed, "Thought it sucks, not being able to move around so much. Even Japan's out for me."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. I got a call from the government, apparently now that you're some sort of world wanted criminal I'm supposed to cease connections with you. I'd imagine that the rest of the girls are getting similar orders."

"Glad to see you're following orders."

"I follow reasonable orders. Though you should be safe here in IS Academy. No government can interfere here."

"Awesome." I grinned, "So, television time-"

"Breaking news, it appears that in the hometown of Kira Orthun, peaceful anti-fugitive demonstrations have sprung up and have spread like wildfire."

"Say what?"

"One girl, named Lucy, who apparently knew Kira, began the protest. It has spread to his entire school and engulfed the town, and seems to be spreading across the United States. We go to Kate Oneil down in Washington DC for more."

"Good afternoon, everyone. Yes, it is very true that these peaceful demonstrations have been springing up all over the United States. Even now, crowds are gathering in front the Supreme Court, Congress, the National Mall, everywhere, in an attempt to reverse this. From what others have gathered, it seems that the reason this fugitive status was placed was because Kira refused to share the technology of the men he leads with the world, claiming that it would throw the world into chaos. While we still await access to IS Academy to question the man himself, we can see just how much influence he has all here. Here are a few stories from others…"

"Kira Orthun, when he first stepped up onto that podium here and started," A redheaded American man started, "I thought: This kid has to be crazy, no, motherfucking insane, thinking he can change the world with words. But look at now! I mean, us guys, we have someone to rally behind now! Seriously, that kid led pretty much the equivalent of the women's rights movement for us guys! Keep on rocking, dude!"

"K-kira Orthun, he's the guy who I heard was talking about equality, and all that…" A fifteen year old boy, black hair and looking very timid, spoke, "…and, and his words gave me the courage to keep on living, even if every girl at school told me I was worthless and should die."

"That guy, I don't know what it is," a blonde young woman spoke, "But he carries with him some sort aura that makes you just want to live. I don't understand why they'd want to charge him with war crimes. He never attacked anyone innocent here. I always heard he was going after criminals, and I don't think that's a lie."

"Kira!" Cecilia burst in, and grabbed the remote from my hands, "Come on…"

"This is BBC, and tonight we're bringing you breaking news! It seems that in response to Kira Orthun's change in status to a fugitive, people have begun to start petitions and hold peaceful demonstrations-"

Next Charlotte burst in, switching to a French news channel, then Laura, who did the same thing but with Germany. It seems that I had more influence on the world than I thought… I don't know if this is going to be enough to change their minds, but it has done one thing for sure. I don't care what all those world leaders said they were going to do. If all of these people believe that I can change the world for the better, I sure as hell am NOT going to let them down!

We scanned through all of the news channels after that, all of them displaying for the most part the same thing. In other places the resistance was brutally suppressed, though they just became martyrs… E, I want the names of everyone who was suppressed. We're making a memorial and we're naming any new ships we make after them.

Got it. I'll see what I can do.

"So, Kira…" Ichika looked ready to laugh, "What now?"

"Now? Now, I get ready to storm Phantom Task. But first, I've got to talk with my men."

"Good evening, gentlemen." I said, taking my stand at the podium, "No doubt you all have heard the news that I'm apparently the World's Most Wanted man. Well, achievement unlocked." That got a few chuckles, "Though this isn't going to stop me. In all honesty, I think I've come a little too far now to back down. We're on the cusp of destroying Phantom Task, and just because the leaders of the countries today won't listen to us, doesn't mean we can turn away from the truth.

"Phantom Task is getting ready to attack all of the world's major cities with their stage two Prototypes." A few shivers went through the crowd, "I know a few of you have faced them before. They're not shielded this time around but the energy has gone into making them faster and deadlier. We'll have to be dropped in, since we can't sneak around as much with the governments of the world being on high alert for any Spartan activity.

"Now… I feel that I need to say this. If anyone wants to walk out now, feel free to. I won't judge you. I know that they're looking for you, trying to figure out who is a Spartan, and might try to coerce you. If you want to be able to walk away clean, you can. I'll deny that you were ever part of the Spartans at all-

"Sir," King Leader… no, Rahz Olwen, who hailed from German, interrupted, "I think I speak for all of us when I say we don't live in fear of being discovered. And I think I also speak for all of us when I say that we are all proud to be Spartans. Everyone here, has made it so far, I don't think any of us would be willing to look away now."

"Ooh-rah!" King Squad and several others yelled.

"Yeah!" Gold Team shouted together, "Wolf Leader, no one here is gonna let you down, ever! We're with you to the end."

"HELL YEAH!" came the reply from the Spartans.

"Then it's settled," I cracked a grin, "Spartans, get ready to lock and load. We're proceeding on schedule, with a few minor changes. IS Academy is going to be a target, as we can guess. Is anyone willing to step off the main lines to help defend it?"

"Leave that to us!" Breaker Squad, which usually was the squad in charge of any defensive weaponry, their favorite being tanks, "Those suckers will never know what hit 'em!"

"I see." I nodded, "I'll be sure to allocate everything we can as well. I'll get in contact with IS Academy's supervisors and coordinate the defense effort. Everyone, you should have gotten your assigned areas by now. Come see me if you haven't. Remember everyone, we've got about two week now. Let's make them count."

It was about night time now, and I had been sitting in one of the shelter rooms, not really doing much.

"Ki-kun," I felt two slender arms wrap themselves around me.

"Hey, Ta-chan," I felt her snake her way around me and sit on my lap, "What's on your mind?"

"Do… do you think that now that we're married…"

"…do you want to?"

"Yes."

"Well…" I sighed, "I was thinking about it for a while, but you know, what if you end up pregnant and I die out there?" her mood seemed to fall after that, "I know that we can, but… but I still just am planning for the future."

"Aren't you planning a future where you live?"

"Yes, but you never know. No plan survives first contact with the enemy."

"I see," she had a finger glide over my shirt, "But I still want to."

"You do? Even after that?"

"Of course." She giggled a bit, "I was well aware of all the risks when we made our commitment. Sooo…"

"Come here," I laughed as she pulled me up and over to the bed, "We'll have to try not to make too much noise, after all, there are some kids here…"

"Holy crap man, you could at least keep it down." Ichika commented at breakfast the next day, which was still in the underground shelters, "Damn, I couldn't sleep at all last night."

"What are you talking about?" I smoothly said, eating a bit of the bread we had.

"Tabane, is there any reason you're quiet today?" Chifuyu asked, completely oblivious, as she was on patrol duty.

"Oh, I'm just… happy." She giggled, "And quite satisfied."

"Really now?" Chifuyu finished her salad, "Anyways, I need to go. The reconstruction teams are moving in today."

"Aaaand that reminds me that I need to finish talking with the supervisors here about defensive operations," I stood up alongside Tabane, who kissed me on the cheek goodbye, "Have a good day, everyone."

"Have fun!" Tabane waved as I left the room and went down to headquarters.

When I reached the door I dialed in the number 1038672469 into the keypad and looked into the retina scanner that opened up, before the door opened. I stepped in and made sure that nothing had come in after me. Good.

"Sir!" Breaker Squad's leader saluted as I entered the room.

"At ease, Breaker Leader," the red colored Spartan dropped his salute, "Alright, Sarashiki-san, what do you have proposed for my men?"

"We've estimated that our weakest points are these three locations," Tatenashi's father highlighted three points on the map. The front gate could easily be defended, but the back of the island had two cliffs where some beaches were underneath, which could make for good landing points, "The two cliffs lead up through the back of the school and while they are guarded at all times, a quick rush could easily destroy them. We'd like for your men to hold these two positions."

"What about the third area?"

"The third area is the port area on the island. If they secure that area, then they can easily bring more land supplies…"

"But we're dealing with mainly air attacks here. Though I can see where you're coming from… I want you to see how many civilians you can evacuate. Train them, drill them. I don't want any civilians killed."

"I see."

"Okay, I think we can do this. Breaker, I want you establishing anti-air at those three points, and cover them with some entrenched positions. I'm authorizing Gauss turrets for you guys."

"Are you sure, Leader? Aren't you going to need those supplies?"

"Our newer plans made sure we didn't max out so that way we'd have a safety net," I explained to him, "Besides, it couldn't hurt." I had E copy the map for us, "Breaker Leader, E's going to have the map ready for you back at the base. I want your plan on who is where and who is manning what on my desk in three days."

"I'll have it done today." He saluted, "Breaker out."

As he left, Tatenashi's dad chuckled, "You know how to lead."

"Sure." I shrugged, "Anything else?"

"Other than that, no." he nodded, "You may go."

"Understood." I snapped around and walked out.

"So," I poured over the map that Tabane had set up, "What are we looking at? The Atlantic Ocean?"

"Where Phantom Task has their base set up," Tabane pointed at a X in the northern part, "We did an equidistance operation, since Madoka confirmed their plans to hit all at the same time to provide maximum chaos. So, I had a scout team go there…"

"What did they find?"

"An artificial island like mine. But this one is a barren wasteland of ice and metal."

"How hasn't it been spotted?"

"It literally integrates part of the polar ice there. It looks just like what's there… ice, water, nothing else." She explained, "Aaaaaand I have a new ship created."

"What?"

Tabane pointed to a screen, "Ki-kun, I give you the Dreambringer. An exact copy of the Shades of Grey, minus stealth systesm. Since the Grey will be helping out with orbital drops with those stealth systems, I felt that you should at least have your own pale horse to ride on for Phantom Task."

"Wow. That's awesome though. Same loading capacities?"

"Yes. Also, I looked at your plans and they look great. When you hit the base, see if you can find out how they're controlling the units. If you can shut it down it would save countless lives."

"Got it. Hit base with massive air and sea, transition into land and air, shut down Prototype control while taking out Meseul. Awesome."

"And Ki-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Here." She handed me a small orb that glowed blue inside, "It's a last resort. A Slipspace bomb, miniature, so it won't make such a huge explosion…"

"Okay… so, how do I trigger it, if I need to?"

"First off, you need to give it the vocal password… which I've made into your chant-esque thing. Then, hold all four of these points here," she pointed to each of the four indentations where you could stick fingers in, "…and let go."

"Okay then," I nodded, "If all else fails… use this. Where does the portal lead to?"

"To where you thought you'd once end up."

"I see… so there's no guarantee of me getting back."

"No," she shook her head before pulling me in close, "Promise me you won't use it unless you have to."

"Understood."

"No, say 'I promise'."

"…I promise you, Ta-chan, that I will not use this unless absolutely necessary." As I finished, she kissed me, before she said she was going to go to sleep.

Our plans are set.

Our guns are locked and loaded.

Our enemy is ready for us.

But we are ready for them.

They can try to end the world in their way… but for us… our fight… is the way the world will be saved.

Ooooooh yes. This took me literally one afternoon to write. I was in the ZONE.

And yeah, Tabane and Kira did it. And everyone knows. :D Okay, not really, but you get where I'm going.

So yeah, it may seem a bit unbelievable, but yes, Kira got exiled from the world. Why did no one believe him? Well, first off, it was a secret war for the most part. Two, no one wants to admit that they got their Infinite Stratos stolen. Three, pride. Do they really want to admit that they were wrong and that this teenage boy was right? Plus, it would cause mass panic, and if you look at the IS world, there is a strong sense of stubbornness in the whole 'IS supremacy'. It would take a lot to convince someone otherwise.

Aaaaand then callback to the first chapter, where Kira was going around giving talks after he was publicly shown as another male IS pilot. Good thing he did, since it helped him a lot later on.

So, any questions and or comments, please leave them in the review section or feel free to PM me! Have a good day, everyone!