Sunset over Mount Fuji's silhouette. Things could not be any more problematic for Chifuyu. She and Maya returned to the Fuji-san command center while the others, under her strict orders, remained beside Ichika and Lincoln at Watanabe Hospital. So many questions filled her mind. Why was a child trapped inside a rouge IS unit? And how would that affect her standing among the rest of the IS world? With the Academy? And with Ichika and his friends? And probably the most important and pervasive problem: how was she going to explain sending in a 12-year-old on a life-threatening mission? The higher-ups would most likely find an excuse to shove all responsibility on her. But Lincoln was most likely to butt in, saying that he knew the risks involved, and he willingly accepted the mission as a student and a pilot of the IS Academy. A statement like that could cause an uproar. All this while she was staring at the map, wondering what next move would be made.
"It looks like it stopped moving," Maya was just as worried. She couldn't contemplate the circumstances that led to Margo's captivity on the Gospel, "Do you suppose Headquarters would want us to continue the operation, ma'am?"
Chifuyu considered that, but knowing the mindset of the entire IS community, the end result would be the same, "Until we receive the order to stand down, we have no choice."
"But how?" Maya questioned, "There's a child inside. With what means do we have of extracting her, ma'am?"
Chifuyu didn't know. That was it. She had no answer to the problem at hand. What else was there, other than stopping the IS and killing Margo, and letting her live and allowing the IS to run rampant? She couldn't risk the life of someone that had no business in an IS...yet she had to. She gnawed her teeth in rage as she found herself unable to cope with the present situation.
Maya shared the same concerns as her superior. She thought it might have been a mistake to send Lincoln in, but she wondered what would've happened if she hadn't sent him to interrupt Margo's dealing with Phantom Task...or better yet, if she had dissuaded him from getting near that IS all those months ago. She tried to block out her worries by remaining her eyes on the monitor. At one point, her phone was ringing for Charlotte's number, but she quickly removed the battery.
"Uh-" Charlotte stuttered before giving up. She gave Cecilia her phone, "It's no use. She will not take any words."
"Oh my word..." Cecilia muttered, "...And here we are stuck in the cold chrome cells of a hospital, unable to do anything..."
Rin, Cecilia, Charlotte, and Laura were waiting at the lobby for any word on Lincoln or Ichika's condition, but so far, the doctors told them that there has been no change. Rin was flipping through the tv channels when she noticed a breaking news report about the most recent battle, "Oh no...guys?"
"Of all the rotten..." Cecilia exasperated.
"Vous plaisantez j'espère...Are they saying anything about us?..." Charlotte asked worriedly.
Thankfully, the news report was just on the battle itself. They thought the Gospel was unmanned.
"Well, first time fake news came to save our butts," Rin sighed.
"Can you imagine what'd happen if they found out?" Charlotte shuddered.
"More than that..." Cecilia pondered, "Now that we know, how are we going to free her?"
"I don't know..." Charlotte turned away. She had thought of a couple plans, but they involve whittling down the Gospel's energy little by little, ergo, causing harm to Margo's body.
Rin surfed the tv for another ten seconds before tossing the remote away, "We ain't gonna figure out a game plan just sitting here," she leapt off the couch, "We need to go straight to Miss Orimura and work this out. The longer we sit here, the more damage the Gospel will do."
"That won't be necessary..." Laura entered the living space and displayed an image of the Gospel's current location, "The Schwarzer Hase has found the Gospel 30 kilometers Southwest of the port, but the unit has been immobile for a few hours. All it did was generate an energy barrier."
"But it still has a hostage," Rin reiterated, "We need to go to Miss Orimura for help."
"She has ordered us to remain on standby," Laura said, "We cannot go against Mentor's orders."
"But..." Rin remembered the standard operating procedures very clearly, which caused her to be conflicted, "Ichika...he's her brother... and she just left him here..."
Laura has witnessed this emotion before, and placed her hand on Rin's shoulder, "I understand your concern. She did order his treatment, and she is his family."
"Then, why..."
"To protect his dignity, as well as hers. She is her brother, and seeing him in pain has a profound impact on her. I'm positive that the other instructors share that pain as well. That's why they left us here with him, because the pain is too intense for us to handle."
"Really?" Rin asked, "You think so?"
"Ja...I do."
"Ok..." Rin sighed, "That makes me feel a little better."
Laura looked to her left and saw Cecilia go outside to find Houki, and Charlotte depart for Ichika and Lincoln's room. "But a more pressing matter is..."
Rin looked behind her, "Oh..." She peered through the front door and saw Houki slumped over on a rocky bench under a shade tree, hair covering up her distraught face, "I'm gonna backup Cecilia."
Laura nodded and headed towards the ICU wing. There, she saw Charlotte sitting in the chair in between Ichika and Lincoln, her hands cupped as if she was in a prayer. Laura entered and walked to Charlotte's side. Then, she stared at Ichika and Lincoln's motionless bodies. "Have they not even twitched?"
"Not once..." Charlotte muttered.
"Do you have any idea how it happened?...How Houki and Ichika almost..."
"It couldn't be helped. The Gospel shut down Margo's mind."
"That's what worries me..." Charlotte looked up at the boys' serene faces, "What must she be thinking to allow the Gospel to invade her mind?"
"I don't know..." Laura muttered. Her eye was stuck on Lincoln, who looked like he was at peace with his fate... as if he had done all he could. "All I know is that it's not over."
They stared over at Ichika and Lincoln, who were going through very, very different mental walks.
"Say it's not over..." Charlotte said, "What do you suppose we do?"
Laura thought about her next courses of action, how she had already formulated three possible operations to safely disable the Gospel, or to end it...all of which required the most disrespectful action: disobeying the superior officer. But then, she thought about everything Lincoln did this semester, and how he didn't seem to care that there was a mountain he had to climb to survive the academy; he just did. He went in and planned everything on the fly, without any second thought.
Maybe that was the only way to win.
"Yes..." Laura muttered.
"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked.
Laura turned to Charlotte, "We must confront the Gospel. Right now, without approval."
"Que diable?!" Charlotte exclaimed, "Do you know what that means?!"
"I'm prepared for punishment," Laura flatly stated, "But this is only temporary, compared to allowing the Gospel to do as it pleases."
"I understand, but still...just rushing out there?!"
"If we wait for approval that might never come, the Gospel will have already done irreparable damage to the world. We cannot wait."
Charlotte stared into Laura's eyes. She had never seen such conviction from anywhere before. She became convinced that Laura had found a way to complete the operation, however questionable. "Okay..." she gave in, "...but we still have a problem with the pilot..."
"Keine Bange," Laura said, "I have a plan."
Meanwhile, Houki was wallowing in her actions and potential consequences of the mission. Just the vivid replay of Ichika sacrificing himself for her was enough to rattle her mind, but then she saw him with one little boy defending an unidentifiable ship. And their previous exchange over the morality of duty over lives brought back...
("No! I can't turn my back on them!")
("Idiots! You'd put protecting those lowlifes over this?!")
("Don't talk like that. That's not the Houki I know. You can't turn a blind eye to them.")
("You do realize...that that would've been it for you, right?")
Houki shook her head in denial. She couldn't fathom what exactly would allow Ichika or Lincoln to stall their missions for a poaching vessel. She hasn't turned a blind eye at all. She knew. Her Akatsubaki came equipped with a wide-area scanner that detected the boat seconds after she saw the Gospel. She chose to continue the battle, using the poachers as collateral. Maybe it was a way of getting silent revenge against those who wronged her, by sending a signal. Or maybe her emotional trauma caused her to lash out.
Or maybe Ichika and Lincoln were lucky enough to have people who taught them the value of human life, even for criminals.
"What am I even doing in this jumpsuit?..." Houki murmured.
Suddenly, that familiar British voice: "You can't be thinking of desertion, right?"
"Not now, Cecilia..." Houki didn't look up.
Cecilia looked back at the open-door lobby. "You know, we may have had a major setback, but that doesn't mean we've given up."
"I said not now," Houki became slightly agitated.
"If not now, when?"
"I don't know!" Houki shouted.
Cecilia sighed, "...This is why it can't wait. All this emotional baggage inside, and what good has bottling it up done? There's something inside you that has to get off your chest this instant."
Houki sat silent. She knew what Cecilia was talking about, but she didn't have the words to express what was on her mind.
"We're not sure of what just happened, but we know we have to figure out how to comeback from this," Cecilia said, "Moping around won't get you anywhere. We need you to come back to-"
"No you don't."
Cecilia stopped talking, "...Huh?"
"You don't need me."
"Excuse me?!" Cecilia jolted.
Houki ran off into the city streets in tears.
"Hey! Houki!" Cecilia tried to chase after her, but the traffic light changed before she could reach the crosswalk. The incoming cars prevented her from moving forward. "Houki!" She shouted, then turned away, "Ugh, what is it with that woman?"
"Bad day," Rin appeared behind her, "Really bad day."
Cecilia raised an eyebrow, "There's time to nag her about the vessel later! Why can't she put that aside?!"
Rin simply shrugged. Then, she stared at the street that connected the sea to the hospital. She peered through the sunset's glimmer and saw Houki already at the end. "I'll go after her," Rin said.
Houki kept running away from the hospital. She made a hard turn left at the three way intersection into a river bordered by soft green grass. She ran her breath out, and even then, she didn't stop. She tried to run away from her mistake, but her mind wouldn't let go. Every step she took, she was reminded of two events from her past. One of them, when she was much younger, happened in elementary school...
(At school, Houki was actively avoided due to her default facial expression. A group of boys took notice and doubled down on her issue, calling it a condition, and making a false rumor about how she's actually a boy cross dressing as a girl. She constantly turned to her teachers and counselors for help, but they always told her to stand up to those rumors. Problem was: whenever she did, the bullies were right along with her, ready to start up even more rumors and gossip. Gossip that went unnoticed until one day, when she was cleaning up the classroom with a younger Ichika.
Then, the bullies stepped in the room.
"Hey, tomboy!" One of them taunted, "Why don't you show us what you're really like?"
"How come you don't have your wooden sword with you, Huh?" Another joined in.
Ichika stopped mopping the floor and confronted them, "You know, you guys really shouldn't goof off. Either help clean up, or leave."
"What's your problem, Orimura?" One of the bullies piped, "You mean, you like this tomboy?"
"Eww, that's gross!" Another chimed in, "Do you even know what she's like?"
"Did you see them this morning?" And then the bullies started to act like Ichika and Houki weren't even there, "They were acting all lovey-dovey and stuff!"
As the bullies kept laughing, Houki got more irritated by the second, but she couldn't do anything because it was three against her. Ichika, on the other hand, grew tired of the taunting and decided to approach the bullies to end their attacks.
"He even gave her a ribbon! That's not gonna help the cross dressing!"
"How dumb is that?! A tomboy with a freaking ribbon! What a laugh!" SMACK! "Ugh-"
That was when Ichika landed a punch square in the bully's jaw, knocking him out. He quickly grabbed his broom and prepped for a potential fight with the other two bullies. And fight they did.
"What's your problem, man-" SMACK! "OOF!"
"Hey, ease up-" BONK "-AGH!"
It didn't last very long. Ichika struck them down with the Full Force technique.
Right when the home room teacher came in to check on them, "What's with all the ruckus?!"
"Sensei," one of the bullies groaned, "Orimura beat us down...we just wanted to play with Shinonono, and...and he just hit us-"
The teacher put his hand up to silence him, "Lemme guess...he hit you after you wouldn't stop calling Shinonono a man dressing up as a woman."
"What?!" The other billy protested, "We never said that!"
"I could hear you from the other side of the wall you're so loud!" The teacher shouted loud enough to wake up the person Ichika had just knocked down.
"Ugh...my head-" the bully barely had any time to breathe, as he was pulled up to standing position by his collar, "Agh! What are you-"
"The three of you with me," the teacher said, "Now."
After the incident, Ichika and Houki retreated to the Shinonono dojo to try to forget about the stress they just endured. After the kendo session, they freshened up outside. Houki was still dwelling on the fact that Ichika came to her rescue, even causing the bullies to receive punishment. Something she was sure the other students would take notice of.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" She spouted out.
"Huh? How so?" Ichika looked at her.
"Don't you understand that doing something like that could cause problems later on?"
"I don't think about stuff like that at all. I just beat down the bad guys," he joked, "Nothing to it."
"Oh..." she sighed, thinking about the many possible stories that the bullies could spin to try to mitigate the punishment.
He noticed her downtrodden face and said, "Hey, don't worry about those losers. That ribbon you were wearing looked good on you. I think you should wear it again."
"Well, forget it," she snapped, "I won't take any orders from anyone."
That confirmed to Ichika she was in a much better mood. He decided to take his leave, "Well, I'll be going now. See you, Shinonono."
Houki jolted. She didn't want to admit it, but she was grateful for him to stand up to those bullies and wanted some way to thank him. But her mind wasn't given enough time to come up with something to say, so she ended up with, "Wait!"
"Hm?" Ichika stopped and turned around with curious eyes."
"Just so you know, I have a first name," Houki said, "It's Houki. Everyone at the dojo is a Shinonono, too, so it gets...confusing. So, just call me by my first name, ok?"
"Sure," Ichika nodded, and then returned the favor, "Ichika."
"Huh?"
"That's my first name, since there's another Orimura, too. So, just call me Ichika.")
"WAA-" SLAM! "OGH-AaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAa-" SPLASH!
Houki ended up tripping over a rock, and rolling downhill across the grass, and into the river. She couldn't stand the idea of a version of herself that was more aware of consequences of actions than she was now. She was already startled by an Ichika coming to her defense twice in her lifetime, both of which had an enormous impact on her life, but she never expected to come across another flashback, this time to a recent moment during the first half of the semester.
It was actually a moment of serenity and serendipity. During the autumn festival, she was supposed to be a ringer to pull Rin away from Ichika. Instead, she was dragged into the parade, becoming the festival's banner girl. She could see it all that time. The smiling, cheering faces, the eclectic chants and songs, the sparks of the welcoming autumn...
...and the jovial expressions of Ichika, Rin, and Lincoln. All there just to have a good time. Until she ruined it all by mindlessly blurting our the location of the squirrel boy. Counting that incident, that makes two times that she betrayed Ichika's trust.
Houki clawed out of the water and rolled onto the grassy riverbank, "GUH!...HHH...*ACK*ACK*Haaahhhhhh...hhh..." Slowly, her panting turned to sobbing. She covered her face in an attempt to hide her shame, but nothing could hide her mistakes. She just then knew that all people start out weak, but some grow strong enough to protect them. It didn't matter what their past or present was. That's what it meant to be a hero. Leaving nothing to chance, and leaving no one to their fates. That was what she experienced when she rescued Cecilia those years ago, and sadly, that was what she had neglected. Three times.
"I can't go on..." Houki sobbed, "I'm finished as a pilot..."
"The hell you are."
Houki didn't respond to the sound of Rin's voice.
Rin walked over to Houki and sat down beside her. She looked down at Houki, who didn't seem to mind her being there. Rin looked up at the sunset, "Paaaathetic...assuming that everything was your fault, and then turning tail and hiding from the rest of the party... that is so predictable."
Houki didn't even flinch. She just kept her arms covering her face.
"What?" Rin taunted, "You're not gonna Rin your mouth like usual?"
Houki didn't seem to hear her.
Rin couldn't tell what Houki was going through, aside from the mission surprises, so she employed the only stratagem she knew to get an instant motivation boost.
"Enjoying your little self-pity party, are you?" Rin had to get her angry, "Well, too bad, 'cuz it's over." She latched onto Houki's collar and dragged her body to sitting upright. "Now, listen up. There's plenty of time to dwell on the past, but it ain't now. Right now, we've got a job to do and a life to save. Stop sulking and get back to work."
Rin peeked over at the Houki she dragged up. The head was still tilted over, the arms had gone limp, and the face was still stuck in mourning.
"Hey!" Rin shouted, "Stop being a spoiled brat! You don't have time to play these games, not when you just got your own personal unit!"
Again, no reaction. Rin thought for a moment on how to trigger some kind of fire within Houki...and then, it hit her. She let go of Houki and stood up. "You know what, you're right. We don't need you," she taunted, "not when you're all in in your gloomy mind trying to spread your dirty sorrow to us."
Houki said and did nothing.
Then, Rin pulled out her trigger, "Not like Ichika would have appreciated your gloominess."
That was it. Houki's ears twitched. She couldn't believe what she just heard. She immediately got angry, "Shut up."
"Oh, what now?" Rin prepared herself to get slapped, "Feel like pooping your emotions all over us-"
SMACK!
And get slapped, she did. Houki swatted her across the jaw and felled her hard.
"SHUT UP!" Houki screamed, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?! NOTHING! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MISSION?! NOTHING!"
Rin couldn't resist a smile as she steadied herself upright, "And you're not gonna tell me? Or maybe you just wanna keep me in the dark so you can have all the sympathy to yourself!"
SMACK!
Houki slapped Rin again, "STOP TALKING LIKE YOU'RE ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY! THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN YOUR PROBLEM!"
"Guess you're right..." Rin grunted, "I may act all high and mighty..." she stumbled a bit before standing up once again, "...but at least I'm acting...UNLIKE YOU, YA BLUE-FACED SLOTH!"
"HRRAAAAAAGH!" Houki smacked Rin for a third time, only to get a hard slap in return. They both fell to the grass, panting and covered in dirt. Houki struggled to hold back her tears.
But Rin just kept talking, "You think you're all hot stuff...after getting that shiny new IS...Were you that eager to show off your new kicks?!" She stood up moments before Houki did, "What do you think we did when we got our IS?!"
"What's your point?!" Houki screamed, "What did you have to do?!"
"Make mistakes, for one thing! And then, learn! You think you can just sweep a W under the first rung?!"
"Well, whaddaya want me to do?! It's not like we can find the Gospel again!"
"One mistake, and that it?! That's your excuse to turn tail and run?!"
"I'm not running! I'm just-"
"Just what?! Just playing these games with yourself?! When Ichika's down and out?!"
Ichika...down. That's the reason Houki was in this sudden slump. She was already done when he fell, but bringing back the notion that he was down also gave her a sort of revelation. With him gone, and the only Gen 4 model being in her possession, she was literally the only person able to lead the charge against the Gospel and prevent it from hurting anyone else. She already screwed up once, and already she was given another chance. But...
"So what if there's another person trapped inside?!" Rin said, "The other girls are already figuring out how to get her out! I came here to ask for your help!" Then, she turned around, "But I can see you're doing just fine on your own."
"Wait!" Houki instinctively shouted. She didn't know what to say. She just didn't want to get left behind again. So far, everyone else has taken the initiative, but she was unable to do anything for the longest time, "I...I just..."
Rin stopped walking and turned her head. "So, are you going to get up?" Rin asked, "Or are you just a pathetic coward who can't fight when it really counts for something?"
Houki looked down, staring down all the times she risked her own life and the lives of others in one second. "What choice do I have?..." she muttered, "I've been staring down a reckless hole, and I've always been the one to follow...but, now I am able to lead...and I will bounce back." She looked Rin square in the eye with fierce determination, "So, yes. I am going to get back up. And I am going to fight!"
"Uh, why?"
"Because..." Houki needed a moment. Then, she said, "...because I wanna fight, too. I want to fight for something, too. I can't stand by and watch you take on the enemy all by yourself. I want to be with everyone when we fight for and save her!"
Rin couldn't fully comprehend Houki's semi-hackneyed response, but she understood the general idea. She nodded and pointed to right, "Then, come aboard."
Houki immediately turned to her right and saw something that warmed her heart a little: a motor boat that was captained by Hana and passengered by Cecilia, Charlotte, and Laura.
"All aboard!" Hana shouted.
"What are you all doing here?!" Houki asked.
"The same thing you're doing right now," Charlotte answered, "We all feel the same way about this."
"We can't end this incident with us losing, can we?" Cecilia said.
Houki brightened up. For once in her life, she felt like she was part of a team, one that actually had her back. "Ok...let's go." She and Rin climbed aboard and settled in beside the engine.
"Looks like that's everyone," Hana said. She revved up the engine, and then the group was off riding towards the ocean, "So, where to?"
"Here," Laura displayed a holographic monitor showing an image of the Gospel's location, "The Black Hare Corps was able to pinpoint its position via satellite, approximately 30 kilometers from our current location. The unit is currently in Stealth Mode, but the Corps has confirmed it does not have optical camouflage capabilities."
"That's the German Special Forces for you," Rin winked, "Those girls kick ass."
"So, in other words," Hana said, "We're going to land when we're able to just barely see the Gospel."
"Ja," Laura nodded, "I have prepared my Schwarzer Regen with a sniper package. What is the status of the rest of the group?"
"My Shenlong's offensive enhancement package has been installed," Rin have a thumbs up.
"Preparations are complete on my end as well," Charlotte said.
"And my Blue Tears is finely tuned for this enemy," Cecilia added, "We're ready for combat."
"So, we're going to fight that thing by ourselves?" Houki asked, eyes widened.
"Of course," Rin said, "No offense to Miss Orimura, but we are not gonna just sit there twiddling our thumbs while the higher ups try to figure out somethingamajig."
"That's right," Hana said, "This river connects Fuji-san to the ocean, so I grabbed a boat after I overhead the plan to free Margo."
"Free her?" Houki didn't follow until she remembered what happened just after the tail end of her first fight, "Wait-you mean-"
"We're going to whittle down the Gospel's energy until it can't sustain its barrier," Cecilia said, "Then, one of us will move in and extract the hostage while the rest of us provide cover."
"But which of us will engage, and which of us will extract?" Charlotte wondered, "The Gospel won't just stand idly by."
"Lincoln would've had a chance to do it, but he's incapacitated," Laura mused, "My wires might have a chance of getting her out..."
"Let's just worry about containing the Gospel, ok?" Hana suggested.
"Right," Cecilia thought, "Let's take it one step at a time, shall we?"
"One step?" Rin taunted, "I'm going ten steps ahead of you!"
Cecilia saw Houki maintaining her default expression and pretended to groan, "Rin, do you honestly expect me to damage my flawless hair with your antics?"
Houki reacted to Cecilia's inburst, "Hair?! This is the biggest fight of our lives! How can you be worried about your hair?!"
"Because how do people usually look when they hit the dirt?"
That sparked a humorous argument between the two.
"Wow," Rin whispered, "I cannot believe that worked."
"And so, two identical souls formed a strong bond," Charlotte said wistfully.
"It takes a pain in the ass to handle one," Rin bragged.
Laura had just heard another phrase she had never heard anyone else say, "Pain in whose ass?"
Rin wasn't thinking when she responded, "Ichika's."
"AAAAAGH!" Charlotte flinched, "WHHHYYYYY?!"
"Oh, god!" Hana momentarily lost control of the boat, "Bad images in my brain!"
Laura had no idea what they were talking about. All she heard was four hooligans trying to mentally prepare themselves for the mission, "Looks like we're adequately prepared..." if she could call it that.
"Oh, lighten up," Rin nudged, "How's about I learn you about girl talk?"
Laura spent the boat ride wishing she was inside Fuji-san.
Once the boat left the river and entered the ocean, Hana turned off the engine and let it coast away from the mainland. "I see it," she pointed at a blue-greenish ball off in the distance, "It's not moving...just protecting itself."
"A literal Divinity Barrier..." Rin sighed, "Great..."
"Not to worry," Laura jumped off the boat and deployed her Schwarzer Regen just before she hit the surface, "I have equipped a Panzer sniper package. It should destroy the barrier in one shot."
Cecilia took note of the IS's gigantic rail cannon, and the two stabilizing prongs protruding from the back, "And how do you plan on maneuvering with all that junk?"
"The same as you and your drones," Laura said, "I can dematerialize them."
"Alright, people! Enough chatter!" Rin jumped off and deployed.
"Quite right..." Cecilia took her time to deploy one piece of her IS at a time, "And now for the-" BONK! "-AAA-" SPLASH!
"You're taking too long," Houki pushed her aside and deployed fully.
"GUH-HHH..." Cecilia emerged after Houki flew upward, "DO YOU MIND?!"
"Come on," Charlotte had already deployed when Cecilia splashed down and helped her out of the water, "We don't have time to play these games."
"Tell that to the Queen of Risks over there!" Cecilia finished deploying and pointed her rifle at Houki.
"Ok, people!" Rin clapped her scimitars, "Let's get with the program!"
Houki floated on top of the surface, "I'll take the charge forward since the Akatsubaki's limited on long-range options."
"So, you're gonna be in its face the whole time?" Rin said, "That means you can see Margo's physical state the whole time."
"Yeah..." Houki nodded, slightly shaken about her previous brush with endangering human lives, "...I'll back off whenever I see her reacting to our attacks. But I'll need you to back me up if the Gospel tries to go long-range."
"Oh," Rin at first was put off by the words 'back' and 'up', but she suddenly put an idea together that even the Akatsubaki had its limitations that the Shenlong could overcome, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
Charlotte steadied Cecilia midair, "Rin and I will stay within midrange. Can you control the field with your drones?"
"I shall try my best," Cecilia nodded, "Just stay clear of them, as we might have a friendly fire situation."
Laura finished training her IS on the small pack of concrete available to her. She steadied her gaze on the Gospel, wondering how she was going to end this fight without any casualties. Her entire military career was nothing but extractions and surveillance. This was her first rescue mission, and it was one of her friend's friends. She wasn't sure if she would be able to see it through.
Hana noticed that sleight of hesitation, "Are you ok?"
"A bit," Laura said, "I have a clear visual of the Gospel...it's in a fetal position, almost as if it, and its pilot, are suffering."
"Well...in a way, it is..." Hana agreed, "but isn't it why you're finishing this mission?"
"Not really. All of my past missions had me neutralize hostile threats. This is vastly different."
"You've got a plan, and you can watch from far away," Hana looked at the other pilots psyching themselves up, "Maybe you can move between long, mid, and close ranges when things are getting too crazy?"
"I might try that," Laura nodded, "and I trust you will be here when the fight is done?"
"You can count on me, Commander!" Hana saluted her.
Laura chuckled, "Haha, alright...Go back to the hospital. Ichika and Lincoln need someone to be there for them."
"Understood," Hana turned the boat around and rode back inland.
Laura calmed her mind and refocused her IS. Then, she declared mission start, "Everyone in position!"
The others heard and took their places above her, Houki out in front, Rin and Charlotte above her, and Cecilia in the back with Laura.
"We're all ready," Rin said.
"We'll go on your mark," Cecilia said while preparing her drones.
Laura took one deep breath and aimed.
Back in the command center, Chifuyu just ended a very scathing phone call, in that she was the one scathing the higher ups about their lack of initiative, "WELL, YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT MY BRUNHILDE ENDORSEMENT PARTNERSHIP THINGAMAJIG, 'CUZ I'M GONNA SAVE THAT KID RIGHT NOW, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" She threw her phone on the ground and smashed it.
"Miss Orimura?!" Maya yelped.
"They're asking me to come out of retirement and take out the Gospel," Chifuyu growled, "and they want me to use Margo as collateral."
"What?!" Maya screamed, "What are they planning?!"
"I've got some ideas..." Chifuyu sighed, "...One of them is how to safely remove the girl from the cockpit."
Maya heard that phrase before, and the idea that Chifuyu spoke of, minutes ago, and she was extremely skeptical, "But you can't call that safe, can you?!"
"No, but it's literally the only thing I can think of," Chifuyu said, "Open a secure channel to the others. I need to see what they think-"
"That won't be possible, ma'am!" One of the staff pointed at her screen, "We have IS activity off the Suruga Bay!"
Laura pulled the trigger on her railgun and let loose a Mach Two energy bullet straight at the Gospel. The bullet flew across the bay and slammed into the Gospel, destroying its barrier and causing it damage. Laura saw the puff of smoke engulfing the IS completely. "First shot is a direct hit!" She said, "Go now!"
Houki unsheathed her twin katanas, "Follow my lead! Stay in formation!"
The Gospel dispelled the smoke with one flap of its wings. Its eyes glowed, and wings began to charge an enormous energy reserve. Houki didn't pay any mind to it; she simply charged ahead and launched several energy waves at it, making it dodge them and land right at Houki's weapons. The Gospel quickly fired off a round of energy balls right at Houki, only to be blindsided by a shot from Rin's Ryuhou shotgun cannons
Chifuyu and Maya were appalled by what they just saw.
"Ma'am!" Maya exasperated, "That's-!"
"I saw," Chifuyu said.
"But that against orders!" Maya said, "We have to call them back!"
Chifuyu didn't acknowledge that. After all, she saw the location of the Gospel and the five IS student pilots. She also saw that the pilots were arranged in a certain formation throughout that brief exchange, and surmised that they were enacting the same plan she thought of. It was the only viable plan, with Ichika and Lincoln out of commission, "I had a feeling it would come to this..."