Chapter 9
As soon as Ichika returned from his chat with Maya, the rest of the girls immediately began to pepper him with questions.
"What did Yamada-sensei tell you?"
"Are you in trouble?"
"Did something happen Ichika-san?"
"So how did you lower the barrier anyway Ichika?" That last question came from 'Charles', the blonde's face being more contemplative than the others.
"Ah, I'm not really supposed to talk about that." Ichika replied.
"About what?" Rin asked.
"About how Ichika-san took down the barrier in order to save you." Cecilia answered, before turning back to him.
"Does that mean that you're in trouble?" The blonde girl asked, concern clear on her features.
"No, I'm not in trouble. Since I did it to help Rin they decided to let it slide this time, but I can't do it again." Ichika replied, causing the fear to fade from Cecilia's face. Then, he continued.
"However, when I briefly fought with Laura, I managed to confirm one of my suspicions regarding the AIC, and I now have the knowledge and equipment needed to create a counter." Ichika finished, causing the girls' eyes to widen.
"So you were able to test if a laser could get through and you managed to succeed?" Houki chipped in, causing the attention in the room to shift to her.
"Exactly. It was only for a brief moment, but during the fight I fired my point defense laser at her through the AIC and it went right through it. Now that I know what works, all I have to do is create a more powerful version of it that can actually do some real damage." The rest of the girls smiled at that.
"But what if you don't end up facing her? I mean, if Cecilia and I get to her first then there wouldn't be anything left for you!" Rin asked.
"Then I will still have an awesome laser cannon at my disposal in case I have to face her in the future." Ichika replied as the group left the room. Soon, Ichika found himself back in the engineering bay, working on supersizing his FEL array.
The sun had already set by the time Charlotte found him in Engineering Bay 8, still working on his new weapon.
"Ichika? Are you still here?" The French girl called out as she entered the large room.
"Yeah. What is it?" Ichika replied, signalling for Ori to hide herself.
"Well... Did you get it to work? Because curfew is coming up and I don't want you to get in trouble..." The blonde trailed off.
"Don't worry, I was just wrapping up for the day. I got a prototype going that doesn't melt itself after a single shot, but the problem is that it needs to cool itself extensively after a single 2 second shot, so no full auto yet. Not to mention that the cooling cycle creates a ton of vapor." Ichika replied, gesturing to the long, black object currently being held in a pair of remote clamps and pointed at a nearby target. It was a simple rectangular box, with a long slot running down either side. On one end there was an object that was clearly a grip, and a short uplink scope was mounted on top.
"But does it work?" Charlotte asked.
"Yeah, it does. Do you want to watch?" Ichika asked, preparing the gun for another test firing.
"Sure!" Charlotte said, walking over to where he stood. A few seconds passed as Ichika ran through a few pre-firing checks, before, with a dramatic flourish of his hand that caused Charlotte to giggle, he pushed the button. Immediately, a loud whine filled the room, and the weapon lit up, several parts starting to glow, first red, and then a bright orange. A loud hiss filled the room a second later, and the firing chamber filled with a dense fog, which would have hidden the weapon entirely if it wasn't for the rapidly dimming glow of superheated materials. By the time the hissing stopped ten seconds later, the weapon was entirely invisible, while only its white hot glow prevented the target from being concealed in a similar manner.
"Alright, the weapon has cooled now. Replacing target and firing again." Ichika spoke, and after a few short seconds, the already fogged up room became even cloudier.
"I see how all that fog can be a problem..." Charlotte said after a few moments.
"Yeah. Not only does it make it almost impossible to see, but all that vapor in the air really messes with infrared imaging. If it is even half as bad as this in the actual arena, we'll be shooting blind after we fire our opening volley." Ichika replied.
"I see... Wait, what do you mean we?" Charlotte asked, and Ichika raised a small object in response.
"I've programmed this prototype into an equalizer unit. It will only take up one slot, and your Revive has plenty. I'll fabricate a second copy overnight for my own use. We'll get some practice in tomorrow morning."
"W-Wait! You're just giving me this?" Charlotte gestured towards the weapon.
"Of course! Laura's AIC can still block your entire arsenal, and once she figures out that I can get through it, she'll focus it entirely on you. This way we both have a way of getting through." Charlotte was silent for a few moments, before she smiled and took the offered equalizer.
"Say, Ichika, what are you planning on calling this?" The girl asked, pocketing the equalizer unit. Ichika thought for a moment.
"Well, I was thinking of calling it the HLPT-1, for Heavy Laser Prototype 1." Ichika replied, causing Charlotte to blink.
"W-What? Ichika, that's no name for a weapon that will bring us victory tomorrow! Something like this... It should be called something magnificent, but not overly so, otherwise someone might think you're compensating for something..." Charlotte blushed for a moment as she realized what she just said.
"A-Anyway!" The French girl stammered out, "Just calling it a string of letters and numbers is unacceptable! This isn't some mass produced laser cannon straight off the production line, it's the first of its kind! That means it has to be named something that makes it stand out! Something like... Lighthouse in the Fog, since it's a laser that makes a lot of foggy stuff, or maybe the Penetrator, since it can penetrate the AIC, or maybe something like-" Ichika cut the girl off mid-sentence.
"How does Invisible Glare sound?" Ichika asked, causing his partner to stare at him for a moment, before breaking out into a grin.
"That's perfect! When do we get to try it out?" Charlotte exclaimed eagerly.
"Tomorrow morning, right after breakfast. That will give us an hour or so to get used to this gun before we have to get to the arena." Ichika said, standing up from his work station.
"Charlotte, can you deploy your IS and install the Invisible Glare? I want to make sure everything fits." He asked, stretching after a long time spent seated.
"Alright." Charlotte replied, and her Raphael Revive Custom flashed into existence around her. Quickly clambering out, she made her way around the unit and popped open a small panel, revealing a series of slots, most of them already occupied. Plugging the equalizer into one, Charlotte closed the panel and climbed back into her IS.
"Alright. Now try storing and re-deploying it." Ichika ordered, and his partner complied, the weapon flashing out of existence in the testing room, and reappearing in her hands moments later.
"Good. Looks like it all works. I guess that means I'm done for today, so let's get back to our room before curfew." Ichika said, making sure he was leaving the room as he had found it before logging out. In the meantime, Charlotte had stowed away her IS, and soon the pair had made their way back to room 1025, making it inside only a few minutes before curfew. A few moments passed in silence, with Ichika standing up to grab a change of clothes from his closet.
"Say, Ichika, how did you manage to take down the barrier earlier today? I know you're not supposed to talk about it, but since we're alone in here, do you mind telling me? I-I mean, I understand if you don't want to, but..." Charlotte trailed off, as Ichika turned to look at her.
"Why do you want to know? You aren't planning something involving the arena barriers, are you?" Ichika asked.
"N-No! Nothing like that! I was just curious!" Charlotte stammered out.
"Well..." Ichika paused, considering his options. He couldn't tell the whole truth, and not saying anything might cause Charlotte to start investigating on her own, so after a few moments' thought, he decided on a half-truth.
"Alright, I'll tell you. You know how my IS can assimilate data on other units' weapons and equipment?" When his roommate nodded, he continued.
"Well, it does so through a combination of scanning the enemy's weapon and hacking into its equalizer system to get at the necessary data. That in turn means that my IS needs very strong cyberwarfare systems, which I decided to put to use in lowering the barrier." Ichika replied.
"Wait, but the Arena barrier and the Equalizer systems are two different things! A program made to access data from an equalizer won't be able to drop a barrier, or vice versa, and you didn't have time to modify the program!" Charlotte declared.
"Of course. That's because I had made the program several weeks beforehand."
"But why..."
"You weren't here when that drone attacked the academy during last month's tournament. One of the things it did was shut down all exits and entrances to the arena, forcing me and Rin to fight it alone, as reinforcements couldn't get inside. That's why I designed this program, so that something like that wouldn't happen again." Ichika replied, and Charlotte nodded in understanding.
"I see now..." Charlotte was silent for a few moments, before she spoke again.
"What was it like?"
"What was what like?" Ichika asked in turn.
"When the drone attacked... What was it like to have to fight it? I mean, it wasn't just a fun match! From what I heard, that thing tried to kill you!"
"Well... At the time I wasn't really focused on that... I think it was because I had been fighting a regular tournament right before, and I guess I never really believed it was coming to kill me..." A flat out lie, but it was all Ichika could say.
"I see... I wonder who sent it? I mean, I've heard it was an experimental machine that malfunctioned, but somehow I doubt that is the case." Charlotte replied.
"What are you getting at?" Ichika asked.
"Think about it Ichika! If it were an experimental machine, why would it come to IS Academy? Why wouldn't it attack something closer to where it was being tested? Not to mention that common sense would mean that a prototype at risk of running amok wouldn't have real weapons mounted on it! All this points to that drone being an attack against IS Academy! What do you think, Ichika?"
"I would tell you that any such questions should be directed to my older sister. As much as I would like to, I am prohibited from saying anything on the matter." Ichika replied.
"So you do know something! What was that drone really doing? Who sent it? Was it really an attack?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny any of your suspicions. I have been ordered by Instructor Orimura Chifuyu to remain silent on this topic. The same applies to all other students involved in the incident."
"Orimura-sensei... Now that I think about it, whenever something unusual happens here she seems to be involved." Charlotte mused.
"What do you mean?" Ichika asked.
"Well, first there's Laura, who is clearly the most unusual student in our class. In my spare time, I decided to try and use the internet to try and find information on her, and there's next to nothing out there. However, what I do know is that she acts like a soldier, and it clearly isn't just a case of playing pretend! Not to mention how she seems to have a history with Orimura-sensei."
"That doesn't prove anything. It could just be happenstance."
"I know, and that's not all. From what you just told me, Orimura-sensei clearly knew what that drone was, who made it, and why it was here! She certainly knew enough to order you, Cecilia, Rin and Houki to keep quiet about it, that's for sure!"
"That could have been a coincidence."
"Finally, I am sure you saw how Orimura-sensei came to your aid today while you were fighting Laura. I was watching from the stands and I barely saw her move! She was carrying a Katana that was as tall as she was, if not taller, and had to weigh half as much as her, and she blocked a blow from an IS with it like it was nothing! Not only did she swing a sword meant for an IS like it was nothing, but she also blocked a blow from Schwarzer Regen with it! Even though the sword could have taken the punishment, the human body couldn't have taken that much force and remained intact, and yet she walked away without so much as a bruise, much less the broken bones she should have gotten!"
"I see... That definitely is strange, to say the least." Ichika replied. Now that he thought about it, he realized that Charlotte was right. A normal person couldn't have withstood that blow without being pulverized... And had his sister been normal, she wouldn't even have made it into position to block it! Adrenaline or not, a normal person couldn't move so quickly with such a heavy weapon on them, much less wield it after doing so!
"Ichika? Is something wrong?" Charlotte asked.
"No, nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking..." Ichika murmured, searching his memories for more incidents of superhuman prowess on his sister's behalf. Quite a few came up, mostly from when he was very young. Memories like Chifuyu jumping onto the roof of his house to retrieve a ball that had gotten stuck up there, or one of the several times he had seen her carrying heavy equipment for Tabane, back before the invention of the IS. Back then he was too young to really think much of it, but now...
"I'll take the first shower then, unless you would like to?" Ichika said, getting a change of clothes ready.
"Y-Yes, go ahead!" Charlotte replied, and he was soon alone in the shower. However, the hot water did little to wash away the thoughts about his sister.
The next day, Ichika and Charlotte finished breakfast as quickly as they could in order to reserve a practice arena for themselves. Fortunately for them, Arena 12 was still open, giving them ample opportunity to practice with their new weapons.
Deploying their IS suits, both Ichika and Charlotte pulled out their respective lasers, with Ori having fabricated one for Ichika overnight.
"Ready?" Ichika asked once Charlotte had deployed her weapon.
"Of course!" The French Representative Candidate smiled, and even though he knew she couldn't see it behind his mask, Ichika smiled back.
"Alright then! We'll do simple target practice first, then try them out against moving enemies." Ichika replied, while two knife missiles appeared around him. The two drones then flew over to the other end of the arena, where they sat still.
"The drones will be our targets. Let's start... now!" Ichika called out, and the two drones were promptly burned out of the sky. Unfortunately, neither Ichika nor Charlotte managed to see their handiwork, as the arena was already filling up with vapor.
"Did I hit?" Charlotte asked.
"Neither of the drones are responding, so you must have!" Ichika replied as his weapon cooled.
"But how will we land our next shots? We'll be shooting blind!" Charlotte asked.
"Hmm... Charlotte, does your IS have a radar? That might be able to see through the fog." Ichika replied, and Charlotte shook her head.
"Most IS units don't have radar, unless it's part of their weapon targeting systems. Do you have one?" Charlotte asked.
"Hmm... I'm afraid I don't. However, I do have another idea. Give me a moment." Ichika replied, before switching off his speakers.
"Ori, can you get drones up above the fog and use them to direct our fire? I believe our Blue Tear drones have a built in hyper-sensor for that very reason."
"I thought you'd never ask. If you want, I can get to work on designing a drone dedicated to fire control, but I am not sure if I can get it ready in time for the tournament." Ori replied.
"Why not?" Ichika asked.
"It's not like the knife missile, where all I did was swap out one system for another. Instead of just swapping out weapons for cameras, I'm also going to have to improve the speed and agility of the unit, as well as its stealth capabilities. You wouldn't want your fancy recon drones blown out of the sky as soon as they're seen, right?" Ori said.
"Of course, but for now I would like you to just swap out weapons for cameras. Once you've got that ready, then get to work on a dedicated recon drone. If it's ready by the time the tournament starts, then we'll use it, but I'd like to have alternatives available in case that doesn't work out." Ichika replied. Ori stayed silent for a moment, before a picture of a bright yellow smiley face appeared on the Infinite Arsenal's HUD.
"My my, Ichika is so smart! I knew there was a reason you were my partner! I'll have the first camera drone ready in fifteen seconds." Ori said, and true to her word, a camera drone appeared above Ichika's shoulder fifteen seconds later.
"Thanks Ori." Ichika said, before turning his speakers back on.
"Looks like the fog is starting to clear up, so we'll fire another volley before testing this out." Ichika told his partner, calling up another two knife missiles. This time, they began to circle once they reached the edge of the arena.
"Remember, the shot here travels at near light speed, so you don't have to lead your target." Ichika said, before taking aim, centering the target in his sights before firing, his partner doing the same. Once again, both drones were blown out of the sky, and the screen of fog was formed once again.
"Alright Ori, time to test the camera drone. Engage uplink targeting for both me and Charlotte." Ichika ordered, and the camera drone sped upwards, soon being joined by a second, newly made drone. Ideally, at least four such drones would be needed in order to add all three dimensions to the image, but only two drones were available at the moment.
"Ichika? What is this?" Charlotte asked as a holographic targeting display popped up, showing a two dimensional view of the battlefield, highlighting the positions of a pair of newly materialized target drones on her HUD.
"It's an idea I just had. Essentially, the drones I have up above us are acting as our eyes, letting us see through the mist. Now let's take another test shot." Ichika said, and soon the density of fog had been doubled.
"One of us missed." Ichika reported, as one of the target drones was still active. Just then, a third and fourth camera drone materialized over his shoulders and flew up to join the previous two. A few seconds later, the two dimensional view updated itself and became fully three dimensional, making it appear as if the fog did not even exist.
"Time for another test shot. Ready... Aim... Fire!" Ichika called out, and this time both drones were destroyed.
"Hey, Ichika, if we can see through the fog but our opponents can't, then we can use it to mask our movements, right?" Charlotte asked.
"My thoughts exactly. In order to help us practice, I'll make it so the next group of drones can shoot back." Ichika said, and a quartet of beam drones appeared over his shoulders and shot towards the target area.
"Don't stop shooting until all drones are gone." Ichika said, taking aim at one of the knife missiles also present in the target zone.
As soon as his weapon finished firing, Ichika dodged, his still cooling gun laying a trail of thermal smoke that prevented the beam drones from tracking him. Streaks of blue light passed through where he had stood just before. Looking around, Ichika saw that his partner had also managed to dodge, her weapon laying a smokescreen along the ground, while flashes of blue indicated the beam drones attempting to find and shoot her.
His weapon stopped hissing, meaning that it was ready to fire, and he promptly took aim and eliminated another drone, using his gun's vapor screen to escape return fire. Five seconds passed, and Charlotte fired. Soon, the pair fell into a pattern of alternating fire, with one person using their weapon's cooling to cover their partner and allow them to take aim.
Time flew by, however, and soon the training session was over. Ichika and 'Charles' promptly made their way to the newly designated Boys' changing room, where they quickly changed into their respective piloting suits. Just when they had finished changing, the holographic screen at the end of the room changed to show the tournament brackets, and Ichika smiled when he saw that he would be fighting Laura in the first match of the tournament.
"Looks like we're fighting Laura in the first round." Charlotte stated the obvious.
"Good. That means I don't have to wait." Ichika grinned at her, before he noticed the smaller screen in the room, which displayed a list of names, along with a view of the VIP section of the stands. Some names he recognized from his dossiers, such as Hans Bodewig, while others, like David Fitzpatrick, were familiar from his time in the Organization. However, there was one name that truly caught his eye, and that was Raymond White. Evidently, his old instructor had taken the time to come and watch.
"There are so many important people watching..." Charlotte murmured, her eyes also scanning the list. She nodded at a few of the names, doubtlessly recognizing them.
"They're mostly here to gather data, although a few of them are here to scout for new Representative Candidates." Ichika said, causing Charlotte to look at him.
"What do you mean? I thought only the third years got scouted." The confused girl asked.
"No, the rest of us are scouted too. That's how about most of corporate representative candidates are selected, after all. A scouter sees a particularly skilled first year who is not yet a representative, and if he is sufficiently impressed, offers them a deal. National representatives, on the other hand, are usually selected before they enter the academy." Ichika replied, not looking away from the screen.
Nearly ten minutes passed in relative silence, with the muted sounds of the announcer addressing the arena being the only sound. Then, the PA system activated in the changing room.
"Orimura Ichika and Charlotte Dunois versus Laura Bodewig and Shinonono Houki." The announcer spoke, and Ichika turned to leave the room, Charlotte following right behind him.
"Remember, stick to the plan we came up with." Ichika said as he entered the access tunnel.
"Right. We'll fire on Laura and create a smoke screen, then we use it as cover to take out Houki. Once that is done, we'll engage Laura and eliminate her." Charlotte replied.
"Good. Let's do this." Ichika replied, and in unison, the pair of them deployed their IS suits and flew out into the arena proper, landing on the ground facing Laura and Houki.
"It is good that we are the first to fight. That means I won't have to wait to destroy you." Laura spoke first.
"I agree." Ichika replied simply, before turning off his helmet speakers.
"Ori, as soon as the battle starts, I want you to start analyzing the AIC. Once that is done, get to work on her wire guided daggers, and then move on to her energy blade emitters." Ichika ordered.
"Understood. The AIC should take approximately six minutes to copy. I'll notify you when it is done." The AI replied.
"I'll crush you!" Laura shouted, activating her AIC in anticipation of a barrage of incoming fire. Ichika's shoulder mounted laser cannon gave her his reply, and in the brief moment before fog obscured his vision, Ichika saw her features morph into an expression of shock as his weapon's fire bypassed the barrier entirely.
"Launching camera drones." Ichika said, and 'Charles' nodded, watching as a swarm of drones shot into the air. Most of them were suicide drones, but mixed in among their number were four camera drones, giving him a perfect view of his target.
After her AIC had been penetrated, Laura had taken flight, attempting evasive action, while Houki charged forward, intending to close the distance as fast as possible.
"Charles, fire once at Laura then prepare to engage Houki." Ichika said, raising his arm mounted dual barreled plasma rifle, which he had named 'Ultramarine Storm', bringing it to bear against Houki.
"Got it!" Charlotte called out, and an earsplitting whine, coupled with a plume of fire erupting from Laura's chest, indicated her first shot of the match. Her weapon trailing clouds of vapor, Charlotte materialized a second weapon in her other hand, a Garm 15mm. SMG, aiming it at where she knew Houki was, and opened fire, a storm of blue fire from Ichika's weapon flying in the Japanese girl's direction a second later as well. Then Houki entered the vapor cloud, where the camera drones couldn't see, and the two of them were shooting blind for a few critical moments. Houki clearly noticed this, and rather than simply charging through the vapor she changed direction.
Their guns falling silent, Ichika and Charlotte faced the smoke, ready to fire at the slightest sign of movement. A few seconds passed like that, before Houki burst out of the fog, flying straight at Charlotte. The French girl fired a long burst from Vent as she frantically backpedaled, but Houki was quickly upon her, sword flashing in a downward arc. Taking aim, Ichika opened fire on the Japanese girl, but a 20mm. shell traveling at Mach 7 slamming into his barriers forced him to change targets.
"I am your opponent here, Orimura!" Laura declared as she fired another shot, forcing Ichika to take evasive action. Quickly looking down, he saw that Charlotte had managed to evade Houki's strike. However, the laser rifle she was carrying wasn't so lucky, the long gun lying on the ground in two pieces. The two halves of the laser cannon shimmered, and faded out of existence as it was sent back into IS-space for repair.
Weaving out of the way of a pair of wire guided daggers, Ichika ordered several of the suicide drones flying above the battle to begin their attack runs, causing Laura to abandon her offensive as she evaded a pair of explosive filled drones. Another pair of explosive filled drones shot towards Houki, who was too busy pressing her advantage against Charlotte to notice. The two consecutive detonations sent her to the ground, allowing Charlotte to swap out both her weapons for semi-automatic shotguns. As Houki looked up from where she lay, she found herself staring down two shotgun barrels, both of which barked in unison. Three shots later, and Houki's ADS engaged, knocking her out of the fight.
"AIC Analysis complete. However, we have a problem." Ori reported as Charlotte sped away from her downed opponent.
"What is it?" Ichika asked.
"While I can produce the AIC in about ten minutes with little to no problem, I can't integrate it into the Infinite Arsenal mid-battle." Ori reported.
"Why not?" Ichika asked, dodging out of the way of a volley from Laura's railgun.
"Unlike most weapons, I can't just strap the AIC on one of our hardpoints. I need to thoroughly integrate it into the IS, and that cannot be done with the Infinite Arsenal being active." Ori replied.
"Fine. Get to work on analyzing the wire guided daggers. We'll deal with the AIC later." Ichika ordered, centering Laura in his laser cannon's sights and firing, the vapor screen once again hiding him from his opponent. A pair of wire guided daggers punched through the screen, but they were flying blind, their guidance systems being mounted on their parent IS. A quick sweep from his point defense laser and both weapons were cut loose, falling to the arena floor, their wires gone.
"Charles, flank her. I'll lay down a screen for you." Ichika ordered as his partner joined him.
"Got it!" His partner replied, and Ichika fired again, the foggy screen extending out behind him as he flew, drawing Laura's fire.
"Wire guided dagger analysis complete. I can produce a single, wrist mounted variant in about a minute, or a full, three dagger array in three and a half." Ori reported.
"Good. Get a pair of wrist mounted units going while you work on analyzing Laura's energy blades." Ichika replied, watching Charlotte break cover and zoom towards Laura's exposed back, only for the AIC to spring into existence ahead of her, halting her in her tracks. Laura laughed as she turned to face her opponent.
"Idiot! The AIC is omni-directional!" The silver haired girl crowed, her railgun lowering until it was facing Charlotte's immobilized form. A storm of blue plasma bolts prevented her from firing though, as Ichika appeared from behind his smokescreen, blazing away with Ultramarine Storm. One of the plasma bolts hit the railgun, burning a hole clean through the black weapon and rendering it inoperable.
Eyes wide, Laura sent her remaining daggers out to strike at Charlotte, bringing her AIC to bear against Ichika, stopping the storm of blue bolts in its tracks. However, rather than switch to his laser rifle, Ichika continued to shoot at Laura with his plasma rifle, the bolts halting in their tracks and dissipating as they hit the barrier. As he continued to shoot ineffectively, his point defense laser activated, ignoring the barrier and starting to cut through the cables that bound Laura's remaining daggers to her unit.
"What's the matter boy? Have you forgotten how to get through my barrier?" Laura taunted as the FEL finished slicing through her second dagger.
"You know Laura, that ECM pod you installed yesterday didn't do you any good." Ichika replied, intending on keeping her talking.
"What do you mean?" The silver haired girl asked, the laser cutting through her third remaining dagger in the meantime.
"Why don't I show you?" Ichika replied, deploying one of the newly produced wire guided daggers and firing it at her.
"W-What? How did you-" Laura was cut off as Ichika's laser finished cutting through her last remaining dagger, allowing Charlotte to quickly close the distance and activate her Grey Scale pilebunker, the weapon's spike slamming into the Schwarzer Regen and causing it to fly back into the arena wall. As the crowd cheered, Charlotte closed the distance once again and slammed the recovering Laura against the wall, the weapon slamming into her again and again, accompanied by the flash of Laura's barrier being damaged.
"You're finished, Bodewig!" Charlotte declared, her weapon poised for a final blow... and suddenly all hell broke loose. A scream of agony began to echo around the arena, while bolts of electricity began to play around the Schwarzer Regen. As Charlotte prepared to administer her finishing blow, she was lifted off the ground and thrown back, the Grey Scale impacting empty air as the power of the AIC was inverted.
"Ori, what the hell is going on?" Ichika demanded as Laura continued to cry out in agony.
"Some system I didn't notice before just activated! It's doing something to her IS. It's prevented me from completing my energy blade analysis, that's for sure!" Ori reported.
"Can you shut it down?" Ichika asked.
"No, there's another AI in there. If I were to try anything, that AI would work against me." Ori replied.
"Fine. Can you at least tell me what that system does?" Ichika asked as he watched the Schwarzer Regen lose its shape, becoming a gelatinous mass of black material, that slowly enveloped its still screaming pilot.
"It's... The Schwarzer Regen has just broken down into a mass of AI controlled nanomachines. Other than that, I can't tell you anything." Ori reported.
"Damn." Ichika muttered simply, watching as Laura's head disappeared beneath the black liquid, silencing her screams.
"Ichika! What's going on?" Charlotte asked, picking herself up off the ground.
"I don't know." Ichika replied as the black mass began to take on a humanoid form. What was once a simple lump of black goo became an arm, while two legs sprouted down and slowly gained form. Alarms began to blare around the arena, and Chifuyu's voice crackled over the PA.
"All tournament matches are cancelled. Security level has been raised to Level D. Instructor forces are being sent in to remedy the situation. All guests are to evacuate immediately." Chifuyu ordered as blast shutters began to slam closed around the stands. By the time the shutters had closed, the once formless mass of nanomachines was replaced by a very familiar form.
"No... It can't be!" Charlotte murmured, also recognizing the shape that the Schwarzer Regen had assumed.
"Whatever that thing is, it must be trying to copy Chifuyu-nee's fighting style, right down to the aesthetic." Ichika replied, pushing down the hot anger that rose inside him when he thought of what Laura had just done.
"What do we do?" Charlotte asked.
"DODGE!" Ichika shouted, causing Charlotte to roll out of the way of the Chifuyu copy's charge. Ichika fired off a quick burst from Ultramarine Storm before doing the same, the blue bolts leaving small glowing pockmarks on his otherwise undamaged opponent. The figure's black blade, a copy of his older sister's Yukihira, sliced through the space he had just occupied, its wielder turning to face him once more.
"Ichika!" Houki's voice called out from the other end of the arena. "Take this!"
Dodging out of the way of another blow, Ichika turned to see Houki raising her Uchigane's katana. While her unit was no longer able to fight, it seemed that her weapons were still in play.
Quickly making his way over to his childhood friend, Ichika grabbed the katana out of her hand and, deploying a hexagonal barrier from his wrist, he blocked the next blow. However, the blade was far from the only weapon the black figure possessed, as it promptly drew back its immense fist and punched, sending the Infinite Arsenal flying across the arena.
"Ori! Disable tournament limiters!" Ichika ordered as he regained control of his machine, and he smiled as his shield began to regenerate. That smile turned into an expression of horror as the black copy of his sister flew towards him, striking out in a perfect copy of the first Katana technique that Chifuyu had ever taught him. Bringing up his own blade to parry, Ichika felt the shock travel through the IS and up his arm. Gritting his teeth at the pain, Ichika blocked the black figure's punch with an energy barrier. For a few moments, the two of them were locked together, before Ichika heard a faint hiss coming from his sword. Looking up, he saw the nanobots of the Yukihira rapidly eating through his katana's blade, and as he watched, the blade was severed in two, the tip falling to the ground with a soft thud. Dropping the now useless blade, Ichika attempted to retreat, but the black figure was faster, catching him in midair with its sword and sending him flying across the arena. His HUD was glowing red, showing that his shield was completely depleted. Looking up at the approaching enemy, Ichika saw a volley of gunfire connect with its side, Charlotte attempting to distract it from finishing him. However, the figure simply paused for a moment, analyzing the orange IS shooting at it, before turning back to Ichika.
"Don't worry Charles. Even without my shield, I can still fight." Ichika said as he stood up, taking aim with his laser cannon and firing a single shot before accelerating upwards. The glowing crater the weapon left in the black figure's chest soon disappeared though, and the copy shot upwards after him. However, for all its speed on the ground, the large figure was slow and ungainly in the air, allowing Ichika to keep his distance.
A squadron of instructors in Raphael Revives chose that moment to appear, opening fire on the black figure to little effect, while Charlotte did the same from where she stood on the ground. However, all those bullets failed to inflict any real damage, and two instructors were sent to the ground with their ADS units enabled, courtesy of a single blow from the copy's Yukihira clone. The rest of the instructors scattered, still firing, but fortunately for them, the black figure seemed entirely fixated on Ichika.
"Ori, please tell me you have a way of beating this thing!" Ichika said as he continued to climb, his weapons blazing.
"Well, if we were to remove the pilot, I believe it will stop, but the nanomachines are blocking my scanners. I can't even tell where the pilot is, or if she is still alive in there." Ori reported.
"Well, it's better than nothing. Deploy a few knife missiles and try to disarm it. I want to see if the beam katars can cut through it." Ichika ordered, and a flight of four knife missiles streaked towards the enemy, blades glowing a bright white. One was swatted out of the air, but the rest made it to the target and began to saw through the arm holding the blade. Like a blowtorch cutting through solid steel, the white hot jets of plasma that formed the blades of the beam katars began to slowly cut through the black material, leaving glowing trails in their path. However, the nanomachines began to quickly fill in the gaps, preventing the knife missiles from accomplishing their goal, but they still managed to prove that they could cut through the black mass.
"Ori, you're a lifesaver." Ichika replied, a plan forming in his head as he flew back down to the arena floor. As soon as he landed, a swarm of knife missiles burst into existence around him, first ten, then twenty, and eventually a hundred black drones, each armed with a glowing plasma blade, were hovering around him. A pair of shield drones appeared as well, their hexagonal barriers shimmering into existence briefly as the Chifuyu copy landed, causing the arena to shake.
"Alright Ori. Use the shield drones to tie up that thing's weapons, while the beam drones start cutting. Each drone can only concentrate on a tiny area though, or else the nanobots start to repair the damage." Ichika said, taking a deep breath before accelerating towards the enemy. The Yukihira copy came in from one side, and slammed against one shield drone's barrier, while the figure's fist did the same. Firing his new wrist mounted wire guided daggers, he watched as their cables wrapped around the figure's wrists, keeping them still. Then, the drone swarm was upon the nanomachine mass, and a hundred plasma blades began to burn through the black goo, Ichika deploying his own beam katars and joining in, rapidly slicing through layer after layer of thick black fluid until the tip of one of his plasma blades burned through a familiar grey pilot suit. Ignoring the burn wound he had just inflicted, Ichika deactivated one of his blades, while the second was used to keep the gap open wide enough for him to reach in with his IS suit's arm. His barrier shield had re-activated earlier, but as soon as the arm came into contact with the nanomachine mass, it began to drop. By the time the arm had reached Laura, the barrier had dropped again, and sirens were blaring in Ichika's helmet as the limb began to be slowly eaten away. However, the arm was resilient enough to reach Laura's body, grabbing hold of the girl's slim waist. As soon as the hold was secure, Ichika activated his wrist mounted barrier shield, or rather, he tried to. The nanobots had already eaten through the emitter, preventing him from deploying it.
That was far from the only problem that occurred when he grabbed hold of Laura, though, as the black mass seemed to recognize that it was in danger of being deactivated. A thick tendril of black gel slammed into Ichika's unshielded helmet, causing three of the four cameras to break. A second strike broke the remaining camera, leaving Ichika blind for a moment before the helmet's visor slid open. The tendril promptly struck again, causing cracks to spiderweb across the transparent material. Several other such tendrils were striking at his armor, attempting to get at him directly. However, it was too little too late, as the knife missiles began to quickly cut through the nanobots keeping Laura in place, allowing him to slowly but surely pull her out, and once the silver haired girl passed a certain point, the machine ceased its struggles, slowly collapsing in a puddle of inert black gel. His damaged IS suit promptly shimmered out of existence around him, causing both him and Laura to fall to the ground, the girl coming to rest in his arms, just as she opened her eyes, one a deep red, while the other a bright gold.
That was when Ichika felt several sharp pains all over his body. Looking down, he saw that he was bleeding from several wounds. Evidently some of the tendrils had managed to break through the armor, as was evidenced by the blood slowly pouring out from several deep gouges in his left arm, another similar wound present on his right leg. The tendrils that had inflicted those wound had evidently been aiming for the arteries in those areas. Another tendril had stabbed through his shoulder, his armor having stopped it from punching through his heart. A wet feeling was also present on his forehead, courtesy of his helmet's broken visor.
"Ichika!" Houki's horrified voice called out.
"We have wounded in need of immediate medical attention on the Arena One floor!" One of the instructors up above called out as Ichika collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Ichika slowly came to on a hospital bed, groaning softly at the dull ache present all over his body.
"Don't be so dramatic. We both know those wounds looked worse than they really were." A familiar voice rang in his ears.
"Chifuyu-nee..." Ichika began, but his older sister cut him off.
"Your IS saved you, you know. If it weren't for that pilot armor, you would be a bleeding, brainless corpse by now."
"I know." Ichika opened his eyes, blinking several times at the sunlight that filled the room.
"No, I don't think you do, Ichika. You came this close to death today. A few more seconds and we wouldn't be having this conversation! What you did in the arena was both stupid and unnecessary! There is a reason that the instructors were deployed, after all!"
"Do you really think they could have stopped it?" Ichika asked, sitting up, wincing at the pain. Chifuyu was silent for a few moments, before she sighed.
"No, I don't think so. However, in that event, I would have gone out to engage the Valkyrie Trace Clone personally. There was no need for you to involve yourself." Ichika chuckled at that.
"I didn't involve myself because I needed to, I did so because I chose to. The Valkyrie Trace Clone, if that is indeed what it was called, attempted to copy your skill without your humanity. I couldn't allow such an abomination to continue to exist."
"So you wrecked your IS, nearly killed yourself, and made me stand in here for six hours straight because of your pride?" Chifuyu demanded.
"Yes. I did." Ichika sighed. Chifuyu was silent for a moment, before her serious demeanor melted away.
"Dammit Ichika, do you realize how close you came to dying today? If the tendril that got your leg had hit just a centimeter to the left it would have cut through your femoral artery, and you would have had less than three minutes to live. Do you realize how worried I was when I saw where you were bleeding from?" As she spoke, Chifuyu slowly walked up to him, until she was standing directly over the bed in which he lay. Then, his older sister leaned down and embraced him, holding him as tightly as she dared to given his injuries.
"Dammit Ichika... If I had lost you, then I don't know what I would have done..." Ichika hesitantly returned the embrace as his sister spoke, wincing as pain shot through his injured shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Chifuyu-nee..." Ichika began, but his sister cut him off.
"If you were truly sorry, you would promise to never do something like this to me again." His older sister spoke, looking him straight in the eye. After a few moments, Ichika looked away.
"I'm sorry Chifuyu-nee, but I'm afraid that I may not be able to keep that promise." Ichika replied, causing his older sister to simply hug him tighter.
"Dammit Ichika, don't you know that when a lady asks you to promise her something, you always say yes?"
"But if I am doomed to break that promise, what should I say then?" Ichika asked.
"Why would you say that Ichika? What makes you so sure that your safety will not be guaranteed in the near future?" Chifuyu asked.
"I... I can't..." Ichika gulped, before continuing.
"Given that something has happened whenever I have taken part in an IS tournament, I shudder to think of what will happen in the next one."
"You're not telling me something. Please Ichika, you are the most precious person in the world to me, and if something is putting you in danger-" Ichika quickly cut his sister off.
"Then I will make sure that what happened when I was ten will not repeat itself. I may not be as strong or as skilled as you, but I am far from helpless. Please, Chifuyu-nee, just trust me on this. You've kept me safe for so long... I can't let you keep placing yourself in harm's way for me. I-" This time, it was Ichika's turn to be cut off as Chifuyu placed her finger over his lips.
"I don't do anything for you because I need to, Ichika. I do so because I want to, because you are my precious little brother, who matters to me more than anything else in this world. That means that I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, no matter what I have to sacrifice." Ichika didn't respond to that, simply smiling back at his sister. A few minutes passed in silence, the two siblings simply sitting on the bed together, their arms wrapped around each other. Eventually, however, the silence was broken as Chifuyu reluctantly released her younger brother, standing up from where she sat beside him.
"Chifuyu-nee..." Ichika called out, causing her to pause.
"What is it Ichika?" The black haired woman asked.
"How much longer until I'm released from the infirmary?" Ichika asked. That caused his older sister to chuckle.
"As I said earlier, you were lucky. Stem-gel treatment has repaired most of the damage already, but it still needs around eight hours before it is done. That means you'll likely end up staying the night. If all goes well, you'll be released tomorrow morning." As Ichika groaned, Chifuyu laughed once more.
"Oh, and before I forget, your friends were quite worried about you, and now that you're awake... I suggest you brace yourself! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on a certain silver haired idiot." Chifuyu once again turned to the door, but Ichika spoke up once more.
"How is Laura anyway?" He asked.
"It's difficult to say. Physically she's fine, the VT system didn't get to that stage yet, but mentally... She still hasn't woken up. Why are you so worried about her? She nearly killed you, after all."
"Well, I can't say that I am particularly fond of her, but after hearing her screaming like that when the VT system took over..."
"I see. I'll try not to be too harsh on her then." Chifuyu replied, before she turned away once more.
"Goodbye Ichika. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, his sister walked out of the room, the door sliding shut behind her.
A few moments later, the door slid open again, and five girls rushed into the room.
"Ichika!" They all called out in unison as they came to a stop alongside his bed.
"Hello Houki, Rin, Cecilia, Charles, Kanzashi." Ichika greeted, addressing each one of them in turn.
"Ichika-san, are you alright?" Charlotte spoke first, the disguised girl's features showing nothing but concern.
"Don't worry Charles, it looked worse than it really was." Ichika replied, which did not put the girls' concerns at ease at all.
"What do you mean Ichika? I saw where you were bleeding from! At least two of those places... a deep cut there is supposed to be lethal!" Houki replied, causing the other girls to gasp.
"Don't worry Houki, it came close, but ultimately my pilot armor saved me. Thanks to it, those attacks missed anything vital." Ichika replied, smiling, only for Rin to draw back her hand, just barely restraining herself from slapping him across the face.
"Ichika you idiot! What matters is that you were bleeding out there in the first place! Why did you even put yourself in danger like that anyway? If you weren't injured right now I would-" Rin's rant was prematurely cut off by Kanzashi raising her hand.
"Ichika-san... Why didn't your ADS stop that thing's attacks? Shouldn't your ADS have activated when your shields reached zero?" The blue haired girl asked timidly.
"Wait, did you just say that his ADS didn't activate?" Cecilia's eyes widened as she turned to Kanzashi.
"Y-Yes-" Kanzashi replied, causing the blonde to turn back to Ichika, her eyes wide.
"Ichika-san... Remember when we were demonstrating IS maneuvers and you told me that you could deactivate your unit's PIC? Does that ability extend to your ADS as well?" Cecilia asked. After a few moments, Ichika nodded hesitantly.
"YOU IDIOT!" At that admission, Rin did end up slapping him.
"What could you have possibly gained from doing something like that?" Houki demanded.
"Yeah Ichika! Why would you do something like that?" Charlotte asked.
"Your IS unit's ADS was checked before the tournament began, so you must have had it active then, so you must have deactivated it during the tournament..." Kanzashi muttered, more to herself than to him.
"Well... You all know how the ADS drains a lot of power, even when it's not fully active, right?" Ichika asked.
"Yes..." The assembled girls replied hesitantly.
"Well, you see, if I were to deactivate my ADS, a significant amount of power would be freed up, allowing me to regenerate shield energy in battle." Ichika explained, causing the girls' eyes to narrow.
"But then why didn't you reactivate it when your shield energy ran low?" Charlotte asked.
"I couldn't. It takes a while for the ADS to recharge before it can become useful again." Ichika replied, causing the girls to start berating him again.
As Ichika was frantically explaining things to the girls around him, a pair of heterochromatic eyes, one red and one a bright gold, snapped open, coming to rest on a familiar shadow towering over her.
"I... Instructor... What happened?" Laura whispered, her voice hoarse.
"A barely avoided political catastrophe. Most of the real details have been classified, but much of the data has indeed came out. Very few people know the truth, and they are staying silent for obvious reasons. Most people believe that it was simply a prototype IS unit undergoing a critical malfunction in one of its systems... Which, I suppose, is the case." Chifuyu was silent for a moment, before continuing.
"Laura, what do you know about the Valkyrie Trace system?"
"The VTS? I remember overhearing my superiors talking about it once, but other than that..." Laura trailed off.
"I see. The Valkyrie Trace System is currently the only non-WMD system that has been banned from being used on the IS. For reasons that are as of yet unknown to me, that system was equipped on your IS. Apparently, it was only set to activate when the IS had both taken a certain amount of damage, and the pilot's will and mental state met a set of requirements. At that point, it assumes direct control of the user's IS, regardless of the pilot's wishes for the contrary. The pain that shot through you when you activated it was the result of it forcefully cutting off the empathic interfaces that all IS units use to interface with their pilots."
"So... So it happened because I desired it?" Laura murmured.
"Not for it specifically, but for something that will allow you to gain victory. Such thought processes are normal for a person in your situation at the time. It is only because you were unaware of the presence of the VTS and what would have happened that I have refrained from harshly punishing you. After all, the VTS nearly killed my younger brother... And had that happened, your safety would not have been assured." Chifuyu replied.
"Orimura Ichika..." Laura murmured at the mention of her Instructor's sibling.
"Instructor, why did your younger brother not run?" Laura asked.
"What do you mean?"
"When the VTS activated, why did Orimura Ichika not attempt to escape? His IS was faster than the Valkyrie Clone, and he had plenty of time to grab his disabled friend for extraction, so why did he not do so?"
"I honestly don't know. If I were to guess, I don't think the option passed through his mind at the time. It may have been because of whose form the clone took-" Laura bowed her head in shame at that, "Or maybe it was because he wanted to save you."
"Me? Why would he want to rescue me? I was his enemy at the time."
"You know that Ichika woke up a few minutes earlier than you did? I asked him the same question when he inquired as to your status."
"And what did he say?"
"He said that, after seeing how much pain you were in from the VTS, that he decided to rescue you as well. Apparently, he thought that not even you deserved to suffer to that extent."
"I... I see..." Laura was silent after that, her mind flashing back to the arena, when she was finally cut loose. Looking down at her body, she saw that a hole had been burned through her pilot suit, although the damage to her body had long since been repaired.
"Laura Bodewig." Chifuyu called out, drawing her full attention once again.
"Y-Yes Instructor?"
"Who are you?"
"I... I am..." Laura's mind drew a blank as she tried to think of an answer to that simple question. She knew what she was, Test Subject 037, Thirty Seventh living subject of the Bodewig program, designation 'Laura Bodewig', clone number 099. She had been made from genetic material donated from Dr. Hans Bodewig and Col. Kathe von Braun, being one of two clones to use that specific combination. She was trained in all fields of combat, from shooting and maintaining a rifle to flying a fighter aircraft. She was the best pilot of the Schwarzer Hase. She piloted the Schwarzer Regen. She was the best of all her brothers and sisters in all fields, even after she received her new eye. She was all those things, but she couldn't answer her Instructor's simple question.
Taking her silence as an answer, Chifuyu decided to answer for her.
"I see. If you do not consider yourself to be anyone, then that is convenient. From now on, you are Laura Bodewig. You are not me, nor can you ever become me, or anyone else for that matter. You are you. That is all that matters." Chifuyu sighed, before standing up. Before she left, however, she addressed her wide eyed student one last time.
"Oh, and one more thing. I have decided to forgive you this time, but if you ever do something like that to my brother again, you may consider your life forfeit. That is all." Chifuyu finished speaking, before she turned and left the room, leaving Laura alone once again to ponder what Chifuyu had just told her.
Who was she? According to her superiors, she was a soldier, designed specifically for that purpose as if she were a weapon. However, according to her instructor, she was Laura Bodewig. Her mind then flickered to the last image she had seen before she passed out in the arena. It was that of a bleeding knight in broken, fading armor, catching her in his arms. Suddenly, Laura understood exactly what Chifuyu meant.
Orimura Ichika did not save her because it was his duty, he did so because he wished to do so, because that was simply who he was, and in that sense, Laura Bodewig wasn't a soldier, or an ace IS pilot, or a genetically engineered supersoldier, although Laura Bodewig could be any one of those things. Laura Bodewig was Laura Bodewig, and Laura Bodewig could be whatever she wanted. Smiling at the simplicity of the solution, Laura fell back onto her bed, her soft laughter echoing through the silent infirmary.
"So anyway, it turns out that the tournament was called off, although in the interests of gathering data, the rest of the first round matches will still be held." Charlotte explained, answering one of Ichika's earlier questions.
"I see. Well, at least that means that everyone here that hasn't gone still has a chance to prove their skills." Ichika replied, gesturing at the three girls present that hadn't fought.
"Well, that is certainly good news! Although the final victory has been stolen from me by mere happenstance, I, Cecilia Alcott, will not allow this from preventing me from claiming victory when it is my time to fight!" Cecilia declared.
"Yeah! I am going to crush my opposition when it's my turn!" Rin declared.
"Oh? If you are so eager to do so, then I might just take pity and allow you to make a token contribution to my victory!" Cecilia replied. Given their personalities, the two girls were soon embroiled in a fierce but playful argument over who was the better IS plot. The two were still arguing when Maya entered the infirmary, a smile on her face.
"Orimura-kun! Dunois-kun! Good news! You've gone through a lot of trouble recently, but tomorrow, a place for you two to relieve stress will open up!" The smiling teacher exclaimed.
"Really? What is it?" Charlotte asked, her curiosity mirrored on the faces of the other girls present.
"It's the Boys' large bath!" Maya replied, causing everyone present to gasp.
"Really? They've made a whole new bath just for Ichika-san and Dunois-san?" Cecilia exclaimed.
"That's right! Now, unfortunately, I am not just here to deliver the news, as I have a few questions that I need to ask Orimura-kun here, and as some of them are rather sensitive in nature, well..." The cheerful teacher trailed off, getting her point across regardless. Begrudgingly, the girls left the room, although Houki stayed behind.
"I understand that you two are childhood friends, but this is for Orimura-kun's ears only, Shinonono-san." Maya said once it was clear that the girl wasn't intending on following her classmates.
"O-Oh! Sorry, Yamada-sensei, I just wanted to ask Ichika about a promise that he made to me..." Houki replied, turning to leave when Ichika spoke up.
"Don't worry, Houki-chan, I don't mind going out with you." Those words caused the long haired girl to spin around, eyes wide.
"What? Really? Are you really serious?" Houki exclaimed.
"Of course I am." Ichika replied, causing the long haired girl's eyes to widen even further, before she quickly composed herself, clearing her throat and attempting to sound aloof.
"R-Really? Why is that?" The now blushing girl asked.
"Because you're my childhood friend! Of course I'll go out with you! However, I do think that you should get going. We wouldn't want to waste any more of Yamada-sensei's time now, would we?" Ichika replied, gesturing to where the green haired teacher stood.
"O-Okay! I'll be going now!" Houki murmured dazedly as she left the room. As the door slid shut behind her, Ichika swore he heard her cheering. The infirmary was silent for a few moments, before Maya spoke up, her face now serious.
"I trust that she will not be a security leak?" Maya asked, pulling out a familiar black pouch, which contained both Ichika's datapad and his concealed firearm.
"Don't worry. I have no plans of leaking information to her." Ichika replied, taking his belongings and setting them down on his bedside table.
"It's not her that I am worried about. Rather, I am concerned about her sister. We don't know what kind of resources that woman has at her disposal, nor do we have any inkling of her motives. Everything she does seems entirely spontaneous, right up to the point where her greater plan is revealed. Believe me when I say that I know this more than most." Maya explained.
"What do you mean by that?" Ichika asked.
"Before I became your handler, my purpose here was to gather intelligence on Dr. Tabane's activities. That is still one of my jobs here, in fact. Anyway, before I was stationed here, I had to memorize any and all data we had on the Doctor, which isn't much. We know that she was the one who launched the missiles at Japan, an act assisted by what we think was the world's first AI. We know that she designed and built the IS cores, before combining them with stolen data in order to create the first IS, the White Knight, and used it to hold the world hostage and force the implementation of the Alaska treaty. We also suspect that she supplied Phantom Task with critical data involving the IS core, allowing them to start producing the Golem. However, while we know what she does, we have absolutely no idea what her true motive is! We know it isn't financial gain, as she hadn't sold her designs for profit, instead distributing them to various world nations. Political gain is unlikely as well, as she had a perfect opportunity to seize power right after the White Knight incident and didn't take it... I just don't get it..." Maya trailed off, lost in thought for a few moments before she blinked and shook herself out of her musings.
"Sorry Orimura-kun, I got a little carried away there. Anyway, I am here right now to give you both a report from Dr. White and your new orders regarding Prospective Recruit Sarashiki." The green haired agent said, pulling out a small flash drive from one of her pockets and handing it to Ichika, who pocketed it in turn.
"So what are my orders?" He asked once the drive was hidden away.
"Glad you asked. By the end of next week, you will be out of the infirmary, allowing you to participate in the actual recruitment of the younger Sarashiki. As per your request several weeks ago, I have requested that she be placed under your command, assuming that her recruitment is successful. I am pleased to report that the request has been approved." That news caused Ichika to smile.
"Good. It looks like Tatenashi-san will get her wish after all." Ichika replied.
"It was the logical thing to do. Now, regarding Kanzashi-san's recruitment, you will not be a primary participant. I will be doing most of the talking. You will only be brought in if she accepts, at which point you are to inform her of her new position."
"I understand, but what will happen if Kanzashi rejects our proposal?" Ichika asked.
"We will proceed as normal. We now have a supply of memory serum on hand, which means that in the event of rejection, we can simply erase her recent memories. At that point, you will step in and placate her. Tell her that she fainted, or something similar. Now, our second order of business involves your current rank in our IS corps. Until recently, you were a Wing Commander in name only, with nobody serving under you. However, assuming that all goes to plan, you will soon gain your second subordinate, which in turn means that your rank has been made truly official. The day after the recruitment of Kanzashi, your entire wing will be ordered to report to HQ, both to refit Kanzashi's IS and to brief you on the new responsibilities of your rank." Maya said.
"But wasn't I already briefed when I was promoted?" Ichika asked.
"As you were only a wing commander on a technicality, you were not given a full briefing at that time."
"Ah. I understand."
"Good. That's all for now." Maya smiled and turned to leave.
"Oh, and before I forget... The Boys' large bath will be open to ALL males on campus... Whether they are really boys or otherwise!" Ichika blushed as he realized Maya meant by that.
"Y-You mean-"
"Of course! Charlotte will also be allowed in... Indeed, it will be rather suspicious if she did not use the new facility. I trust that you will not take advantage of her situation?" Maya cautioned.
"O-Of course not! I would never do that!" Ichika denied.
"That's good to hear. Goodnight, Orimura-kun. I will ensure that you are left alone for the rest of the day." Maya smiled back at him, before she left the room.
Sighing, Ichika pulled out the flash drive that Maya had given him and plugged it into his datapad.
"Ori, can you secure the room?" Ichika asked.
"It's been secure ever since Maya-san entered the room. I've made sure of it." Ori replied, her avatar shimmering into existence as she spoke, causing Ichika to smile.
"Thanks Ori." Ichika replied as he pulled up the first file present. Quickly reading it over, he saw that the first four Organization MPTIS prototypes had flown successfully, and mass production had begun immediately afterwards. All pilots were given a choice of which design they would pilot, and that particular IS would be produced for them. This eliminated the need to design a new TIS for each pilot, while still allowing for a variety of IS units to be present in the Organization's IS corps.
The second file that was given to him was another set of MPTIS blueprints for him to look over. Evidently, the initial four designs were not enough.
The next file present was, surprisingly, a simple letter from Dr. White.
'To Orimura Ichika' The letter read.
I trust that this message finds you in good health, although given what happened in the arena, that is rather unlikely. Given what you were facing, however, I am quite surprised that you did not end up any worse for wear. Attached to this file is all the data regarding the Valkyrie Trace System that I could get my hands on, and I warn you, it's not pretty. That system was made illegal for a reason, and that's not just out of fear of a potential grey goo scenario.
Anyway, I am also writing this to inform you of several new developments that have emerged regarding Phantom Task. Approximately three hours before the tournament began, Organization fighters intercepted an unknown aerial contact over the South Pacific. This contact was identified as a modified version of the 'Golem' unit that attacked IS Academy one month previously. Both fighter pilots tailed the contact for approximately 48 minutes before it suddenly disappeared underwater, likely meeting up with a recovery submarine. No such submarine was detected, but we both know that Phantom Task is capable of building subs that are invisible to conventional sonar, and our Hyper-sensor suites can only detect them above a certain depth, even with AI assistance.
The presence of this Golem confirms our suspicions that Phantom Task is capable of producing more of them. This in turn has convinced Command to step up production in the IS department. Engineering has already started mass production of the new MPTIS units, and we in R&D have in turn been ordered to design more of them. That seems somewhat illogical to me, as the purpose of the MPTIS program was to eliminate the need to constantly design new IS units. Designing more and more MPTIS suits somewhat defeats the purpose of the program, but who am I to argue with the men in the Movie Theater?
Ichika chuckled at that, remembering the nickname that Organization personnel had given the Mission Control room at Urup HQ.
Questionable orders aside, the R&D department has been very busy lately, as the true extent of Phantom Task's subsurface navy has taken us all by surprise. Engineering's been working non-stop lately producing a fleet of small picket boats, and I know that several hunter-killer subs are in production as well, and guess who's task it is to stuff those things full of cutting edge tech? Everything from improved detection gear and IS launch equipment to stealth equipment and new underwater weaponry. They've even started building a second engineering bay to keep up with production demands! As for where the resources for this are coming from... Let's just say that storing IS suits isn't the only use for alternate dimensions.
I could go on and on about what we're doing here in your absence, but I would rather not spoil the surprise for when you visit Headquarters next week. All this activity, however, points to something big in the works, likely an operation to cripple Phantom Task's naval capabilities, and if their subsurface fleet is half as big as the estimates say it is, even reservists like you will likely be involved. If that is indeed the case, I can only wish you good luck in the coming months.
I look forward to speaking with you once more.
Dr. Raymond White, Head of Organization Research and Development, IS Technology Branch
Ichika frowned as he finished reading his teacher's message. If what it said was true, then the Valkyrie Trace system was the least of his worries, and Dr. White was not the kind of person to joke around with information of this magnitude. Sighing, he closed the message and lay back on the bed, watching red clouds slowly move across a dimming sky, illuminated by a rapidly setting sun.
Orimura Reikou grimaced slightly as she beheld Dr. Meusel's latest creation. The foul parody of a human being moaned softly, the agonized sound being the only noise its near-nonexistent vocal cords could produce. Its creator stood over it, a sick smile on his face as he inspected his handiwork.
"I assume that this is the organism that will be used in the new model of Golem?" The one eyed woman asked, causing the blonde doctor to giggle.
"Of course! This particular model incorporates several features not present in the prototype and test type, such as an enlarged brain and cranium for increased cognitive capability, removal or reduction of unnecessary organs, and an improved nervous system for faster reactions." Dr. Meusel replied, pointing to the bulbous head, the emaciated torso, and the clearly visible spinal column in turn.
"That is good to hear. I assume that meeting our Leader's request for a force of thirty operational Golems by the end of the month won't be a problem?" Reikou asked.
"As long as those uncouth apes in charge of producing the mechanical components can cobble together enough IS cores, that will not be an issue." The doctor replied, dipping a paintbrush in ink before applying it to the creature's forehead, drawing out three characters, Aleph, Mem, and Tav.
"I never took you to be interested in such things." Reikou pointed out as she saw the doctor's latest addition to his handiwork.
"It is a golem, right? It might as well look the part." The blonde laughed as Reikou walked up to the creature, examining it critically. The abomination's bulbous eyes tracked her every move, until she came to a stop right over its oversized head. Then, the woman tapped it hard over the Aleph on its head, and with a wet crunch, the thin layer of skull beneath the character gave way. With a final moan, one that almost sounded grateful, the creature ceased to exist.
"Was that also intentional? If I could break it so easily, I shudder to think what actual weaponry would do to it." Reikou remarked, pulling away her now crimson finger. The blonde doctor merely tutted in disappointment.
"Was that really necessary? We both know that this particular unit hasn't undergone cybernetic implantation yet. Its bones are bound to be weak." The doctor sighed, before pressing a button on the nearby wall. The table on which the creature's corpse lay suddenly tilted, and the creature slid off, falling into a long chute. The glow of an incinerator was barely visible at the bottom.
"I thought you were over the stage of impulsively breaking other kids' toys like a schoolyard bully, but I guess I was wrong." The doctor shook his head mockingly as his creation's body slid down the chute, to its inevitable incineration.
"Do not test me, Meusel. There are several men here that can replace you should you get too... annoying." Reikou growled out, causing the doctor's eyes to narrow.
"You're barking up the wrong tree, Dog. You have absolutely no authority regarding my position here, and even if you were to bring up the topic of replacing me..." Dr. Meusel hit another button, causing the wall behind him to slowly retract, revealing a massive tank filled with orange nutrient fluid... but that wasn't all that it contained. Floating inside, each bound up by a series of tubes, lay hundreds of grotesque Golems. As the lights above and below the tank switched on, their bulbous eyes snapped open as one, and over four hundred inhuman pupils focused on the occupants of the room.
"You see Ori, as long as I provide our Master with these little pretties, I am irreplaceable, and we both know it." Aaron Meusel gloated as Reikou gazed at the occupants of the massive tank. Some of the Golems were emaciated pilots, much like the one that she had just killed. Others were huge, with inhumanly large muscles and thick, ugly skin, covered in attachment ports for armor plating. These were clearly designed as disposable, heavy footsoldiers. Still others seemed specifically designed to look inhuman, with long claws, sharp fangs and webbed feet. These were by far the most common, and unlike the others, which simply twitched occasionally, they were actively struggling against their restraints, growling silently in their aquatic home. Several had managed to break free, and were swimming around the tank, attempting to free more of their brethren.
"Hmm... Numbers 109 and 111 seem particularly intelligent. Perhaps too much so, but since when has too much of anything mattered?" The mad doctor muttered, looking at two such monsters that were working together to free another of their kind.
"What is this?" Reikou asked, her voice carrying only the faintest tinge of revulsion.
"Oh, you mean this?" Aaron asked, gesturing towards the tank.
"This, my dear Ori, is the future of Phantom Task!"
A/N: My apologies for the delay of this chapter. I have only myself to blame for my laziness, as this was sitting in my Documents, nearly completed, for almost a week before I finally decided to get to work on it once again. As such, I decided to lengthen it slightly, including the scene with Phantom Task at the end. I have to admit that Dr. Aaron Meusel is a very fun character to write, as is Laura Bodewig, once I got the hang of her character. Also, I couldn't help but notice that this is my first fic to go over the 100k word count! Yay!
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story, as I know I enjoyed writing it! I will update The Declassified Files with info from this chapter as soon as possible, and then get to work on the next update to that particular pseudo-fic. For those of you who don't know about it, Agent Orimura: The Declassified Files is a pseudo-fic I am working on that contains detailed information on the various technology used in the Agent Orimura-verse. The link can be found on my profile.
Once again, I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please read, follow, fav, and review at your discretion. Enjoy!