A/N: Here it is, the next chapter. Before I begin, however, I wish to address recent reviews by Atomos and xxOblivionxxx, which both focus on the White Knight incident. Firstly, it is IS Canon that the White Knight IS intercepted hundreds of nuclear weapons that were fired at Japan by, in canon's own words, 'an unknown hacker'. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of how nations safeguard their nuclear arsenals know that this is bullshit, and anyone with access to a globe will know that the chances of an IS intercepting all those nukes is slim to none.
That is exactly why, when it was implied that Tabane was responsible for the whole thing, it came as no surprise to me. It also gave me a benchmark as to Tabane's capabilities on a global scale, as she was not only able to somehow infiltrate and activate hundreds if not thousands of nuclear silos simultaneously, but she was also able to somehow alter their trajectories to ensure that every single warhead fired passed through the same point at around the same time, where the White Knight could feasibly intercept them.
It also puts a whole new spin on the Alaska Treaty. In canon, it is said that the IS rendered all other military technology obsolete. That is simply impossible, and the only thing the IS could completely replace in the global military arsenal is the attack helicopter. The technology involved in the IS suit would throw the world of military R&D into chaos as existing projects are rendered obsolete by new emerging technology, but an IS would not be able to replace tanks or fighter jets, or warships, or infantry on the battlefield.
Thus, the nations involved in the Alaska Treaty couldn't care less about the IS suit. However, they still went along with Tabane because they didn't want to antagonize the individual who evidently has the capability to fire off a metric apocalypse-worth of nukes at the drop of a hat. Everything else about the IS rendering all modern military tech obsolete was therefore a ploy to save face and divert attention from the fact that world governments no longer had complete control over their own nuclear weapons.
Those are my thoughts on the White Knight incident. Now, on with the story.
Chapter 21
"Wakey wakey! Rise and shine!" The unsettling, cheerful voice of Dr. Meusel was the first thing Reikou heard as she opened her eyes. The light she saw was blindingly white, courtesy of a lamp being shined in her face.
"What are you doing?" Reikou groaned out as she tried to sit up, propping herself up on one arm. Gritting her teeth against the pain from her body, she slowly but surely dragged herself to a sitting position, her eyes fixed on the infuriating doctor that stood by her bedside.
"My my, is that any way to greet someone who spent the past few months saving your life?" Aaron asked.
"Months? How long was I out?" Reikou demanded.
"You haven't woken up since the Gospel incident. Granted, I kept you under for a fair portion of that time, but either way, you've missed a fair bit." The doctor replied. That was when Reikou noticed something. Her torso ached, her head ached, but her arms and legs did not. Bringing one arm up to her eyes, they narrowed as she saw metal instead of flesh.
"What did you do?" She demanded.
"Well, as I said, I kept you under for a while. I could have made you functional in a matter of weeks, but then I had an idea. Well, three ideas, but they were basically the same thing. I ended up replacing your legs and your left arm." Aaron explained, the smile never leaving his face.
"You-!" Reikou roared, leaping out of her bed only to collapse as electricity coursed through her body.
"Now that was quite rude. I know you Orimuras prided yourself on your so-called 'perfection of the flesh', but I would think that attacking someone who just saved your life goes a bit too far." Aaron scolded as Reikou writhed on the floor. When she did not cry out, he sighed, before continuing.
"As you may have noticed, I have made a few other alterations to your body as well. Your spine, for example, just had to go, as did a good portion of your organs. I'm afraid your days of being a potential donor are at an end." The doctor continued, stopping the electric shocks and allowing Reikou to shakily regain her footing. Her face contorted in rage as her remaining organic hand reached around her back, feeling the metal ridges that had replaced her spinal column.
"When my family hears about this, they will ruin you!" Reikou growled.
"Your family is either dead or making itself useful to me, Orimura. I have excused your insubordinate behavior so far because of your circumstances, but enough is enough. The time of me working under you is long over. You are my subordinate now, Orimura Reikou, and as you may have noticed, I have taken steps to ensure your continued obedience." Aaron lectured, his voice clipped and serious.
"What do you mean? What have you done to my family?" Reikou demanded.
"While you were sleeping, I was busy rising through the ranks. Some of your family members opposed me. I dealt with them. Those that remain are the ones who either made themselves useful, like your daughter." Aaron replied.
"That defect is no daughter of mine." Reikou hissed.
"Shame. She has been rather active lately. She even stole an IS from right under the noses of the British government, something that dear mommy has never managed to do. You could gain a lot by associating with her." Aaron smirked as Reikou's fists clenched.
"Sir, is this a bad time?" Another voice caused Aaron to turn. Standing in the entrance of the room was a young man carrying a clipboard.
"No, it is not. What is it?" Aaron demanded.
"The latest beacon-to-beacon test was a success. I have the detailed report here, sir." The other man reported, handing over the clipboard. Aaron looked over it briefly before smiling.
"Excellent. You are dismissed. Tell your superiors in the labs that they are to start work on making the beacons feasible to mass-produce. The resource costs for this test were... Exceedingly high." Aaron replied, and the man saluted before spinning around on his heels and leaving.
"It appears things are proceeding ahead of schedule. It's amazing how much can get done when a bunch of squabbling families are replaced with single-minded science." Aaron sighed, before turning back to Reikou.
"Now, hearing that good news has improved my mood quite a bit, so I will be generous and give you three days to recuperate before sending you out on your next mission. I suggest you use the time to become useful to me, or you might just find out that your family will be passed over when our great organization finally makes its move. Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do." With those words, Aaron turned and swept out of the room, leaving Reikou alone.
For a long moment, she merely sat there, shaking with both rage and pain. She did not realize she was crying until she glanced in a nearby mirror and saw the tears streaming down the left side of her face. The sight caused her hand to clench, and she heard metal groan beneath her newly artificial limb.
"I will end you, Meusel. You have reduced my proud family to traitors and defects. You have desecrated my body. You have tried to leash me like a dog... For these insults to me and my family, I will kill you and erase your family from history. This, I swear." She muttered, before grabbing a scalpel and dragging its blade across her remaining palm. She relished the pain, knowing that it was a sign that some of her body remained pure. As the wound began to knit itself back together, she smiled, watching the scar form, commemorating the oath she had just made in the medium that her family had labored so hard to master. Then, she stood and left the room.
Even at night, the engineering bay echoed with the sound of humming machinery as opportunistic students worked around the clock to get their Blank Slates in fighting shape. Archer Squadron was no exception, as Ichika and Rei had spent several late nights hard at work, building a counter for Akatsubaki.
"Thanks for helping me out, Rei." Ichika said from where he sat at a computer terminal. Behind him, Rei blushed slightly before responding.
"I-It was no problem." She said, looking up from her inspection of the four barreled cannon they had been working on. Ichika smiled, before pressing a button. The cannon whirred into life, radiators expanding and slowly starting to glow red as the weapon dry-fired.
"Any problems?" Ichika asked.
"None! I think it's ready!" Rei replied, excitement filling her voice.
"Good." Ichika replied, and deployed the Infinite Arsenal. A quick scan, and the weapon faded away into IS-space, before reappearing a few moments later on the suit's arm.
"Ready to test it out?" Rei asked as Ichika moved the arm around experimentally. When no problem manifested, Ichika stowed his IS away and nodded.
"Yeah, let's do it." He said, and led Rei out the door, the girl shutting off the lights and locking the door behind them.
The night air was cool against Ichika's face as he exited the engineering complex, but it was far from dark. While most of the windows in the buildings around him were black, lampposts lit up the academy grounds, ensuring that the two of them did not have any problem finding the launch station. They briefly went their separate ways as they changed into their pilot suits. Ichika was the first to leave the changing room, or rather, the changing booth. Evidently, the gender disparity had been taken into account when designing the newer changing rooms, as while the girls got a large locker complex, the boys, or rather, the boy, got a small booth with a single locker.
Rei exited a few moments later, and together they logged two IS departures at a nearby terminal.
"Let's go." Ichika said, propelling himself into the clear night sky, Rei following behind him. After a few minutes of moonlit flight, Rei spoke up.
"Think this is far enough?" She asked. Ichika turned back to face her, seeing the lights of IS Academy in the distance as he did so.
"Yeah, it should be. Don't think it will wake anyone up, at least." Ichika answered.
"Great. What distance do you want me at?" Rei asked.
"Five kilometers is a good starting point. I know Akatsubaki's crossbows have at least three kilometers of range, so I want to see if this weapon can beat them." Ichika replied.
"Alright. Should I go north or south?" Rei asked eagerly.
"Either way is good... You don't have to do this though. I can just as easily use one of my drones for target practice." Ichika said.
"What kind of an engineer would I be if I were too afraid to experience my work firsthand?" Rei replied, before taking off, her IS rapidly fading into the distance until Ichika was forced to use his hyper-sensor to track her. Soon, she arrived at the target distance and gave him a wave, signalling that it was time to commence the firing test.
Centering Rei in his sights and listening for the lock-on tone, Ichika opened a channel to his partner.
"Commencing firing test, four shot burst." He said, before firing. He promptly felt his entire IS shake from the force of the burst, as even with a small impulse drive built into it to counter the recoil it kicked hard. A second later, he saw a patch of sky briefly glow with a bright white light, and shortly afterward he heard a faint echo.
"Holy... The test is a success! Another volley like that and my ADS would be up! What about you? Did anything go wrong on your end?" Rei exclaimed after a few seconds of silence.
"One second, I'm reviewing slow-motion footage of the shot." Ichika replied as Aki displayed said footage on his helmet HUD. He watched as the first cannon fired, the immense projectile leaving its barrel at hyper-sonic speed. A quick glance at the barrel showed that its heatsink was glowing a bright red. Evidently, the existing cooling system was not powerful enough, as the color was not fading.
A quick glance back at the projectile showed that it had already passed the two hundred meter mark. By the time the second barrel fired, it had traversed another hundred. Ichika continued to track the projectile before it finally split into four parts at the two kilometer mark, with three secondary projectiles exploding off of the central one they had been fixed to.
Finally, they reached their target, and Ichika saw Rei's expression start to morph into one of shock a moment before the first projectiles went off. One scored a direct hit, while the other three went off a few meters above and to the right of her suit. Her shields were still glowing slightly when the second shot connected, one shot slamming home on the tip of Rei's wing, while the other three bracketed her perfectly. It was the third shot, however, that did the most damage, with three shots slamming home, while the third went off less than a meter away from her suit's left leg. By comparison, the fourth shot was not as effective, with only one direct hit and three near misses.
"Anything?" Rei asked again.
"Spread pattern is too tight. Akatsubaki could have dodged that." Ichika replied.
"What? Really?" Rei complained.
"Yeah, it dodged similarly fast projectiles from my railgun at a closer range. Additionally, the secondary rocket boosters did not seem to trigger. Either the ignition system got damaged during the firing process, or the device itself is faulty." Ichika replied.
"Weren't they only supposed to ignite at the last minute to confuse the MIRAI system?" Rei asked.
"Yeah, they were supposed to go off around two hundred and fifty meters away from the target. Unfortunately they did not, and the shots remained in a predictable trajectory. We will have to look into that." Ichika replied.
"I see. Anything else?" Rei asked.
"The gun's cooling system will need an upgrade as well. Temperature readings show that this weapon can only safely output one third of the planned automatic fire rate." Ichika answered.
"That's not good. Should we try another test?"
"Yes. Let's try it at a longer range. Eight kilometers." Ichika replied.
"Got it. Moving out." Rei responded, already flying further away. She finally came to rest near a solitary cloud, eight kilometers away. Once again, Ichika announced his firing of a four-shot burst and, listening for a lock-on tone, fired.
A few moments later, he saw the explosions.
"Less damage this time, I think the spread pattern was wider. I also think the rockets might have ignited this time around, but I can't tell for sure." Rei reported.
"Good." Ichika replied as he looked over the slow-motion recap of the shot, searching for the tell-tale glow of rocket motors igniting. He finally saw it, as the shots approached within fifty meters of Rei's IS. He frowned. The distance was still much too short.
"The rockets did ignite, but not soon enough. They did not have enough time to significantly impact the missiles' flight path." He finally reported.
"Hmm, so the rockets do work. It might just be that the gun cannot send the ignition signal fast enough." Rei mused.
"Increasing the ignition distance might solve that problem. As for the other issues, increasing the power of the decoupler system would solve the spread pattern tightness issue, and the cooling system can be replaced with something more powerful." Ichika said.
"Is that all?" Rei asked.
"Yeah. Let's head back, I think we've done enough tests for now." Ichika replied.
Being both closer to the academy and having a faster IS, Ichika reached the academy first, entering his and Rei's arrival into the computer while he waited for his squad-mate to arrive. He didn't have to wait long, as Rei came down less than a minute later, performing a graceful landing and dismounting her suit with ease. They quickly stowed away their IS suits and entered the launch station, where they quickly changed back into uniform.
"So, same time tomorrow?" Rei asked as she emerged from her changing room.
"Yeah. Hopefully, we can have all the issues ironed out tomorrow, since the battle is this weekend." Ichika replied. Rei laughed slightly.
"Great! I can't wait!" She exclaimed, smiling, causing Ichika to raise an eyebrow.
"Who are you, and what did you do with the Rei I know?" Ichika asked, cocking his head to the side.
"W-What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well, normally you're so quiet and when you do speak, you always do it with a stutter." Rei blushed at that, looking away.
"I-I d-don't know what you m-mean." She murmured.
"But when we were working on the Infinite Arsenal's upgrades, I noticed that your stutter almost disappeared. You seemed a lot more confident during our test just now than you were during our squadron practice sessions. What changed?" He finished.
"W-Well..." Rei paused, seemingly unsure of what to say.
"I... I never really wanted to become an IS pilot." She finally finished.
"What? Why not?" Ichika asked, confused.
"I-I wanted to become an IS engineer. I w-wanted to come here to learn how to b-build IS suits, not how to fly them." Rei murmured.
"But then why are you in the pilot roster? I thought engineering-only students were separate from pilot trainees." Ichika asked. Rei blushed at that, and averted his gaze. For a while, she didn't speak.
"P-Promise you won't laugh." She finally said.
"I won't..." Ichika replied, unsure of what would happen next.
"I... I... I checked the wrong box on the online application form! I-I was tired, I hadn't slept in days because I was studying for a Class One ISDL exam. I-I thought it would look good on m-my record to have it there, and when I finally passed I spent all night writing an e-essay about it..." Rei finally stammered out.
"Wait, what? Couldn't you edit your application after submitting it?" Ichika exclaimed.
"The deadline passed by the time I caught my mistake!" Rei replied.
"Oh..." Ichika said, unable to put his thoughts into words.
"A-And when I tried to transfer to Engineering they t-told me the class was full and that I-I would have to wait for next year!" Rei continued.
"I see..."
"B-But that was before the new squadron system. I know I'm not a good pilot, b-but... I don't want to transfer now and leave you all without a fifth squad-mate!" Rei exclaimed.
"If you really want to-" Ichika began, but Rei was not finished.
"But... But then... Then I..." She began, her voice hesitant and unsure. Finally, she shook her head.
"Never mind. Same time tomorrow, right?" She changed the subject.
"Yes. If everything goes to plan, we'll be able to test out the sword as well." Ichika replied.
"I'm looking forward to it. Now, let's go get some sleep. We don't want to screw up because we're tired tomorrow." Rei said as she turned and headed for the door.
"Sleep sounds good right about now... And Rei?" Ichika asked.
"Hm?" The quiet girl paused.
"If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm willing to listen." He said.
"You've done enough already, Ichika-san... But thank you anyway. Good night." Rei replied as she headed out the door.
The day of the great training match had finally arrived, and forty IS suits stood ready on the launch platform beneath an overcast sky. Thankfully it wasn't raining, so visibility wouldn't be effected, but the clouds were thick enough to serve as viable cover against visual detection.
A quick glance at his helmet's clock told Ichika that it was 11:57, three minutes before the training airspace reservation became official. He would have preferred to have launched already, but apparently one of the reserved training areas was currently in use. As such, the assembled squadrons had to wait, filling the time with idle chatter.
A quick glance at his squadmates showed him that Sakura was in the middle of an animated discussion with two of Cecilia's group, while Theresa and Rei had dismounted and were in the middle of a card game with several other girls from Houki and Laura's squadrons. Finally, Ayane was talking to a third-year student whom Ichika recognized as Honne Nohotoke's older sister, although her name eluded him.
"It's nice to see everyone getting along so well." Charlotte sighed from beside him.
"Hopefully there won't be any hard feelings after the match. I know that some of my squadron can get rather competitive." Laura replied.
"It's just a practice match. If anything, it will let us get to know each other a little more." Kanzashi added, hovering over to them.
"How much longer?" Rin's voice drew his attention, causing him to turn and face her.
"Don't you have a clock of your own?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah, but it's not built into a helmet HUD like yours. I actually have to call it up, and I have to save my effort for the actual match!" Rin replied, grinning. Before Ichika could reply, a sound from above caused him to look up. Five IS suits were approaching from the east, heading for an adjacent landing pad. As he watched, their leader performed a graceful landing, her TIS coming to rest on the metal platform with barely any noise. Two of her squad-mates attempted to duplicate the maneuver, and while they were clearly less skilled, they managed to land with minimal fuss. The third tried to do the same, only to get bowled over by her partner, who had come in too fast and at an incorrect angle. The two of them crashed to the ground, leaving a visible indentation in the platform. Ichika could hear the pilots shouting at each other, while the rest of the squadron was stowing their suits away. As soon as her suit came off, Ichika recognized the leader as Lily Mallory, who, after a few moments, started chastising the fighting pair.
"Attention!" The voice of his older sister drew him away from the spectacle. Turning to face the source, he saw Chifuyu and Maya making their way to the launch platform. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Theresa and Rei scrambling into their IS suits, while one of their opponents quickly grabbed up her cards and made her way to a black IS that was marked with the winged Valkyrie of Laura's squadron.
"A-Are we in trouble, Orimura-sensei?" Charlotte asked.
"Of course not. I'm just here to witness an academy record being set. With eight squadrons and forty pilots, you all will soon hold the record for largest IS battle to take place at IS Academy." Chifuyu explained, a rare smile on her face. Behind her, Maya pulled out a camera.
"Smile!" The green-haired teacher exclaimed, before snapping a few photos.
"Now, before you launch, I will have you all know that I will be watching this match. I don't want to see any foul play." Chifuyu continued.
"You won't." Ichika promised, his words echoed by the rest of the group.
"I had better not." Chifuyu warned, before glancing down at her watch. A quick glance at his own clock showed that it was precisely 12:00. Perfect.
"Alright everyone, it's time. I am sending all squadrons a map of our alotted airspace. As we discussed during breakfast, we will head to our designated starting point and wait for everyone else. Once everyone has reported in, the match will begin. No special rules, elimination only. Last squadron with an active IS wins. Any questions?" Ichika asked. When none came, he nodded.
"Good. May the best squadron win. Let's go!" With those words, forty IS suits took to the sky, quickly spreading out and following their squadron leaders. Soon, the other squadrons were mere specks in the distance, specks that soon vanished entirely as they entered the cloud layer. Laura was the first to report in, which was not surprising given how her starting position was closest to IS Academy. Kanzashi and Houki were next, followed by Rin and Tatenashi.
"So what's the plan?" Theresa asked as they approached their own starting position.
"We'll fly up to the upper edge of the cloud layer and use it as cover while we search for targets. Cecilia and Rin are closest, so I'd expect to run into them first. If we see Cecilia first, then I want Theresa to engage the Blue Tears at range, while the rest of us close the distance and try to engage her squadron in melee. If it's Rin, we scatter and try to split her squadron. Try to draw them into the cloud layer. My suit's sensors are superior to anything Rin's team might have, so we will have the advantage there." Ichika replied as he came to a halt, signalling to the other squadrons that he was ready.
"Understood." His squadron chorused, moments before Charlotte reported in.
"All squadrons have reported in. Good luck everyone, you'll need it." Tatenashi's voice sounded out over the comms. Even before she finished speaking, Archer squadron was already in motion, pushing their suits into a straight vertical climb to the upper edge of the cloud layer. As soon as the clouds started to thin, Ichika leveled off, his squadron splitting into its two sub-elements behind him. A few minutes of silent flight passed by before they spotted their first enemies, or rather, their enemies spotted them.
Out of the sun, a blue lance of light destroyed one of Ichika's shield drones, courtesy of the Blue Tears. Cursing under his breath, Ichika spun around to face her, only to see a swarm of missiles screaming towards the rest of his squadron.
"Missiles! Evade!" He screamed, before pushing his suit's impulse drives to their limit and flying up and out of the cloud layer. As he had thought, a respectable portion of the missiles changed targets, locking on to the most powerful impulse drive signature in the area. As his teammates began their own evasive maneuvers, Ichika continued to rise, flipping his IS upside down as he did so and allowing his point defense lasers to take care of the incoming warheads.
"I can't draw a bead on Cecilia while evading. Someone clear these missiles off of me!" Theresa exclaimed.
"Cut your impulse drives." Rei's response came a second later.
"Are you- Ah, got it." Theresa replied, cutting her indignant exclamation off as she realized what Rei intended to do. A moment later, her IS was dropping like a stone, while Rei flew between her and the missiles, causing them to shift targets.
"There, you should be good to go." Rei replied after she had gotten some distance.
"Thanks. I have Cecilia in my sights." Theresa replied a few seconds later. By then, Ichika's lasers had cleared his own tail, and he dove back down into the clouds, weaving around more blasts from Cecilia's gun as he did so.
"Got her! Firing again!" Theresa exclaimed.
"Good work. She's on to you now." Ichika replied, noting that Cecilia had stopped shooting at him.
"I know. Decoys are up." Theresa replied.
"What about the rest of us? We've still got missiles on our tails!" Ayane exclaimed.
"Not on me, I got mine." Sakura interjected.
"Then help clear my six!" Ayane shouted.
"I'm trying!" Sakura replied as Ichika approached Rei, his lasers quickly clearing the missiles off her tail.
"Stick to the plan. Theresa, keep up the pressure on Cecilia. Everyone else, follow me." Ichika ordered. Rei quickly formed up on him, Sakura and Ayane soon following suit. The four of them burst out of the cloud layer, and they quickly caught sight of their targets. Cecilia had evidently gotten a little ahead of her group, and was now locked in a sniper's duel with Theresa. Cecilia's squadmates, meanwhile, were several kilometers behind her, clearly pushing their suits to the limit as they tried to link up with their squadron lead. No more missiles came from them, meaning that they had either exhausted their ammunition supply, or were conserving their remaining warheads. However, missiles were not their only armament, as they proved by opening fire.
Ichika felt the first railgun slug slam into his IS, causing him to briefly lose control before he could throw his suit into a series of evasive maneuvers. The rest of his squadron did the same, although that did not stop the enemy from landing two direct hits on Sakura's slower IS.
"Looks like it's time for a combat trial. Rei, take notes." Ichika commented as the bulky four-barreled form of his new burst missile gun flashed into being on the Infinite Arsenal's arm.
"Roger that!" Rei exclaimed, just as Ichika heard the lock-on tone. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger, and the weapon roared. He held it down for ten seconds, sending sixty four rounds speeding towards his targets at hypersonic speeds. The sky around Cecilia's squadron went white as over two hunded warheads went off in rapid succession, and as the glow faded, Ichika saw one of Cecilia's squadmates tumble out of the sky, her IS disabled.
"Cooling cycle engaged, ready to fire in six seconds." Ori reported. Unfortunately, he and Rei had not been able to upgrade the cooling system enough for truly continuous fire, but even then, ten seconds was plenty.
"Not enough time. They're almost upon us." Ichika replied, and sure enough, Ayane suddenly stopped her attempts at evasion and made a bee-line towards the nearest enemy. The other girl's rifle was evidently poor in such close quarters, as its wielder quickly swapped it for a one-handed sword, while an energy shield shimmered into being on her off-hand's wrist. She barely had time to raise her weapons before Ayane was on her, striking savagely with all her suit's limbs. The first two strikes, delivered by wing-mounted plasma blades, tied up her opponent's weapons, leaving her open to the rest of Ayane's armaments, which made short work of the other girl.
However, the rapid attack had left Ayane vulnerable, and even as their teammate fell out of the sky, Cecilia's two remaining squadron members turned their focus on her. They were close enough now that Ichika could easily see the missile launch ports on their wings snap open. Before he could warn Ayane, the two girls opened fire, launching every single missile they had in a desperate attempt to eliminate the melee-focused IS in their midst.
However, the missiles did not track Ayane, and instead shot off into the clouds below. A few seconds later, a series of explosions rang out, and the clouds were blown away, revealing a squadron of IS suits that had been using them as cover.
"Another squadron below us... I-It's Charlotte!" Rei exclaimed, and indeed, Charlotte's orange Revive Custom was in the squadron lead position.
"Let's take care of these two first, then engage the newcomers. Theresa, what's your status?" Ichika replied as he fired off another burst, downing another one of Cecilia's squadmates.
"She's good, but I'm bett-" Theresa began, before an explosion interrupted her, causing her to break into a stream of curses.
"Are you alright?" Ichika asked.
"She got a hit, but I'm still in the fight." Theresa replied.
"Good. Keep your eyes peeled for her drones, her sniper rifle isn't her only weapon." Ichika advised as he watched Rei and Sakura engage Cecilia's last squadmate. The girl put up an admirable fight, but with her missiles spent and her main gun all but useless in close quarters, she did not last long.
"Wait, drones? Oh crap! I'm taking fire, requesting assistance!" Theresa cried out. Unfortunately, Charlotte's squadron chose that moment to engage.
"Keep alive for as long as you can, we'll get to you as soon as we're able." Ichika replied as he pushed his suit into an evasive roll, just barely avoiding the initial bursts of machine gun fire. However, he couldn't dodge everything, and very soon he heard bullets slam into his shields. Individually they did little damage, but with so much lead in the air, they were just as lethal, if not more so, than the precise railguns of Cecilia's squadron.
To make matters worse, Ichika saw the trails of missiles rising up to meet his squadron, their paths erratic enough that his point defense lasers had trouble targeting them.
"Wait, Ichika, are you seeing this? Another squadron is inbound!" Theresa exclaimed as Ichika took aim with his burst missile gun.
"Whose is it?" He asked.
"Lead IS is pink... It's Rin! They're engaging the Blue Tears!" Theresa reported.
"Good, use the opportunity to disengage and get over here. We need sniper support." Ichika ordered.
"Roger... Blue Tears just went down by the way. Didn't even stand a chance." Theresa answered.
"Alright, that's one squadron down. Who gets the point?" Ayane asked.
"We do, of course!" Sakura replied in between long bursts of plasma fire. Ayane's reply, if there was one, was cut off as the incoming missiles began detonating. Evidently, they were similar in nature to Ichika's burst missile gun, acting to saturate a large area with explosive firepower.
"Damage report!" Ichika exclaimed, casting a quick glance at his own shields. The missile barrage had a noticeable impact, but nothing too severe.
"M-My shields are almost down. Another b-barrage like that and I'm finished." Rei reported.
"Nothing major here. I'm combat ready." Ayane said.
"Same here. Nothing major... Gotcha!" Sakura exclaimed, before opening fire. The stream of plasma slammed into one of Charlotte's squadmates, whose shields melted away under the barrage. It wasn't long before the other girl was falling out of the sky.
Tracers cracked past Ichika's ears as Charlotte's squadron returned fire. He did the same, firing off another burst of missiles. Almost simultaneously, twin rivers of bright, glowing flares were released from Charlotte's IS, their high speed and erratic flight path identifying them as impulse flares. To his dismay, his missiles tracked them, shooting past Charlotte's squadron and detonating behind it. There was no time to fire a second burst, so Ichika rapid-switched the weapon out for his old plasma gun, which would be more effective in the chaotic dogfight about to take place. Then, he broke left, just barely avoiding a collision with one of Charlotte's squadmates, who rolled over and fired off several blasts from her shotgun as Ichika spun around, unable to avoid the incoming shot that sparked off his shields, doing minimal damage.
His return fire caught her suit's left arm as she tried to flee, backpedaling as fast as her suit could propel her while still firing back at him. Vents opened on her suit's wings, releasing a thick chemical smoke that left his hyper-sensor all but blind. Fortunately, he had the perfect counter. Before his opponent could exploit his newfound vulnerability, several camera drones shimmered into being around him and shot out of the smoke. Ori did the rest, translating the camera readings into images on his HUD, indicating the positions of the IS suits in his vicinity.
Then, the smoke exploded, and he plummeted out of the sky, too shocked at the unexpected development to recover. The moment passed, however, and he rolled onto his back. Still falling, he drew a bead on his opponent, who had, for whatever reason, turned her back on him after igniting the gas she had released. A long burst of plasma slammed straight into the center of her IS, and before she could figure out its source, her ADS had triggered and she fell out of the sky. Unlike Ichika, she would not be able to recover, and splashed into the ocean a few seconds later, starting her long journey back to IS Academy.
The situation in the sky had degenerated into a chaotic melee, as IS suits painted in Ichika and Charlotte's squadron liveries flew in every direction, exchanging fire with everyone around them. To make matters worse, Rin's squadron had decided to enter the fray and was now diving in, releasing missiles as they did so. Once again, Charlotte released impulse flares almost immediately, once again causing the incoming missiles to veer off course.
"What do we do?" Theresa asked.
"Keep fighting, we cannot disengage from this." Ichika replied as he rejoined the fight, drawing a bead on Rin. The Chinese girl noticed him as he approached and responded to his initial burst of plasma fire with a volley of impact cannon blasts. Neither of them hit their target, however, as one of Charlotte's squadmates was unlucky enough to fly between them at just the right moment. Caught between two TIS suits, the poor girl did not stand a chance. Neither did Sakura, who was hot on the girl's tail and unable to change course in time to avoid Rin's follow-up melee strike. Her shields already worn down by combat, she followed her intended quarry out of the battle and into the ocean.
However, her inadvertent sacrifice gave Ichika the time he needed to rapid-switch his plasma cannon out for his shiny new sword, which flashed into existence just fast enough to block Rin's next strike. Through his helmet camera, he saw Rin's eyes widen for a moment, before a manic grin came over her face.
"Hoping for a rematch after I beat you last time?" She asked, idly batting aside Ichika's counter.
"We're even now. I was hoping for a tiebreaker." Ichika replied as he flipped over a swipe of the Souten Gagetsu, calling several gun drones into being as he did so. Bolts of plasma screamed through empty air as Rin dodged, and Ichika was quick to seize the initiative. Rin raised her staff to parry his oncoming strike, but just before it could make contact, Ichika flipped a mental switch and his sword's blade contracted. A moment later, and it was back to its normal size, just in time to slam into the ShenLong. Rin quickly regained control and fired off a burst of impact cannon fire, preventing Ichika from attacking again and allowing her to regain the initiative.
"Not falling for that again!" Rin exclaimed as Ichika attempted to sneak another strike past her guard. This time, Rin parried close to the hilt, before grabbing onto the blade with one hand. Her shields sparked at the contact with the plasma edge, but she ignored the damage and forced the blade aside, raising Souten Gagetsu to strike at him while he was exposed.
Then, Ichika's world exploded into blinding white light, his helmet HUD darkening in response to the exposure.
"Got her!" Theresa exclaimed, as Ichika took aim and fired at his momentarily blinded opponent, scoring several hits before Rin started to shoot back. However, the Chinese girl only got two shots off before Theresa landed another hit. While it wasn't enough to take her out, it was enough to cause Rin to try and search for the source of the incoming fire. As soon as she took her eyes off him, Ichika called as many gun drones as he could into being, all the while getting distance between himself and Rin. By the time the Chinese representative returned her attention to him, it was too late.
From all directions, Ichika's drones opened fire, briefly haloing Rin with plasma. By the time the light faded, Rin was falling out of the sky.
With his opponent taken care of, Ichika took a moment to observe the situation. Immediately, he searched around for Charlotte, the French girl being the largest threat in his vicinity. Her orange Revive was easy to find, as was the rest of Rin's squadron. Evidently, Rin had ordered them to all focus on Charlotte while she took care of Ichika, trusting that Ichika's squadron would be enough to prevent Charlotte's squadmates from interfering.
A white flash in the corner of his eye drew his attention, and he looked over to see Charlotte's last squadmate go down, courtesy of Theresa.
"Hold off, do not engage. Let them wear each other out. Theresa, keep your sights on whomever you think is the most important target, but do not fire." Ichika ordered, before leading the rest of his squadron into a nearby cloud bank. From there, they watched as Charlotte fought a desperate battle against four customized MPIS suits. Like their leader, they seemed to be designed for melee combat, and they had already managed to close the distance. However, Charlotte was far from defenseless, as she demonstrated by taking one of her assailants out with a pile bunker strike, before firing several point-blank shotgun blasts into another. Her opponent's return fire missed its mark, only to impact another one of Rin's squadmates. The girl paused to reprimand her teammate, only to take a burst of assault rifle fire before she could finish. A few seconds later, the squadmate who hit her went down to another shotgun blast. However, in the chaos, Charlotte seemed to lose track of her fourth assailant, who used the opportunity to get behind her and land a powerful blow. As Charlotte turned to counter, Rin's other remaining squadron struck.
It took Charlotte nearly a minute to succumb to her remaining opponents, but she finally fell out of the sky, having taken one blow too many. She left behind two severely weakened opponents, soon reduced to one as Ichika ordered Theresa to take her shot. The sole remaining enemy pilot turned to flee, but did not get far before Rei and Ichika opened fire, quickly sweeping her from the sky.
For a moment, everything was strangely quiet, before Theresa spoke up.
"Looks like we all made it through. What do we do now?" She asked.
"There are still four squadrons unaccounted for. Houki, Laura, Tatenashi and Kanzashi are all out there, and this match isn't over until they're all taken out. It's time to go hunting." Ichika replied.
"I was hoping you'd say that. Let's go!" Theresa replied as she formed up with the rest of her squadron.
"Same plan as before?" Ayane asked.
"Yeah. Theresa will keep her distance and provide fire support, while the rest of us engage. We don't have enough people left for two elements though, so the three of us will stick together in one group. Understood?" Ichika asked.
"Roger!" The rest of his squadron chorused, before following him in search of the rest of their competition.
It was Ayane who first heard the echoes of battle.
"Did you hear that?" She asked, shortly before another distant echo reverberated through the air. This time, the rest of the squadron heard it too.
"Where is it coming from?" Theresa asked. Ayane paused for a moment, listening for another echo before responding.
"Over there, I think it's from a lower altitude, but I'm not sure." She finally said, pointing east.
"You heard her. Possible enemies in the east. Let's check it out." Ichika replied as he turned east, the rest of his squadron close behind him.
A minute later, a stray tracer whizzed by below them, confirming what they already knew.
"Start scanning, they should be nearby." Ichika ordered. Only a few seconds passed before Theresa responded.
"I see them, I'm counting three... five... nine... fourteen! Fourteen IS suits." She counted off.
"Can you identify TIS suits?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah... I see Akatsubaki... Schwarzer Regen... Mysterious Lady... And Kanzashi. All four remaining squadrons are down there." Theresa replied.
"I see. Keep your distance for now, we don't- MISSILE! BREAK!" Ichika shouted as his HUD reported a missile lock. A moment later, the missile was launched, crossing half the distance between its launcher and the Infinite Arsenal before being taken out by a point defense laser.
"Alright, ignore what I just said. Theresa, decoys up. Everyone else, on me. We're going in." Ichika ordered.
"Roger. Time to dive into the fireworks." Theresa replied, decoys shimmering into being all around her.
"You're not diving into anything." Ayane observed.
"I know, I just always wanted to say that line!" Theresa exclaimed as she broke away from the rest of Archer squadron, ascending to a safe distance as the rest of Ichika's squadron dove into the battle.
"Target Houki and her escorts first, we want to knock them out as fast as possible." Ichika ordered, switching to his burst missile gun and locking on to the bright crimson IS.
"Roger!" His squadmates chorused as he pulled the trigger. Less than a second later, the sky lit up with explosions, Akatsubaki caught right in their midst. Ichika grinned at that. His weapon worked as intended!
"I see a target, engaging." Rei said, breaking off to engage one of Houki's disoriented squadmates, who was still struggling to regain control of her IS.
"Ayane, cover Rei. I'll take care of Houki." Ichika ordered, and Ayane obeyed, breaking off after Rei. He watched them out of the corner of his eye while he locked onto Houki once more. Rei attacked first, blazing away with her machine guns as she closed before pulling up at the last minute. A moment later, Ayane shot past her, engaging the weakened enemy, quickly taking them out.
"Get clear, I'm about to fire!" Ichika ordered, and the two girls obeyed, throwing their IS suits into vertical climbs to get out of the blast zone. As soon as he judged them to be at a safe distance, Ichika fired. The explosions were closer together this time around, but still far enough apart that Akatsubaki was unable to properly dodge.
"Ah! I can't move!" Ayane's panicked shout suddenly drew his attention. He looked around, spotting her IS floating in the middle of a shimmering field. At first, he thought it was Laura's doing, but the German girl was twenty kilometers away, fighting Kanzashi.
"It's the Mysterious Lady!" Rei reported a moment later, just as Ichika saw the water droplets surrounding Ayane.
"What do I do?" Ayane exclaimed.
"Nothing." Tatenashi answered as she struck, accelerating to her top speed and slamming her lance into Ayane's back, several water voids absorbing Rei's machine gun fire as she did so. While the initial strike was not enough to put Ayane's IS out of action, the four rotary cannons built into the lance's head were more than enough to finish the job, and soon Ayane was falling out of the sky, her ADS active.
"Rei, get clear, she's out of your league. Theresa, give me some fire support!" Ichika ordered, stopping his attack run on Houki and making a beeline for the Mysterious Lady before its pilot could start attacking Rei. To her credit, Rei was able to avoid the cloud of mist sent her way, although her return fire was once again absorbed by water voids. Then, for a brief instant, the Mysterious Lady flashed white as Theresa's shot hit home. For a moment, Tatenashi's focus seemed to waver, before her water voids reconfigured themselves, with one placing itself between her and Theresa, while the rest continued absorbing Rei's fire.
"Ichika, what are you waiting for? Open fire!" Rei shouted as she threw herself into evasive maneuvers, trying desperately to avoid Tatenashi's strikes.
"You're too close, I cannot-" He began, before Rei cut him off.
"I don't care, fire now!" Rei screamed, a strike from Tatenashi's lance narrowly missing her.
"Understood, firing." Ichika replied, locking on to the Mysterious Lady and pulling the trigger. Tatenashi didn't even have a chance to turn and see her attacker before the missiles went off. Once the glare of the explosions subsided, Ichika scanned the sky and saw two IS suits falling out of the sky.
"How... I'm still active? Ichika, something must have gone wrong!" Rei exclaimed as she pulled out of her fall.
"I have to admit, that was pretty sneaky of you, Ichika-kun! Attacking a lady while her back was turned!" Tatenashi taunted as she leveled off, turning to face Ichika again. Rei took that as her cue to open fire, but once again a water void coalesced between her and her target, absorbing the bullets. Then, Tatenashi's IS flashed white as Theresa scored another hit. Immediately, the water-void between Tatenashi and Rei vanished, before reforming between her and Theresa. Rei's next shots hit home, shattering against the Mysterious Lady's shields, but doing damage nonetheless.
"Hmm... Ichika, that volley must have damaged her water manipulation somehow. I don't think she can keep more than one void up anymore!" Rei exclaimed.
"Let's test that out." Ichika replied, switching to his plasma cannon.
"On my mark, everyone fire. Three... Two... One... FIRE!" Ichika ordered, and the Mysterious Lady's shields sparked as the shots came in. Ichika's own fire was absorbed by Tatenashi's water void, but Theresa and Rei hit their target, despite her attempts to dodge. More shots came in from all around her, as two of Laura's squadmates joined in, while crimson beams from below indicated that Houki was also taking advantage of the situation. Tatenashi's shields couldn't hold for long under the pressure, and soon the Mysterious Lady was falling out of the sky.
"Nice work everyone. Now let's keep up the pressure on Houki!" Ichika replied, scanning the sky as he did so. Tatenashi's two remaining squadmates, suddenly deprived of their leader, had provided a tempting target for Houki's squadron. Akatsubaki made short work of one, leaving the other to face three IS suits alone. That number suddenly dropped to two, however, as Theresa fired, taking out one of Houki's squadmates.
Unfortunately, even with one of her opponents down, the last member of Tatenashi's squadron was outnumbered and outmatched. She did not last long, and was unable to inflict significant damage on either of her opponents before she too was down for the count.
"They're grouped up nicely. I'll fire a barrage, then move in. I will try and draw Houki away, so that the two of you can engage her squadmate. She shouldn't be too hard to take out. Once she's done for, support me while I take out Akatsubaki. Watch your backs, just because Laura and Kanzashi are fighting each other few kilometers away doesn't mean their squadrons won't try and go for targets of opportunity. Understood?" Ichika asked as he rapid-switched in his burst missile cannon.
"Roger!" The surviving members of Archer squadron chorused as he locked on. This time, Houki knew what to expect, and immediately attempted to put some distance between herself and her squadmate. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a miscommunication between the two of them, and said squadmate attempted to stay with her.
A moment later, Ichika pulled the trigger, and the remnants of Houki's squadron vanished in a burst of blue-white light, Ichika's visor going dark for a moment to compensate for the flash. A second later, he heard a quick burst of machine gun fire from Rei, and once his visor cleared he saw Houki's remaining squadmate tumble out of the sky.
"Got one!" Rei exclaimed.
"Just Houki left." Theresa muttered, moments before taking her shot. Ichika saw the oceans below spark in response.
"Missed!" Theresa exclaimed.
"She knows where you are. That means she can see where your shots will go before you pull the trigger." Ichika replied.
"I know, I know! Doesn't make it any easier to hit her!" Theresa replied, before firing again, scoring another miss. Tracers flew all around Akatsubaki as Rei opened fire, but every shot either missed or was intercepted by one of Houki's swords.
However, the MIRAI system could not counter Ichika's burst missile gun, which was still locked on to the crimson TIS. Once more Ichika fired, and once more the air trembled from the subsequent explosions.
"How strong is that thing? She's taken four of those already!" Theresa exclaimed.
"He's got plenty of ammo. He can fire off a hundred more bursts like that without breaking a sweat." Rei replied.
Then, Houki returned fire, a bright crimson bolt streaking bast Ichika's helmet, narrowly missing the Infinite Arsenal's shield envelope. The second shot, which came less than a second later, had better luck, slamming directly into the suit's pilot compartment. Ichika suppressed the resulting panic spike with practiced ease, remembering Yukari's lessons all those years ago. It was natural to feel a spike of fear when a lethal shot was stopped by an invisible barrier less than an inch from one's heart, but when the IS one was piloting relied on empathic interfaces for much of its control input, that spike of fear often resulted in a temporary loss of control. Even with his training, he felt his control over the Infinite Arsenal falter for a brief moment, but that moment quickly passed. A quick glance at his shields showed that he had enough left to take two more hits like that before going down. Good enough.
Before Houki could fire again, he was already pulling the trigger, sending another barrage of burst missiles at his childhood friend. Theresa cursed as the sky lit up again.
"Damn, I was hoping the missiles would distract her enough for me to land a hit!" She exclaimed as Akatsubaki emerged from the explosion field.
"Ichika, I think I've found something!" Ori spoke up as Ichika feinted left before rolling right, just barely dodging another pair of plasma bolts.
"What is it?" Ichika replied.
"Every time you fire, Akatsubaki moves to a certain point on the missile spread grid. It seems that Houki knows that she can't dodge the missiles, but the MIRAI system is good enough that she can predict where they will hurt her the least." Ori explained.
"Then what do I do?" Ichika asked.
"Fire off your current missiles. I'll alter the timers on the next set." Ori answered.
"Alright. Firing!" Ichika exclaimed, releasing another barrage of burst missiles. Once again, Houki emerged from the explosion field, her shield glowing around her, but otherwise unscathed.
"Loading altered shot... LEFT!" Ori shouted, and Ichika immediately rolled left, just barely avoiding another plasma burst.
"Under attack! It's one of Kanzashi's!" Rei exclaimed.
"Got her." Theresa replied.
"Altered shot loaded. Weapon temperature nominal. Fire when ready!" Ori shouted. Ichika replied by pulling the trigger. Once again, the sky was saturated with explosions, although this time Ichika could see that they were clustered in a different pattern than before, with more explosions centered around Akatsubaki.
"I think we got her!" Ori exclaimed. A moment later, Ichika's visor lightened, and he too saw the crimson IS falling out of the sky. This time, it did not recover.
"Akatsubaki is down." Ichika reported, drawing cheers from his remaining squadmates.
"Just two squadrons left." Rei noted. As she spoke, Ichika searched his surroundings, trying to spot the remaining enemy IS suits. He quickly saw the Schwarzer Regen, as well as two of Laura's squadmates, but no trace of Kanzashi's squadron remained.
"Hmm, might just be one. I can't see Kanzashi's squadron anywhere. What about you, Theresa?" Ichika replied.
"It's just Laura. Looks like they're forming up together." Theresa replied.
"There's three of us and three of them, and they're low on ammo." Ichika mused.
"So am I. Unlike Theresa, my guns don't recharge themselves." Rei commented.
"Speaking of recharging, how are your batteries? Will they last?" Ichika asked.
"I've been pushing my suit pretty hard. I'll need a recharge." Rei replied.
"Same here. I've got about twenty minutes of flight time left." Theresa added.
"Alright. I'm heading up to you, Theresa. Rei, follow me. We'll recharge and resupply, then engage Laura." Ichika ordered, before starting his climb up to Theresa's position.
"Looks like Laura's got the same idea. She's just plugged one of her partners in." Theresa reported.
"Do you have a shot?" Ichika asked.
"Yeah. Should I take it?" Theresa asked.
"Do it." Ichika ordered.
"Hit... I think..." Theresa said a moment later.
"What do you mean, you think?" Ichika asked as he drew level with her. As he did so, a panel on the back of his IS opened up, revealing a wound up cable. They were standard additions to TIS suits of the second generation and up, designed to take advantage of the limitless power of the IS Core to recharge battery-powered MPIS suits while in flight.
"I saw the enemy suit flash, but it wasn't as bright as it should have been." Theresa replied as Rei flew up behind him, grabbing the cord and opening a panel on her own suit so that she could start recharging her own suit.
"M-Maybe your weapon is damaged?" Rei asked.
"I don't think it is. It's been working pretty well so far." Theresa replied.
"It might just be the range. You haven't engaged targets this far away before, right?" Rei asked.
"I guess not." Theresa answered.
"Alright, enough. Keep firing, Theresa. I'll try and recharge you wirelessly to save time. Can your suit handle that?" Ichika asked.
"I don't see why not." Theresa replied.
"Alright, let's hope this does not backfire." Ichika said, before ordering Ori to target Theresa's Blank Slate for wireless power transfer. Fortunately, Blank Slates were equipped with wireless receivers, which, while not as efficient as a superconductor cable, were enough to get the job done. Every few seconds, Theresa would take another shot, reporting a hit every time, while Ichika passed spare ammunition from his suit's IS-space to Rei.
"How strong can their shields be?" She growled after yet another shot.
"Maybe your weapon is damaged after all. It should be able to perform well even at ranges in excess of twenty kilometers." Ichika replied, frowning.
"Maybe... Wait, Laura's disconnecting... What the hell?!" Theresa exclaimed.
"What's going on?" Ichika demanded as Rei disconnected behind him.
"Laura's squadmates just disappeared! I can't see them!" Theresa reported.
"They must be testing some kind of stealth tech then. When they open fire, try to track their shots to their source. Rei, stay on me. Theresa, engage Laura. Your gun should be able to bypass her AIC. Rei, stay with me. We're going to screen Theresa." Ichika ordered.
"R-Roger!" Rei answered, her stutter making itself known once more.
"Got it." Theresa said, before drawing a bead on Laura and opening fire. The Schwarzer Regen flashed white in response, before Laura threw her IS into a series of evasive maneuvers, just barely avoiding Theresa's next few shots.
"Don't think I'm going to make this easy for you, Ichika. I expect my bride to be an expert combatant and leader." Laura's voice sounded out in his ears as she spoke over an open channel.
"You're still going on about that?" Ichika asked, weaving up and down to avoid incoming railgun shots. The first few missed, but as he came closer his shields began to spark from successful hits. Ichika switched over to his laser rifle, knowing that Laura's AIC would protect her from the rest of his arsenal, up to and including his newest weapon. Lining up his shot, he watched Laura's shields flash as the laser beam connected, but even before he had pulled the trigger Laura was on the move, and she quickly slid out of the laser beam.
"What the... Taking fire! Taking fire! Six and five o'clock, high!" Theresa suddenly exclaimed.
"I see them!" Rei replied as Ichika tried to track Laura with his laser rifle.
"Theresa, dive away. You'll be torn apart in close quarters. Rei, keep them busy while Theresa retreats to a safe distance." Ichika ordered.
"I'm trying, but it's like my bullets are going right through them! I think I'm shooting decoys!" Rei shouted as Laura charged forward, attempting to trap him in her AIC.
"Try to trace their fire to its source!" Ichika shouted out as he cut his suit's PIC and executed a high-G horizontal turn, accelerating out of the danger zone a moment before the shimmering field of Laura's AIC came into being. Laura ran into his laser a second later, as she tried to follow him through the maneuver.
"They're not using tracers or plasma. I can't follow them back to their source. All I know is their general direction!" Theresa replied.
"Wait, Theresa, go into that cloud for a second, I want to check something." Rei spoke up.
"Got it." Theresa replied as Ichika dodged a pair of wire guided daggers.
"Your decoys are projected from a holographic array on your IS, right?" Rei asked.
"Yeah, what about... Oh! I see!" Theresa exclaimed.
"The particles that make up the cloud should reflect enough projected light for us to trace a hologram to its source. I'm diving in now, and hopefully they will follow." Rei replied.
"Roger. Should I keep my decoys up?" Theresa asked.
"No. If you can, flicker them a bit before turning them off to fake an error in the system. That should keep them from getting suspicious." Rei ordered.
"Roger, will do!" Theresa replied.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke, allowing Ichika to focus fully on his fight with Laura. At the moment, they were exchanging fire, with Laura trying to close in on him while he retreated, careful to keep out of AIC range. Squadrons of drones shimmered into being around the Infinite Arsenal, adding to the volume of fire aimed at Laura, although one by one the drones went up in smoke, courtesy of Laura's aiming skills.
"I see her! I see the trail! Firing!" Rei exclaimed, her transmission punctuated by gunfire.
"I see her too. Firing!" Theresa shouted out a moment later.
"Hit! We got her!" Theresa whooped.
"Theresa, whatever you did, it momentarily disrupted her cloak. One more shot like that and we should be able to nail her for good." Rei ordered.
"Roger, I just need to spot her again."
"I see her, follow my tracers."
"I see them. Firing!"
"Direct hit! She's visible!" Rei exclaimed as she emptied her magazines into her opponent.
"She's going down!" Theresa whooped a moment later.
"One down, one to go." Rei said.
As if in response, Laura suddenly broke away, accelerating upwards, and Ichika realized that she was heading towards her remaining squadmate.
"Watch out, Laura's trying to link up with her teammate. I'll try to stop her, but be ready just in case." Ichika said.
"Got it. We'll try to deal with her other squadmate as fast as possible." Theresa said.
"That might be hard. She's staying out of the cloud." Rei muttered.
"Don't worry, I have a plan. It will render my weapon inoperable though, so you'll have to do the shooting on your own." Theresa replied.
"Alright, what's the plan?" Rei asked as Laura just barely avoided Ichika's laser beam.
"I'll use my main gun's charging drones to try and intercept the projector beam. They absorb sunlight well enough, so they should be able to absorb the projected light as well. When the hologram disappears, it means that I've found the beam. Do you have my drone position data?" Theresa asked.
"Yes, I do." Rei replied.
"Alright. Unfortunately, maneuvering my drones like I'm about to will prevent them from transmitting power to my gun, so I'll be counting on you. I'm starting maneuvers now." Theresa ordered.
"Roger." Rei answered.
As the two of them planned, Ichika had been steadily catching up to Laura, his suit's stronger engines allowing him to quickly close the distance. Suddenly, Laura reversed direction, quickly closing in, and Ichika realized his mistake.
"Got you!" Laura exclaimed as her AIC field came into being around the Infinite Arsenal.
"Ori, drones, now!" Ichika replied, and one hundred drones shimmered into being around him. Some were caught in the AIC field, while others were far enough away to maneuver freely, and they did just that. Laura was immediately forced to divert her attention to the drones, and while the inertia cancelling field remained in place her railgun was pointed elsewhere, meaning that Ichika was safe for the moment.
"Drone two has got something! I'm projecting a hologram between it and the target, fire along that line!" Theresa ordered.
"Got it, firing!" Rei replied.
"I'll march holograms down your firing line. If the holograms start shifting, it means the enemy IS is repositioning. I'll try to keep track of it as best as I can." Theresa added.
"Got it." Rei replied as she opened fire. After a few seconds, Theresa cheered.
"You got a hit! Marking target with a hologram... Wait... FIRE! FIRE NOW! SHE'S VISIBLE!"
"Firing!" Rei replied.
"She's trying to evade, but she's visible so long as I can keep my projector on target." Theresa muttered.
"I've got her, don't worry." Rei said.
"Missiles! She's firing everything she's got at me!" Theresa exclaimed.
"Don't worry... YES!" Rei shouted.
"Holy... That was awesome!" Theresa gasped. Rei did not reply for a few seconds.
"Alright, she's going down. I think she was too shocked to evade." The normally quiet girl finally said.
"That just leaves Laura. Ichika, need any help?" Theresa asked.
"I've tied her down for now, but I can't move. She should be an easy target." Ichika replied.
"Alright, providing fire support now." Theresa answered, and a few seconds later the Schwarzer Regen flashed white. Immediately, the AIC field around Ichika dropped as Laura began attempting evasive maneuvers, but that allowed Ichika to bring his laser rifle to bear once more. It was not long before Laura was taken out by combined fire from Ichika and Theresa.
"Whew! That was a lot harder than I anticipated." Rei sighed, pulling up alongside the Infinite Arsenal.
"Yo buddy, you still alive?" Theresa asked as she pulled up on his other side.
"Just barely. Laura was a tough opponent." Ichika replied. Indeed, a quick glance at his shield levels had shown that they had dropped below twenty points. One more hit from Laura's railgun and he would have been finished.
"Yeah, her squadmates weren't half bad either. If it wasn't for Rei-chan here, we would have been torn apart." Theresa said, causing Rei to momentarily cut speed as she blushed.
"W-Well, you figured out how to take o-out the second one." Rei murmured.
"I got lucky. It's not like I knew beforehand that their stealth tech was screwed up by someone projecting a hologram on it." Theresa replied.
"Still, you found it out, meaning we can use it to our advantage in later matches." Ichika said.
"Ha! We probably won't need it thanks to that overpowered cannon you and Rei designed. That thing alone seemed to be responsible for half our squadron's kills." Theresa commented.
"Nah, it was only so effective because nobody expected it. Even then, Charlotte already was able to counter it with her impulse flares. I guarantee you that everyone paying attention to this match will have similar flares mounted on their IS suits by the time the tournament rolls around... Which is something we should do as well. I've noticed a lot of our enemies used missiles, and we need a tried and tested countermeasure that doesn't involve shooting them out of the sky. Rei got lucky and was able to do it, but I'd rather not rely on luck." Ichika explained.
"Yeah... I guess that makes sense." Theresa sighed.
"So, shall we head back? I'm sure everyone else is waiting for us." Ichika asked.
"Yeah, that sounds good. We wouldn't want to keep Ayane-san and Sakura-san waiting." Rei said.
"Alright, but since we won, we've got to return with style. Let's make a nice low-altitude pass over the landing platform at high speed, followed by a few loops and then a simultaneous landing, all in tight formation. Oh, and trailing colored smoke! That's always cool!" Theresa said, speaking rapidly.
"I don't think our IS suits are equipped with aerobatic smoke canisters..." Rei replied.
"Oh well, we can still do the rest of it! What do you say Ichika, can we? Please?" Theresa begged. Ichika waited for a moment, before smiling beneath his helmet.
"Sure. Why not?" Theresa cheered at that, and Rei cracked a small smile as they formed a tight arrowhead formation and made their way back to IS Academy.
A/N: My sincerest apologies for not having this done. I ended up finishing it about halfway by the end of January, and then leaving it be due to a high RL workload (and a large amount of Warframe) for over a month before finally finishing it yesterday.
To be quite honest, I do not think I can do another battle like this. It's not that there were too many IS suits as there were too many sides, and I wanted to show them all off to some degree. This meant that Ichika received a somewhat larger than expected amount of combat time, and I don't particularly like that. Even if he is the protagonist, it felt to me like I ended up having his squadron singlehandedly defeat pretty much all the opposition with some assistance from the others.
Thus, I will probably have a maximum of 4-5 sides to every squadron battle from now on, to avoid further issues like this.
Now on to better news. Firstly, I would like to offer a much belated congratulations to Warmach1ne32's IS squadron submission, which has been finalized and entered into the pool that I will draw from in the event of me needing an all-OC squadron.
Secondly, now that the large battle is done with and the squadron system has received enough introduction, I can get the plot rolling again.
Speaking of squadrons, it looks like Rei has gotten her fair share of the screentime that was ultimately denied to her in the previous chapter. I tried to portray her as socially awkward and generally shy, only losing that shyness when she's either doing something she likes or is too preoccupied with something else like combat. Have I managed to get that across successfully in the story? The last thing I want to do is to reduce her to a background character because I am unable to adequately write her.
I will probably post squadron specifications on The Declassified Files when I have time. It won't just be a small tech update, and may very well require an entirely new chapter to be added to it comprised of IS Academy squadrons. Either that or I will split the squadrons up according to nation/organization of origin, and mix them in indigenous tech such as American tanks, German MPIS suits, etc. The first option will be faster, relatively speaking, but the second one will do a lot to flesh out the Agent Orimura-verse's military tech past that of the Organization, as well as give some more insight into how the world reacted to the Alaska treaty.
Anyway, now that I've said my piece, I hope you have all enjoyed the story so far, and will continue to enjoy future updates. As always, please notify me if you notice any glaring flaws or inconsistencies and I will do my best to address them.
Until next time!