Back at the Loud safeHouse, Lynn was getting more and more suspicious of the family's dead silence on Lori and Leni's disappearances. No matter what she asked or how she asked it, she always got the same overbearing response from Rita:
"Sweetie...we do not speak those names in this household...they are no longer a part of our family..."
and she always got the same monotone responses from the rest of the family:
"I hate them."
"Who are they?"
"Are you sure?"
"Sounds like some bad people."
It was frustrating to say the least when she couldn't move even the slightest bit of finger to save her life. She was getting tired of the same routine every day, and she could tell that Lily was getting tired of it too. The lack of stimulation that was afforded to her resulted in her using her own imagination to babble with images of her past siblings. Everyone else thought that Lily was just babbling, but Lynn knew better.
One morning, she was waiting in her own room for breakfast. Rita was taking an extraordinary long time to prepare something simple, which gave her plenty of time to think.
Lily came crawling in to check on her, "Rin?"
"Oh," Lynn turned her neck, "Hello, Lily."
Lily babbled a bit.
"I have been thinking about that," Lynn said, "How everyone in this house has been isolating themselves from each other... and from us, it seems."
Lily babbled some more.
"No, I could never do that," Lynn seemed remorseful at what she perceived Lily to be saying, "but it is a possibility."
Lily babbled a question.
"It'll be quicker if the entire family hears it," Lynn mused, "but chances are low that everyone can get together."
Just then, Rita came in, and was visibly shaken at the sight of the teen communicating with the toddler, "Lynn, sweetie...what did I say to you about outsiders?"
"That they are bad and should not be trusted?" Lynn-
"Exactly," Rita shoved Lily out of the room with her foot, "So..." then she slammed the tray onto Lynn's lap, "...why do you continue to talk to those bad people?"
"But she's just a ba-"
"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!" Rita suddenly grabbed Lynn's head, "I already lost my only son thanks to those conniving hags-" eye to eye scream "-AND I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE YOU!"
Lynn became frightened.
Rita quickly came back to her senses, and hugged her crippled daughter, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I just... I didn't want anything to happen to you..."
"It's ok," Lynn nudged her, "I understand."
"I won't let anything happen to you anymore," Rita caressed Lynn's hair before taking a spoonful of food out of the bowl, "Now, say ahhhhh..."
"Ahhhhh..." Lynn allowed the food to enter her body. She may have settled down with her new life in the country, but she has been making a plan in her head to get away from Rita. Bit by bit, she's been regaining feeling in her body, all thanks to daily training from the food sliding down her esophagus, all the way to the many times she's had someone else clean her up in the bathroom. She didn't know why Lori told her what happened to her, but she was already determined to find her and fix whatever has plagued the family.
Meanwhile, the week progressed according to the ISL timetable. Chifuyu would retain her position as Class 1-1 instructor, and but she would lose her pay privileges until the end of the semester. Tatenashi has punished Lincoln by removing him from all clubs and making him the point man of the ISL. Ichika has been moved to the Student Council as secretary. Lori and Leni are residents on campus, giving the students a massive headache because of the now wanted status of the siblings.
But that didn't change the procedure of the morning, and it was disregarded for the ISL's first mission, as the group met outside for their first student-led briefing.
"As you know, we've had a rise in IS-related disturbances within the past week," Laura presented via real time hologram, "However, as you may not know, one of those disturbances involves a private company doing business with the Southeast Asian criminal ring. Several ships have smuggled valuables out of major countries and are gathering at an oil rig to finalize a deal."
"So, we have to go in and stop the deal," Cecilia said.
"And recover as many goods as possible."
"Captives?" Rin asked.
"They have none," Laura responded, "but we will be taking prisoners. We will not kill."
No words. Only silence. Charlotte looked around the room as if something had annoyed her, "Why does nobody say anything?"
"We only need to worry about the mission," Houki flatly stated, "Nothing more."
"Well, that will be a problem," Laura moved the hologram to the next slide, "A maximum of three people can go."
"Why?!" Tina whined, "Just three?!"
"To avoid drawing too much attention from anyone outside," Laura answered.
"Which means..." Rin mused, "...we have to decide who goes and who stays."
"I'll go," Lincoln shot his hand up right away, "I'll be point man."
Laura wasn't sure, "This mission happens tonight."
"I know," Lincoln remained steadfast, "I'm the most versatile of us here, so I have to go."
"I better go with you then," Charlotte suddenly said, "I don't want you to lose control of yourself."
"You don't have to worry," Lincoln said smugly, "I know when to maintain and lose control."
All the girls raised their eyebrows, as if they had never heard him say anything remotely snarky before.
"Maybe I should sit this one out..." Houki said.
"I gotta check up on Lori," Tina said.
"So do I!" Cecilia blinked.
"No, you don't."
"I have to tutor her!"
"You mean, torture-"
"Enough!" Laura silenced them all.
"I'll join them," Rin said.
"Why?" Houki got snarky, "To get all up in Linc-GUHACKG?!" But she was cut short by Laura's AIC.
"It is clear to me that you lack the mental fortitude to perform a simple retrieval operation," Laura growled, "Therefore, the mission briefing is Loud, Fan, and Dunois to the trade site, and everyone else stays behind."
"Laura, cool it!" Rin leapt at her and shut off the AIC.
"What has gotten into you?!" Cecilia screamed.
"We've gone backwards, people," Tina shook her head and left.
"And where are you going?!" Houki demanded.
"Class starts in 15 minutes," Tina gave them the tongue-diss and ran off.
"What?!" Cecilia took off, "You could've told me!"
"We are so getting detended..." Houki said while walking away.
Lincoln started to go, but Rin caught him.
"You ok, dude?"
"Yeah. I'm as fine as ever."
"Just yesterday, you were going off about how your life is a complete lie."
"It is...but it's not gonna make a dent in the thinly veiled fabric of life, so why should I care?" Lincoln said before catching Ichika leaving the Student Council meeting, "Hey, Icky!"
"I am become Printer, the destroyer of souls..." Ichika groaned.
"What's gotten into you?"
"This!" Ichika dropped his backpack, which contained an untold amount of paperwork, "I have ONE WEEK to process all of this!"
"Somebody jam that printer!"
"And get a party popper!"
Charlotte, Rin, and Laura looked on with great confusion.
"This mood swing is creeping me ooooooout..." Rin whispered.
"It's best not to question it," Charlotte led them away.
"I will report to Mentor, then..." Laura nodded.
As the day went on, the usual group had distanced from the rest of the student body, and from each other. Lori found herself clinging more to Tina for emotional and educational support. Cecilia and Houki were relying more on each other. Rin and Laura were talking more often. And no one was talking with any of them.
Charlotte noticed this and decided to try and strike up a conversation with Kanzashi, since the other were doing other things. "Hello, Kanzashi," she waved.
Kanzashi saw her, but didn't turn around. She continued her trek to the library.
Charlotte followed her, "You haven't been going out to class lately. What's keeping you?"
Still no response.
"Well, I was thinking...maybe I could observe your work?"
"No," was all Kanzashi said before she isolated herself in books.
"Pourquoi s'embêter?…" Charlotte muttered.
When club hours started, everyone had gone off into their respective rooms, except Ichika, who was assigned to survey the clubs for the next festival. Today, it was the club he was supposed to join, the Lacrosse Club.
"And what's the deal with that Loud brunch in the shed?!" One of the club members complained, "Whose idea was it to bring those thieving bimbos in here?!"
Ichika thought about what Chifuyu told him:
("We have to get these people out of our hair. The only way to do that is to disgust them into leaving us alone.")
And so, he told them the truth, "Miss Orimura brought them here."
"What?!" The members complained, "Why?!"
"Thanks to that weekend incident, they're now wanted," he responded, loud enough for Rin to hear during the practice match, paused, and accidentally get clocked by the other players, "Bringing them here was the only way to get the authorities out of their hair."
"Well, they shouldn't come here!"
"I prefer the police lock'em up!"
"Yeah! Then, that bitch Lo wouldn't have been able to cause this mess!"
Then, Ichika played his getawayfromme card, "And I prefer she stay here."
"HAH?!"
Ichika then said, "Because then, it'd give me hope for humanity."
Then students stood silent. The game was brought to a brief halt. But then it quickly resumed, right before the students voiced their opinions:
"I can't believe I fell for him."
"Little brother privilege."
"What was Orimura thinking letting him in?!"
"He caught Loud-itis."
"For real."
"Why do we even bother?"
"Just because they're siblings."
"I let myself get blinded..."
Ichika nodded in satisfaction, having already gathered the information he needed. But Rin was concerned that he was isolating himself from the rest of the group. She felt like she needed to talk to him before the day ended-
"Rin!"
"Ua-hey-no-" but that feeling cost her the game, "Oops..."
"What's the matter with you?!" One of the players confronted, "You lost your edge! Where'd it go?!"
"I got it right here!" Rin didn't realize that she was holding someone else's racket.
"Sure..."
Ichika later met with Tatenashi and Kaoruko to discuss the next steps.
"And that's the word on the Lacrosse section," Ichika concluded.
"So, we're on track to meet fundraising and competition goals, then," Tatenashi nodded, "What's the word on your end, Mayuzumi?"
"Nonstop speculation about Lori and Leni...everywhere," Kaoruko said, "Aside from that, art club has seen a drop in enthusiasm and membership-"
"Oh, Lincoln," Tatenashi quipped, "He's gonna kick-art the art-pocalypse. Get it?"
"Yeah, I get it," Ichika moaned.
Kaoruko finished her sentence, "...and a rise in quality."
"Rise of Sky-drawer?!" Tatenashi and Ichika was surprised.
"Seriously, look at this!" Kaoruko showed the two vastly different pictures: one sketched on top of a hill with a lone boy looking over the sunrise with a caption saying "WELL DONE", and the other with the same boy slumped over a tree trunk in a fiery wasteland with a black sun under a caption "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE".
"That hunk of a gunk's junk..." Ichika sighed.
"Let's put on a display!" Tatenashi exclaimed, "That'll be the first thing they see! A small display of the Academy's artistic side, and there's more on the inside!"
"Ooh, I like it!" Kaoruko said.
"Well, that'll do for today," Tatenashi winked, "Remember, council meeting 7am sharp."
"Ugh..." Ichika groaned audibly.
"And you," Tatenashi grabbed his tie and wrung him in close to her chest, "We have a little training date, don't we?"
"Gulp...yes, we do..."
Shortly after, in a hidden hangar, Chifuyu met with the trio assigned to the mission main, and two select students who were assigned mission support, "Loud, Fan, and Dunois, you three are to stop that deal and bring back whatever you can to the rendezvous point. Loud, Sarashiki, and Bodewig will provide you support."
"Understood," the trio said before departing to the launch pad.
In the control room, Kanzashi, Maya, and Laura were prepping for surveying and analysis. Lori was just eyeing her brother as if she sensed something about him had been irreversibly altered.
"Lori?" Maya noticed, "Is something wrong?"
"Lincoln is," Lori answered, "I don't know what, but...something made him do a 180 on himself."
"We'll see if that has any effect on the mission," Maya nudged her to her seat, "Now, come. We don't have much time."
Once the trio took off, the mission began. They flew until they were just outside detection. Then, they immediately withdrew their IS and plunged into the water. Then, they swam all the way until they reached the rig.
"We have confirmation of contact," Maya said, "The team has engaged."
Lori quickly grabbed her microphone and opened two comms channels, "Rin. Charlotte. Can you hear me?"
The two froze. They didn't expect to hear Lori this early in the night, but they kept moving so they wouldn't draw suspicions from Lincoln.
"He can't hear us, so let's keep it that way," Lori said, "I think Lincoln's started losing his sense of self. He might do something reckless. Can you two keep an eye on him?"
"Sure," Rin whispered.
"Oui," Charlotte said.
Lincoln went and dealt in some helpers without them knowing.
Lori disconnected and allowed herself to take a back seat, while Maya and Kanzashi monitored the mission. Kanzashi took note of that brief message from Lori, but turned back to the computer.
But Lori caught that, "Something wrong?"
"No," Kanzashi answered, "Just focus on the mission."
The team made it safely on the rig thanks to anti-detection tech for the Academy, but now they were on their own. They stayed hidden behind a cargo bed while overlooking one of the dealers holding a rather large shipment of IS-related technology.
"You reckon that's the shipment we're looking for?" Rin asked.
"It appears so," Charlotte whispered, "The pristine glimmer tells me that it was recently stolen directly from the manufacturer."
"Well, now we know. What's the plan?"
And then "We go in and blow the place up."
"HH-" Rin jumped, but Lincoln quickly silenced her before she could make any noise.
Because of Night Club, "Why am I over here not shredding something sick for you roadies?"
And Card Counter, "Because this is a covert operation? As in, no noise whatsoever?"
Back at the Academy, the support team let out a collective, disgusted groan.
"Someone get that kid an actual working heart..." Maya said.
Chifuyu immediately opened a comm to Lincoln, "Loud, what are you doing?"
"Making a plan," Lincoln said, "You know I'm always planning."
"Without your partners' consent?!"
"Nice verbiage there..."
Charlotte tapped his shoulder, "Are you sure about this?"
"Sure, I'm sure," Lincoln smirked, "When have I ever not been sure?"
"That's so wrong in so many ways..." Rin commented.
"Well, we're here..." Charlotte shrugged it off and turned back to the oil rig open platform, which now housed two giant groups communicating with each other, "Looks like the deal is underway."
"Then, it's impossible to retrieve the cargo without being detected," Laura said, "Dunois, we need a controlled distraction. We will go with Night Club's suggestion."
"Swee~~~eet!" Night Club fist pumped.
"She said controlled," Card Counter noted.
"Oh, bite me, shrimp."
"Guys, focus!" Rin snapped her fingers, "Well, I suppose this saves us the risk of bodily scapegoating..."
"Night Club and I can go down there and play something," Lincoln suggested, "Make them check out the noise."
"That's gotta lure, like, half the group," Night Club nodded.
"Assuming they don't have guns?" Rin pointed to the group's pockets.
"Oh..."
"Everyone," Card Counter turned the group to her binoculars, "the piranhas have unveiled their feed."
Everyone peeked over the cargo beds to see what has been unveiled. And what they saw horrified them.
It was the Heavy Battler. The very IS that was wielded by Lynn Loud. Once destroyed, now fully restored, with its core.
"No...HOW?!" Lincoln growled.
"Lincoln, don't," Charlotte said, "Let's not forget who has it at this time."
"The hell what Chi-Chi said," Night Club shoved her aside, "We're going in."
"What?!" Charlotte exclaimed, "You can't!"
"I already did," Lincoln jumped into the trade area with Night Club.
Charlotte let out an exasperated grunt, while Card Counter just shrugged.
"Great," Rin groaned, "Now what?"
"Counter will assist me with the IS!" Charlotte hastily formulated a plan while deploying her IS, "You provide cover fire for whatever shenanigans those two are about to do!"
"Here," Card Counter materialized what seemed like a deck shuffler, "This will hide the Battler from their sights. But we must move now."
"Hurry!" Charlotte propped Counter on her back and flew off.
The deal was almost finalized, but it was missing the symbolic handshake between the representatives of the two parties. Soon, the two leaders came forward.
One of them was the leader of a Europe-based international gangster organization, "We are grateful to you for allowing us to partake in such an ambitious mission."
The other...was Sayuka Yorutake, "This is a very heavy investment. Be certain that it will be fruitful and rewarding."
"You have my assurance," the member said as he extended his hand.
Sayuka looked at the gruffly outstretched fingers and wondered why she even took the deal, knowing that it could land her in serious trouble. But she shook it off and reached out to shake it-
-"What is love but an illusory dump?"-
-only to be interrupted by a vocal, "What was that?!"
-"What is affection if it is for the chump?"-
"It's coming from there!" Someone pointed to the helipad.
Nearly everyone there drew their fund and aimed at the source of the eerily soothing voice.
And it was Night Club, -"Are we all not to rot awa~ay into a lifeless glob of ru~~~uuuuuump?..."
The entire group was caught in a mental fart thanks to that line; but it didn't last long. As soon as Night Club winked, everyone opened fire on her.
"HOLY-" Night Club switched to a frantic melody and erected an energy shield around herself, "Don't nobody got no sense of music anymore?!"
"That's Night Club!" One of the people yelled, "One of Ace Savvy's lackeys!"
"Then, those IS brats are here!" Another member yelled, then pointed to Sayuka, "That bitch squawked!"
"No, I didn't know about them!" Sayuka countered.
"It's true!" Someone else yelled, "They must've intercepted our communications!"
"Then, there are more here!" The leader said, "Flush them out!"
At that moment, Lincoln combined his wing units into a shield and flung it at the group. It bounced off of nearly every single person's torso, incapacitating everyone it hit. With almost the entire gang neutralized, one of the cargo beds opened up and revealed two more IS units. They were dark and agile, sporting fast movement and rapid gunfire. They were quick to hone in on Lincoln, and even quicker to isolate him from the rest of the fight. And the members that were left scoured the entire oil rig to find the rest of Lincoln's party.
Sayuka was about to join the fight, when the leader grabbed her shoulder.
"In case you're wondering, this did not go well," he growled as tightened his grasp.
"Ow! Agh! Let go!" Sayuka screamed, before he forced her to face him, "Wh...uhhhh-"
"You have three weeks to change my mind," he muttered before he made his exit.
Sayuka just stood there, so awestruck at what she just saw, that she didn't notice Charlotte or Card Counter sneaking onto the Heavy Battler.
Card Counter placed the device onto the IS, and it dematerialized into a pile of cards. "Secure," she said while storing the IS, "Cover me."
Lincoln looked like he was having the time of his life, "COME ON, YOU FACELESS SNOBS!" He was bobbing and weaving through the endless rapid gunfire, eventually using an evasive maneuver to create an opening. Then, he threw his shield at the ISs; one of them dodged, but the other was blindsided by Rin's surprise blast, leaving her wide open.
"I see you, chorus girl!" Night Club rammed into the pilot and began her musical assault, with Lincoln providing cover fire with his Infinite Card Scatter.
Charlotte saw the cards raining down and quickly deployed.
"Ace has officially lost it!" Card Counter ducked under Charlotte's shield.
"What is wrong with him?!" Charlotte screamed.
Rin was safely perched on top of the cargo beds, where no gunfire or person could touch her. She waited until one of the pilots was subdued to jump down. Once she landed, she quickly spotted Sayuka running away. She was hurrying to escape the carnage and came moments away from landing in a safety boat. When Rin landed in front of her, fully deployed.
"What's up, former roommate?" Rin grinned.
Sayuka quickly pulled out her whistle, which disrupted the neural link in the Shenlong and forced it into standby mode.
And yet, it didn't faze Rin one bit, "Oh. We won't be needing that."
Right before Sayuka could use her gun, Rin landed a knee to her head.
Meanwhile, Card Counter had finished converting some stolen anti-IS tech into cards. "That's all the device can handle."
"That's all the hotspots! Come on!" Charlotte pulled them away and started running towards the getaway boat, only to find the other IS pilot waiting for them. She quickly put up her shield, but she was getting pushed back by the gunfire.
The pilot had the advantage until-
"Whaddap-" SMACK! "-BOOSH?!" -Lincoln sucker punched the pilot right into Charlotte's pile bunker, who uppercutted the pilot right into Night Club's sound cannon,
who slammed her to the ground and knocked her out, and then- "G STRING TO THE FACE!" -smacked the pilot's face with her guitar.
"Well, I'd call that a job well done," Lincoln stretched his body.
"Are you kidding?!" Rin plopped down with Sayuka over her shoulder, "You had a party so loud Taiwan would be ashamed to have an oil rig here!"
"That was severely reckless," Charlotte nodded.
"By the time we return," Card Counter noted, "investigators would have already done enough to deduce that the ISL was here," rather irritated.
"What?" Lincoln shrugged, "We finished the mission, didn't we? I say that's a cue for celebration."
"Heck yeah, my main man!" Night Club high-fived him, "Make it schoolwide for the rest of the gloomy crowd!"
Charlotte, Rin, and Card Counter wondered why they bothered trying to talk to him.
Back at mission control, Chifuyu, Maya, Lori, Kanzashi, and Laura just wondered...why...
"...worst debut ever..." Maya mouthed.
"Diszipliniere ihn..." Laura nonchalantly smashed a button that activated the getaway boat's autopilot.
Chifuyu buried her head in Lori's neck, "Please tell me you're gonna talk to him..."
Kanzashi took note of that as well.
When the team arrived home, they were in lo spirits because of the talk Chifuyu gave, "What happened out there? The mission was to stop the deal, but thanks to Lincoln's meddling it has only been delayed. Do either of you have any explanation for his brash actions?"
"It might've been my programming," Card Counter said, "I was supposed to restore his mind, but it seems to have influenced him unfavorably."
"Wait, you can do that?!" Rin said bewildered.
"Well, I am the medical and technical genius of the group. Using weapons is far beneath my prowess."
"We're gonna talk, kid..."
"Moving on, what can we do now?" Charlotte asked, "The ruckus most likely alerted the enemy to our location. Retaliation seems inevitable. How are we going to answer to them?"
"And the prisoner we brought back is little more than a gnat in the bunghole of Phantom Task," Rin thought.
Chifuyu had already planned for that, "Counter, unload everything into the lab."
"Understood," Card Counter took the deck and went away.
"You two deliver the news to Tatenashi," Chifuyu said to Charlotte and Rin, "Lincoln is out of the ISL. I want Ichika in for the next mission, no questions asked."
"GLUP..." Rin and Charlotte cowered, "Yes, ma'am..."
Meanwhile, Lori and Kanzashi found Lincoln hanging out with Night Club in the hangar, worried about what to say.
"Looks like he's having fun," Lori whispered.
"Should we really do this?" Kanzashi asked.
"Unfortunately..." Lori led Kanzashi to the hangar, where the sun's waning rays caught them in a good light, attracting the attention of Lincoln and Night Club.
"And then there's ..." Night Club stopped, "...buh...buh...buh..."
"Whoa..." Lincoln went up to them, "You've always looked this good?"
"Whaddaya mean by that?..." Lori said.
Night Club went to Kanzashi, "Well, well, milady," in her British accent
"Uh...hi?" Kanzashi blushed.
"What say we catch up on the next venture?" Night Club led her out, "We've got time to spend, yeah?"
"I guess..." Kanzashi was immediately enthralled.
"So, what brings you here?" Lincoln asked.
"Just wanted to check up on you," Lori said.
"I have never felt better," Lincoln frolicked around, "Took part in the best butt-whooping of the year! And I got revenge on that Yoru-chick for what she did!"
Lori looked down, "...that's the problem..."
Lincoln stopped and looked at her cautiously, "...what?"
In a corridor, Kanzashi broke the news to Night Club.
"She did what?!" Night Club exclaimed, still in British mode.
"Miss Orimura took him off the team," Kanzashi said, "She wants Ichika to sub for him."
"Then, who's gonna withstand the Secyness of the Student Council?! It's gonna go balls up if Ace takes over!"
"I suppose..." Kanzashi briefly brushed it off before catching that last sentence, "Wait, why would you say that?"
"Say what?"
"Say the Council will be a mess if Lincoln is the secretary?"
"Well, he's..." Night Club scratched her head, "...he's off his nut, wouldn't you say, luv?"
"If you say so..." Kanzashi sighed before hearing-
"SHE DID WHAT?!"
"Case in point," Night Club scooped her up and returned to the hangar, but she froze when a giant metal crate flew past them and crashed into the lounge area, "Oh, poopy..."
"SHE CAN'T DO THAT!" Lincoln shouted, "I HELPED FORMED THE ISL! I GAVE YOU GUYS COVER SO MANY TIMES!"
"That's so many times too many!" Lori protested, "We wouldn't need that cover if you didn't throw yourself up there all the time!"
"THAT'S TIME SAVED! WHAT WAS YOUR PLAN, BRAINSTORM ANOTHER PLAN UNTIL THE ENEMY TAKES OUR CARGO AWAY?!"
"At least, we wouldn't put people in danger," Lori got stern, "Night Club, Sayuka, those people in black suits...who else did you decide to shoot up?!"
Lincoln clammed up because he vividly remembered how that mission went. Because, once again, he turned his brain off to lose himself in the moment. And while he enjoyed the mission, the others didn't.
"Ok..." Lincoln sighed, "Maybe I did go overboard..."
"You wanna talk?" Lori asked.
Lincoln knew where this was going, but at that point... "Yeah...let's talk..." ...he didn't care. He followed Lori out of the hangar toward the temporary dorm.
And Kanzashi saw that, "What is wrong with him?!"
"Who knows..." Night Club said in her regular voice, "Guts is more stable than him..."
"YOU KNOW BERSERK?!"
"I ain't proud of it, but...yeah..."
Meanwhile, Rin and Charlotte had just told Tatenashi about the switch.
"I don't see the problem," Tatenashi said, "The mission was a success. Why would Lady Orimura want to retract it so early on?"
"Loud caused a ruckus during the mission," Rin said.
"That's good, ain't it? The louder, the better!"
"That's not at all like you to say that!" Charlotte said, "What has gotten into you?!"
"Maybe this whole ISL was a bad idea after all?" Tatenashi shrugged.
Then, a male voice, "Or maybe that's what you wanted."
"Ichika?!" Rin and Charlotte didn't expect to see him out of the Student Council room.
"Orimura," Tatenashi suddenly changed her tone to stern, "I thought I told you to finish processing the paperwork."
"I did finish," Ichika tapped his bracelet and revealed a message he got from Chifuyu herself, "But then I got this:"
Ichika, the mission was a disaster. You're the point man. Lincoln will be the secretary. There will be no discussion on this matter. Make the switch now.
—Orimura
"That's simply worded hooplah," Tatenashi scoffed, "I am Student Council president, and I have total authority over you."
"I knew that you were going to do whatever you could to sabotage the ISL," Ichika said, "Were you the one who put Lincoln up front, even knowing his current mental state?"
"I did say that you would have to listen to every single whim that came to my mind, did I not?" Tatenashi reiterated, "That means, you stay put here, and let Lincoln do whatever he wants." She turned away and strutted to Rin and Charlotte, who were in complete shock at what they just heard. "Do you want me to discipline you for lolligagging in the halls?"
Ichika interrupted her, "Well, you can discipline me for insubordination."
"Nobody asked you, taint wad," Tatenashi grew slightly irritated, "Go back to your corner and clean up."
From this, he heard what he needed to hear. He sat on the floor and said, very definitely defiantly, "No, I will not."
Tatenashi turned around and stared into his eyes. She saw all of it: anger for seemingly disregarding his ideas and his friends' well-being, disappointment that she took away what was his idea, and pure hatred for not even bothering to reveal her true intentions to him. Or anyone for that matter. She saw that she could no longer influence him directly, so she sighed and kept walking, "Fine. Do whatever you want."
She kept walking until she approached the end of the hall, and then said loudly, "But if there's a crisis and I'm stuck dealing with the paper cuts in Baby Linc's delicate fingers, you have yourself to blame." Then, she disappeared.
Ichika let out a satisfied snort when Rin went up to him, "Out with it, Ichika! What is going on with you?!"
"What?" Ichika said, "I'm the same as ever!"
"On the contrary," Charlotte calmly stepped in, "You've been more apprehensive than usual, and if it were anything other than that defiance you displayed, it would not matter."
"You've been blowing us off over some lousy paperwork, but I don't think that's the reason you're avoiding meaningful conversation with us!" Rin said.
"Sorry," Ichika sighed, "Just...I'm trying to move past the 'little brother' phase, is all."
"What do you mean?"
"Someone got onto me for being Chifuyu's brother," Ichika said, "Three times today."
"So?" Rin shrugged, "Why's that a bad thi-"
"I'm sick of it!" Ichika slammed the wall and cracked the window above him, startling Rin and Charlotte. Then, he stood up and walked, "I'll never get better like this! I have to do something-I-I-God! Ugh... I gotta get outta her shadow!"
"Let's be calm, Ichika," Charlotte tried to settle him down, "We need to breathe on this-"
"Breathe on it?!" Rin suddenly jumped ship, "Have you seen what Tata-who-shi did to him?! No, no, no, this demands immediate attention!"
"Et tu, femina?!" Charlotte was thrown for a loop.
"So, where do we start?" Rin walked closer to Ichika.
"That message," Ichika said while storming out of the building, "We'll negotiate with the rest of the ISL and settled me in for this."
"Ooh, I like it!" Rin wore a nasty grin on her face, "Time to put those melon lords in their place!"
Ichika ignored the fact that Rin was suddenly attached to him and led her on, "Let's go."
"Wait!" Charlotte tried to call them back, "You're not thinking this through! What about...the...oh..." but they were already halfway there. She slumped over, "WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH US?!" Just then, she heard someone typing on a computer. She snuck into the lab and found Kanzashi hard at work, adjusting an Uchigane training model into her own personal unit.
Kanzashi tested some simple commands for moving separate parts is the IS, but they weren't responding fast enough to meet maneuverability standards. "None of the drive sections are responding properly," she murmured, "But why?" She went to the core schematics screen and saw another problem, "And the core's aptitude level..why isn't it rising?" She saw the wavelengths it was giving off and found out that they were far from what the actual target was, "Am I using the wrong type?" She was beginning to doubt herself when-
"Actually, you altered the wiring."
Kanzashi was startled by the voice behind her. She tried to hide it away but the person was already peering at her screen.
Charlotte had come to offer a helping hand, "It is very remarkable how you managed it by yourself, but you must understand that it is originally a training model. You cannot alter the programming from what it is supposed to be."
Kanzashi seemed hesitant to listen, but she wanted to get her insight on this problem, "So what do I do?"
"May I?" Charlotte reached for the keyboard and made two simple adjustments to the code. And suddenly, the wavelength was more favorable and the core's aptitude level increased, "Try it now."
Kanzashi nodded and laid out several commands for the IS. Not only did it move at a favorable speed, it easily absorbed the changes she made to the armor, arsenal, and specifications. "How do you know all this?!" She asked bewildered.
"I don't actually," Charlotte answered, "I only know the simple things. I also know when something looks more complicated than it should be."
"..." Kanzashi looked away. Hearing that line triggered mental flashbacks of when Tatenashi outshined her the brightest.
"Is something wrong?" Charlotte saw the disturbance in her eyes.
"No," Kanzashi muttered while walking away, "I just remembered that Strike Witches: WWIII is premiering tonight."
"I thought you hated Strike Witches!" Charlotte said too late. She closed the lab and went back to her dorm, "She would never resort to such an unwanted tactic unless..."
Ichika Orimura - Chifuyu Orimura
Lincoln Loud - Lori Loud - Leni Loud
Kanzashi Sarashiki - Tatenashi Sarashhhhhhhh...
"Cache ta merde là où ton passé ne la trouve pas, pisse le cul!" Charlotte groaned as she stomped back to her dorm room, not at all noticing Tatenashi's scornful gaze.
Later that night, at Phantom Task HQ, Kiyoka was patiently twiddling her thumbs in the living room while Madoka was eyeing her from the kitchen.
"You don't need to be so tense," Squall said cupping her hand, "She won't do anything to you."
"Really?" Kiyoka didn't believe her, "You didn't implant any explosive nanomachines inside them?"
"Heavens, no. They interfere with their physical and psychological abilities. Everyone came of their own fruition," Squall eyed Madoka, "M over there joined because her parents left her to rot in the snow. We gave her the right to revenge."
"Oh..." Kiyoka nodded slightly.
"Pft..." Madoka scoffed and went back to her room.
"Don't mind her," Squall wagged her hand.
"Why am I waiting here, then?" Kiyoka asked, "I already said that I'll join you...er, do whatever it takes to join you."
"You're here because we have an assignment for you," Squall said, "Once you complete that, then we will call you one of us."
"Oh!" Kiyoka piqued, "Already? No training needed?"
"For this mission, it's on-the-job training," Squall motioned her to stand up, "Follow me." They went to a lower floor and walked down a dimly lit corridor, "Your friend, Sayuka attempted to barter a deal with an international group for the Heavy Battler. But not only did the deal fall out, there were traces she left behind."
"So...is she being disciplined?" Kiyoka asked worriedly.
"No, she's captured," Squall said while stopping in front of a giant door, "We need you to get her out." She tapped two buttons, and the door released its lock and opened up to reveal an IS.
"Whoa..." Kiyoka stepped forward and surveyed the IS with great awe, "...what is it?"
"The Vietnamese model, the Winds of Silence. Height adjustable, to one foot taller than the pilot," Squall said, "As you can tell from the name, it's not battle-oriented. It's used for stealth missions and reconnaissance. This will be your tool to get Sayuka out."
"And will she be disciplined when she returns?" Kiyoka asked.
Before Squall could answer, Rain snuck up from behind, "I can't imagine anything worse than being their hostage."
"Oh?" Squall looked behind her, "Just in time."
"But, if she wanted to get back in..." Rain put her arms up and made her way to the hangar.
"Rain will be your partner," Squall said, "She knows the IS Academy inside and out. She will also be the final judge in whether or not we should accept you into Phantom Task."
"I see..." Kiyoka nodded. She understood what she had to do: she already chose to join Phantom Task. Now, she had to follow through on the choice, and what she did that night would irreversibly change her path.
Back at the Loud safeHouse, the family was preparing for bedtime. The house was dead silent, not one word was said among the family members. Lynn assumed that that was the case because she was kept isolated from the rest of the family, Lily included. This particular night, Rita was bathing Lynn when she decided to pop a question.
"Mother?"
"Yes, dear?"
"What's it like on the outside?"
"The real world is a horrible place," Rita said, "filled with evil people and unfairness."
"Do you think we could-"
"We can't," Rita cleaned up her head, "As much as I want to, we can't. We risk hurting everyone we love when we go out there."
Lynn didn't say much else after that. She simply allowed Rita to clean her up and escort her to bed.
Lily was being tucked into bed by Lisa, who had lost all humor. "Dappa!" She yelled.
Lisa proceeded to change her diaper, right when Lynn was conversing with Rita.
"We could find somewhere for us...just the two of us?"
"I don't have the heart... but maybe we should at some point. The people here are close to losing their nerve."
"We don't need them. It's just us we need."
"Exactly...*sigh* we should."
Lily's eyes widened. She couldn't tell whether or not Lynn was planning something or she really did have enough of the life here. Either way, she was too sleepy to drone about that exchange. But when Lisa was about to walk away, Lily grabbed her hand and held it close to her head, "Gabbabbaa!"
Lisa yanked her hand away. She was by the door when Lily threw her rattle at her head. Lily babbled angrily, but none of it got through to Lisa, who just shut the door.
"Poopoo," Lily grunted.
Meanwhile, Lynn was trapped in Rita's arms as they prepared to sleep.
"Sweet dreams, Lynn," Rita said, "I'll be right here with you...always."
"I know, Mother," Lynn nodded. And then, they fell asleep.
But while Rita was dreaming of a better life for herself, Lynn was dreaming about everything that happened today. She didn't feel anything until just recently, when she felt something tap on her shoulders. It was multiple taps, actually. She was slowly regaining feeling in her body. She was couldn't move any part of it, but she knew that whatever she was doing was working. She was training herself to be responsive to any and all sensations, using that sense to connect back to her own mind and regain connection with her muscles. She hoped that that would allow her to move again by the end of spring.
Once that happened, it was only a matter of instinct, and every fiber in her body kept screaming the same thing...
...get her and Lily out of that safe house.