TOURNAMENT BRACKET PLACEMENT : ROUND OF 8
MATCH 9: LINCOLN LOUD - LAURA BODEWIG vs AKINA SHINOHARA - HANA SUZUKI
MATCH 10: REI HONDA - TOMO TANAZAKI vs CECILIA ALCOTT - LINGYIN HUANG
MATCH 11: MEGUMI WATANABE - YUKARI TAKINO vs HOUKI SHINONONO - KANZASHI SARASHIKI
MATCH 12: HIROKO TANAKA - KAZUMI MOMOSE vs ICHIKA ORIMURA - CHARLES DUNOIS
"This is insane," Lincoln thought, "I can't stomp on Hana. Akina, she can take it and dish it back, but...Hana?"
"You can't say you're backing out at this stage of the game," Laura said, "We've already come this far."
"Well..if you say so..." Lincoln was having mixed feelings. After his most recent rage battle with two people, he didn't consider going against his friends right afterwards.
Laura stood him in front of the monitor, "This is our last battle before we have to face off against the other Representative Contenders. Our enemies are both suited in the Uchigane Yumi. Fairly easy, no?"
"No...ah, yes! Yes, this will...this won't be a problem..."
"Good. So, what's our battle plan?"
Lincoln stared at the data screen, trying to figure out the least brutal method to winning the battle. He just had one look across the arena, and all its vast sea of concerned glances and whispers, and a viable plan came to his mind, "You get Akina. I'll get Hana."
Laura doubted him, "What is your reasoning?"
Lincoln scrambled for a reason to convince Laura. He tried to appeal to her admiration for power, "Well, I just...I knew that we're gonna win anyway, so...maybe you could show Akina a few things?"
"I could..." Laura saw right through his words, "... but then, you'd take far too long with Suzuki."
"Huh?"
"I know you're preoccupied with your friends," Laura walked past him and deployed, "Did you think I would forget what you said right before I presented you with the data?"
"Ugh..." Lincoln was caught, "Ok... I give. It worked on everyone else, so I thought that-"
"Enough," Laura stopped him, "I will engage Suzuki. You will occupy Shinohara until I am finished."
"Huh?!" Lincoln ran out to catch her, "Laura?! Are you nut-" He ended up jumping off the launch platform and had to deploy his IS to land safely.
Only to be met with several voices calling him a bully and begging his opponents to take him out.
"Oh man, do I have a rabbit hole or what?" Lincoln muttered.
SAVVY SUITE — READY
"Well, little Loud," Akina joked, "I guess you're lucky this bad luck crud's run its course."
"Um...good luck, Lincoln!" Hana cheered.
2x UCHIGANE (YUMI) — READY
Lincoln nodded, but Laura scoffed and already marked Hana as her main target.
SCHWARZER REGEN — READY
Lincoln caught the shivers coming from Hana. He waited for the area to fall silent to retain his focus on his personal objective. Then, at the buzzer...
-FIGHT!-
"High Card!" Lincoln swayed left while Laura charged ahead.
SAVVY SUITE — SHIELD 81/100%
"You called?" High Card appeared latched to his back hidden under his wing units.
HIGH CARD — SHIELD 20%
"I need you to keep an eye on Laura," Lincoln whispered, "Make sure she doesn't lose it mid battle."
"I had a feeling you'd say that," High Card said, "Alright, but don't you lose yourself either." When Lincoln collided with Akina, High Card dismounted from his cape and landed in the middle of the arena. "Now then, let's get a good look at your poker faces," she tapped her cell phone and opened up an emotional app that displayed each combatant's emotional reading as emojis.
And Laura was reading as the verbally censored emoji. "Of course," High Card sighed.
Laura was giving Hana the beat down of her life. She knew Hana was slightly timid, so she hustled her using CQC only. Hana tried to get some distance, but she kept getting reeled in by the wire daggers and the AIC.
"You cower in the face of strength," Laura taunted, "How unbecoming of a pilot!" She knocked Hana away with a kick, then immediately rushed her to attempt a grab. But she missed Hana loading her staff now with ammo while getting hit. So, when Laura rushed her, she let a smoke-arrow slip into her range-BOOM-"AGH!"
SCHWARZER REGEN — SHIELD 92/100%
UCHIGANE (Hana) — SHIELD 61/100%
"Ok...go now!" Hana took a note from Lincoln to go in for the assault the moment her enemy was disoriented. She continued to fire while closing in on Laura's position, but just when she was about to swing down, "AAAAAA-uhh?!"
Laura trapped Hana in her AIC anyway.
"Well, Well..." Laura muttered, "You do have some fire in you after all."
"Uh...Wha...how..." Hana became scared once she looked into Laura's menacing eyes.
"You had the steel to strike at my head," Laura readied her railgun, "For that, you will perish," and fired at point-blank.
UCHIGANE (Hana) — SHIELD 44/100%
"AAAAAAAAAA!" Hana was blown across the arena.
Laura was already hot on her trail. When she was too seconds away from striking her again, she tried to project her AIC once more, "...Wha?!" but it wouldn't appear, giving Hana another free hit. Laura swatted her away and tried to project her AIC again but it still wouldn't appear. Hana was able to get herself to long-range and pelted Laura with arrows. Laura got very angry and engaged in long-ranged combat with Hana until she got a hit in. Then, she tried again to hit Hana with her AIC, but this time when the barrier wouldn't appear, she flipped herself over and kicked Hana down while firing her railgun...
-BOOM!-
"Gggck..." and High Card was the one targeted, "Too easy to guard."
HIGH CARD — SHIELD 10/20% (WARNING)
"Loud ordered you, didn't he?" Laura turned her railgun directly to the phone savvy sidekick.
Lincoln was countering Akina's arrows when High Card alerted him to Laura's change of alliance. He rushed out several hits on Akina before he heard the railgun charging. He merged his wing units into a shield and threw it to High Card, who blocked Laura's shots just in time for Hana to blast Laura away from High Card's range. But he himself was open to Akina's CQC attacks- "WAAA-OOF!"
"Pay attention to your own damn self!" Akina went wild with her bow staff.
"Agh-Hey-Ow!" Lincoln lost his rhythm and got throttled like a ball bound to the paddle, "Hawkeye better be gratef-" THUD "-fUUOOOOLLL..."
Meanwhile, Laura had Hana pinned down on the floor and landed a gigantic shot. She was about to launch her wire daggers at Hana when High Card threw the wing shield and blocked the wires from reaching out.
"Tch...I knew he'd be too soft," Laura abandoned Hana in favor of firing at Lincoln.
"Oh, boy..." Lincoln blasted away from Akina. He led her on a chase where he tried to dodge as many arrows as he could. He couldn't dodge some of the arrows, but the ones he did avoid were aimed at Hana and Laura.
"Agh! Ah! Ow!" And Laura got hit with plenty of them, "Why you-" she started to pursue Lincoln, firing nonstop.
"Holy!" Lincoln and Akina quickly evaded. Lincoln dodged Laura's gunfire so that those shots would hit Akina.
Hana took advantage of the distraction and rammed into Laura's back, but she was flipped over and knocked into the wall, giving her a clear opening for Laura to capitalize on. She was reeled in by the wire daggers and repeatedly bashed until she was a few hits away from losing her energy.
Laura held Hana up by her neck, "Had enough?"
"Ngh...not yet..." Hana gasped.
"Well, then," Laura wired Hana to the ground and took aim, "Have all you can get." But when her railgun was about to fire, High Card threw the wing shield at it, causing Laura to misfire. Lincoln led Akina close to the ground and right into a collision with the Schwarzer Regen, while he tended to Hana.
"Hey, you ok?" Lincoln asked.
"I think so..." Hana weakly smiled.
UCHIGANE (Hana) — SHIELD 3/100% (CRITICAL)
"Come on," Lincoln dusted her off, "Let's get you outta here."
"Ah, actually-" Hana tried to warn him about dusting her sides, but...
UCHIGANE (Hana) — SHIELD 0 (EMPTY)
...him cleaning her off was enough to lock her IS.
"Oh...Oops..." they chuckled.
"LOOK OUT!" High Card threw the wing shield and knocked them both off balance, barely missing a stray arrow.
Akina and Laura were trapped in fierce combat. They were firing and ducking under shots at each other, completely oblivious to the dust they erupted from the ground.
Or the ferocity growing inside Laura.
"I gotta go," Lincoln held his hand behind him, and the wing shield came to High Card's left arm, "High Card, stay with Hana." He blasted off into the giant dust cloud and waited. He looked everywhere for any kind of disturbance in the clouds. He did jolt a bit when he heard several clashes echo throughout the dust, but then he realized he had scattershot options, "Oh, right..." he flew above the ground and charged a full deck before throwing it all over the area where Laura and Akina were fighting.
Or rather, where Laura was nailing Akina against the ground with a foot.
"Oof!" Akina strained, "I think I see why he partnered with y-AAAAGH..."
"Ruhig, Dummkopf!" Laura strung up Akina's neck with a wire and readied her railgun, "This 'friend' nonsense ends now-AGH!" She was interrupted by Lincoln's 52-Card Scatter.
"AaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAa~~~" Lincoln rained heavy fire on the ground, shunting away any chance of Laura injuring Akina.
UCHIGANE (Akina) — SHIELD 0 (EMPTY)
SAVVY SUITE — SHIELD 65/100%
SCHWARZER REGEN — SHIELD 84/100%
"THE MATCH IS CONCLUDED. THE WINNER IS LINCOLN LOUD AND LAURA BODEWIG."
Laura was not satisfied with the announcement. She immediately withdrew her IS and sought to confront him with his most recent brazen attack, but she was stopped by High Card.
"Think about what you're gonna do to everyone around you," High Card said.
"I have," Laura pushed her aside.
Lincoln had dismounted Hana from her IS, and they were in the process of detaching Akina from hers.
"How the hell can this IS do the splits?..." Lincoln wondered.
"Don't know," Akina removed her legs from the cockpit thanks to Lincoln's help, and Hana was able to carry her down, "Don't freaking care...that was all kinds of scary!"
"Enough banter!" Laura was quick to lock eyes with all three of them. She released a wire and pulled Lincoln away from them, amidst all the booing and whining coming from the stands. She didn't care what they thought because she didn't believe they held a candle to her. Lincoln, however, was a match for her, so she was starting to care about what he did around her, at least in terms of combat and conduct in her barracks. By the time she returned to the holding area, she was livid.
She dropped him by the monitor, "Now, explain yourself!"
"Ow..." Lincoln groaned, "Long story short, I couldn't let you go full-on super soldier on them, so I had High Card keep tabs on you."
"So you could save your precious mental commodities, is that it?"
Lincoln got angry at the sound of that line, "Have you ever heard of friendship?! Camaraderie?! Trust?! Do those words exist in your dictionary?!"
"How do you expect camaraderie on the battlefield?! There are no friends in battle! You will most certainly be killed unless you are killing them!"
"I just turned 12 today! How do you expect me to already be a fully developed Terminator?!"
"When I was 11, I was trained by the best of the best in world-class IS pilots. I never hesitated to do what was necessary to achieve my objectives. Where were you?!"
"I was at home, living a normal life, with normal friends, and a normal childhood!"
"Were you cushioned by a normal family as well-"
Lincoln lost it, "Are you talking about some of the most MORALLY INCOMPETENT SIBLINGS I'VE EVER HAD THE DISPLEASURE OF BEING RELATED TO-bmhmh?!" He quickly covered his mouth.
He was heard by Cecilia and Rin and who else was in the locker room at that time, and they were all stunned by what he said about his own family. He even stunned Laura, who had never once talked about any of her superiors like that, not even when she was classified as a defect.
Lincoln ran out.
"Where are you going?" Laura shouted.
"I'm gonna forfeit the competition!"
Laura ran after him, "Oh, don't you dare!"
Cecilia pushed Rin out of Laura's way. When Laura was gone, she just shook her head, "I swear, the dynamics of their relationship is more tangled than my split ends."
"Can we get off your hair for just a moment?" Rin griped, "We have another win to score."
Lincoln was stomping his way to the control room, angry at himself for throwing his own sisters under the bus. Not because he said it, but because he didn't believe it 100%. Why he couldn't bring himself to believe his own words he would never know. All he knew was that he had to get himself out before he made it worse for them...for Laura... he suddenly stopped in front of the control room, five seconds away from knocking on the door.
Why did he partner with Laura? At first, it was to prevent her from lashing out at anyone else, but that didn't work out so well. But he kept at it, trying to get to the root of her issues, and the more he kept going with her, the more he saw himself in her. He felt like if he stayed home, he would have become what Laura was, a battle-hardened soldier who had thrown away all concept of kindness in favor of survival of the fittest.
He wanted to see if he could win out over his own inner darkness. He wanted to confront himself. But it looked like it was too much for him, so he wanted to quit the tournament. He wanted to...but he would be leaving a big mess behind. He called his own sisters morally incompetent, after all. But he himself has hit and bounced back from rock bottom so many times that they would have learned something-
"Oh, why do I even..." he dropped his hand and shuffled his way back.
Meanwhile, Laura and High Card were searching frantically for Lincoln. They already covered all four holding areas with no luck, so they had to break at the arena entrance.
"Where the hell could he be hiding?!" Laura shouted, "Can you track him, High Card?!"
High Card opened a tracking app but found a big red X instead, "Literally what..." she turned to Laura, "He's locked all communication. We can only find him in person."
"Damn that conniving little snake," Laura hissed, "He will be punished for this!"
"Now, hold on a dang second," High Card stopped her, "What is your fascination with him?"
"How dare you?!" Laura snapped, "He is nothing more than a tool for absolute victory!"
"If that was all, then you wouldn't be out here..." High Card stopped midway to connect the dots. If he was just a tool, she would never have took him under her wing and trained him for the tournament. Unless...she valued him. To what extent she didn't know, but there's an easy way to find out. She immediately assumed the most outlandish conclusion she could think of, "...*GASP* Oh my gosh, he's you if you were born in a normal home!"
"What nonsense are you speaking now?" Laura demanded before tapping a hidden earring communicating device, "Clarissa, come in. I have an emergency."
"Ah, commander Bodewig," a German woman slightly younger than Laura responded, "What is your situation?"
"It's my spineless associate, Loud. He means to forfeit the competition, and neither I nor his bimbo tech addict of a sidekick were able to track him down," Laura earned a tongue diss from High Card.
"I have his handicap signature on lock. Less than a minute ago, he was in front of the arena's control room, but then he turned the other way."
"Good," Laura darted off with High Card tagging along.
"Wait, are you trying to find him?" Clarissa asked, "What for?"
"For desertion! If he flees, then there's no end to the unnecessary baggage that I'll have to contend with!"
"But nothing will happen if he withdraws. You can defeat Orimura and Dunois simultaneously."
"Not likely. Those rotting candles have already seen too much. My AIC is single-target only."
"That's not what you said during your prototype match in Germany!" Clarissa exclaimed.
"Are you just making up excuses now?" High Card asked.
"This does not concern you, blonde Schlampe!" Laura snapped.
"He's my superhero, so yes it does," High Card retorted.
"I believe it is best for you to abandon him as well," Clarissa said, "You only have one more match before Orimura, and you've beaten Huang and Alcott before-"
Laura was already overwhelmed with Lincoln's sudden departure, but this conversation was just making it worse. So much so that she-
"This isn't about the damn fight!-BPHMPHM?!"
-let slip that. It caused everyone to stop what they were doing.
"O...k..." High Card was slightly disturbed by that line. She dialed on her cellphone, "Hello, Miss Harfouch? This is High Card."
HIGH CARD — SHIELD 7/20% (WARNING)
"Yes, I've heard a great deal about you," Laura heard Clarissa say. She quickly disconnected her signal and ran off.
But it was too late. High Card had already merged signals to her phone, "Quick question, what does Miss Bodewig talk to you about in her reports?"
"Well, most of the details are confidential," Clarissa answered, "but I am allowed to say that about two-thirds of her reconnaissance is Lincoln-based."
"What?..." High Card was even more stumped, "Uh...mostly about combat abilities and...IS data?..."
And out of Clarissa's end of the comm line came, "That's only half her Lincoln-based reporting. The other half contains his mannerisms and personality traits, which under German law is not confidential."
"That's ok," High Card muttered, "I got all the information I needed...more than I needed..."
"Very good," Clarissa disconnected.
"Oh my good golly goshness, I was riiiiiiiiiight..." High Card mouthed, "Night has gotta hear this!" And she fizzled out of existence.
Meanwhile, Laura was running around the halls, distancing herself from whatever idea was implanted in her head thanks to High Card and Clarissa. She didn't mean to say that, but she was so overburdened with her personal mission and trying to keep Lincoln in line that she never thought she would say that. Laura slowed to a halt, just now fully catching herself getting concerned over the fact that she was close to losing her partner, which she didn't understand. She could win this whole tournament by herself if she wanted to. Lincoln shouldn't be a thing of 'importance' to her. So, what exactly happened? Why was she going out of her way to find him? More importantly, why did he pal around her? Of all the people he considered to be close to him, why did it have to be her, and for a very good part of her stay in the Academy?
("Weil ich nicht zustimme...Tatsächlich werde ich niemals bejahen, dass du mein Feind bist.")
In fact, it was before she first met him that he had his first conversation. And even then, he spoke to her as if he was already acquainted with her. From that moment on, he never stopped speaking to her. Why was that? What was it about her that attracted him to that extent?
"No," she muttered, "I cannot blind myself with such thoughts...I must stay the course no matter what." She went back to prepare for the semifinals, and that's when she bumped into Hana and Akina.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't-UAAA!" Hana yelped.
"Leave it to me, Hans," Akina stepped out in front and got into her fighting stance, "I may not be able to beat you in the open, but I can nail you in this crowed confined space!"
"I'm not here to fight," Laura said.
"...huh?"
Lincoln was wandering around the locker room where Ichika and Charles were preparing for their match. He didn't see one of the students giving him a dirty scowl, and got shoved into the room, where there were many more students surrounding Ichika.
"Lincoln?" Ichika said, "What'cha doing here, man?"
"No, Ichika!" A student tried to yank him away, "Stay with us, ple-"
Ichika had enough, "WOULD YOU BUTT OUT?!" He jerked his hand away from her and walked to Lincoln, "You don't look so good...Let's get you freshened up."
That prompted (almost) all the females to groan.
"We're no longer welcome here!" Sayuka screamed.
"Come on," one of them said, "Let's go somewhere that's not a damp in our hair..." The room was cleared within seconds.
"Sorry about that," Ichika said, "These girls have been clacking me since the thing was announced."
"Can you blame him?" Charles jokes, "He looks like he just came from Heaven," and tapped Ichika's back, triggering his wing units to unfurl.
"Aaa! Hey!"
"Hehe, sorry!"
"Oh, lord..." Lincoln groaned at the sound of the S-word, before Charles appeared behind him and airlifted him over a couch. "Uh...What's the big..."
"Has Laura been giving you the spiky shoulder?" Charles asked.
"Was it that obvious?"
"Oui. We did just see you prevent her from committing any brutalities."
"Oh..." Lincoln rubbed his neck, "Just this match..."
"Hey, I have to ask," Ichika sat down next to him, "Why did you want to pal around with Laura?"
"I'm... not entirely sure..." Lincoln answered, "Though I think the "lightning rod" thing has worn out its usefulness two weeks ago."
Ichika and Charles looked at each other.
Then, Charles said, "Do you see yourself in her?"
"Eh?!" Lincoln stammered, "No, it's not like that! I swear I'm not trying her out or anything!"
Charles smirked, "I never suggested such a thing."
Then, Night Club suddenly made her presence behind Lincoln, "Sorry, little man, but..." YEEAAAHHHH! "OHOHOHOHHH, SNAP!"
"Ok," Lincoln pretended to pull out a notepad, "Out of my laundry list of excuses, What's the most believable?"
"There's no need, I think," Ichika patted him, "I'm sure she'll come around soon, after all the talking you two did."
"True," Charles said, "Not even she could ignore the obligatory morning greeting."
Meanwhile, Laura turned down a fight for the first time in her life to have a plain conversation with Lincoln's friends. She needed an outlet for her frustrations, so she told them everything that was on her mind since the tournament's announcement, and what she got in response was...
"Yeesh..." Akina gasped, "I was joking when I said he had German heritage, but...wow!"
"Don't overthink it," Laura growled.
"I kid, I kid," Akina wagged her hand.
"Is he really that relatable?" Hana squirmed, "You say he's like you?"
"If he was, he would not have been this difficult to tolerate," Laura seethed.
"Ohhhhh," Akina piped, "Is he a younger you?"
Laura stopped in the middle and slammed a metal fist into the wall.
"Sorry, sorry," Akina said while carrying a shivering Hana on her back, "Didn't mean to overheat you..."
"He's my worst half," Laura blurted out, "He always acts so broken. He's like a wounded dog, begging for attention from everyone, retreating to his corner in the face of adversity...it sickens me..."
Akina instantly thought of all the stories about Laura that Lincoln told her. She slowly approached Laura, "Ok...so, is he a defective 'you', or..."
"Aki, stop," Hana pointed.
Akina saw Laura clutched her own heart, and that silenced her.
Deep down, Laura knew. The Lincoln She was chasing now was the Laura that was classified as a defect. Getting shunned by everyone around her, having only her superiors to turn to for tough advice and even tougher methods of coping with the sudden change, and using non-IS missions and training as the only means of escaping from the cruel cruel world...Every time Laura even looked at him, she had flashes of everything that happened to her before Chifuyu came to Germany. She did everything to get away from him, but much like her past, he wouldn't leave her alone.
Laura had to get it off her chest, "He's the disease I needed to cure...but now, he's infected me with it..."
"That's a bit...much..." Hana suddenly had an idea, "You ever wonder where his strength comes from?"
"What kind of power could you possibly attain from this inadequate emotion?" Laura snapped.
And then, "Well...What about that?" They all heard laughing coming from the locker room next to them. They listened in on the ongoing hilarity.
"I'M NOT A MAN, I'M NOT A MAN!"
"Ok, let's get off that for a sec..."
"Why do I feel like I should use that line?"
"Please, don't."
"But it's true, isn't it?"
"That's why Charles shouldn't use it!"
"Who wants to squeeze out a little bit of juice before the finals?"
"What kind of question is that?!"
It was Lincoln, Rin, and Charles. All on different teams that will be required to fight each other, and yet here they were, throwing jokes around like they were well acquainted with each other.
Something Laura clearly didn't understand, "Even now..."
"I don't get why he does some things either," Hana said, "but I think that's where he draws his strength from."
"Those people?"
"No...his interac...tions, I guess?" Hana didn't know for sure either, since he did a beat down on Kiyoka and Sayuka, "Friends. Relationships. Scary what they can do to a person."
And in came Akina to ruin the moment, "You gave me this bear 'cause of love, so I'll give this bear 'cause of love."
"Blugh...really?..." Hana reacted.
"Hey, don't say you weren't thinking it," Akina laughed.
"I wasn't before you put that in my head!"
Laura was only looking at the two opponents he was conversing with, wondering what on earth they did to him before she arrived on the campus.
Then came Ichika from the holding area, "Charles, it's our turn! Suit up!"
"Oh, looks like it's time," Charles got up and left, "Adieu pour le moment!"
"I gotta go too," Rin waved, "I need to prepare for your second beatdown."
"Oh, I see how it is," Lincoln responded, "You're actually scared I'll beat you!"
"Whaaaat? With your lackluster performance so far? Not a chance!"
They shared at laugh before Rin and Lincoln parted.
Lincoln left the locker room and found Laura waiting outside, "Laura? What are-how'd you get here?"
"Same way you did," Laura said, "I walked."
"Oh...then, let's walk back," Lincoln walked ahead of her. Halfway through the halls, he became curious as to why she would come to him, "Say, were you trying to find me?"
"Yes...against better judgement."
"Huh...why?"
"*SIGH...* There's a reasonable doubt in my mind," Laura said, "I believe Orimura and Dunois have seen two much and know the shortcomings of my AIC."
"That's all..." Lincoln kept silent until they made it back to their holding area, "Ok, let's suit up."
At which point Laura became confused, "I don't understand. Haven't you forfeited?"
"No," Lincoln said, "I changed my mind."
"What? Why?"
"*SIGH...*" Lincoln just went out with it, "I'm fighting something inside me, and I cannot fight it alone. I have to get rid of my inner demons."
Laura stopped at the entrance, "What demons?!" She stood flabbergasted as Lincoln went to the sink. She started to wonder who made him think of such a random, and shocking thing to say.
But she never bothered to find out, until the moment he washed his face...
("You won't.")
"Who said that?" Lincoln gasped.
("Who do you think, assfart?")
Lincoln looked up in the mirror, "...oh no."
("You won't do it. You don't have the guts.")
"Would you get out of my head?!"
("I already told you, dipthis. I'm You. You're too dickheaded to accept that.")
"No you ain. You're just a figment if my imagination!"
("And imagination comes from real life experiences. Doi.")
"What is your problem?!"
("You're my problem. You won't embrace your own strength. Your stronger than you know, and yet...again, you won't live up to your potential.")
"Wha...that's sickening! Who gets strength from beating up other people?!"
("Look behind you.")
"Eh?" Lincoln turned around, "Gyaa-when did-"
"Sag kein anderes Wort," Laura saw it too, in the mirror standing alongside Lincoln's reflection. A different version of Laura, whose heart was hardened even further by relentless combat and brutal experience. Answering only to the point of power, and responding to no one beneath her. She was pushed to the peak of IS weaponry, but at a huge cost. She committed so much of herself to her quest for strength...she'd become nothing more than a robot, capable only of following orders.
Laura didn't move. She just stood behind him, "So...this is the demon you were referencing?"
"No," Lincoln answered, "I was just... trying to..." rather weakly. He had it in his head. He thought that if he stayed home, stayed inside that Squirrel Boy costume, he would've have turned out just like her reflection.
Night Club saw them staring at their own reflection and- "ROCK OOOON!"
"AAAAA!"
-spooked them, "Couldn't resist! You two were eyeballing that thing like you saw some haunted fur suits."
Lincoln and Laura were silent.
"Really? Nothing?" Night Club groaned, "Come on! At least a-" angry old hag "SHUT UP!" normal voice "-or something."
Laura didn't pay any mind to her and walked out, "Let's go."
"Huh?" Night Club reacted, "Go where?"
"Outside. Orimura and Dunois should've finished their match by now."
Lincoln and Night Club could tell take something was off about her, Lincoln even more so.
"Uh, ok," Night Club said, "Did I miss something, or does she seem extra spooky today?"
"Who knows?" Lincoln walked out as well.
"Hey, don't you go bowing to the neon god, too!" Night Club shouted, "What the heck is with everyone today?..."
Laura approached the launch pad with a brand new emotion, one she never felt before. This didn't compare in the slightest to any of the times Chifuyu told her off. This couldn't even compare to when she was classified as a defect.
This was...hurt. In its purest form.